Book #185 of 2018: The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson An outstanding and meticulously-researched oral history of the Great Migration, in which millions of African Americans moved from the south to the north and west over the decades from World War I to around 1970. This …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
TV Review: The Middleman, season 1
TV #43 of 2018: The Middleman, season 1 My latest rewatch of this action-comedy cult classic, which lasted only 12 episodes on ABC Family in 2008 before getting tragically canceled. I guess I’m not surprised that the show struggled to find an audience, but it really is so much fun, with witty dialogue, clever pop …
Book Review: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
Book #184 of 2018: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse #1) I like the setting and plot of this sci-fi thriller, which blends the creepy deep-space body horror of Event Horizon with a less-fantastical version of Red Rising‘s interplanetary political tensions. Author “James S. A. Corey” (actually a collaboration between Daniel Abraham …
Continue reading “Book Review: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey”
Book Review: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
Book #183 of 2018: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey I read this book earlier in the year, but I wanted to refresh my memory before my book club discusses it on Monday. My original review, reposted below, still stands: — Former FBI Director Jim Comey is a polarizing public figure, …
Continue reading “Book Review: A Higher Loyalty by James Comey”
Book Review: Nation by Terry Pratchett
Book #182 of 2018: Nation by Terry Pratchett This novel about the aftermath of a natural disaster in the Pacific Islands is fine, but it doesn’t quite spark the joy and humor in me that I expect from Terry Pratchett at his Discworld / Good Omens best. I think I would have better enjoyed reading …
Book Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Book #181 of 2018: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Too many unanswered questions in this story of a newly-married seventeenth-century Dutch woman receiving mysterious figurines from a reclusive artisan. Largest is the issue of the title character, whose unexplained gifts are fantastically intricate and insightful (if not outright prophetic), but I also have a hard …
Continue reading “Book Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton”
Book Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
Book #180 of 2018: Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (Gentleman Bastard #2) Plotwise, this sequel is an unfortunate step down from author Scott Lynch’s brilliant debut, The Lies of Locke Lamora. Whereas that earlier fantasy crime novel effortlessly weaves its various strands into one compelling whole, this follow-up spends a third of …
Continue reading “Book Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch”
Book Review: Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
Book #179 of 2018: Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward There are no real bombshell revelations in this inside account of the early Donald Trump presidency, which reads like a less tawdry Fire and Fury but is overall in line with other coverage of the administration. Still, original Watergate reporter Bob Woodward …
Continue reading “Book Review: Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward”
Book Review: The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin
Book #178 of 2018: The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Hardin A powerful memoir from a wrongfully-convicted black man who spent 30 years on Alabama’s death row before finally being exonerated in 2015 by the efforts of appeals lawyer Bryan Stevenson. …
Book Review: Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
Book #177 of 2018: Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz (Alex & Eliza #1) This historical fiction novel presents in the form of a Young Adult love story the real-life romance of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler during the American Revolution. In the process author Melissa de la Cruz has taken a few …
Continue reading “Book Review: Alex & Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz”
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 