Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews, plus social, political, & economic commentary
Some of the reading material inside the Franklin Public Library in Franklin, Massachusetts. It is America’s oldest lending library, founded with books donated by Benjamin Franklin in 1790. (Photo by Si Dunn) Banned Books Week is coming (again) soon. This time, it will be observed Oct. 1-7, 2023, and the theme will be “Let Freedom … Continue reading Ban Books? No, Ban Ignorance
Outcry WitnessThomas ZigalTCU Press (http://www.prs.tcu.edu) This concluding novel in Thomas Zigal’s “New Orleans Trilogy” is a compelling and well-written mystery thriller. It also is timely and reflective of controvery. Worldwide, Catholicism continues to be roiled by dark headlines about sexual abuse cases involving supposedly celebate priests and other church officials. In U.S. law, according to … Continue reading Hiding and Exposing Sins
Lunch with Buddha Roland Merullo (PFP/Ajar, Kindle, paperback) To be honest, I was not really aware of Roland Merullo until his publisher contacted me offering a review copy of an enticingly titled new novel, Lunch with Buddha. I could blame my “Who?” reaction on my intense focus toward reviewing technology books over the past two … Continue reading Lunch with Buddha – An entertaining, engrossing, thought-provoking American road-trip novel – #bookreview
What Makes You Tick? A New Paradigm for Neuroscience Gerard Verschuuren (Solas Press, paperback) What is the connection between the mind and the brain? Does the mind exist independent of the brain? And does the human mind communicate with something—or someone–beyond its “biological substrata and physics”? Gerard Verschuuren tackles these and other mystery-laden questions in … Continue reading What Makes You Tick? – Do we exist only inside our brains, or does the mind have a longer reach? – #bookreview
Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story By Jim Dent (Thomas Dunne Books, $25.99 hardback; $12.99 Kindle) In my one and only fall semester as a student at the University of Texas at Austin, I went to a couple of football games and watched Freddie Steinmark play safety for the Longhorns. I sat high up in … Continue reading Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story – #football #biography #bookreview
Apricot Jam and Other Stories By Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Counterpoint, $28.00) A major literary work is now available for readers who relish the works of modern Russian writers, particularly the ones who rebelled against communism’s restrictive censorship and social, legal and economic rigidities and achieved international acclaim during the final decades of the Soviet Union. Apricot Jam and Other Stories, an engrossing collection of eight short stories … Continue reading Solzhenitsyn’s ‘Apricot Jam and Other Stories’ – #bookreview #fiction #Russia – updated
The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011 By Melvyn Bragg (Counterpoint Press, $28.00 hardback; $20.00 Kindle) As a child, I liked and respected the King James Bible. But I hated religion. I had been born into a “Christian” demonination that tried incessantly to pound hellfire, damnation and, sadly, white supremacy, … Continue reading The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011 – #bookreview
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