Paul’s Book Reviews: Mysteries, Thrillers, Young Adult Sci-Fi

“Out of the blue and into the black is what they called going into a tunnel. Each one was a black echo. Nothing but death in there. But, still, they went.” —Michael Connelly, The Black Echo The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly In an earlier review, I commented on the differences between […]

You Can’t Read That! Banned Book Review: A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl

You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. The ALA video, above, highlights student activism in the face of censorship and book-banning attempts. Here’s one activist student’s story, and it’s an inspiring one. Long as I’m throwing lists at you, here are the top 40 censored movies. Decades of […]

Spring Has Sprung

And with it, spring cleaning here at Paul’s Thing. Although I won’t rule out minor tinkering with site design in the days ahead, I’m happy with the blog’s new look and hope you are too. I was going to say spring has brought us a fresh new war as well, but I see now Trump’s strike […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Thrillers, Mysteries, Spies, Florida Noir

“I said nothing. I’m good at saying nothing. I don’t like talking. I could go the rest of my life without saying another word, if I had to.” —Lee Child, The Affair Raylan Givens 3-Book Collection: Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole (Raylan Givens #1-3) by Elmore Leonard Rayland Givins was a memorable […]

You Can’t Read That! Banned Book Review: The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3)

You Can’t Read That! is a periodic column featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. YCRT! News The N-word strikes again: Harper Lee and Mark Twain pulled from Minnesota classrooms. Does this mean Duluth students will be left to read lesser literature? In Missouri, “… a significant uptick in efforts to outlaw books following the 2016 […]

Paul’s Book Reviews: Fiction, Thrillers, Mysteries, Space Opera, Duds

“One thing was certain: Rose had been wrong about the world becoming small again. Or at least it would not be the same small world it had been. Too much had changed. And amid those shifts and realignments, Anna had slipped through a crack and escaped.” — Jennifer Egan, Manhattan Beach Manhattan Beach by Jennifer […]

You Can’t Read That! Banned Book Review: The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2)

You Can’t Read That! is a periodic column featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. YCRT! News Roundup This news roundup leads off with prison book banning: The draconian New York state prison book ban I described in the previous YCRT! turns out to have been a limited test program, shut down the minute controversy erupted. […]