I read science fiction for its great and unexpected ideas. While you know what you will encounter in a mystery or romance, reading science fiction is more like a leap into space with no memory of putting on a bungie cord. Mickey7 contains just that type of big idea. TheContinue Reading
If you’re feeling crafty (in a good way), The Art of Papercraft will give you some relatively inexpensive paper crafting ideas. From an Origami Candy Dish to wall hangings, this book has forty different projects using various techniques. It even teaches how to make the paper itself. The instructions areContinue Reading
If you remember 1990s boy bands with fondness, don’t miss The Wedding Murders. Secrets abound at the present-day wedding of a member of a 90s boy band. At its heart is the mystery of why the band broke up so many years ago. Then, the killings begin. The Wedding MurdersContinue Reading
My Review Software engineer Marty, his two college-aged children, his sister Laney, her two young daughters, his girlfriend Meghan, his neighbor Mrs. Kim, and Laney’s family dog Buddy are on vacation in Hawaii. But it’s not much of a vacation for Marty as he is pushed into helping the policeContinue Reading
Curious about physics but hate all the math? Same here. This Way to the Universe provides a dense and diverse look into the subject written in plain English, mostly. From quantum physics to astrophysics, most questions are answered here. However, don’t expect an easy read. I would describe it asContinue Reading
Imagine that instead of higher temperatures and rising waters, it was the trees that started the apocalypse. That is the setting in Clean Air. It is ten years after The Turning, when runaway tree pollen killed more than half of the world’s population. The world has rebuilt using robots controlledContinue Reading
The love-hate relationship between teenage girl bffs is explored in Cherish Farrah. Farrah is the child of upper middle-class black parents. Her best friend, Cherish, is the black adopted daughter of even wealthier white parents. When Farrah’s parents have financial difficulties, she decides to take over Cherish’s life of beingContinue Reading
It’s always a pleasure to ride along with psychologist Alex and LAPD detective Milo on one of their only-in-LA cases. City of the Dead, the 37th book in the Alex Delaware series, is no exception. A pseudo-psychologist is found dead in her house with her throat slashed. Outside nearby aContinue Reading
Grow More Food is written for serious gardeners. If you are an intermediate gardener and want to level up production, this book will help you do it. However, you should have at least two to three years of home gardening under your belt first. Alternatively, you can start here ifContinue Reading
As a lifelong mystery devotee, I definitely have A Taste for Poison. After all, my favorite author, Agatha Christie, used it in many of her plots. Agatha had been trained in pharmacology during WWI, which gave her plots authenticity. Now, aspiring mystery writers, and potential murderers I suppose, can justContinue Reading
Just when Finlay thought she was out, she is sucked back into crime in Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead. Former hitwoman (a long story described in the previous novel in the series, Finlay Donovan is Killing It), Finlay, and her accomplice/nanny, Vero, are trying to stop an assassin. An anonymousContinue Reading
Catch Her When She Falls is a slow-paced thriller where the unsympathic narrator may or may not be losing her mind. In high school, Micah, Emily, Alex and Ryan hung out together. Emily was Micah’s best friend. Alex was Micah’s boyfriend. Ryan was Alex’ best friend. Alex and Emily wereContinue Reading
Go deep, really deep, into the science of The Intermittent Fasting Revolution. Can time-restricted eating or alternate fasting days really cure diabetes, obesity, and possibly other diseases? The author says yes. Then he proceeds to prove his case with vast research looking at early humans, studies he has run sinceContinue Reading
Ten years ago, the author of Super Gut published Wheat Belly. The book, which advocated restricting wheat, was a hit! I even followed its plan for years. So, I was excited to see he had written a new book. Unfortunately, Super Gut is a disappointment. The new diet incorporates theContinue Reading
Peek behind the bedroom door at Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England. England’s King Henry the VIII is known for his voracious appetites—both for food and women. He created an entirely new religion just so he could dump his first wife! Later, he realized it was easier to just executeContinue Reading
Lana Lee and her best friend Megan are trying to help their friend, Rina, avoid murder charges in Hot and Sour Suspects. Lana, the manager of her parent’s noodle house outside Cleveland, is hosting her first speed dating night at the restaurant. The event is going well. Suddenly a womanContinue Reading