New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend. Marita Woywod Crandle. Haunted America/ History Press, 2018 (2nd ed.). 112 pages. $21.99. New Orleans has a reputation as a home for creatures of the night. Popular books, movies and television shows have cemented the city’s connection to vampires in the public’s imagination. In New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend, Marita Woywod … [Read more...] about Book Review: New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend
Book Review
Book Review: Flower of Iowa
Flower of Iowa. Lance Ringel. Distant Mirror Press, 2020. 578 pages. $36.00. Lance Ringel’s Flower of Iowa is an expansive novel that is sure to please lovers of historical fiction. The novel is set against the turbulent backdrop of France during the final months of World War I. The setting, the writing, and the story are reminiscent of Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms, but … [Read more...] about Book Review: Flower of Iowa
Book Review and Interview: The Axe Woman of Bourbon Street
The Axe Woman of Bourbon Street. Jane Delacour. Gonzo Publications, 2020. In a fascinating new book, local historian Jane Delacour recalls the glory days of Bourbon Street and recounts the story of one the street’s legendary performers, Kitty West, also known as Evangeline the Oyster Girl. Along the way, Delacour provides not only some amazing insights into Bourbon Street’s … [Read more...] about Book Review and Interview: The Axe Woman of Bourbon Street
Book Review: Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love
Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love. Naomi Wolf. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-64502-016-5. 384 pages. $19.95 Every book Naomi Wolf writes manages to piss off critics and her latest book, Outrages, is no exception. The book chronicles the struggles and eventual triumph of John Addington Symonds, an obscure … [Read more...] about Book Review: Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love
Book Review: If These Ovaries Could Talk: The Things We’ve Learned About Making an LGBTQ Family
If These Ovaries Could Talk: The Things We’ve Learned About Making an LGBTQ Family. Jamie Kelton and Robin Hopkins. Lit Riot Press, 2020. 345 pages. Several years ago, a lesbian couple decided to start a family. Anne and Jaimie would each get pregnant and have a child. Anne was the first, but when it came time for Jaimie to conceive, she … [Read more...] about Book Review: If These Ovaries Could Talk: The Things We’ve Learned About Making an LGBTQ Family
Book of the Month: Chronicles of One trilogy by Nora Roberts
There is nothing like reading a novel about the end of the world during a global pandemic. Nora Roberts has penned the Chronicles of One trilogy that starts with a virus that wipes out most of the population leaving the survivors to come to terms with a new world that now includes magical beings, crazy religious zealots called purity warriors, violent crazy gangs called … [Read more...] about Book of the Month: Chronicles of One trilogy by Nora Roberts
Book Review: Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health
Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health. Adrian Shanker, Ed. PM Press, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-62963-784-6. 256 pages. $20.00. I hope you never need to read this book. I hope you never get sick and have to navigate the most convoluted healthcare system in the world. But if you do, this collection of short essays might just save your … [Read more...] about Book Review: Bodies and Barriers: Queer Activists on Health
Book Review: A Is for Alibi
I love a good murder mystery filled with lots of suspects, red herrings, and satisfying twists. Sue Grafton, who passed away in 2017, is famously known for her novels whose titles each start with a letter of the alphabet. Since the COVID pandemic started, I’ve been checking out new authors and have always wanted to read one of Grafton’s novels. Figuring the best place to … [Read more...] about Book Review: A Is for Alibi
Book Review: Compulsive Haiku
In my long list of reviews, I do not believe I have done one on a book of haikus. There is a first for everything and my book of the month is called Compulsive Haiku by Rocco Talarico. A haiku is a specific type of Japanese poem which has 17 syllables divided into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haikus are typically written on the subject of nature and is … [Read more...] about Book Review: Compulsive Haiku
Book of the Month: Who Killed Buster Sparkle?
Reading—the best state yet to keep absolute loneliness at bay.William Styron During these incredibly trying times during quarantine, I find that reading has been my salvation. It is a life preserver I hang onto when I find myself adrift in a raging sea of loneliness. It is calming, transporting me from my current reality, and into another place created by the … [Read more...] about Book of the Month: Who Killed Buster Sparkle?
