Book Review: Cooked to Death edited by Rhonda Gilliland and Michael Allan Mallory Let’s return to the world of themed anthologies, a quick way to get a sample of various authors writing on a particular topic. In this case, it’s primarily Minnesota and other Midwestern writers doing crime and mystery short stories around the topic… Continue reading Book Review: Cooked to Death
Tag: Iowa
Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)
Movie Review: Star Trek (2009) directed by J.J. Abrams The U.S.S. Kelvin is cruising through space when a spacial anomaly opens, disgorging an unknown, highly advanced technology ship that promptly attacks. It turns out to be captained by a Romulan named Nero, who has a grudge against someone named “Ambassador Spock.” In the absence of that… Continue reading Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)
Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty
Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty by R.A. Lafferty Raphael Aloysius Lafferty (1914-2002) was one of those “American originals” you hear about every so often. His writing takes some form from the American tall tale, some from Native American yarn spinning, and mixes it into a style all his own. This anthology collects 22… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty
Book Review: The Mida
Book Review: The Mida by Lyle Ernst & Kimberly Sigafus Tony was little when his parents died and left him in the care of his grandmother Nola. She tried the best she could to raise him in the tiny community of Farmingdale, Iowa, but it’s 1952 now and he’s a grown man. Tony’s made some… Continue reading Book Review: The Mida
Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate
Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate edited by John Gaterud Yes, this is yet another literary magazine; I picked up a bunch inexpensively at the book fair. This one seems to take its title from Jack Kerouac’s writing; this first issue was published in 2007. The index is unusual for this kind of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate
Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder
Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder by Marilyn Rausch & Mary Donlon Charles “Chip” E. Collingsworth III was supposed to become a neurosurgeon like his father and grandfather before him, but wasn’t suited to being a doctor, so dropped out of medical school. Three failed marriages later and with his trust fund depleted, Chip wrote… Continue reading Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder
Book Review: Seeds for Change
Book Review: Seeds for Change by Marly Cornell This is a biography of Surinder “Suri” and Edda (nee Jeglinsky) Sehgal, the founders of the Sehgal Foundation. That foundation helps rural villages in India achieve clean water, improved agriculture, better education and more honest government, as well as funding conservation and ecological efforts around the world.… Continue reading Book Review: Seeds for Change
Book Review: Birthright: Book 1 of the Temujin Saga
Book Review: Birthright: Book 1 of the Temujin Saga by Adam J. Whitlatch Temujin has always known he is special. He is, after all, the clone restoration of Genghis Khan, endowed with strange alien powers and destined to conquer the Earth. It is his birthright. Alexander Walker has never even suspected he is special. He’s… Continue reading Book Review: Birthright: Book 1 of the Temujin Saga
Book Review: The 66 Kid: Raised on the Mother Road
Book Review: The 66 Kid: Raised on the Mother Road by Bob Boze Bell Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. Bob Boze Bell has been a rock musician, cartoonist, radio host, magazine publisher and other interesting jobs. And he spent most of his youth… Continue reading Book Review: The 66 Kid: Raised on the Mother Road
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind
Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind edited by Franklin Foer Disclaimer: I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. The copy I read was an uncorrected proof, and changes will be made in the final edition. (Specifically, a second introduction by Leon Wieseltier–an index may also be forthcoming.)… Continue reading Book Review: Insurrections of the Mind