Book Review: Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben – Lacking the Heart of Earlier Booksopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

In Harlan Coben's series of books following sports agent Myron Bolitar, there have been some hits and misses along the way, but in general, it has been a fun ride filled with humor.  Sure, at times, it gets a little unreal, but that's part of the fun.  Myron isn't quite a superhero wh..

Movie Review: Event Horizon – This Time The Alien is Hellopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/2nlkEY-3CMI?feature=shared Written by Philip EisnerDirected by Paul W.S. Anderson In general, I am a huge science fiction buff. The problem is that not all movies seem like they will appeal to the science fiction junkie appeal to me. While I enjoyed the Alien series for the most par..

Book Review: In a League of Her Own by Kaia Aldersonopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Publishing, and Kaia Alderson for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. I had recently seen a documentary of Negro League baseball which mentioned Effa Manley, s..

Book Review – Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms that Once Held Me by Janet Sherlundopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Moss Media Group, and Janet Sherlund for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. If you begin reading the memoirs posted by adoptees, you'll begin to see the common theme th..

Movie Review: And The Band Played On – Have We Learned Anything Part IIopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/PaHUzy-A05U?feature=shared Written by Randy Shilts and Arnold SchulmanDirected by Roger Spottiswoode A friend who was recently found to be HIV+ asked me a lot of questions about the emergence of AIDS in the 1980s.  He was born long after that time and relied on the information he co..

Book Review: Death at Darrington Manor by Nancy Warrenopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Nancy Warren for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. In the first book in the series, Murder at the Paris Fashion House, readers were introduced to Abig..

Movie Review: The Grapes of Wrath – Have We Learned Anything?opinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/fOuAZLA_jWQ?feature=shared Written by Nunnally Jones and John SteinbeckDirected by John Ford With the events of the last seven years or so prominently in my head, I watched The Grapes of Wrath for the first time.  Inspired by what I read in Bruce Spingsteen's biography, I had t..

Book Review: Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah – Life Is Complicatedopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Kristin Hannah is great at writing the tear-jerker.  If you don't want your emotional heartstrings pulled, she's an author to avoid.  However, if you enjoy that sort of fiction, there aren't many that do it better.  Her characters usually have a great deal of depth and follow a path t..

Movie Review: Pacific Heights – A Landlord’s Worst Nightmareopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/JidGAt7zXT0?feature=shared Written by Daniel PyneDirected by John Schlesinger For anyone who doubts that you can end up having a tenant who is a nightmare, I'm here to tell you it can easily happen.  Whether it's playing on your sympathy for their life circumstances or jum..

Book Review – They Came for the Schools by Mike Hixenbaughopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Mike Hixenbaugh for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. I was never so happy to finish a book. Don't get me wrong, this is a GREAT book. The problem i..

Movie Review: Stakeout – Predictable But Fun Buddy-Cop Movieopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/5COW5-Klf-o?feature=shared Written by Jim KoufDirected by John Badham Making a film work against type is a challenge.  The film Stakeout does this by casting Richard Dreyfus and Emilio Estevez as two police officers, but switching the roles I would have expected them to be in.  Here..

Book Review: The Pub Lover’s Guide to London by Callum Moy – Heavy on the History, Light on the Pubsopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Pen & Sword Publishing, and Callum Moy for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. I love visiting London. More than once, a friend has arranged a pub crawl for us when we vi..

Book Review: The Disappeared by Rebecca J. Sanfordopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Rebecca J. Sanford for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. This is one of those books that hit me right in the gut. The author, Rebecca Sandford, d..

Movie Review: Twisted (2004) – Riddled with Cliches, Predictability, and Cardboard Actingopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/dlm7__LSzBI?feature=shared Written by Sarah ThorpDirected by Philip Kaufman Big names in the movie industry are used as a way of drawing people to a film. There are times that I look at a list of actors in a film and think that it must be good because of the star power and a general..

Jack Smith Motion to Modify Trump's Bail Conditions

In response to Trump's ridiculous claims that the FBI and Joe Biden tried to assassinate him, Jack Smith has filed a motion to shut him up.

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Book Review – Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World by Jen Psakiopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner Publishing, and Jen Psaki for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. Jen Psaki has been involved in politics for quite some time. She's worked on the ground as a c..

Doctor Who: The Green Death – Save the Planet!opinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/VAHTW4W8szw?feature=shared Written by Robert Sloman, Barry Letts, and Sydney NewmanDirected by Michael E. Briant Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as "The Doctor" and is a..

Book Review: The Clue in the Old Album – Nancy Drew Battles the Gypsiesopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Maybe it's me, but I don't get the fascination with gypsies. At times I have read books and movies that paint these people in a not-so-favorable light. The prejudice against these groups seems to have waned a bit through the years, but trotting out a book written originally in 1947 can ser..

Movie Review: All That Heaven Allows – Stifling Suburbia and the Widow Next Dooropinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/3H8yXanHW1I?feature=shared Written by Peggy Thompson, Edna L. Lee, and Harry LeeDirected by Douglas Sirk In this day and age where we can get online and find comfort in like-minded groups of people from around the world, there's less of the "conform or be cast out" pr..

Book Review: The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins – Excellent Dark Thrilleropinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Publishing, and Bridget Collins for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book. Imagine having the ability to block out all the extraneous sounds that bother us in lif..

Movie Review: Full Metal Jacket – The Boys of Vietnamopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/n2i917l5RFc?feature=shared Written by Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford, and Stanley KubrickDirected by Stanley Kubrick Full Metal Jacket is almost two movies in one. The first half deals with Marines going through boot camp at Parris Island during the height of the Vietnam War. The seco..

Book Review: Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy – It Takes A Village to Raise a Childopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

Up until recently, the only book I'd read by Maeve Binchy was Circle of Friends, which I'd come to by way of the movie.  I remembered liking the book quite a bit so when I was browsing what was available to check-out on my Kindle from out library and I came across her name, I…

Movie Review: Intolerable Cruelty – Dark Comedy Done Wrongopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

https://youtu.be/dE8jX6rP4L0?feature=shared Written by Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, and John RomanoDirected by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen The trouble with comedy based around a specific subject is that there are times when the subject just isn’t funny to some people. I enjoy dark comedy, but for some..

Book Review: Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult – A Journey of Self-Discoveryopinions, ideas, thoughts, & reviews

In recent years, Jodi Picoult has become known for her writing which seems to take events from the headlines and put a spin to the story that not all is what it seems.  However, her earliest writings had more to do with relationships and what has a tendency to make them fracture.Harvesting the Heart..