Veterans Day Tribute to Dogs

On this Veterans Day let us take a moment to appreciate The Dogs of War. 1776: Newfoundland dogs served as messengers during the Revolutionary War 1865: During the Civil War, dogs were used as messengers, guards, and mascots 1884: The German Army established the first organized Military School for training war dogs at Lechernich, near [...]

Review of “A Morbid Taste for Bones” by Ellis Peters

Fifty-seven year old Welshman Brother Cadfael is a “squat, barrel-chested, bandy-legged” Benedictine monk in the 12th Century at the Abbey of Shrewsbury. He came to the monastery late in life after an action-packed youth that included a stint in the Crusades. The Abbey is a sort of retirement for him, and he works in the [...]

Review of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I can’t tell you how long I resisted reading this “book with the funny title.” Wrong yet again! All that time I missed out on this heartwarming valentine to books and reading, and wonderful paean to hope and love. The fictional literary society of the title was formed of necessity to outwit the Germans during [...]

Review of “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is the “sequel” to The Hunger Games, although it’s really more of a continuation. I wouldn’t have wanted to read the second book without having read the first. But having read the first, I had to read the second, and having finished that one now too, I share the same anticipation of most [...]

Review of “Living Dead in Dallas” by Charlaine Harris

I’m telling you, these books are just so clever and funny, you forget that you, a grown person who likes to think of herself in a literarily snobby manner, are really having a great time with a book series about vampires. Plus, the author adds redeeming value by her continuous thread highlighting and satirizing prejudice [...]

No One Was Exaggerating: Review of “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

I can’t believe this book for young adults is as good as everyone said! Not that I don’t trust my fellow bloggers, but the premise seemed so grim that I couldn’t imagine making silk out of such a sow’s ear. I’m happy to declare I was so wrong. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen lost her father when [...]

Sunday Salon – Review of “Angels: A Pop-Up Book” by Chuck Fischer

This gorgeous pop-up book is guaranteed to thrill you even if you don’t have the slightest belief in Seraphim, Cherubim, Principalities, or any of the rest of the nine angelic orders. According to St. Thomas of Aquinas in Summa Theologica, angels are intellectual creatures of pure spirit, i.e., they are completely incorporeal. Nevertheless, he concedes [...]