For dinner rolls, “Black-Eyed Pea Cakes with Jalapeno Avocado Salsa,” a Caribbean theme selection based on character Janie Crawford’s black-eyed peas in the story “Their Eyes were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. Picked by the Denver Read and Feed members Frank Blaha and his wife Barb Warden because the book fascinated their group and provided an introduction to the Harlem Renaissance.
Category: Book Reviews
Book Reviews
A review of Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris
Peaches for Father Frances is a delicately written, and absolutely engaging story that centres around Vianne’s return to Lansquenet, and her special ability to transcend people’s appearances and cultural trappings, and see into the heart of who they are. This is a beautifully written novel, full of mystery, character growth and excitement with a broad range of appeal.
A review of Face of the Enemy by Joanne Dobson and Beverle Graves Myers
A minor character speaks of seeing Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club, but we readers never get to go there and see him perform. Perhaps I’m spoiled, with too high expectations, because so many creative artists, from Thomas Wolfe to Woody Allen, have already brilliantly evoked New York.
A review of Blue Friday by Mike French
Mike French’s Blue Friday is a science fiction that draws on George Orwell’s 1984 to show a society gone mad. Though written in a light-hearted farcical way, the novel takes a hard look at state sanctioned control and the way in which it perverts even the most humanistic of subjects (such as work-life balance and “family values”).
Interview with Margaret Wertheim
The author of Physics on the Fringe talks about how her years of collecting the work of ‘outsider physics’ turned into a book, about the notion of some aspects of modern physics being more akin to art than science, about…
A review of Physics on the Fringe Smoke Rings, Circlons, and Alternative Theories of Everything by Margaret Wertheim
As with the work that Wertheim has done through her Institute for Figuring, Physics on the Fringe affirms that there is room in this world for knowledge seekers of all kinds, along the broadest of spectrums. Wisdom can evolve and present itself in many ways – through empirical, mathematically sound, proven processes, and through hands-on aesthetically rich intuitive processes.
Interview with Danny Iny
The author of Engagement from Scratch talks about his company Firepole Marketing, about the power of blogging, about why creative people need to market, author promotion, his book and why he’s giving it away, on philanthropy, mantaining the balance between…
A review of Engagement from Scratch by Danny Iny
Overall, Engagement From Scratch is a powerful, thought-provoking book, easy to read and full of powerful and immediately applicable information. It’s relevant to anyone who wants to use the Internet to market their work. Though the book isn’t specifically geared to writers, all bloggers are writers of one sort or another and most of the contributors have written books, so the ideas are very relevant to authors of any genre.
A review of For Keeps by Aaron Paul Lazar
Sam Moore is an exceptionally well drawn character. Existing fans of this series will enjoy the progressive story of Sam, as For Keeps goes deep into his psyche, revealing his long suppressed pain and a surprising number of secrets. For new fans, For Keeps provides enough back story to enable this book to be read as a standalone novel.
A review of Curiosity Killed the Sphinx, and Other Stories by Katherine L. Holmes
Holmes likes to use language vividly and originally. Cars “crept to the curb on tire tiptoe”; a woman walks in a “toothache of time”. Holmes also uses patterns of imagery to convey her themes. In one of my favourite stories, “Nuts and Bolts”, a childfree couple choose not to spend a holiday with friends – the “same old bunch” with a third baby among them, but to stay in the city together.