Review by Maggie Mohr of The Queen of the Tearling, a novel by Erika Johansen: Magic, adventure and mystery combine in this captivating tale about a young princess who must reclaim her dead mother’s throne, learn to be a ruler and defeat the Red Queen, a powerful and malevolent sorceress determined to destroy her.
Review: Wolf in White Van: Sean Phillips is reclusive due, in large part, to a severe injury he sustained as a teenager. His main contact with the world around him is through Trace Italian, the mail-order role-playing game he created and runs. Troubles arise for Sean when two players, Carrie and Lance, switch their playing from the game world to the real world. As Sean’s story, along with the story of Carrie and Lance, unfolds, the reader is taken on a riveting journey backward through Sean’s life.
Few Civil War histories seem suitable for toes-in-the-sand beach-reading, but Junius and Albert’s Adventures in the Confederacy manages to fit that bill with wondrous delight.
Did She Kill Him? A Torrid True Story of Adultery, Arsenic and Murder in Victorian England, by Kate Colquhoun
Crime attracts people whether it’s on television, in movies, mystery novels, or non-fiction books. Why do we like to read about it? Perhaps we want to look into the minds of criminals to find out why they commit heinous crimes.
Osho was an Indian mystic, a spiritual master with a large following, during the second half of the 20th century. In his discourses, he reinterpreted the writings of various religious traditions and philosophies from around the world. The Book of Wisdom is filled with his brilliant outside-the-box interpretations. It is also a guide, if you are curious to take the path, to deep awakening and happiness that does not fade. In the very first chapter the reader is given a recipe to follow in seven easily digestible steps.
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion: A fantastic summer beach book which will effortlessly pull you into Sookie Poole’s world in Point Clear, Alabama, Fannie Flagg’s writing has you laughing out loud while blending in deeply touching moments with unexpected twists and turns.
How to win friends and influence people: Upon considering whether to read this classic self-help/business book originally written in 1936, I had three main concerns: First, how applicable would it be to today’s cultures and practices? Second, how pertinent would it be to me in my non-business world profession? Third, would I struggle to stay awake through what I assumed would be rather dry text?
The Martian: A novel by Andy Weir. Mark Watney is pretty much the perfect man: a problem-solver with a wry sense of humor, he thinks on his feet and is cool under pressure. Unfortunately, he’s an astronaut stranded on Mars and left for dead with literally the entire Universe working against him. Fortunately, he’s Spaceman MacGyver and can build a new spaceship out of canvas, duct tape and potatoes. Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much.
If ever there was a book with a theme, this is it, and King wants you to know it: A person may be smart and reasonable, but a group of people are easily manipulated by fear and are in no way reasonable.
Biddy and Quincy, two young women with mental disabilities, have graduated from high school and been placed together as roommates in the home of Miss Lizzy, an older woman in their community who is in need of assistance. They are as different as can be — Biddy, sweet and pliable; and Quincy, hostile and aggressively independent — except for their mutual experiences of abuse, neglect, and insults.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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