Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

If you've read Chocolat by Joanne Harris or seen the marvelous film version with Juliette Binoche, you're familiar with the magical French town of Lansquenet sous Tannes. It's a deceptively calm, quiet and simple place; yet there are always goings-on and drama in this place. It's too bad that it's a completely fictional place, but … Continue reading Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone with the Wind by Alexandra Ripley

I will be the first person to say that I never cared for Gone with the Wind. The book, people, not the film! But yes, I found GwtW just so sentimental and racist, though I do understand that it was written from the perspective of a white woman who lived in the South and who … Continue reading Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone with the Wind by Alexandra Ripley

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

If you're like me and you're as drawn to a book's title and cover as you are the contents of the book itself, then you'll love this one. Grady Hendrix has a knack for writing about horror against the most banal, ordinary, American backgrounds. I think of him as the literary version of the Duffer … Continue reading The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

I'm a bore on the topic of books vs. films, as I've been told many times, and I'd have to agree. Don't get me started on whether the film version is better than the book, because I will wax poetic for a good hour or two about the merits of the book and how the … Continue reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis

In honor of Easter Sunday, I decided to reacquaint myself with The Last Temptation of Christ, a book that has a very soft spot in my heart. This is the book and movie for which I was kicked out of Catholic school back in 9th grade. I didn't get kicked out because I was a … Continue reading The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis

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 Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert

I fully admit that this would never have been a book I'd deliberately choose to read, falling as it does into my category of chick lit. And we all know how I feel about chick lit. However, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake (what a twee title!) was actually fairly decently written, though with a fair … Continue reading The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert

Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

I am not normally into short stories, even by my favorite authors. Stephen King is the notable example, because he puts so much characterization into his short stories and novellas that they stand on their own. Case in point, my absolute favorite short story by King, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," is a beautiful, … Continue reading Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

This has got to be one of the strangest books I've ever read, and I've read some weird stuff in my life. I love books about libraries, about other books, about the sheer pleasure of learning and knowledge and reading. So when I saw the title of this book, The Library at Mount Char, I … Continue reading The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins