This is a book review that could be a column. Like many people my age, the blur of decades past and the acceleration of each passing year breeds a sense of urgency, if not panic. Jack Nicholson in "About Schmidt" looks up one day in astonishment, asking "what the hell happened." We're not paying attention. That's what happens. Then suddenly we realize the cliff is getting closer and we're like the Road Runner trying to flip on the brakes and backpedal those last few yard

A series binge. I'd exhausted all the Reacher books and discovered this author. The first book has been turned into a Netflix movie. The movie had mediocre reviews, but the book(s) have been wildly popular. Mark Greaney is a riveting master of the spy thriller and the Gray Man is a distinctive character - though not quite as compelling as Reacher. Greaney is also known for authoring the Tom Clancy novels and he's obviously been a good choice to carry on that legacy. I'

A house-sit in England prompted this trip.  We've done some 15 house-sits domestically through Trusted Housesitters , building up our credentials and plotting to take some overseas.   It's a way to travel cheaply, but perhaps more importantly, it provides an opportunity to live in a more relaxed atmosphere like a local.  This is another instance of Martha pushing me beyond my normal comfort zone and it's been rewarding.  We've experienced places and met interesting people tha

Guilty pleasures, just pure action/adventure. I get my books on Libby, the online library service and often there's a lull between...

This was widely acclaimed, won numerous prizes, made NYT lists and has rave reviews. The premise intrigued me. It follows a young woman...

The next time you're at the beach, grab a handful and sand and hold it in your palm.  How many grains are there?  A thousand?  Five...

Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook A New York Times bestseller, and with good reason....

This trip was instigated because of the easy accommodation in Sedona, Arizona by Martha's friend, Laura McCarthy, who, along with her...

A best seller and widely acclaimed. A retelling of the Mark Twain story of Huckleberry Finn....but through the eyes of his slave...

As the years increasingly do, this one passed in a blur - though we had a lot to show for it. January and February were routine,...

= The death of my mother-in-law and a dear childhood friend got me thinking about death - as it might for anyone.  The specter is never...

I've been a devotee of these Reacher books for quite a few years. It's my pulp indulgence. Several books ago Lee Child, who had started...

Religion - Jan. 7 To even try to understand the enormity of the universe you have to come to the conclusion that the god we have...

The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. I can't recommend this enough. Brooks is easy to read and offers insights on a...

The Conspiracy Cranks Building on the previous column regarding impatience with the lack of public understanding of government,...

I have always suffered under the impression that others knew at least as much as I did, which not only fed some insecurities but also...

Random entries of personal insights, analysis and whining....... Self-Actualization Sunday, August 16, 2020 10:35 AM I've hit upon this...

But the Republican factional divide differs in key respects from the Democrats’. On the Democratic side, most of the party’s technocrats...

Originally Posted on " Slippery Slope" Sunday, February 7, 2016 Ted Cruz A good column by Dana Milbank. The Utter Nastiness of Ted Cruz. ...

Grisham revisits Camino Island and his cabal of writers on the beach. This is his third in the series. The plot centers on the story...

A surprise discovery; she's a talented writer with a gift for descriptive phrasing that transports the reader to another world. In this...

The story of the months after Lincoln's election up to the Confederate assault on Fort Sumter that ignited the Civil War. Larson always...

David Foster Wallace; called the writer and voice of his (my) generation. Venerated as an exceptional talent, he was also from Illinois...

Reading this new series by Baldacci I couldn't help but hear his publisher - or him telling them - 'we need to come up with a Jack...