Hillbilly Elegy, A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis By J. D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir by J. D. Vance, a thirty-one year old self-described “hillbilly” from Kentucky. After a stint in the Marines, Yale Law School, and Silicon Valley, Vance hardly qualifies as a hillbilly ... [Continue Reading]
Come From Away and Present Laughter
Come From Away In response to the terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001, thirty-eight international flights were grounded on a Newfoundland island. 6,700 travelers from across the globe were stranded in a series of tiny villages for five days—and thanks to the hard work and gracious ... [Continue Reading]
Dear Evan Hansen and Waitress
Dear Evan Hansen I LOVED Dear Evan Hansen! And I am obsessed with the music. (You do not want to be in the car with me when I am loudly and tunelessly singing along to “For Forever.”) Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect) is terrific as Evan Hansen and so is the rest of the cast. The one musical you must see ... [Continue Reading]
Nashville Home Sales March 2017
HOME SALES March 2017 Home prices continue to rise. For the month of March, the average closing prices were up in Davidson County (14%), Williamson County (9%), Area 2 (12.5%), and Area 6 (5%) compared to last March. Prices for Davidson County condominiums were up 16% over last year. Single ... [Continue Reading]
Mystery Medley
Mystery Medley Home by Harlan Coben Home is the eleventh novel in Coben’s fast-paced series featuring the amiable former college basketball player Myron Bolitar and his sinister sometime sidekick Win. As Home opens, the partners receive a tip that one of two boys kidnapped ten years ago and ... [Continue Reading]
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan A sub genre of the English cozy is the Indian cozy, light hearted detective tales set in the subcontinent. Other than references to the terrible traffic and the appearance of the occasional beggar, the stresses of modern Indian life are ... [Continue Reading]
The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore When my friend Ginna gave me this book (non-fiction), I was a bit mystified. Not having read comic books as a child, I didn’t know anything about Wonder Woman (Linda Carter notwithstanding), and the synopsis on the back cover of the book was ... [Continue Reading]
by Graeme Simsion
If you are looking for a romantic comedy, look no further than The Rosie Project by Australian author Graeme Simsion. After many years of contented singledom, methodical professor of genetics Dr. Don Tillman decides he needs a wife. But rather than depend on traditional match making methods, ... [Continue Reading]
Victoria, The Queen by Julia Baird
Don’t let the frumpy photos fool you-- Queen Victoria was a piece of work. As Prime Minister William Gladstone said with feeling, “The Queen alone is enough to kill any man.” Victoria was self-pitying, stubborn, highly critical (especially of her children), partisan, humorless, selfish, prudish, ... [Continue Reading]
How Does a Remodel Affect Resale?
Nashville has remodeling fever. Partially deconstructed houses, their muddy yards overflowing with pickup trucks, can be found in every neighborhood. And with our hot, hot, hot real estate market, (in Davidson County the average sales price increased 12% from 2015) you’d think that any home ... [Continue Reading]