📚REVIEWS

Here are the books I have reviewed for fun. Some have been sent by publicists, others I have bought or borrowed. I've read all of them. 



Readers may be divided into four classes: 

A. Sponges, who absorb all that they read and return it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtied. 
B. Sand-glasses, who retain nothing and are content to get through a book for the sake of getting through the time. 
C. Strain-bags, who retain merely the dregs of what they read. 
D. Mogul diamonds, equally rare and valuable, who profit by what they read, and enable others to profit by it also. 

      ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, critic (1772-1834) 


 denotes a Canadian book!
  1. Aaron, Glen; The Curse of Sacerdozio
  2. Aaron, Richard; Gauntlet 
  3. Alexander, Devin: You Can Have It (recipe book)
  4. Alexander, Eva M.; Condos and Condoms (short stories)
  5. Almond, Paul; The Gunner 
  6. Alt, Jeff; The Adventures of Bubba Jones
  7. Alton and Craan; My handy little health journal
  8. Andersen; Fantasyland
  9. Arden, John: The Brain Bible
  10. Arneson,  Rick; Plotting the Course; Life lessons from the sport of sailing
  11. Ashby, Kathy; Carol, A Woman's Way 
  12. August, Y.; Coaching For Caregivers
  13. Barager, R.; The Atheist and the Parrotfish
  14. Barr, Nevada; 13½, Blood Lure
  15. Bartleman, James; As Long as the Rivers FlowRaisin Wine
  16. Bartley, Allan; The Klu Klux Klan in Canada
  17. Blachman and Stracher; The Curve
  18. Blanche, Kathryn; Infiltrated by Demons
  19. My Reading Pile!

  20. Blatchford, Christie; Fifteen Days
  21. Bradbury and Karney; Love Me Slender
  22. Bradley, Eric; Harry Potter Collectibles
  23. Brennan, Peter; Iceapelago
  24. Brown, Ron; Vanished Villages Part 1, Post 2  (Non-fiction)
  25. Brown, Ron; Backroads of Ontario (Non-fiction) 
  26. Carey, Pamela: Elderly Parents With All Their Marbles
  27. Carlon, Michael; Uncorking a Murder
  28. Carpenter, J.: No Place to Pray
  29. Carucci, M.; Sobrietease
  30. Charters, Cloudia; Aloha: Where You Like Go?
  31. Cho & Gifford; The Anxious Lawyer (self-help)
  32. Christofora, Kevin; Amira Can Catch
  33. Clevenger, S; Greek Mythic History
  34. Clinton & Penny; State of Terror
  35. Cobelo, Carolyn E.; Bridge to Beyond
  36. Conway, Martha; Sugarland
  37. Cook books: gluten-free, paleo,  from Robert Rose, Inc. 
  38. Cotton, Larry D; Whiskey and Wickedness
  39. Crilly, Karin: The Blue Satin Nightgown
  40. Cuellar, David; Plastic Island (picture book)
  41. Currie, T. Ottawa Valley's Great Fire of 1870
  42. Cusumano, J.; Balance
  43. Davidson, Dr. Elizabeth; Cheery: the Chiricahua leopard frog (Children's picture book)
  44. Daywalt, Drew; The Day the Crayons Quit
  45. De Avila, Ed., Spread Thin and Moving Fast: An unlikely story (memoir)
  46. De Hart, Scott D.; Shelley Unbound: Uncovering Frankenstein's True Creator
  47. De Santis, Cinazi; The Sense of Darkness
  48. Delaney, V; Under Cold Stone, (Constable Molly Smith Series) 
  49. DeLapa, Gina; stuff you already know
  50. Dennis; Anita Katherine; Beyond Myself
  51. Dickinson, Emily: the Illustrated Emily Dickinson Nature Sketchbook
  52. Doering, Ron; The Battle of Crysler's Farm
  53. Dougherty, M.J.; Life Lessons From a Total Failure
  54. Donovan, Kelly; Police Line – Do Not Cross
  55. Dr. Seuss; You're Only Old Once
  56. Dunn, David A.; Get Life Right
  57. Epp, Alvin; Through The Eyes of Guilt
  58. Espy, W.R.; Words to Rhyme With (Non-fiction)
  59. Estes, Kelli; The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
  60. Even, Aaron; He Comes in Fire
  61. Eyre, Linda; Grandmothering
  62. Fallis, Terry; The Best Laid Plans -comedy
  63. Feder, S; Bitter and Sweet
  64. Fields, Mara; Weaver's Light
  65. FitzSimmons, David; Curious Critters, Salamander Dance
  66. Flynn, Gillian; Gone Girl
  67. Follett, Ken; Pillars of the Earth
  68. Forrest, Deborah: Touch the Spirit: Connecting to the world of dementia (non-fiction)
  69. Freed, Dennis; Love, Loss and Awakening
  70. Freeman and Parks; All-Electric America
  71. Gabaldon, D.; Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone
  72. Gaber, Stanley; Jex Malone
  73. Garner, L.G.; The Golden Princess
  74. Gawande, Atul: Being Mortal 
  75. Genova, Lisa; Left Neglected, Still Alice
  76. George, Elizabeth; In the Presence of the EnemyDeception On His Mind
  77. Gebreyohannes, B. T.; Fire Walkers (memoir) 
  78. Graham, Heather; Death Dealer, Unhallowed Ground
  79. Gray, John; Beyond Venus and Mars
  80. Gray & Ardagh; Conscious Men
  81. Green, Lyndsay; A Perfect Home for a Long Life
  82. Greenblatt, Mark Lee; Valor: Unsung heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the home front
  83. Griffin, Lynne; Sea Escape
  84. Griffith, Victoria; Amazon Burning
  85. Griffiths, Doug; 13 Ways to Kill Your Community
  86. Grippando, James; The Penny Jumper
  87. Habib, N. & M.N.; History of the Muslims of Regina, Saskatchewan, and Their Organizations
  88. Haibach, Michael; Amazing Gracie
  89. Hardee, J.L., Justice or Injustice: What really happens in a jury room (Memoire)
  90. Harris, et al, Journey to Invisibility to Visibility
  91. Hayden, John; Godfit
  92. Helm & Smith: Talking Back to the Indian Act
  93. Hemphill, R.F.; dust tea, dingoes, dragons (Memoire)
  94. Heston, F.C., & McAdams, H. J.; Desolation Sound 
  95. Hiebert, Michael; Close to the Broken-Hearted
  96. Hill-Lehr, Andrea; A Mother's Road to Kandahar
  97. Hoogstraten: The Debaters
  98. Horeck, Brian; Frozen Beneath 
  99. Hospital for Sick Children: The A to Z of Children's Health  
  100. Ivey, Donna; Clinic of Hope: The story of Rene M. Caisse and Essiac
  101. Izso, Jay; got social mediology?
  102. Jackson, Joshilyn; The Almost Sisters
  103. Jauvin, Chantal; The Boy with a Bamboo Heart: The story of a street orphan who built a children's charity
  104. Jenner, Reid: Diagnose Yourself
  105. Johnson, George: The Cancer Chronicles
  106. Johnson, Spencer; Who Moved My Cheese? (Non-fiction)
  107. Jones, Marjorie G.; The Life and Times of Mary Vaux Walcott
  108. Jones, Robin and Robert; The Refugee Crisis: Through the Eyes of the Children
  109. Jucha, S. H.; The Silver Ships
  110. Kading (Ed.); No Straight Lines
  111. Kamm, Kurt; Tunnel Visions
  112. Kellerman, Faye; Bon Box
  113. Kendell, Laura J.; A Simple Case of Suicide
  114. Kennedy, Dr. John; The Heart Health Bible
  115. Kelsey, E.; You Are Stardust, Not Your Typical Book
  116. Kerr, Leslie; Harriet Quimby
  117. Keyser, Judith Redwing; Last Acts of Kindness (Non-fiction)
  118. Kinew, Wab; The Reason You Walk 
  119. King, Samantha; Pink Ribbon, Inc. (Non-fiction)
  120. Knight and Sweeney; You Should Be Writing
  121. Krich, Rochelle; Dead Air
  122. Kumar, Sameet M.; The Mindfulness of Grief (Also Medicalisation of Grief: DSM-IV)
  123. Kuritz, Marc; Man With Child
  124. Kushner, Harold; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Conquering Fear
  125. Lackberg, Camilla; The Gallows Bird
  126. Lafaye, Vanessa; Under a Dark Summer Sky
  127. Laferrière, Dany, The World is Moving Around Me: A Memoire of the Haiti Earthquake (Memoir) 
  128. Lalonde, Julie S.; Resistance is Futile: The life and death of Julie S. Lalonde (memoir)
  129. Leinvebers, V; No TIme To Cry
  130. Lemmon, G. T.; The Dressmaker of Khair Khan
  131. Levin, Joel M.; Our Beguine (Memoir)
  132. Lieberman & Neubert; Max and Charlie
  133. Lindsay, B.R.: Old Bones
  134. Louden, Paul; Behind the Locked Door (memoir; autism)
  135. Lundin, S.C. et al; FISH!
  136. Lynch, Wayne; Owls of the US and Canada
  137. Mackie & Taylor; The Cottage Bible 
  138. Mankell, Jenning; Faceless Killers
  139. Manning, Diane Daniels; Almost Perfect
  140. Maron, Margaret; The Bootlegger's Daughter
  141. McGee, Robin; The Cancer Olympics
  142. McKee, David M; Bala Boy
  143. McKee, Thomas. W; The Top Seven Reasons Volunteers Quit, The New Breed (Non-fiction)
  144. McNally, B.; Unbridled
  145. Martin, Mish Mockovic; Insights of a Yogi (autobiography)
  146. Mancuso, S; The Incredible Journey of Plants
  147. Mebane, Donna; Tomorrow Comes
  148. mhic Aonghais, Clinton; The Baker Boys -700 pages, haven't gotten to it!
  149. Miller, Dorcs S.; Scat Finder
  150. Miralia, Mindy; The Hero in Heroin (autobiography)
  151. Morelli, Laura; The Gondola Maker
  152. Morgan & Smith; Advanced Genealogy (self-help
  153. Moroney, Shannon; Through The Glass (Autobiography)
  154. Mowery, J. Nichols; The Parallel Lives of Elizabeth Ann
  155. Musleh, Mitri I.; The Making of a Palestinian Suicide Bomber 
  156. Nash, Nicholas: The Girl at The Bar
  157. Neice, Rick, The Band Plays On: Going home for a music man's encore (memoire)
  158. Nelson, Craig; The Age of Radiance
  159. Nichols, N.; Broken Promises (autobiography)
  160. Nickerson, Cash; BOOMERangs; Engaging the Aging Workforce in America
  161. Noah, Jim; Country Store
  162. Obama, Barack; The Audacity of Hope
  163. Orloff, Judith; The Ecstacy of Surrender
  164. Parker, David; The More You Do The Better You Feel (self-help)
  165. Parker, Morgan; 1986
  166. Pastor, Marc; Barcelona Shadows
  167. Penny, Louise; A Trick of the Light - Gamache series
  168. Penny, Louise; A World of Curiosities
  169. Pesaturo, Janet; Camera Trapping Guide
  170. Picoult, Jodi; House RulesThe Tenth CirclePlain TruthPicture Perfect
  171. Piggott, Mark; The Dark Tides
  172. Pinzone, J.J.: Fireballs in my Eucharist: Fight Cancer Smarter 
  173. Polster, E; Beyond Therapy
  174. Potter, Cheryl: The Broken Circle, Secrets of the Lost Caves
  175. Power, G. A.; Dementia Beyond Disease
  176. Prattis; Trailing Sky Six Feathers , also New Planet, New World 
  177. Pronko, M.; The Last Train: A Tokyo Adventure
  178. Putzel, Michael; The Price They Paid
  179. Regan, Paulette; Unsettling the Settler Within
  180. Revere, Glenn; All About Carpets
  181. Richards, Jass; Turblojetslams
  182. Riley, Laura; Tell Me of Brave Women
  183. Roe, Carolyn or Sale, Medora; Murder in a Good Cause
  184. Rue, Nancy; Tristan's Gap
  185. Roland, Bridget; the Doula
  186. Rosen, Lynn; A Man of Genius
  187. Rutherford, Edward; The Forest
  188. Saturday Even Post Magazine 1963 Kennedy Edition
  189. Schiller, E.; Watermark
  190. Schopick, J.: Honest Medicine
  191. Scholz & Church; The Masterpiece Within (Non-fiction)
  192. Schwägerl, Christian; The Anthropocene  (Non-fiction)
  193. Schwartz, Leslie; Angels Crest
  194. Seuss, Dr.; You're only old once!
  195. Shelly, Derek; Dying to Live
  196. Shem, Samuel; The Spirit of the Place
  197. Siegel, Alex; First Circle Club
  198. Signorile, M. A.; The Wartime Chronicles 
  199. Slatton, Traci L; Fallen,   Cold Light
  200. Smiley, Cat; the planet friendly diet 
  201. Sperazza, Diana; My Townie Heart
  202. Stewart, Roderick; The Mind of Norman Bethune 
  203. Sutton; The Power of Legacy (Non-fiction)
  204. Tartt, Donna; The Goldfinch
  205. Thayer, R.S.; Kobee Manatee
  206. Traill, Catherine Parr; Lost in the Backwoods
  207. Transgender Lee; Woman Incognito
  208. Treitler; My Dad is an Alcoholic: What About Me? (autobiography)
  209. Tran; American Dreamer (autobiography)
  210. Trollope-Kumar, Karen; Cloud Messenger
  211. Trudeau, Kris; TimeShift 
  212. Vallée, Brian; The War On Women 
  213. Vinter, M.; Collette
  214. Voss, Donna Carol; One of Everything
  215. Wallach, Dr. J.D. ; Epigenetics; The death of the genetic theory of disease transmission (Non-fiction)
  216. Ware, Ruth; The IT Girl
  217. Warrington, Freda; Midsummer Night
  218. Wathanavongs and Jauvin; The Boy With the Bamboo Heart
  219. Welch, D.Y.; The Life and Times of Lilian J. Rice
  220. White, Kate; If Looks Could Kill 
  221. Williams and White:  Act III (Non-fiction)
  222. Wilson, Daniel H.; Robopocalypse
  223. Wilson, P.D.; The Caregiving Trap (Non-fiction)
  224. Wold, Richard; Stan
  225. Wolitzer, Meg: The Wife
  226. Wright, Robert; Our Man in Tehran (Non-fiction)
  227. Wyler, Allen;  Deadly Errors
  228. Young, David; Channelling Harrison (biography)
  229. Yow, David; Copycat

Book Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, DVD & iPad App Reviews (scroll down!) 

  1. Band of Brothers
  2. Borgen - Denmark Politics. Excellent!
  3. Broadchurch – amazing! 
  4. CIVIL WAR: THE UNTOLD STORY
  5. DCI Banks
  6. Endeavour (TV Series 2012)
  7. Foyle's War
  8. Grantchester
  9. George Gently (TV Series 2007)
  10. Inspector Lewis (2006–2015)
  11. Inspector Lynley
  12. Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
  13. Jack Irish
  14. Janet King
  15. Midsomer Murders (TV Series 1997)
  16. Mystery Road (ABC)
  17. My Life is Murder (ABC)
  18.  People of a Feather, Belcher Isl., Hudson Bay
  19. Shetland
  20. The Newsroom - fabulous!
  21. Vera - wonderful UK mystery

Restaurant Reviews


  1. Almonte Barley Mow – May 9, 2015
  2. Bistro 54 Italiano Perth – Jan. 2011
  3. Café Postino Almonte – 2011
  4. East Meets West – Perth - 2015 to present!
  5. Fratelli – April 17, 2017
  6. Georgian House – Alexandria, June 18th, 2016
  7. Heirloom Restaurant Almonte – Jan. 2015
  8. Mexicali Rosa –July 29, 2015 Also, Oct. 2010
  9. Rocky River Cafe – October 17, 2017; also Dec. 6 & 26, 2013.
  10. The Cove - Westport – many visits!
  11. The Hot Wok – April 10, 2017.
  12. The Shipwreck - Rideau Ferry – Oct. 2010
  13. The Waterfront - Napanee – May 2015
  14. Waterfront Gastropub – Carleton Place, May 23/18
  15. Wildfire BBQ and Smokehouse – Perth, 2015
  16. Zolas – Ottawa - May 13, 2015; Zola's Oct. 2016

iPad Apps

  1. Never Alone –Inuit game PC, so far
  2. Brushstroke –drawing
  3. ToonCamera –photoshop idea
  4. Doodle Buddy –drawing
  5. PhotoBooth –photoshop idea
  6. Dragon Naturally Speaking –speech-to-text, text-to-speech
  7. Spirits of Spring –Josie and I like it! 

1 comment:

Faye said...

Maron, Nevada Barr, and C. J. Box are three of my favorite authors. Barr and Box have long series going. Each one is a thriller. Maron has a great series too, not as intense as the other two.