Windhall : A Novel by Ava Barry My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Everyone loves a beautiful dead girl.” Windhall is a novel about Hollywood, how men treat women, fame, obsession, and Los Angeles. Hailey is an antisocial journalist at a counterculture zine turned blog (I think) in LA. He is obsessed with the decades-old…
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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was an audiobook listen for me, narrated by the wonderful Nicholas Guy Smith. It was also something of a journey. It took me most of 2020 and a month of 2021 to finish this fine novel. It took me so long…
Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri J.M. Nouwen My rating: 3 of 5 stars Nouwen is one of my favourite Christian writers – simultaneously mystical, transcendent, encouraging, and practical. This isn’t at the top of my list of his books. However, it may be just the right book for […]
Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best by Eugene H. Peterson My rating: 5 of 5 stars “Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it…clarities come from adventuring deep into the mysteries of God’s will and love, not by cautiously managing and moralizing.” This is a lembas-bread-book for a couple […]
Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars by Paul Ingrassia My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m sure the subtitle has you curious, so here are some clues about the fifteen vehicles explored in this great book. Yes, there are only thirteen items listed below, but that’s because a few […]
All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir about Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything by Sasha Chapin My rating: 3 of 5 stars Learning to play chess was one of my 2020 new year’s resolutions. It turned out to be a pretty good one since we’re largely home bound. Lately, everyone is talking about Netflix’ The Queen’s…
Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar My rating: 4 of 5 stars “The practice of yoga teaches us to live fully.” Iyengar is something of an ambassador of yoga. Even though he has died, he continues to educate and influence those curious about yoga’s practice and precepts. Personally, I first started reading Iyengar because he…
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia My rating: 5 of 5 stars Counter-intuitively, this Gothic horror novel was an absolute joy to read. Mexican Gothic cover My attention span in 2020 is limited at best, but I could not put down Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic. Her main character, the impetuous and steel-spited Mexico City socialite Noemí…
