Reviews
review
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Cozy Mysteries & Meddling Detectives
I like mysteries, and I like spunky heroines – particularly the kind that never quite go looking for trouble, but always seem to fall face down into it as sure as the buttered side of your bread will hit the floor. Even more fun are those trouble magnets that just have to solve the mystery they’ve stumbled into despite the admonitions of the local police to just stay away. (Seriously…who can stay away?) Enter the “Cozy Mystery”. I confess, I’m relatively new to the term but not the genre. A “cozy mystery” falls under the heading of crime fiction; they take place in a small community, the detectives are almost always…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday – About Living Online
If you are reading this, it’s obvious you are plugged in and living online. Internet, email, social media – it’s become and integral part of our lives and unlike those of us born (more than) twenty years ago, today’s children have exposure to technology and various forms of social media starting at a very early age. This weeks picks focus on two ends of the spectrum, if you will. The first is written by a mom who, concerned by her family’s engagement in technology, makes the bold move to totally unplug. As in, from everything. The second book is one that, for those of us not willing to make that…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday – Order of Seven
While I look forward to the end of homework and packed lunches and crazy schedules, summer vacation also means the end of order as I know it. Soon, my quiet time to read and write will go hand in hand with the kidlings’ time spent with the Disney Channel or the X-Box. With that in mind, I’ve been doing even more reading than writing because I have so many great books stacked on the side table and lined up on my Kindle. One book read in record time is this week’s pick for What I’m Reading Wednesday: ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho. Reading the blurb on the back of the book, my…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: The Truth and Other Lies
In the mood for something different? Something witty, suspenseful, and with a protagonist who is absolutely despicable? Do I have the book for you! Sascha Arango’s “The Truth and Other Lies” is a cleverly written book that proved to be impossible to put down. Henry Hayden is a famous author who lives a rather unassuming life with his quiet wife – only, the only tales that Henry is actually responsible for are the lies and half-truths that come out of his mouth when he tries to save himself from a disaster of his own making. His wife mind-bogglingly churns out one book after another, and is perfectly content to let Henry lay claim to…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: It Started With a Breakup
Today’s picks for What I’m Reading Wednesday have one thing in common – they both center around a young woman who has just broken off her engagement – one the dumper, one the dumpee – and what direction their lives take afterwards. They are two very different characters in personality (one independent and driven, one dependent and searching for purpose) and life circumstance (one scraping by, one a reluctant socialite) but both women are surrounded by colorful supporting characters and find their strengths and happiness in the end (of course!) So let’s get started with What I’m Reading Wednesday! First on my list is Creature Comforts by Trisha Ashley. This…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday – The Dead Key
The days are getting longer and the weather is gorgeous here, so I’m enjoying this brief lull before mosquito season kicks by reading on the patio. My pick for this week’s edition of “What I’m Reading Wednesday” is the 2014 Grand Prize and Mystery & Thriller Fiction winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel award, D.M. Pulley’s The Dead Key. The Dead Key is the story of two women involved with behind-the-scenes dealings of the First Bank of Cleveland, separated by 20 years. The store vacillates between 16-year old bank secretary Beatrice Baker in 1978 and civil engineer Iris Latch, who in 1998 is freed from her tedious desk job to survey the now defunct…
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Urban Adventure Questing in San Antonio
Every city has its big attractions and in the rush to see everything you might miss out on some of the hidden gems. We recently discovered a great number of interesting details as we explored San Antonio via Urban Adventure Quest. An Urban Adventure Quest is a bit like a small-scale version of “The Amazing Race” – without the dangerous bits and the questionable foods. It is a smart-phone based scavenger hunt through one of more than 30 popular cities. It is timed, but that’s ok – the only price to win is bragging rights and a wonderful day out exploring (and brainstorming) with family, so you can complete it at any…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Dead Wake
I’ve been reading quite a bit of narrative non-fiction of late, and my book choice for “What I’m Reading Wednesday” does not disappoint. In the way that Erik Larson’s other books have entertained as much as educated, I have found his newest release Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania to be a page-turner and an eye-opener. His telling has plenty of detail and brings the story to life. Did I know the story of the Lusitania? I thought I did, but this book proved that I had a back-cover summary of the events in contrast to the complex reality. The Lusitania was a ship in the British Cunard line that made…
