I finished this book this morning, got to the end and thought, sure, I’ll read the author’s note, and therein I found out that this story–about life and death and poverty and corruption and justice and injustice and good luck and bad luck in a Mumbai slum–is totally, COMPLETELY TRUE. It blew my mind, you guys, because it reads like fiction: the characters are so well-documented in their thoughts and dreams (and sometimes even in the listed cause of death in official records and police […]
There Are No Spoilers in This Review of the New Outlander Book
Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, book eight in Diana Gabaldon historical epic Outlander series, picks up exactly where the last book, An Echo in the Bone, left off. It could be read as a standalone novel, but why would you want to do that? Gabaldon belongs to that rarefied group of authors who create an entire world and tell a story that takes thousands of pages to unfold. Such authors’ works need to be devoured and savoured in their entirety to achieve their full […]
the Girls of Atomic City
I’ve always been a bit of a history nerd, I believe I mentioned that when I reviewed Monuments Men. I love WW2 and it’s always interesting to hear about the women’s part in aiding their men. Have you seen Bletchley Circle? It’s a BBC show about women, who were code breakers in England during the war, who are now bored housewives solving crimes. Anyway. The Girls of Atomic City is the untold story of the women who went to work in Oak Ridge, TN on […]
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a National Treasure
HALF CANNONBALL! Neil deGrasse Tyson is national treasure. Hopefully you all are aware of this, either because you’ve known for years, or because you caught the fantastic Cosmos this year. About three years ago I was lucky enough to see him speak at the local university, where he told vivid stories that helped me understand the scale of things in the universe and on earth, including one story that aided me in fully grasping how much money Bill Gates really has. Mr. Tyson is coming […]
Take a trip to 1970’s Tehran
Ugh. So far behind, and it’s only June. I’ve started working from home again, and finding myself wishing for more hours in the day to get everything done. I’m keeping up with the reading, but the reviewing is killing me. Gonna do my best. I feel like it was ages ago that I read Persepolis. And when I was reading it, I had a lot of important things I wanted to say. That I needed to say. And now I can’t remember any of them. […]
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
Looking for intelligent historical fiction with a dash of dirty bits? Ken Follett is your man. He’ll educate you up good while throwing in some Nazi/lonely Englishwoman sex for good measure. “Our whole strategy must be to prevent the Allies from securing a beachhead, because once they achieve that, the battle is lost…perhaps even the war.” The Eye of the Needle takes place during World War II. Our Nazi is a spy, occasionally called Faber, who has discovered the truth behind Calais. Basically, the Allies […]
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