The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt spooked me from the moment it showed up. What kind of tricky title was that. Would it be about brothers and sisters, sisters who wanted to be brothers? I had to find out, and so I did. I picked it up and read it. Then what?
BLUE SKIES IN THE BOOK REVIEW MIRROR
August 31, 2023 by
Blue Skies came to me via Twitter. T.C. Boyle mentioned a new novel and he delivered. What he delivered felt a little too close to home for me, which kept me reading. How close?
SPORTS BOOK REVIEW: GRACIE GOES GOLFING
June 13, 2023 by
This sports book review comes via an author’s reading at Annie Bloom’s Books. Last night author Arran Gimba packed the house. From his daughters and their friends, along with their parents, they were a dream audience. What is it about an author reading that gets people out of the house? Let’s start with the joy […]
BEACH MUSIC BY PAT CONROY, A REVIEW
April 12, 2023 by
Beach Music sat in my TBR pile for years while I passed by. At over 700 pages it intimidated me. I like novels around 200-250 pages. The Great Gatsby clocks in at 208 paged; Catcher In The Rye runs 234 pages, more or less. Beach Music at 800 pages? I got a Harry Potter vibe […]
WRITERS SOCIALIZING WITH WRITERS
January 10, 2023 by
My aunt warned me about writers socializing. I’d taken the train from Philadelphia to Princeton, New Jersey for a visit. She was studying at the Princeton Theological Seminary to be a preacher; I was in the Army learning to be a writer. Since she had a degree in literary criticism she had a lot to […]
THE JEFF BAKER 500
March 7, 2015 by
Portland’s Old Church Organ And Jeff Baker. He’s In The Shirt. As THE book and movie reviewer of record for The Oregonian newspaper, Jeff Baker goes Against. The. Grain. Taller than expected, he worked the Old Church mic like a pro. Could have thrown in a “Take my wife…please” and got away with it. Willamette […]
