The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is the most delightful mashup of the game Clue (Mrs. Drudge in the kitchen, Lord Ravencourt in the library, anyone?), the movie Groundhog Day, and the book Life After Life. If that sounds like a hot mess, and you’re backing away, trust me, it’s not. It’s dark, dangerous, and delicious. Set on a decaying estate, it takes place over a long ... Read More...
The Only Woman in the Room
For those of you who aren’t old movie buffs…why not?! Old black and white movies with all their stylized glamour are one of the best escapes out there. But I digress. If you’re not aware of Hollywood in the 1930s then you won’t recognize the subject of Marie Benedict’s new novel The Only Woman in the Room. It’s Hedy Lamarr, who at the peak of her career, was known as one of the ... Read More...
The Other Einstein
Much is known about Albert Einstein, from his theory of relativity to his philosophical musings on peace, logic and the universe. There is less known about his first wife, Mileva Marić, but Marie Benedict opens the door to her life and her marriage to Einstein in her new novel, The Other Einstein. Mileva was Serbian and despite being born at a time when girls were not even ... Read More...
Shakespeare Saved My Life
Dr. Laura Bates is an English professor, specializing in Shakespeare, at Indiana State University. For the past fifteen years she has taught at college and in prison, where she brings Shakespeare into the lives of some of the prison systems most hardened criminals. Shakespeare Saved My Life is her book about this journey and about one inmate in particular that she worked ... Read More...
Hijacked by Your Brain
It is possible to prepare your brain to truly manage stress. And the result is well worth the effort: discovering a sense of calm and confidence that makes life ultimately worthwhile. Strong words for an introduction and ones that will certainly grab a lot of readers. In today’s world of chaos and unpredictability our brain’s alarm center is firing at DEFCON 1 all the time. ... Read More...
The Oracle Glass
A young girl with a particular, peculiar gift—the ability to read the future in a bowl of water, or, as it was known at the time, an oracle glass. Geneviève is not blessed in any of the ways important to girls in 17th century Paris. She has a club foot and a twisted spine so her mother sends her away shortly after her birth. It is only when her father discovers he has a ... Read More...
