Nancy Singleton-Hachisu’s Japanese Farm Food

Who expects to be entertained reading a cookbook? Hungry, perhaps and eager to try out recipes from it. But, in fact, some cookbooks do more than give you recipes and possibly some background story behind them, so they’re not only informative, they’re entertaining. One such book is Japanese Farm Food. I know little about Japanese farms and indigenous Japanese culture except for what I’ve seen … Continue reading Nancy Singleton-Hachisu’s Japanese Farm Food

evyJune 1, 2015December 20, 20221 Comment

Fiction Reviews, historical fiction

Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See is a modern day existentialist novel. A book in the tradition of Dostoevsky, although that may not be obvious right away. The title alludes in different ways to the juvenile main protagonists of the novel, Marie Laure and Werner. For Marie Laure, the allusion is more literal. She is blind, from a congenital vision disorder. Nurtured by a loving … Continue reading Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See

evyMay 9, 2015December 21, 20223 Comments

Evy's books

Goodbooks Today Review: Welcome, Reluctant Stranger

************ Welcome, Reluctant Stranger” spans across many genres, though it does so impressively, without losing the sense of the plot and characters. GoodbooksToday.com Reviews E. Journey enwraps the audience in passionate dialog and riveting descriptions throughout Welcome, Reluctant Stranger. Readers of action, adventure, crime novels, political dramas, and certainly fans of love stories will want to pick up this book. Given the nature of the … Continue reading Goodbooks Today Review: Welcome, Reluctant Stranger

evyApril 19, 2015December 21, 20221 Comment

contemporary Fiction, Fiction Reviews

The Reluctant Other

The third book in my series Between Two Worlds (tentatively titled Welcome, Reluctant Stranger) focuses on a young woman who, as a child, had to flee a small country in the Pacific. She brings her history to a new place (California) where she must now fit in. I will answer a question that hasn’t yet been asked, but which might occur to anyone who knows … Continue reading The Reluctant Other

evyFebruary 17, 2015December 21, 20221 Comment

Evy's books

GoodbooksToday.com Review of Hello, Agnieszka !

************ Journey has woven a beautiful narrative filled with complex relationships and interactions between women – aunts, mothers, and daughters.” – GoodbooksToday.com Reviews Evy Journey has woven an intricate, heart-wrenching coming-of-age story about family and love with HELLO, AGNIESZKA! The sequel to HELLO, MY LOVE!, this novel continues the story of a family who is shaken by the eldest son’s suicide attempt. In order to … Continue reading GoodbooksToday.com Review of Hello, Agnieszka !

evyAugust 3, 2014December 21, 2022Leave a comment

Fiction Reviews, historical fiction

Meet Elizabeth Taylor, the British Writer

About three months ago, I got a copy of The Wedding Group by Elizabeth Taylor. No, not that Elizabeth Taylor. The other Elizabeth Taylor. These are a couple of published reactions when articles are written about that other Elizabeth, a British writer in the mid-1900s. Unfortunately, that shared name may be one big reason so many people have not heard of her. I, for instance, … Continue reading Meet Elizabeth Taylor, the British Writer

evyJuly 18, 2014December 21, 2022Leave a comment

Evy's books

Hello, Agnieszka! A Five-Star Readers’ Favorite

Views from Three Readers: After her son tried to commit suicide, Agnieszka was left with no choice but to reveal a well-kept secret to her kids in order to help them understand their brother’s actions. Starting from when she was eight, she told her family her life story, with the hope that this would make them understand her journey and the choices she made along … Continue reading Hello, Agnieszka! A Five-Star Readers’ Favorite

evyJuly 9, 2014December 21, 2022Leave a comment

Evy's books

Book Reviews for Hello, My Love! on Book Blog Tour

The best thing, so far, about the Virtual Book Blog Tour for Hello, My Love is getting book reviews. I find the feedback quite useful. I’m changing the cover and have made a bit of revision in one chapter based on these reviews. I had earlier relied on subtext to indicate motivation but subtext probably works only on careful reading, and reading for entertainment … Continue reading Book Reviews for Hello, My Love! on Book Blog Tour

evyNovember 8, 2013December 21, 2022Leave a comment

Evy's books

Praise for Hello, My Love! from Goodbooks Today.com

************ “The unexpected surprises and emotional encounters of this novel keeps the reader enthralled until the very last page.”—GoodbooksToday.com Reviews There are few stories that capture the raw emotions of a true and powerful love. The desire and yearning to be with that special person your heart has chosen can be all-consuming and unrelenting. “Hello, My Love!” portrays just that. You can just feel the … Continue reading Praise for Hello, My Love! from Goodbooks Today.com

evySeptember 24, 2013December 21, 20225 Comments

contemporary Fiction, Fiction Reviews

Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Shadow of the Wind

Shadow of the Wind. I’ve puzzled over this title. Technically, a wind would not have a shadow. Or, maybe, it does; but we need a sixth sense to see it. If so, this title is the best anyone could give this novel, although I must confess, I did not feel that way until I got almost towards the end of the book, 358 pages later, … Continue reading Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s Shadow of the Wind

evySeptember 9, 2013December 21, 20225 Comments

Fiction Reviews, historical fiction

The Portrait of a Lady: Henry James’ Case Study of Isabel Archer

When we first meet Isabel, she is in the prime of her youth—beautiful, irresistible to men (every male character seems to eventually fall in love with her), intelligent, poised, vibrant, hungry for life, and marching to her own drums. She has all the potential to be an exceptional woman. To remove the obstacles of poverty that can hinder realizing her potential, admiring dying cousin, Ralph, … Continue reading The Portrait of a Lady: Henry James’ Case Study of Isabel Archer

evyFebruary 22, 2013February 4, 20235 Comments

Readers

A Day in the Life of Margaret Faria, Chanteuse, Mother, Book Lover

Goodreads is made for the likes of Margaret Faria. Margaret (Literary Chanteuse) is one of the 100 best reviewers on Goodreads. What does it take to be on a list such as the best 100? Look at these numbers and be impressed, like I was: Over the course of her 33 months membership in Goodreads, she’s rated (rated, mind you, not just read), 970 books. … Continue reading A Day in the Life of Margaret Faria, Chanteuse, Mother, Book Lover

evyJanuary 31, 2013November 21, 20182 Comments

Readers

Thoroughly Engaged: Xenia Allen

Ah, romance! It makes us dream, smile, glow, sigh, tingle, burn, cry, cringe, despair, joyous, jealous, fearful, angry. Is there any other human experience that elicits such a range or polarity of emotions? And yet, rather too many of us, modern sophisticates, do not or would not own up to being romantic or at least believing so unconditionally in romance. Perhaps, that is because our … Continue reading Thoroughly Engaged: Xenia Allen

evyDecember 27, 2012November 21, 20181 Comment

Miscellany, Writing Craft

Who’s To Say: Subverting the Tyranny in Book Reviews

I just read an article published early this year (February) that had me thinking again about book reviews. I was led to the article by a more recent one written three months later by the same author, Lev Grossman, in which he weighs in on the debate in certain circles between literary fiction and genre fiction. In both this debate and Grossman’s musings on book … Continue reading Who’s To Say: Subverting the Tyranny in Book Reviews

evyOctober 21, 2012December 20, 20224 Comments

Miscellany, Writing Craft

What Some People Are Saying: Book Reviews

Don’t you just love, get exasperated, sometimes get thrilled, even occasionally feel depressed at, the reviews you get for your beloved creation? You pause, take it in, and then, you tell yourself it is as much about the readers as it is about you. Or better yet, it is more about the readers than it is about you. At which point, you ought to relax … Continue reading What Some People Are Saying: Book Reviews

evyAugust 9, 2012December 21, 20222 Comments

Evy's books

My Male Perspective: Review, Margaret of the North

Margaret of the North by Evy Journey is a sequel to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, the romance between Margaret Hale and John Thornton, later dramatized by a 2004, BBC North & South TV serial, a mini-series of four 50-minute episodes with Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage in the lead roles. This novel, Margaret of the North, sensitively gives us the ensuing life histories … Continue reading My Male Perspective: Review, Margaret of the North

evyJune 26, 2012December 21, 20221 Comment