The Wonder Worker by Susan Howatch

This is one of those books I would want with me if trapped on a desert island. The Wonder Worker has many levels, and is one of those wonderful stories that you return to again and again, always finding something new in the words. On the surface level, it's a story about four everyday people … Continue reading The Wonder Worker by Susan Howatch

Sexy Sunday! Little Birds by Anaïs Nin

It's Sunday near the end of Lent, so what else could I have possibly read except some hard-core erotica by one of the world's foremost feminist writers? Yes, it's Sexy Sunday again, and Nicole of The Bookworm Drinketh has posted her own take on this book - and her alcoholic escape - over at her … Continue reading Sexy Sunday! Little Birds by Anaïs Nin

The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper

I love being scared, although I prefer my frights to come from supernatural elements like ghosts, vampires, demons, witches, and the like. Scares that come from real-life terrors like serial killers, home invasions, break-ins, freak me out so badly that I can't read about them or watch them. It's just too close to home, pardon … Continue reading The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper

The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruíz Zafón

My game plan is to blog all of Carlos Ruíz Zafón's quartet of books featuring The Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona, which is also one of my favorite cities in the world, before September, which is when the fourth and final installment of this amazing series ends. I previously blogged the first book in the … Continue reading The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruíz Zafón

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Very much a fairy tale for adults, Neverwhere tells the story of Richard Mayhew, a London commuter who stops to help a young woman lying bleeding on the sidewalk one night, and finds himself in the alternate universe of London Underground. The parallels with Alice in Wonderland are fairly obvious - falling into an underground … Continue reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

I didn't intend to do a blog post this week for several reasons, the main one being that my dearest and only aunt - my dad's younger sister to whom I am very close - had an unexpected triple-bypass on Friday and that has been weighing on me. She came out of the surgery all … Continue reading The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Watching Glass Shatter by James J. Cudney

Written by fellow blogger James J. Cudney, whose awesome blog This Is My Truth Now is among my favorite sites,  Watching Glass Shatter was a lengthy and awesome read about family secrets, family dysfunction, and ultimately, family bonds and love that keep people connected, even during some of the worst times. The premise of the … Continue reading Watching Glass Shatter by James J. Cudney

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

"What was the worst thing you've ever done? I won't tell you that, but I'll tell you the worst thing that ever happened to me.....the most dreadful thing." That's how Ghost Story begins, with The Chowder Society telling terrifying tales. The Chowder Society sounds like a cooking club, doesn't it? Not in this book, though. To close … Continue reading Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Dune by Frank Herbert

Thanks to JP for the photography. I remember discovering the planet Arrakis when I was about 11 years old and nosily poking around my uncle Greg's apartment. He lived in a guest apartment behind my grandparent's house and had a taste for the music of The Police and sci-fi fiction, both of which he passed … Continue reading Dune by Frank Herbert

Grimm Tales by Phillip Pullman

Thanks to TB for the photography - and the duck tureen! I think I've mentioned this previously, but I'm a sucker for fairy tales. I still have the picture books from my childhood that transported me to magical kingdoms of princesses who dance their slippers to pieces every night, poisoned apples that send one to … Continue reading Grimm Tales by Phillip Pullman