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October 27, 2008
Twilight is what you get when you put a drop-dead gorgeous blood-sucking vampire and other creatures of the night into the mixture of teenage drama. With fans swooning and everyone raving about Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, the novel has been at par with the massive sales that the Harry Potter ..
October 26, 2008
A Western Drama in a Modern Setting"The Last Cowboy" is a fictional story of Henry Dunn. Henry swaggered into a bar in Strickland, Oregon. His insolence offended the drunken sheriff who challenged Henry to a duel. Henry wins the duel but is forced to leave Oregon after killing the sheriff.Daniel ..
October 24, 2008
Stuck on the arctic ice with no hope of rescue during the long winter night of the far north would be scary enough. But Mr. Simons unravels a tale of terror based on legends of the Inuit who believe an immortal supernatural creature of immense power jealously guards the region from intruders.Based ..
October 24, 2008
Written by: Kathy Love 293 pages Kensington Publishing Corp. ISBN: 07545333 $14.00 4.5 StarsKathy Love dives into the second book of her Young Series, “Fangs, But No Fangs," by exploring Christian's life as he tries to find his own way in a world that he barely understands. Love's writing is ..
October 24, 2008
Written by: Kathy Love 285 pages Kensington Publishing Corp. ISBN: 0-7582-1131-7 $14.00 4.5 StarsKathy Love enters the realm of paranormal romance with her first book in the Young series, “Fangs for the Memories." Love paints wonderfully romantic yet surreal scenes in this juicy offering ..
October 24, 2008
In Resistance Owen Sheers re-writes the history of World War Two. Germany has invaded Britain. The United States, having suffered reversals both east and west, has retreated home to navel gaze. Britain thus is occupied, but has not yet succumbed.In a remote rural community on the Welsh borders, a ..
October 24, 2008
Over forty years ago a new English teacher at my school answered a question asked by an eager student. The question was, “What do you think is the greatest novel written in English?" He didn't think for very long before replying, “The Heart Of The Matter."We academically-inclined youths .
October 14, 2008
In an exciting historical adventure, Devil's Pocket, Fred B. McKinley brings us sex and secrets during the times when black gold was the lure for men striving to make their fame and fortune. More, he gives us three family stories that twine and intertwine so fully that murder had to result--secrets .
October 14, 2008
Is it hot in here or is it just me? Oh yeah, it is Rafe Noble, a two-time world champion bull rider and current king of the gold buckle. In just eight seconds his life was turned upside down, he lost his title, his best friend, and his career.Katherine Breckenridge wanted to make a difference in ..
October 14, 2008
Desert Medicine is about a young mother of twins who is going through a divorce and has lost her sense of family. Laurelle refuses to feel sorry for herself, or to be classified as a “bitter divorcee," so she volunteers to help an older woman who has cancer. Laurelle has found that the older ..
October 14, 2008
The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury was intriguing to say the least. The idea that the aging process can be cured like any common disease is an interesting one. In The Sanctuary, Raymond hypothesises that cell degeneration (aging) is caused by outside forces, such as free radicals and wear and tear. In .
October 13, 2008
iUniverse (2007) ISBN 9780595470358Imagine working hard your entire life, and upon retiring you find yourself alone, a tiny step from financial ruin and scared out of your wits. Your husband has been shot to death by a burglar, your neighborhood is being terrorized by a gang of hoodlums, the ..
October 11, 2008
I am probably one of the few over eighteen crowd that have immersed herself in the Twilight series. It's hard for a stay at home mom to make a place for herself, outside of the reality that is her home life. Well, meet Stephenie Meyer. Her series about the modern day Romeo and Juliet of the vampire .
October 10, 2008
During the decade leading up to the Civil War, Missouri became a region defined by its diverse points of view. While not a completely free state, residents shared a heritage with both the South and the North alike. At the center of this conflict stood Cape Girardeau along the Mississippi River. ..
October 09, 2008
The book thief is an exceptional book about Nazi Germany in the years of a holocaust. The story is narrated by death and speaks mainly about a poor German girl. It's quite an interesting take on that period of time seeing as how most books about that time concentrate on the Jews.The portrayal of ..
October 07, 2008
Plain View Press (2008) ISBN 9781891386626Thirty-nine-year-old Laura is not having an easy time in her life right now. Her mother is suffering from dementia and her once happy marriage is on the rocks. Life has definitely gotten in the way of her happiness. Totally destroying any sense of ..
October 06, 2008
For me, The Amateur Marriage represents the sixth time I have read one of Anne Tyler's novels. On the surface it's the story of Michael and Pauline. They meet by chance in 1941 in Anton's, the grocery store run by Michael's family. 1941, perhaps incidentally, is the year Anne Tyler was born.There ..
October 05, 2008
Angels and Insects is an intriguing pair of novellas. At one level it examines the complexities of human relationships, especially those incorporated within marriage and the family. It identifies tension, dissipates it, anticipates expectations and then seeks resolution of conflict when they are ..
October 03, 2008
13 Buttonholes by Joann C. Odenwelder was created from stories that her mother told her about her time working in a Navy uniform mill and being in love during World War II. It was also formed by her love of adventure, the state of Texas and her love of learning.Odenwelder's main character is Annie ..
September 25, 2008
"I have the nerve to walk my own way, however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusions." - Letter from Zora Neale Hurston to Countee Cullen.Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960 one of the pre-eminent writers of twentieth-century African-American ..
September 23, 2008
Dark Wraith of Shannara is the first graphic novel by renowned fantasy author, Terry Brooks. Any author that makes the decision to take their work into the graphic novel medium certainly has my support because it's no easy task. Dark Wraith of Shannara took Terry Brooks and his team many months to ..
September 23, 2008
Anthologies can be tricky things to manage, especially when the calibre of talent is so high. As a fan, it's hard to decide what to read first and you'd be spoiled for choice with Del Rey's latest (and first) anthology collection, Faust 1.The book is structured in such a way that you can read it ..
September 22, 2008
When the reader begins As Magic Shifts, by Devin Davis, he is immediately engrossed in the storyline. Davis does not hesitate to pull the reader in, detailing one conflict after another that all leave the reader spellbound. The storyline, though complex, is easy to follow, and Davis's fractured ..
September 16, 2008
Dracula. The Vampire. The old man who grows younger and gains more health and glow as he sucks in more blood from young women. Vampire stories are very popular today. Great vampire stories lead the bestsellers, including the Twilight Saga by the modern-day great Stefanie Meyer.Dracula is a name ..
August 27, 2008
Peter Bauman is a gay, divorced painter. Now, at the age of 45, he is looking for someone to be his soul mate.This novel takes place a decade before the Internet so there is no online dating, as we know it today. Peter decided to try and find someone through personal ads. His daughter encouraged ..
August 26, 2008
Penguin Books India, one of the most famous publishers in India, has indeed added a glorious literary feather to its already shiny image by publishing this book of marvellously multidimensional proportions. The literary audience was delighted when the book was published-in fact it has been one of ..
August 25, 2008
A long, rambling tale, Mistry's 1995 novel is over 600 pages long; 614 pages to be exact. Although almost impossible to envisage someone reading it at one sitting, it is written in a straightforward, seemingly simple style, which makes for almost effortless page turning. Written in the omniscient ..
August 24, 2008
You Suck: A Love Story tells the classic tale of two vampires in love, but it's not your average vampire tale. Grocery store night-clerk, Thomas C. Flood wakes up to find himself turned into a vampire by his girlfriend, Jody. Though he's more than a little mad about his transformation, the two ..
August 23, 2008
During one of my trawls through the used booksellers was the joy of discovering Sharon Kay Penman's historical fiction novels of early medieval England and Wales. For lovers of medieval history, these are a must.She brings to her writings an elegance of style, rarely matched, and an ability to ..
August 23, 2008
In Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, Fat Charlie Nancy has a problem, several in fact. It all started when his father died and he met his long-lost brother. By whispering to a spider, Fat Charlie's brother, Spider, comes to visit and finds that he likes his brother's life so much, he's going to take over. .
August 23, 2008
The world presented in The Giver is a perfect world - no pain, no fear, no choices and no true pleasure. Every citizen is assigned their role, and everyone is happy. When Jonas, the main character, turns twelve, he awaits his assignment, wondering which career he is destined to perform. He is ..
August 23, 2008
George Orwell's Animal Farm may seem rather simple on the surface - the story of a Manor Farm's animals taking over and kicking out their oppressive farmer - but it's also an allegorical tale. Orwell is illustrating his own thoughts on Soviet Communism. After the revolution, the animals of the ..
August 22, 2008
Set in England during the reign of Henry II, Mistress of the Art of Death is an historical crime novel. In 1171 in Cambridge there have been a series of murders of children. The local Christian citizens have blamed the local Jewish population who have taken refuge under the protection of the king. ..
August 20, 2008
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a compelling portrait of people on the downside of a dystopia. Like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale or J G Ballard's Kingdom come, Never Let me Go is built around an abhorrent aspect of social organisation. Crucially, in all three books, the focus of the ..
August 19, 2008
I think that it's a given that we are the sum of our own experiences. But, of course, we are also dependent to some degree on our parents’ experiences, without which we would not have gotten our start in life, and by which we are heavily influenced in our early years. And thus they were ..
August 14, 2008
In Death and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin, he begins his tale in 1943 where Argentina and Germany is filled with espionage of World War II. There is plenty of action and romance to gratify Griffin's many fans of his first four novels in the same series.Set up with every type of sympathizer, military ..
August 14, 2008
Sometimes an author presents exactly what you want to read-the book has a beautiful, enticing cover; a little mystery; a ghost or two; strong, endearing characters, a storyline that keeps you turning pages; excellent writing; and an ending that ties up all the little issues that sometimes are left ..
August 13, 2008
Zabel's youth filled adventure/mystery novel, “Case of the Missing Coach," challengers readers to solve the case right along with the main character, Ryan. It's fun, harrowing at times, but the reader can't deny Ryan's - or Zabel's - love of baseball which shines through the novel. It's a ..
August 13, 2008
A freshman in the ranks of the urban pulp fiction genre, A.G. Fielder's debut novel simply entitled “Baby Daddy Drama: Let the Games Begin" is quickly turning heads and sparking chatter around office water coolers. The book chronicles the lives of five thirty-something women whose lives only ..
August 09, 2008
A Non Stop Action and Suspense Political ThrillerAs a result of an automobile accident at Exit 22 on Interstate 95 in North Carolina Christopher Sandige a political strategist becomes involved with an enigmatic and beautiful woman, Brenda. Although Brenda is involved in secret operations and ..
August 09, 2008
Angelica Gorodischer may be extremely famous in Argentina, but to me it was the name of Ursula K. LeGuin that made me start reading. By the time I finished “Kalpa Imperial" I was ready to seek out more from Ms. Gorodischer-so if anyone is working on a translation hurry it up!"Kalpa ..
August 09, 2008
It is not uncommon for authors to share their vision of the future using a novel as their platform. It is somewhat less common for that vision to be carefully projected, based on the writer's understanding of science and/or politics. It is far less common - in fact quite rare - for such a vision to .
August 08, 2008
Written by: JK Rowling Scholastic 759 pages Hardback 978-0-545-02937-7 Five starsIn this last installment of the series, Harry, along with his friends, Ron and Hermione, are in pursuit of Voldemort's horcruxes, determined to destroy them before Harry confronts the Dark Lord for the last time.The ..
August 08, 2008
Written by: Diane Setterfield Washington Square Press 406 pages $15.00 5 StarsDiane Setterfield weaves a gothic tale that is eerie, fascinating, and utterly compelling. World famous author, Vida Winter seeks out an amateur biographer, Margaret Lea to finally tell her true life story to the world. ..
August 08, 2008
The outside world holds little interest to Littluns. It's not that they don't know about such things and what goes on out there. On the contrary, they know very well about the chaos and discord and will have nothing to do with it. Littluns means ‘little people who live within’. From the .
August 07, 2008
Unforgettable! This is the word that echoed in my mind after reading Boy Imperturbe by Andrew Nardo. Although all writers must use their imaginations and writing skills to create a novel that will hold the interest of readers, the author went far beyond the norm in plotting this intriguing work of ..
August 06, 2008
Despite my best intentions, I have occasional brushes with popular culture. A few years ago, for example, I fell prey to the addictive tales of J. K. Rowling.Rowling's story-telling is outstanding, but the conclusion of Rowling's complex tale in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, released about ..
August 06, 2008
- A Review for A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for LoversAbout one third into Guo Xiaolu's novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, a man at an English pub says to the confused protagonist, a young Chinese woman named Z, “English is a bloody nightmare, isn't it?"Yet the ..
August 05, 2008
Having done something redeeming in a former life, a man is given the gift of being able to choose his next life by a spirit guide. He has to randomly choose five scrolls from thousands. Each scroll represents a life. He is allowed to peek into each life to see which one that he wants. Viewing ..
August 05, 2008
"A Prince in Need" begins when Reginald Claybourne, the king of the medieval country of Myrridia is murdered in a brothel. His son Robert who was there unwillingly will now inherit the throne. Unfortunately for Robert, Reginald's sins had caught up with him. A mysterious woman and her brother may ..
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