Over the last several years, I’ve written a plethora of blog posts about the three hoaxes of the apothecary: statin drugs, cholesterol, and saturated fats. Hmmm. My penultimate post was titled The Bible and the Toyota. Unwittingly, I seem to be waxing biblical again with this opening, a word play on … well, you probably […]
Mark Twain When one ponders the state of the bookstore industry, a famous line attributed to Mark Twain comes to mind: “The report of my death has been grossly exaggerated.” Tom Corson-Knowles Reports of a death knell for the print book and its retailers apparently are just as wrong. One such assertion was […]
Free books! Spring is almost over, and my favorite season, summer, will come and go before we know it. Isn’t there some way we can just stop time in its tracks, or hourglass, or pendulum, at the Fourth of July or thereabouts? Maybe, with all of the advances in technology, that’s next. We’ll have […]
Booksweeps Before I launch into a dyspeptic treatment of a particular phenomenon I’ve observed in the mechanics of writing, let me thank the hundreds of new subscribers to my newsletter who participated in a recent Booksweeps Crime Fiction and Thrillers giveaway contest. A warm welcome to all of you. Besides writing about the authorial activities […]
On Friday (Aug. 2), your faithful scribe completed a two-week project that consumed him intellectually and emotionally to the point where he was too wired to get to sleep on a couple of nights. That writer, i.e., me, spent almost two weeks composing a long letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging […]
If you’re a techie, you’ll love The Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell. If you’re a technophobe, not so much. The book is one of a series of 17 novels based on Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist. Aside from your technological orientation, you should have an affinity for intrigue and complex plots that jerk you […]
The Donald is hurt. An idea he floated was labeled “absurd” by the prime minister of a tiny European nation. Denmark. President Trump considered buying Greenland, of even lesser global importance with a population of 57,700, about half that of West Palm Beach, Florida. Problem is, Denmark owns it. Trump doesn’t bother with details. […]
Dr. Mehmet Oz Wouldn’t you think that a country ranking at or near the bottom of the advanced nations in life expectancy and infant mortality would question the axioms of its leading health organizations and doctors? The United States holds that distinction, while erecting halos around the heads of such institutions as the American Medical […]
Barack Obama Folks, in case you weren’t watching, this country is in deep trouble. I’m shelving the world of books for the moment to talk about a dangerous crisis. We have a president, Donald Trump, who has committed every criminal act conceivable except for shooting someone in downtown Manhattan (stay tuned), a lawless attorney general […]
In New Smyrna Beach, Fla., the century began on a high note that has been celebrated every year. We speak of the Jazz Festival in late September, the 19th now in the history books. Jazz lovers everywhere, this is an event that belongs on your calendars. Marc Monteson and a jazz fan I discovered […]