Scott Carey has a problem. He has discovered that he is losing weight – but not in a way anyone could have predicted. Scott chooses to confide in his friend (and former doctor) Dr. Bob Ellis. Scott Carey asks to be weighed on Dr. Ellis’s scale. Dr. Ellis is retired, but kept his highly accurate scale. The results are alarming!
Continue Reading “Elevation – by Stephen King”
The Inner Circle is a work of fiction that also includes some real facts about Alfred Kinsey, the man best known for the Kinsey Reports. The entirety of the book comes to the reader through the mind of a fictional character named John Milk. Author T.C. Boyle makes it very clear that John Milk is a fictional character and not a historical person.
Continue Reading “The Inner Circle – by T.C. Boyle”
Truth Like the Sun came from a book club that I completely failed to keep up with. It was printed in 2012, and focuses on the 1962 World’s Fair, which took place in the city of Seattle. The story is a work of fiction that gives the readers some very interesting fictional characters, mixed with things that were actually a part of the Fair in the real world.
Continue Reading “Truth Like the Sun – by Jim Lynch”
Stories from the Kitchen is part of the Everyman’s Pocket Classics collections of stories. I found this book in a thrift store. Each story in this book centers itself around food. A few of them contain recipes. The stories are written by authors whose names you might recognize.
Continue Reading “Stories From The Kitchen – Various Authors”
Thirteen Reasons Why is a story about a teenager named Hannah Baker who died from suicide. Before ending her life, she recorded a series of cassette tapes in which she explained some of what happened to her that influenced her decision. She arranged to have those tapes sent to the people who had hurt her.
Continue Reading “Thirteen Reasons Why – by Jay Asher”
Father-mucker is a work of fiction from the viewpoint of Josh Lansky. He (tries) to make his living by pitching ideas to magazines and movie studios. He is a stay-at-home dad who is currently parenting his two young children by himself while his wife is on a business trip.
Things do not go as planned. This book is, at times, hilarious. It also offers some interesting insights and commentary on parenting, modern culture, politics, and the problems that come when rumors spread.
Continue Reading “Father-Mucker – by Greg Olear”
The Sovereignties of Invention is a book of short stories – all of which are at least somewhat creepy. Matthew Battles does a good job of keeping readers in a state of curiosity and wonder, which sometimes leads to dread and horror.
This may not be the book for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. If you like stories that include strange situations that leave the reader wondering what happens next, this is the book for you.
Continue Reading “The Sovereignties of Invention – by Matthew Battles”
This is a heartbreaking story of love, and loss, and loneliness. It takes place in Italy, in the 1920’s. After the war begins, everything becomes more uncertain than it was before.
It is the story of love gone wrong, due to misunderstandings. There are unanswered questions, dripping with regret and second guessing. All of this is set in a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, which provides a vivid contrast to the sadness that some of the characters are experiencing.
Continue Reading “Restoration – by Olaf Olafsson”
Calvin Moretti dropped out of college and has returned to his parent’s home. He has student loan debt that he must be find a way to pay off. So, he gets a job in something completely unrelated to what he went to college for.
His father is sick, and has been laid-off from his lifelong career as an airline pilot. His mother tells Calvin that they are behind on the mortgage and could lose the house. The story is fiction, but feels like something that many families have lived through.
Continue Reading “The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac – by Kris D’Agostino”
Anna, Portia, and Emery – three siblings who are now adults, have returned to their parent’s home. Their mother, Louise, is in the hospital after suffering what has been described as a “massive” heart attack. The siblings are there to be able to visit their mother at the hospital, and also to provide emotional support for their father.
Drinking Closer to Home is about a quirky family, each with their own unique problems. It is about living through situations that I would consider to be neglect, and somehow, being able to come together as a family during difficult times.
Continue Reading “Drinking Closer to Home – by Jessica Anya Blau”