Reviews by Celia A. (Takoma Park, MD)

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Yale Needs Women
Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant
by Anne Gardiner Perkins
An important chapter in education history (7/16/2019)
The pioneering cohorts of women at Yale in the early 1970s confronted many obstacles. The artificial quotas intended to make sure that Yale could continue to graduate its "one thousand male leaders" each year meant that women had to be at least twice as good as the men to …more
More News Tomorrow
More News Tomorrow: A Novel
by Susan Richards Shreve
Enriching ambiguity (4/22/2019)
Usually when you have a narrative structure that alternates between the present and the past, you expect the parts in the past to answer all the questions. Shreve decided not to do that in this case. At first I was disappointed, but on further reflection, I decided that it …more
The Last Romantics
The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin
The Last Romantic (12/15/2018)
I enjoyed that depiction of the relationships between the siblings - how they came together as children to get themselves through "the pause" and how their relationships fell apart later. But I didn't think that the big reveal that Fiona built up to as she was telling the …more
Eternal Life
Eternal Life
by Dara Horn
Making Eternal Life worth it (11/8/2017)
I loved this book. I've read most of Dara Horn's novels, and this one ranks near the top for me. To buy into the idea that somebody can trade their death in a vow to God, and thus live forever, you have to do some serious suspension of disbelief. But once you do that, the …more
The Stars Are Fire
The Stars Are Fire
by Anita Shreve
Disappointed (3/14/2017)
I've read most, maybe even all, of Anita Shreve's previous books, so I really wanted to like this more than I did. I had trouble getting into the story, but the pace picked up some after the fire. I enjoyed the story well enough, but the extremely short sections, many only …more
Circling the Sun
Circling the Sun: A Novel
by Paula McLain
A different angle on Out of Africa (5/9/2015)
I'm embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Beryl Markham before I read this book. She made some bad choices along the way, but what a strong woman. The thing that she ultimately became famous for is only a minor part of this book. Instead, the story that McLain …more
The Hollow Ground
The Hollow Ground: A Novel
by Natalie S. Harnett
Less than I hoped for (4/4/2014)
I was interested to read a book set against the backdrop of the Centralia mine fires. But this book turned out to be less than I hoped for. I found it distracting to set the story in the context of a real historical event and then make up place names for it. In terms of the …more
Glitter and Glue
Glitter and Glue: A Memoir
by Kelly Corrigan
Touching story of a woman's relationship with her mother (12/11/2013)
Many of us worry about turning into our mothers, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. It was only as a nanny and then as a mother herself that Corrigan came to understand the many ways in which her mother had been the glue that held her family together. This memoir of how …more
Songs of Willow Frost
Songs of Willow Frost
by Jamie Ford
Songs of Willow Frost (7/10/2013)
I read and enjoyed Jamie Ford's first novel, The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, so I was set to enjoy his second one as well. He did not disappoint. He drew me into the world of immigrant and native-born Chinese Americans in the 1920s and 1930s. I found myself …more
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
Children of the Jacaranda Tree (2/20/2013)
This book follows two generations of Iranians--those who were young adults at the time of the revolution and their children. The book bounces around in time, and the best developed chapters are those set in the prisons during the parents' generation. While I was glad to get …more
Calling Me Home
Calling Me Home
by Julie Kibler
Shining a light on a sad side of history (12/4/2012)
There weren't many surprises in this book; I could see most of the developments coming from a mile away. But I was OK with that, because I really cared about what happened to these characters. This is a book that deserves to be read, especially with regards to U.S. history …more
How to Love Wine
How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto
by Eric Asimov
Turning wine into an emotional experience (9/6/2012)
Eric Asimov is trying to save the world from the tyranny of tasting notes, wine scores, and blind tastings. While there's nothing intrinsically bad about them, he just finds that the information gleaned from them is unhelpful. In fact, he finds that by suggesting that there …more
The Innocents
The Innocents: A Novel
by Francesca Segal
OK but not great (5/17/2012)
I was intrigued by the premise--retelling the story of Age of Innocence in a modern setting. Even though we have such a fascination with scandal, it seemed like it would be a stretch to make such a scenario seem believable in the 21st century, but Francesca Segal seems to …more
Sacre Bleu
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art
by Christopher Moore
Great fun (2/16/2012)
Christopher Moore has tackled Shakespeare and the Gospels, among other cultural icons. This time he turns his sights on art and the Impressionists, with a specific focus on the color blue. His story mixes the supernatural with real people. It's great fun seeing how he …more
Arcadia
Arcadia: A Novel
by Lauren Groff
Wanted to know more (12/14/2011)
The only character I felt any connection to was Bit. Perhaps that was intentional, but the other characters ran together for me. Also, the different sections were so disconnected, with no real sense of how the characters got from point A to point B to point C. Again, this …more
The Leftovers
The Leftovers: A Novel
by Tom Perrotta
An apocalypse for the rest of us (7/5/2011)
The landscape in Tom Perrotta's book is very different from anything I would describe as "post-apocalyptic". In fact, he could be describing suburban America today. I actually found that to be the strength of the book. He didn't try to deal (at least not much) with the …more
The Sweetness of Tears
The Sweetness of Tears: A Novel
by Nafisa Haji
Realistic struggles with faith and doubt (3/7/2011)
I enjoyed reading this take on the many ways that religion affects our lives and the ways we often struggle with faith and doubt. My one complaint is that there were too many narrators. I had trouble keeping the different voices separate.
The Philosophical Breakfast Club
The Philosophical Breakfast Club: Four Remarkable Friends Who Transformed Science and Changed the World
by Laura J. Snyder
Slow read, but worth it (1/4/2011)
The writing style tended to be more academic than your typical popular book, so it was occasionally slow going. The author tends to go off on tangents that, although they come back around to her four protagonists, could probably be deleted without hurting the book. Despite …more
The Blind Contessa's New Machine
The Blind Contessa's New Machine: A Novel
by Carey Wallace
I wanted it to be better (6/2/2010)
This book was a fast read, but it didn’t grab me. Carolina Fantoni, the contessa of the title, was the only character who seemed particularly fleshed out. The characters are based on historical figures, so perhaps Wallace had less to work with for the characters of Pietro ( …more
Romancing Miss Bronte
Romancing Miss Bronte: A Novel
by Juliet Gael
Getting to know Charlotte Bronte (2/18/2010)
Jane Eyre has been my favorite book since I was in fourth grade, so it was with pleasure that I read this fictionalized account of the life of Charlotte Bronte. I don't know enough about the details of Bronte's life to comment on the historical accuracy of Gael's depiction, …more
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