outrageously zany and great fun

Mort by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mort is outrageously zany and great fun! If you loved Hitchhikers Guide, you'll love this one!

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a very special collection

Burning Bright by Ron Rash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A really nice collection of short stories that portray real people and their lives set in the mountains of Appalachia. The tales cover a range of topics and time periods, but portray in gritty and sometimes gruesome detail life as it really goes down. This is a very special collection, i heartily recommend it.

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realities of life at the margins

Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another beautifully told story of the realities of life at the margins. Told from the POV of the two central characters, we experience the paradoxes of good and evil, right and wrong, and how life seems to settle out somewhere in between. The word imagery the author uses, especially in Becky's account, is top shelf. Wonderful writing and reading, one can't help but feel the story as if living it.

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great conclusion!

The Graveyard Book Volume 2 by P. Craig Russell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great conclusion to Neil Gaiman's first volume of this graphic novel format of his Graveyard Book. Now i find out that these two volumes are based on a novel by Mr. Gaiman, which i will soon obtain and read. I'm sure it will not disappoint!

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America and Americans

America and Americans by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

America and Americans is an interesting and nicely written collection of essays on topics related to . . . America and Americans. Steinbeck displays his wisdom and knowledge on a range of topics and discusses how the current events and issues of the 1960's are related. It is fascinating (as always) to read Steinbeck's insight and thoughts, but the context of the 60's should be kept in mind when reading them today, in the 21st century. While some of his views are somewhat dated, those are the exception to the mass of wisdom and intelligence that are conveyed as he works through each topic. The book's pages are the majority photos from famous photographers, but aside from the photographer credits in the back of the book, there are no captions or descriptions of any kind, which is frustrating when viewing the pictures for content and context, etc. This is a great read for Steinbeck fans and Americans alike.

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