Skip to content
Snowbird of Paradise

Snowbird of Paradise

Living and Learning

  • Home
  • Welcome!

Tag: Books

September 18, 2022September 18, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Two Very Good Books About Two Bad People Who Think They Are Good

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne Maurice Swift is very handsome. So handsome that both men and women fall in love with him. He is also very ambitious. His two goals in life are to become a renowned writer and to become a parent, and he has no qualms about achieving both by […]

Continue Reading "Two Very Good Books About Two Bad People Who Think They Are Good"
July 31, 2022July 31, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Free Ideas

Little Free Libraries come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are in the boxes sold as kits by the Little Free Library organization. Sometimes they are in repurposed newspaper vending boxes. And sometimes people just leave books lying around for strangers to pick up. I have seen them in airport lounges, on garden walls, […]

Continue Reading "Free Ideas"
May 11, 2022May 12, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Midnight Drive

Midnight Drive by Kenneth Price is available for pre-order at Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble, and will be released on June 1st. It is a gripping crime story that I would recommend even if I were not Ken’s mom.

Continue Reading "Midnight Drive"
April 26, 2022April 26, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Life’s Mysteries, Real and Fictional

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly If you have ever had doubts about what happens to your DNA after you submit it to a genetic analytics company, this book will add to your concerns. It raises the fictional (I hope) possibility that DNA information might be sold on to multiple other companies to do with as […]

Continue Reading "Life’s Mysteries, Real and Fictional"
April 13, 2022April 14, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

The Joy of Not Reading

Don’t get me wrong. I am still reading, but lately I’ve been abandoning some books. It all started when I thought I should work my way through some of the un-heard books in my audiobook files and unread books in my e-reader. Most of them have been there for many years, silently waiting for me […]

Continue Reading "The Joy of Not Reading"
March 22, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow was published in 2008 and, although it discusses computer technology that is now dated, it still has relevance today. It is a book intended for young adults and has teenaged characters who find ways to challenge and disrupt their dystopian world. Marcus is a tech-savvy seventeen-year-old who has figured out […]

Continue Reading "Little Brother by Cory Doctorow"
March 17, 2022March 16, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

History, Hardship, and a Hoopoe

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo This intriguing story is written in an unconventional manner, which I found bewildering at first. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, because it eventually becomes clear that the underlying message is about women who endure hardship and triumph over adversity. It is set in a […]

Continue Reading "History, Hardship, and a Hoopoe"
February 22, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

After I had reviewed The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, her book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents was recommended to me. It is another brilliant and very readable analysis of the social and racial issues facing the United States. Those same issues are facing other countries, too, but the circumstances Wilkerson describes […]

Continue Reading "Caste by Isabel Wilkerson"
December 18, 2021December 18, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Staying Home and Moving About

These two books were both recommended to me, and I am happy to recommend them to you. They are both enjoyable and engaging, although they are very different in style and tone. One is about staying in a home town and the other is about travelling all over the country. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout […]

Continue Reading "Staying Home and Moving About"
November 25, 2021November 24, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Murder Clubs U.S. & U.K.

The 19th Christmas by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro This is one in a series of the Women’s Murder Club thrillers. I had not read any of the other books in this series, but it didn’t matter because the story stands alone. It mostly revolves around only one member of the club, although she draws […]

Continue Reading "Murder Clubs U.S. & U.K."
November 18, 2021February 6, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

When Good Guys Go Bad (And Vice Versa)

Here are two books that I have recently finished. They are both well-written and engaging, but I am left wondering why I want to like the protagonists in the novels I read. The Last Trial by Scott Turow This is one in a series of books about defense lawyer Alejandro “Sandy” Stern. He is eighty-five […]

Continue Reading "When Good Guys Go Bad (And Vice Versa)"
October 29, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Cheap, Cheaper, Free

The three books I have for you to consider today came to me via my Kindle, a sale at the Indigo online bookstore, and my local library. It is fair to say that the cost of each is no indication of their worth. Out Of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. This is a heart-rending […]

Continue Reading "Cheap, Cheaper, Free"
October 3, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books About Love and Loss

These three books are all very different and each is set in a different country, but all three have an understanding of women’s lives and women’s sorrows. Sweetness In The Belly by Camilla Gibb This story begins in Morocco, travels to Ethiopia during Emperor Heile Selassie’s reign, and continues to the London of Margaret Thatcher’s […]

Continue Reading "Three Books About Love and Loss"
June 26, 2021June 26, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Twisted Tails

Each of the three books here has a twist in the tail. They are all great yarns and provide lots of red herrings and dastardly characters to make solving the mysteries very challenging. Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor. A newcomer to the town of Sycamore is exploring her new location when she comes across the remains […]

Continue Reading "Twisted Tails"
April 1, 2021March 31, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Free Ideas

Several years ago, I initiated a free library at my condo complex in San Jose. I asked the Home Owners Association Board for their approval, and they were kind enough to donate some shelving that was in the community room. I moved the shelves to a lounge area, put up a notice about it in […]

Continue Reading "Free Ideas"
March 17, 2021April 14, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books Filled With Dread

If you like books that keep your stomach tied up in knots, then you will enjoy all of these. The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan. A young mother is repeatedly told she is overwrought when she worries about her son’s new granny. The problem is, both his grandmothers have died, and one of […]

Continue Reading "Three Books Filled With Dread"
February 8, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books About Family

Here are three more books you might like and my thoughts about them. Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent. Sometimes children fight for their parents’ affection and/or attention. This story is about what happens when that competition continues into adulthood. It involves three brothers, each of whom is not very likeable but each for different reasons. […]

Continue Reading "Three Books About Family"

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Snowbird of Paradise on WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • Wordless Wednesday 25 January 2023
  • Cable Bay Trail
  • Why-y-y?
  • Gulls In Rows
  • Local History for Seniors
  • Wordless Wednesday 11 January 2023
  • Linley Valley Drive and Linley Valley Cottle Lake Parks
  • Across the Strait of Georgia
  • Nanaimo Sunrise
  • Wild Turkeys (Not Bourbon)

Categories

  • Dating
  • Exploring
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Humour/Humor
  • LGBTQ
  • Living and Learning
  • nature
  • Photography
  • Reading
  • Relationships
  • Retirement
  • Society
  • Street Art, Public Art, Murals
  • Technology
  • Writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
© SnowbirdofParadise.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to SnowbirdofParadise.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
A WordPress.com Website.
  • Follow Following
    • Snowbird of Paradise
    • Join 1,075 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Snowbird of Paradise
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar