Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Now reading...

"Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium" by Carl Sagan


From BarnesandNoble.com:

These luminous, entertaining essays travel both the vastness of the cosmos and the intimacy of the human mind, posing such fascinating questions as how did the universe originate and how will it end, and how can we meld science and compassion to meet the challenges of the coming century? Here, too, is a rare, private glimpse of Sagan’s thoughts about love, death, and God as he struggled with fatal disease.

Ever forward-looking and vibrant with the sparkle of his unquenchable curiosity, Billions & Billions is a testament to one of the great scientific minds of our day.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Now reading...

"Off You Go: Away from home and loving it. Sort of." by Maeve Higgins



From Goodreads.com:

Maeve Higgins used to think she'd live in Ireland forever. She used to think a lot of crazy things, like 'macadamia nuts are a light snack'. Then the stunning and humble comedian switched to almonds, gave away all of her possessions and left Ireland with just a carry-on bag filled to the brim with a positive attitude.

New York has been kind to our Celtic princess and she's ready to return the favour, by making friends with as many weirdos as possible and writing about it.

If you loved her last book - and everybody except her family and friends did - you'll lose your mind and break your heart at this one! Full of amazing stories (she once stayed quiet for ten days); wonderful advice (if you like a guy, get all the same tattoos as him, then introduce yourself and act surprised at the coincidence); and brilliantly unreliable memories, Off You Go will make your day, your night and your bed - if you let it.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Now reading...

"The Buccaneers" by Edith Wharton, Marion Mainwaring


From BarnesandNoble.com:

Set in the 1870s, the same period as Wharton's The Age of Innocence, The Buccaneers is about five wealthy American girls denied entry into New York Society because their parents' money is too new. At the suggestion of their clever governess, the girls sail to London, where they marry lords, earls, and dukes who find their beauty charming—and their wealth extremely useful.

After Wharton's death in 1937, The Christian Science Monitor said, "If it could have been completed, The Buccaneers would doubtless stand among the richest and most sophisticated of Wharton's novels." Now, with wit and imagination, Marion Mainwaring has finished the story, taking her cue from Wharton's own synopsis. It is a novel any Wharton fan will celebrate and any romantic reader will love. This is the richly engaging story of Nan St. George and Guy Thwarte, an American heiress and an English aristocrat, whose love breaks the rules of both their societies.