Ten Must-Read Classics of Great Literature
Classic novels you won't want to miss reading
Because I love to read good books - I want to have the honor of introducing you to ten of my favorite must-read classics -- novels that have enchanted and entertained readers for decades. I feel one of the saddest effects of modern society has been to take young people away from the joy of reading great novels. So I'll start with telling you about my own novel-reading journey. I read a few great novels while in high school. At that time they were regularly assigned to students in English cla...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
A Book Review of The Help by Kathryn Stockett
"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett is a novel set in Mississippi during the most turbulent period of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s and explores the relationships between wealthy white families and their African-American maids. Although it is a fictional story, from the comments of others who have read the book and from interviews with the author, I think the book accurately reflects life and race relations in Mississippi in the 1960s. As someone who has never lived in the south, i...

5 Good Books Everyone Should Read
My "best books" picks for everyday readers
Making a list of the best books, or even "good" books can be difficult. It will always be so subjective. As a guy with two English degrees who suffered through a lot of boring writing, I wanted to give a list of the best books for people to read that are both powerful but also readable. With the exception of Zen, all of these books are short. I give much higher preference to good books that are also under 300 pages. It's harder to write a short book than a long, rambling one. I also wanted t...

Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse
My Review
Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, is a novel of spiritual striving set in ancient India. In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man living at the time of Buddha, is drawn to the spiritual lifestyle. To his father's dismay, he chooses to become a Samana - a traveling ascetic beggar with spiritual aspirations. He and his best friend, Govinda, engage in the Samana life together - until they encounter Gotama (The Buddha) and His devotees. At that point Govinda becomes a Buddhist monk and Siddhartha, aft...

Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man
"A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is a unique and semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce has an unusual format. It isn't really "train of thought" writing, though it seems close. Technically the style is called "free indirect speech". It is written in third-person so cannot be "train of thought" as that would simply report the point of view of the character experiencing events. This is demonstrated well in William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I'm a fan of the classics but had never read anything by James Joyce until I ...

My 2 Unique "Historic" Novels
Why my novels are unique & "historic"
Welcome to this page about my 2 unique historic novels. Let me tell you why I feel my novels are unique and historic. First, I feel that my novels are unique mainly because I seek to use the tool of fiction to purvey truth. As to what truth is that I'm trying to purvey. Suffice it say here that my novels do have a point and a purpose, which purpose should become clear to the reader by the time they finish the novel. When I say both of my novels are historic, I don't mean in the sense of makin...

December Is Read a New Book Month!
New Books On My List For December!
I get an e-newsletter every week titled All About Thyme: A Weekly Calendar of Times & Seasonings Celebrating the Mysteries, Magic, and Myths of Herbs sent by the fictional character, China Bayles. China Bayles is the creation of one of my favorite mystery authors, Susan Wittig Albert. The newsletter is exactly what it says: a calendar. I always learn something new, get a new recipe or find a new book to read. For example, did you know that October 30st is National Candy Corn Day! You did if y...