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…

Article first published as Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique on Blogcritics About: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique is a historical-fiction novel about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s journey to write Don Quixote. The book is peppered with literary references to Cervantes’ works as well as works of the time, while I didn’t get many I did enjoy learning about them. 320 pages Publisher: Akashic Books (September 4, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 161775126X My rat­ing for Cervantes Street — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: As followers of my blog know, I am a big fan of Don Quixote, probably more to the nostalgia associated with the story from my childhood than anything to do with the classic story. However, when I did read the full length novel (both parts) I understood why the book has become such a literary classic. Unfortunately, many readers get daunted by the sheer size of Don Quixote. The stories in the classic tale need knowledge of the time’s pop-culture in order to fully enjoy the reading experience. However, the same could be said for Shakespeare and several other authors from the far and not-so-far past. For those readers who are overwhelmed by the size of the classic book, Cervantes…

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (known as Karl) of the Grimm Brothers was born on this day, 4 January, 1785 (d: 20 September, 1863) . The brothers are famous to this day and their name is practically synonymous with folk tales and fairytales. Books by Jacob Grimm 1 ) Jacob Grimm was the older of the two brothers. 2 ) Jacob is credited with establishing Grimm’s Law – a linguistic rule which ties in earl Germanic stops with other European languages. The law is the first non-trivial systematic sound change to be discovered in the study of languages. 3 ) Jacob was known for his thirst for knowledge. After his law studies, Jacob moved to Paris for help with his literary work. Jacob was very happy in Paris and spent much of his time in libraries studying literatures of the Middle Ages. Returning home he got a jobwith the war office, but in 1808, after his mother’s death, Jacob was appointed superintendent of the private library of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia 4 ) The Grimm Brothers collected folk lyrics and published the collection as Children’s and Household Tales, later known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. 5 ) Grimm’s…

Daniel Sempere and his wife are content with life and baby. When a strange walks in the book shop and threatens to divulge a secret, their happiness subsides.

The Seven Wonders: A Novel of the Ancient World by Steven Saylor is a collection of short stories starring the youthful, wise cracking Gordianus.

Dr. Seuss told us years ago, “The more that you read, the more you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is great advice for children of all ages. There is no better way to travel worldwide and learn about life and people and everything else than by reading! With the distractions of video gaming, TV viewing and listening to music on an IPod, a parent or caregiver needs to be a bit savvy with electronic gadgets to entice youngsters to broaden a child’s horizons into reading the classics. Picture Coutesy of http://kidsoffthecouch.com/ 1. E-readers E-readers are relatively inexpensive, ranging from less than $100 to $300, and come with an instant tap into the world of classical books from the e-book vendors and local public libraries. Kindle offers a Premium Membership for an annual fee which allows the member to borrow and return e-books for free. 2. Public Library Offers Check with your local public library for the latest form of digital books. Digital books come in various forms from recordings on compact disc to a digital player resembling an IPod. These types of digital books are often theatrical quality with voice changes and…

Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner is a fascinating and well researched book giving an excellent treatment of what basically amounts to domestic spying

Yesterday was the birthday of Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) better remembered as author J. M. Barrie who created the beloved Peter Pan.

Welcome to another edition of Tightwad Tuesday. If you follow this blog you know I read many books on World War II – so here are some selections I found for the Kindle and the nook on this topic. For the Kindle: The Miracle of Stalag 8A (Stalag VIII-A) – Beauty Beyond the Horror: Olivier Messiaen and the Quartet for the End of Time by John William McMullen The Miracle of Stalag 8A is a retelling of the fascinating story of Olivier Messiaen’s composition of his Quartet for the End of Time. Set in France & Germany from 1939 to 1941, Messiaen served in the French army, was captured at Verdun, and sent to Stalag 8A in Gorlitz, Germany, where he composed the great work, The Quartet for the End of Time. The enigmatic Messiaen, an avant-garde composer and also a devout Catholic, along with Etienne Pasquier, an agnostic cellist, Henri Akoka, a Jewish Trotskyite Clarinetist, and Jean le Boulaire, an atheistic violinist, become the famous quartet of Stalag 8A. These four very different men collaborated to create musical history in the most unlikely of places. Messiaen’s Quartet, composed in a Stalag, transforms man’s inhumanity to man with hope. Yet…

Psychiatric nursing, to some extent, is a calling. It’s not easy to delve into someone’s psyche and pull out the demons that are haunting him or her. The specificity of the intricacies of the mind and how it works is astonishing and a mystery at the same time. I was fortunate to be enrolled in psychology classes that correlated with elements in the diagnoses of my psychiatric patients; allowing me to utilize these newly-acquired skills on the unit. During this time I worked with people with diagnoses of gender dysphoria (confusion), dissociative disorders, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and the disease of addictions. Moreover, I was also fortunate to work with specialists in these fields. The massive amount of knowledge I acquired because of these circumstances was magical. After retiring from nursing, I felt I needed to find a way to share my knowledge regarding the brain’s involvement in this disease. Beyond the world of the psychiatric unit and of mental health professionals, there is an impenetrable stigma revolving around these issues. I wondered how I could continue to inform the misinformed about the physiological causes of these “brain” diseases of mental health. Most people I spoke with clung…