Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. Anchor Books. 237 pages. As a writer, and as a writing teacher, I am always looking for books that teach writing. And there are lots of them out there. Like life, it seems like everyone has advice to give (including myself; my book … More Review: “Bird by Bird” By Anne Lamott
Vick’s Vultures (Union Earth Privateers Book 1) by Scott Warren. Parvus Press. 226 pages. I read a lot of books. I also read a lot of book series. Correction: I read the first book in a lot of series. Because I write books, and sometimes write series, I read differently than those who just read … More Review: “Vick’s Vultures” by Scott Warren
The Afghan Campaign: A Novel by Steven Pressfield. Broadway Books. 354 pages. I don’t know how many years it’s been since I read Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield’s great book about Leonidas and the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. But that’s when I realized that Pressfield had a great talent for providing rich detail in telling … More Review: “The Afghan Campaign” by Steven Pressfield
Plague Year (The Plague Year Trilogy Book 1) by Jeff Carlson. 346 pages. JVE Books. I’ve read a lot of dystopian novels over the past few years, and admittedly, there are a lot to choose from. Part of the reason is because they are so popular in the YA genre, and for a while I … More Review: “Plague Year” by Jeff Carlson
Firestorm (Destroyermen Series) by Taylor Anderson. Roc Books. 464 pages. This isn’t actually alternate history, which should give my daughter some relief (since she’s both a history and English purist); it’s more like an alternate worlds story. But it’s the sixth book in this series by Taylor Anderson. The crux of the story is about … More Review: “Firestorm” by Taylor Anderson
The Runaway Prophet (Morgan James Fiction) by Michele Chynoweth. Morgan James Books. 308 pages. Writing Christian suspense isn’t easy. As someone who writes and reads it, I am constantly looking for good examples of others who do the same. The problem is that some writers get caught up in sharing the spiritual aspects of the … More Review: “The Runaway Prophet” by Michele Chynoweth
Hoplite (Alien War Trilogy Book 1) by Isaac Hooke. 254 pages. I’ve been a good boy, read some heavier books lately, so I decided to treat myself to some military sci-fi. It’s usually divided between the navy fleet battle stories and the infantry ground pounders. Hoplite is pretty typical of what you will find in … More Review: “Hoplite” by Isaac Hooke
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages. I spent last Thursday evening at our school’s University Days, the event when high schoolers from all over come to our college and consider whether they want to be students here. While I was wandering around the gym, looking at the exhibits from the … More Review: “The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough
A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman. Simon & Schuster. 320 pages. I previously finished reading a 900-page novel that became ponderous in the last few hundred pages, so it was a delight to pick up this smaller book. And even though Amazon says it clocks in … More Review: “A Curious Mind” by Brian Grazer
The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the people who’ve lived the longest by Dan Buettner. National Geographic. 336 pages. I can’t remember exactly where I heard about this book, but somewhere in my travels they mentioned that there was a book out there that isolated pockets of population around the world that … More Review: “The Blue Zones” by Dan Buettner
The Great Adventure 