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Buckeye: A Slice of Americana During WWII
Patrick Ryan's 2025 novel, Buckeye, is a vivid slice of Americana during WWII, depicting small-town life in Ohio and shedding insight on the human condition.

Melissa Gouty
Dec 28, 20254 min read


Crow Mary: A Woman You'll Cheer. A History That Hurts.
Crow Mary is a compelling story with strong characters, an interesting plot, and a feeling of what it must have been like to be a Native American woman at a time when her world was irrevocably changing.

Melissa Gouty
Dec 15, 20254 min read


The Widow: Could She Really Have $20 Million in Assets?
A little old lady walks into Simon Latch's small-town law office, claiming she needs a new will because another lawyer in town has done some devious dealings in the law she had him update. Simon begins to understand why a colleague across the street may have adopted some unscrupulous tactics based on what this unassuming widow claims. She and her husband have lived very simply, frugally, for decades, amassing a fortune of about twenty million dollars. Maybe.

Melissa Gouty
Dec 2, 20253 min read


Books for The Readers in Your Life
if you like the idea of giving a "good read" to someone you love, here are just a few ideas. I'm including a brief summary of what the book was about and a link to the full article where you can buy the book on either Amazon.com or Bookshop.org.

Melissa Gouty
Nov 29, 202511 min read


The Power of History, Mystery, and DANGEROUS WOMEN
The framework of the novel is based on the real “Rajah” quilt, the appliqued coverlet now in the care of the National Gallery of Australia. The quilt depicted in Dangerous Women is the only extant, historically documented quilt made by convicts.

Melissa Gouty
Nov 21, 20254 min read


The Dictionary of Lost Words: Language of Women Ignored in the OED
The Dictionary of Lost Words is a look at not only how the Oxford English Dictionary was created under the direction of James Murray, but also how it omitted the words of women.

Melissa Gouty
Nov 20, 20255 min read


Thinking of Art Heists? Try the Best-Selling Novel, Portrait of a Thief
What happens when five Chinese American students receive an offer to steal back five pieces of valuable art that has been misappropriated by the best art museums of the world?

Melissa Gouty
Nov 10, 20254 min read


Should You Keep Reading a Book You Don't Like Hoping It Will Get Better?
Do you keep reading a book you don't like thinking it will get better? For the first time in years, I quit, deciding that too many books await that will delight me!

Melissa Gouty
Nov 6, 20254 min read


The Novel, Broken Country, Made Me Scream, "Don't Do It!"
Clare Leslie Hall's Broken Country is a bestselling novel dealing with love, grief, and the impacts of trauma on a marriage with a plot twist that shocks you!

Melissa Gouty
Oct 23, 20254 min read


The NEW Trend in Book Covers: The Artsy Intellectual
Classic Art with Bold Fonts One of the joys of lingering for hours in bookstores is looking at the cover art. Such fun! All those books flashing designs filled with color, words, illustrations, and graphics, lined up like masterpieces in a miniature art gallery, each one shouting for me to notice it. While I often know the books I want to buy when I walk in, I don't always choose the ones on my pre-planned purchase list because I'm distracted by those pretty books with catch

Melissa Gouty
Sep 30, 20253 min read


Fever in the Heartland: Nonfiction That Reads Like a Horror Story
Timothy Egan's, Fever in the Heartland, about the rise of the KKK in Indiana in the 1920s, is a powerful account of D.C. Stephenson and political power gone awry.

Melissa Gouty
Sep 12, 20256 min read


Oh, My Friends! One Novel You Absolutely Shouldn't Pass Up
Fredrik Backman's, My Friends, is a poignant, funny, beautiful story of art, youth, and the redemptive power of love. You will laugh, cry, and be glad you read it!

Melissa Gouty
Aug 27, 20255 min read


Things Past Telling - One Slave's Epic Life. Best Narration Ever!
Sheila Williams' Novel, "Things Past Telling," is a moving, memorable story about the wrongs committed by slavery as well as a tribute to the survival of one hundred+ year old woman named Mama Grace.

Melissa Gouty
Aug 19, 20255 min read


Would Your Life Make Sense in Letters? Read the Novel, The Correspondent
The Correspondent focuses on an older woman who has spent her life writing letters, dribbling out her story in missives to others, a lasting legacy of a complicated woman.

Melissa Gouty
Aug 17, 20256 min read


Want to Take a Hot Summer Hike Vicariously? Read the Novel, Heartwood
Amity Gaige's novel, Heartwood, is the story of Valerie Gillis, a hiker lost on the Appalachian Trail, and the dedication of other women who work to find her.

Melissa Gouty
Jun 24, 20255 min read


Lover of Penguins? Seals? Mystery? You Must Read the Novel, Wild Dark Shore
So it's no surprise that a book about a family on an isolated island, caretakers of a global seed bank and observers of a harsh but stunning natural environment filled with penguins and seals, grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go.

Melissa Gouty
Jun 8, 20255 min read


Do You Know the Crazy Complexities of Female Friendship? My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante's Novel I met Sandy Budd in third grade, and while I don't remember the exact circumstances of our introduction, I do know...

Melissa Gouty
Apr 24, 20255 min read


Can You Learn from a Novel that Makes You Squirm? Read Magda Revealed
The story of Mary Magdalene in Magda Revealed by Ursula Werner is a decidedly, unapologetic, unabashed feminist retelling of what we know as the Jesus story. The language is lovely. The characters are strong. The tone is modern, and the conclusions made me squirm.
Read it and decide for yourself whether it's a faith-strengthener or a faith-buster.

Melissa Gouty
Apr 14, 20256 min read


Would You Risk Your Life For an Enemy? The Novel, The Jackal's Mistress
Bojhalian's The Jackal's Mistress has plenty of "big issues." The book is set in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the Civil War.

Melissa Gouty
Apr 7, 20254 min read


Want a Great Self-Published Novel? Try The Secret Life of Sunflowers
Indie Historical Fiction by Marta Molnar Surprised by delight I have no idea how I found this book, whether I read a review or saw a...

Melissa Gouty
Mar 13, 20255 min read
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