This book, as you can probably tell by its title, is deeply religious. (Although some people would argue with that word, religious, we’re going to stick with it.) If you have no interest in Christianity, it probably won’t interest you, however, it is a quick read that can inspire peace, devotion, and discipline, even in…
This book–which is really a play–could write the book on 1970s theater. After all, it won the Pulitzer. But more than that, it just reeks of 1970s theater coolness, and I do mean that “in a good way.” If you enjoy reading plays, especially plays from around that time period, you–well, you’ve probably already read…
I’ve been meaning to read this one for the past few months, since my daughter had to read it for school, but I have been unable to keep up with her reading (as her speed has increased and my duty as a reading mother has gotten a little out of hand). When we chatted about…
Unofficially, I have moved from reading one book a day to a book every other day. I’m just too scheduled in the evening to have time to snuggle down before bed and finish a novel each night. (And I know you’re there, too.) So the first two books took me a day each, but then…
Normally, I would have read this book as part of the trilogy that it belongs in, but since this is my book-a-day challenge and this is the only one (inexplicably) on our bookshelves, I read it. The books, Night, Dawn, and Day, can stand alone. When I was in college, Elie Wiesel was all the rage. Okay,…
Second day, second book. I read The Wave, by Todd Strasser. It is a novel, but it hits the reader more like journalism and is read largely during social studies education. Why? Because The Wave is based on the true story of a California classroom in 1969. The teacher was surprised by his class’s response…
Day one of my possibly insane goal of reading nineteen books at a rate of one a day, and I didn’t even have a full day to complete the first one! Naturally, I grabbed the thinnest book in the stack. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian is one of the lesser-known publications of heavy-hitting author Kurt…
Every once in awhile, I get out of the habit of reading on a regular, usually daily, basis. Often this is the indirect fault of media–TV or internet–but sometimes it’s because I haven’t encountered a good book in awhile so I start dragging my feet. This time, I think it was a combination of free…
It is true. My review of Rossi Fox’s 365 Journal Writing Ideas is not without its problems. The truth is that I am working on a similar project for Owl and Zebra Press, titled The Beginner’s Journal. I’m sure that project and this particular journal will have plenty of overlap, but only because we have…
I had seen the movie. It was popular, in its time, with the kids. I wasn’t especially impressed. But I knew that didn’t mean I wouldn’t like the book. So when I found myself at a Cracker Barrell in upstate New York, facing a solo twelve-hour drive and perusing the audio book rentals, this one…
We were perusing the children’s section of a Barnes & Noble on a family trip to the mall, when we came across a few featured tables piled high with great-looking books. I did what all modern Americans do, and I pulled out my smart phone to take photos of all the books that I wanted…
I found this trilogy—at least the first two books (which was all that was available at the reading)—to be very, very confusing. Let’s get this established: I don’t confuse easily, especially when reading. The confusion with these books is three-fold, and it is reflected in the contradictory reviews. First, the plot it confusing. Second, the…
There are a few people I will take book recommendations from and they are mostly in my writing group. This particular recommendation, for The Turner House, came not only as a title scribbled on my writing notes, but as a book pressed into my hand by someone else who had just finished it. “It reminded…
This book really doesn’t need a review, does it? But it was on the Best Books list and I read it (not for the first time), and here it is. I will admit that this was never a favorite of mine. I just didn’t get all the hype. I was so used to the illustrations…
Yes, this book is part of a series, but since I only read the first one, I can speak only to that book. As of 2017, there are six books in the series: My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish The SeaQuel Fins of Fury Any Fin Is Possible Live and Let Swim Jurassic Carp Why didn’t…
I must have been writing this review in my head while reading this book, because I feel like I already wrote it. I looked on the blog, I looked in the blog drafts, and I even searched through my Word file. Nothing. Must have been in my head. Why? Because this book is so surprising.…
Is it a novel? Is it a book of short stories? Personally, I have it filed on my bookshelves in the short stories section, but you could really go either way with this Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Elizabeth Strout. I came across this book several years ago, when it won the Pulitzer and landed on…
I love this book and everything about it. When my daughter was an infant, it was cool in our circles to buy this Bible for your children, and a friend of the family bought a copy for our daughter. Over the years, there have been many children’s Bibles that I have seen that did not…
I devoured this book. But maybe this book isn’t for you. Most likely, it isn’t, unless you are embarking on your first year of home schooling, or even if you are in your first year and need to reach out for help, which would not be uncommon. This book is obviously written for homeschoolers or…
My son has been reading The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne for some months, now. He is what is termed a reluctant reader, so we take his reading interest where we can find it, even with comic books or the Jack Stalwart series (see previous review). I’m not super fond of the…
the starving artist 