book reviews

In theory, I hope to add more to the blog than book reviews this year, but I wouldn't expect that to happen anytime soon. I still have a few too many writing projects on my list to have the time to come up with blog posts that would interest me, much less anyone else!

Meanwhile, there are always books. After the big New Year's Day sort this year, I am down to 99 books on the to-be-read stack for the first time ... maybe ever. Very excited about this development!

Fred Frankel, Good Friends Are Hard to Find. This was recommended by the counselor at the kids' school for parents whose kids struggle socially. I found the book had some good ideas, but the overall tone was a bit condescending. In addition, it was written in 1996 and the age shows. Worth reading the once, but I'm not going to be referring back to it.

Simon Green, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Truthfully, the novelization is as enjoyable as the movie. Neither one is high art, but they're both entertaining and fast-paced. The novel is detailed and well-characterized and really fleshes the movie out nicely. This was a favorite read in the '80s and I had lost the book somewhere along the way - but my excellent husband found it for me again, and it will be staying!

Oscar Wilde, The Poems of ... Wilde's an interesting poet and the literary criticism of other poets bundled into the volume wasn't a bad read. He certainly took it all very seriously, and it was nice to see that side of him.

Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence, Pompeii: The Living City. Tracing the last several decades of Pompeii's existence, this book is a richly detailed and complex look at the overall Roman world Pompeii lived in and the city's unique place in it.