Blood on the Mink by Robert Silverberg
Read as part of CBR16 Bingo: vintage. This book was originally published as a serialized story in a magazine in 1959. When I learned I had to read a book that was over 40 years old for a reading challenge, I knew it would be a Hard Case Crime one. Hard Case Crime is great at bringing to life authors that are little known or have fallen out of vogue. There was so much in the way of pulp publication in the 50s and 60s […]
Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life by Jerry Pinkney
While I knew who Jerry Pinkney was, I was not familiar with his personal life. But Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life is a lovely memoir that highlights the important and beautiful parts of his life as he made his journey to becoming the artist we know today. His memoir, starting off with a note from the editor, is something that is more than an autobiography. It is a look at parts of the life of a man who would win awards and show the […]
Anansi's Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World by Yepoka Yeebo
Read as part of CBR15Bingo: Africa. This non-fiction story centers around the country of Ghana, which is part of Africa. I didn’t know much about Ghana before picking this one up. Great soccer squad, often the nemesis of the United States Men’s Team. West African location. I had always assumed that the slave trade had ravaged their country but I didn’t know who were the worst perpetrators (the British, who also robbed them of their gold, though they were not alone w/r/t slavery). Fortunately, one […]
Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovations at the Dawn of Modern Medicine by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
CBR15 BINGO: North America, because Thomas Dent Mütter was an American physician, and his museum is located in Philadelphia, PA. When I heard there was a book about Thomas Mütter, I knew I had to read it. Some years ago I visited the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, which is a museum of medical history that “displays its beautifully preserved collections of anatomical specimens, models, and medical instruments in a nineteenth-century ‘cabinet museum’ setting.” A quick walk through the museum’s site should give you an idea […]
Mafia Prince by Phil Leonetti
To continue the Mafia kick I’ve been on lately, I checked out the Mafia subreddit for book recommendations. To a person, the guys on that site thought Mafia Prince, a book I had never heard of, was one of the best, if not THE best read on La Cosa Nostra in the United States. I thought I had heard of all the major mafia books but this one completely escaped me. I’m sure this is in part because my interest in Mafia tales is more on […]
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Girl With the Long Green Heart by Lawrence Block
Cold Shot to the Heart by Wallace Stroby
Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League by Britni de la Cretaz and Lyndsey D'Arcangelo
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortune of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty by Jonathan Pearson
The Blonde on the Street Corner by David Goodis
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Having been busy with Christmas prep, avoiding Delta and Omicron, and other various things, I haven’t had the time to write long, 250+ reviews for these books. I figured I’d just cram them all here since I know I won’t finish Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate before New Year’s Eve. The Fortress of Solitude *** This clears the 3-star threshold but just barely. I appreciate what Lethem is trying to do here and I usually enjoy his work. But this was a […]
