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…

Classic books are intimidating, I know because they intimidate me. One has to get over the issue that we were forced to read them. Who wants to read a book that you hated in high-school? Hated it because you were too immature to understand it. Hated it because you couldn’t wrap your hormone riddled head around the petty lives of characters who make a big deal out nothing (so, you’re a bastard – big deal). Hated it because it wasn’t relevant to you and your trivial problems. Hated it because it wasn’t “cool” to like it. Or simply hated it because you were forced to read it. My advice – screw them, you’re not in high school anymore, get over it. You have to get over your fear of legitimately hating a classic. Are you not smart enough to like it? Are you not intelligent enough to understand the complex undertone of humanity involved? Maybe you simple don’t have the right vocabulary to enjoy it? And maybe, just maybe, it’s a crappy book – classic or not. My advice – Don’t worry about it. So you didn’t like a classic. Guess what? Nothing will happen and no one will think…

When you play at it by day with the chairs and table-cloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very real As I was watching the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies I couldn’t help be impressed with the presentation, scope, audacity and vision of the program. While some of my friends didn’t care for the program I thought it was brilliant. The ceremony was not meant to glorify the Olympic Games but for the English to boast about their country, promote tourism and welcome nations while navigating the viewers and guests through exciting numbers which include history, culture and literature all set to a wonderfully rich soundtrack. It was heartwarming to see the program recognize the great contributions to literature which have come from England. Starting with J.K. Rowling reading a favored selection from Peter Pan mentioned above (and doing a beautiful job, by the way) to Danny Boyle, the director, including many children’s books in the segment. I recognized characters from Lord Voldemort – main villain in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, Mary Poppins – heroine of the books by P.L….

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…

Quinn Coloson resigned from the Army Rangers to become Sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, his uncle’s old job. Cleaning up Tibbehah County is not easy

Article first published as Book Review: The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation Nadja Baer (Adapter) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator) on Blogcritics. About: The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation Nadja Baer (Adapter), Thomas Jefferson (Author), John Adams (Author), Thomas Paine (Author), James Madison (Author) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator) is an adaptation of the supreme law of the land in these United States. Dr. Katie Monnin, assistant professor of literacy at the University of North Florida, produced a curriculum guide (target towards 8th grade level) to supplement the comic book which is available free of charge at http://maupinhouse.com/constitutioncurriculum 80 pages Publisher: Writers Of The Round Table Press (April 16, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1610660250 Buy this Comic Graphic Adaptation in paper or in elec­tronic format. Thoughts: Right off the bat I liked that the author included the Founding Fathers in the title of this comic graphic adaptation. The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation by Nadja Baer (Adapter | website | Twitter), Thomas Jefferson (Author), John Adams (Author), Thomas Paine (Author), James Madison (Author) and Nathan Lueth (Illustrator | website | Twitter) takes the US Constitution and, using the original text, presents it in an easy to understand graphical format. This is a short book…

Article first published as Graphic Novel Review: Petrograd by Philip Gelatt (art by Tyler Crook) on Blogcritics. About: Petrograd by Philip Gelatt (art by Tyler Crook) is a graphic novel about an assassination. The graphic novels tells about an international conspiracy behind the murder of Gregorii Rasputin. 264 pages Publisher: Oni Press ISBN: 1934964441 My rating for Petrograd – 5 Get a great price on this book through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account More books by Philip Gelatt More books by Tyler Crook Thoughts: The graphic novel Petrograd by Philip Gelatt (art by Tyler Crook) is more of a historical thriller than anything else. The death of Gregorii Rasputin has generated much controversy at the time and many more conspiracy theories which are always fun and supply fodder for authors. The story, while fictional, seems realistic enough to have actually happen (almost). Somehow Mr. Crook took the blighted atmosphere which authors try very hard to create and drew it. While I’m sure that many creative licenses were taken, as they are in every historical novel, I still enjoyed the story immensely. But don’t let the words “graphic novel” fool you. Petrograd takes historical facts (as seen by Americans) and re-tells the story in the format of an…

Article first published as Book Review: The Technologists by Matthew Pearl on Blogcritics. About: The Technologists by Matthew Pearl is a fictional book about the early days of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The story takes place in the years after the American Civil War during a very fragile time in our history. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book— enter at the end of the post. 496 pages Publisher: Random House ISBN: 1400066573 My rating for The Technologists – 4 Great price on this book in paper or electronic for­mat through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account More books by Matthew Pearl Thoughts: The Technologists by Matthew Pearl (website) is an entertaining read with wonderful historical detail and a bunch of nerdiness thrown in for good measure. While I wasn’t sucked into the book as much as I would have liked, I found the characters captivating and the plot line interesting. The author does a great job interweaving reality and fiction as well as the dialog which was spoken in that time period. The harsh social norms of the time are presented in the form of a lone MIT female student who is forced to study in isolation. There were…

The story is not a cookie cutter “feel good” one, but it seems more realistic, I wouldn’t be surprised if the author based this story on actual events.

After getting home from a very long shift, Dr. Jafaari is woken up asking to come identify his wife’s body who has been killed in a suicide attack