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A review of Crochet Stitch Guide by Jean Leinhauser & Mary Ann Frits
Each of simple-to-follow, first-rate instructions is presented with a nice clear photograph of each of the various stitches detailed in the book. I particularly like the variety of stitches offered in 7 kinds of stitches including shells, textures, clusters, picots, V stitches, special stitches and miscellaneous.
A review of I Hate the Internet by Jarett Kobek
The vitriol of I hate the internet is the misery of the bourgeoisie, almost all of which “lack eumelanin in the basale strata of their epidermis” (as Kobek repeatedly describes whiteness); I sympathize regardless of my eumelaninlessness. More than being a prolonged expletive flailing absurdly about like a verbal Bernie Dance though, this self-described “bad novel” is a madcap, mad-dog, remonstration of Post-Industrial America.
A review of Bad Behaviour by Rebecca Starford
The writing is beautiful throughout, without ever over-shadowing the plot or narrative flow, which moves forward quickly. Starford remains non-judgmental, even towards those who caused her the greatest pain, including the many adults who clearly failed in their duty of care.
A review of The Metaphysics of Ping Pong by Guido Mina di Sospiro
The humility to which he begins his story is surprising given this title, starting with a simple, “my full-blown obsession with ping-pong began four years ago with the semi-epic road trip.” From the there the story follows a surprisingly human pattern: Beaten by son (at ping-pong), age begins to show (as blood pressure), attempts to reclaim youthfulness (or, at least, not die).
A review of Medicine Buddha/Medicine Mind by Charlene Jones
Medicine Buddha/Medicine Mind describes in simple terms how our brains work with meditation. As Jones shares the dreadfulness experienced during her teens, we chart her journey to enlightenment and a life without suffering via visualization and meditation.
A review of Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
It worked for Gone Girl. Not to the same degree, it works for Try Not To Breathe. That’s what Seddon brings to fruition more than anything. It’s the same way her stretching into sci-fi with her short story “Graduate Schemes,” published in the dystopian anthology Broken Worlds, leans closer to squabbling than the high stakes of a truly broken world.
A review of Everyday Epic by Anna Kerdijk Nicholson
Kerdijk Nicholson’s poems are not difficult to read: they flow in straightforward rhythms, and take on familiar landscapes and territories, but the poems in Everyday Epic are much more complex then they seem at first glance. It is through the everyday moments of such universal elements as love, grief, work, that we find the epic, and in those old stories of conquest and domination, where we find our most shameful and least ‘epic’ natures.
A review of What You See by Hank Phillipi Ryan
While Ryan hasn’t convinced me that there is no suspense in love, no love in suspense, she’s shown she’s less a muckraker than her credentials makes her out to be in her stories focused on political scandal, police corruption, and institutions which create the circumstances for felonious activities.
A review of You Are Dead by Peter James
I don’t read thrillers regularly, but You Are Dead caught and kept my attention throughout. James kept a tight rein on the plot, and there was no obvious suspect. He added a twist to Logan and Jamie’s engagement that I didn’t expect, although I would have liked more details on that relationship.