I don’t know who A.E. Newton is, but I want to go book shopping with him: “Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity… we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort,… Read more
I dearly love anything that gets people reading. While I wouldn’t read most of Oprah’s picks myself, there are some good books on the list and if they get people reading a book who would not otherwise make their way to the bookstore, I say GO OPRAH! I get even more excited when we’re talking about getting kids to read.… Read more
Last night’s episode of Criminal Minds struck a very scary chord for me. Back in 2009, I reviewed a book called Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories and My Life in Ink by Jeff Johnson. It was a fun read, about — you guessed it — a tattoo artist. Lots of stories about their unique lingo, what it’s like working… Read more
One of my favorite authors passed away yesterday – Robert B. Parker, author of the Spenser series of novels. There were 37 Spenser novels in all, according to RobertBParker.net, including his newest, The Professional. The novels inspired a television series – Spenser: For Hire – that forever changed the way I read his books. I was never a big Robert Urich… Read more
A friend posted this link on another forum and I thought it was too adorable not to share. It’s from the Science Fiction Book Club and apparently it’s true – books soothe the savage beast! Share a book with a friend! Read more
Welcome to my new website! I’ve been looking forward to having all my reviews and commentary on a site that belongs to me. It’s mine, all mine! Look around, check out my reading list, check out my new categories and be sure to add yourself to my RSS feed. I hope you’ll stop back often to read and leave your… Read more
I admit it, I abandon books. Once upon a time, I believed that I needed to finish every book I started. After all, on any page, the story might pick up – there might be some crucial scene, some plot twist, something that would redeem the story. But you know what? There usually isn’t. A book that starts out badly… Read more
There have been some excellent posts recently about the FTC’s new guidelines on endorsements. You can find more information at DearAuthor and Huffington Post. One thing that was reassuring is that the FTC cannot actually levy fines. According to Jane at DearAuthor, it works like this: The FTC has no ability to levy fines. A charge must be made and… Read more
The Federal Trade Commossion has issued new guidelines about book bloggers. Apparently, if I review a book and don’t tell you that I received it for free, I could be fined up to $11,000! $11,000. For a book review. Now, I do understand the motivation behind this. There are some powerful blogs (the examples I’ve read about are mostly mommy-blogs)… Read more
This lovely Sunday morning, it’s time to take a break from great literature and check out some bad books – really bad books. A friend of mine pointed me to Awful Library Books and I have been laughing ever since! The blog posts actual books from actual libraries (names withheld to protect the guilty) that really, really ought to be… Read more