Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Homer is blind and he serves as the narrator, so you are getting a very unique perspective of events. His brother, Langley begins accumulating newspapers of historic events by categories, historic slots. Based on a true story, the pair do not leave home, but somehow the world over the decades comes to visit them in their stately manor from the Great Depression to Vietnam. Continue reading →

This is a contemplative, philosophical series of essays about why we travel and what we get out of the experience. The author discusses the rituals of travel. This book is about the little details. The feeling that you get when you see signage in a different language, different font. The departure board in the Frankfurt airport. He also looks at the art of travel through the eyes of artists throughout history like Edward Hopper, Baudelaire, Wordsworth and Van Gogh. Continue reading →

I really found this book to be inspirational and that’s a good thing since it is a self-help book on living a more creative life. She writes about how we must do the things we love the most to have a fulfilling life, which, yes, seems obvious, but most self-help books tell you things you already know. This book provides the inspiration. Continue reading →

“The Princess Diarist” is about Carrie Fisher’s romance with Harrison Ford during the making of the first Star Wars movie. I liked the intro and the summary, but wasn’t enamored with the diary entries from 1976 in the middle, which makes up the bulk of the book. Continue reading →

The third and final installment in the Magician fantasy trilogy a la Narnia, Harry Potter and “The Once and Future King.” For some reason Fillory is in danger, but don’t worry, early on our hero Quentin discovers an ancient spell that allows him to turn a closet into a whole ‘nother land. Continue reading →

General Grant saved America. He fought the Civil War to end slavery. That’s what he believed and that’s how he conducted the war effort, to end slavery. Grant and General Grant did not fight the war over state’s rights, as the Daughters of the Confederacy would like you to believe. It was about saving the country and ending slavery. Then, General Grant became President Grant. This is a great book. Continue reading →

I gave this book two stars. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. I just didn’t enjoy reading it, which again doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. I was able to catch a glimpse of a different culture, view life through others’ experiences, but it wasn’t pleasant and I understand that it was not meant to be pleasant. Continue reading →