📚BOOK 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 Flow, Raisin Wine
16. Bartley, Allan; The Klu Klux Klan in Canada
17. Blachman and Stracher; The Curve
18. Blanche, Kathryn; Infiltrated by Demons



My Reading Pile!





19. Blatchford, Christie; Fifteen Days
20. Bowen, Gail; Joanne Kilbourn Series, died June, 2026. 
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. Chapman, Brenda; Hunter and Tate, Stonechild and Rouleau, Shallow End, Tumbled Graves
31. Charters, Cloudia; Aloha: Where You Like Go?
32. Cho & Gifford; The Anxious Lawyer (self-help)
33. Christofora, Kevin; Amira Can Catch
34. Clevenger, S; Greek Mythic History
35. Clinton, Hilary; something lost, something gained
36. Clinton & Penny; State of Terror
37. Cobelo, Carolyn E.; Bridge to Beyond
38. Consell, R.A.; Stealing From Wizards Excellent trilogy for teens. 
39. Conway, Martha; Sugarland
40. Cook books: gluten-free, paleo,  from Robert Rose, Inc. 
41. Cotton, Larry D; Whiskey and Wickedness
42. Crilly, Karin: The Blue Satin Nightgown
43. Cuellar, David; Plastic Island (picture book)
44. Currie, T. Ottawa Valley's Great Fire of 1870
45. Cusumano, J.; Balance
46. Davidson, Dr. Elizabeth; Cheery: the Chiricahua leopard frog (Children's picture book)
47. Daywalt, Drew; The Day the Crayons Quit
48. De Avila, Ed., Spread Thin and Moving Fast: An unlikely story (memoir)
49. De Hart, Scott D.; Shelley Unbound: Uncovering Frankenstein's True Creator
50. De Santis, Cinazi; The Sense of Darkness
51. Delaney, V; Under Cold Stone, (Constable Molly Smith Series) 
52. DeLapa, Gina; stuff you already know
53. Dennis; Anita Katherine; Beyond Myself
54. Dickinson, Emily: the Illustrated Emily Dickinson Nature Sketchbook
55. Doering, Ron; The Battle of Crysler's Farm
56. Dougherty, M.J.; Life Lessons From a Total Failure
57. Donovan, Kelly; Police Line – Do Not Cross
58. Dr. Seuss; You're Only Old Once
59. Dunn, David A.; Get Life Right
60. Emery, Anne; Collins-Burke Mysteries 2026
61. Epp, Alvin; Through The Eyes of Guilt
62. Erwin, Travis; Waiting on the River
63. Espy, W.R.; Words to Rhyme With (Non-fiction)
64. Estes, Kelli; The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
65. Even, Aaron; He Comes in Fire
66. Eyre, Linda; Grandmothering
67. Fallis, Terry; The Best Laid Plans -comedy
68. Feder, S; Bitter and Sweet
69. Fields, Mara; Weaver's Light
70. FitzSimmons, David; Curious Critters, Salamander Dance
71. Flynn, Gillian; Gone Girl
72. Follett, Ken; Pillars of the Earth
73. Forrest, Deborah: Touch the Spirit: Connecting to the world of dementia (non-fiction)
74. Freed, Dennis; Love, Loss and Awakening
75. Freeman and Parks; All-Electric America
76. Gabaldon, D.; Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone
77. Gaber, Stanley; Jex Malone
78. Garner, L.G.; The Golden Princess
79. Gawande, Atul: Being Mortal 
80. Airton, Dr. Lee; Gender: Your Guide 
81. Genova, Lisa; Left Neglected, Still Alice
82. George, Elizabeth; In the Presence of the Enemy, Deception On His Mind
83. Gebreyohannes, B. T.; Fire Walkers (memoir) 
84. Graham, Heather; Death Dealer, Unhallowed Ground, On Isabella Street
85. Gray, John; Beyond Venus and Mars
86. Gray & Ardagh; Conscious Men
87. Green, Lyndsay; A Perfect Home for a Long Life
88. Greenblatt, Mark Lee; Valor: Unsung heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the home front
89. Griffin, Lynne; Sea Escape
90. Griffith, Victoria; Amazon Burning
91. Griffiths, Doug; 13 Ways to Kill Your Community
92. Grippando, James; The Penny Jumper
93. Haberman & Swann; Regime Change
94. Habib, N. & M.N.; History of the Muslims of Regina, Saskatchewan, and Their Organizations
95. Haibach, Michael; Amazing Gracie
96. Hardee, J.L., Justice or Injustice: What really happens in a jury room (Memoire)
97. Harris, et al, Journey to Invisibility to Visibility
98. Hayden, John; Godfit
99. Helm & Smith: Talking Back to the Indian Act
100. Hemphill, R.F.; dust tea, dingoes, dragons (Memoire)
101. Heston, F.C., & McAdams, H. J.; Desolation Sound 
102. Hiebert, Michael; Close to the Broken-Hearted
103. Hill-Lehr, Andrea; A Mother's Road to Kandahar
104. Hillier, Jennifer; Wonderland 
105. Hoogstraten: The Debaters
106. Horeck, Brian; Frozen Beneath 
107. Hospital for Sick Children: The A to Z of Children's Health  
108. Ivey, Donna; Clinic of Hope: The story of Rene M. Caisse and Essiac
109. Izso, Jay; got social mediology?
110. Jackson, Joshilyn; The Almost Sisters
111. Jauvin, Chantal; The Boy with a Bamboo Heart: The story of a street orphan who built a children's charity
112. Jenner, Reid: Diagnose Yourself
113. Johnson, George: The Cancer Chronicles
114. Johnson, Spencer; Who Moved My Cheese? (Non-fiction)
115. Jonathan, Kath; The Resistance Painter
116. Jones, Marjorie G.; The Life and Times of Mary Vaux Walcott
117. Jones, Robin and Robert; The Refugee Crisis: Through the Eyes of the Children
118. Jucha, S. H.; The Silver Ships
119. Kading (Ed.); No Straight Lines
120. Kamm, Kurt; Tunnel Visions
121. Kellerman, Faye; Bon Box
122. Kendell, Laura J.; A Simple Case of Suicide
123. Kennedy, Dr. John; The Heart Health Bible
124. Kelsey, E.; You Are Stardust, Not Your Typical Book
125. Kerr, Leslie; Harriet Quimby
126. Keyser, Judith Redwing; Last Acts of Kindness (Non-fiction)
127. Kalla, Daniel; We All Fall Down 
128. Kinew, Wab; The Reason You Walk 
129. King, Samantha; Pink Ribbon, Inc. (Non-fiction)
130. Knight and Sweeney; You Should Be Writing
131. Krich, Rochelle; Dead Air
132. Kumar, Sameet M.; The Mindfulness of Grief (Also Medicalisation of Grief: DSM-IV)
133. Kuritz, Marc; Man With Child
134. Kushner, Harold; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Conquering Fear
135. Lackberg, Camilla; The Gallows Bird
136. Lafaye, Vanessa; Under a Dark Summer Sky
137. Laferrière, Dany, The World is Moving Around Me: A Memoire of the Haiti Earthquake (Memoir) 
138. Lalonde, Julie S.; Resistance is Futile: The life and death of Julie S. Lalonde (memoir)
139. Lapena, Shari; Stand alone novels, Not a Happy Family
140. Lawhon, A. (2024) The Frozen River
141. Leinvebers, V; No TIme To Cry
142. Lemmon, G. T.; The Dressmaker of Khair Khan
143. Levin, Joel M.; Our Beguine (Memoir)
144. Lieberman & Neubert; Max and Charlie
145. Lindsay, B.R.: Old Bones
146. Louden, Paul; Behind the Locked Door (memoir; autism)
147. Lundin, S.C. et al; FISH!
148. Lynch, Wayne; Owls of the US and Canada
149. Mackie & Taylor; The Cottage Bible 
150. Mankell, Jenning; Faceless Killers
151. Manning, Diane Daniels; Almost Perfect
152. Maron, Margaret; The Bootlegger's Daughter
153. Mcallister, Gillian; Caller Unknown
154. McFadden, Freida; Series, April 2026 
155. McGee, Robin; The Cancer Olympics
156. McGinty, Stephen, The Dive
157. McKee, David M; Bala Boy
158. McKee, Thomas. W; The Top Seven Reasons Volunteers Quit, The New Breed (Non-fiction)
159. McNally, B.; Unbridled
160. Martin, Mish Mockovic; Insights of a Yogi (autobiography)
161. Mancuso, S; The Incredible Journey of Plants
162. Mebane, Donna; Tomorrow Comes
163. mhic Aonghais, Clinton; The Baker Boys -700 pages, haven't gotten to it!
164. Miller, Dorcs S.; Scat Finder
165. Miralia, Mindy; The Hero in Heroin (autobiography)
166. Morelli, Laura; The Gondola Maker
167. Morgan & Smith; Advanced Genealogy (self-help
168. Moroney, Shannon; Through The Glass (Autobiography)
169. Mowery, J. Nichols; The Parallel Lives of Elizabeth Ann
170. Mukbil, Huda; Agent of Change 
171. Musleh, Mitri I.; The Making of a Palestinian Suicide Bomber 
172. Nash, Nicholas: The Girl at The Bar
173. Neice, Rick, The Band Plays On: Going home for a music man's encore (memoire)
174. Nelson, Craig; The Age of Radiance
175. Nichols, N.; Broken Promises (autobiography)
176. Nickerson, Cash; BOOMERangs; Engaging the Aging Workforce in America
177. Noah, Jim; Country Store
178. Obama, Barack; The Audacity of Hope
179. Orloff, Judith; The Ecstacy of Surrender
180. Paetkau, Jean; Blood on the Breakwater, The Sinking of Souls. 🇨🇦
181. Parker, David; The More You Do The Better You Feel (self-help)
182. Parker, Morgan; 1986
183. Pastor, Marc; Barcelona Shadows
184. Payne, Scott; Codename: Dark Horse
185. Penny, Louise; A Trick of the Light - Gamache series
186. Penny, Louise; A World of Curiosities
187. Pesaturo, Janet; Camera Trapping Guide
188. Picoult, Jodi; House Rules, The Tenth Circle, Plain Truth, Picture Perfect, Hollow Bones.
189. Piggott, Mark; The Dark Tides
190. Pinzone, J.J.: Fireballs in my Eucharist: Fight Cancer Smarter 
191. Polster, E; Beyond Therapy
192. Potter, Cheryl: The Broken Circle, Secrets of the Lost Caves
193. Power, G. A.; Dementia Beyond Disease
194. Prattis; Trailing Sky Six Feathers , also New Planet, New World 
195. Pronko, M.; The Last Train: A Tokyo Adventure
196. Putzel, Michael; The Price They Paid
197. Regan, Paulette; Unsettling the Settler Within
198. Revere, Glenn; All About Carpets
199. Richards, Jass; Turblojetslams
200. Rice, Waub; Moon of the Crusted Snow,  Moon of the Turning Leaves 
201. Riley, Laura; Tell Me of Brave Women
202. Roe, Carolyn or Sale, Medora; Murder in a Good Cause
203. Rue, Nancy; Tristan's Gap
204. Roland, Bridget; the Doula
205. Rosen, Lynn; A Man of Genius
206. Rutherford, Edward; The Forest
207. Saturday Even Post Magazine 1963 Kennedy Edition
208. Schiller, E.; Watermark
209. Schopick, J.: Honest Medicine
210. Scholz & Church; The Masterpiece Within (Non-fiction)
211. Schwägerl, Christian; The Anthropocene  (Non-fiction)
212. Schwartz, Leslie; Angels Crest
213. Seuss, Dr.; You're only old once!
214. Shelly, Derek; Dying to Live
215. Shem, Samuel; The Spirit of the Place
216. Siegel, Alex; First Circle Club
217. Signorile, M. A.; The Wartime Chronicles 
218. Slatton, Traci L; Fallen,   Cold Light
219. Smiley, Cat; the planet friendly diet 
220. Sperazza, Diana; My Townie Heart
221. Stephanopoulis, G., (2024) The Situation Room
222. Stewart, Roderick; The Mind of Norman Bethune 
223. Sutton; The Power of Legacy (Non-fiction)
224. Tapper, J. (2025) Original Sin About Joe Biden.
225. Tartt, Donna; The Goldfinch
226. Thayer, R.S.; Kobee Manatee
227. Traill, Catherine Parr; Lost in the Backwoods
228. Transgender Lee; Woman Incognito
229. Treitler; My Dad is an Alcoholic: What About Me? (autobiography)
230. Tran; American Dreamer (autobiography)
231. Trollope-Kumar, Karen; Cloud Messenger
232. Trudeau, Kris; TimeShift 
233. Vallée, Brian; The War On Women 
234. Vinter, M.; Collette
235. Voss, Donna Carol; One of Everything
236. Wallach, Dr. J.D. ; Epigenetics; The death of the genetic theory of disease transmission (Non-fiction)
237. Ware, Ruth; The IT Girl, The Woman in Cabin 10/ The Woman in Suite 11
238. Warrington, Freda; Midsummer Night
239. Wathanavongs and Jauvin; The Boy With the Bamboo Heart
240. Weber, Joseph; Last Call
241. Welch, D.Y.; The Life and Times of Lilian J. Rice
242. White, Kate; If Looks Could Kill 
243. Williams and White:  Act III (Non-fiction)
244. Wilson, Daniel H.; Robopocalypse
245. Wilson, P.D.; The Caregiving Trap (Non-fiction)
246. Wold, Richard; Stan
247. Wolitzer, Meg: The Wife
248. Wright, Robert; Our Man in Tehran (Non-fiction)
249. Wyler, Allen;  Deadly Errors
250. Young, David; Channelling Harrison (biography)
251. 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!