Biblio Reviews

Leave me in a bookstore and I will get lost in the romance novel section. Romance novels--to be more precise, historical romances a la old school Amanda Quick--are my default book reads, especially when I want to escape into an adult fairy tale. I say all this to make clear my bias in tackling Nancy Naigle's  Mint Juleps and Justice  (2014), a contemporary romance and my January Kindle First selection. Mint Juleps and Justice  is part of Naigle's Adams Grove series set in Virginia. I have not read any of the previous books in the series, nor do I intend to. That has nothing to do with Naigle's skills as a writer but rather my lack of interest in the particular brand of romance that she offers: small town characters who engage in realistic ways and who have realistic problems with a little bit of realistic suspense thrown in. The story is of Brooke Justice and Mike Hartman who find themselves relocating to Adams Grove for a fresh start. They meet, fall in love, and liv...

I didn't know I was an Amazon Prime member (and had been for two years!) when I read an email from Amazon that I had a new (?!) perk with my membership, Kindle First: I would get to download one free book per month from their list of four editors' picks--for free and one month before the official publication! Always happy to get freebies (Who isn't?), excited to have new options for my Cannonball Read challenge, and rededicated to actively using my Kindle after a couple of years of non use, I clicked on the link to see my options:  The Barkeep  by William Lashner (Thriller),  The Line  (Withing Savannah, Book One) by J.D. Horn (Fantasy),  Mint Juleps and Justice  by Nancy Naigle (Romance), and  Descending Son  by Scott Shepherd (Horror) were the picks. They all had a pre-order price of $4.99 and all were authors I had never read or heard of before. I can't say that any of the titles appealed to me. I'm not big on fantasy or horror but could be...

A lot can be learned from Jane Austen's  Pride and Prejudice  (1813), one of which is why it is important to smile: Mr. Bingley, who puts on a more agreeable face, is received well by the people of Netherfield Park whereas Mr. Darcy, who  doesn't, is spurned. The science behind why Mr. Bingley experiences more social success than Mr. Darcy is explained in Marianne LaFrance's  Why Smile? The Science Behind Facial Expressions  (2011). LaFrance draws on the work of latest research in biology, psychology, sociology anthropology, computer science--and even quotes various works of literature--to shed light on the effects of putting on a happy face.  Why Smile?  is organized into three sections (Life, Lies, Loyalty), in which, through extensive research and engaging writing style, LaFrance explains the complexity of smiles. [Smiles] are consequential--they affect what others feel and do...they are indispensable to physical health, psychological well-being...

My plan to review  Annie on My Mind  (1982) as my first for #CBR6 did not go according to plan. That's because last weekend, I went on a trip to the New England Mobile Book Fair (not mobile and not a fair but more like a fabulous warehouse / bookstore for bibliophiles) and left with two purchases,  Why Smile?: The Science Behind Facial Expressions  (2011) by Marianne LaFrance being one of them and which trumped my reading interest for the week. Last summer, a client of my locktician, bemoaning the tenuous and clearly declining state of her relationship, began to strategize how she would make herself open to the possibilities of a new relationship. Number one on her list was to smile. After highlighting the benefits of smiling, I was challenged to smile more and to take note of how others respond to me. Truth be told, as the conversation about smiling and her eventual challenge came about, I wondered whether the whole conversation was really a subversive way to le...

For my first official read for #CBR6, I'm revisiting a book I read fifteen years ago (holy crap!),  Annie on My Mind  (1982) by Nancy Garden. Then, I had been working at a library and came across it on the shelves. From the title and the cover, I knew that it would deal with a taboo topic (by certain standards), homosexuality / lesbianism, but because I thought it would be a coming-of-age romance, I plowed forward with reading it...though the world not being what it is now (in a way), I did not publicize that I was reading it. In late November 2013, I attended my first professional conference but didn't know that authors autographing books was part of the deal (or that conferences were book publishers' money making machines), so it was quite by chance that I stumbled upon the giveaway and autograph session for  Annie.  I was on my way out the sales area onto the conference rooms for a workshop when one of her publisher's sales people asked if I was interested in ge...

I've only ever read one Stephen King book,  Needful Things  (1991), more than a decade ago. That particular story wasn't enough to convert me to fandom. Other than feeling underwhelmed, I recall it familiarizing me with Sandy Koufax, a baseball great. As a result,  Needful Things  and Sandy Koufax have become synonymous to me. Nonetheless, in searching for an appropriate name for this blog (Portable Magic Reviews) I came across a quotation from King that I thought was very apt to communicate this blog's focus/purpose and why I wanted to join in on  Cannonball Read 6 : "Books are a uniquely portable magic." Indeed they are! Despite falling off my consistent reading wagon for longer than I care for, the act of reading evokes in me that feeling of wonder and magic. Immersed in a good book, whether my favorite historical romance novels or a heart wrenching realistic fiction, I am transported into a world that offers me an escape, that enables me to make ...

It's a new year, and I'm ready for a challenge. It had occurred to me that despite making a living at trying to foster a love of reading and writing in others, I've not actively engaged in either (other than for work purposes) myself. Well, I'm committing to making a change, if only because I am desperate to do something on a daily basis that guarantees me joy and feeds my soul. Signing up for Cannonball Read 6 is the way to keep myself accountable to achieving that purpose. As an added bonus, my participation is contributing to kicking cancer's butt! I am committing to doing a half cannonball (reading twenty-six books) this year. With that, I am off to officially register!