Tag Archives: Reviews

The Dubious Art of Book Reviewing

Posted on January 26, 2023 by jfkaufmann

I don’t write reviews often; it takes time and effort to come up with a meaningful retrospection. When I do write them, I have different rules for different types of books, and this customized approach is most apparent within two … Continue reading →

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Review No. 3: Dog Meat by Priscilla Bettis

Posted on December 15, 2022 by jfkaufmann

Priscilla Bettis’s novella is a fascinating journey into the blackness of totalitarian regime—a literary sublimation and a paradigm that we have seen before, from Romania between 1945 and 1989 and Stalin’s gulags to the crazy, murderous dictatorship of Pol Pot … Continue reading →

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Christmas Review No. 2: She Who Returns by Audrey Driscoll

Posted on December 11, 2022 by jfkaufmann

The next in my series of Christmas reviews is the closing book of Audrey Driscoll’s Herbert West series, She Who Returns. I’ve read and reviewed the previous installment, She Who Comes Forth and I want to touch on this one, … Continue reading →

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Christmas Review No. 1: Christmas in Silver Creek by Katie O’Connor

Posted on December 8, 2022 by jfkaufmann

I’ll start off my mini-series of Christmas reviews with Katie O’Connor’s Christmas novel. The fact that Katie and I are friends has nothing with the fact that I like her books. I know the real reason for that: the feeling … Continue reading →

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First, Second and Third of all…

Posted on November 4, 2022 by jfkaufmann

First of all, congratulations to my friend JP McLean on her newest book, Ghost Mark! I read it before it was published, and I loved it! Stay tuned for my review, and in the meantime, if you like well-written, clever … Continue reading →

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Posted on August 28, 2022 by jfkaufmann

I was ready to close my blog for good. After several years of posting about what I read and what I write, with a few excursions into the art of film, painting and history, I was ready to throw in … Continue reading →

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The Best Antidote for Self-doubt

Posted on August 19, 2022 by jfkaufmann

I almost wept when I read Audrie Driscoll’s review my three story collection, Best Friends and Other Lovers. It’s been so long since I got any feedback about my writing. Yesterday I told my friend, Georgette, about it. “I probably … Continue reading →

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A Short Journey to Horror Fiction

Posted on February 2, 2022 by jfkaufmann

I rarely plunge into this genre, but I read and reviewed Priscilla Bettis’s debut work, “The Hay Bale”. First, my review: “The best way to describe this short horror story is that I took a deep breath in on page … Continue reading →

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When Supernatural is Believable and Vice Versa

Posted on December 4, 2021 by jfkaufmann

Last week I read two books: Crimson Frost, a Christmas novella by JP Mclean, and Adèle by Leila Slimani. No common denominators between them (fortunately!), except that they were both short reads. For those who like Christmas stories with a … Continue reading →

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A Heart-pounding Tale with Urban Rhythm

Posted on November 14, 2021 by jfkaufmann

Being a great admirer of JP McLean’s Gift Legacy, I was eager to read her newest book, Blood Mark. She didn’t disappoint: once again, I was impressed with her rich imagination, her storytelling skills and her ability to build tension. … Continue reading →

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