I love the crime thrillers of the last century and one of my favorite authors in the genre was Dick Francis. The man lived an incredible life (RAF pilot, champion jockey, best-selling writer, just look at his Wikipedia bio!) and if his novels run to a formula, each mixed a new field of information into an abiding love for horses and a solid block of principles. I’ve read all of them at least once, I give most of them h...
My English teacher said some writers often go in and out of fashion. A few, like some clothes, hardly ever go out of style. You can like them forever and know they’ll always be available for discussion and the worst opinion you’ll hear is, “Well, of course, you like___, who doesn’t?” For example, if Shakespeare was fashion, he’d be a great pair of leather loafers or a white, short-sl...
William Shakespeare, that quotable fellow, said “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” That’s how I feel about home. Many people I know are raised with a real sense of identity, knowing who they are and where they belong long before they learn how to read. That place of origin, for good or for ill, is home, undeniable as DNA. Others have to...
“I have in my heart of hearts a favorite child. And his name is David Copperfield.” That’s what Charles Dickens said in the preface of his famous novel and I believe he meant it. History didn’t record how his wife or his ten human children reacted to the statement (that would have been a Jerry Springer show in the making!) but, as sad as the remark probably made them, I doubt if they were surpri...
My husband collects disaster stories. I think it goes back to his childhood when he read A Night to Remember. The account of Titanic’s sole voyage was so researched, so well-written and evocative, he’s been chasing disaster accounts ever since. Me, I like these books for the slice-of-life history that comes with each account, the context of how people lived in some different time and era and who they were...