A look at the rise of a church leader

The world seemed to be on pins and needles recently as it awaited the announcement of the new pope who would take over after the unexpected retirement of Pope Benedict XVI.  There was much rejoicing in the Americas when the first non-European pope, Francis I, was announced.  The book ">Francis: Man of Prayer takes a look at the background of the new pope and how...

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If I was a dog, you'd shoot me

Those Irish Walsh sisters are at it again.  Over the years, each of the older of the 5 Walsh sisters has had her own novel, written by the enormously talented author Marian Keyes.  It was finally time for little sister Helen to have her own book, and boy does she get it in the new novel The Mystery of Mercy Close: A Walsh Sister Novel. Helen, the most brash,...

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Somewhat lacking in bedside manner

Watching a "fish out of water" story, where someone is totally out of his or her element, can be an amusing if uncomfortable experience.  No one is more out of his depth than Doctor Martin Ellingham, former high-flying London surgeon who abandons his practice to set up shop as a GP in the lovely coastal village of Portwenn.  Not only do the townspeople and Doc...

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Don't read this on an empty stomach

Most of us know little about the Amish, a Christian group known for avoiding most modern technology, from cars to telephones.  However, they are known, even to the most uninformed, for their delicious and traditionally prepared foods.  I was very happy to receive a copy of the spiral bound book ">Simply Delicious Amish Cooking: Recipes and Stories from the...

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I'd still rather be upstairs

 While the series Downton Abbey unfolds before throngs of obsessed viewers, the curious relationship between the upper classes and their servants during Edwardian times is portrayed in all its bewildering manifestations. In the new book The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century AgoThe Real Life Downton Abbey by Jacky...

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