Reviews + Articles
David Chaudoir’s Favorites of 2023
My friend, David Chaudoir, has reviewed here once, and I've mentioned him a few times. I'm posting the favorites in the order I received them, and David's was the second to come in. David is an anthropologist and storyteller who travels the world. He and I were...
A Peek ahead
Because I'm trying to read a book every two days for Library Journal, I don't always have time to finish the book I'm reading for my blog. I don't like to talk about them much, except on Thursdays, because that spoils the actual review. I do have a review or two...
Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto
Shoji Morimoto is so determined to do nothing that someone else actually wrote his memoir, Rental Person Who Does Nothing. Morimoto contributed to the book by answering questions. While the whole concept is fascinating, there are concepts that are very Japanese,...
Nineteen Years of Book Chats
Nineteen years. Lesa's Book Critiques was nineteen years old yesterday. In recent years, I've forgotten to mark the date until after it passed. But, it's worth mentioning. That's a lot of books to read and talk about, a lot of authors to host. Somedays, it seems...
First Giveaway of the Year
Since I moved, giveaways will be a little more sporadic than they were - not every Friday. I don't have the number of books that I used to have, and publishers are slow to send physical books. But, every once in a while, I'll throw out a contest. This week, I have...
The Amish Wife by Gregg Olsen
Gregg Olsen has been obsessed with the story of Ida Stutzman for close to forty years. In his book, Abandoned Prayers, he wrote about Ida's husband, Eli, the tragic death of their nine-year-old son, Danny, and the events that surrounded Eli and the discovery of...