Senior News---July 2012 Column

For some time now I have been writing a monthly book review column for the Senior News newspaper. The Senior News is aimed to the 50 and over crowd with news relevant to seniors regarding various issues, humor pieces, and my review column among other things. The newspaper is a giveaway at doctor offices, stores, etc. and can be received by via a paid subscription. There are multiple editions across the state of Texas and therefore there is some fluctuation in content in each edition.

My column every month focuses on books of interest to the Texas audience. Therefore books selected for the column, fiction or non-fiction, are written by Texas residents, feature Texans in some way, or would have some other connection to the Texas based readership. At least two books are covered each month in the short space I am given.

Below is/was my July column with the addition here of the relevant book covers……

Capitol Offense - A Bill Travis Mystery

George Wier

Flagstone Books

E-Book

Norman Howell sits in the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas awaiting his execution date. Bill Travis has come to the prison unit with a simple request for Howell to sign some paperwork on a trust account.  Instead, he gets told bits and pieces about Howell’s role in a dark period of Texas history back in the 80’s when somebody blew up Vietnamese fishing boats along the Texas coast. Howell does not go into much detail but he does mention the name Dick Sawyer. The same Dick Sawyer, Texas Governor, and who might have paid to have those boats blown up.

Capitol Offense - A Bill Travis Mystery is the second book of the series and again author George Wier sets yet another breakneck pace across Texas. Building on the on the solid foundation evidenced in The Last Call this is a solidly good book and good series. 

Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens: 200 Drought Tolerant Choices for All Climates

Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden

Timber Press

ISBN# 978-1-60469-169-6

Paperback

249 pages

Water supplies and drought are increasingly serious issues across Texas. As noted in the introduction, the 200 plants in this book are plants that, once established, can survive and thrive on one inch of water every two weeks during their peak growing times. Broken down into 11 color coded chapters that cover trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers, ground covers, and more here is a huge variety here in plant materials and appearances. Each chapter features numerous specimens in large colorful pictures with their Latin names, explanation of shade and light needs, how fast or slow the plants grow, zone recommendations, and detailed notes on each plant. In each case there are also design idea recommendations and a listing of related plants to the one being covered. Another nice touch is the use of numerous symbols with each plant making it clear in a glance what you are looking for

Colorful and well done, Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens: 200 Drought Tolerant Choices for All Climates serves not only as a handy reference guide but a beautiful book to inspire you to transform your landscape into a sustainable one that will be an envy of all and environmentally aware.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2012

Review: "Stirring It Up With Molly Ivins: A Memoir with Recipes" by Ellen Sweets

For years Molly Ivins was a force to be reckoned with as a columnist for various publications including The Dallas Morning News.  She was often interviewed by the print and television media in herself described role of “professional Texan.”  You never knew what she would say but you knew that it would often be caustically funny.  Sadly, cancer did what political power brokers and others could not do and silenced the legendary Molly Ivins.

Many did not know the other non-public side of Molly Ivins.  For her lucky friends who spent time with her in unguarded moments away the media stage there was a lot more to Molly Ivins than the rest of us saw on  our television screens or in her many columns. One of those things that escaped public scrutiny was her deep interested in the culinary arts.

Her interest ranged from the most basic to the most advanced and complex dishes. Thanks to her friends and fellow cook Ellen Sweets, readers now have via Stirring It Up with Molly Ivins: A Memoir with Recipes some idea of that interest. Often funny, occasionally sad, the book is a fun 272 pages (including index) read containing numerous recipes, photographs, and hundreds of memories. Simply put it chronicles a life well lived.

Published by the University of Texas Press the book is broken into chapters detailing the various events in Molly Ivins life as well as the life of her friend Ellen Sweets.  Black and white pictures abound in the book as do the recipes for items such as “Melba’s Baked Pork Chops” (page 85) and “Ouefs Brouille” (page 115) and “Smothered Chicken in Onion Gravy” (page 144) among other dishes. Nutritional information is not present nor are there pictures of the finished dishes.

Not so much a cookbook but a book of love regarding a dear and cherished friend. The book is filled with memories and reminisces that often result in laugh out loud moments and the occasional sigh of pain. The book wonderfully tells another side to Molly Ivins that most of us never saw or even had a glimpse of over the years. If you thought you knew all about her based on her public personae, take a look at this book and be pleasantly surprised.

Stirring It Up With Molly Ivins: A Memoir with Recipes

Ellen Sweets

University of Texas Press

http://www.utexaspress.com

October 2011

ISBN# 978-0-292-72265-1

Hardback

272 Pages

$29.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012

Senior News Column--February 2012

For some time now I have been writing a monthly book review column for the Senior News newspaper. The Senior News is aimed to the 50 and over crowd with news relevant to seniors regarding various issues, humor pieces, and my review column among other things. The newspaper is a giveaway at doctor offices, stores, etc. and can be received by via a paid subscription. There are multiple editions across the state of Texas and therefore there is some fluctuation in content in each area.

My column every month focuses on books of interest to the Texas audience. Therefore books selected for the column, fiction or non-fiction, are written by Texas residents, feature Texans in some way, or would have some other connection to the Texas based readership. At least two books are covered each month in the short space I am given.

Below is/was my February 2012 column with the addition here of the relevant book covers……

The Shooting Salvationist: J. Frank Norris and the Murder Trial that Captivated America

David Stokes

Steerforth Publishing

ISBN 978-1-58642-186-1

Hardback

384 Pages

$27.00

Originally published in 2010 as “Apparent Danger: the Pastor of America’s First Megachurch AND THE Texas Murder Trail OF THE DECADE in the 1920s” the new book covers the murder involving John Franklyn Norris and the first megachurch in the nation. Led by John Franklyn Norris, known to all as “J. Frank,” the charismatic and controversial pastor of the First Baptist Church in downtown Fort Worth intended to be a powerful national figure as he took over the legacy of William Jennings Bryan.  J. Frank might have done it too--if he had not shot and killed Dexter Elliot Chips one brutally hot Saturday afternoon.

That he did it there is no question. The reason why is a key part of the defense. Author David Stokes examines the trial in great detail, the events leading up to the trial, and the repercussions of the trial for many involved. One of the original “true crime” cases, the read is exhaustively detailed and leaves absolutely no stone unturned as it recounts an interesting period in the history of Texas and the nation as a whole.

Killer Fiction: 11 Short Stories of Killers, Fixers, and P.I.’s

Sniplits Publishing

Kindle E-Book

$2.99

Written by Texan Mark Troy and ten other authors residing in less fortunate places, this anthology is primarily a hard-boiled read. As the subtitle of “11 Short Stories of  Killers, Fixers, and P.I.’s” makes clear, crime is going to be front and center in this every well done short story anthology.

Deep in the anthology is yet another very good Val Lyons tale written by Mark Troy. In “Kill Leader” Hawaii based private investigator Val Lyons is trying to protect Paula Evangelista who is a power house on the volleyball court.  So much so, somebody is making threats.  Paula Evangelista is a difficult client, to say the least, and Val is having a very hard time identifying the person or persons behind the threats in this complicated tale. 

Available as single short stories as well, this anthology features eleven solidly good stories. The strong stories in this first anthology are complex tales featuring well developed characters, interesting situations, and the settings as varied as are the writer styles showcased here. The result is a highly entertaining read.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2012