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Reviews by Cathryn Conroy

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The Lincoln Highway: A Novel
by Amor Towles
Oh, What a Book! A Literary Work of Genius--Extraordinary Plot and Unforgettable Cast of Characters (4/12/2023)
Oh, what a book. How should I describe it? Superior! A masterpiece! Extraordinary! Brilliant storytelling! A literary work of genius! (I could keep going, but you get the point.) This is a 10-star book in a five-star world. And best of all, everyone will love it—men, women,more
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
by Bill Bryson
A Serious, Informative Biology Book That Is Also Irreverent, Hilarious, and Highly Entertaining (4/12/2023)
This is a biology book like no other you have ever read. It is a serious book that is packed with information, much of it highly scientific, but it is always readable and understandable. And here's the secret sauce that makes it so much fun to read: It is often irreverent,more
Us Against You: A Beartown Novel
by Fredrik Backman
A Seemingly Impossible Dichotomy: A Somber, Melancholy, Dark Story That Is Also a Feel-Good Tale (4/12/2023)
This book is a seemingly impossible dichotomy: It is a somber, melancholy, and very dark story that deals with the trauma and despair of rape, as well as the anger, hatred, and violence it often spawns. But it's also a feel-good tale that will make your heart swell. As Imore
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel
by Gabrielle Zevin
This Book Is All Plot—Plot, Plot, Plot. It's Like Eating Only Dessert Without Much Substance (4/11/2023)
This is a good book. But it is not a great book. It's all about plot—plot, plot, plot. While the plot is riveting (it really is hard to stop reading at times), there just isn't the depth of story, character development, and conflict that is needed to make it a truly greatmore
Close Range: Wyoming Stories
by Annie Proulx
Welcome to Wyoming! Eleven Masterfully Written Short Stories That Are Rough, Violent and a Bit Crude (4/11/2023)
One of my greatest reading joys is being transported to another place just by opening a book. It's magic! That's the case with this extraordinary collection of short stories by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx that all take place in Wyoming, a state with hardscrabble landmore
The Glovemaker
by Ann Weisgarber
A Slow, Almost Ponderous Writing Style, but This Is a Riveting Story About Truth…and Lies (4/11/2023)
This is an intelligent, deftly told story that I liken to a pot of water on a hot stove. It warms very slowly, begins to lightly bubble, and then breaks out in a furious boil. That is the pace of this novel by Ann Weisgarber. The writing style is slow, almost ponderous, andmore
Bitter Orange
by Claire Fuller
A Spellbinding Psychological Thriller Where Nothing Is as It Seems: It's Quite the Page-Turner! (4/11/2023)
Grounded in long-buried secrets, cunning lies, and scheming subterfuges, this spellbinding psychological thriller doesn't appear to be that at all until the book has you deep in its clutches. Oh, this novel by Claire Fuller is quite the page-turner.

It's the summer of 1969more
Secrets of Happiness
by Joan Silber
A Brilliant, Ingeniously Plotted Novel That Shows in Story Form What a Small World It Really Is (4/11/2023)
This book is a novel. I know that because it says so on the cover: "Secrets of Happiness: A Novel." Except it's not a novel. Not really. It's either a very disconnected novel or a closely intertwined collection of short stories.

Either way, it's brilliant.

Written by Joanmore
Run
by Ann Patchett
An Imaginative, Mesmerizing Novel: Magnificent Writing and (Best of All) a Really Good Story (4/11/2023)
This imaginative novel by Ann Patchett is a complex examination of the meaning of family, the secrets we hold to protect those we love, and what it means to do the right thing for others and ourselves—and it all takes place at that tricky intersection between privilege andmore
Black Cake: A Novel
by Charmaine Wilkerson
An Overrated Novel That Is One Big Soap Opera: Melodramatic, Overly Sentimental, and Slow-Paced (4/11/2023)
Whine. Whine. Whine. It seems like that is all the characters are doing. And at 400 pages, that gets old. Fast.

But let's back up. This (overrated) novel by Charmaine Wilkerson tells the multigenerational story of a family from an unnamed island in the Caribbean, and themore
The Winter People
by Jennifer McMahon
Creepy, Creepy, Creepy! A Goosebumpy, Scary Ghost Story That's Perfect for Winter Reading (4/11/2023)
Creepy, goosebumpy, scary ghost stories aren't only for cool fall evenings. It turns out that the middle of January in remote Vermont when it's buried in snow is also the perfect setting for a psychological thriller filled with ghosts.

Written by Jennifer McMahon, this ismore
Count the Ways
by Joyce Maynard
This Is a Really Good Book, but Be Prepared: It Will Envelop You in Sadness (4/11/2023)
Oh, this book is sad. So very, very sad. I was so enveloped in the sadness that when I wasn't reading, I carried it with me. I had to wake up every once in a while and remind myself it was just a book. Not my life. But here's the thing (and this is really important): Themore
River Sing Me Home
by Eleanor Shearer
Beautiful, Almost Lyrical Writing: This Is a Very Good Book but Not a Great One (4/11/2023)
This is a very good book, but it is not a great book. There is far too much introspection and examination of feelings that is interspersed with far too little plot action, although what action there is is riveting and left me glued to the page.

Written by Eleanor Shearer,more
French Braid: A novel
by Anne Tyler
Gorgeously Written! A Brilliant Novel About Families Told with Insight, Compassion, and Wry Humor (4/11/2023)
There is a reason Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors, and this book is Exhibit A. Her novels speak to our quotidian lives, but instead of being boring, it's brilliant. Her characters are quirky, but their emotions are universal.

Taking place in Baltimore, Maryland,more
Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel
by Bonnie Garmus
SO Good! This Book Is Like Quicksand. It Will Suck You In and Not Let Go Until You Finish! (4/11/2023)
This book is like quicksand. It will suck you in and not let go until you finish it. Oh, it is GOOD!

Written by Bonnie Garmus, this is a novel that is both a riveting story and a feminist manifesto. It's 1952 and Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant wannabe chemist, is being stifledmore
Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders
A Genre-Busting Novel That Is Daring, Peculiar, and Highly Imaginative. Read with Caution! (4/11/2023)
Well, this was, um, interesting. And by "interesting," I really mean bizarre, peculiar, and even rather rude and crude in parts. This Booker Prize-winning novel by George Saunders is not an ordinary novel. Read with caution.

The plot, such as it is, is relatively simple.more
A Rule Against Murder: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #4
by Louise Penny
Witty, Wise, and Wonderful: A Literary Murder Mystery That Is Compelling and Fun to Read (4/11/2023)
And Louise Penny does it again! This is the fourth in the (now) 18-book series of murder mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and the delightful Canadian town of Three Pines. And just like the three before it, this is a compelling, intelligent story that ismore

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