Merely Impassioned
Throw This Book Away
Rating:
Formerly Favorite Authors Suffer Simultaneous Brain Damage
Rating:
Iceland
Did we really need a new book in which the author (according to the most recent issue of Publishers Weekly) “peppers the narrative with neologisms supposedly coined by famous gossip columnists, and annoyingly styles the text so that nearly every name, brand name, and...
Another Cover Art Disappointment
Who doesn’t love a vintage photograph from the author’s childhood on the cover of her memoir? When the image is just right, these covers are among the best. But if a photo that speaks directly to the story does not exist, why force an inappropriate one upon the book?...
Punctuation Matters
This month I read two memoirs that I would be giving glowing reviews to, if only they had employed quotation marks. Is anyone else fed up with the idea that quotation marks in dialogue are unnecessary? Basic rules of grammar and punctuation exist for a reason (to...
Detectives and CIA Operatives Must Go
(This opinion first appeared in February 2003) The following words and phrases have no business in a decent book: FBI CIA Washington insider sophisticated weaponry special agent top-secret cigar-smoking helicopters submarines tanks ill-gotten business vigilante hit...