I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. I came across a nifty little film based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, The Bookshop. This short novel was the first time I read a book about a bookstore. This story is of a woman determined to open the first bookstore in a sleepy little English town. Fitzgerald has had three novels shortlisted for the Booker prize. In 1979, she captured the prize for Offshore. This is my third reading

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Ages ago, I got a copy of The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier . What followed was a storm of varied and interesting stories—mostly about women and how they are swept aside in deference to men. A Single Thread, Tracy’s latest novel, is no exception.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Alix Nathan has recently finished an exciting, troubling, and ghastly novel. The title is The Warlow Experiment.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. I always enjoy reading a new, young writer, especially when she can spin a decent tale. Amy Meyerson has done this with her debut novel, The Bookshop of Yesterdays. Of course, some of my loyal listeners might recognize this story as one revolving around a bookshop. My taste for this genre received a boost with the recent opening of The Fabled Bookshop and Café in Waco.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. In amongst all the exciting and suspenseful novels I have reviewed, I came upon a funny, interesting little book Ex Libris” Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. This slim volume of a mere 162 pages is full of humor and wisdom. According to the cover, “ Ex Libris recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language.” Anne is the editor of The American Scholar. She has won a

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. My encounter with Kristin Hannah’s work came from her exciting and suspense-filled novel, The Great Alone . It tells the story of Ernt Albright, his wife Cora, and their 13-year-old-daughter, Leni. Ernt was a captured POW in Vietnam. When he finally returned home, he was thoroughly broken. He suffered from a severe case of PTSD. He has lost another job and verges on the edge of complete

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. According to the dust jacket, “Brock Clarke is an award-winning author of seven previous works of fiction, including the bestselling An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England. He lives in Maine and he teaches at Bowdoin College.” His latest novel, Who Are You, Calvin Bledsoe? is one peculiar book.

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Richard Russo is a talented and widely admired writer. His latest novel Chances Are… is the story of “Three old friends [who] arrived on Cape Cod in reverse order, from farthest to nearest: Lincoln , a commercial real estate broker, traveled practically cross-country from Las Vegas, Teddy . A small press publisher, from Syracuse; Mickey , a musician and sound engineer. All were sixty

I’m Jim McKeown , welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and biographies. Toni Morrison is one of the great writers of her generation. Few writers have the emotional and literary power of Morrison. Add to that her development of many stories of the African American experience. She deftly spins tales of great passion, empathy, and love. Morrison gives readers a particularly intense focus of the tragedy of slavery as well as the aftermath leading up to the

Adventures of a voracious reader who works in an independent bookstore As my readers are aware, I have a craving for novels about books, bookshelves, bookstores, and libraries. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman is her third novel . Abbi writes, “Larchmont Boulevard is the linear heart of Larchmont Village, populated by cafés, restaurants, boutiques, artisanal stores of many kinds, and one of the few remaining independent bookstores in Los Angeles. That’s where Nina Hill works,