Last week, I put the call out for a little fun and you answered! The results for round one of our 2020 Spring Hunkness Championship are in. There were some close calls, some not-so-close calls, and the surprise upset of our reigning champion, Roger Wakefield, getting knocked out off the bat by that wuthering devil … More Spring Hunkness: Round Two – The Elite Eighteen
I’m going to be honest with you, bookish friends. I’ve had a hard time focusing on reading lately. With everything going on in the world, it seems like all I can do is obsessively watch the news, read the news, then worry, worry, worry. I’ve found myself wondering when I’ll ever feel the joy of … More Amy Sue Nathan’s The Last Bathing Beauty–The Summer Escape We All Need
Look out for wayward streamers and get ready for sugar high. Book Perfume is five years old today! Half a decade ago, I started this journey with a post about my undying love of Little Women’s Professor Bhaer and I haven’t looked back since. Well, that’s not entirely true. I look back on occasion to … More Jump and Jive! Book Perfume is FIVE!
It’s time to deck the halls and gather with your most beloved companions. Yes, I realize Christmas in July is over, but I’m talking about a real celebration. It’s BOOK LOVERS DAY! You knew I meant deck the halls with loads of books and gather with your most beloved hardcover or paperback companions, right? For … More Ten Ways to Celebrate Book Lovers Day
Guys, I’m smitten. Actually, I’m more than smitten. I’m head over heels, unabashedly gaga, and for once I’m not even referring to my dog. (Although I am quite smitten by him too, thankyouverymuch.) The object of my adoration is Allie Larkin’s latest novel, Swimming for Sunlight, and I truly cannot gush about it enough. Swimming … More Swimming for Sunlight by Allie Larkin Will Have You Swimming in Emotions
Wedding season is in full bloom and you know what that means: hot guys in tuxes! I can think of a million dashing hunks I’d like to see bustin’ a move to Justin Timberlake on the dance floor, but there’s one best man/eventual groom my mind keeps turning to time and time again—and for once … More Literary Hunk of June: Nicholas Young
I have a soft spot for books that make me weep openly in public, and that’s exactly what Susan Gloss’s beautiful new novel, The Curiosities, did. Set in Madison, WI, The Curiosities introduces us to a cast of memorable characters, each at a breaking point in his or her own way. At the center of … More The Curiosities by Susan Gloss: Curious Beauty on Every Page
It’s far too late for me to wish you all a happy new year, but since I was apparently too busy over the past month stuffing my face with cookies, cookies, and more cookies, I’ll go ahead and say: HAPPY 2019! I’ll argue that it’s never too late to wish someone a happy year. I’ll … More New Year, New Blogs!
It’s official: I’m packing up and moving to Guthrie, Vermont! Okay, so I can’t actually move to Guthrie because, well, it’s fictional, but after reading Louise Miller’s debut novel, The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living, two years ago, I fell truly, madly in love with everything about the quaint little town. Now, with her … More The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller: As Warm, Winning and Wonderful as They Come
Seven years ago, I fell in madly in love with Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife. It was exquisitely written, stocked with complicated and memorable characters, and it tapped into the first marriage of my literary main squeeze, Ernest Hemingway. I loved McLain’s rich blend of history and imagination and how it resulted in a gorgeous … More Fall in Love with Paula McLain’s Love and Ruin
Book Perfume 