The Best of 2021 – Dabney’s List
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The Best of 2021 – Dabney’s List

According to Goodreads, I read eighty-two books (for the first time – my rereads would have put that number closer to 165) in 2021. I read across genres and glommed series. I DNF’d anything that didn’t grab me after the first fifty pages. I gravitated (overall) to books that were aspirational and viewed humankind with…

The Way Back on Wednesday: Alex Markov: Dreamboat or Douchebag?
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The Way Back on Wednesday: Alex Markov: Dreamboat or Douchebag?

(originally published on June 3, 2016)  In another of our occasional series in which we discuss the merits – or lack thereof – of fictional heroes and heroines, AAR staffers turn their attention to Alex Markov of Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Kiss An Angel taps into the classic “arranged marriage” trope. The two protagonists,…

Are billionaires the new dukes? Or do we hate both these days?

Are billionaires the new dukes? Or do we hate both these days?

According to Wikipedia, there are around 2700 or so billionaires in the world. Several of them are determined, after mastering our world, to take their empires to other worlds. Many a critic has said, good, get lost, we don’t need no stinking uber uber uber rich guys. Here at AAR, however, we’re slightly positive about…

What holidays do you love to celebrate? And happy 4th of July!
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What holidays do you love to celebrate? And happy 4th of July!

I read an interesting–and to me, depressing–article in the New York Times yesterday about how the American flag itself is now considered by many a partisan symbol. The same is true for the 4th of July, one of this country’s most beloved holidays. Where I live, there is intense disagreement over how to celebrate the…

A Retro Write: Yes We Can! Our favorite Activist Heroines
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A Retro Write: Yes We Can! Our favorite Activist Heroines

originally published on February 3, 2017 Women have a long history of standing up for their beliefs, and there are great romance novels starring heroines doing just that. American and British suffragettes (or suffragists), Civil Rights activists, lawyers, writers, organizers, and military rebels – you’ll find all of them here, and more. Let these ladies…

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