Author Julia Cameron points out that one of the most valuable tools for creativity is one of the simplest — walking. When she wrote THE ARTIST’S WAY she didn’t address exercise until week 12 in the program. In IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO BEGIN AGAIN: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond, which was written twenty-five years after … [Read more...]
Movie: HIDDEN FIGURES
As soon as I saw the preview for HIDDEN FIGURES I was hooked. As a women, as a history lover, as a child of the sixties who grew up watching the race to the moon, the civil rights movement, and the race riots in my hometown of Chicago, I was anxious to get an expanded, heels on the ground, black southern world view of my memories. I wasn’t … [Read more...]
Book: THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS by M.L. Stedman
"spellbinding tale... deep characterization... beautiful language" I absolutely adored THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, M.L. Stedman's spellbinding tale about the love of a child and the grave consequences, perhaps, of loving too much. Set on coastal Australia (the majority upon a small lighthouse island), this stunning debut brought back memories of … [Read more...]
Book: RUBY by Cynthia Bond
"beautifully crafted... multi-faceted... important book to read" Books keep us reading for different reasons. For some it’s plot, for others it’s characterization, and yet for others it’s beautifully crafted sentences or a sense of intrigue. Some of us like fast-paced, some of us like a slow trickle that places us in the hearts of … [Read more...]
Book: THE HOURS COUNT by Jillian Cantor
"skillful weaving of fact and fiction... A roller-coaster ride of emotion and adrenaline" THE HOURS COUNT by Jillian Cantor is a quiet but impactful story about the only two civilians (the married couple Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) who were executed in the U.S. for conspiring to commit espionage. The story will resonate, particularly I think, with … [Read more...]
Book: WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler
"...a necessary read. For all of mankind." I want to extend the same courtesy that so many other reviewers extended to me by NOT exposing a key point of this story that, some 70 to 80 pages in, changes everything you may expect about this novel. A key point that makes the story that much better. (Warning: resist reading reviews – except mine ☺-- … [Read more...]
Book: BEYOND EMBARRASSMENT by JoAnne Lake
My gift suggestion for 2015 and beyond is the book, BEYOND EMBARRASSMENT: reclaiming your life with neurogenic bladder and bowel, written by JoAnne Lake and biosleuth, Julia Parker. Before going on about the importance of this selection and why I have an enormous amount of respect for JoAnne Lake, I wanted to mention this book drove me out of my … [Read more...]
Book: WILDERNESS by Lance Weller
I’ll start with this: WILDERNESS by Lance Weller is THE book I’ve been waiting for. In fact, if I could give it more than five stars, I would. Without a doubt, it is among my all-time favorite reads, so rich is it in sensory detail and drinkable prose. The title of the book, alone, spoke to my natural sensitivities: Wilderness. You learn early … [Read more...]
Book: WOLF WINTER by Cecilia Ekbäck
WOLF WINTER by Cecilia Ekbäck -- "skillfully spans genres...breathtaking... beautifully haunting" This atmospheric novel drips with a sense of foreboding, but underlying that darkness is respect and admiration for the environment and the harsh Swedish winters of the mid 1700s. While I generally don’t favor mysteries, I suppose, at its heart, … [Read more...]
Book: THE ENCHANTED by Rene Denfeld
"Stunning ... a darkly beautiful, moving book" THE ENCHANTED by Rene Denfeld in one word: stunning! Of course, I can’t stop at a one-word description for what is, without a doubt, my favorite read this year. This book also makes my “favorites of all-time” list, so rich is it in sensory detail, and literary and emotional depth. Set in a death-row … [Read more...]
Behind the Scenes
At night I’ve been known to stare into the quiet darkness beyond our windows, so different from the fierce sunlight of the day and its illumination. And I wonder: what really happens out there, after the sun slithers behind the mountains? What happens behind the scenes? A lot, it appears. When our blinds are drawn to the skies canvassed in the … [Read more...]
Book: LATE RAPTUROUS by Frank Gaspar
"...like ingesting a multilayered, deliciously decadent, and slightly acidic cake." Poetry is the "jazz" of writing - where we get to improvise, stretch, ride the edge of language. One of my favorite poets is Frank Gaspar. I began reading LATE RAPTUROUS 10 days before Christmas. Frank Gaspar’s poems are complex, often somber elegies with just … [Read more...]
Book: PASSAMEZZO by J. E. Mathieson and A. A. Guest
"... rich generational saga ... gripping political thriller... brutal cautionary tale" The subtitle "Who is trying to kill the boss of bosses" clues you into its thriller plot and the gangster hat on the cover points you to its Canadian crime family subject. The authors J. E. Mathieson and A. A. Guest describe their riveting, well written and … [Read more...]