Our Riches by Kaouther Adimi (2020) (translated from the French by Chris Andrews) The sign in the window at the legendary bookstore "Les Vrais Richesse" reads “One who reads is worth two who don’t” In the city of Algiers in the 1930s, a young man dreams of a place where literature and those who create... Continue Reading →

A Separate Peace by John Knowles (1959) – In the early years of World War II, a different conflict takes place in a quiet, New Hampshire boys school. Gene and Phineas will come of age after a single event that explodes everything they think they know about themselves and their world. The story is an... Continue Reading →

No Gods, No Monsters by Caldwell Turnbull (2021, Blackstone Publishing) - A young man is killed by the police in Boston. Beyond a single death, a fearsome truth is revealed. Monsters are real. When a group of them reveal themselves during a protest event, the world is stunned. Just as quickly, the video of what... Continue Reading →

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952) – A young black man struggles to understand who he is and why he is “invisible” to the society that surrounds him. On the journey, people he trusts, people he reveres, and even those who claim they want to help him, will all betray him. Offering an opinion on... Continue Reading →

Light in August by William Faulkner (1932). A young woman’s journey to find the father of her child brings her to Jefferson, Mississippi. A house will burn, two people will die, and the echoes of fathers and grandfathers reveal the damage they created. Faulkner is a writer who went from a critical favorite to forgotten... Continue Reading →

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain (1934) - A drifter meets up with a good looking young woman married to an older man. The attraction is irresistible for them both, and that will lead them to plan the husband's death. To write one great novel is more than most writers achieve. To... Continue Reading →

My family has heard me say this for years. I'm easily bored. Some days I need a book that's going to keep my attention when I'm that "I'm bored" state of mind. I need lots of shining objects in my reading. The kind of reading that, just when my attention may begin to wander, offers... Continue Reading →

Captain Blood (1922) and The Sea Hawk (1915) by Rafael Sabatini Two romantic adventure novels from the popular Italian-English author. Sabatini scored his first major success with “Scaramouche” in 1921. By then he had written a dozen novels and many short stories over more than twenty years. With the success of “Captain Blood” the following... Continue Reading →

Tiny Planet Filled With Liars-A Fleet Eternal Story by Stephen M.A. (2020)- Begin with a world based on corporate economics, where value is based on profitability. Add in an external threat from a fleet of ships that appear once a month in a massive attack. And a terrible “error” that kills thousands, unprofitably. Through all... Continue Reading →