Literature – Page 7 – Looking For a Good Book

August 3, 2017

GREAT SHORT STORIES BY CONTEMPORARY NATIVE AMERICAN AUTHORS – Bob Blaisdell, editor

Ever since I had a class back in the 1980’s I’ve been fascinated with Native American literature. The themes and styles, while certainly unique to the individuals, have a characteristic that identifies the writer with the Native American culture. Only two of these authors (Leslie Marmon Silko and Sherman Alexie) were familiar to me before reading… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories, Western

June 29, 2017

ONE MAN’S PURPOSE – Stephen D. Senturia

Martin Quint is a respected professor at an elite technological institute is a busy man… he’s mentoring a new professor, he and his wife are expecting, he’s on a panel reviewing possible tenure cases, and he’s dealing with a leak inside his department – someone is publishing private emails in regards to the tenure cases.… Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

2 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews

June 14, 2017

GIRL ON THE LEESIDE – Kathleen Anne Kenney

*** WARNING — POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD*** I don’t like using the term “chick-lit” (though it might apply here) and instead prefer to use the term “pastel fiction” … fiction which is soft, gentle, with beautiful prose that paints a nice picture for the reader. This book might typify the ‘pastel fiction’ label. Siobhan Doyle has grown… Continue reading

ROMANCE, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Romance

May 25, 2017

OUT OF THE BLUE – Helen Mitsios, editor

Out of the Blue is an outstanding collection of short and short-short works of literature from Icelandic authors. In the foreword, Sjón writes “Icelanders read and write more books per person than to inhabitants of any other country.” That’s pretty impressive, and more than a little surprising given that I’ve only just started to encounter Icelandic… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories

April 18, 2017

IN SUNLIGHT OR IN SHADOW – Lawrence Block, editor

This is a brilliant concept – let writers create stories based on paintings by a well-known artist. In this case writers use the works of Edward Hopper for their inspiration. Editor Lawrence Block has pulled together an impressive list of authors but as with nearly any anthology, there are some stories that really stand out… Continue reading

SHORT FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Art, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Short Stories

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

January 26, 2017

THE FERRYMAN INSTITUTE – Colin Gigl

I knew next to nothing about this book before going in to it except that the basic description seemed pretty interesting. It sounded like a school for Ferrymen … those who help the recently departed cross over from life to the after-life. The book was so much more than that and both more and less than I… Continue reading

HUMOR, ROMANCE, SF/FANTASY, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Humor, Literature, Reviews, Romance, SF/Fantasy

January 5, 2017

THE ALTOGETHER UNEXPECTED DISAPPEARANCE OF ATTICUS CRAFTSMAN – Mamen Sánchez

This is a funny, heart-warming book, full of great, odd characters who are only great, and odd, because they seem so real. Atticus Craftsman is part of the Craftsman and Co publishing dynasty family. The company has decided to shut down one of their magazines (Librarte) and so Atticus is sent to Madrid to begin… Continue reading

HUMOR, OTHER, ROMANCE, Uncategorized

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Humor, Literature, Reviews, Romance

December 10, 2016

THE OTHER EINSTEIN – Marie Benedict

I told my son, a physics student, that I was reading a book titled The Other Einstein, and did he have a guess who ‘the other’ might be. He made a couple of good guesses but hadn’t gotten it. I said, it turns out Einstein was married … and before I could say any more… Continue reading

HISTORICAL FICTION, Uncategorized

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Historical Fiction, Literature, Reviews

December 3, 2016

AND EVERY MORNING THE WAY HOME GETS LONGER AND LONGER – Fredric Backman

I am at such a loss for words for this novella. I’ve started this review four times and nothing seems quite right. Fredrik Backman’s writing is so touching, so beautiful, so powerful in its simplicity that trying to write about it just doesn’t feel right. On the one hand, this is a very simple, quick… Continue reading

OTHER

5 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews

November 24, 2016

THE CHRISTMAS TREE – Julie Salamon

THROWBACK THURSDAY: REVIEW A REISSUE One of the jobs of the chief gardener at Rockefeller Center is picking out the massive Christmas tree to have in the plaza for display to the public. It’s all just part of the job and most of his work takes places well before the Christmas season so it doesn’t… Continue reading

OTHER

4 stars, Book Reviews, Books, Holiday, Literature, Reviews

November 2, 2016

THE RINGMASTER’S WIFE – Kristy Cambron

Like a lot of readers today, I am drawn to books about or with a circus atmosphere. You can’t get much more circus than a tale about a woman with the Ringling Brothers. Rosamund Easling is born into a wealthy family, but as often happened (especially during this era), the family was looking at a declining… Continue reading

OTHER, Uncategorized

3 Stars, Book Reviews, Books, Literature, Reviews, Romance