Friday, January 18, 2013

Drinking with Dead Women Writers

Drinking with Dead Women WritersDrinking with Dead Women Writers by Elaine Ambrose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title itself was intriguing enough but the first paragraphs of the introduction set the tone and sealed the deal.

"Blame it on the Cabernet. We met to share libations and laughter, but in less than an hour had outlined a book. We'd capitalize on our proven talents for drinking and our evolving talents for writing, while incorporating a literary flair by including 16 famous female authors. Game on.

We agreed to write and exchange chapters for eight weeks and publish the book within four months. Such goals are easy to set after swilling a few bottles of wine."

So with that introduction we sit down with various spirits and such famous women authors as Willa Cather, the Bronte Sisters, Louisa May Alcott and Ayn Rand. The chapters are fun, humorous, irreverent and best of all informative. I had never read Cather, or Rand, or Plath and this book piqued my interest and provided a convenient bibliography in the final chapter to inform future book choices.

I LOVED "Drinking With Dead Women Writers" and I'm looking forward to when the sequel "Drinking with Dead Drunks" becomes available on the kindle.

View all my reviews

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Maxwell's Closet


Maxwell's ClosetMaxwell's Closet by Steven Belskie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maxwell's Closet is a well written fantasy novel about young Maxwell, described as "a remarkably ordinary child, whose classmates regarded him as rather dull" and his amazing adventure one incredible night when the door to his closet was thrown open from within and he was taken away into another world, one of orcs, knights, wizards, battles, loss and victory. Whether the world he encountered was a dream or an alternate reality, Max woke changed. Maxwell's closet is a quick read at only 150 pages and a wonderful adventure for the young (or young at heart) fan of fantasy. I look forward to more from Steven Belskie.


View all my reviews