The Only Survivors

It was the worst or the best reason for a reunion. Ten years after a high school field trip goes horribly wrong, The Only Survivors get together every year on the event’s anniversary. They are sticking together to avoid the fate of two of their number. Survivor’s guilt and aContinue Reading

Veg Out

Veg Out is the perfect gardening book for newbies who want an edible garden (or a patio pot or two) but have never read another gardening book. It is clearly laid out with plenty of photos. The steps to proceed are easy to follow. There is an extensive section withContinue Reading

Dirty Laundry

Even in suburban Ireland, stay-at-home wives with young children hide behind their Instagram filters while their real home life falls apart. Ciara and Lauren are neighbors—but certainly not friends. Lauren’s life is chaotic but is based on love. Ciara, an important, at least in her own mind, Instagram influencer, hasContinue Reading

Fateful Words

In Fateful Words, Delaney is a Kansas expat working in an Edinburgh bookstore when her boss mysteriously disappears right before hosting his annual tour of the area. Despite her ex-pat status, Delaney steps in as head of the small global tour group. The tour relates books including The Prime ofContinue Reading

Poop for Breakfast

Who wants Poop for Breakfast? A surprisingly large collection of animals, birds and insects. Luckily (or maybe hopefully), humans don’t eat poop. This picture book explains the reasons why some species do, and some don’t, enjoy the culinary delights of poo. While marketed for children, I found some fascinating tidbitsContinue Reading

Sherlock Holmes The Final Problem

Sherlock Holmes—The Final Problem is a new illustrated edition of the famous short story. The illustrations are reminiscent of German woodcuts. They are beautiful. The text is abridged from the original version, which may make the story more accessible for younger readers. Though originally published in 1893, the story holdsContinue Reading

How Not to Kill Yourself

How Not to Kill Yourself attempts to give people with a suicidal mindset a reason not to do it—at least not today. Overall, I think it achieves that goal. Though obvious recommendations, like call a friend or just wait one more day, are discussed, many new ideas are also included.Continue Reading

Strike Out 4 Murder

Not you see him…and now you don’t. When a dead body goes missing, Phee’s retired, but not retiring, mother Harriet insists that her amateur sleuth/bookkeeper daughter find out what happened. If only it were that easy. Will Phee Strike Out 4 Murder? Sun City West is a retirement complex inContinue Reading

Antimatter Blues

Mickey7 is back but he has the Antimatter Blues. Despite being an Expendable, who was previously just painfully regenerated whenever his missions were too much for his frail human body, he has been accepted into the colony on planet Niflheim. However, some of his actions to achieve that status (madeContinue Reading

The God of Endings

The God of Endings is a story about a vampire. However, it reads more like a philosophical tale weighing the pros and cons of immortality. It is slow and sometimes confusing. It is probably best for literary fiction fans rather than fantasy, horror or even historical fiction readers. Still, itContinue Reading

What Have We Done

An improbable cartoonish plot and paper-thin unlikeable characters makes What Have We Done a miss for me. Five teenagers meet in a horrendous group home and do something drastic to save themselves from its horrors. Twenty-five years later, all five have achieved various levels of success: a judge, a techContinue Reading