5 Stars – Page 9 – Looking For a Good Book

December 15, 2021

A PRIVATE WILDERNESS: THE JOURNALS OF SIGURD F. OLSON – David Backes, editor

Nature writer, environmentalist, essayist, educator, conservationist, and former president of the National Parks Association, Sigurd F. Olson had a long career working in wilderness areas. For some, such as myself, he is best remembered for his gentle, thoughtful reflections of nature found in books like Listening Point, The Singing Wilderness, or Runes of the North (among others). Editor David… Continue reading

MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Thoughts, Uncategorized

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

December 13, 2021

DOORS OF SLEEP – Tim Pratt

Every time Zax Delatree falls asleep, he is taking a risk because every time Zax wakes up, he is in a new reality. He has no control over where he goes, and he has never been to the same world twice. He has to be prepared for anything – from wildly, technologically advanced worlds, to… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

December 8, 2021

THE URBAN SKETCHING HANDBOOK: UNDERSTANDING LIGHT – Katie Woodward

Not too long ago I reviewed a different book in the Urban Sketching Handbook series and I was very impressed with it. I am equally impressed with this volume. Artist and author Katie Woodward focuses on light in this volume with an emphasis on ‘portraying light effects’ as the subtitle indicates. In her introduction, Woodward… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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

December 3, 2021

THE OUTLAWS SCARLETT & BROWNE – Jonathan Stroud

Scarlett Josephine McCain, of unknown age (but probably somewhere between 15 and 18 years old) is wanted by the militias of twenty Surviving Towns. She has robbed banks across Wessex, Mercia, and Wales. She has prospected for gold in the Menai Hills; and she killed the outlaw Black Carl Nemaides. To say that she is… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized, YA

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

December 1, 2021

AN ILLUSTRATED COLLECTION OF FAIRY TALES FOR BRAVE CHILDREN – Scott Plumbe, illustrator

Yes, yes, yes! I recently read and reviewed a classic children’s book (Pinocchio) and I was reminded of growing up reading the very familiar fairy tales of the brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson which had me thinking that we’ve done a disservice to some of the younger generations by Disnefying the classics and publishing… Continue reading

CHILDREN’S, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Children’s Books, Mythology/Legend, Reviews

November 24, 2021

GEIGER, VOLUME ONE – graphic novel

I requested, received, and read a handful of graphic novels recently, and while I will be giving five stars to another one (I don’t want to go into the lengthy explanation as to how my reviews are scheduled to be published), Geiger, by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, and Brad Anderson is my favorite of the bunch.… Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Graphic Novels, Reviews

November 19, 2021

THE URBAN SKETCHING HANDBOOK: PANORMAS & VERTICAL LINES – Mário Linhares

It seems like there’s no shortage of books about art … ‘how to’ and ‘help’ books … and I’ve read a few of them over the years and I stumbled on this Urban Sketching Handbook series quite by accident. But a lucky accident it was. I was so impressed with this book, as well as… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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

November 16, 2021

ANGEL OF THE OVERPASS – Seanan McGuire

Rose Marshall died at the age of sixteen as she was on her way to her prom. That was 60 years ago. Now she’s a Hitcher … a hitchhiking ghost who travels along the crossroads. The man who killed her was Bobby Cross – once an up-and-coming movie star who sold his soul to live… Continue reading

SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

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

November 12, 2021

THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC – Lawrence Block

It’s possible that I’m one of the very few people who will read this book who has never read a Matthew Scudder novel before. I’m not sure that I’ve ever read any novel by Lawrence Block. I’ve been wanting to read some of Block’s work, and I’ve been in the mood for some ‘hardboiled’ fiction… Continue reading

MYSTERY, SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Mystery, Reviews, Short Stories

November 2, 2021

UNDERWATER WILD – Craig Foster and Ross Fylinck

Craig Foster is a diver who, with Ross Frylinck, dives regularly off the coast of South Africa without wetsuits or oxygen tanks. His experiences with the beautiful underwater forests and creatures that dwell there led to the remarkable and much-talk-about film My Octopus Teacher. Building on the success and interest in My Octopus Teacher, Foster and Frylinck… Continue reading

NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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

October 4, 2021

OTTO BINDER – Bill Schelly

Otto Binder was science fiction, science, U.F.O., and comic book author who wrote in the early days (Golden Era) of comic books (specifically the 1940’s) and the New Wave of science fiction (the 1960’s-1970’s). He is credited with truly defining Captain Marvel (Shazam) and wrote nearly 1,000 (of the 1,700) stories in the Marvel Family… Continue reading

GRAPHIC NOVEL, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized

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