Fight or Flight?

Book Review for “A Funeral for an Owl” by Jane Davis. Summary: "A schoolyard stabbing sends wingbeats echoing from the past. One shocking event. Two teachers risk their careers to help a boy who has nothing. ... The best way to avoid trouble, thinks Ayisha Emmanuelle, is to avoid confrontation. As an inner-city schoolteacher, she … Continue reading Fight or Flight? →

TCL’s #DNF Friday #1

“Bohemia” by Veronika Carnaby. Summary: "In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the "ideals" of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, … Continue reading TCL’s #DNF Friday #1 →

A Dream within a Dream

Book Review of "Sleeping Patterns" by J.R. Crook. What is the relationship between the writer and his audience? J.R. Crook’s debut novel investigates this through a group of characters – himself included – living together in student accommodations in London. The main story here centers on an artist Annelie Strandli, known as Grethe to her … Continue reading A Dream within a Dream →

Rabbi Aviva Cohen is Solving Murders Again!

Book Review of "Unleavened Dead" (Rabbi Akiva Cohen Mystery #2) by Rabbi Ilene Schneider. Those of you who have read Ilene Schneider’s first book – Chanukah Guilt – will remember our beloved Rabbi Aviva Cohen. She’s the unruly-haired, rotund rabbi of the small, Walford New Jersey synagogue 'Mishkan Or,' who has been divorced twice, and … Continue reading Rabbi Aviva Cohen is Solving Murders Again! →

Profiles Through Ages

Book Review for "A Perfectly Good Man" by Patrick Gale. Barnaby Johnson couldn't prevent his young parishioner Lenny from killing himself because the poison he took worked too quickly. Instead, all Barnaby could do was pray and sit by as he died, as that was all that was left to do, and it was the … Continue reading Profiles Through Ages →

Lessons in Grieving

Book Review for "The Beginner's Goodbye" by Anne Tyler. You'd think the quiet lives that Dorothy and Aaron led would end uneventfully. Then the storm came, which caused a tree to fall through their house, killing Dorothy. After Aaron moved in with his sister, Dorothy started coming back from the dead. As she shows up … Continue reading Lessons in Grieving →

A Trek of Self-Discovery

Book Review of "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by Rachel Joyce. Queenie, an old colleague of Harold's, is dying. When Harold gets the news, he finds he can't post the letter he's written to her, so he just keeps on walking. And so he starts his 627 mile walk that takes him 87 days … Continue reading A Trek of Self-Discovery →