Last weekend I bought my first power tool. (Not counting a Black & Decker drill driver which, lets face it everyone uses.) To some this may raise much alarm. I am the stuff family legend is made of for slicing and dicing myself on any number of household items: graters, scissors, razor blades, mandolins, a …
What to do when a young person “graduates” from YA novels and wants to read books with themes and plots that are more complex? So much contemporary fiction today has situations and language that many parents wouldn’t find appropriate–for young teens, especially. (Imagine my shock one day at school when I saw Fifty Shades of Gray stacked …
The Rooms Are Filled (NetGalley) Jessica Null Vealitzek release date: April 2014 Michael Nygaard must leave the only home he’s ever known, an iconic Minnesota farm with a milk cow and chicken house, a white farmhouse surrounded by pines and oaks, a long gravel driveway. Michael and his dad shared early morning walks in the …
The Making of the Lamb Robert Harley Bear release date: April 2014 The plot line of Robert Harley Bear’s novel The Making of the Lamb was juicy and full of promise: that Jesus of Nazareth traveled to the British Isles during the eighteen years that are “lost”–or at least not mentioned in Scripture. I’m familiar with …
Bellman and Black (Atria Books Galley Alley)Diane Setterfield I enjoyed Diane Setterfield’s Thirteenth Tale–but I wasn’t over the moon. It was almost too gothic for my taste: the rain, the insane sister, the crumbling country manor, the mysterious author. And more characters than I cared to keep track of. But I’m guessing, like many book lovers, …
Ok, so if you’re still reading after that post title, I give you credit. But I really just couldn’t resist. I’ve read two books this week that provide us with a glimpse of what might happen to us after death–at least for a short time. Both novels see the dead lingering for a bit, maybe …
Top Down (NetGalley)Jim Lehrerrelease date: Oct. 8 I’ve kind of had a Jim Lehrer crush for a number of years–I watched him nightly on the NewsHour, appreciating his insight on all things newsworthy. And although I knew him to be a fiction writer, I’ve not read even one of his novels. Some fan I am, …
Three Junesby Julia Glass I overlooked this book on the book club table at my local book stores for … maybe a year or more?! I would read the blurb on the back cover, carry it around for a while, and then think, “Oh–another book about three women? Sheesh! How many of those can you …
This month’s Wired had an intriguing article about individuals who have decided to simply vanish–burdened by the mess they’ve made of their life, usually either relationships or illegal business dealings.(Check out “Gone” by Evan Ratliff; Sept. 09) Seems that none of the folks ever really vanished–that, now matter how airtight they thought their plan, they …
This is my symphony 