Avid reader. Focus on mysteries, science, some scifi and whatever else catches my attention. Dog lover, aquarist, curmudgeon, and retired lawyer,.
This link opens in a pop-up window
This is a very hard edged mystery novel, set in modern-day Los Angeles. The dialogue crackles like vintage Chandler and the plot is quite intricate. I found that I could not read it late at night, because I got too nervous.
At a busy festival site on a warm spring night, a baby lies alone in …
I enjoyed this book at least as much as Jane Harper's other excellent Australian mysteries. This one kept me guessing until the end. Highly recommended.
I just finished Beaverland and I really enjoyed it. It's a very well-written science book that includes fascinating discussions of the role beavers played in the history of North America, particularly the economic development by Europeans. It also does a great job explaining the effects beavers have on the natural landscape and why we probably need more beavers to protect our environment.
The author is a very good writer, but I had the unsettling feeling that the book could've used one more good edit. Periodically, the book would make a reference to something that I didn't understand (such as a pond leveler) and only a few pages or a few chapters later would the concept be explained. It seemed like the writer wrote this in separate chapters at separate times, but nobody checked the final assembly to make sure that all the pieces fit together perfectly. This is only a …
I just finished Beaverland and I really enjoyed it. It's a very well-written science book that includes fascinating discussions of the role beavers played in the history of North America, particularly the economic development by Europeans. It also does a great job explaining the effects beavers have on the natural landscape and why we probably need more beavers to protect our environment.
The author is a very good writer, but I had the unsettling feeling that the book could've used one more good edit. Periodically, the book would make a reference to something that I didn't understand (such as a pond leveler) and only a few pages or a few chapters later would the concept be explained. It seemed like the writer wrote this in separate chapters at separate times, but nobody checked the final assembly to make sure that all the pieces fit together perfectly. This is only a minor quibble – I really enjoyed this book.
I just read Loving Edie, by Meredith May, which is a memoir about adopting a golden retriever puppy that turned out to be extremely fearful. It's not really a guide to living with a fearful dog – you should get that information here – but many of you will recognize the emotional stages that the author experienced. I nearly cried several times reading it. At the end, I felt like it helped validate my love for my fearful puppy, while recognizing the struggles we have experienced.
An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from …
I really enjoyed this. Bethany Brookshire takes the reader through mankind's complicated relationships with various animals, including Asian sparrows, cane toads, white year, and black bears. She is a very good writer and clearly understands the biology and science behind the issues she discusses. She also has a delightful sense of humor. She may cause you to re-examine the way you see wild animals in your life.
"A first, prize-winning work of suspense from the internationally acclaimed author of Soldiers of Salamis. …
This book was a revelation! I read it expecting a fairly routine murder mystery, but instead I got a fascinating novel with a good murder mystery included. The book also includes a lot of musings on reading and literature, especially Les Miserables.
Very interesting book about the importance of our gut microbiome and practical ways to improve and maintain it.
The story of the worldwide scientific quest to decipher the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, trace its source, …
I didn't know if I had it in me to read a book about Covid, but David Quammen is such a great science writer that I decided to give it a try. He made the subject fascinating and explained very complicated issues extremely clearly.
