by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2026 (originally written in 2001) GOODREADS SYNOPSIS Welcome to Empire Falls, a blue-collar town full of abandoned mills whose citizens surround themselves with the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors and who find humor and hope in the most unlikely places, in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard... Continue Reading →
Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2025 This is not your typical post-apocalyptic novel. Yes, it is set at the ending of the world as we know it. There is the run on the banks, the looting at the stores, and the hoarding of peanut butter. But these things are all background, none become major scenes. The main character... Continue Reading →
by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, August 25, 2025 All synopses from Goodreads. My ratings are 1-5 although you generally won’t find a 2 or a 1 in my ratings because I don’t finish those books. I'm pretty picky about my reading, so if the book made this list, it was a worthwhile (if only entertaining) read.... Continue Reading →
by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2025 Rarely do I find two books in a row that pull me in and challenge me. Wild Dark Shore is more than a mystery to solve, more than a romance, more than the average story. It has so many layers that McConaghy weaves magically into a story that leaves you... Continue Reading →
by Karen Yvonne Hamilton, 2025 You know how I frequently lament the formulaic drivel that is so often touted as “Bestseller” or “Best Novel of (insert year)”. Today I finished a book (in less than two days) that blows all those so-called bestsellers out of the water. This novel was rejected over 85 times by... Continue Reading →
Just finished reading Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black. It took me two days, a sure sign of a worthy novel. “Just assemble the pieces and let the story speak for itself. You don’t need a hero. Or a villain. Just a complete story.” Black did just that. The novel at its core is about identity and... Continue Reading →
The words mean something profound, but you will have to leave your insulated world of what passes for normalcy to reach their meaning. I encourage you to do so.
“It was, after all, her story and she needed to find her way into it even if she filled in the unknowns with creative details.”
I found this an excellent adventure and mystery to solve. The main characters (and minor ones that were relevant to the plot) were very well fleshed out and I felt like I knew them well by the end of the book. As always, if I am reaching for a pencil to highlight phrases and passages,... Continue Reading →
I It's been many months since I found a book that engaged me so much that I didn't want to stop reading. The novel had conflicts that I did not see coming and a resolution that surprised me. As a literature major who has studied writing and literature for over 30 years, it is very... Continue Reading →
Other Rivers 