top of page

LiteratureLust
.com
The Insatiable Desire for the Written Word
Home: Welcome
Search


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


Reading By Yourself, Together With Others. Literary Festival, Anyone?
Exciting things are happening in India where tens of thousands of young people are attending literary festivals. Hope it happens in America!

Melissa Gouty
Mar 23, 20253 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


A Brilliant Idea for Publishers: The Novel, The Echo of Old Books
The book blurb teased me with the premise that some people can sense the emotional imprint of the book's previous owner.

Melissa Gouty
Mar 4, 20254 min read


Want Great Historical Fiction? The Fight to Survive in the Novel, Isola
Storytelling is an art elevated to the level of "great" when it's based on truth, as in the case of Isola, a novel by Allegra Goodman.

Melissa Gouty
Mar 2, 20255 min read


Do You Know What a "Blook" Is? Neither Did I!
An exhibit at the Center for Book Arts in New York showcases bold and daring items that look like books but aren't..."Blooks!"

Melissa Gouty
Feb 26, 20253 min read


What You Might Not Know About Alex Haley and Roots
Roots won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation in 1977, and the novel won the National Book Award Special Citation for History that same year.

Melissa Gouty
Feb 19, 20256 min read


A New Way Writers Can Look at Rejection
“Rejection-math” can feed your fire and heighten your hope Calculating "rejection math." Photo: Unsplash Rejection is a universal...

Melissa Gouty
Feb 19, 20256 min read


Do You Want to Know How Long You'll Live? Read the Novel, The Measure
The Measure hooked me and led me to a series of questions that extended far beyond the first one: "Do I want to know how long I will live?"

Melissa Gouty
Feb 18, 20254 min read


What’s The Most Beautiful Book Cover You Have On Your Shelf? (Are There Any?)
Everything looks like a pastel pop-art poster, a jolt of color and flat, graphic font — they all look the same

Melissa Gouty
Feb 12, 20255 min read


What Are the Best Books You've Ever Read? Those Are Your Ideal Bookshelf!
An ideal bookshelf is a painting of the books that most represent you, the books you love the most. What's on yours?

Melissa Gouty
Feb 10, 20258 min read


Listen, World: The Amazing Story of One Courageous Female Journalist
This biography by Alison Gilbert and Julia Scheeres tells of Elsie Robinson who became a writer with 20 million readers in the mid 1900s.

Melissa Gouty
Feb 2, 20257 min read


How Can A Powerful Nation Have So Many Children Who Can't Read?
Educators hoped that the effects of the pandemic would diminish and reading scores would begin to climb again, but the opposite is true.

Melissa Gouty
Jan 31, 20256 min read


Need Some Pleasurable Perusing? Get Bibliophile - Made for Book Lovers
If you love books, you must have Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany! by author/illustrator, Jane Mount.
I

Melissa Gouty
Jan 25, 20253 min read
This website contains affiliate links.
If you purchase a book or a product linked here, I may receive a small portion of the sale.

bottom of page



