206 ratings | 72 reviews | avg rating:4.45

Jess’s Year In Books

Jess’s 2022 Year in Books

Take a look at Jess’s Year in Books. The long, the short—it’s all here.

Go to Jess’s 2022 Year in Books

Jess Wells’s Followers (90)

Jess’s Bookshelves

read (220)
currently-reading (1)
to-read (8)
abandoned (21)
women-in-history (4)

Jess’s Friends (494)

Aiden

71 books | 1,047 friends

Amy Ingalls

3,151 books | 125 friends

Danielle

3,423 books | 5,001 friends

Carrie

42,644 books | 2,293 friends

Dianna Rostad

772 books | 1,319 friends

Brian Hart

35,833 books | 199 friends

Tony Fahkry

818 books | 1,272 friends

Author & Book Promotions

96 books | 4,793 friends

More friends…

Jess Wells

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.jesswells.com

Twitter

JessWellsAuthor

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Influences

Faulkner, Rushdie, Garcia-Marquez, Winterson

Member Since

March 2008

edit data

Wells is the author of six novels and five books of short stories. Winner of the Nautilus Silver Prize, Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar is set in 1865 when two extraordinary women establish a raucous trading post for cast-off women. Their mirth is challenged by a greedy mayor and a murderous forger. Reviewers are calling it “exquisitely written.”

She recently re-released The Mandrake Broom: When the Witches Fought Back, a historical novel dramatizing the fight to save medical knowledge during the witch-burning times in Europe, 1465-1540.

Her previous novel,
Straight Uphill: A Tale of Love and Chocolate, delves into five generations of women chocolatiers in a small Italian village. It recently won the Bronze Award for Adult Fiction/Romance ...more

109 posts
Jess Wells's Blog

Why Violence has Declined

I get raised eyebrows and harumphs of disagreement when I mention this book, but Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and author, makes compelling arguments that violence is declining worldwide, and he backs them up with a trove of statistics and analysis in The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined.

Granted, his timeframe starts in the Paleolithic, and the book was published in 2

Combine Editions
Jess Wells’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 267 ratings · 47 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	Straight Uphill: A Tale of Love and Chocolate 3.65 avg rating — 34 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mandrake Broom 3.71 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2007 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fahişeliğin Tarihi 3.72 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Shook My Heart 2: Lesbian Love Stories 4.06 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2001	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lesbians Raising Sons 3.88 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Slender Tether 4.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jaguar Paloma and the Caketown Bar 4.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Aftershocks 4.38 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1992 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dress: The Sharda Stories 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1989 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two Willow Chairs 4.80 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1999 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jess Wells…

Jess is Currently Reading

Jess rated a book it was amazing

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Jess said: " Violence is declining worldwide? Yes!

Harvard professor Steven Pinker show how and why in this fascinating, data-driven analysis. Here are my favorite take-aways. https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more "

Sep 20, 2023 10:40AM · see review

rss
Jess’s Recent Updates

Jess rated a book it was amazing The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Violence is declining worldwide? Yes! Harvard professor Steven Pinker show how and why in this fascinating, data-driven analysis. Here are my favorite take-aways. https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more
Sep 20, 2023 10:40AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess is on page 400 of 806 of The Better Angels of Our Nature The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author) progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 18, 2023 03:38PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess rated a book really liked it Women at the Dawn of History by Agnete W Lassen	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Naditum were 'cloistered' women who amassed land holdings and wealth, adopting other women to receive an inheritance, in Mesopotamia. Fascinating nuggets. Here's my take on it: https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more
Aug 18, 2023 12:37PM · 1 like · like · see review
Jess rated a book it was amazing The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The modern science of cryptology was largely invented by a husband and wife team who battled rumrunners and Nazis. Well-written, very engaging. Here's my take on their fascinating story: https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more
Aug 18, 2023 12:34PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess rated a book it was amazing The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Here's a very engaging book about two tremendous women: Eleanor Roosevelt, whom I admire tremendously, and Pauli Murray, a civil rights advocate who became her friend. Murray is a fascinating woman. https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more
Aug 07, 2023 10:53AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess finished reading Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 07, 2023 09:54AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Code Girls by Liza Mundy. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Code Girls by Liza Mundy <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess is currently reading The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 07, 2023 09:54AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess rated a book it was amazing The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Here's a very engaging book about two tremendous women: Eleanor Roosevelt, whom I admire tremendously, and Pauli Murray, a civil rights advocate who became her friend. Murray is a fascinating woman. https://www.jesswells.com/blog/posts/... ...more
Jul 10, 2023 07:28AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jess rated a book it was amazing The Gulag Archipelago An Experiment in Literary Investigation 1918-1956 Volume One I-II and Volume Two III-IV by Translated from the Russian by Thomas P. Whitney SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr I.	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 06, 2023 10:45AM · like
Jess finished reading The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies by Jason Fagone (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 06, 2023 10:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">