Article first published as Book Review: Flesh by Khanh Ha on Blogcritics. About: Flesh by Khanh Ha is a novel taking place in Vietnam and China. It is a coming of age story in a dark time of a young man’s life. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 368 pages Publisher: Black Heron Press (June 15, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 0930773888 My rating for Flesh – 4 Buy this book in paper format Thoughts: As I read Flesh, Khanh Ha’s debut novel, it seemed to me that the story is almost dreamlike. A dream in that early hours of a hot morning where you are still in between sleeping and waking up. Your conscious mind taps into your unforgotten but repressed memories which lash out in vicious force with unforgiving storylines. While not always bad, these dreams have a tendency to shape the day or the week with their brutal honesty and, quite honestly, make excellent stories. The novel starts with a beheading and ends with a beheading, both of them witnessed by the protagonist, Tai, a teenage boy who is thrust into manhood after his father is executed (beheading…

Article first published as Book Review: The Messenger by Daniel Silva on Blogcritics. About: The Messenger by Daniel Silva is the sixth novel in the Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli agent who is more interested in restoring works of art than the world of espionage. 352 pages Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons (July 25, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0399153357 My rating for The Messenger – 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More Books by Daniel Silva Thoughts: The Messenger by Daniel Silva (web­site) is more of a thriller than the previous five books. The book is quite violent and Allon’s ruthlessness comes out in several highly charged scenes. While I didn’t think The Messenger was the best in the series, it did fill in some missing gaps in the relationships between the characters. As in many book series this one also is a standalone, but it’s always nice to read them in order. I was glad to read about the return of Chiara, Allon’s love interest which we lost in the previous book. I also loved the way Silva wrote the Pope (“the” Pope, not some mobster or terrorist with a nickname), he was approachable and seemed like a good leader. Silva incorporated current events…

Andrei is on his way to visit the Rostovs, on the way he sees an old, weathered oak and identifies with it, continuing on he sees a young girl which is full of life and spontaneous. The Count invites Andrei to spend the night, which he readily accepts. From his window, Andrei can hear the girl he saw earlier, Natasha, who is enamored by the moonlit night. Andrei feels his world weariness going away, being replaced by hope. On his way back, Andrei sees that same old oak tree sprouting new leaves.

Today marks the burning down of the historic Globe Theatre in London, 1613. The theatre was built by Lord Chamberlain’s Men, part of which was, of course, William Shakespeare.

Article first published as Book Review: God’s Middle Finger by Richard Grant on Blogcritics. About: God’s Middle Finger: Into the Lawless heart of the Sierra Madre by Richard Grant is a non-fiction book about the author’s “tour” of Mexico’s Sierra Madre region. Mr. Grant is a British journalist who came to the other side of the pond in search of strangeness and adventure – I think he found both. 288 pages Publisher: Free Press Language: English ISBN-10: 1416534407 My rat­ing for God’s Middle Finger — 4 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format More Books by Richard Grant Thoughts: God’s Middle Finger: Into the Lawless heart of the Sierra Madre by Richard Grant (website | Facebook) is a fast paced, sprawling adventure in a strange world which is closer then you think, and sometimes simply too close for comfort. While the book might be considered to be in the travel genre it is a glimpse into a lawless part of Mexico. The often mis-quoted line from Treasure of the Sierra Madre said by Gold Hat (played by Alfonso Bedoya) “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges” comes to mind and, of course, makes an appearance in the book. The…

Article first published as Book Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett on Blogcritics. About: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett is a fictional book taking place, mostly, in Brazil’s Amazonregion. I have been in that region and ever since loved reading about it, reliving my adventures and banging my head against the wall wishing to go back again and look at things with more informed eyes. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— use the Raf­fle­copter form at the end of the post to enter. 368 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury UK Language: English ISBN-10: 1408818590 My rating for State of Wonder – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Anne Patchett Thoughts: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (website) takes its time to build up, putting ordinary people, slowly but surely, in extraordinary situations where neither them nor the reader realizes it until the setup clamps behind you with no way back. The book has several themes running through it, but the two I found most fascinating is the effects mentors have on their underlings and being able to let go of formal education, when necessary, to look differently at the world around you. I believe that…

It’s Tuesday again. When searching for some good bargains I noticed that Amazon is starting to promoted graphic novels for the Kindle. Personally I haven’t been impressed reading comics on an eReader – what about you? Please note: The prices for the post are cur­rent at the time of the post, please pay atten­tion to make sure they haven’t changed before purchase. Authors: If you’d like your book to be fea­tured on Tight­wad Tues­days please email me. Tumor Chapter 1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov, Noel Tuazon The demon Kane plots his revenge and next attack. While two more worriers are introduced and fight under a gentleman who goes by the name Demon Hunter. Wakan Unwanted Collection (#0-5) by Seth Piper, Lars Schwed Nygård SMOKE AND STEAM AND STEEL AND THUNDER AN ADVENTURE BEGINS, AND A WORLD’S TORN ASUNDER Welcome to Pistonville, Minnesota. It’s December 1870, and the tale of the heroic last black man in America is about to begin. The original full color, 128-page comic ‘Wakan Unwanted’ is collected here including issues #0 to #5: ‘In Ashes’, ‘Pistonville Peace’, ‘A Red Bird’s Plight’, ‘His Master’s Voice’ and ‘Through This Lens (Parts 1 & 2). Soldier Evolution Revolutionary Girl by…

About: The Perfect Defective by Clark Casey is a short story written in pulp style with jokes thrown in almost every paragraph. While the story certainly isn’t for everybody, it might appeal to mystery fans with a thick skin and humorous aptitude. My rating for The Perfect Defective – 3 Buy this book in electronic format More Books by Clark Casey Thoughts: I don’t usually read short stories, even though I read a few this year, but figured why not read The Perfect Defective by Clark Casey , I have a fondness for pulp. I had a spare hour in between books and figured… why not? The protagonist, Jack Hannigan, is a drunkard jerk with sympathy for off colored, juvenile jokes. While the story didn’t have me roaring with laughter, I did crack a smile here and there and even a few chuckles. While I didn’t find anything in the story very offensive, I can only assume it is meant to offend, but to his credit, Jack tries to offend all. I tried to trudge through the plot, which is purposely absurd and seems to be a vehicle to carry the jokes Jack drink himself to oblivion, have sex and…

During the summer vacation, our daughter (7 and going into second grade) is assigned to read a book a day and write a “reading response”. I thought it would be nice to incorporate her assignment into Daddy’s hobby, record her doing so which will help her thought process reading and writing. Look for a special guest appearance by our son (5) at some point in the video. Buy this book from Amazon.com More Books by Bob Scotton Please post comments to let her know that people are looking at her efforts. Zohar – Man of la Book

Tomorrow will be the birthday of Pulitzer Prize winning Author Michael Shaara (23 Jun, 1928 – 5 May, 1988). Mr. Shaara’s book, The Killer Angels has been one of my favorites American Civil War novels and his son, Jeff, continues with the tradition. Books by Michael Shaara 1 ) Michael Shaara was born to Italian immigrants who spelled their name Sciarra (pronounced the same). 2 ) Mr. Shaara was born in Jersey City, NJ and graduated from Rutgers, the state university. 3 ) He served in the 82nd Airborne Division during The Korean War. 4 ) Before he started selling stories, Mr. Shaara was an amateur boxer and a police officer. 5 ) in the 1950s Mr. Shaara sold science fiction stories to magazines of the genre. 6 ) Mr. Shaara taught literature in Florida State University. 7 ) Michael Shaara wrote 5 novels (The Broken Place (1968), The Killer Angels (1974), The Noah Conspiracy, (also known as The Herald – 1981), Soldier Boy (1982) and For Love of the Game which was published posthumously in 1991. 8 ) In 1972 Mr. shaara had a horrible car accident in which he was nearly killed and never fully recovered. 9 ) After…