| 1 coffee bean | day-old, cold coffee | |
| 2 coffee beans | unpleasant aftertaste | |
| 3 coffee beans | a passable, serviceable brew | |
| 4 coffee beans | bold and flavorful | |
| 5 coffee beans | kept me awake reading it |
Lottery Tickets When I was young, I would see photos of lottery winners in the newspaper, or in TV ads, and, bizarrely to me, it was 99% older people. When asked what they would do with the money, it was always to put the grandchildren through college. I have no grandchildren, but I now…
DetailsBook Review: Final Table, by Pati Nagle I received a free copy of Final Table, by Pati Nagle, through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. The title “Final Table” made me think this book was going to be a British drawing room drama, but that’s wrong. The premise of it, a poker game made up of…
DetailsRecipe: Elvis Muffins These muffins are an homage to Elvis and his love for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. If one can call a muffin “refreshing,” this would be the one. 2 cups flour 3 tspns baking powder 1/2 tspn salt 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup sugar (use it) 2 eggs 1-1/3 cups mashed…
DetailsBook Review: Heir of the Hunted, by Richard T. Drake Richard T. Drake has done a commendable job of presenting his readers with an amazing and dangerous fantasy world, The Hollow World, launched with this first volume in the series, Heir of the Hunted. It’s truly wonderful when a great idea and excellent writing skills…
DetailsBad News for Java Two months ago, I thought I had a mild but painful foot injury that happened in the gym. This morning I found out from the podiatrist that it’s much worse. One of my toes has lost all its cartilege, making it very painful to walk. Seeing the x-rays made me uncomfortable.…
DetailsBook Review: Words’ Worth, by Jane Riddell Independent authors often don’t realize that they need help with self-editing. While using Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is the standard for syntax and grammar, there’s more to self-editing that the nuts and bolts. The independent author, while rereading their chef d’oeuvre, may not notice things like…
DetailsBook Review: I Am the Ocean, Samita Sarkar After graduating from college, author Samita Sarkar couldn’t find a job. She apparently sulked for a while and then decided to go on an adventure. This practitioner of Hare Krishna from Toronto, Canada, decided to couchsurf her way through NYC; Washington, DC; and Miami, Florida, carrying only…
DetailsBook Review: Washing the Dead, by Michelle Brafman Michelle Brafman doesn’t need my 5-coffee-bean review because she is a multi-award-winning author, including for Washing the Dead, her debut novel. But it’s an extraordinary debut novel, several years old now, and I’d like to share a good story with you. “Washing the Dead” refers to the…
DetailsBook Review: The Gallery of Missing Husbands, Lawrence J. Epstein Although this story reads beautifully, it is difficult to review The Gallery of Missing Husbands, by Lawrence J. Epstein. First, it is short, so it is necessary to write delicately so as not to give anything critical away here. Second, it is dense, with many…
DetailsI need to give a tip of the hat to my husband and me for celebrating twenty years of married life. We haven’t killed each other, we still love each other, and we both over-indulge our pets. It’s a good life.
