Winners and a Les Roberts Giveaway

August 21, 2015

Congratulations to the winners of the last contest. Anita Y. of Barnesville, GA won Linda Castillo’s After the Storm. Linda R. from Dickinson, TX will receive Donis Casey’s Hell with the Lid Blown Off. This week, Les Roberts’ publicist sent four...

Browsings by Michael Dirda

August 20, 2015

It feels a little odd to discuss a book by a critic who writes essays about reviewing books. It reminds me of those old cartoons about a TV scene inside an identical TV scene inside another identical TV scene. I don’t really need to review a book by Michael...

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

August 19, 2015

The other day, a friend referred to her reading, and said sometimes nothing is as satisfying as “death and mayhem”. She’s right. And, when that death and mayhem happens in a debut mystery, a mystery in which I don’t guess the killer, there...

What Are You Reading? Where Are You?

August 18, 2015

I think books are getting longer. Or, I haven’t had a lot of time in the last week. Last night, I spent time on the phone with Southwest Airlines (all good), so that took a little reading time, but I still don’t think I would have finished my book....

The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan

August 17, 2015

Janice Kaplan’s The Gratitude Diaries is a lesson for anyone who wants to change their life for the better. It’s a thoughtful book, and the author spent time talking to all kinds of scientists, doctors and experts about gratitude and how it can change...

Between the Living and the Dead by Bill Crider

August 16, 2015

Looking for the perfect escape? It doesn’t get much better than a new Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery by Bill Crider. There’s investigations of crime in a rural Texas county. Justice triumphs. And, there’s lots of humor including the groaner of a pun in...