Bluebird Books

I love writing about the books I love.  Sharing the novels I want other people to read is easy.  Writing about the books I didn't love can be equally satisfying.  Today, I'm talking about a book that I couldn't stand. I was an English major and often heard people talk about Evelyn Waugh and Brideshead Revisited .  I can't tell you what the plot of that novel is, but I know it comes up in literary conversations.  I have always wondered about this book but never enough to actually pick it up.  oh, yes, of course I know that book!   everyone knows that book! Recently, I've been trying out different Page One subscription boxes .  They are my favorite.  I got my classics box and it came full of goodies and an Evelyn Waugh book, Vile Bodies .  "Yipee," I thought.  A book I had never read by an author I was unfamiliar with but wanted to read. #winning The page count wasn't super high and the cover was gorgeous, so I dove right in.  I can

You guys, I read a book that you need to get to before the end of summer.  Fortunately, that gives you just under a month--the official end of summer is September 22, despite all this pumpkin spice business and back to school foolishness.   not yet! But, trust me on this, you gotta read this book in the summer.  It won't be nearly as enjoyable in any other season.  I mean you can read it in the winter if you really want, but its best read outside in harsh sunlight. You've probably seen it on the internet if you frequent any book sites or on a bookstore display.  It came out in late spring and has been on most of the summer reading lists I've seen.   So, without further ado...Go get yourself a copy of Sunburn by Laura Lippman.   Before I tell you anything about the plot, let me tell you about the structure.  The book has short chapters and it's not terribly long (292 pages).  The words are not crammed on the page and there is a single narrator.  This is enou

Everyone talks about how books bring us together.  But sometimes I'm reminded that they can also separate us. It's happened to all book lovers (I think).  Your friend discovers that you love to read.  They tell you a few of their favorite books.  You read one.  You think it's terrible.  How can you still be friends? Or, you are part of a book club.  You feel confident that the book you just read is the best/worst.  You go to the meeting giddy with the anticipation of loving/trashing the book as a group.  You sit down.  Everyone around you begins hating/raving.  Should you find a new book club? Or, a book you see all over bookstagram, the best-seller list, and Facebook makes you angry because you think the writing is poor, the plot thin, and the character development non-existent.  Can you share this on social media without being called a heretic? Surprise: these little scenarios are from personal experience.   In the early stages of our friendship, a very dear f

Today on Instagram (bookstagram to be more precise) I saw someone posting about the 24 books they read last month.  I don't really know how that is humanly possible and I found myself both jealous and repulsed.  I didn't read 24 books, or 12 books, or even 6 books.  In July I was able to finish 5.  I'm hoping you feel neither jealous or repulsed.  4-6 seems to be about where I land every month and I'm proud of that. Here's what I read when I wasn't refereeing a fight, finding food for my children to eat, or washing another load of wet towels from the pool: Convenience Store Woman 🌟🌟🌟🌟 "And here was everyone taking it for granted that I must be miserable when I wasn't."  I preordered this book and then read it in one day.  You might say I was a little excited.  There was something about the cover, the culture (Japanese), and the premise that had me so intrigued.  Convenience Store Woman is about a woman in Japan whose only asp