Welcome to my weird world!
This is so not your average biography. When I was 10 years old, thanks to Gary Paulson, I had a burning desire to build a shelter in the forest and sleep in it for a night. And Into The Wild reminded me of that desire. Into the Wild is a 1996 biography that had slipped... Continue Reading →
Last summer, the upcoming movie adaptation of this book, with Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendehlson as the stars, was filming for two days at a local conservation park. I've gone on walks through there thousands of times. It was all over our local news that this was happening. The day before filming, my mother insisted... Continue Reading →
I've said in past reviews I'm not a fan of short stories, because they tend to not be long enough to have us fully understand and love the characters, and if we do end up growing to like them, their time with us is over too fast. But I only say that to stories so... Continue Reading →
The sort of undercover work the protagonist does in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is enough to make James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and even Hercule Poirot green with embarrassment at how many levels she is above their investigative skills, not the least of which is she's still just a teenager, doing a case that... Continue Reading →
I ended up reading the illustrated/photographed edition of this book, something which majorly contributed to my enjoyment or fascination. I'm not completely sure I'd have given this book the same grade if it weren't for the photos of real-life old paintings, ruins, museums, fields and sights that show up helping us feel we're there even... Continue Reading →
I was able to read this in a day, and even though some of the snippets of letters Lee fabricated drag the story, it was really easy to tell why Lee's first two publications from 1972 and 80 were such hits. She has a way with vocabulary and sentence rhythm that is both fancy and... Continue Reading →
Once in a while, I take a gamble with a book that doesn't really look like my type, and then it ends up a fun, fast-paced surprise. Introducing Aelfraed, Durriken, Lancelot, and Blaxton. I mean, The Four Suitors. In the kingdom of Avaritia, the king and queen and especially their daughter are certainly not the... Continue Reading →
Well, that took significantly longer to read than Ernest Cline's beloved debut. Taking place in the present day rather than 2045, this is the story of Zackary Lightman, a teen from Yawnsville, or Beaverton, Oregon. He spends his days trying to avoid getting his reputation expanded at school as a temper fuelled danger, by trying... Continue Reading →
I'm glad I'm only now picking up this series. If I'd started it a year or two earlier, I think I'd be driving myself crazy anticipating the next instalment. Maybe for my own sanity I should lay off from The Shadow Wand for a while. Elloren Gardner's come a long way since her relaxing youth... Continue Reading →
I look back at my reading experience of The Gravity of Us puzzled. Was I in a bad mood starting it, and did that transcend to the rest? I've given a lot of negative reviews recently, so maybe I should look into that. It is unprofessional of an entertainment critic to let your personal troubles... Continue Reading →
William J. McGinn 