December 2019
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Looking For the Best Books of 2019 – a year-end review
At the end of each year I take a look back on the books that I’ve read and try to determine the best books I’ve read in each category and the best book I read during the year. This is a best of those I’ve read and reviewed in 2019, not necessarily the best books Continue reading
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THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT PLAYS 2015-2016 – William W. Demastes, editor
There was a time when I bought every collection of short plays that was published. I love reading plays and I also was directing plays – for theatres and for high schools. When my focus changed and I wasn’t directing much any more, I also backed off from reading play collections. Which is too bad, Continue reading
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PIECES AND PLAYERS – Blue Balliet
Thirteen paintings, from Degas to Vermeer, have gone missing from one of the most secret of museums. Four school children who have had some experience with missing museum art are brought together by a strange woman (Mrs. Sharpe) to investigate. A series of clues are discovered by the children and it takes a lot of Continue reading
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IN THE SHADOW OF SPINDRIFT HOUSE – Mira Grant
If you were trying to combine the talents of H.P Lovecraft and Shirley Jackson you might very well get a story a lot like In the Shadow of Spindrift House, a dark coming of age story. Harlowe Upton-Jones is at the end of her teen years. She’s grown up tough, always asking questions and digging for Continue reading
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MIND GAMES – Shana Silver
It would seem pretty obvious that modern fiction, especially modern science fiction, would pick up on modern tech and take off with wildly creative ideas. And of course it often does. But I also find that too often books, especially YA books, tend to rehash tired themes – hoping to capitalize on previous successes. Mind Continue reading
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HEROIKA 1: DRAGON EATERS – Janet Morris, editor
I typically really enjoy reading short stories and those that are collected based on a theme generally have a story or two that will really appeal. This book, then, fits my criteria for something that I would enjoy. And I did. …But much too late… The theme of dragons and/or killing dragons is certainly not Continue reading
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GIVE A DAMN JONES – Bill Pronzini
Bill Pronzini is a wonderful workhorse of a writer. I’ve been reading him since I was in college and that was a few decades ago. I’ve enjoyed many of his Quincannon series books and some of his Nameless Detectives books. I’m always up for reading a Pronzini book because I know I’ll get a first-rate Continue reading
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KILLALOT – Cindy Brown
Ivy Meadows (the stage name for Olive Ziegwart) is an actress and part-time private investigator working for her uncle Bob Duda of Duda Detectives. Things are looking up for Ivy … a famous playwright is in Arizona and he’s planning something that could be even bigger than his hit musical, Hello Dolly Madison – a Continue reading
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A WHORE’S MANIFESTO – Kay Kassirer, editor
When I saw this book offered up to reviewers I was really interested in getting a copy. I felt that a book like this would contain works that really come from the gut. Visceral emotions. And I wasn’t disappointed. The subtitle of the book is “An Anthology of Writing and Artwork by Sex Workers” and Continue reading
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Looking For a Good Book 