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Writing, Reading, and Rural Life With a Border Collie

Tag Archives: Kristin Hannah


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‘Want Some Ketchup With That Crow?’

Yo! Wazzup?

 

Kimber: The ‘Ole Curmudgeon (TOC) can’t come to the blog right now. She’s hunting up the nearest plate and fork. So I’m gonna take over for a min, okay?

Now. You know that the OC is like, super-duper opinionated. On Pretty. Much. Everything. Especially books. We don’t apologize for that one bit. In fact, it’s one of Mom’s best features. (I can’t remember the other two at the moment. Can I get back to you on that that?)

Anyway, Mom’s been whaling away on the last few Kristin Hannah novels she read. Cuz they were like, lousy. Lookin’ at you, The Women. Distant Shores. Summer Island. The Four Winds. Barf-o-rama x4.

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Hannah’s ‘The Women’: Awesome or Arugula?

 

The Women

By Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press, 2024)

Genre: Historical Fiction/Vietnam

Via: Library

Pages: 464 (Print)

If you’ve been reading with us for any length of time – say, 20 minutes or so – you know that Mom and I are singularly unimpressed by the words “Best-selling author.” Or its kissing cousins, “(fill in the blank) Award Winner” and “Over a bazillion copies in print.” The fact that everyone and their neighbor’s cat is crowing about a new release impresses us about as much as a plate of overcooked arugula.

Yea, verily. We’ve heaped praise on unknown indie authors who’ve earned it. We’ve also panned Pulitzer Prize winners who deserved it. Ya just never know.

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Fiction & Non Two-Fer!

She Who Must Be Obeyed (sort of) says we’re doin’ a ‘two-fer’ today! I’m thinkin’ bacon and more bacon! Or peanut butter! But nooooo! Her Momness says we’re doin’ two books by two different female authors. One fiction. One non. Both have strong female characters or POVs.

They are She Left Me the Gun: My Mother’s Life Before Me by Emma Brockes (non-fiction). The other is On Mystic Lake. By Kristin Hannah.

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Why THE GREAT ALONE Blows THE FOUR WINDS Away

Mom and I? We get it. We’re supposed to go gaga over every new Kristin Hannah novel that comes down the cat. Yes, Hannah is one of our favorite writers. She proves her mettle once again in The Great Alone. So what happened with The Four Winds?

I’ll let Mom explain. (You know how Mom is, right?):

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3 Surprising Packages of Hope

Kimber here. I bet you think Her Crankiness is… 100% cranky, right? So do I. (Don’t tell Mom, okay? Let’s just keep this our little secret.)

But every once in a while Mom surprises me. Not that I’m surprise-able. But …

Wait. Where was I?

Oh yeah. Mom and I read a trio of books recently that were … surprising. They were quite different from each other, too. Think dogs and cats. (Well, okay. Maybe not cats. But you get the picture.)

Anyway, the first book is a delightful new Christian romance from Kim Vogel Sawyer. The second is a non-fiction “travel tome with a twist” from Joseph F. Smith, M.D. There’s also an historical fiction novel by Kristin Hannah.

All get an Official Thumbs Up from Her Crankiness. Here’s why (short version):

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Gold Standard in Historical Fiction?

Calling all fans of historical fiction and anyone else who can fog a mirror!

Today we’re reviewing three outstanding novels. They’re all historical fiction. All are set during World War II. Anchoring these narratives are strong women who survive and flourish against the odds.

Mom says The Nightingale and Cilka’s Journey are two disturbing but outstanding reads. And that The Things We Cannot Say is one of the year’s best. (And she reads alot. When she’s not out walking with me.)

Taken together, these three novels may represent the “gold standard” for historical fiction. 

So sit tight and get ready to dive in.  Let’s go!

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