Jennifer Blankfein

Breathtaking Icelandic Literary Romance Between Artists

Author Barbara Linn Probst enjoys an enriching life, digging deep with people and experiencing places, and it shows in her writing. The Color of Ice (She Writes Press), her latest novel, takes us to Iceland with Cathryn, a single mom who has put her needs aside to raise her children and…

Jennifer BlankfeinDecember 8, 2022

Fiction Romance Romance - Featured

Author Offers Lessons in Love, Humor and — Yes — Chemistry

Earlier this month I had a wonderful conversation with Bonnie Garmus about her bestselling debut novel, Lessons In Chemistry (Doubleday), her writing and more. Lessons in Chemistry follows the story of chemist Elizabeth Zott who counts herself as anything but ordinary or "average." Elizabeth would even go so far as…

Jennifer BlankfeinOctober 13, 2022

Business Children's Books Children's Books - Featured Nonfiction Young Adult

Raise Financially Fit Kids One Cent at a Time

Raising children is a big responsibility. We as parents try to teach our young kids to be kind to one another, be polite, eat healthy, do homework… we provide music education, sports lessons and academic tutors. When they get a bit older we remind them to make smart decisions, drive…

Jennifer BlankfeinOctober 5, 2022

Better Self Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

A Deep Dive Into Crosswords, Sudoku and Life’s Mysteries in “The Puzzler”

The Puzzler (Crown) is an engaging read … A.J. Jacobs provides a wealth of trivial yet gratifying information about puzzles and for a puzzle lover, it was so much fun! Sharpening problem-solving skills while learning the history of puzzles can improve your thinking, and hearing the author’s stories about conquering the…

Jennifer BlankfeinSeptember 2, 2022

Book Club Network Fiction Fiction - Featured

Video Game Designers Soar to Fame in Story of Love, Redemption and Identity

The charm and intensity of the Barnes and Noble and Jimmy Fallon Book Club Pick, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Knopf) by Gabrielle Zevin will sneak up on you unsuspectedly and before you know it, you will be deep into a book about the coming of age of three young people…

Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 31, 2022

Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

Investigative Accounts of Real Life Murder and Mayhem

I enjoyed the telling of the opioid crisis and the Sackler family by Patrick Radden Keefe in Empire of Pain, (even after watching Dopesick on TV) as his attention to detail and inclusion of facts creates a vivid setting and action-packed story. First made aware of this upcoming collection from Sarah…

Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 29, 2022

Author Spotlight Fiction Fiction - Featured

Moving Story of Adoption, Parenting and What Makes a Family

Unconventional family stories are fun to read and give us an understanding of unfamiliar situations, allowing for the development of empathy. Eleanor Brown's Any Other Family (Putnam) is about open adoption, siblings and how their adoptive families chose to raise them together as one big family. Although the subject may…

Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 16, 2022

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

Switching Genres: From History to Mystery

Summer reading is always great, whether it takes place in the sunroom, the backyard or at the beach. I recently had a very mild bout with COVID and took advantage of some rest and relaxation with my nose in a book. If you are interested in reading about old New…

Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 12, 2022

Fiction Miscellany Nonfiction Potpourri - Featured

I Laughed, I Cried, I Was Horrified: Two Funny Reads

Hello Molly! is a one sitting read that brings tears of joy and sadness. Molly reveals moments of her unconventional upbringing by her single dad, recognizing all that she missed. She also recalls her crazy journey toward an incredible career, the hysterical characters she created, her many genius SNL skits…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 20, 2022

Fiction Fiction - Featured

Immerse Yourself in the Emotions Brought on by the Pandemic in “Wish You Were Here” by Jodi Picoult

After waiting a bit to recover from the stress, I was finally ready to dive in to a novel set during the Covid outbreak. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed where Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult took me! Diana is almost 30 years old and is hoping to get engaged when she…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 15, 2022

Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

A Shocking Telling of the Opioid Crisis in “Empire of Pain”

The opioid crisis was a disaster not just national but permeated into other countries, impacting people, communities, politics, the arts, education, businesses, the economy and more. I didn’t really know much about the ripple effect that was derived from greed, lies, secrecy and denial until I watched Dopesick on Hulu with…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 14, 2022

Author Spotlight Book Club Network Book Club Network - Featured2 Fiction Fiction - Featured

Author Q&A: Sara Novic on “True Biz” – Coming of Age Amid Deaf Culture

Recently, Book Nation Book Club had a wonderful conversation with author Sara Nović about her novel, True Biz (Random House) and the Deaf community. The story centers around a high school for the Deaf and dives deep into the lives of three main characters: Charlie, Austin and February. Charlie is a…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 4, 2022

Author Spotlight Nonfiction Nonfiction - Featured

Author and Podcaster Zibby Owens Gets Real in Her Newly-Released Memoir “Bookends”

It took author Zibby Owens almost 20 years to get Bookends, A Memoir of Love, Loss and Literature out in the world, and it is worth the wait! I read it cover to cover in less than 24 hours and LOVED IT so much! Tears and laughter for me; I…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 1, 2022

Fiction Thrillers Thrillers - Featured

College Students Plan Chinese Art Heists in Portrait of a Thief

“Li invites readers along for a ride in the crew’s roving getaway car, promising breathtaking vistas and, more importantly, a reckoning with colonial legacies that have long lingered in the shadows.” —Boston Globe “A cinematic heist thriller with a social conscience … vivid and precisely crafted.” —BookPage “Portrait of a…

Jennifer BlankfeinJune 2, 2022

Book Club Network Book Club Network - Featured2 Fiction Fiction - Featured

“Remarkably Bright Creatures” Wraps Its Tentacles Around Your Heart

"Truly original and touching ... Prepare to fall in love with a most exceptional octopus." — Helen Hoang, author of The Heart Principle "A perfect story with imperfect characters, that is so heartwarming, so mysterious, and so completely absorbing ... " — Jamie Ford, author of The Hotel on the Corner of…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 31, 2022

Author Spotlight Fiction Fiction - Featured

Take a Peek Behind the Curtain at Author Lisa Barr, the Original “Woman on Fire”

What an amazing ride author Lisa Barr takes us on in Woman on Fire! Idealistic, young writer Jules Roth desperately wants to work with Dan Mansfield, a well known investigative journalist who has a personal interested in a stolen piece of art. He hires her and decides to bring her in…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 4, 2022