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Posts by Molly W

Tempered glass

Cover of Face It
A review of Face It by Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry's autobiography Face It is a beautifully packaged book. The cover and paper stock are exceptionally high quality and the pages are filled with photographs and fan art never before shared with the public. I loved all of this. I have happy memories of dancing around in my cousin's bedroom to Blondie's Autoamerican in 1981 and thought "Rapture" was the best thing I'd ever heard. Almost 40 years later and I still think that's true.

Dec 12, 2019

The enormity of life

Cover of Red at the Bone
A review of Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson's third adult novel explores the role of history and community in shaping the lives of family. It is a stunner and heartbreaker, starting with the title, Red at the Bone. Imagine the point at which the human body is at its most raw and hurt state. That's what red at the bone is described as by one of the main characters, Iris, like there is something inside of her undone and bleeding.

Dec 6, 2019

When it means the world

Cover of The Year of the Dogs
A review of The Year of the Dogs by Vincent J. Musi

Vincent Musi was a freelance photographer for National Geographic for more than 25 years when he decided to try something different. His son was sixteen years old and growing up quickly and Musi did not want to accept assignments that would take him overseas for long stretches of time during his son's final years of high school. Travel was a basic requirement for National Geographic photographers and Musi wanted to stay close to home. So he built a studio and named it The Unleashed Studio and started capturing the essence of one of my favorite creatures: the dog. This was

Nov 20, 2019

Pumpkins as a muse

Cover of Pumpkinheads
A review of Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks with colorist Sarah Stern

Fall is here, school is in full swing and harvest time is now. That means visits to apple orchards, corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks is the perfect book to read to celebrate the season.

Oct 30, 2019

It takes guts to talk about stomach problems

Cover of Guts
A review of Guts by Raina Telgemeier

It's important to talk about tough topics and Raina Telgemeier's latest graphic novel transforms discussion about gastrointestinal troubles. The Telgemeier household is plagued by stomach flu for days at the beginning of Raina's autobiographical story and that sets the stage for a 4th grade year filled with vomit, diarrhea, farting, gas and other bathroom issues. The boys in fourth grade are obsessed with grossing everyone out and the girls are becoming increasingly secretive.

Oct 25, 2019

This scared me to death last week-end and I've read it before!

Carmilla
A review of Carmilla: A Vampyre Tale by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

'Tis the season for chilling and creepy, ghostly and ghoulish, gory and grisly. This makes it the perfect time to read Carmilla! Victorian writer Le Fanu wrote Carmilla in 1872 and it's considered the first Vampire novel and a precursor to Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's a quick read and the perfect listen if you're driving for approximately 3 hours on a dark and rainy night.

Oct 9, 2019

From getting coffee to running the newsroom

Cover of There's No Crying in Newsr
A review of There's No Crying in Newsrooms: What Women Have Learned about What It Takes to Lead by Kristin Gilger and Julia Wallace

It's been two steps forward, one step back for women in media organizations across the United States over the past four decades. Kristin Gilger and Julia Wallace have gathered stories from many of the most influential women of the newsrooms and dissect what it takes to succeed in male-dominated organizations when you are female. Some of the stories cemented my admiration for media superstars in perpetuity.  International correspondent and legend Christiane Amanpour, that shout-out is for you.

Sep 30, 2019

Granting wishes. Kleenex required.

Cover of Noise: Based on a True Sto
A review of Noise: Based on a True Story by Kathleen Raymundo

This short and thought provoking comic will tug at your heartstrings. It's the first day of school and an introverted girl who wants to be left alone finds an empty seat on the bus. She settles in for a ride of quiet and solitude. This is interrupted by a curious and talkative little boy who keeps pestering her for school supplies. His constant requests and questions wear her down and she finally snaps at him.

Sep 23, 2019

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