A higher loyalty, a HIGHER loyalty, a higher LOYALTY… I’ve thought of the title of this book a lot over the weeks. Since I’m atheist, a few close friends chided me for reading it, calling it a holier-than-thou kind of book, which it’s NOT. They assumed the higher loyalty was to a celestial figurehead....
I hope one day I’m famous enough to be introduced by Neil Gaiman. (He’s really good at introducing people!) I’ve been a fan of his work for years, but none of them affected me quite like The View from the Cheap Seats. This is a great read for readers but an absolute MUST READ...
Sometimes its worth trudging through the slow parts of a novel to embrace the parts that shake you to your core, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese is that type of book. It starts with the birth of the protagonist, Marion and his twin brother, Shiva. The well-written opening scene grips your soul and...
Jamie Ford’s, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is one of this years MustReads. Another historical fiction novel that makes a person stop and wonder how much is fiction and how much is history. The book takes place during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history. It’s hard to...
Twain’s End was one of those books I picked up, put down, picked up, swore off, picked back up and couldn’t put down. My impression of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain is forever skewed because of this novel. Its one of those situations I had to ask myself, how much of this is historical and how...
Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall brings back memories of the movie Groundhog’s Day plus my own horrible high school experience. When I was a kid, my dad took me to see the Bill Murray’s blockbuster hit. On our way home, he told me every student in America should have to watch that movie over...
Women should read Half the Sky. (Men should too.) I don’t normally read non-fiction. This title was on a recommended reading list of my college-aged daughter. (Her degree is International Policy.) It intrigued me just reading the synopsis and to think these stories are REAL. Heart breaking, horrifying, intense and true life… This book...
Small Great Things, possibly the most important read of the year! Modern day American racism is the theme and Jodi Picoult portrays it brilliantly. (The book…) In a nutshell, Ruth is a black labor and delivery nurse who has done her job well her entire (long) career. She’s also a single mom who’s raised an...
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo wasn’t what I expected from Amy Schumer. It was SO MUCH MORE! Five–star rating in my opinion and I highly recommend it to every man, woman and (over 18-year-old) child. As you know, I’m an audio book junkie and listen to at least one a week. The Girl...
I was a reader before I was a writer. One can’t read as much as I do without being at least slightly familiar with the great Stephen King. For the record, my favorite of his fifty-five novels is his auto-biography, On Writing; A memoir of the craft. That book isn’t like his others as...
