Joy's Book Blog
My first 5/5 star book for 2023! I loved “Lessons in Chemistry” and have already recommended it to several friends. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, is great. She’s a beautiful, quirky, no-nonsense chemist in the 1950s. See the problem? She’s a beautiful, female chemist in the 1950s. Elizabeth doesn’t understand why any of that should …
“Demon Copperhead” was loaned to me by a close friend to read. It was a nominee for Goodreads 2022 Best Fiction book, so I knew it had to be good. And it was good…HOWEVER, this book is a modern take on Dicken’s David Copperfield, so like that book, there are a lot of hard truths …
I read “Blonde” after all the hype surrounding the Netflix movie. Many viewers were apparently upset that the story was not an accurate portrayal of Marilyn Monroe’s life. However, I felt the author, Joyce Carol Oates, made it clear (at least in her book) this was meant to be fiction; it was NOT meant to …
Every once in awhile, I get in the mood to read nonfiction biographies, and I have to admit, my go-to author is Alison Weir. For some reason, I am drawn to the characters of Tudor England, larger-than-life people who lived and died in this era of political intrigue, scandal, and beheadings! And she writes in …
I lost a whole weekend to “The Dictionary of Lost Words.” Originally, I had planned to be very industrious: clean the house, fold the laundry, go the grocery store. In the end, only one of those things happened (I decided we all needed to eat, but the house and laundry could wait). The rest of …
“Fly Girls” tells the true story of how “five daring women defied all odds and made aviation history.” It was an interesting story, but to me, not a good book. To be blunt: I wish these women’s story had been told by another author. The biggest problem I had with this book was the characters. …
I really liked “The Personal Librarian.” That being said, yes, I did find it alittle dry at times, but the content more than made up for it with me. I really liked the subject, how the authors described the characters and made them come to life, and of course, the library! After I finished reading …
I know it’s been a hot minute since I wrote a book review. Honestly, I took on extra responsibilities at work that sucked up all my free time. I’ve missed reading for fun! But now I’m back with plenty of new books to talk about and I’m excited to share the good, the bad, and …
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” was a great book! I liked the premise a lot; it’s a story within a story. Evelyn Hugo is a famous aging star whose personal life was even more interesting than the roles she played. For decades, the public has been left wondering about each of her seven husbands: …
This one was a book club book and honestly, one I didn’t enjoy. At first, I was excited to be reading another Sue Monk Kidd novel. Like most people, I liked “The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Mermaid Chair,” although I admit I wasn’t as into them as some of my friends. Still, Kidd …