Halfway Through 2022-My Favorites and Most Anticipateds
Now that we have arrived into the sweltering humidity of July, we have not only passed the halfway mark for the year 2022, but also the halfway point for this year’s Summer Adventure Program. July 5, on a personal note,…
Jay’s Book Talk: Tales from the Cafe
Settle down with a nice cup of coffee and enjoy Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. This is the sequel to the 2015 novel Before the Coffee Gets Cold, with four more tales from the quiet little café down…
Stacks to the Future: Juneteenth
One of the true bummers about the fabric of reality and the nature of spacetime is that time travel isn’t possible. But humanity’s urge to experience the past and foresee the future is a strong one, and since when have…
Nailed It, Failed It: A Dual Book Review
In this new blog series I’m calling Nailed it, Failed it, we will examine two novels that deal with the same topic—one that did it well and one that did not. Today, I’m looking at novels that deal with racial…
Graphic Novels a Kaiju Would Read and so Should You
Kaiju (I’m strictly speaking about the Kaiju of Pacific Rim because Godzilla’s divine reading taste is on another level.) are well known for their giant and destructive ways. Regardless of the whole devilish desire to destroy mankind, deep down, like…
Stacks to the Future: Regency England
One of the true bummers about the fabric of reality and the nature of spacetime is that time travel isn’t possible. But humanity’s urge to experience the past and foresee the future is a strong one, and since when have…
Book Review: “Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott
SUMMARY In Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and more…
Adult & Teen Ramadan Reads
With Ramadan in full swing, I thought I’d share some Adult & Teen “Ramadan Reads” that I’ve enjoyed. The titles I’ve chosen reflect the richness of the faith and how it’s practiced by American Muslims. Muslims believe Ramadan is the…
Stacks to the Future: The Cold War
One of the true bummers about the fabric of reality and the nature of spacetime is that time travel isn’t possible. But humanity’s urge to experience the past and foresee the future is a strong one, and since when have…
One Ring to Rule Them All: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Influence on Epic Fantasy
I’ve been thinking about J.R.R. Tolkien and the world of The Lord of the Rings for over 20 years and can likely attribute my scholarly pursuits to an early fascination with The Hobbit. March 25 is the anniversary of Frodo destroying…