No, I was never an English major (although my mom was). I wasn’t even a math major (although I taught math for decades). But, as a linguistics major, I had entwining connections with both English and math, as linguistics intersects… Read More ›
Books
Says Who?
My mom would have hated this book; I loved it. My dad, as a psychiatrist, would have had some thoughts about this family disagreement — but he would have kept quiet about it. (Apparently that’s the role of a Jewish… Read More ›
Another Day’s Pain
Two very different mysteries: K. C. Constantine’s Another Day’s Pain is quite a contrast to Maria DiRico’s The Witless Protection Program, which I recently reviewed. As Constantine’s mystery is dark, serious, and grim, it might seem strange when I say… Read More ›
The Witless Protection Program
As you can see in the cover image below, the publisher claims that The Witless Protection Program was written by Maria DiRico, even though we all know that it was written by Ellen Byron. This, of course, must be because… Read More ›
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill
What a deceptive cover! Take a look: You can see immediately that this is the new Poirot novel by Agatha Christie, right? But how is that possible? Was it just recently discovered, lurking in a file cabinet somewhere? Well, no…. Read More ›
“You can’t possibly be asking me to read an entire book!” he exclaimed.
At his public high school, [this first-year student at an Ivy League university] had never been required to read an entire book. He had been assigned excerpts, poetry, and news articles, but not a single book cover to cover. That… Read More ›
Never Saw Me Coming
This fast-paced novel by Vera Kurian will hold your attention from beginning to end. Never Saw Me Coming falls clearly into the psychological thriller subcategory of the mystery genre, although it has aspects of the traditional mystery as well. Without… Read More ›
Same Difference (Copperman)
Same Difference is apparently a popular title with contemporary authors (or at least their publishers), as you will conclude if you search for books with that title in various catalogs. The novel by E.J. Copperman is the one being reviewed… Read More ›
Fire and Bones
another fine addition to Kathy Reichs’s well-known Bones series. The novel Fire and Bones manages to be both calm and suspenseful at the same time. There’s also a lot of actual history thrown in with the detective fiction. I don’t… Read More ›
Dead Land (Sara Paretsky)
For reference here, I will start by quoting from what I wrote five years ago in a review of Sara Paretsky’s Shell Game: If you like Donald Trump, don’t bother reading Shell Game, Sara Paretsky’s newest mystery novel: it will only irritate… Read More ›
Apparently a book review: What is Château Rock?
Read the book! But read this review first. (I know that some people don’t like to read reviews first, but be assured that you won’t find any spoilers here.) First, though, take this one-question multiple-choice quiz: What do you think… Read More ›
The Lola Quartet
“Have you ever made a decision in a moment of panic and then regretted it for the rest of your life?” One of the characters in Emily St. John Mandel’s novel, The Lola Quartet, asks this question near the end… Read More ›
If you don’t love this book… what’s wrong with you?
Christine Lavin has been one of my favorite singer-songwriters for forty-odd years (some odder than others). I most recently saw her in concert three months ago, and that inspired me to read her memoir, Cold Pizza for Breakfast. Even though… Read More ›
Not just for nerds, not just for geeks.
Suppose you heard from someone (me, for instance) that you might enjoy a book titled Thinking Inside the Box. What would you expect it to be about? Perhaps some sort of pushback against those of us who advocate thinking outside… Read More ›
The Mathematical Murder of Innocence
You could call this a non-fiction novel. You could, that is, if that genre name hadn’t been pre-empted by Truman Capote back in the ’60s. Or you could call it historical fiction, if that genre name hadn’t had a long… Read More ›
Sourdough (a science fiction novel, not a manual for breadbaking!)
Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s a current publishing trend. Whatever the reason, I seem to be reading too many dystopian novels these days. Actually, though, Robin Sloan’s wonderful novel Sourdough turns out not to be dystopian after all. It… Read More ›
This is not a book review.
Of course I knew I was going to enjoy The Cypher Bureau. As a historical novel about the Polish cryptologists who deciphered The Enigma in World War II, it combines a topic that deeply interests me (cryptology) with an aspect… Read More ›
Death on the Down Beat
As the title suggests, it’s a mystery novel. As the title suggests, a musician is murdered. But that’s probably as far as your expectations will be fulfilled. Speaking of expectations, as supervisors like to say, the author exceeds expectations. Of… Read More ›
Red Side Story
Red Side Story is the second novel of a two- (some predict three-) volume series by Jasper Fforde. Back on April 26 I reviewed the first volume, Shades of Grey. Why the delay, you ask? Talk to the Boston Public… Read More ›
Who is Will Dean? Have you read any of his books?
Recently I read First Born, by Will Dean. Although I had never heard of this author before, the enthusiastic reviews of this thriller persuaded me to give it a try. Admittedly it has no pretensions to being great literature, b… Read More ›
Learning Strategies 