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In the Briar Patch, May 14-16
It’s been rainy in the briar patch. Thank goodness for plenty of new books to while away the time. Outdoors, there are a few new wildflowers, but getting out into the woods and fields to see them hasn’t been easy. Above is a fire pink (pink refers to the family, not the color).
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Puritans: Authoritarians, reformers?
Briar Patch Books presents a new reviewer, Chuck McGathy. The Rev. Dr. Charles McGathy, a retired Navy chaplain, is the pastor of the church where I am a member. Lately, he’s been leading thought-provoking seminars on the history of religion in America, based on the PBS series “God in America” as well as other sources.…
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Back on the mean streets
Bob Moyer has been reading Walter Mosley’s new series again – with pleasure. By Robert Moyer WHEN THE THRILL IS GONE. By Walter Mosley. Riverhead Books. 368 pages. $26.95 Leonid McGill makes only his third appearance in Walter Mosley’s new series, but we’ve seen his kind before — the hard-boiled kind. Short, stocky and deadly,…
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Wishnevsky a la Lincoln
Steve Wishnevsky weighs in with a review that reminds me of a quote that’s been widely circulated as having been written by Abraham Lincoln when reviewing a book: “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” Whether Lincoln really said it, I have no idea. One can…
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In the briar patch, April 29-May 2
There are ample new delights in the woods and fields of the briar patch these days, as well as in the arrival of more books for review.
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A little magic to spice things up
Sarah Addison Allen, whose novels of magical realism are deservedly popular, makes good use of her North Carolina heritage in her writing. She’s a proud Asheville native: She was born there, spent almost all her childhood there, graduated from UNC Asheville and lives there still in a house she inherited from a great-aunt. Her four…
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Families, friends, lovers
I am becoming so addicted to listening to books on CD when I drive alone that I find is distressing when I don’t have an audio book with me. Elizabeth Berg is the author of a number of best-selling novels, but I had never read any of her books before I listened to her latest…
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In the briar patch, April 26-27
Spring continues apace in the briar patch. Each day brings new books, and most days bring discoveries of new living signs of the season.
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Intrigue and danger in Victorian England
Anne Perry is one of the best historical novelists writing today. Her books are literate, thoughtful, thought-provoking and intriguing. Obviously, she has done a great deal of research, yet her stories are told so naturally that the reader is immersed within the world she creates without being distracted by too much thinking about how she…
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In the briar patch, April 21-24
This has been a bit of a slow spell in terms of wildflowers, but we’ve had rain and now it’s warmer, so the pace should pick up. I was disappointed when looking up a delicate, pretty white flower that blooms with profusion in our woods now to discover that it apparently is a variety of…