Gearing up for Downton Abbey's return

January 3 is the date for the PBS premier of the sixth and final season of Downton Abbey.  Fans are anxious to find out what has been happening with the inhabitants of Downton, both upstairs and downstairs.  To get ready for the final season, fans will enjoy this Ultimate Map of Downton Abbey Locations from wayfair.co.uk: Clicking on the icon for each location will show you a photo and more information about the place, including how...

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Put the drugs down!

It's no secret that bad habits (including negative self-talk) are hard to break.   The revised and expanded edition of Change Your Brain Change Your Life explores how to make lasting changes that will help you overcome behaviors and compulsions that are holding you back from living a productive, fulfilling life. The author, Daniel G. Amen, is the head of a group...

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Escaping from tyranny

Most days the news brings us a story of some compelling human interest. While we are riveted for a few days, invariably another story grabs the headlines and we soon forget about the people whose story fascinated us just a few days ago.  It's rare that we get to revisit these people and find out what happened to them once the spotlight faded. The book "My Name is Mahtob"...

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My tongue has some more things to say

Fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will be happy to see there are new adventures for the hardworking sleuths in The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine.  The detective agency is pretty much in the same spot where we left it: co-managers Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi, and assistant Charlie are waiting in the office for clients to appear while drinking endless pots of...

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I have to write about this on my blog!

Little Miss Overshare is so excited about every little thing that happens in her life that she's sure you'll want to hear about it, too.  It doesn't matter if you are a long-suffering roommate, co-workers in a professional setting, or strangers asking directions, Little Miss Overshare will gladly and openly provide details of her life that no one wants to hear.  Not...

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Did you attend Nazi Confectionary College?

If you've ever wished you could hire someone for a good argument, or dispute the health of a parrot, or felt the irresistible urge to get from point A to B via a funny walk, you can thank John Cleese.  His memoir So Anyway . . . chronicles his life from his upbringing in a small English seaside town, to his worldwide fame as a comedian in Monty Python's Flying Circus...

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Ringing the dinner bell

With the holidays coming around, many people will be getting ready to prepare special foods for friends and family.  While there are certainly family favorites that will be prepared time and time again, every table can benefit from a new recipe or two.  Whitney Miller's New Southern Table features recipes from the Masterchef winner's family as well as inspiration...

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I'm repelled by what I see

We seem to think that an obsession with weight and dieting is a fairly modern idea.  The reality series The Diets That Time Forgot shows that our counterparts from as far back as the Victorian era were trying all sorts of things to get rid of unwanted pounds.  This 6 part series takes a group of 9 overweight people and divides them into groups to test out...

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Be intentional with your money

Nearly everyone is looking for ways to make some extra money.  Blogger Crystal Paine has taken the lessons she's learned about generating extra income and collected them into the book Money Making Mom.  She stresses that having more money won't solve all your problems, but it will give you the freedom to live, save, and give on your own terms. While on the Internet,...

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Chruchill's trial is also our trial

Sir Winston Churchill is rightly regarded as one of the premier statesmen of the 20th century. His unflinching leadership during the second world war inspired his country during dark times and gained him the admiration of people around the world.  The book Churchill's Trial takes a look at the career and driving forces behind this leader, from World War II and beyond. The...

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Some people don't appreciate their good luck

Poor Julia Conley.  Her previously unknown Aunt Regina has died and left her a house in London.  Why do these things never happen to me?  The book That Summer follows Julia as she heads to London to get the house ready for sale and what happens when she uncovers a mystery at the house. Julia has lived most of her life in New York City.  Parents...

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On your marks, get set, BAKE!

The Great British Baking Show is back! Armchair bakers, rejoice!  The drama-filled Great British Baking Show returns for its second season on PBS on Sundays beginning September 6.  It will air from 7:00 - 8:00 PM (but check your local listings to verify the broadcast time).  All of the favorites from the first series are back, including Paul Hollywood...

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Bless this bag of Cheetos

Just what is a Jackwagon, you may be asking yourself?  As comedian Tim Hawkins points out on the back cover of his book Diary of a Jackwagon, it's an old term referring to military vehicles that were repaired with spare parts and were therefore unreliable.  He uses the term to refer to himself, as someone who is lacking in achievement and who frequently messes...

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Do you know where your food comes from?

Mark Bittman started writing a food column for the New York Times in 2011 and the book A Bone to Pick is a collection of those columns.  He looks at the broken food-production system, both in the United States and in the rest of the world, which has resulted in over a billion people going hungry every year.  Not only that, but another billion are malnourished...

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People are basically good

 We are constantly being bombarded with horrible events from around the world; crime, wars and senseless acts of violence have become a sadly predictable part of the evening news.  Unfortunately, these terrible events are so commonplace that we barely have time to reflect on one tragedy before we are presented with a new one.  But each of these awful occurrences...

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Let's stay in the 1600s please!

Viper Wine concerns the exploits of Venetia Stanley, one of the great beauties of the 17th century.  Five years older than her husband, the explorer and adventurer Kenelm Digby, she was so concerned about growing older and losing her famous looks that she retreats from society.  She asks her husband to prepare a tonic for her that will help her to regain her youthful...

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Life beyond death row

Mitch Rutledge is someone who started out life with the cards stacked against him.  Born to a 13-year-old mother and never knowing his father, he never really had a family to be a part of.  His mother was in and out of his life, so he and his 3 siblings were passed among family members, only to be briefly reunited when his mother showed back up.  Eventually,...

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Does the habit get caught in the wheels?

The Case of the Sin City Sister concerns searches for missing family members.  Sister Evangeline Divine (pronounced Di-VEEN) is a Harley riding nun who has become entranced with her father's private detective business.  Her father Jackson, a retired cop, lives in Madrid, New Mexico.  Sister Eve takes a leave of absence from the convent to help her father...

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A literary dose of melancholoy

Even though M. Perdu has a job that sounds perfect, he's still pretty miserable in The Little Paris Bookshop.  He runs an "apothecary bookstore" moored in the Seine in Paris.  Visitors to the shop know that they might not leave with the book they came in for, but that M. Perdu will unerringly be able to recommend the book that they need at that precise moment in...

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Stella gets her 15 minutes

I knew that one of my favorite writers, Marian Keyes, had a new novel coming out, so I was thrilled to be able to buy it a few weeks early on my recent trip to London (it had already been released in the UK).  It was a good thing I decided to invest in the book, since long delays at the airport meant that I had plenty of time to get engrossed in the story. The Woman...

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It is better to keep a secret and die, than tell it and live

I remembered reading some news stories about some clusters of suicides among young people in a Welsh town, and was intrigued that the plot of the book What You Left Behind seemed to focus on the same type of phenomenon.  Detective Inspector Lorraine Fisher comes to the sleepy rural English town of Radcote to visit her sister, Jo.  Radcote was the scene of a rash...

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Bodies, bodies everywhere

Forensic science developments in recent years have helped to solve many crimes that might not even have been recognized as murder in past times.  The events in The Anatomist's Apprentice take place in the year 1780, when the study of anatomy, not to mention forensics, was in its infancy. At the country estate of Boughton Hall, a terrible scene takes place.  The...

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I'd start the screamingest night club in London

I had high hopes for Murder in Piccadilly, a book that combines two of my favorite things:  a mystery and a London setting.  This book was originally published in 1936, and has been re-issued as part of the British Library Crime Classics series.  Unfortunately, to my mind, the book doesn't hold up very well for the modern reader. The story is a somewhat familiar...

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A homogeneous plastic mess

In recent years, a movement to "eat clean" and limit the number of processed foods in the average diet has gained momentum.  The implication is that processed foods contain all sorts of unhealthy ingredients that we would be better off without.  The book This is What You Just Put in Your Mouth?" breaks down everyday products to discover just what is in them. The...

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On this site in 1782 nothing happened

Any book with a title like "Londonopolis" is a book that is guaranteed to grab my attention.  I had high hopes for the slim little book by Martin Latham, but sadly, other than a few interesting tidbits, I was generally disappointed by the book.  If you're like my husband, you may wonder why there are so many books constantly being published about London (and...

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