3 Shades of Blue - Rain Taxi
James Kaplan brings the milieu of New York City jazz to life in this new triple biography of legends Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans. Reviewed by Daniel Picker| Rain Taxi
In 2017, Valerie Stivers started writing about food in classic fiction for The Paris Review. Her particular project for the “Eat Your Words” column would be cooking and baking her way through literature. It was a larger undertaking than she realized and became something of an obsession. A selection of the greatest hits made it […]| Bookish Beck
James Kaplan brings the milieu of New York City jazz to life in this new triple biography of legends Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans. Reviewed by Daniel Picker| Rain Taxi
We’ve actually been back for more than a week, but soon after our return I was felled by a nasty cold (not Covid, surprisingly), which has left me with a lingering cough and ongoing fatigue. Finally, I’m recovered just about enough to report back. This Interrail adventure was more low-key than the one we took […]| Bookish Beck
Readers interested in learning more about Benjamin Franklin’s scientific achievements will find much to appreciate in Richard Munson’s new biography of the founding father. Reviewed by Rasoul Sorkhabi The post Ingenious appeared first on Rain Taxi.| Rain Taxi
Two very good 2025 releases that I read from the library. While they could hardly be more different in tone and particulars, I couldn’t resist linking them via their titles. Three Days in Ju…| Bookish Beck
Three summers ago, we first explored the Outer Hebrides, moving south from Lewis through Harris to North Uist and Benbecula. It took longer than expected to make it back to the Western Isles. (It’s…| Bookish Beck
It’s the start of the third annual week-long Reading the Meow challenge, hosted by Mallika of Literary Potpourri! For my first set of reviews, I have two lovely memoirs of life with cats, and a few…| Bookish Beck
I’ve gotten to 22 books with a 2025 publication date so far, most of them for paid reviews for Foreword Reviews or Shelf Awareness. I give review excerpts, links where available, and ratings below …| Bookish Beck
I often play it safe with my nonfiction reading, choosing books about known and loved topics or ones that I expect to comfort me or reinforce my own opinions rather than challenge me. I wasn’t sure…| Bookish Beck
