April 2016 – Looking For a Good Book

April 29, 2016

TOTO’S TALE AND TRUE CHRONICLE OF OZ – Sylvia Patience

Too many people think that the Wizard of Oz story is essentially the remarkable film version. It’s a great movie (one of the few that I do still watch repeatedly), but of course there’s much more to the book upon which the move was based. This delightful little book, Toto’s Tale and True Chronicle of Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Entertainment, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

April 28, 2016

NINETY-NINE STORIES OF GOD – Joy Williams

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE Tin House Books has elected to reissue this book, Ninety-Nine Stories of God, by Pulitzer and National Book Award finalist, Joy Williams. This is a collection of what might be considered ‘flash’ fiction. Very short (many not even a page in length) works each with a theme of how God Continue reading

HUMOR, OTHER, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Humor, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories

April 27, 2016

LAST MAN OFF – Matt Lewis

Twenty-three year old Matt Lewis is about to start a job that he’s been looking forward to … being a scientific observer aboard a fishing vessel in the Antarctic Sea. But what he observes is that everything about the venture is unorganized and dangerous, and when the boat sinks and he has to fight for his Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Thriller

April 25, 2016

BEYOND EDEN – Kele Moon

WARNING – THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SEXUAL REFERENCES AND ADULT LANGUAGE No. I want so much to leave that as my entire review, because I think that’s pretty much all it deserves, but at the same time, I feel a responsibility to explain why. The story: Three long-time friends (Danny, Paul, and Eve) are in love Continue reading

ROMANCE, Uncategorized

1 Star, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Romance, Sex

April 22, 2016

SWORDS OF SORROW: THE COMPLETE SAGA – graphic novel

Well, I was very excited for this book. Seeing Gail Simone’s name on a book of female warrior heroes, I was pretty sure that this would be another great story with strong women in strong roles. Sadly, I was wrong. The story: A whole bunch of strong female characters, some I am familiar with (Vampirella, Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

April 21, 2016

TEK POWER – William Shatner

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A REISSUE If you combined Captain James T. Kirk with Sergeant T. J. Hooker you’d get Private Investigator Jake Cardigan. If you don’t already know who Captain Kirk or T.J. Hooker are, you’re probably not going to be interested in this book. William Shatner is listed as the author on this book six of Continue reading

MYSTERY, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

April 20, 2016

OBJECTS OF DESIRE – Rita Catinella Orrell

I knew, going in to this, that this was going to be a book about ‘adult sex toys’ (more kindly referred to as “erotic products”), but beyond that, I wasn’t sure what to expect here. I think the subtitle, “A Showcase of Modern Erotic Products and the Creative Minds Behind Them,” is really key to Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews, Sex

April 18, 2016

DRAWING BLOOD – Deirdre Verne

CeCe Prentice is a Freegan – someone who seeks to reduce their footprint on the planet by reducing waste and reusing everything possible and even digging for discarded food. As such, she’s acquainted with the manager of the town dump (where CeCe was planning to ‘shop’ for her next vehicle). When Big Bob, the dump Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

April 15, 2016

RUBY WIZARDRY – Eric Weinstein

Though I have a better than rudimentary knowledge of some basic computer languages (HTML, PHP, JAVASCRIPT) I will admit that I’d never even heard of Ruby before, so I was definitely curious to check this one out. I reviewed a companion book, Javascript For Kids here. As the subtitle says, and as the drawing on Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, non-fiction, Reviews

April 13, 2016

RED SONJA/CONAN: BLOOD OF A GOD – graphic novel

Conan and Red Sonja, together again? Absolutely! And it works! I’ve been a fan of the Conan stories since reading the Robert E. Howard books and stories back in the 70’s. Then I followed that up with the really excellent comics published by Marvel. But as with almost any good thing, the market seemed to Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

April 12, 2016

NO ONE’S PET – Sheila Kennedy

First, let’s point out that this isn’t a biography (or autobiography) so much as it is a memoir. What’s the difference? A memoir (typically) doesn’t follow the timeline of one’s life but selects moments that were meaningful and expounds on them, often jumping around. No One’s Pet by Sheila Kennedy definitely fits the memoir mold. Continue reading

MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, Memoir, non-fiction, Reviews

April 11, 2016

UNBREAKABLE – Kami Garcia

I have a long backlog of Advance Reading Copy (ARC) books and I dip randomly into the pot and pull one out to read. Such was the case with Unbreakable by Kami Garcia. I was very glad to have selected this book – it is an enjoyable read. Teenager Kennedy Waters discovers her mother dead Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, YA

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