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GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE by Barbara Hambly (Author), Kim Newman (Author), Barbara Roden (Author), Bob Madison (Author), Christopher Sequeira (Author), Chris Roberson (Author), Peter Calamai

August 21, 2009

SHERLOCK HOLMES GOES SUPERNATURAL in this short fiction collection. All good; Barbara Hambly’s Peter Pan tale rules. B PLUS

GASLIGHT GRIMOIRE: FANTASTIC TALES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
2008

Grade: B PLUS

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DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK (A ST. JUST MYSTERY) by G.M. Malliet

August 19, 2009

MURDER MYSTERY SET AT WRITERS’ CONFERENCE may be good fun for some, a bit too reliant on insider humor for others. SOLID B

DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK (A ST. JUST MYSTERY)
MIDNIGHT INK
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF AND CRY by Nancy Balbirer

August 18, 2009

SNARKY, FUNNY, REFRESHINGLY INSIGHTFUL insider account of one woman’s life as a not-quite-star of TV, stage, screen. B PLUS

TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF AND CRY: A MEMOIR OF NEAR-FAME EXPERIENCES
Bloomsbury USA
2009

Grade: B PLUS

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FATHOM by Cherie Priest

FANTASY GOES SOUTHERN GOTHIC in this spooky tale of a menacing sea goddess. Rich, evocative, languid, terrifying. SOLID B

FATHOM
Tor Books
2008

Grade: SOLID B

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LUCKY EVERYDAY by Bapsy Jain

August 17, 2009

THOUGHTFUL NOVEL takes heroine from India to New York, looking for love and enlightenment, teaching yoga in prison. SOLID B

LUCKY EVERYDAY
Penguin Books
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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THE PLUTO FILES by Neil deGrasse Tyson

August 16, 2009

CHATTY BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT of how Pluto was downgraded from planet status collects documents, kids’ letters. SOLID B

THE PLUTO FILES: THE RISE AND FALL OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE PLANET
W. W. Norton & Company
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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IMPAIRED by Patricia Holloran

August 14, 2009

A NURSE’S MEMOIR of her drug addiction and its consequences offers honesty, recovery wisdom, but a familiar tale. B MINUS

IMPAIRED: A NURSE’S STORY OF ADDICTION AND RECOVERY
Kaplan Publishing
2009

Grade: B MINUS

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MR. AMERICA by Mark Adams

BREEZY, DETAIL-RICH BIO of pioneering fitness guru, early 20th-century tabloid mogul Bernarr McFadden. A MINUS #beachread

MR. AMERICA: HOW MUSCULAR MILLIONAIRE BERNARR MACFADDEN TRANSFORMED THE NATION THROUGH SEX, SALAD, AND THE ULTIMATE STARVATION DIET
HarperCollins Publishers
2009

Grade: A MINUS

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PINT OF PLAIN by Bill Barich

August 13, 2009

INTERESTING, LIGHTHEARTED LOOK at changes in Ireland’s pub industry, and in the international “Irish pub” industry. SOLID B

PINT OF PLAIN: HOW THE IRISH PUB LOST ITS MAGIC BUT CONQUERED THE WORLD
Walker & Company
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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THE CRACKER QUEEN by Lauretta Hannon

August 12, 2009

BIG-HEARTED, CLEAR-EYED MEMOIR of a poor white Georgia childhood offers humor, vivid characters, lots of insight. SOLID B

THE CRACKER QUEEN: A MEMOIR OF A JAGGED, JOYFUL LIFE
Gotham
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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