Plot summary (with spoilers): LuAnn Tyler is a 20-year-old single mother with a dead-end job at a truck stop diner, a deadbeat drug-dealing boyfriend, and absolutely no prospects for improving her life. Then one day she receives a mysterious phone call inviting her to a job interview. The caller doesn’t say much, except that the [...]
Summary: Published in 2000, this memoir from Cybill Shepherd and ghostwriter Aimee Lee Ball describes the actress’s life from the time of her childhood in Memphis through her turbulent years in Hollywood, where she was best known for her roles in The Last Picture Show, Moonlighting, and Cybill. Among the topics Shepherd discusses are her [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller, known as the “Lincoln lawyer” because of his habit of working out of the backseat of a chauffeured Lincoln Town Car while cruising through the city, has been approached by the D.A. with a surprising offer. Williams wants Haller to be the city’s independent counsel in [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Web Goodhue is an ex-teacher turned slacker who lives and hangs out with best buddy Chev. It’s clear from other characters’ dialogue that Web has been through a highly traumatic event and probably suffers from some form of PTSD, but the author takes his sweet time revealing what happened. Meanwhile, Web [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Det. Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco Police Department has two new cases on her hands in this novel. First up is a string of fires deliberately set in the homes of wealthy couples, starting with the wood venetian blinds in the living room and spreading throughout the entire structure. The [...]
I used to be a big fan of the Rolling Stones when I was in high school (about 20 years ago) and still like many of their songs to this day. So you better believe I’m going to be reading the Keith Richards memoir Life when it hits shelves October 26! According to articles I’ve [...]
Summary: I’m not really a fan of Mental Floss or anything, but I’ve heard the magazine (and website) praised by friends and acquaintances, so when I saw my library had this volume of The Mental Floss History of the World, I decided to check it out. The book is subtitled “An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization’s [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Anne (with an “e”) Shirley arrived at the Cuthbert farm in Green Gables on Prince Edward Island at the age of 11. But what was her life like before that fateful day when she was finally adopted? With permission from the L.M. Montgomery estate, author Budge Wilson attempts to answer that [...]
Plot summary (with spoilers): Elspeth McGillicuddy is traveling by rail from Scotland to the little village of St. Mary Mead to visit her dear old friend Jane Marple. On the way, she witnesses something awful: a man strangling a woman on a train running on a parallel track. Mrs. McGillicuddy reports the incident first to [...]
Summary: Anyone who has studied Latin in high school or college probably had to commit these famous lines to memory: “Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belage, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui ipsorum linguam Celtae, nostra Galli appelantur.” Rendered in English, this usually translates to, “All Gaul is divided into three parts, [...]