This is a highly readable account of Stan Lee's involvement in the rise of comic books in the 20th century to superhero movies in the 21st century. Stan Lee lived from 1922 to 2018, carving out a highly visible role in comic book mythology. I am casually interested in Marvel and Stan Lee. The various … Continue reading Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World – Adrian Mackinder
Author: Emily Leader
I have been an avid reader since Dick and Jane met Sally. At age 7, I read my parents' first edition of "To Kill a Mockingbird." I am a retired lawyer and so read almost only fiction for pleasure. I'm adding in nonfiction these days, largely on social justice matters but also history, biography, and weird topics that catch my imagination. I used to read only serially, one book at a time. Presently, I read paperbacks, hardcovers, listen to audible, listen to CDs and read online through Net Galley. Covid-19 has caused me to read a lot so I have re-upped my Goodreads challenge for 2021 and am starting to review at least my favorite finds annd, perhaps, some stinkers.
The Sundown Motel – Simone St. James
Carly is drawn to Fell, NY. Her 20-year-old Aunt Viv disappeared from there 35 years ago but her family would not talk about it. Viv was gone. Now Carly's mother has died and her restless curiosity takes her to Fell, where she gets a job at the never-changing Sun Down Motel, working the night shift … Continue reading The Sundown Motel – Simone St. James
A Stranger at the Door – Jason Pinter
This is the strong second entry in the Rachel Marin series. DO read the first, "Hide Away" before you read this! In "Hide Away", Rachel, a brilliant mother of two, recalls what she did after her husband's gory murder and the ongoing danger to her family. To protect them she learned extreme self-defense, set up … Continue reading A Stranger at the Door – Jason Pinter
The Story Collector – Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
A sweet historical fiction mystery that will capture any young bookie-monster's attention. We read this at story time to a very enchanted 7-year-old. Viviani Joffre Fedeler is 11 years old and lives in an apartment in the New York Public Library. It's 1917 and her father is the superintendent of the building with a ten-room … Continue reading The Story Collector – Kristin O’Donnell Tubb
The Black Swan of Paris – Karen Robards
The Black Swan of Paris is Genevieve Dumont, a French singer based in Paris, who is the toast of Europe-- including the Nazi occupiers. Her manager Max, a Brit who speaks fluent French, also serves as the head of a cell of the French Resistance. Max has drawn Genevieve into this work through some subterfuge … Continue reading The Black Swan of Paris – Karen Robards
BLIND PONY As True a Story as I can Tell – Samantha Hart
I almost didn’t get into this book. At first, Sam Hart’s writing, in two or three sentence paragraphs, jarred me. I didn’t know if there would be a story, yet what she was saying in bits and pieces engaged my attention. I read some reviews – both positive and negative and decided to read on. Now, I cannot … Continue reading BLIND PONY As True a Story as I can Tell – Samantha Hart
Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure – Menachem Kaiser
Menachem Kaiser was raised in a close-knit Orthodox Jewish American-Canadian family. His grandfather, a holocaust survivor from Poland died before he was born. Kaiser is named for him. When, in the course of a routine visit to Poland, he has occasion to visit Sosnowiec, his grandfather’s hometown, he secures an address from his father of … Continue reading Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure – Menachem Kaiser
The Dictionary of Lost Words — Pip Williams
This is about as perfectly written a piece of historical fiction as I've ever read. It is the story of Esme from ages six to twenty-five and no--- you don't have to be a history buff, an Oxford English Dictionary nerd, a turn of the century social history expert, a fan of women's suffrage lore, … Continue reading The Dictionary of Lost Words — Pip Williams
Henry – Remembrance
I first met Henry for less than a minute in 1974. I was participating in the Harrisburg Urban Semester, interning at the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office and living with my sister Libby, who worked at the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Her car was in the shop and I picked her up at work. I went inside … Continue reading Henry – Remembrance
It was third grade. Cursive writing. Hullabaloo and go go boots. Little kid crushes. Mrs. Powers.
Youngest in the class and weird. She inadvertently placed me near the classroom library and I read those books, early chapter books, constantly. A little below my level since I'd just finished "To Kill a Mockingbird" the previous summer, but I'd have read Dick and Jane books to avoid her acerbic, boring, unloving presence before … Continue reading It was third grade. Cursive writing. Hullabaloo and go go boots. Little kid crushes. Mrs. Powers.
They Called me Bookworm 