The woes of free shipping
I'm a huge fan of Amazon.com. Huge selection, $4 paperbacks, and free shipping on orders of $25 or more. I should probably patronize my local book stores more, but it's almost irresistible to just... Writing redux
Wow, over 3 months without a blog post. I haven't been idle though - I've been reading the 600+ pages of The Once and Future King. It's four books in one, and in hindsight I should have reviewed... 1,600 pages of King Arthur
I've been interested in reading more about the Arthurian legend for a long time. Only problem was that I didn't know how to actually find it. Typing King Arthur into my library website didn't... Review: The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien
Pretty much everyone is familiar with the Lord of the Rings these days, but not everyone is aware of the incredibly deep back story that Tolkien created for his signature work. Because Tolkien... War and Peace by Tolstoy
War and Peace is considered one of the finest pieces of Russian literature and one of the worlds great novels, and it did not disappoint. It's unquestionably one of the best books I've ever... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (spoiler free)
Well it's finally over, and J.K. Rowling delivered yet another great novel and a fitting conclusion to the series. I've got more than enough books to move on to but I still feel sad that such a... Potter Mania!
I'm both excited and a little apprehensive about taking a final trip to Hogwarts. On one hand a new Harry Potter book is always a treat and I'm looking forward to seeing how J.K. Rowling wraps... A new addition to my bookcase
I'm still slooowly working my way through War and Peace but I couldn't pass up the latest book from J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien. It's an expanded version of one of the central stories from... The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Eddie is a maintenance worker at a fairground called Ruby Pier. He's worked there for nearly all of his life, except when he was serving in the war. He had a wife once, but she's dead now. Eddie... I've been slacking with the reviews lately
Wow I didn't realize that it had been a month since my last blog post. I've read a fair bit since I finished my John Adams biography - Tuck Everlasting, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and... John Adams by David McCullough
David McCullough delivers another Pulitzer Prize winning look at an American President with this biography of John Adams. As with his other biographies McCullough takes a very personal approach... Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini was just 15 when he started Eragon. And while the author shows his youth at some points for the most part Eragon is a very well written and fluid book. You can tell Paolini... The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was just 22 years old when The Red Badge of Courage was published. He died at age 29. Despite the young age of the author he managed to produce a book that is not only one of the... A few additions to the old book collection
I hope everybody had a good Christmas. :) I was given quite a few books this year so I thought I'd post a list of them. About time I hopped on the bandwagon, eh? David McCullough is my... The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
In December of 2003 Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, watched helplessly as their daughter Quintana lay in the hospital in an induced coma. Quintana had at first come down with... Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling was born in India but spent most of his life abroad. While his works were published in English most of his writings are set in his native country and give the reader a glimpse... The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Sure you've seen the movie, but have you read the book? I'm a firm believer that the book is always better than the movie, but I think I liked The Princess Bride a little more on the big... The Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy
Olenin is in his early 20's, and despite inheriting a large fortune from his deceased parents he has done very little with his life. Tired of the life he is living and needing to curb his... One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
A wonderful book, this. Based on the author's own experiences in a Siberian prison camp in Stalin era Russia, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich describes the brutal conditions of the camp... A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea cycle book 1)
I enjoy fantasy literature but until recently my experience with the genre was mostly limited to the works of Tolkien, Rowling, and C.S. Lewis. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the...