Reviews

Mysterious, gripping, tension-filled! Nonfiction??? I never thought I would use those adjectives for a nonfiction work but Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson changed my mind. Shadow divers are deep sea divers who explore items on the ocean floor. They differ from other divers in that they dive to depths unheard of by “normal” divers.

I'll admit, comics about little girl mice who wear dresses decorated with hearts and worry about being invited to the popular girl's slumber party aren't my usual cup of tea. But Babymouse: Queen of the World! is too good to dislike.

In artist/writer Jeff Lemire's The Nobody the iconic Invisible Man, John Griffen escapes his lab and the city to hunker down and find his cure in a small town. Befriended by a teenager, Vickie, she tells the story of Griffen, while the rest of the towns folk become suspicious of the bandaged stranger.

By Tilar J. Mazzeo (Published 2009)

I think of myself as a counterculture aficionado. But somehow I was oblivious to the existence of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For until I read the masterful graphic memoir Fun Home and became interested in Bechdel’s other work.

This book of 13 short stories is written by Jincy Willett. Jenny and the Jaws of Life is populated by quirky people, many who lead a poignant life. Each story describes individuals who are faced with a personal crisis and how they manage to cope.

After reading Pickard’s first standalone suspense novel The Virgin of Small Plains, I have been impatiently awaiting her next novel. I have not been disappointed; Nancy Pickard has confirmed again that she can deliver a great mystery.

I was intrigued by the cover of this book and the story line.  Dr. Andrew Marlow,  Washington, D.C. psychiatrist, is prompted by a colleague to accept the case of a painter gone mad.  Robert Oliver, a brilliant artist,  is caught in the act of slashing a valuable painting on display at the National Gallery of Art.

Barry Levinson is one of Hollywood's great but probably underrated directors. His efforts include "Rain Man" and "Wag the Dog," and film buffs and his peers love him -- but he's not exactly a household name like a Spielberg or Lucas.

"The Baltimore Trilogy" refers to three loosely connected movies set in Levinson's hometown: "Diner," "Tin Men" and "Avalon."

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House first published in 1959 is a contemporary Classic that leaves you with the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.  " No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality: even larks and katydids are supposed, by some to dream.