I was asked to announce the release of the paperback version of The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose (which I reviewed previously), the book has a cool new cover and is a very good read. SYNOPSIS: A Secret Worth Dying For. Jac L’Etoile is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind when her brother, coheir to their father’s storied French perfumery, makes an earthshattering discovery in the family archives, and then suddenly goes missing— leaving a dead body in his wake. In Paris to investigate his disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend of the House of L’Etoile. If there is an ancient perfume developed in Cleopatra’s time that holds the power to unlock memories of past lives, possessing it is not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.Fusing history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris, this marvelous, spellbinding novel comes to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams. Read an EXCERPT. Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

We all love bookends, a great way to display your books and call attention to a special collection. I found some pretty cool bookends over the years and every once in a while I go back to see if there is something new under the sun. I love how you can find a bookend to compliment any collection of books or decor. And you know what? There always is. My favorite is the first one, the bookish bookends if you will. I already have the books in mind to put in between. Which one is your favorite? 2 – Two Library Books Book End with Drawers Wood Bookend 6″h Pair Right and Left by bombayjewel Tech Tools Desktop Madness Series Stop Hand Bookends by Tech Tools Wide Eyed Owl Bookends by SPI Home Sailing Ships Nautical Book Ends by Asher Home Decorators Portal 2 Bookends by ThinkGeek Design Ideas A to Z Bookends by Design Ideas Pair of Leaning Ladies Bookends by Kikkerland Black+Blum James the Bookend Bookend by Black+Blum Bird Cage Bookends by Anecdotal Aardvark Elegant Scroll Bookends by Anecdotal Aardvark Zohar – Man of la Book

Upon reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Outliers”, I was drawn to a passage about violence in the American South and that region’s culture of honor. He posited that this was a relic of Scots-Irish culture, particularly as it applies to the hill people who eventually settled in Appalachia area

The dictionary definition of ”fact” is ”something known to exist or to have happened,” whereas ”faith”generally is described as ”belief not based on proof.” There are 10,000 religions worldwide, eighteen of which are major Christian religions, and among Christians there are 9,000 separate denominations. Each of those religions and denominations has its own belief system–its followers act on faith–even though, as author Jack Gage points out, ”all the adherents of these different belief systems inhabit the same world, with the same physical facts, with access to the same knowledge.” So how and why did so many religions come into existence? And how do the various religious explanations–whether Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, or any other–for how the world and the people in it began stack up against scientific fact? Buy this book in from Amazon.com* Q&A with Author Jack Gage: Can you tell us about the journey that led you to write your book? Although I got my first college degree in Business Administration, and the second a Juris Doctorate in law, at heart I’ve always been fascinated by science and particularly astronomy. I was raised by my parents as an Episcopalian but the things I was taught there seemed inconsistent…

Author and futurist Jules Verne was born on this day, 8 February, 1828 (d: 24 March, 1905) in Nantes, France. Verne is considered the father of general Science Fiction and recently been credited with “fathering” the steampunk genre. Verne wrote some of the most famous books in the worked, such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, and Around The World In 80 Days. Image from http://www.stars-celebrites.com/ Books by Jules Verne Verne is the second most translated author in the world (the first is Agatha Christie). Jules Verne wrote more than 70 books (54 of them compromising the Voyages Extraordinaires) In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Captain Nemo travels the world in a giant electric submarine, the Nautilus. Several modern submarines are powered by electricity, granted they’re not as huge as the Nautilus (with formal dining room, library, etc.) but they are not that different from the one Verne described. In 1886, the first electric powered submarine was name The Nautilus. One of the weapons described in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a gun which shoots balls in which “electricity is forced to a very high tension” and delivers a strong electrical jolt. A…

About: All That I Am by Anna Funder is an award winning novel by this Australian author. The book won the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia’s most prestigious literary award. 400 pages Publisher: Harper Perennial Language: English ISBN-10: 0062077570 The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. My rat­ing for All That I Am — 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Recommended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: All That I Am by Anna Funder (website | Facebook) is a very good book, well written and interesting. That being said, it took me a while to get into it and, for me, a bit confusing and distracting. However, this is a profound book which I found that I liked a lot more after I finished. The story slaps the reader in the face, making them come to terms with the human condition of the past. The political turmoil described in the book is merely a backdrop to the people who are caught up in it, screaming and warning with no one to hear except the astute reader who knows how events will eventually unfold. The…

I recently read & reviewed Above All Things by novelist (and Poet Laureate for Lake Ontario) Tanis Rideout. The book tells of George Mallory conquering Everest

Mike Harris is taking the route chosen by many authors throughout history – by trying to make his Grandfather’s novels a self-publishing success. Are you ready to take a chance on an unknown author, and help make it happen for him? Self-publishing feels like a relatively new thing, doesn’t it? It’s thanks to the ebook revolution, it seems, that we have seen an explosion in self-published books. Amazon’s shelves are positively teeming with offers, some good, some bad, some extraordinary and some downright awful. But the truth is that self-publishing has been around for a lot longer than you’d think. Before the likes of E. L. James, Amanda Hocking and John Locke took over the best seller lists, authors of all walks of life were taking the DIY route, and for many reasons. The popular image of the self-published author is one of an egotistical brat who can’t really write but can’t take no for an answer. But the fact is that it wasn’t just those who had been rejected by one too many publishing houses who were doing it. Edgar Allen Poe, Alexandre Dumas, Mark Twain and James Joyce are just a handful of famous names who decided to…

Hy Conrad (web­site | Face­book) made the move from writing TV shows such as Monk to writing mystery books. I recently read his book Rally ‘Round the Corpse which I truly enjoyed. I was lucky enough to be able to ask Mr. Conrad a few questions about his history, writing and social media. He was kind enough to answer. Q. How long have you been a fan of puzzles and mysteries? What got you started? A. Like a lot of mystery lovers, I started in my teens with Sherlock Holmes. The characters and the atmosphere made the stories unique. But Arthur Conan Doyle also established many of the great set-ups, including the small, intriguing mystery that blossoms into something important, e.g., “Why is a man, whose only qualification is his flaming red hair, hired to do useless clerical work?” If you don’t know the answer, you’re not a real mystery fan. I got my own start when a software developer asked me what kind of project might work on an interactive laserdisc. I answered, “Mysteries.” The result was the MysteryDisc and the start of my life in the genre. Q. Who do you think are the masters of mysteries among authors? A. I don’t read a lot of current mystery authors….

Article first published as Book Review: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad on Blogcritics. About: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad is a fictional mystery and it seems to be the first of a series. I jumped on the opportunity to read this book because Mr. Conrad is the writer for the TV show Monk which is, in my opinion, one of the best written shows on TV. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 348 pages Publisher: Seven Realms Publishing Language: English ISBN-10: 0983735042 My rating for Rally ‘Round the Corpse – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Hy Conrad Thoughts: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad (website | Facebook) is an enjoyable novel which is easy to read, doesn’t take itself too seriously and tells a story with humor and energy. I read the book with the author’s sense of humor in mind, as a fan of Monk I might have had an advantages over other readers since I thought that some of the lines which to others might sound over-the-top cheesy, were funny. ““Amy thought of her double bottom drawer as…