In persuading me to read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens this recent autumn, a friend described that book thus: “It’s basically David Copperfield’s whole life story. That’s it. Just his whole life.” Some one thousand plus pages later (depending on which edition you read), it’s a pretty accurate description. Beginning just before his birth, with David telling […]
Book Review | If a Pirate I Must Be: The True Story of Black Bart, “King of the Caribbean Pirates” by Richard Sanders
2015-12-23 · by ·
Shiver me timbers! Thar be a book worth the read! Arrr! I had only a small idea what to expect when I picked up If a Pirate I Must Be: The True Story of Black Bart, “King of the Caribbean Pirates” by Richard Sanders. A selection for my book club (known as the Manly Book Club […]
Book Review | Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore
2015-12-18 · by ·
Oh, Jerusalem. There is no other place on Earth quite as tragic, drenched in both blood and history. And it makes for reading that cannot be put down. Here’s the short version of why you should read Simon Sebag Montefiore’s history of Jerusalem: In just under seven hundred pages, Jerusalem: The Biography is a satisfying, narrative-based […]
Book Review | Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
2015-12-17 · by ·
I loved Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. Dark, gritty, and grim, the tone of the story is not my typical fare. And, to be honest, I feel a little guilty admitting how much I enjoyed it–after all, Brandon Sanderson is one of the biggest names in fantasy, and expressing admiration for his […]
Book Review | This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich
2015-12-16 · by ·
If you needed any reason to be cynical about American politics–especially nationally–then Mark Leibovich’s This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital is the book for you. I guarantee that you will not put it down with a breath single breath of hope and optimism […]
Book Review | Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson
2015-12-15 · by ·
In Hidden Empire, man has reached the stars, spreading out and colonizing them, but not without help. The Ildirans have given man the stardrive, an inexpensive way to cross the vast distances of space in a fraction of the time that it takes light to travel. Other than the Klikiss, an extinct race whose archaeological […]
Book Review | Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp
2015-12-14 · by ·
Star Wars is on the brain…of everyone. After the supreme disappointment of the prequels (okay, they weren’t that bad, and we probably all had our hopes set too high, anyway), the hype and the excitement and the energy and the shear cultural force of Star Wars + JJ Abrams + the biggest fandom in the […]
Book Review | Superman – Action Comics, Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel (Action Comics Vol. II #1) by Grant Morrison
2015-12-10 · by ·
I’m not typically a reader of comic books. But Grant Morrison could almost persuade me to become one. I came home from knee surgery to find myself bored, drugged, and distracted. Somehow, I ended up with a copy of Morrison’s treatment of Superman in this renumbering of the Action Comics line (as a comics novice, […]
In defense of physical books: home “libraries matter even more than money”
2015-12-07 · by ·
I can’t tell you how often Abby (7 going on 14) has gone into our library/office to find a book to read (or how often Oz, 4, or Ann, 2, carries them around, pretending to read). We’re still accumulating our collection, but she’s never come away without a book or three. Usually, I’ve got to […]
Book Review | Trespassers by Todd Wynn and Tim Wynn
2015-12-04 · by ·
There’s much to like about Trespassers. There’s intrigue, mystery, interesting characters, growth, romance, and a little bit of sci-fi, of the “handwaivium” sort. Todd Wynn and Tim Wynn have a story with potential in Trespassers. The plot of Trespassers revolves around three–or four?–groups: the secret government agency tasked with keeping humanity in the dark about […]
