The Martian

Andy Weir’s debut novel is the most riveting, most compelling, most intense science-fiction thriller I have ever read. From his very first words, botanist Mark Watney sucks you into his harrowing, horrifying predicament: he is stranded on Mars. The sandstorm that led to his fellow Ares mission members fleeing the planet also destroyed the satellite… Continue reading The Martian

The Casual Vacancy

The first thing that must be said about The Casual Vacancy is that it is an adult book. It explores adult themes in adult language from an adult or near-adult viewpoint. Those who read the Harry Potter canon and expected that Rowling’s first adult novel would be a nice, clean morality tale for grown-ups —… Continue reading The Casual Vacancy

Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds”

Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds represents a triad of firsts for me. It is the first Tyler Perry movie I have seen. It is the first time I have intentionally planned to see two separate movies on their opening nights, sequentially. And it is the first time I have stayed up until midnight to see the… Continue reading Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds”

Tricky Business, by Dave Barry

Dave Barry’s second novel delivers the same hilarious and fast-paced action as his first. Tricky Business is a wonderful novel in the true Barry style. The plot revolves around a gambling cruise ship that leaves a wharf in Florida every night to take its passengers into international waters, where they can gamble to their hearts’… Continue reading Tricky Business, by Dave Barry