nice all read

Nonfiction Renaissance woodsman THOREAU: A Life Laura Dassow Walls 615 pp. University of Chicago Press Reviewed by Marty Carlock Thought we knew all about Thoreau, did we? An idle, eccentric hermit who spent two solitary years in a hut at Walden Pond and wrote a book about it? And sometimes took the Alcott girls out to wander the Concord meadows and catch butterflies? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Thoreau was a graduate of Harvard College, a meticulous naturalist who contributed to scientific studies, was elected to natural history societies, knew Greek, Latin, German and French, and could read other languages. He studied and developed empathy with American Indians, conducting anthropological research before the term existed. He overcame his love of solitude to become a witty and popular lecturer and a fiery abolitionist speaker. A century ahead of American hippies, he became fascinated with Eastern religions and assembled a library of such writings. He was fond of machinery and insatiably cur...

Imagine you meet a man, spend seven glorious days together, and fall in love. And it’s mutual: you’ve never been so certain of anything. So when he leaves for a long-booked holiday and promises to call from the airport, you have no cause to doubt him. But he doesn’t call. Your friends tell you to forget him, but you know they're wrong: something must have happened; there must be a reason for his silence. What do you do when you finally discover you're right? That there is a reason – and that reason is the one thing you didn't share with each other? The truth. I feel like I have been waiting forever for the release of The Man Who Didn’t Call by Rosie Walsh, I loved the authors books written under Lucy Robinson so I was looking forward to reading her new release. HOWEVER! Now I have finished the book I have spent the best part of a week trying to review this book because it is truly an amazing read but I think what made it so great was knowing absolutely nothing about it, ...

Nonfiction Moments in her life WHEN HISTORY IS PERSONAL By Mimi Schwartz 270 ppp. University of Nebraska Press Reviewed by Diane Diekman Mimi Schwartz grew up in the Queens borough of New York City, the first American-born child of German-Jewish immigrants who escaped in 1936 from Hitler’s Germany. She is now an award-winning author and professor emerita in the writing program at Stockton University. When History Is Personal is her collection of 25 essays, taken from 25 moments in her life. “Each essay focuses on a moment that matters to me,” she writes in the preface, “with an eye to the history, culture, and politics that have shaped it.” The essays are grouped into four sections. “Family Haunts,” covering her childhood and family history, is written from a youthful perspective. “In and Out My Front Door” and “Storyscapes” discuss experiences and conversations throughout her adult life. “Border Crossings” leads into the future, as she grows older and enters new territories of l...

Today it is my stop on the blog tour for Sunshine and Sweet Peas in Nightingale Square by Heidi Swain and I am thrilled to be able to share with you my review for the book. Kate  is on the run from her almost-divorced husband who is determined to have her back, and she has found the perfect place to hide... a little cottage on Nightingale Square in Norwich, far away from her old life in London. But the residents of Nightingale Square don't take no for an answer, and Kate soon finds herself pulled into a friendship with Lisa , her bossy but lovely new neighbour. Within a matter of days  Kate is landed with the job of campaigning the council to turn the green into a community garden, meanwhile all the residents of Nightingale Square are horrified to discover that the Victorian mansion house on the other side of the square has been bought by developers. But when all hope is lost, the arrival of a handsome stranger is sure to turn things around!  Heidi Swain is ...

--> Nonfiction Cold fury THE DEEP DARK DESCENDING By Allen Eskens 272 pp. Seventh Street Books Reviewed by Eric Petersen Mystery writer Allen Eskens is back with the latest entry in his series of mysteries featuring Minneapolis homicide detective Max Rupert. It picks up right where the previous book, The Heavens May Fall (also reviewed on this site) left off. The end of that novel featured a shocking revelation about the fate of Max Rupert’s wife Jenni, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident – the only homicide that Max was never able to solve. It was a hit-and-run all right, but it was no accident. The Deep Dark Descending opens on a subzero winter day, on a frozen lake located between Minnesota and the Canadian border – and Max Rupert about to murder an unconscious, unnamed man whom he’s kidnapped and dragged out onto the lake. This is the man whom Max believes murdered his wife, and payback is a bitch. But as he prepares to take revenge, the honorable cop hears a voice in...