Hmmm…. Where to start? I mostly found this book fascinating and the inaccurate history we are taught infuriating but I also had problems with the tone. I’ll start with the positives…. Loewen’s main complaint is that our American history textbooks invariably teach from the point of view of White males of European descent. The […]
The Soul of America by Jon Meacham: Book Review
I almost always have one nonfiction book on the go that I read exclusively before bed. I’m primarily a fiction reader so I don’t usually fall into the “one more chapter” trap that keeps me awake way past my bedtime if I follow this plan. This was not a great book for that. It’s intelligently written, presented, and argued, but […]
Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright: Book Review
5 Stars. This book fascinated me from the moment I started reading. I made heavy use of the highlight function on my Kindle, highlighting 53 passages. 53! I would like to share them all here but I believe that would get me in trouble for copyright infringement. This book about plagues was somehow hilarious! I’ve worked healthcare for […]
Toil & Trouble edited by Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe: Book Review
Any short story collection is going to be a bit uneven but I truly enjoyed the vast majority of these. I would like to read novels based on some of these characters and I will be seeking out longer works by some of these authors. I appreciated that the writers are a culturally-diverse group and their characters reflect that. […]
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix: Book Review
I loved the way this ended and I hate that I can’t say more about it because I definitely have things I want need to say. But no one likes spoilers, right? Just know that the celebration of real, true friendship surprised me and made me so happy. A horror novel made me happy? Why, yes, it did. Now that that’s out of the way, I […]
Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez: Book Review
This book cracked me up! My best description is that it’s a version of Tucker and Dale vs Evil if Tucker was a werewolf and Dale was a vampire. I can’t watch many horror movies but that one made me laugh, just like this book did. Earl and Duke aren’t quite as hapless as Tucker and Dale since they’re very aware of their own […]
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix: Book Review
Whoa! I somehow expected this to be funny as well as scary. Look at that title. Can’t you just see the ‘80s moms with their big hair going after the bad guy? Maybe staking him with a stiletto heel after a cocktail party? It had its moments but mostly it was really, really dark. Like, really dark. And trigger-ish for some […]
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix: Book Review
This is my third Grady Hendrix novel this year and with every single one of them, I think the premise sounds like fun and then I’m surprised by how dark the book gets. You would think I’d learn, wouldn’t you? The books do start off amusingly enough but the dread and the creep factor slowly ratchet up until I’m practically […]
Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore: Book Review
I finished this back on July 27 but I’ve already forgotten everything about it. Ugh. But that’s typically what happens with my three-star books so at least I know I rated it accurately. Christopher Moore’s brand of humor is not for everyone. I think it varies wildly from book to book so it’s not even reliably to my taste. This […]
Maplecroft by Cherie Priest: Book Review
We meet Lizzie and her sister Emma shortly after the notorious murder of their father and stepmother. The women are living in fear of an unnamed horror that is taking over their hometown. They’re trying to research it and combat it as best they can but Emma is an invalid and Lizzie is–well, notorious Lizzie Borden. The horrors […]
Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics: Book Review
Oh my goodness. This scared me to death! I got worried that I was going to have to put it aside. I gladly read most horror but one trope in particular seriously gives me nightmares and this book went there. I soldiered on though and holy cow, what a ride this was! I keep seeing it compared to a horror version of Little House on […]