Category Archives: Books

It’s a Long Life by Willie Nelson with David Ritz (2015. Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0-316-40354-2) This isn’t great literature. It’s the personal history of 20th century pop and country and blues culture centered around one of the greatest singer/songwriters … Continue reading →

Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey (1971. Ballantine. ISBN 345326492) It was fortuitous that my friend Dave was reading this book when we were together on vacation. That’s true in two ways. First, I was about … Continue reading →

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4767-4658-6) A story of contrasts. A German boy (Werner) whose life revolves around his ability to tinker with electronic gadgetry; his eyes and hands quick and easy with … Continue reading →

A Notion of Pelicans by Donna Salli (2016. North Star Press. ISBN 978-68201-035-8) I’ve known Donna as a fellow writer, mostly from her attendance at readings I’ve given at various locales over the years. As a fellow author and as … Continue reading →

A Lowcountry Heart by Pat Conroy (2016. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-53086-6). Another confession. Despite being a voracious reader of fiction, from Jane Hamilton to Ernest Hemingway, I’ve not read any of Pat Conroy’s beloved Southern novels. Oh, I’ve read Faulkner. And … Continue reading →

The Whistler by Jon Grisham (2016. Doubleday. 9780385541190. This review refers to the Audible version of the novel.) John Grisham sells more books in a minute than I sell in a year. There. My envious nature is proclaimed and we … Continue reading →

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (Ballatine. 2016. ISBN 9781444788013. This review refers to the Audible version of the book.) I will likely incur the wrath of women’s book clubs across the world if and when they read this review. … Continue reading →

Tom Connor’s Gift by David Allan Cates (2014. Bangtail Press. ISBN 978-0-09623787-5-9) It is sometimes a tricky thing for an author to write outside their personal experience in terms of ethnicity, gender, or orientation. I can attest that it’s a … Continue reading →

Midnight in Siberia by David Greene (2014. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-23955-9) Timely. That’s the word that comes to mind as I type this short review of NPR anchor David Greene’s fascinating look at post-communist Russia from the windows of the legendary … Continue reading →

Anthem by Ayn Rand (1995. Signet. ISBN 978-0-451-19113-7) And we sighed, as if a burden had been taken from us, for we had been thinking without reason of the Palace of Mating. And we thought that we would not let … Continue reading →