Category Archives: Book Reviews

The Case Against “APE”

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Bill Peschel

APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book. By Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch As a writer who has a book in each camp — professional and self-published — I picked up a Netgalley version of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How … Continue reading →

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Lucky Lyle Talbot

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Bill Peschel

In his long lifetime that spanned the history of popular entertainment, Lyle Talbot believed he was lucky. The former carnie hustler and stage actor on the Midwestern circuit never became a star despite a contract at Warners playing opposite Bette … Continue reading →

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Time Waits For No One: The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Bill Peschel

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a world-weary hero preparing for the climactic battle must say something like, “I’m too old for this shit.” Except in the case of Thursday Next, because the heroine of Jasper Fforde’s mind-bending alternative-world … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Popular Fiction | Comments Off

By Their Military Patches You Shall Know Them

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Bill Peschel

Robert Langdon, the hero of Dan Brown’s thrillers, is a professor of symbology at Harvard. It’s a fictional field, but Brown was on to something when he elevated the study of symbols into a degree program. Human minds are malleable. … Continue reading →

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Eloisa James’ ‘Paris in Love’: A Family Abroad

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Bill Peschel

It’s summer. The kids are home from school. I’m trying to work at home while at the same time dealing with a visit from the air conditioning worker, a seminar with my 15-year-old daughter on the proper method of sweeping … Continue reading →

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“Lucking Out”: James Wolcott revisits New York of the ’70s

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Bill Peschel

It’s the quiet ones you got to watch out for. In the party, they’re in the back, watching. He may even have a notebook in which he’ll slink off to scribble a few lines. History is not made by the … Continue reading →

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‘Tropic of Murder’: Trouble Comes Back

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Bill Peschel

“Mysteries wrap things up too much,” a character states to Nick Hoffman, the professor turned detective in “Tropic of Murder,” the sixth novel in the series by Lev Raphael. Hoffman would have found that ironic, since the loose ends of … Continue reading →

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Lee Goldberg’s McGrave: Tougher than Shaft, more violent than Dirty Harry and harder than your husband to get along with

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Bill Peschel

Jonathan Franzen would spit on this novella. It was written on a computer, probably with Internet access, and published on the Kindle. According to the Oprah-approved author, that means it’s not literature and not meant to last. He’s right. “McGrave” … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Mysteries & Thrillers | 1 Comment

A Study in Sherlock: Mysteries without any clues

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Bill Peschel

So I’m writing a story about Sherlock Holmes and the wife brings home from the library “A Study in Sherlock,” and I’m looking forward to reading it. Apart from the writing bit, I’ve loved the stories since I was given … Continue reading →

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Hollywood Gone Wild #4 co-starring Cliff Montgomery, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Sandler and Joan Crawford

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Bill Peschel

Podcast (hollywood-gone-wild): Play in new window | Download Today’s episode discusses “Don’t Mess with the Zohan,” Adam Sandler’s movie that mines laughs out of terrorism and the Middle East, Scarlett Johansson’s nude photos, the late Cliff Montgomery and a dirty … Continue reading →

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