My Blog
Books
"The Girl In Between" by Laekan Zea Kemp
The Girl In Between is Book 1 of a quartet. The premise is very interesting: main character, Byrn, has what is called Klein-Levin Syndrome (KLS). In addition to the normal kind of sleeping we all do – 6-9 hours out of every 24 – she may pass out, anywhere, any time, and sleep for anywhere from several days to several months.
"Opening Belle" by Maureen Sherry
Maureen Sherry was an investment banker on Wall Street. A very accomplished one. A managing director, in fact. Opening Belle is not a true story, but her description of how women are treated on the trading floor is factual.
"The Fifth Gospel" by Ian Coldwell
This is another one of those stories about finding a long lost gospel that nobody knew existed and that will change the Christian world, possibly destroy it. Or, in this case, the Catholic world. It deals with the split between Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
No doubt you’ve heard of this book, if for no other reason than the recent movie starring Harry Potter’s Emma Watson. It’s about Charlie, a very shy, introverted boy who is also extremely bright and insightful. That would be the wallflower. Although I still don’t know what the perks of that are. Oh, well.
"Slaves of Obsession" by Anne Perry
First, I want to say that I now know where the television detective Adrian Monk got his name. His last name, anyway. A private detective named William Monk is the protagonist is many of her novels. He’s a very popular character, especially in England, and Anne Perry is a very popular writer, again, especially in England. But she has quite a few fans “across the pond,” too.
"Gray Mountain" by John Grisham
John Grisham has written a string best-sellers, many of which were turned into movies. It seems his best one, though, from 1989–96. And for my money, nothing will ever equal The Firm. Which is not to say his later books aren’t good. They are, they’re very good. But they don’t have the same magic.
"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes
There’s been such buzz about the movie Me Before You that I figured I will see it sooner or later, and I usually like to read the book first. So… For those of you who do not watch TV, it’s about a young girl who takes a job as caretaker to a young, grouchy quadriplegic. (He didn’t start out grouchy, but wouldn’t you be?)
"The Virginian" by Owen Wister
This is the first Western ever written. It set the form for the western. It wasn’t even a genre until this book. The strong, silent type? He created it. Clint Eastwood owes him a debt of gratitude. Pretty much every stereotype you can think of about cowboys and the old West, Owen Wister created. He took them from reality, to be sure, but he’s the one who codified them. In fact, that can be a problem. I’d start to think,
"The Boston Girl" by Anita Diamant
Those of us who were around in the 60s and actually remember them (you know the saying: If you remember the 60s, you weren’t there), you probably think we’re the generation that started women’s lib. And we were. This time. There have been women’s movements all throughout modern history. The Boston Girl tells the story of a woman who liberated herself when there wasn’t a movement.
