"The Plot" (ISBN 978-1250790767) is all about the extenuating circumstances of birth.
Jean Hanff Korelitz's ("The Devil and Webster") new novel is a book within a book. It is all about how mothers and daughters come to reckon with each other when the girl grows up and wants to leave the parent's home. It is all about the circumstances around babies not wished to be born. It's a scathing examination of a mother's, and daughter's, needs in life and how to get them.
And that is the substantial plot from a purloined idea.
It's hot, boys and girls. Thankfully, my wife finally let me use the air conditioner in our bedroom last night. It is a yearly struggle to get permission from her to use the air conditioner. This year it has not been that hot so far in Japan. But over this past weekend, it got warm quick, fast, and in a hurry. I happily turned my air conditioner on full blast!
What do you do to keep cool in the summer? Let the Icon know in the comments!
"(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay"- Otis Redding (1967)
With the release of 2021's New York Time's best-selling novel, "Dark Sky" (G.P. Putnam ISBN-13-978-1-4328-8563-2) C.J. Box ("Open Season", "Long Range") increases his count of "Joe Pickett" books to a truly binge-worthy twenty-one.
The novel is an elegant ode to the opportunities of living in America, and an indictment of civil war. Grisham writes with intense compassion for his characters and the world they live in. It is a joy to read while understanding a different world exists
First off, I apologize for being gone so long. Life throws stuff at us that alters our plans without warning. But that stuff is over now and I have time to read again. And what a book to begin with.
John Grisham's thirty-ninth novel, Sooley ( Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-54768-0) is a masterwork written by an author at the top of his game. And a game is just what this novel about. Basketball.
Reviewed/Written by Craig Hoffman
My long work day got the best of me one late evening. I spent a good number of minutes griping to my lovely wife. I complained about my company, my boss, my coworkers, and even my lunch.
“What would you like me to do about all that?”
“I don't know. Sympathize? Empathize?”
“What difference would that make?”
“Heigh-Ho”- The Seven Dwarfs, Disney (1937)
Workers around the world can relate to this classic tune. The daily slog can get the best of even the most dedicated of employees.
