Wuing You with Words ...

Since people have more time at home these days, they are also looking for more ways to amuse themselves indoors. Sex is one option, although in some places, restrictions apply if the parties are from different homes. In the UK , for example, people from different households are not allowed to have sex unless they are in an exclusive relationship, aka "support bubble." Switching or having multiple bubbles are frowned upon. Watching TV and reading books are superior choices, I reckon. Sure, TV and books may cost a little money, but they can be free or nearly free. Most libraries lend e-books. Many streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO, are packed with so much excellent content that the price is an amazing value. You’d be hard pressed to find, um, more bang for the buck. Finally, no matter how promiscuous you are with shows or books, you will never catch Covid. The spy thriller is one of my top genres. Three recommendations: Credit: Showtime Homeland . ...

It's not everyday that I stay up all night to finish a book. In fact, I can't remember the last time I did it prior to reading Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. He is the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the story on the fraudulent rise of Theranos, a once-hot Silicon Valley startup. Before I got the book, I was actually not that interested. The Theranos story had garnered intense media attention, so I assumed that I already knew the sexy contours of the scandal. When I noticed that, among the 100 books on my Goodreads to-read list,  Bad Blood  had the highest rating (4.4), I figured the book deserved a shot.  Bad Blood  is one of the best stories I've ever read. Summary: Elizabeth Holmes, the young founder of the company Theranos and a Stanford dropout, captivated everyone by promising a revolution in healthcare technology. Theranos claimed that its small device could run hundreds of tests using just one drop of blood. Rich and famous people bought t...

When World War I was raging in Europe, German U-Boats (submarines) infested the waters off the British Isles. The Lusitania, a luxury cruise ship, was sailing from New York to England in 1915. Some passengers worried; most did not. Cunard, the venerable British cruise line that owned the ship, was confident that all would remain safe. After all, the Lusitania was big, strong, and fast. One of the speediest passenger vessels of its era, the Lusitania could slice through the ocean at 25 knots. That would allow the ship to outrun an enemy submarine, should one be encountered. Alternatively, the hefty Lusitania could simply ram tin-cans like U-Boats and cut them in half. A U-Boat ended up sinking the Lusitania via torpedo. It took less than twenty minutes. The job of the German submarines was to enforce a naval blockade, to isolate Britain and prevent inbound supplies. At first, adhering to international norms, Germany only attacked military ships. To step up pressure, Germany beg...

It's not everyday that someone wants to talk to me and hear my silly thoughts. Not even close to everyday. Therefore, I am excited and grateful that LFBooks, a book review blog, has published an interview with me about my recent book, Rapture . (Note: The interview contains a spoiler.) Be sure to check out the blog  for other book stuff. Laura Freestone, the blogger, is prolific. Her site has tons of straightforward, succinct reviews on a diverse range of book genres, with sci-fi, mystery, and thriller popping up the most. And she writes fiction too. Many thanks to Laura.

I like love survival stories. Being neither mentally tough nor physically strong, I’ve always admired those who overcame overwhelming adversity despite excruciating pain and nearly impossible odds. One of the best books I’ve read is Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. It is about the 1996 Mount Everest  disaster, during which many experienced mountaineers died from a blizzard. I didn’t think another adventure story would fascinate me more. I was wrong. Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 ocean expedition to Antarctica may be the most gripping survival story ever. In his 1959 book, Endurance , Alfred Lansing recounts the experience in a real page-turner. There is something about true stories that makes them extra riveting to read. None of the fiction thrillers fiction I’ve read rival this nonfiction by Lansing—remarkable, considering that I knew the ending before I cracked open the book. It wasn’t about how the story concluded; it was about the epic struggles along the way. One of m...

Love is hard to do. It's hard to do it right in life. And it's hard to do it right in fiction. Most love stories on the big screen fall into one of three piles. The cheerful type, exemplified by rom-coms. The classic of this genre is When Harry Met Sally . Then there is the sad kind, e.g.  Titanic . Lastly, there is the contemplative variety, like  Take This Waltz . It is possibly my favorite movie love story of all time. Take This Waltz, Sarah Polley's 2011 indie movie starring Michelle Williams, explores romance in all its complexities, including the contradictory bits. The film is poignant but not overwrought. Thoughtful but not neurotic. Poetic but not pretentious. Perfectly crafted. Freelance writer Margot (Michelle Williams) is married to Lou (Seth Rogen). He is a cookbook author and a really swell guy, but seems to be more into his recipes than his wife. She meets Daniel (Luke Kirby), a rickshaw-driving neighbor in their quaint Toronto neighborhood. Th...