You’ve been brainstorming which direction to take next for hours, days, or even months. You sit down to write the song, but the melody refuses to match the words. The canvas continues to be disparagingly blank. You yearn to create something fulfilling and beautiful – but what? But how? This, folks, sounds like a case of […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Reviews and Recommendations
May 8 is Truman Day
Harry Truman Day, that is. My favorite modern president and the only modern president to not have a college degree, Harry Truman was born on May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri. He was a selfless son who returned to the family farm to help his parents, a soldier in World War I, an unsuccessful haberdasher, and […]
Continue readingTeen Reviews: Brightly Burning
This book was absolutely brilliant – it was a mix of so many things; sci-fi, mystery, romance. It was a beautiful blend and had just the right amount of each element. Being set in a future of governmental evils and love interests who just can’t stay still, it reminded me much of Defy the Stars […]
Continue readingIn praise of our furry friends
Where would we be without our pooches and kitties? In a very dismal place, that’s where. Our critters are our friends, companions, walking buddies, and alarm clocks. Sure, there are the gusts of fur that drift through our homes and the occasional chewed earbud cord to vex us, but studies show that having pets can […]
Continue readingClassic survival tales
When life seems too hard, and I want to snivel like the mope that I am, I buck myself up with thoughts of Meriwether Lewis and Ernest Shackleton. That’s right, these two legendary explorers and survivors of expedition-related disaster have been my inspiration, and can be yours, too! You must, however, commit to a rigorous […]
Continue readingBooks to Help Celebrate Earth Day
It’s that official time of year to celebrate Earth, the spectacular spinning ball of gases, rocks, and minerals which we call home. Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 of each year. According to earthday.org, this celebratory tradition was originally conceived in 1970 by a man named Gaylord Nelson. Nelson was a Wisconsin U.S. Senator […]
Continue readingThe Terror
Supernatural horror and historical fiction may sound like an unlikely combination. But The Terror, by Dan Simmons, is a brooding, bone-crunching thriller and a complex survival tale. Based on the events of the lost Franklin Expedition of the 1840s, which sought the elusive Northwest Passage in the Arctic, The Terror tells the story of the HMS Erebus and […]
Continue readingA mystery so good I thought I’d died and gone to heaven
Whodunit heaven, that is. I like them hard-boiled and full of creeps, weirdos, and cruds, and Crimson Lake, by Candice Fox, is the ideal pick. Ted Conkaffey, a former cop, accused but not convicted of the brutal rape and attempted murder of a young girl, has been released from prison due to insufficient evidence. Broken […]
Continue readingHave You Listened to a Good Biography Lately?
It seems to be the time of the year that classroom assignments turn to thoughts of biography. Yes, those books that tell the stories of real people. Fortunately, fans of fiction and nonfiction agree: biographies are fun to read, whether you use your eyes or ears to do so. Basing engrossing narratives on interesting facts, […]
Continue readingThe Woman in the Window
In the The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn, Anna Fox is in desperate trouble, although she doesn’t seem to know it yet. Separated from her husband and child and mortally afraid to leave her house, she spends too much time drinking Merlot and mixing up her medications. She keeps close tabs on her neighbors, […]
Continue reading