reviews

 Cold, Colder, Coldest... Author:  Lynne Cox You’re allowed a cap, goggles and a standard swimsuit.  That’s all you get if you want to attempt an official swim across the English Channel.   And don’t even think about one of those fancy, insulated, buoyant body suits that all the Ironmen and women wear, they’re not allowed.  Given the strong currents, water temperatures in the low sixties (°F) and the fact that it’s 21 miles from England to France, only the toughest swimmers in the world even attempt such a feat.  It’s the Mount Everest of swimming.  Somehow, Lynne Cox found her calling [...]

Fire vs. Freedom... Author:  Ray Bradbury The cover of the 1953 first edition. Consistently appearing on lists of the top ten science fiction novels of all time, Fahrenheit 451 is Ray Bradbury at his eloquent and subversive best.  While he rejected the label of science fiction writer – calling himself a writer of fantasy – it is undoubtedly the work for which the prolific author is best known.  Assigned to high school reading lists for decades, it provides an answer to the trivia question, “At what temperature does book paper burn?” At some ill-defined time, many decades [...]

Ghost For Sale Author: Joe Hill It’s hard to imagine what it must be like to grow up in the shadow of an internationally famous parent.  Even harder to imagine making the decision to follow in their career footsteps and face the inevitable comparisons. Author Joe Hill didn’t try and fight his author genes and only mitigated his unusual circumstances by not using the last name of his famous father when publishing his first novel, Heart Shaped Box.  Honestly, how hard would it be to get honest critical feedback on your ghost story if the entire world knew your dad [...]