Taken from my dear Sheila: List your favorite films from A to Z, one for each letter of the alphabet. A for Amadeus B for Blade Runner C for Cabaret D for Dressed to Kill E for East of Eden F for Fear Eats the Soul G for Ginger Snaps H for The Haunting I for Imitation of Life J for Johnny Guitar K for Krull L for Leave her to Heaven M for Mildred Pierce N for Natural Born Killers O for Ossessione P…
My intrepid cousin Terri of Sense of Wonder found an html version of the Bill Cosby pamphlet that taught me how to speed read when I was 7. An excerpt: Previewing is especially useful for getting a general idea of heavy reading like long magazine of newspaper articles, business reports, and nonfiction books, It can give you as much as half the comprehension in a little as one-tenth the time. For example, you should be able to preview eight or ten 100-page reports in an…
Synopsis: Half-vampire Schuyler learns more about her lineage and has a secret love affair with the twin of her nemesis, as the war between the vampire Blue Bloods and Lucifer’s army of Silver Bloods escalates. Review: When I signed up to review Revelations, I didn’t realize it was book 3 in a series, and I really had a hard time catching up with all of the vampire lore and the history between the characters. From what I gathered, vampires were fallen angels who mutinied against…
I am really thankful to Lisa Roe for the chance to take a look at this provocative new version of the Bible. I am really intrigued by modern attempts to make the Bible more “relevant,” mostly because I’m not sure it needs it! From the publisher: There is no religious mission behind The Book. We believe that its success will be driven by the fact that this is not coming from any specific faith, religion or church. We are from many faiths, backgrounds, and beliefs;…
Synopsis: A murder investigation cuts too close to the bone for a detective who was once part of a missing persons case himself. Review: The other Sunday, Superfast Husband had to go to Home Depot after church, and since Superfast Toddler would certainly fall asleep in the car, I needed a book to read while listening to her dulcet snores. We stopped into the murder mystery bookshop nearby, where I asked if they could request anyone who loves Barbara Vine, and likes Ruth Rendell but…
I really enjoyed Alan Gratz’s Something Wicked, which I read as part of a book blog tour. I love projects that connect me with other great book bloggers, so I hope you will check out all the other participating blogs! the 160acrewoods, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Dolce Bellezza, Hyperbole, KidzBookBuzz.com, Looking Glass Reviews, Maggie Reads, Never Jam Today
If you were intrigued by yesterday’s review of Something Wicked by Alan Gratz, you can read his previous book,
Synopsis: A white boy in in 1946 witnesses a lynching. Review: While the subject matter of Guardian is powerful, the approach is heavy-handed, and I don’t think it has anything new to say about racial violence. It’s certainly no To Kill A Mockingbird, and honestly I would be disappointed if a teen picked up this book instead of that one, just because it’s new. The characters are thin to the point of caricature, and there is such a sharp distinction between the good guys and…
Synopsis: When his best friend Mac starts acting like a jerk after a fortune teller prophesies that he’ll be king of the Scottish games, budding investigator Horatio Wilkes thinks it’s just a bad mood, until Mac’s grandfather Duncan ends up dead. Review: Something Wicked is a clever, edgy young adult retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which happens to be my absolute favorite Shakespeare play. Author Alan Gratz doesn’t hew too closely to the plot of the Scottish play, taking what works, riffing on what’s memorable, and…
I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek of The Bible Illuminated, an ambitious new edition of the Good News Bible translation of the New Testament. It’s filled with powerful images drawn from contemporary life, and it seems that the goal is to draw awareness of social justice issues, as the presence of portraits of Bono and Angelina Jolie would imply. The book of the Revelation is illustrated with images of toxic waste and environmental destruction that certainly make one long for the new…