📚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 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. Erwin, Travis; Waiting on the River
  59. Espy, W.R.; Words to Rhyme With (Non-fiction)
  60. Estes, Kelli; The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
  61. Even, Aaron; He Comes in Fire
  62. Eyre, Linda; Grandmothering
  63. Fallis, Terry; The Best Laid Plans -comedy
  64. Feder, S; Bitter and Sweet
  65. Fields, Mara; Weaver's Light
  66. FitzSimmons, David; Curious Critters, Salamander Dance
  67. Flynn, Gillian; Gone Girl
  68. Follett, Ken; Pillars of the Earth
  69. Forrest, Deborah: Touch the Spirit: Connecting to the world of dementia (non-fiction)
  70. Freed, Dennis; Love, Loss and Awakening
  71. Freeman and Parks; All-Electric America
  72. Gabaldon, D.; Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone
  73. Gaber, Stanley; Jex Malone
  74. Garner, L.G.; The Golden Princess
  75. Gawande, Atul: Being Mortal 
  76. Genova, Lisa; Left Neglected, Still Alice
  77. George, Elizabeth; In the Presence of the EnemyDeception On His Mind
  78. Gebreyohannes, B. T.; Fire Walkers (memoir) 
  79. Graham, Heather; Death Dealer, Unhallowed Ground
  80. Gray, John; Beyond Venus and Mars
  81. Gray & Ardagh; Conscious Men
  82. Green, Lyndsay; A Perfect Home for a Long Life
  83. Greenblatt, Mark Lee; Valor: Unsung heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the home front
  84. Griffin, Lynne; Sea Escape
  85. Griffith, Victoria; Amazon Burning
  86. Griffiths, Doug; 13 Ways to Kill Your Community
  87. Grippando, James; The Penny Jumper
  88. Habib, N. & M.N.; History of the Muslims of Regina, Saskatchewan, and Their Organizations
  89. Haibach, Michael; Amazing Gracie
  90. Hardee, J.L., Justice or Injustice: What really happens in a jury room (Memoire)
  91. Harris, et al, Journey to Invisibility to Visibility
  92. Hayden, John; Godfit
  93. Helm & Smith: Talking Back to the Indian Act
  94. Hemphill, R.F.; dust tea, dingoes, dragons (Memoire)
  95. Heston, F.C., & McAdams, H. J.; Desolation Sound 
  96. Hiebert, Michael; Close to the Broken-Hearted
  97. Hill-Lehr, Andrea; A Mother's Road to Kandahar
  98. Hillier, Jennifer; Wonderland 
  99. Hoogstraten: The Debaters
  100. Horeck, Brian; Frozen Beneath 
  101. Hospital for Sick Children: The A to Z of Children's Health  
  102. Ivey, Donna; Clinic of Hope: The story of Rene M. Caisse and Essiac
  103. Izso, Jay; got social mediology?
  104. Jackson, Joshilyn; The Almost Sisters
  105. Jauvin, Chantal; The Boy with a Bamboo Heart: The story of a street orphan who built a children's charity
  106. Jenner, Reid: Diagnose Yourself
  107. Johnson, George: The Cancer Chronicles
  108. Johnson, Spencer; Who Moved My Cheese? (Non-fiction)
  109. Jones, Marjorie G.; The Life and Times of Mary Vaux Walcott
  110. Jones, Robin and Robert; The Refugee Crisis: Through the Eyes of the Children
  111. Jucha, S. H.; The Silver Ships
  112. Kading (Ed.); No Straight Lines
  113. Kamm, Kurt; Tunnel Visions
  114. Kellerman, Faye; Bon Box
  115. Kendell, Laura J.; A Simple Case of Suicide
  116. Kennedy, Dr. John; The Heart Health Bible
  117. Kelsey, E.; You Are Stardust, Not Your Typical Book
  118. Kerr, Leslie; Harriet Quimby
  119. Keyser, Judith Redwing; Last Acts of Kindness (Non-fiction)
  120. Kinew, Wab; The Reason You Walk 
  121. King, Samantha; Pink Ribbon, Inc. (Non-fiction)
  122. Knight and Sweeney; You Should Be Writing
  123. Krich, Rochelle; Dead Air
  124. Kumar, Sameet M.; The Mindfulness of Grief (Also Medicalisation of Grief: DSM-IV)
  125. Kuritz, Marc; Man With Child
  126. Kushner, Harold; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Conquering Fear
  127. Lackberg, Camilla; The Gallows Bird
  128. Lafaye, Vanessa; Under a Dark Summer Sky
  129. Laferrière, Dany, The World is Moving Around Me: A Memoire of the Haiti Earthquake (Memoir) 
  130. Lalonde, Julie S.; Resistance is Futile: The life and death of Julie S. Lalonde (memoir)
  131. Leinvebers, V; No TIme To Cry
  132. Lemmon, G. T.; The Dressmaker of Khair Khan
  133. Levin, Joel M.; Our Beguine (Memoir)
  134. Lieberman & Neubert; Max and Charlie
  135. Lindsay, B.R.: Old Bones
  136. Louden, Paul; Behind the Locked Door (memoir; autism)
  137. Lundin, S.C. et al; FISH!
  138. Lynch, Wayne; Owls of the US and Canada
  139. Mackie & Taylor; The Cottage Bible 
  140. Mankell, Jenning; Faceless Killers
  141. Manning, Diane Daniels; Almost Perfect
  142. Maron, Margaret; The Bootlegger's Daughter
  143. McGee, Robin; The Cancer Olympics
  144. McGinty, Stephen, The Dive
  145. McKee, David M; Bala Boy
  146. McKee, Thomas. W; The Top Seven Reasons Volunteers Quit, The New Breed (Non-fiction)
  147. McNally, B.; Unbridled
  148. Martin, Mish Mockovic; Insights of a Yogi (autobiography)
  149. Mancuso, S; The Incredible Journey of Plants
  150. Mebane, Donna; Tomorrow Comes
  151. mhic Aonghais, Clinton; The Baker Boys -700 pages, haven't gotten to it!
  152. Miller, Dorcs S.; Scat Finder
  153. Miralia, Mindy; The Hero in Heroin (autobiography)
  154. Morelli, Laura; The Gondola Maker
  155. Morgan & Smith; Advanced Genealogy (self-help
  156. Moroney, Shannon; Through The Glass (Autobiography)
  157. Mowery, J. Nichols; The Parallel Lives of Elizabeth Ann
  158. Musleh, Mitri I.; The Making of a Palestinian Suicide Bomber 
  159. Nash, Nicholas: The Girl at The Bar
  160. Neice, Rick, The Band Plays On: Going home for a music man's encore (memoire)
  161. Nelson, Craig; The Age of Radiance
  162. Nichols, N.; Broken Promises (autobiography)
  163. Nickerson, Cash; BOOMERangs; Engaging the Aging Workforce in America
  164. Noah, Jim; Country Store
  165. Obama, Barack; The Audacity of Hope
  166. Orloff, Judith; The Ecstacy of Surrender
  167. Parker, David; The More You Do The Better You Feel (self-help)
  168. Parker, Morgan; 1986
  169. Pastor, Marc; Barcelona Shadows
  170. Penny, Louise; A Trick of the Light - Gamache series
  171. Penny, Louise; A World of Curiosities
  172. Pesaturo, Janet; Camera Trapping Guide
  173. Picoult, Jodi; House RulesThe Tenth CirclePlain TruthPicture Perfect
  174. Piggott, Mark; The Dark Tides
  175. Pinzone, J.J.: Fireballs in my Eucharist: Fight Cancer Smarter 
  176. Polster, E; Beyond Therapy
  177. Potter, Cheryl: The Broken Circle, Secrets of the Lost Caves
  178. Power, G. A.; Dementia Beyond Disease
  179. Prattis; Trailing Sky Six Feathers , also New Planet, New World 
  180. Pronko, M.; The Last Train: A Tokyo Adventure
  181. Putzel, Michael; The Price They Paid
  182. Regan, Paulette; Unsettling the Settler Within
  183. Revere, Glenn; All About Carpets
  184. Richards, Jass; Turblojetslams
  185. Rice, Waub; Moon of the Crusted SnowMoon of the Turning Leaves 
  186. Riley, Laura; Tell Me of Brave Women
  187. Roe, Carolyn or Sale, Medora; Murder in a Good Cause
  188. Rue, Nancy; Tristan's Gap
  189. Roland, Bridget; the Doula
  190. Rosen, Lynn; A Man of Genius
  191. Rutherford, Edward; The Forest
  192. Saturday Even Post Magazine 1963 Kennedy Edition
  193. Schiller, E.; Watermark
  194. Schopick, J.: Honest Medicine
  195. Scholz & Church; The Masterpiece Within (Non-fiction)
  196. Schwägerl, Christian; The Anthropocene  (Non-fiction)
  197. Schwartz, Leslie; Angels Crest
  198. Seuss, Dr.; You're only old once!
  199. Shelly, Derek; Dying to Live
  200. Shem, Samuel; The Spirit of the Place
  201. Siegel, Alex; First Circle Club
  202. Signorile, M. A.; The Wartime Chronicles 
  203. Slatton, Traci L; Fallen,   Cold Light
  204. Smiley, Cat; the planet friendly diet 
  205. Sperazza, Diana; My Townie Heart
  206. Stewart, Roderick; The Mind of Norman Bethune 
  207. Sutton; The Power of Legacy (Non-fiction)
  208. Tartt, Donna; The Goldfinch
  209. Thayer, R.S.; Kobee Manatee
  210. Traill, Catherine Parr; Lost in the Backwoods
  211. Transgender Lee; Woman Incognito
  212. Treitler; My Dad is an Alcoholic: What About Me? (autobiography)
  213. Tran; American Dreamer (autobiography)
  214. Trollope-Kumar, Karen; Cloud Messenger
  215. Trudeau, Kris; TimeShift 
  216. Vallée, Brian; The War On Women 
  217. Vinter, M.; Collette
  218. Voss, Donna Carol; One of Everything
  219. Wallach, Dr. J.D. ; Epigenetics; The death of the genetic theory of disease transmission (Non-fiction)
  220. Ware, Ruth; The IT Girl
  221. Warrington, Freda; Midsummer Night
  222. Wathanavongs and Jauvin; The Boy With the Bamboo Heart
  223. Welch, D.Y.; The Life and Times of Lilian J. Rice
  224. White, Kate; If Looks Could Kill 
  225. Williams and White:  Act III (Non-fiction)
  226. Wilson, Daniel H.; Robopocalypse
  227. Wilson, P.D.; The Caregiving Trap (Non-fiction)
  228. Wold, Richard; Stan
  229. Wolitzer, Meg: The Wife
  230. Wright, Robert; Our Man in Tehran (Non-fiction)
  231. Wyler, Allen;  Deadly Errors
  232. Young, David; Channelling Harrison (biography)
  233. 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.