To kick off what might be called Michelle Herman week here at Collected Miscellany (as regular readers know, I have an interview to finish transcribing and reviews of her other books planned) I thought it would be appropriate to start off with her first novel. Missing tells the story of Rivke Vasilevsky an eighty-nine-year-old Jewish [...]
I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and enjoying the day off today if they have one. I thought this might be a good time to note a couple of books I have come across that seem relevant to today. They both deal with World War II but have implications beyond their respective [...]
From the very beginning of my life I never doubted that words were my metier. There was nothing else I ever wanted to do except use them; no other accomplishment or achievement I ever had the slightest regard for, or desire to emulate. . . . So, as a child, a writer was in my [...]
This comes from a post on Christian bookstore chains, but it probably applies to booksellers accross the board. If the customer’s chief concern is going to be price, the store’s chief concern is going to be cost. It’s a horrendous cycle, really. Customers want cheap books but stores can’t provide cheap books if they’re specializing [...]
I was thinking about summer reading this evening when I came across this press release. “Experts Agree, The Difference Between Good Students and Great Students is What They Read.” The Great Books Summer Reading Program at Amherst and Stanford report that reading challenging literature at a young age improves your mind and test scores. “Read [...]
Edward Champion conducted an interesting survey yesterday in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center. He asked 19 people whether they had heard of 11 authors and to name a book by the ones they recognized. Here’s his report. Margaret Atwood was the most recognized name, followed by David Gardner, Philip Roth, and James Robison.
You thought I was done with the links to intereviews didn’t you? You thought: “Jeez, how many NRO links is this guy going to throw up?” Well, I have on more for you. Heading into Memorial Day Weekend National Review Online has an interview with Stephan Mansfield, author of The Faith of the American Soldiers. [...]
Back to the crime fiction beat for this segment of the Friday review. Most Wanted is a debut novel from former federal prosecutor Michelle Martinez. Her main character, Melanie Vargas, is also a federal prosecutor. Melanie is beautiful, mother of a small child, considering a divorce from her husband, Steve. Melanie is drawn to an [...]
I have a new article up over at Sports Central today. This one is about greedy and selfish players in the NFL. Here is the teaser: The NFL off-season has been marred by a few selfish acts. It is depressing to think about some of the antics athletes pull off. SC’s Kevin Holtsberry takes a [...]
In case you overlooked it, let me tell you about a book I’m looking forward to. Bye Bye Bertie by Rick Dewhurst came out last January. It’s the story of a P.I. who’s looking for love and/or crime in Vancouver, B.C. Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine says, “The author, a Canadian pastor, brings a satirical perspective [...]