A Milestone: 1,000 Reviews



I have suffered with abibliophobia for years (the Kindle App on my smart phone has allowed me to work with this problem quite well). I have successfully passed it on to my children - and I think this is important because of the following thought:


And for those who wonder how I could have ever read so many books...



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EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES (graphic novel) Written by Mark Russell. Illustrated by Mike Feehan

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Published by DC Comics in 2018. Part of the Hannah-Barbera Beyond series. 2019 GLAAD Media Award winner for Outstanding Comic Book Synopsis: DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera set out to reimagine some of their late 1950s to 1970s Saturday morning television cartoons, including The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Wacky Races, and Space Ghost. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles is the last installment of the series. The graphic novel is set in the Red Scare/McCarthyism era. Congressional subcommittees are looking for Communists in all fields, but they are particularly concerned about Communist entertainers who may be negatively influencing Americans. Snagglepuss is a very successful New York City playwright. He lives in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals interact as equals. He moved to New York from Mississippi years ago, but he still speaks in a Southern accent and often uses pithy folksy aphorisms. He is married to an actress, but that is a sham marriage. In rea...
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STAR WARS: DARTH VADER: DARK LORD of the SITH, VOLUME 2 -LEGACY'S END (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

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Published in 2018 by Licensed Publishing. Written by Charles Soule. Art by Guiseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini, and David Curiel. Synopsis This series tells the story of how Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation to Darth Vader under the dangerous and abusive tutelage of Emperor Palpatine. Meanwhile, Vader and his team are searching for Jedi survivors of Order 66. The series starts with the end of Star Wars: Episode III. There are two main plotlines in Darth Vader: Legacy's End . Vader has a lead on the librarian of the Jedi Temple. She is rebuilding the library in a safe location from scattered sources and memory when she realizes that she has to return to the library to destroy a list of force-talented youngsters that the Jedi had compiled to recruit to join their academy before they were defeated. She is not nearly the warrior that Vader is, but she is very clever and knows the library like the back of her hand... The second story line is about an assassination squad th...
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BATMAN - ONE BAD DAY: PENGUIN (One Bad Day series) (graphic novel) by John Ridley

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Published by DC Comics in 2023. Story by John Ridley. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Arif Prianto. Synopsis Batman - One Bad Day: Penguin finds the hero (!) of the story, Batman's infamous foe Penguin, completely down and out. He has $20 and is sitting on a park bench in the rain. He is taped and bandaged up from a beating. He is unshaven and disheveled. He is waiting for a is waiting to meet a young person to sell him a gun. He has been pushed out of his role of crime boss of Gotham by a former subordinate. He plans to go into the city and take back his organization - but all he has is one little snub-nosed pistol, one bullet, and no friends. Turns out he didn't really need to pistol or the bullet - it's your friends that count. My Review I truly liked this comic. The way the story went surprised me and I really enjoyed it. Penguin can be a surprisingly sympathetic figure for a super-villain. His origin story isn't the roughest, but just about everyone has ...
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STAR WARS: DARTH VADER: DARK LORD of the SITH, VOLUME 3 - THE BURNING SEAS (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

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Published in 2018 by Licensed Publishing. Written by Charles Soule. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, David Curiel, and Java Tartaglia with Guru-eFX Synopsis This series tells the story of how Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation to Darth Vader under the dangerous and abusive tutelage of Emperor Palpatine.  In the first story of  Darth Vader: The Burning Seas , Mon Cala has been reluctant to join Palpatine's empire. Governor Tarkin has been sent to Mon Cala to negotiate with their king. Mon Cala is the home world of fan favorite Admiral Ackbar. Ackbar is only Commander Ackbar in this story, but he plays a prominent role. Meanwhile, Vader and his team have been sent to Mon Cala to hunt down a Jedi that the Empire suspects is helping Mon Cala in their negotiations. When the shuttle carrying the Empire's negotiation team is destroyed by a bomb, all out war erupts... The second story ties in with the movie Rogue One. It is set on the planet Geonosis where the Empire is working o...
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LIQUID COOL: THE CYBERPUNK DETECTIVE SERIES (Liquid Cool Book 1) by Austin Dragon

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Originally published in 2016. Audiobook published by Well-Tailored books in 2024. Read by Shamaan Casey Duration: 11 hours, 54 minutes. Unabridged. Synopsis:  Set in a future megalopolis called Metropolis, Liquid Cool is the story of Cruz, a young hustler that wants to become a private detective. Cruz is mostly known for restoring vintage flying cars, his fedora hat, and his super attractive girlfriend that thinks he can be more than just a street hustler. Cruz really wants to be a private detective, but obtaining a license from the city's convoluted bureaucracy is shockingly expensive. When a local boy turned millionaire offers Cruz the chance to do some detective work on the side, Cruz jumps at the opportunity. He picks up a how-to book from a famous private detective and starts to teach himself how to do the job. After a few of these detective side gigs, an unknown benefactor offers Cruz an office and a secretary just like the ones that all of the film noir detectives have and h...
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UNCOMMON VALOR: A STORY of RACE, PATRIOTISM, and GLORY in the FINAL BATTLES of the CIVIL WAR by Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls

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Published in 2005 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. The Emancipation Proclamation was effective on January 1, 1863 - it included a provision that former slaves were to "be received into the armed service of the United States". The Union Army was a little slow to enact this provision, but by 1864 there were plenty of African American Union soldiers ready to go into the field. Uncommon Valor follows one of those units during the Petersburg campaign of 1864-1865. This history primarily follows Christian Fleetwood , an African American Baltimore clerk. Fleetwood was born free, but living in a slave state was a constant reminder of his second class status. He had been considering joining the army for a long while, trying to determine if it would be a blow for freedom, or just choosing to support one oppressive regime in order to fight an even more oppressive regime. If that was the case, he might as well sit it out and let both sides clobber one another. Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwoo...
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CHECHEN WARS: A HISTORY from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

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Published in 2023 by Hourly History. I chose to read this short history about Chechnya in order to be a bit more informed about Putin's wars in Chechnya and then apply that knowledge to the war in Ukraine. What I read does not inspire confidence. Chechnya is an unfortunate victim of geography - it lies in a buffer zone between traditional great powers - the Russians, the Ottoman Turks, and the Persians. Even worse, they are on a natural land bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Throw in a religious difference between Russia and the Chechens and you have even more trouble. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Chechnya made a serious effort at independence that ended up in multiple military incursions by the Russians and decades of on and off irregular warfare (think guerrilla warfare plus outright terrorism). For their part, the Russians responded with their own forms of irregular warfare - assassinations, possible false flag operations, and more. As I read this, th...
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MONEY, LIES, and GOD: INSIDE the MOVEMENT to DESTROY AMERICAN DEMOCRACY (audiobook) by Katherine Stewart

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Published in 2025 by Bloomsbury Publishing. Read by Patricia Rodriguez. Duration: 11 hours, 36 minutes. Unabridged. In Money, Lies, and God ,  Katherine Stewart takes a hard look at the intertwined worlds of MAGA, Christian Nationalists, big money backers (old money and new tech money), the Claremont Institute , White Replacement Theory folks, militias, and groups like Moms for Liberty.  It looks like a lot to connect but, in reality, it's not too hard. Think of your stereotypical Christian Nationalist mega-church. They're going to be MAGA voters. They are exposed to materials produced by think tanks like the Claremont Institute or Focus on the Family that are financially supported by big money backers. Moms for Liberty will already be there, hyping up the dangers of public schools and certain reading materials. Some megachurches host faith and freedom conferences that are strong on the politics and feature a bit of Christianity. The author, Katherine Stewart I was distressed...
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STAR WARS: DARTH VADER: DARK LORD of the SITH, VOLUME 1 - IMPERIAL MACHINE (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

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Published in 2017 by Licensed Publishing. Written by Charles Soule. Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cam Smith Synopsis Imperial Machine is the first entry in a four-part series about Star Wars' most iconic character: Darth Vader.  The series starts with the last scene of Episode III - the moment where Anakin Skywalker truly becomes the infamous Darth Vader. But is he really and truly Darth Vader at this point? No, he has only started his long trip to being a Sith Lord and the Emperor is ready to train him. The Emperor's training mostly consists of Vader going out to figure it out the hard way. For example, Vader has lost his light saber and Palpatine sends him out to take the light saber of a Jedi in combat. Then, Vader must corrupt the crystal inside, which makes it glow red.  The problem is, there are hardly any Jedi left thanks to Order 66 and the other events at the end of Star Wars: Episode III. My review This was an engrossing story. Palpatine is abusive as a teacher - so...
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THE ASCENT: A NOVEL (Kurt Argento #1) (audiobook) by Adam Plantinga

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Published in 2024 by Grand Central Publishing Read by Charles Halford and Christine Lakin. Duration: 10 hours, 44 minutes. Unabridged. Synopsis The Ascent features Kurt Argento, a former Detroit police officer. His wife died from cancer and he is not dealing with it well. During a small riot, he defied orders to protect a civilian and hospitalized several members of a gang with his night stick - he literally worked out some of his grief on their not very sympathetic bodies. It was heroic act, but because he disobeyed orders he was forced to resign. Argento takes his dog and heads out towards California. For some reason, he has it in his head that seeing the Pacific Ocean would be a good thing for his peace of mind. While traveling through Missouri he ends up in a scuffle with a corrupt local sheriff. The sheriff claims that his jail cells are too full so he can store Argento in a nearby for-profit state prison in hopes of Argento getting caught up in some sort of prison fight and perh...
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