book-review
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Exhaustion From Hypermasculinity In (Ted Bell) Books
I was reading a book in the parking area at the Middleton Post Office this afternoon as James ran some boxes in for mailing. I was 300 pages into Ted Bell’s second Alex Hawke book, Assassin, and abruptly closed it and threw it in the back seat. I had come close to calling it a… Continue reading
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Stuart Kaminsky: Inspector Rostnikov Series Has Characters Striving For Moral, Ethical, Humane Outcomes
This week, the last two books in the Inspector Rostnikov series by Stuart Kaminsky arrived from Amazon. As I took them from the package, I wondered what suspense they would hold. Over the next few months, they will land in my hands, and then there will be no more to anticipate. I was crowdsourcing in… Continue reading
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1929: Greed Creates Public Crisis, Andrew Sorkin’s Masterpiece
As the New Year unfolds, I am reminded of how I wish to spend a chunk of my time in the next 360 days. Reading great books. Recently, I wrote rarely do I read a newly published book. My shelves and current book pile are filled with slices of history published many years and decades… Continue reading
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Last Book Of 2025: Riveting British History From Robert Harris
History, when told well, has the pulse of a thriller. Over the past few decades, the quality of the narratives from historians and writers has increased, ranging from Herbert Donald Smith, David McCullough, Ron Chernow, and Erik Larson as they stoked boundless enthusiasm on the printed page for the lives and times of Abraham Lincoln,… Continue reading
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In Cold Blood: Truman Capote’s Book Viewed 60 Years Later
The main news over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend was shameful. The collective retaliation by the Trump Administration against people from nations around the world who are now part of our national family, as he desires to halt all asylum decisions and remove millions who call this place home. It was chilling to learn that Defense… Continue reading
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Robert Caro Still Working On Final Volume Of Lyndon Baines Johnson Series
Robert Caro is a name often bantered about in our home, especially when victors walk through our rooms with bookcases. The volumes of his work about Lyndon Baines Johnson are noted as they underscore the joy found in the past by an author, incredible researcher and powerful storyteller. He is what many book lovers and… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Best Bang For The Buck” 10/10/25
There’s a particular kind of magic that happens in a bookstore. It’s not loud or flashy. It doesn’t demand your attention like a movie trailer or a viral video. It’s quieter, more intimate, something that I have always found so fulfilling. There is a sense of unfolding possibilities as my fingers trace the spines of… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 