shrouded skeleton statue

Daryl M.

Librarian


Posts by Daryl M.

  • Author David J. Skal and his latest book, Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond

    Interview With an Author: David J. Skal

    David J. Skal is the author of numerous books, including Hollywood Gothic, The Monster Show, Screams of Reason and Something in the Blood. Skal lives in Glendale, CA. His latest book is Fright…

  • Author Lindsay Ellis and her debut novel, Axiom's End

    Interview With an Author: Lindsay Ellis

    Lindsay Ellis is an author, Hugo finalist, and video essayist who creates online content about media, narrative, and film theory. After earning her bachelor's in Cinema Studies from NYU's Tisch School…

  • Author Elsa Hart and her latest book, The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne

    Interview With an Author: Elsa Hart

    Elsa Hart is the author of several acclaimed mystery novels set in eighteenth-century China, including City of Ink, one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2018. She was born in Rome, but her…

  • Author Caroline B. Cooney and her latest novel, Before She Was Helen

    Interview With an Author: Caroline B. Cooney

    Caroline B. Cooney is the bestselling author of teen suspense, mystery and romance novels that have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Her latest novel, Before She Was Helen, is a mystery for…

  • Jody David Armour and his latest book, N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law

    Interview With an Author: Jody Armour

    Jody David Armour is a professor at the USC Gould School of Law. He has been a member of the faculty since 1995. Armour’s expertise ranges from personal injury claims to claims about the relationship…

  • Jon Wiener and his latest book, Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties, co-authored with Mike Davis

    Interview With an Author: Jon Wiener

    Jon Wiener is a longtime Contributing Editor at The Nation and host and producer of “Start Making Sense,” the magazine’s weekly podcast. He is an Emeritus Professor of U.S. history at UC Irvine, and…


Reviews by Daryl M.

  • Cover image for Crossings : consisting of three manuscripts

    Crossings : consisting of three manuscripts

    • By: Landragin, Alex
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Crossings, Alex Landragin’s debut novel is as difficult to define as it is to describe. At its most elemental, Crossings is a collection of three novellas that collectively tell a story. There are elements of several different genres present: historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, and romance. And, perhaps most surprising, the...
  • Cover image for Before She Was Helen

    Before She Was Helen

    • By: Cooney, Caroline B.
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Helen Stephens lives a quiet life in Sun City, a retirement community in South Carolina. She regularly plays cards in the clubhouse with other residents of the complex, including her neighbors Joyce and Johnny. While she is mostly retired, she continues teaching some Latin classes at a local high school...
  • Cover image for It Came From the Sky

    It Came From the Sky

    • By: Sedoti, Chelsea
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Sixteen-year-old Gideon Hofstadt prefers an orderly life and an orderly future. In his schoolwork, he excels in the sciences, but struggles with the vagaries of the humanities. It is the same way he struggles with his relationships with his family, friends, and his maybe boyfriend, Owen. Gideon cares about Owen...
  • Cover image for The Operator

    The Operator

    • By: Berg, Gretchen
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    In a world where most people walk around with a telephone on their person that can allow them to contact someone anywhere in the country, or the world, easily and directly, it may be a bit of a shock to realize that as little as 50 years ago many people...
  • Cover image for The Darwin Affair

    The Darwin Affair

    • By: Mason, Timothy
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    It probably goes without saying that when Charles Darwin published his revolutionary theories regarding evolution, and their supporting evidence, in The Origin of Species in 1859, there was controversy. Even today, 160 years later, Darwin’s theory of species evolving over time still engenders strong feelings of resistance to his ideas...
  • Cover image for The Ghosts of Sherwood

    The Ghosts of Sherwood

    • By: Vaughn, Carrie
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    The earliest references to Robin Hood date back to the 14th century, and the earliest surviving copies of the story are from the 15th century. The details may change, but the core of the legend concerns a nobleman turned outlaw with a band of followers known as the Merry Men...
  • Cover image for A Star is Bored

    A Star is Bored

    Kathi Kannon is the daughter of a famous actress mother, and went on to gain her own fame as Princess Talara in the space spectacular, Nova Quest. She has gone on to work as a script doctor and written several novels, but several decades later she is a star in...
  • Cover image for Pretty as a Picture

    Pretty as a Picture

    • By: Little, Elizabeth
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A young film editor in need of a job is offered one that, at first, seems too good to be true: working for an Oscar-winning director on a high-profile project on location. But, as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, it more than likely is...
  • Cover image for When we were magic

    When we were magic

    • By: Gailey, Sarah
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    After graduation, prom night is often the penultimate event in the life of a high school senior. Students may save, plan and dream about the night for months or even years prior to going. So what happens when the prom doesn’t go the way you planned? What if something truly...
  • Cover image for The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

    The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

    • By: Maggie Tokuda-Hall
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A young noblewoman is betrothed by her parents into an unwanted, arranged marriage. A young pirate struggles to survive and protect his brother from the dangers inherent in the life they have been forced to live. A mermaid is captured and threatened with death because her blood, when drunk, allows...