(opens in new tab) title: Right on Cue author: Falon Ballard publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication date: February 27, 2024 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: binge drinking, dead parent summary: Screenwriter Emmy’s production team can’t find a good female lead for her new rom com, so they rope her into playing the part, which would have…
Author: caritagardiner
250. Why Sprints
(opens in new tab) In case you need inspiration, you could read the article linked to the photo above. For those of you who didn’t notice that the title of this post has two S’s in it, I want to clarify that I’m not advocating a method of running really fast from one place to…
NetGalley Review of Second Duke’s the Charm
(opens in new tab) title: Second Duke’s the Charm author: Kate Bateman publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback publication date: December 26, 2023 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: on-page death, mean people, someone gets drugged to fall asleep, drunkenness, lechery summary: Tess’s greedy father forced her, at nineteen-years-old, to marry an elderly duke, who died on…
249. Why Pick the Second Best Time
I’ve heard that Olympic athletes who win silver medals are generally the least happy of everyone who makes it to the games. People who win gold: I’m the best in the world. People who win bronze: I got a medal! All of the other people: I made it to the Olympics! People who win silver…
NetGalley Review of Love, Just In
(opens in new tab) title: Love, Just In author: Natalie Murray publisher: Allen & Unwin publication date: January 3, 2024 pages: ? (It’s not out in paperback yet. My phone said 308, but that doesn’t always seem accurate.) peppers: (on this scale) 219. Why NetGalley warnings: car accidents with fatalities drunk drivers a house fire with…
NetGalley Review of Till There Was You
(opens in new tab) title: Till There Was You author: Lindsay Hameroff publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: February 20, 2024 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: dead parent (before the book), cut fingers/blood, burns summary: New Yorker Lexi doesn’t have time for dating while she’s in culinary school pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming…
248. Why Yellowface
(opens in new tab) For many years, I taught a Senior English elective on writers who write about writers. In the class, among other novels, we studied John Irving’s The World According to Garp, Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale. I (and I think the students, too) found the stories authors create about authors…
NetGalley Review of Love You, Mean It
(opens in new tab) title: Love You, Mean It author: Jilly Gagnon publisher: Dell publication date: April 30, 2024 pages: 304 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: dead sibling from violent accident summary: Ellie, who runs her family’s deli, is upset to learn that a rich boy she knew in high school is working to bring a…
247. Why Now is Not the Time to Panic
(opens in new tab) I thoroughly enjoy and then immediately forget many of the books I read. I don’t mean to condemn the authors of those books because I know that writing a book someone can love reading is a huge accomplishment. Sometimes, however, I read books that are so thought-provoking that they stay with…
246. Why Percentages Aren’t What You Think
(opens in new tab) As you know, I’m a big fan of people who donate blood (partly because my life was saved by four of them). You can read JV’s wonderful guest post about the benefits of giving blood on this 2021 post. Still, the image above made me laugh. To start this essay, most…