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Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About Mrs Smith Reads

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CBR10 participant
CBR11 participant

Gin-soaked, mildly European democratic-socialist popinjay and avid curator of esoteric ephemera. I work in the future. US passport, Netherlands resident, global citizen. My goal this year is to read authors from diverse backgrounds, especially women, and non-western writers, particularly speculative fiction, political analysis and historical memoirs. (Occasional cursing.)

Mrs Smith Reads's Reviews:

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If you don’t understand women, don’t make one your main character.

Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

April 4, 2019 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

Labyrinth of the Spirits is the fourth and final novel in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s a fitting end to an enjoyable series, and does an admirable job of gathering up all the loose threads of the three previous books. Like The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game and The Prisoner of Heaven, Labyrinth of the Spirits tells a magical mystery story of the dark days of Franco’s Fascist Spain. It does not disappoint in the telling of the story, and I was (mostly) engrossed […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: Carlos Ruiz Záfon, Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Fiction, Labyrinth of the Spirits, Spain

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR11 Review No:2 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery · Tags: Carlos Ruiz Záfon, Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Fiction, Labyrinth of the Spirits, Spain ·
Rating:
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The Nobel committee doesn’t always get it right.

Democracy In Chains by Nancy MacLean

April 2, 2019 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

I am so far behind on CBR reviews! So, I’m gonna try and get back in the game with this book that I finished just after Christmas 2018. I should probably say up front that if you aren’t into US politics, this probably isn’t for you. But, if you’d like a good historical view of the present-day GOP party and how we got here, well, dive into this one. You won’t be sorry. Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean is an in-depth examination of the early right-wing Libertarian […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Democracy in Chains, Koch Brothers, Nancy MacLean, politics

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR11 Review No:1 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Democracy in Chains, Koch Brothers, Nancy MacLean, politics ·
Rating:
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Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back [Boxed Set] by Dr PL Travers

November 30, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads 3 Comments

[1/2 CANNONBALL!!!] [BINGO 4 & BINGO 5] After a steady stretch of some seriously challenging reading, I decided that to fill my final CBR10 Bingo square for “The Book Was Better,” I’d read something cheerful and pleasant. So, Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back by PL Travers it was! They were a perfect choice. Since I had only ever seen the Julie Andrews movie from 1964, and had never read any of the books in the series, this seemed a perfect opportunity to read the source material before Mary Poppins Returns comes out […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction Tagged With: cbr10bingo, Children, Dr PL Travers, Fiction, Mary Poppins

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:26 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction · Tags: cbr10bingo, Children, Dr PL Travers, Fiction, Mary Poppins ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

…to wound the autumnal city.

Dhalgren by Samuel R Delany

November 28, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads 3 Comments

[BINGO 3] I’ve read Dhalgren so many times. Every time is different. Sometimes I devour it, blocking out everything else going on around me. Other times, I read it slowly, with long breaks, dipping in here and there, and savouring each section as I go, as if it was just a collection of stories. I’ve been reading it again in 2018, and not surprisingly, this time felt completely different. One thing is for sure about Dhalgren, it is regarded as Samuel R Delany’s masterpiece of science fiction, but […]

Filed Under: Science Fiction Tagged With: cbr10bingo, Dhalgren, Samuel R Delany, science fiction

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:25 · Genres: Science Fiction · Tags: cbr10bingo, Dhalgren, Samuel R Delany, science fiction ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

“Fear is Power”

Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward

November 28, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

I did not like reading Fear by Bob Woodward, and I suspect that no one else has either. I can’t say that I learned anything new about the Trump presidency—though my worst fears were confirmed. Trump is not smart. He is not thoughtful. He has no human emotions beyond greed and contempt. Trump is lazy and vengeful. The only *facts* Trump knows are the ones he makes up in his head. Trump’s administration are frankly more evil than Trump himself. Despite their belief that they are “protecting” the […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Bob Woodward, cbr10bingo, Fear, politics, Trump

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:24 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Bob Woodward, cbr10bingo, Fear, politics, Trump ·
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Add Friday Black to your Black Friday shopping list!

Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

November 21, 2018 by Mrs Smith Reads Leave a Comment

[BINGO #2!] In this most holy month of guerrilla bargain shopping which begins with the Happy Holiday season of Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays, I couldn’t think of a better book to review than Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Both Roxanne Gay and George Saunders are singing the praises of this fresh young author, and everyone should be reading this outstanding collection of short stories. Adjei-Brenyah’s tales whipsaw between dystopian near futures of shopping madness in “Friday Black,” where stores just pile up the dead bodies so […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Short Stories Tagged With: cbr10bingo, Fiction, Friday Black, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, short stories

Mrs Smith Reads's CBR10 Review No:23 · Genres: Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: cbr10bingo, Fiction, Friday Black, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, short stories ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • ASKReviews on It’s Not All In My HeadOh thank you! I hope you like the book.
  • ASKReviews on I See the AppealYay! I hope you enjoy it!
  • ingres77 on I don’t want to be that guy….but Cormac McCarthy wrote a really good book.Could not agree more about the punctuation. And the audiobook was superb. I don’t know if I said that. i would usually recommend the book...
  • narfna on I don’t want to be that guy….but Cormac McCarthy wrote a really good book.I've only read one book by Cormac McCarthy, and I swore I'd never read another. One, because his lack of punctuation pisses me off. He's...
  • narfna on More of this, please.You're welcome!
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