May 2015 – Looking For a Good Book

May 29, 2015

OUTCAST: VOL 1: A DARKNESS SURROUNDS HIM – graphic novel

From the creator of The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman, comes a new horror series, Outcast. And it’s nice to see that Walking Dead wasn’t a fluke … Kirkman understands horror. Outcast follows Kyle Barnes, a man whose life has been surrounded by demons and demonic possession. While he, himself, doesn’t appear to be possessed, those Continue reading

Uncategorized

May 28, 2015

THE HEART OF HAPPY HOLLOW – Paul Laurence Dunbar

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE It is wonderful that Dover Publications is putting out this ‘thrift edition’ of a remarkable collection of short stories by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar was the son of freed slaves and this collection of stories looks at the behavior of men, both white and black, in the post-Civil War era. Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories

May 27, 2015

THE JAMES BEARD COOKBOOK – James Beard

By no stretch of the imagination would I call myself a chef, or even a cook, but I do spend my fair share of time in the kitchen, providing the lion’s share of the family meals. To this end, I of course have the family staples…those meals that I know everyone likes, or will eat, Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Food, non-fiction, Reviews

May 25, 2015

THE PANEM COMPANION – V. Arrow

I’ve read a number of collections of essays recently (Joss Whedon and Fan Fiction being the most recent), but this collection had some of the best written, most fascinating essays. I will admit I had my doubts before getting in to this. Fans, writing about a modern, young adult series of books/movies. How good could Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized, YA

Book Reviews, Books, essays, non-fiction, Reviews, Young Adult

May 21, 2015

TREES, VOL. 1 – graphic novel

About a year ago I read the first issue comic that appears as the first story in this graphic novel. The (four star) review was brief and said: Set in the not-too-distant future when an alien race arrived, made no direct contact, and planted some extremely large pillars, or trees, across the globe. Some were Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

May 18, 2015

SERIOUSLY WICKED – Tina Connolly

This was a wickedly fun little book that should have a lot of appeal to teen readers. In Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly, Camillia lives with her adopted mother, a wicked witch (Sarmine Scarabouche) who is trying to teach Camillia how to become a witch, though Camillia rebels against this nasty parental figure. The final Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

May 14, 2015

TATTERED LEGACY – Shannon Baker

So… it was only just now, as I went to Goodreads to grab the URL of this book’s cover to paste into the blog post, that I discovered that this is the third book in the Nora Abbott Mystery series. This surprises me (pleasantly so) because, while it was clear that Nora had a well-developed Continue reading

MYSTERY, MYTHOLOGY, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Mythology/Legend, Reviews

May 11, 2015

FLEX – Ferrett Steinmetz

What if crystal meth actually managed to give the user an incredible power and not just made the user think they had a power? What if magic could be obtained through drug use? Flex, by Ferrett Steinmetz takes on these issues and creates a powerful story that spends its time with some future low-life types. Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

May 9, 2015

NIGHTBIRD – Alice Hoffman

This is an absolutely beautiful YA fantasy. Two hundred years ago a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family and now, though the family lives in remote Sidwell, in New England, Twig has become best friends with the descendant of the Witch, and the secret of Twig’s home-schooled brother, James, is at risk. And there’s Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, SF/Fantasy, Young Adult

May 7, 2015

THE H. A. REY TREASURY OF TALES – H.A. Rey and Margaret Rey

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE How many people who are readers today did NOT read the Curious George books when they were young? Not too many, I would guess. But how many of you are aware that the creator(s) of Curious George wrote and illustrated other children’s stories as well? The H.A. Rey Treasury Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Picture books, Reviews

May 4, 2015

A TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION – Chris Orcutt

Dakota Stevens is a modern detective for the modern mystery reader. This is the third book in the Dakota Stevens Mystery series, though only the first book that I’ve read, but I never once felt that I had missed too much back story, or that I was lost. This is precisely how a book series Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Thriller

May 4, 2015

Slowing Down

I begin a full-time, seasonal job this week and will, out of necessity, have to greatly reduce the volume of reading and reviewing I do for the next few months. Keep checking in, please. For May I’m hoping to get at least two reviews a week posted, though June and July could get reduced to Continue reading

OTHER, Thoughts, Uncategorized

random thoughts