Chibi!: Official Mark Crilley How-to-Draw Guide
Drawing chibis (big heads and small bodies) that are seen in manga is easy and cheap if you use Chibi!: Official Mark Crilley How-to-Draw Guide. All that is needed is some nice bristol paper, a regular pencil, a pencil sharpener, several pens with a variety of tip sizes, a 15” clearContinue Reading
Sleuth: Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries
If you never took or only vaguely remember a college English 100 class, Sleuth: Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries is a perfect read for aspiring or new writers. It is also extremely useful for book reviewers like myself. Within Sleuth: Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries, Ms. Bowen extensively covers allContinue Reading
Midnight Line
Skip Midnight Line and save $15 and a wasted six hours. Instead paint a room in your home and then literally watch the paint dry. It would be a better use of your resources and equally entertaining. The plot of this 22nd book in the Jack Reacher series moves slowerContinue Reading
Baby Monkey, Private Eye
Cute, funny, easy reader with awesome illustrations. Baby Monkey, Private Eye contains five cases for Baby Monkey, who is of course a baby monkey, to solve. This is a brilliant mash-up of picture and chapter book. The illustrations are more frequent than words and were my favorite part. Marketed toContinue Reading
Carson Clare’s Trail Guide to Avoiding Death
Poems about middle school threats with excellent illustrations. Carson Clare’s Trail Guide to Avoiding Death has poems about everyday fears like bullies and sharks along with less common ones like Australia, old people and cars. Fears abound in the Trail Guide. Many are imaginatively described. Revenge is a zoo ofContinue Reading
Beatrice and the Basilisk
Highly recommended adventure tale for tween girls. Beatrice and the Basilisk is an modern updating of an adventure tale. However, it seems so realistic that it could happen again tomorrow in your town. This book is perfect for tween or younger girls. While the heroine is 12, she acts moreContinue Reading
Purloined Puzzle
Amusing quick cozy mystery read! The Purloined Puzzle is the 19th book in the Puzzle Lady series but still feels fresh. Cora Felton has a problem. Her least favorite ex-husband Melvin is in town doing another shady real estate deal. Also, there is a pesky teenager first losing, then finding,Continue Reading
Coincidence Makers
Like light science fiction, fantasy and/or romance? Don’t mind a slow build-up to a fantastic finish? If so, the Coincidence Makers is for you. Emily, Eric and Guy meet in a 16-month training class for Coincidence Makers (CMs). CMs are secret agents that work for the government. They “are creatorsContinue Reading
People vs Alex Cross
#FrugalFridays short review for March 9, 2018. Alex is accused of shooting unarmed people and blondes are being abducted for a dark web snuff film. Interesting technology, dramatic courtroom scenes and great sound effects in the audiobook enliven the 25th entry in the series. The only Patterson series I stillContinue Reading
Burger
Everything (plus more) that anyone wants or needs to know about burgers. Burger is part of a Bloomsbury Academic series of object lessons. Each brief book takes a noun and writes an interesting essay about it. Each is written by a different author. I really enjoyed Souvenir, which I gaveContinue Reading
New Short Reviews on #FrugalFridays (because everyone is short of time on Fridays!)
Beginning March 9th, Diane Reviews Books will publish a short (<=100 word) book review each Friday. Most of the books will be popular, slightly older books with plenty of other reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. This will not decrease the usual two to three full reviews weekly. First up onContinue Reading
Again Vol 1
With dyed blond hair and a hostile resting face, Imamura is finally graduating from his high school as Again Vol 1 opens. He transferred to the high school three years previously but had neither made friends nor joined a club. Imamura has also made no plans for his future careerContinue Reading
Last Equation of Isaac Severy
Complex and completely different from other thrillers, the Last Equation of Isaac Severy is highly recommended. Isaac Severy is a famous mathematician. Now retired, he is still working on his last equation: how to use chaos theory to predict Los Angeles traffic. As the book opens, Isaac is preparing aContinue Reading
Girls Burn Brighter
Girls Burn Brighter is a thick flavorful soup of a novel full of the spices of India. It is also a heart wrenching tale of two poor young Indian women’s hopes, dreams and grim realities. Young Poornima is the oldest of two sisters with a younger brother when her motherContinue Reading
Dark Tales: The Hound of the Baskervilles
The famous Sherlock Holmes story is adapted into a graphic novel. Holmes is asked to investigate the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles appears to have died of fright while walking on the foggy moors near his estate. Mysterious footprints of a hound are found nearby. The locals suspectContinue Reading
Lethal Licorice
Characters that feel like family and a deliciously different setting make Lethal Licorice a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. The small, mostly Amish, town of Harvest, Ohio is finally hosting the annual Amish Confectionery Competition (ACC). Bailey is competing for her grandparent’s Amish Candy Shop, Swissmen Sweets, along withContinue Reading