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Let’s mess with Texas
On part of his cross-country drive this summer, Paul O’Connor was accompanied by Gail Collins, a well-known New York Times political columnist. Well, Gail wasn’t really in the car with Paul, but her voice was, reading her latest book on CD. Its subject is a big one: Texas, and its influence on American politics. And…
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Life, love and respectability
When I was in school, my history classes rarely made it beyond the first few years of the 20th century. I learned about the Great Depression, World War II and the other formative events of my parents’ generation mostly by hearing their conversations and stories. Maybe that’s why I’m fascinated by recent historical fiction that…
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Different worlds
Some time back I enjoyed listening to A Cup of Friendship, Deborah Rodriguez’ novel centered on a coffee shop in Kabul, since reissued as The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. Part of the pleasure stemmed from the good story, well presented, but another important factor was the glimpse into life in a world about which…
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A lot of fun, with fringe benefits
Paul O’Connor reports that while the temperatures have been up around 103 degrees in North Carolina, the highs have been in the low 70s in Portland, Ore., where he’s visiting. Maybe that’s why he has energetically written another book review, putting me to shame. I’ve been reading and listening, but not doing much writing. I’m…
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At home in America
Got a long driving trip ahead of you? Just like to relax and let somebody tell you stories? Briar Patch Books looks at an audio book that’s a marvelous, poignant family saga that will tug at your emotions and enrich your life. By Linda C. Brinson A GOOD AMERICAN. By Alex George. Read by Gibson…
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Batter up
I don’t like to watch baseball on TV, and baseball was not a favorite youth sport of either of my sons, though each tried it at least briefly. But oh, how I love to go to a Major League Baseball game in summer. My favorite team is the Baltimore Orioles, because my husband and I…
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Plum good, again
My growing fondness for (OK, addiction to) audio books has been educational in more ways than one. I had been aware of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novel series for years. How could I not? Her new books regularly land on The New York Times best-seller list. But did I read them? Oh, no. Not me.…
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Pride and prejudice and peril
Jane Austen is such an interesting literary phenomenon. She wrote novels in which very little happened, other than people going to balls, taking walks, getting married and worrying about how many pounds a year they have or might expect to have. Some of her characters are deliberately portrayed as silly; others are admirable because they…
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H Is for Happy New Year
When it comes to mysteries, I usually like cozy, village-type mysteries better than ones featuring hard-boiled detectives and on-page violence. But there are exceptions. I enjoyed Sue Grafton’s series starring P.I. Kinsey Millhone way back when she was working through the early letters of the alphabet. Then somehow I lost touch with Kinsey around “M”…