reviews

Hannah and the Ghost of Christmas Past Author: Joanne Fluke As the days grow shorter, the Christmas trees go up, and glitter mysteriously embeds itself around the house, winking cheerfully from the carpet, the cozy is cranked and readers are ready for a little light mystery and some mouth-watering recipes. The 20th entry into the Hannah Swenson cozy mystery series, now apparently a Hallmark television event, Christmas Caramel Murder rekindled my waning interest in the series while also getting me ready for eggnog, cookies, and a roasting fire. Indeed, it’s back to the good-old-days with a flavor much akin to the first [...]

A collection of gems... Author:  Carlo Rovelli Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.  The title is completely self-explanatory.    But as it is with so much in modern physics, the title's simplicity is deceptive.  Presented by Carlo Rovelli, an Italian physicist at Aix-Marseille University, this slim volume is compelling evidence that less is actually more.  Beautifully translated by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre, each lesson is an expansion of a series of articles published in Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian newspaper. Lesson one takes the reader back one hundred years to Einstein’s greatest achievement, his general theory of relativity which completely [...]

Darkness personified... Author:  Bryan Cranston Who’s your favorite drug lord?  I haven’t actually met any, but if I was forced to pick, the enigmatic Heisenberg would have to be my number one.   Also known as Walter White – Mr. White to his high school chemistry students – he first gained fame on AMC’s Breaking Bad, brought to life by actor Bryan Cranston.  Before the show aired, there was general skepticism that Cranston – most famous for playing the inept dad in Malcolm in the Middle – had the acting chops necessary for such a role.  But as subsequent events would [...]