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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road
by Finn Murphy
An Eye-Opening, Intriguing Insider's Account of What Really Happens When You Move (2/14/2024)
What an eye-opener this is! This is an intriguing book for anyone to read, but especially for those who are planning a move be it locally or long-distance. You'll find out what really happens once the movers cross your doorstep--and it's not all good.

The author is Finnmore
A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President
by Jeffrey Toobin
Not for the Prudish! A Well-Researched and Balanced Historical Account—Except for the (2/13/2024)
This is not a book for the prudish.

While author Jeffrey Toobin has written a deeply researched and (in my opinion) balanced account of the two sex scandals that enveloped President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s—Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky—there is a definite "ick"more
The Frozen River: A Novel
by Ariel Lawhon
Magnificent Storytelling! Page-Turning Historical Fiction Wrapped Around a Riveting Whodunit (2/10/2024)
Oh, what a novel! It just pulled me in and wouldn't let go.

Before you read this book, know two important things:
1. Clear your schedule! Once you start reading, it will be really (really!) hard to stop. Yes, it's THAT good.
2. When you finish it, you will have a whoppingmore
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
by A. J. Jacobs
One Man Spends a Year Living the Bible Literally: It's Laugh-Out-Loud Funny and Deeply Spiritual (1/31/2024)
This book should come with a warning! Beware reading it in public places because you will be laughing out loud—repeatedly—and you risk getting the same wary looks from strangers that author A.J. Jacobs endured for the year he decided to live biblically. That is, he livedmore
The Funeral Cryer: A Novel
by Wenyan Lu
So Disappointing! A Thin Plot, One-Dimensional Characters, and a Stilted, Jarring Writing Style (1/30/2024)
With stilted, almost awkward writing, a thin plot, and one-dimensional characters, this dark and sorrowful book by Wenyan Lu is a disappointment because it has the potential to be so much more.

Taking place in modern-day China but in a remote, rural village that hangs on tomore
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
by Hallie Rubenhold
An Important and Fascinating Fact-Filled Entry into the Myths of Jack the Ripper and His Victims (1/18/2024)
Jack the Ripper, a brutal, evil, psychotic murderer who stalked the foggy nighttime streets of London's East End slums in 1888 is the stuff of legend. He was never caught and still hasn't been identified more than 135 years later. And the women he killed? Oh, they were justmore
Five Tuesdays in Winter
by Lily King
An Impressive Collection of Short Stories: From the Delightful to the Dark, Each One is a Gem (1/17/2024)
I read a lot of short story collections, and it's rare that almost all the stories in the collection are excellent. This is one of those rare collections. Each of the 10 stories has a compelling plot, characters that seem real, and just the right amount of tension ormore
Unlikely Animals: A Novel
by Annie Hartnett
Quirky and Absurd: A Highly Imaginative, Colorful, Roller-Coaster of a Novel That I Highly Recommend (1/15/2024)
Quirky and whimsical. Peculiar and absurd. Is there a genre for eccentric literature? That's the best way to describe this highly imaginative novel by Annie Hartnett that almost gave me whiplash with the many sudden shifts, changes, twists, and turns of the characters andmore
Young Mungo
by Douglas Stuart
A Literary Triumph: A Brilliant, Brutal, and Tragic Gay Love Story That Broke My Heart Over and Over (1/11/2024)
This book is brilliant...and brutal. It's a magnificent gay love story wrapped around horrific, shuddering violence. It is deeply profound with a storyline that is heartbreaking, tragic, and difficult to read. And I couldn't put it down.

Masterfully written by Booker Prize-more
The Vaster Wilds: A Novel
by Lauren Groff
A Daring Literary Achievement: No Plot, One Character, a Very Sad Ending…and I Couldn't Stop Reading (1/10/2024)
I will confess right from the get-go that Lauren Groff is one of my favorite authors. If she writes it, I read it. That said, while I am in awe of the literary power of this book, it is not for everyone.

There is no plot. There is only one character, and she doesn't have amore
Old God's Time: A Novel
by Sebastian Barry
A Profound, Extraordinary Work of Fiction, but Oh, It Is a Dark and Desolate Tale (12/21/2023)
This is a profound, extraordinary work of literary fiction, but it's not easy to read for two reasons. First, it is written in a kind of stream of consciousness that flits from one thought to another and then back again. Second, the subject matter—Irish Catholic priestsmore
The Soul of a Woman
by Isabel Allende
A Hybrid of a Book: Part Memoir, Part Feminist Manifesto, Part Meditation, Part Romantic Advice (12/19/2023)
This book is a hybrid: part memoir, part feminist manifesto, part meditation, and part romantic advice. It's a bit of everything!

Written by the brilliant novelist Isabel Allende, this short nonfiction book primarily examines the role of women in society, as well as offeringmore
The House Is on Fire
by Rachel Beanland
Magnificent Storytelling! A Riveting Tale of Tragedy, Heroism, and Redemption That Is Unputdownable (12/13/2023)
This riveting story of tragedy, heroism, and the power of redemption is magnificent storytelling about a dark time in our nation's history.

Written by Rachel Beanland, this is a fictionalized account of the true story of the horrific fire that destroyed the only theater inmore
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter
What a Treasure! It Made Me Smile, It Made Me Tear Up (a Lot!), but Most of All It Touched My Heart (12/10/2023)
Oh, this book is a little treasure. It made me smile and it made me tear up (a lot!), but most of all, it touched my heart. If you love cats, reading, and libraries—or any one of those—this is a must-read.

Written by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter, this is the astonishing andmore
Hang the Moon: A Novel
by Jeannette Walls
A Roller Coaster of a Book! Strap on Your Seat Belt Because This Is a Raucous Literary Ride (12/8/2023)
If Sallie Kincaid, the 19-year-old lead character in this roller coaster of a book by Jeannette Walls were real, we would be singing ballads written about her. What a character! What a book!

Taking place primarily in the early 1920s in the poor, rural Virginia area of Eastmore
My Reading Life
by Pat Conroy
A Must-Read for Pat Conroy Fans: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Wizard of Southern Novels (11/21/2023)
Pat Conroy is one of my favorite authors, and I simply devoured this book that gave delightful and tragic insights into his life—so much so that this could double as a book titled "My Writing Life" or simply "My Life." While he does discuss some of his favorite books, themore
The Night Strangers: A Novel
by Chris Bohjalian
A Hauntingly Scary Gothic Ghost Story That Had Me Shivering in Fright (and Delight)! (11/19/2023)
Oh, what a devilishly creepy, hauntingly scary Gothic ghost story that had me shivering in fright (and delight!).

But one important word of caution: Do not read this book after dark. And most especially, do not read this book just before falling asleep or you will havemore
Stealing: A Novel
by Margaret Verble
Brilliant Storytelling! An Emotionally Searing Novel About the Impact of Prejudice and Injustice (11/16/2023)
This is an exceptional, imaginative, and emotionally searing novel about the dangers of prejudice, the impact of hate, the wounds of injustice, and the small victims whose lives are never the same.

Brilliantly written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble, this is themore
The Faraway World: Stories
by Patricia Engel
An Extraordinary and Imaginative Collection of Short Stories About the Joys and Brutality of Life (11/14/2023)
This is an introspective, accomplished, and brilliantly observed collection of 10 short stories by Patricia Engel that all have one thing in common: There is another world—a faraway world—that the characters in each of the stories yearn for, remember, or are escaping. Today'more
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
by Sara Collins
It's a Page Turner! Literary Historical Fiction Wrapped Around a Sensational Murder Mystery (11/10/2023)
This literary historical novel has just about everything to keep the pages turning. At the heart of this book by Sara Collins is a sensational murder mystery swathed in betrayal, jealousy, forbidden sex, drug addiction, the evils of slavery, and the privilege andmore

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