10 books I’ve carried with me

Posted by on Sep 15, 2014

This post originally came from a Facebook meme that’s been going around: name 10 books that have you’ve carried with you and don’t take too long to think about it. Normally I ignore stuff like this (“If you don’t forward this post, you’re a terrorist!” “If you don’t copy  and paste this post, I’m going […]

Book Review: Matt Archer: Monster Hunter by Kendra Highley

Posted by on Aug 11, 2014

Bottom Line: A gritty YA fantasy definitely worth the read. Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: Fourteen-year-old Matt Archer spends his days studying Algebra, hanging out with his best friend and crushing on the Goddess of Greenhill High, Ella Mitchell. To be honest, he thinks his life is pretty lame until he discovers something terrifying on a […]

Review of Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (1990) (Jurassic Park Series)

Posted by on Feb 17, 2014

Bottom line: A classic, both in paper and on the screen, that is worth the hype. Rating: Recommended Blurb: An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind’s most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all […]

Review of Sorcery and Cecelia

Posted by on Feb 10, 2014

Sorcery and Cecelia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot (1988) (Cecelia and Kate #1) by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Bottom line: Delightful Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: In 1817 in England, two young cousins, Cecilia living in the country and Kate in London, write letters to keep each other informed of their exploits, which take […]

Review of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy

Posted by on Jan 27, 2014

Review: C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strengthh) is the most disjointed trilogy I have ever read. That’s not to say it isn’t worth reading, or even good, but it feels more like a very loosely related collection of books than a trilogy. What makes it feel so […]

Review of The Princess Bride by William Goldman (1973)

Posted by on Jan 20, 2014

Bottom line: A movie that is 100% fun, and the book that inspired it. Rating: Strongly Recommended for the movie, Recommended for the book Blurb: William Goldman’s modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that’s thrilling and timeless. Anyone who lived through the 1980s may […]

Review of Young Frankenstein (1974) Movie

Posted by on Oct 28, 2013

In celebration of Halloween on Thursday, I’m going to review Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein. For those of you who are familiar with Mel Brooks, those four words pretty much tell you all that you need to know. It’s Mel Brooks putting his classic touch on the Frankenstein story. For those of you who aren’t familiar […]

Review of Firefly (TV Show)

Posted by on Oct 14, 2013

Bottom line: Intense and yet often hilarious – a rare example of a good sci fi show. Rating: Shiny (Strongly Recommended) Blurb: The blurb that follows is lifted from the Barnes and Noble page, and it’s a bit long, but it does a reasonable job of answering the question “but what is it about?” Joss […]

Close Encounters of the Fourteenth Century Kind

Posted by on Sep 9, 2013

Howdy! I’m on vacation in Brazil for most of September, so I turned the tables on my readers and opened up the blog for guests posts while I’m gone. Today’s post comes from John, a.k.a. Mr. Lector’s Books. I have a confession: I listen to a lot of audiobooks.  Where most people listen to music, […]

Review of Illusion by Frank Peretti (2012)

Posted by on Aug 19, 2013

Bottom line: A fascinating and intriguing story about love, time-travel, and magic. Rating: Strongly Recommended Blurb: In a world where nothing is as it seems, anything is possible. DANE AND MANDY, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane […]