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October Book Reviews

October 31, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

October Book Reviews

Happy Halloween! Today marks the end of another month. Are you ready for my October Book Reviews?

Three of the books I read in October (Mariette in Ecstasy, The Namesake, and The Virgin Suicides) were part of a five-week Survey of Fiction class I attended through OLLI at University of Arkansas. Okiehomeland was my book club’s official October selection. I listened to Young Jane Young via Hoopla and chose it mainly because of the cover. (Sometimes my choices are as simple as that.)

These books take us to—a rural New York convent at the turn of the century; India as we immigrate to America; on a great Nebraska wheat harvest adventure; from a political campaign in Florida to a mayoral race in Maine; to the suburbs of Detroit and into the home of a family in rapid deterioration.

The books included in my October book reviews include some of the best I’ve read in a great while.

That’s saying something!Continue Reading

Books I Read in September.

October 2, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner

The books I read in September

Happy October, friends! The books I read in September represented a variety of genres, settings, and themes. I lapped them up for completely different reasons. Grab a cup of coffee and journey with me to the plains of Nebraska, down south to Louisiana, and across Texas when it was wilder than it is today (joke). We’ll delve into the mastermind behind of Nancy Drew, visit with the quirky Glass family, and meet a dying man in England. And, if you dare, we’ll step foot inside North Korea, a place as foreign as a galaxy far, far away.

Ready?Continue Reading


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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