Nick Schenkel Book Reviews

The 100 Year Old Man

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:12:01 +0000

Part comedy, part police procedural, The Man Who Climbed Out of A Window And Disappeared 100-year-old Allan Karlsson, a man who does not takes chances. Nor is he a man of deep convictions, passions or drive. Allan IS a man who defines “opportunist”. Discover all this and more with Allan and his merry band of run-aways in this haphazard and fascinating tour of the 20^th century.

People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished From the Streets of Tokyo...

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:10:58 +0000

This is the story of Lucie Blackman, a young woman murdered while pursuing adventure in a foreign land – Japan - far from her home in Britain. Lucie’s story is told by a London Times journalist who labored for many years to discover the truth behind Lucie’s tragic death. Compelling in its writing, People Who Eat Darkness has been deservedly compared to the best books of the true-crime genre.

Washed Away: How the Great Flood of 1913...Terrorized a Nation and Changed it Forever

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:30:00 +0000

It is Easter week, 1913. Our true story unfolds with the anticipation and the excitement of a best-selling novel. Writing an hour by hour, day by day diary of the incredible weather events of that infamous week 1913, Geoff Williams develops characters that tug at our hearts in the few moments we know them, and paints a gripping picture of the many towns and states through which the totally unexpected weather would rage throughout the Midwest...from small towns to major urban centers.

Asphalt Renaissance: The Pavement Art and 3-D Illusions of Kurt Wenner

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:10:39 +0000

Kurt Wenner’s remarkable street chalk artistry is as ephemeral as it is full of impact – this is art that is washed away in a sudden rainstorm and inevitably will wear away as feet trod over the art. Yet in this ephemera lies this art’s greatest gift to the world – its emphasis on “creation” and the public nature of its production.

And Know This Place: Poetry of Indiana

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:27:00 +0000

This marvelous poetry collection opens with the changes that have come to Hoosier life and landscape, poems that paint a picture of the vanishing past of Indiana with more joy than sorrow. As we meander on through the collection we come across the many more moods of life in Indiana – poems of joy and sorrow, pain and excitement, all composed by poets who share a Hoosier connection.

The Muses Go To School

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:58:10 +0000

Whoa! Did Herbert Kohls write that sports are part of the creative world? That developing my home budget is a creative act as is dancing or listening to music as I study? What is going on here?! This is NOT your typical “arts are good because they foster math skills” kind of book, is it? No, it certainly is NOT! This IS a book that makes the case for celebrating the arts in the curriculum of our schools and our daily lives.

Third Degree

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:40:12 +0000

Third Degree could have been torn from the morning (or online) headlines!

Patterson sets the action, the story’s key dilemma and romance in the Bay City and nearby Berkeley California. Police Lieutenant Lindsey Boxer is witness to a horrific explosion on her daily run in the City, an explosion that takes Boxer and us on a roller-coaster ride of domestic terrorism and ends with bittersweet consequences for everyone involved. A taut and action-packed read, it’s a great introduction to Patterson’s ongoing “Women’s Murder Club” se

Clara and Mr. Tiffany: a novel

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:45:39 +0000

Clara and Mr. Tiffany is a moving and complex fictional story of the many facets of love and the beguiling attraction of art, seen through the eyes and the lives of two incredible artists – Louis Comfort Tiffany and Clara Driscoll, creator of many of the beautiful glass lamp shades for which Louis Tiffany is so well known. Ultimately, Clara must decide what makes her happiest—the professional world of her hands or the personal world of her heart.

Ashen Winter

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:25:12 +0000

Ashen Winter re-introduces us to the quest of Alex who has all-too-soon learned to become a man, to the slow slog of survivors of a modern apocalypse as they limp towards a “new normal” in a Midwest America tumbled back in time by the sudden eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano. What a gloomy tale of dismay and horror you may surmise! But Ashen Winter, the second book in a planned trilogy by Indianapolis author Mike Mullin, is suffused with hope, buoyed by moments of love and joy, and written as a remarkably readable action-packed tale!"

Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes

Nick Schenkel Book Reviews — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 19:34:50 +0000

Jana Bibi has a choice; claim her inheritance and remain in her beloved India of 1960 or return to the cozy security of Scotland to live as a pensioner. To our delight, Jana chooses joyful chaos over droll security; her inheritance, the Jolly Grant House, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains has worked its magic!