Author Archives: bseat

The Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 48)

Posted on February 19, 2021 by bseat

Are science and faith incompatible? That is the underlying question in Gyasi’s novel The Transcendent Kingdom, but she explores it as if using a kaleidoscope, twisting the picture so that new images and understandings emerge and we can see things … Continue reading →

Posted in An Antiracist Education, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Spiritual | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 47)

Posted on February 12, 2021 by bseat

One night, at an exclusive and remote hotel on the tip of Vancouver Island, someone etched with acid the following words on the large picture window in the bar: “Why don’t you swallow broken glass.”  Who was the message for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Snow by John Banville (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 46)

Posted on February 5, 2021 by bseat

You can’t get more appropriate than reading a book called “Snow” during a winter snow storm! Banville is a new author to me, but I know I will be reading more of his work.  It is a snowy winter day, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Books to Read During a Pandemic, part 45)

Posted on January 29, 2021 by bseat

Fredrik Backman has been on my radar ever since I read A Man Called Ove. He has a unique perspective and a wry way of delivering his insights on the human condition. In Anxious People, Backman has taken a bank … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Detective novel, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance | 2 Comments

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, Books to Read During Pandemic, Part 44)

Posted on January 22, 2021 by bseat

The blurb for this book says it is a “…a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.” I think that description encapsulates much of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 43)

Posted on January 15, 2021 by bseat

Daniel Mason, is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. The Piano Tuner was published before The Winter Soldier which I really enjoyed and reviewed previously, and I found it just as engrossing and even more lyrical and mysterious. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thirst by Mary Oliver (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 42)

Posted on January 8, 2021 by bseat

What better way to start the New Year then to settle in and read some poems by Mary Oliver! I have begun to appreciate her poetry more deeply as the years go by. She is a chronicler of the human … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Poetry, Spiritual | 1 Comment

Best Books of 2020- A Year End Wrap Up (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 41)

Posted on January 1, 2021 by bseat

At the beginning of this new year, I want to take some time to review what I consider to be the best books I read during 2020. Early in the year I read, This Tender Land by Krueger, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, End of Year Summary | Leave a comment

Merry Christmas! (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 40)

Posted on December 25, 2020 by bseat

What a strange year and what a strange Christmas! I hope that you have celebrated safely and have been able to find some sense of joy despite the social distancing, illness and fear that has dominated our lives this year. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Christmas books | Leave a comment

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson ( Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 39)

Posted on December 18, 2020 by bseat

Troublesome Creek, Kentucky in the 1930’s is a hardscrabble place to live, filled with prejudice and superstition. Many of the men work in mines that are not safe and the women stay at home in the backwoods and hollers trying … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment