When Sue Monk Kidd was in high school, a home economics teacher wrote a list of potential occupations for women on the blackboard: teacher, nurse, librarian, secretary. “Writer” was nowhere to be found. On that day, Kidd shut the door on her writerly aspirations and would not revisit the topic until many years later when she announced to her husband and two children that she was going to become a writer. And so began her journey into the mysteries and methods of the writerly life.
This is a blog about recreational hobbies that I am interested in (music, TV, movies, books). I also talk about what's on my mind or things that happen in life around me. Please feel free to post comments; I want this to be an interactive dialogue. If you like what you read, please share it with your friends. Thanks.
Monday, September 29, 2025
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Book Review: No Job for a Man
A darkly witty, deeply affecting, and finely crafted memoir by the Big Bang Theory and Speechless star and comedian, John Ross Bowie.
No Job for a Man follows John’s journey as he tries to make it in the arts, meeting success and failure, wins and losses, despair and hope along the way. Though his father chronically refuses to acknowledge pride in his adult son’s accomplishments, John comes to his own idiosyncratic version of being a man.
Bowie's biography was published November 2022 by Pegasus Books.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Book Review: Jekyll and Hyde - Winter Retreat
When music-hall comedy duo Rolly Daconey and Irina Matei are threatened by a mysterious blackmailer, they turn to the Jekyll & Hyde detective agency for help. But the agency is experiencing turmoil and, unbeknownst to Muriel Carew, Henry Jekyll is ever more reliant on the elixir that transforms him into the brutish Edward Hyde.
Still, there’s nothing like a good case to clear the air, and the investigation soon points towards Lady Goodram’s winter artists’ retreat. But once Henry and Muriel arrive at Gaunt Manor, they’re trapped by heavy snow, and they find themselves at the centre of a group of bickering performers, stage magicians and inventors whose long-standing rifts and petty grievances threaten to turn ugly.
To make matters worse, a body is discovered – and the last person with whom the murder victim was seen alive was Edward Hyde. How can the detective agency get to the bottom of the case when their very presence puts everyone at risk?
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Book Review: Aces Full
In hardcover for the first time, this collection (edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin) brings together the Wild Cards stories that have been previously published on Reactor (formerly known as Tor.com) The authors involved include: Cherie Priest, Carrie Vaughn, Caroline Spector, Bradley Denton, Walton Simons, Sage Walker, Marko Kloos, Ian Tregillis, Laura J. Mixon, Alan Brennert and Emma Newman.
Wild Cards: Aces Full will be published November 11, 2025. Tor Publishing Group provided an early galley for review.
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Book Review: The Hitchhikers
It’s the summer of 1976 and Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal their broken hearts after a devastating tragedy. They’ve planned the trip perfectly, taken care of every detail. Then they meet two young hitchhikers down on their luck and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren’t what they seem. They’ve left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them.
Now Alice and Tom are trapped, prisoners in a deadly game, with nowhere to turn. As the tension builds, the lines blur, and the question becomes "in whose heart does evil truly lie?". What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding? And who will live another day?
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Book Review: Don't Stop
On January 1, 1975, struggling young singer-songwriter Lindsey Buckingham was invited to join the veteran blues band Fleetwood Mac. He agreed on the condition that his girlfriend, an equally unknown vocalist named Stevie Nicks, also be included. Within two years, Rumours was born—and went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time.
Almost five decades later, it is the only classic rock record that still attracts young listeners and continues to top sales and streaming charts. In Don’t Stop, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Alan Light unravels the enduring allure of Fleetwood Mac’s monumental album. Since its 1977 release, Rumours has captivated generations with its unparalleled blend of romantic turmoil and musical genius. Light explores the album’s transformation from a pop phenomenon to a cultural touchstone, and its unique ability to remain relevant in today’s rapidly changing music scene.
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Book Review: The Man of Many Fathers
When Roy Wood Jr. held his baby boy for the first time, he was relieved that his son was happy and healthy, but he felt a strange mix of joy and apprehension. Roy’s own father, a voice of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama, had passed away when Roy was sixteen. There were gaps in the lessons passed down from father to son and, holding his own child, Roy wondered: Have I managed to fill in those blanks, to learn the lessons I will one day need to teach my boy?
So Roy looked back to figure out who had taught him lessons throughout his life and which he could pass down to his son. Some of his father figures were clear, like a colorful man from Philadelphia navigating life after prison, who taught Roy the value of having a vision for his life, or his fellow comedians, who showed him what it took to make it as a working stand-up performer. Others were less obvious, from the teenage friends who convinced him to race "leaf boats" carrying lit matches in the middle of a drought to a drug-addicted restaurant colleague who played hoops while Roy scoured dirty dishes to big names in Hollywood, like Trevor Noah and more.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Book Review: Vagabond
There are few stars in Hollywood today that can boast the kind of resume Tony award-nominated actor Tim Curry has built over the past five decades. From his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to his iconic depiction as the sadistic clown Pennywise in It to his critically acclaimed role as the original King Arthur in both the Broadway and West End versions of Spamalot, Curry redefined what it meant to be a “character actor,” portraying heroes and villains alike with complexity, nuance, and a genuine understanding of human darkness.
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Book Review: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Craig Inciardi was a rising star at Sotheby’s, wheeling and dealing in rock memorabilia, when he got the call to help launch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum. The catch? There was no museum. Just a “guitar of no importance and three interesting sheets of paper.”
With a green light and few guardrails, Inciardi hit the road and became the Indiana Jones of rock history—working out of Rolling Stone’s offices, answering to Jann Wenner, and tracking down legends for their sacred stuff. His journey took him to Ozzy Osbourne’s country estate (where Ozzy greeted him with a gun), Keith Moon’s boyhood home, and Art Garfunkel’s secret stash of letters from Paul Simon. Along the way, he landed the guitar Pete Townshend used to write “Tommy,” Otis Redding’s leather coat worn before his fatal plane crash, Patti Smith’s duct-taped boots, Aretha Franklin’s handwritten notes, Debbie Harry’s stagewear, and John Lennon’s glasses that were worn on the day he died.
And that’s only a fraction of the rock-relic stories on offer.
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Book Review: Disney's Animated Classics
This new book explores the iconic features from the Walt Disney Studio's first 100 years, from Snow White to Wish. A love letter to storytelling and collaboration, each chapter takes readers behind the scenes of a different movie, uncovering the hidden secrets, creative geniuses, and surprising connections that will enthral die-hard Disney fans and casual viewers alike.
It also examines how the studio's films have shaped and been shaped by the world around them and how they have attempted to reflect a changing culture. From the studio's representation of race and sexuality to its fluctuating creative fortunes through the decades, it offers an unflinchingly funny history of one of the biggest icons in cinema.
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Book Review: The Fallbacks - Bound for Ruin
Meet the newest Dungeons & Dragons party in the first epic adventure of The Fallbacks. To become renowned adventurers, this party needs to survive their first job.
Their first recovering a mysterious spellbook from a lost temple for a hefty payout. Tess hopes this assignment can turn her group of fledgling freelancers into a true team. But when their client is killed, their coin and his murderer both vanish, leaving the party to take the fall.
Stuck with a sentient, bloodthirsty grimoire and pursued by mercenaries and the undead, this is hardly the mission Tess envisioned. Her crew must save the day, get the gold, and clear the party’s name—which they haven’t even agreed upon yet! With the threats against them mounting, a single mistake will see this party over before it even begins. Can this band of mismatched misfits stay together in the face of danger? Or are they bound for ruin?