Awake in the Dark by Shira Nayman

Wow, what a incredible collection of short stories. These are insightful, dramatic, realistic and riveting. I couldn't put it down. It's not a big book, nor is it a large collection, only four short stories, but the size of the book is more than compensated by the writing. This is a collection of stories related to the Holocaust, about the victims and the perpetrators. This is a book that you really don't want to miss. Check it out at your local library or go online and check out the web page.

I would recommend it for any age from Young Adult to Adult. While the subject matter is sensitive, Shira Nayman presents it with an accurately delicate touch.

Check it out! You'll be glad that you did!

Cupid by Julius Lester

Okay, this is not really an adult book, it's considered YA, Young Adult, but ...

It's well written, amusing, relative to life as we know it, insightful and well cute. It's a quick read, under 200 pages, is related to the legend of Cupid and how he's trapped by his own prediliction to make others fall in love and face the consequences of love.

Read and enjoy. It won't take long and you'll enjoy it.

Snow Falling On Cedars

Wonderful book and ethereal movie ... what a treat!
David Guterson well deserved the 1995 PENN/Faulkner Award for this book. It is magical and down to earth at the same time. A murder mystery with the subtle flavoring of racial injustice surrounded by the majestic cedars in coastal Washington.

It's 1954, Carl, a Swedish-American fisherman is found dead, tangled in his net, the last person to see him alive is Kazuo, his Japanese-American neighbor. Days before the 9th anniversary of Pearl Harbot the murder trial against Kazuo begins. The subplots are sublime, Ishmael, the newspaperman, son of the town's radical, pro-Japanese-American newspaperman, who finds evidence to acquit. Hatsue, Kazuo's wife, childhood girlfriend of Ishmael. Flashbacks to the Japanese-American citizens of San Piedro island, transported to internment camps nine years earlier. Three veterans of WWII Kazuo, Ishmael and Carl. The setting, winter in the islands off Puget Sound ... silence .... tranquility ... illusion ... enjoy!

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

An interesting book, well written. It's a 'sister' book; a novel about two sisters who are estranged and how a magical apple tree in their grandmother's garden brings them together. If this sounds like it should be a YA (Young Adult) book, you're right, it does. It's really a combination of a YA and a romance novel, some intrigue, a villain, a mystery, a conflict and reunion set in a strange little town. This could be a small village in England set in the 1800's guarded by a well-meaning, kindly magician. This is a small town in America in the 21st century guarded by a well-meaning, michevious apple tree.

Read ... Enjoy.

New Poem

I'm the master of disaster
she's the mistress of distress
when I'm tryin to run faster
she's just stirrin' up a mess

I met her on a Monday
Tuesday she hit my car
Wednesday came we stayed out late
I think we'd gone too far
By Friday she was pregnant
and she said that it was mine
but Sunday came, it's just the flu
and I am bustin' rhymes

Janice called me Tuesday
her best friend in all the world
she offered me her body, a haircut and a curl
Mary called me Wednesday
her best buddy in the state
she dropped by after work and stayed
way way way too late
Her next door neighbor Jason
call me up to go for drinks
I knew I was in trouble
when he showed up with a wink

I'm the master of my disaster
she's the mistress of my stress
when I slowed down some to catch her
I got in an awful mess

Now I'm sittin' here in County
Jason's sitting by my side
'cause she looked like she was 20
16 took me for a ride

DMV revoked my license
the judge revoked my bail
she promises she'll wait for me
three times a week, e-mail

But you see life sure is funny
and I got in the last laugh
my jail bait's now my honey
we got hitched my stress is past

I'm the master of her disaster
she's the mistress of my stress
I now give her all my money
when she's happy life's the best

Hot New Vampire Series

Check out "Twilight" the hot new Vampire trilogy from the pen of Stephenie Meyer. Start with a high school senior, Bella, add potential boyfriends werewolf Jacob and vampire Edward, mysterious murders, mix with romance and intrigue, stir in a helping of jelousy and revenge, and bake until graduation, and you have it. Read and enjoy.

If you are more visual, wait for the movie. You can check it out at Summit Entertainmenet's web page, http://www.summit-ent.com/ under 'Pre-Production'.

The Reads ... Good and Otherwise 2008

This is my list of books, and small reviews, for the year 2008.

I read "The Elevator" by Angela Elwell Hunt. This book was published in 2007 by Steeple Hill Books. It was a good read about three women trapped in an elevator in Tampa, Florida during a major hurricane. They all share a relationship with one man; a man they are trying to reach on the 36th floor of a tall corporate building in downtown Tampa. They will all share a relationship with another man, the man who tests the hurricane to save them, the elevator man. By the end of this twisting tale the plot has woven these five individuals into a new complex.

I am reading "Emerald Magic" a collection of short stories about Ireland and Irish magic. A wonderful selection of magical rhetoric from the imaginations of Ray Bradbury, Morgan Llywellyn, Judith Tarr and more, they cover the gamut from leprecaun to banshee and more. A magical collection, 'a sisceal' not to be missed, edited by Andrew Greely and published in 2004 by Tom Doherty Associates.

Read on a chroi!