Literary Fiction Archives - Novel Visits

2021 Underrated Gems

Susie — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 11:00:31 +0000

It’s that time of year. The year-end lists are going to start popping up all over the place and this blog is no exception. I’m kicking things off with 2021 Underrated Gems. These are books I loved this year, but that didn’t seem to get a whole lot of attention. It’s hard to know why that is sometimes, but it happens. For some reason these books just didn’t gain the traction they needed, so I’m hoping to give them a little boost since all six are books I’d highly recommend!

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DEBUTS ~ My Favorites of 2020

Susie — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 11:00:16 +0000

I’ve always been drawn to debut novels and 2020 was no exception. Of the 110 books I’ve finished as of this writing, 39 have been debuts. That’s 35% of my reading! I feel like so many debuts are really special because the author held their story inside for a long time and then worked so hard to put it on paper for all of us. I may be romanticizing it a little, but I so appreciate that initial effort of getting a first book published. Though many 2020 debuts were excellent, these nine books stand out, and more than one will surely make my 2020 Best Books of the Year. (In order of publication.)…

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Audiobook Mini-Reviews A Round-Up of Four Recent Listens

Susie — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 10:00:15 +0000

Over the last month I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks. In June almost half my reading (7 out of 15 books) was on audio. I had a couple of long drives in there which added to my listening time, and honestly, I just plain love listening to a great book. So, today I’m sharing four audiobooks, including three backlist books and one upcoming release. Happy listening! …

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A Round-Up of Four Recent Listens appeared first on Novel Visits.

Brilliant Older Books You May Have Missed | More

Susie — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 12:51:18 +0000

In the midst of our strange new world, reading has been something many of us can take comfort in. For me, the first couple of weeks were really hard and my concentration was awful, but happily that has improved. Writing, on the other hand, I’m still struggling with, so once again I’m going to re-share a past post. This one is perfect for right now since libraries are closed and so many of us are relying on apps like Libby or OverDrive to get books electronically. The ten books here are all older and so much easier to quickly pick up. I hope you find a brilliant older book (7+ years) or two that you may have missed and can now enjoy!

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Novel Visits 2019 Fall Preview | More

Susie — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 10:00:01 +0000

I know summer is in no way officially over, but I head back to work next week, so it’s beginning to feel a lot like fall around here. With the season of falling leaves, Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner my mind can’t help but turn to fall books. Typically fall is a time when publishers release some of their most highly anticipated books and this year is no exception. With luck, the books on this preview will bring me as much success as those on my 2019 Summer Preview. Of the 15 there, eight I loved, including 3 that will easily be in the running for best books of the year, and I only DNF’d 2. Fingers crossed fall releases are just as good. I hope you find a few here to add to your own “to be read” list!…

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Mini-Reviews: A “Clearing the Shelves” Edition, Volume 3

Susie — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:00:02 +0000

I’ve read several books over the last couple months that I have yet to review. With the year wrapping up soon, I realized it’s time! Today I’ll briefly share four books published either this year or last. Some I liked very much and others? Not so much. I also read a couple of older backlist books, The Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill and Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. I’m not going to be reviewing either of those, so I’ll just leave it at skip the first one, but read the latter!…

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Hidden Gems from the Last Five Years | More

Susie — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 10:00:13 +0000

You know those books that absolutely spoke to you, but that just didn’t seem to get the attention they deserved? We probably can all think of many of these hidden gems. Today I’m sharing ten of my favorites, two from each of the last five years. I hope you’ll find a book of two to add to your own cache of backlist books.

Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

From 2014

The Beautiful American by Jeanne Mackin – Everything about this historical fiction spoke to me. It combined the real life of famed model/photographer Lee Miller with that of its main fictional character, Nora Tours. Much of the book took place in one of my very favorite, locales, Paris and it spanned a favorite era, the 1920’s through WWII. Plus, the story itself was excellent!…

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My Week in Books 9/10/18 | More

Susie — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 10:00:23 +0000

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

I hope everyone’s fall is off to a great start. September is always a bit of a bumpy month for me. Getting used to a routine again after a couple months without one seems to take me a little longer every year. Couple that with lots of meetings and it makes for some pretty long days. During stressful times books become even more of an escape for me than usual. I may not have as much time as I’d like with them, but getting lost in a book is always a huge comfort for me.

Last Week’s Reads

I only had about an hour left in One True Thing by Anna Quindlen, so finished listening to it early last week. …

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The Distance Home by Paula Saunders | Review

Susie — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 10:00:19 +0000

The Distance Home by Paula Saunders (debut)
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Length: 304 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

The life story of René, middle daughter of a South Dakota family battling to find ways to love one and other….

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Wrapping It Up! June 2018 | More

Susie — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 10:00:25 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but 2018 is already half over. Is it just me, or is time simply moving faster and faster? I think it’s an age thing. The older we get the faster time seems to move. Oh, well. It’s summer and that means family, vacations, fun and extra reading time. I can only hope that the rest of my summer reading is half as stellar as June books were. Three out of the nine books on My Favorite Books of 2018 (so far) list from earlier in the week were June releases. Making June my best month of the year, by far!

{My June, Books & Blog}

The Cream of the Crop

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