Books
Fredric March: A Consummate Actor by Charles Tranberg — Reviewed by John J. Hohn
#fredricmarch #cinema #thebestyearsofourlives Charles Tranberg’s biography, Fredric March: A Consummate Actor, belongs in the library of every fan of theater and film in America. Tranberg’s masterful work follows March’s career from his Wisconsin boyhood through to his final triumphant appearance as Harry Hope in The Iceman Cometh released by 20th Century Fox in October, 1973.…
Read MoreReviewers Cannot Make Allowances When Writers Self-publish Without an Editor’s Help.
If a person wants to become an electrician or plumber, entrance to the trade is gained by becoming an apprentice. Before being licensed, the apprentice takes classes and works with an experienced journeyman until a command of the basics is tested and certified as having been achieved. Not so for writers, however. Aspiring authors are…
Read MoreMystery Deepens When the Author is Truthful in Every Detail
The article that follows was published several months ago on a web site that promotes articles for authors of mysteries and thrillers. For the last several weeks, I have been reviewing books for Norm Golden’s web site bookpleasures.com. Many of the books I am asked to review are an initial effort by the author.…
Read MoreKiller’s Art by Mari Jungstedt — A Review by John J. Hohn
Egon Wallin, a successful art gallery owner, slips away from his wife and home in the wee small hours of the morning. The day had finally arrived on which his life would change. This irrevocable decision had been a long time coming, author Mari Jungstedt writes in an opening chapter of Killer’s Art. Wallin, however,…
Read MoreQuizmaster: The Life and Times and Fun and Games of Bill Cullen, by Adam Nedeff — Reviewed
#billcullen #beattheclock #what’smyline #quizshow #gameshows Media legend Bill Cullen never had a bad day in his life. It’s true that he was afflicted with polio in his youth – a disease that left him with a pronounced limp. It’s true that his first marriage – to a woman his mother chose for him – failed…
Read MorePropinquity — John Macgregor’s Exciting Mystery about The Holy Grail — A Review
This review of Propinquity by John Macgregor first appeared on www.Bookpleasures. com I have added some comments to the original here because I do not have the space constraints. For centuries the Monks of Joseph of Arimathea guarded a secret – The Holy Grail is in their possession, but it is not a vessel. It…
Read MoreBook Ratings Are Meaningless Without a Defined Standard Criteria
I am very pleased that Norm Golden accepted my application to join the group of reviewers who post book reviews regularly on his web site, www.bookpleasures.com. I recently posted my first review. I enjoy reading. Most writers tend to see more deeply than the average reader into an author’s efforts to bring a story to…
Read MoreMeet Barbara Hinske, Author of Coming To Rosemont — A Debut Novel
Somewhere in a crabby moment, I wrote that the self-publishing industry exists for those who work in it; namely, the printers, publicists, promoters, contest sponsors, etc. A horde awaits the arrival of every neophyte author into the arena, eager to capitalize on the writer’s aspirations, ignorance, and boundless belief in self. All of that is…
Read MoreA Great Beach Read by San Alini, “A Husband by Midnight” — A Review
Betty Sallas is single and successful editor at a New York City publisher. She awakens on the morning of her 40th birthday in the grips of a hangover to find a hulk of guy in her kitchen, a guy who came to fix the plumbing at her mother’s request as it turns out. Something about…
Read MoreSelf-Publishing Industry Targets Writers as the Consumers
Anybody with the bucks can publish a book. It’s no longer a big deal, although an author can tap into an allotted fifteen minutes of fame basking in the praise of family and friends—hardly the most objective critics. There’s a misnomer at work. Self-publishing or publishing-on-demand only means printing. Bringing a book to market should…
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