September 2021 – Looking For a Good Book

September 29, 2021

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL – graphic novel

It is 1985 and private investigator Ethan Reckless is trying to track down a man who has disappeared. It is during this investigation that Reckless meets Linh Tran, A Vietnamese-born woman who had been sent to the U.S. and adopted shortly after she was born. Linh has the same general demeanor as Ethan – emotionless, steady, Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, MYSTERY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Mystery, Reviews

September 27, 2021

DEAD WEDNESDAY – Jerry Spinelli

‘Worm’ Tarnauer is an 8th grader who prefers to stay out of sight and lets his best friend, Eddie (arguably the most popular guy in school), be the leader in all things school and social life. The one day all 8th graders look forward to is “Dead Wednesday” – a day in which all 8th Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized, YA

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews, Young Adult

September 24, 2021

I AM SOPHIE TUCKER – Susan & Lloyd Ecker

Sophie Tucker, known as “Last of the Red Hot Mamas,” was an entertainer (vaudeville, radio, film, theatre) who was popular in the early-to-mid 1900’s. She was known for her risque and comic songs and her big, belting voice. Think, cross between Mae West and Ethel Merman. Authors Susan & Lloyd Ecker has chosen to tell Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, HISTORICAL FICTION, MEMOIR, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Memoir, Reviews

September 22, 2021

ROCK AND ROLL WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE – Steve Almond

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Steve Almond’s work. I religiously buy everything he publishes, and even have purchased anthologies with strange themes just to read an Almond story. And it was all I could do to not behave like a Raving Fan Boy when he was speaking at my local bookstore a Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Memoir, Music, non-fiction, Reviews

September 20, 2021

BOY: TALES OF CHILDHOOD – Roald Dahl

It should not be surprising that the man who wrote such classic and wildly unusual books for children such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Twits, and The Magic Finger as well as some ripe tales for adults, such as My Uncle Oswald, Switch Bitch, Cruelty, and Lust: Tales of Craving and Desire, should write an Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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

September 17, 2021

THE RUSH’S EDGE – Ginger Smith

Hallvor Cullen is an ex-soldier. A genetically-engineered, high-technology implanted ex-soldier know as a ‘vat.’ As a vat soldier he was often fed a chemical drug that would give him an adrenaline rush and keep him fighting. No longer in the service, Cullen is just searching for his next rush. There’s no point in doing much Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

September 15, 2021

THE SONG IS YOU – Bradley Rogers

I’m a sucker for any book about musical theatre, so when I saw there was a new book, dealing specifically with “the Politics of Bursting into Song and Dance” I was seriously interested in reading this. However, I take issue with any book that reads like a graduate thesis, looking to convince the reader of Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, non-fiction, Reviews, Theatre

September 13, 2021

THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO – Carlo Collodi

It should be no surprise that I, a book reviewer/blogger, grew up in a house with plenty of books. We had a special children’s bookshelf, built by my grandfather, and on it I remember four very specific books. These were all hardcovers and quite old. They were Anderson’s Fairy Tales, The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, The War to Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Reviews

September 10, 2021

ANARCHY OF THE MICE – Jeff Bond

Molly McGill is a twice-divorced single mother with a struggling P.I. business. She’s struggling to hold her life (and her kids’ lives) together and seeing her teenage son wearing a t-shirt that supports the “Blind Mice” – a group of anarchists who have been disrupting government functions and have been in the news frequently – Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Action/Adventure, Book Reviews, Books, pulp fiction, Reviews

September 8, 2021

BIG GIRLS, VOL. 1 – graphic novel

Ember loves to read and write poetry in her spare time. But Ember doesn’t have a lot of spare time because she’s busy killing monsters most of the time. Ember is a Big Girl. No, seriously. Like 300 feet tall Big. Science has found a way to feed the world by producing tremendously large fruits Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews, SF/Fantasy

September 6, 2021

FAN FICTION – Brent Spiner

So … the actor who plays the android Data on the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series has written a book. And the main character in Brent Spiner’s book is … Brent Spiner. Of thirty years ago. And the supporting cast in the book are Spiner’s fellow actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is Continue reading

ENTERTAINMENT, HUMOR, MYSTERY, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Entertainment, Humor, Mystery, Reviews

September 3, 2021

SPELLMAKER – Charlie N. Holmberg

Somehow I missed the first book in this new duology by Charlie N. Holmberg, which is really too bad because this book shows much more promise as a series – in line with Homberg’s successful Paper Magician series. There are two kinds of wizards in the world – those who pay for the power to Continue reading

ROMANCE, SF/FANTASY

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Reviews, Romance, SF/Fantasy