HOLIDAYS AND FAMILY are the theme of these short essays on seasonal themes.  Equal parts snark and sweet!

JUICY COURT DRAMA revolves around the loves and hatreds of the young Louis XIV. Lots of detail and intrigue!

DREAMLIKE, GOTHIC TALE of time travel, paranormal powers, and a boy who misses his grandfather.  Enchanting.

PORTRAIT OF A MARRIAGE in crisis combines a breezy, humorous chick-lit style with unexpectedly deep insights.

BEAUTIFULLY PACED AND CRAFTED steampunk Alt-Victorian adventure with lots of twists, turns, and technology.

POET/CULTURAL CRITIC Wayne Koestenbaum’s meditations on the Big Idea of “humiliation” are quirky, fascinating.

DREAMLIKE, HAUNTING TALE of parallel universes and crossed destinies from Haruki Murakami. Vast and astonishing!

COMPLEX, WELL-CONSTRUCTED SUSPENSE novel has plenty of chills and an interesting, troubled heroine. Spooky!

CHARMING HISTORICAL COZY features a group of spunky Georgia schoolteachers as sleuths, lots of WWII details.

APOSTATE FROM THE US’s Christian Right Frank Schaeffer looks at his childhood’s mixed messages on sex, love.