Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman: Book Review
This is the continuation of the true story of Vladek Spiegelman’s survival as a Jew in WWII Poland. Most of what I wrote in my review of Maus I still stands, but thereโs a bit more of the authorโs feelings included. You can see the catharsis heโs going through as he writes this novel. Heโs […]
Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman: Book Review
Art Spiegelmanโs father, Vladek, was a Jew living in Poland in WWII. He made it through, and Maus I is Spiegelmanโs story of his fatherโs life, as well as an exploration of the way the lives of the survivors and their family members were never the same. Okay, letโs look at the fact that this […]
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi: Book Review
Primo Levi was a young Jewish man living in Turin, Italy when he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Due to a combination of luck and calculation, he survived. I truly, truly hate to give any Holocaust memoir less than five stars. They are all important and they should all be read. That said. Somehow […]
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman: Book Review
Jan and Antonina ลปabiลski were the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo when Germany invaded Poland. Between the bombing, Nazi cruelty, and the Nazi desire to keep all of the rare animals for themselves, there quickly wasn’t much of a zoo to keep. But Jan was an ingenious thinker and he came up with various ideas […]
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: Book Review
Twenty-three-year-old Jacob Jankowski has just lost his parents in a car crash. They had already lost everything in the Great Depression. In a devastating bout of grief, Jacob, a vet school student, walks out of his final exams at Cornell University. He ends up working for a circus as the vet. His boss, August, is […]
Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint: Book Review
In Jack the Giant Killer, the first of two novels in this collection, Jacky Rowan has just realized that her life is not going where she wants it to go. She drifts along, refusing to take care of her life and just staying at home doing nothing. She decides to change her life after a […]
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin: Book Review
Picking up where the first book left off, the Seven Kingdoms are in chaos. There are now three claimants to the Iron Throne and the North has declared something of a war of independence on the rest of the country. This book has almost everything. Treachery, loyalty, conspiracies, conspiracies within conspiracies, turncoats, power plays, twists, […]
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee: Book Review
Lewis Buzbee has worked around books his entire life. He worked at the local bookstore through school, and then he worked as a publisher’s rep, and I can’t even remember what else. This slim, satisfying volume is almost a collection of essays about his thoughts on bookstores, books, readers, and publishing. I believe I was […]
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn: Book Review
Kitty Norville is a late-night DJ who stumbles upon a popular idea for a talk show–“The Midnight Hour” in which she and her listeners discuss any and all thing supernatural. And the girl knows what she’s talking about. She’s a werewolf. Unfortunately, her new-found success brings her some unwanted attention. Her Alpha and the master […]
Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich: Book Review
In bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s latest escapade, she’s sent to bring in “Uncle Mo,” the local candy store owner who has to appear in court for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. Everybody in Trenton does it, Mo was just the one who got caught. But Uncle Mo doesn’t want to come in. And […]
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich: Book Review
Stephanie Plum is back and this time she’s trying to hunt down Kenny Mancuso. Kenny shot one of his best friends in the knee and then returned later to finish the job. With the help of Morelli, Ranger, and the ever-loveable Grandma Mazur, maybe Stephanie can catch Kenny before Kenny catches her. This book is […]