reviews

Of Sheep and Men... Author:  James Rebanks Back in college, one of my housemates was a shepherd. This outwardly ordinary student would head back home most weekends to tend to his flock of Suffolk sheep – shearing, dipping, lambing or whatever.  His fascination with sheep always made stand out a bit among all the “normal” college kids, but he always had a leg of lamb ready to pop in the oven at a moment’s notice.  Apparently my friend wasn’t alone in feeling that he didn’t quite fit in, as I learned when I read The Shepherd’s Life, a memoir by [...]

The Cozy Book that Turned Me Into a Lifelong Reader By: L.M. Montgomery A childhood and teen classic, Anne of Green Gables evokes the image of a little girl with red pigtails. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the novel or the following seven book series; even if you don’t know the plot line or the details of Anne’s childhood adventures, the novel title and the Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm type covers (and later TV series images) are a nearly universal icon. It’s certainly one of those classics that elicits much talk (and even more merchandise,) and has become [...]

Seasonal spine-tingling... Author:  Ray Bradbury The first edition... A leafless tree branch scratching against the side of the house in the night. Dried brown stalks of corn rustling as a cold wind passes through a field.  A murder of crows cackling as they gobble up bits of hickory nut smashed in the road.  October makes its own scary.  As well as anyone, Ray Bradbury could capture the eeriness of the month of falling leaves, decay and encroaching darkness.  The proof is in The October Country, an early compilation of some of his best creepy work. My 1972 [...]