It’s hard not to want to read a book about writing.  Especially a happy one! And author Marissa Meyer gets us with just that title. Meyer, the author of a a couple different fantasy YA series lays out a plan for writers to achieve a happiness in their writing routine. It’s part ‘how-to’ and part Continue reading

Tell me about a book of a spirit that I’m not familiar with, and I’m interested. Tell me it’s roots are of Scandinavian origin and I’m very interested. Author Josh Noel details the history, rise, fall, and rise again of the world’s worst-tasting alcohol – Jeppson’s Malört. And that’s not entirely hyperbole. One of the Continue reading

I am a sucker for anything by or about Kim Stanley Robinson. Since I first read The Gold Coast sometime in the late 1980’s or early 90’s; I haven’t missed any of his books since. So, when I see a book about Robinson, or examining his work, I’m all in. What I don’t like, is reading a Continue reading

1920’s and 30’s, New York. A truly exciting era in an exciting city. The jazz age and Prohibition, gangsters and molls. But where there’s gangsters and mobsters and speakeasies and prostitution and the heavy flow of illegal booze, there’s the danger of murder. On February 26, 1931, Vivian Gordon, a Broadway Butterfly (a name given Continue reading

Based on an in-person presentation to help businesses strengthen the people in leadership roles, and to help people who want to move up (and stay up) the corporate ladder by being better leaders, authors Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood present their “Seven Disciplines to Achieve the Changes Great Leaders Know They Must Make”. First they Continue reading

I’m a fan of the works of Steve Almond, ever since I picked up and read, somewhat randomly, his collection of short stories, My Life in Heavy Metal. I will gladly buy and read anything he writes. Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow, Almond’s latest book, is part memoir, part ‘how to’ for writers, and Continue reading

I am not familiar with author Katy Kelleher but the idea of essays on “desire and consumption” sounded really interesting. Overall, though, I was underwhelmed by this collection. The most honest aspect here was in the introduction in which Kelleher writes: “Beauty and depression are two central factors of my life.” And she goes on: Continue reading