The two men were neighbors. They saw each other frequently, like today, while out walking their dogs. The white man, Ellis, had a doodle. The black man, Will, had a Lhasa Apso. The dogs had made friends first, and in their turn so had the men. They often stopped to chat for a few minutes […]
Read the book, skip the movie. It’s a common perception of Hollywood book treatments. Well, today’s review is an exception. Here’s the back story. I was watching Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” and came across a mention (I research the heck out of everything!) of another of his great movies, “Rear Window.” Researching a little more I […]
I want to begin by saying I am no Philistine. I know people love to write book reviews in praise of an author or their work. I feel the same, and am not much of a mind to spend my time writing reviews of books I did not care for. So I’m on the fence […]
It was a dark and stormy night. Well, actually it wasn’t, but it was a kinda cloudy overcast day in Amsterdam, a little on the cool side because it was October, dreary but not as unpleasant as a dark and stormy night would be. I was walking along the Prinzengrachet, or Prince’s Canal, doing some […]
I recently heard a radio interview with author Jack Reid, who has written a new book entitled Roadside Americans: The Rise and Fall of Hitchhiking in a Changing Nation. He was saying how, with particular respect to the Covid-19 pandemic, hitchhiking is decidedly out of fashion. Yup. But I was reminded of two significant hitchhiking experiences […]
I reviewed this engaging novel and posted my review here at JackBoston and also on Goodreads. Amazon wouldn’t permit my publishing it. The message was, “We apologize but Amazon is not accepting reviews on this product from this account. If you would like to contact us about this decision, please email community-help@amazon.com. Of course there was […]
It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel I enjoyed as much as Delia Owen’s Where the Crawdads Sing. It’s a masterpiece of classic storytelling, although its plot is in most respects undistinguished. It’s a foundling story, a girl-meets-boy story, a broken-heart story, a coming of age story. All of which proves it’s all […]