March 2017 – Looking For a Good Book

March 31, 2017

RENÉ MAGRITTE: SELECTED WRITINGS – René Magritte

Like most people, I suspect, I am familiar with René Magritte from his remarkable, surrealist paintings, but have no clue as to his writing prowess. Until now. Not surprisingly, the brilliant and extremely creative mind that produced some rather iconic works of art is just as introspective and creative in his writing as well. But Magritte Continue reading

MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, OTHER

5 Stars, Art, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, quotes, Reviews

March 30, 2017

LIGHTHOUSES AND COASTAL ATTRACTIONS OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND – Allan Wood

Wow. This is one of the best and most comprehensive books about lighthouses I have ever come across (and I own more than a few). There was a time when my wife and I – before we had children – often selected our vacation visits to places with lighthouses. I sure wish we’d had a Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, History, non-fiction, Reviews

March 29, 2017

THE TWELVE – Justin Cronin

A few years back it seemed I couldn’t turn around without someone talking about The Passage and then The Twelve … books of vampiric horror set in the not-so-distant future by Justin Cronin. Though I was late to the party I did read The Passage (see review here) and enjoyed it. Now, still late a Continue reading

SF/FANTASY

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

March 28, 2017

TRIAL BY FIRE – Josephine Angelini

Witches. Alternate universes. Romance. This comes across as a really awesome book – especially for a certain YA audience. But you need more than a spell-binding subject to hold a reader. The story deals with Lily Proctor (and BOOM – literary allusion and a connection with witchcraft). Lily has a number of allergies – many Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

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

March 27, 2017

HAG-SEED – Margaret Atwood

For me, Margaret Atwood is one of those writers who quietly keeps invading the literary world, transforming fiction and storytelling and leaves an indelible imprint on the reader’s soul. I don’t seek out her works the way I should (and the way I do for a few other writers) which is why she seems so Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, OTHER

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Literature, Reviews, Theatre

March 24, 2017

FIREFLIES, GLOW-WORMS, AND LIGHTNING BUGS – Lynn Frierson Faust

This is an absolutely tremendous book. Author Lynn Frierson Faust clearly has a passion for the subject matter and has done such a fantastic job of researching and cataloging the insects we know as fireflies, glow-worms, and lightning bugs. The largest portion of the book (Chapter 8) is an identification field guide. I have to Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Nature, non-fiction, Reviews

March 23, 2017

GIRLS & MONSTERS – Anne Michaud

Girls & Monsters is a collection of short, dark tales from the very talented, Anne Michaud. Michaud’s is not a name with which I am familiar, but then other than the occasional book, I don’t read a lot of dark/horror fiction. I don’t haunt the magazines the way that I once did, so I shouldn’t be Continue reading

Dark Fantasy/Horror, SHORT FICTION

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Reviews, Short Stories

March 22, 2017

PAINTED SKY – E. Ashley Rooney

When my wife and I first began dating, one of the things we discovered we had in common was an appreciation for art. Young and unencumbered with children or debt, we spent time visiting art galleries and buying art that we both enjoyed. What my wife didn’t know at the time was how many Continue reading

NON-FICTION, OTHER, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Biography, Book Reviews, Books, non-fiction, Reviews

March 21, 2017

GHOSTS FROM OUR PAST – Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates, with Andrew Shaffer

Well, this was a lot of fun. Although this is a media tie-in to the new Ghostbusters film, there has clearly been a great deal of effort put in to this book to provide as thorough a read as possible. In fact, there were often times I had to remind myself that this was satire Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, HUMOR, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Humor, Reviews

March 20, 2017

MICHELANGELO’S GHOST – Gigi Pandian

Tremendous! Although I have more than a couple of books in my to-be-read queue written by Gigi Pandian, I haven’t read a lot of works by this author yet. But given how much I enjoyed this particular book, I will be eager to another “Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery” as well as other works by Continue reading

MYSTERY, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews

March 17, 2017

MARVEL’S CAPTAIN AMERICA: SUB ROSA – David McDonald

I approached this book with trepidation after being less than impressed with the other two volumes in this ‘series’: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Castaways and Marvel’s Thor: Dueling With Giants. My caution was confirmed. This book is a bit better than “Castaways” but not quite as interesting as “Dueling With Giants.” Here, Captain America Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, ENTERTAINMENT, YA

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, comic book superheroes, Entertainment, Reviews, Young Adult

March 16, 2017

THE BALLAD OF TYPHOID MARY – J.F. Federspiel

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEWING A BOOK FROM MY SHELF I bought this book when Ballantine Books first released this edition (that’s not my book in the photo, but mine looks the same). I would have to admit that I was first drawn to the book by this magnificent cover (by Larry Schwinger?) and then by the Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Reviews