Dee Reads

  My life has been interwoven with many wonderful libraries!  I hope your's has too.  To be without such a valuable resource is sad.  When I consider the ways in which libraries have enriched my life, I think of  the librar y of my small hometown, Spencerville, Ohio.  Small town = small library.  Although it was part of a public library system, I don't think it was much larger than a studio apartment, but did it ever open up a bigger world to me. It looks a lot different now, some forty years later, and I haven't visited this new building, but I trust it serves the same home-away-from-home need for current readers that it did for me.  Saturday visits, spending time there researching and writing a term paper on Marilyn Monroe, and reading over and over a true crime book on infamous murders.  I know, today that last one would probably prompt an appointment with a therapist, but I found it utterly fascinating.  Even my backside has a librar...

Let's take some time to talk about a variety of shorter reads; novellas, samplers, or short stories.  As many of these shorts that are out there, there are reasons for reading them.  Some readers I know take on a short as a way of sampling a new author or genre.  Not a bad thought!  There are those of us who select a short story when we need a break, maybe from a big chunk of a book or perhaps from a subject that has been difficult to handle emotionally or absorb intellectually.  Also, a good idea!  Whatever your reason, and I don't believe there's a bad one, let's wade into a little of these three possibilities. Novellas are probably the first thing that jumps to mind when you hear "short read", but what is a novella?  And will a brief piece of writing be able to convey a plot?  A novella is generally described as a piece of narrative fiction, shorter than your "average bear" novel🐻, but longer than most short stories.  How about an idea or...

This being my fourth blog post, I thought a little background on how I plan to choose topics might be of interest. My initial thinking was to write on topics that were "book adjacent" - to share with you some of my perspective, but stay away from more traditional book reviews. Up to this point, that's what I've tried to accomplish.  However,  I've had a slight change of heart.  Afterall, there are so many great books out there, we really need to share.  I think I'll do a book review every few posts.   Introducing the work of Marcie R. Rendon  -  Happily,  I stumbled upon Marcie at the Texas Book Festival (more on the festival in an upcoming post) in November 2022.  Without that happenstance, I might have missed an author that is gifted at writing a piece of fiction, that both entertains and educates. I admire and envy this ability!  What a gift!  Before I delve into my thoughts on her latest, Where They Last Saw Her, let me int...