*** NOVEL: Rose Cottage AUTHOR: Mary Stewart YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1997 REVIEW: *** There are a great many books that depict English villages as full of sinister activity and populated by murderers, blackmailers, and nasty writers of poison pen letters. Miss Marple’s home of St. Mary Mead (described in various Agatha Christie novels) as William … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Rose Cottage
What’s particularly interesting about this mystery novel is the fact that it was written by an English professor at Columbia University, Carolyn Heilbrun.
An entertaining compendium by James Lipton (yes, that James Lipton).
Equal parts smart and ridiculous, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar is one of those books that does exactly what it sets out to do…illustrate philosophical concepts through humor.
Vinegar Girl is a book in Penguin Random House’s Hogarth Shakespeare project, in which well-known authors are being commissioned to retell Shakespeare’s stories for a modern audience.
How to Bake Pi is simply terrific–one of those unclassifiable books that’s incredibly smart and incredibly appealing.
Reading to children is, was, and always will be a good thing–it’s a great way to help them become readers: awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills.
*** BOOK: Kitchen Confidential–Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Updated Edition) AUTHOR: Anthony Bourdain YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2007 (original edition, 2000) REVIEW: *** I really miss restaurants these days. I like large parties, and happy hours after work, and tasting menus with wine pairings, and pub grub, and treating those younger and broker than me, and … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Kitchen Confidential
*** NOVEL: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine AUTHOR: Gail Honeyman YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2017 REVIEW: *** Eleanor Oliphant is not fine, not fine at all. Gail Honeyman is a good writer, though, and she’s created a rather remarkable character here in her debut novel. I am somewhat mystified by the reception this book has received–my … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
*** NOVEL: Momo AUTHOR: Michael Ende YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1973 REVIEW: *** Back in 2018, I asked the musician Steve Sandberg for some book recommendations, and he mentioned a book for children called Momo, which I wasn’t familiar with. (He also recommended Lizard Music, which is excellent–I’d just about forgotten about its existence, and was happy … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Momo