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Book Your Holidays Now: The Bookworm’s Reading Gift Guide Part I (Fiction, Mysteries, Memoirs)
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm SezSanta will be very relieved.
You’ve taken most of the burden off him by making a list and checking it twice on his behalf. The gift-buying in your house is almost done – except for those few people who are just so darn hard to buy for. So what do you give to the person who has (almost) everything? You give them a good book, like maybe one of these….
GENERAL FICTION
The giftee who loves multigenerational plots, “Kaplan’s Plot” by Jason Diamond (Flatiron Books) might be their favorite gift this year. It’s the story of a man who returns home to care for his dying mother, but mother and son have kept secrets for far too long. When the man learns a few surprising truths about his ancestry, it could change the relationship he has with his mother forever.
For the person on your list who loves a charming little novel, wrap up “The Peculiar Gift of July” by Ashley Ream (Dutton). It’s the story of an orphan who goes to live with a cousin who barely knows the girl and doesn’t really want her. But July, the child, has a little magic up her sleeve, and what happens will dazzle your giftee. Wrap it up with “The Irish Goodbye” by Heather Aimee O’Neill (Henry Holt & Company), the story of three sisters, a long holiday weekend, and secrets that need tending.
Here’s something for the historical novel lover you know: “This Here is Love” by Princess Joy L. Perry (W.W. Norton) is set in 1690 in Virginia. One of the characters is a slave. One is the child of a freeman. One is an indentured slave, and all somehow find love despite their bondage. How can anyone resist a tale like that?
The new mother on your gift list – the one who loves thrillers – will be so happy to unwrap “Her One Regret” by Donna Freitas (Soho Crime). It’s the story of a disappearance that may or may not have been criminal. Did Lucy Mendoza do the unthinkable?
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On the Map: Rome If You Want To
We’re almost back to New Jersey aboard the Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas, following a 14-night cruise with ports, and storms, and detours, and six nights across the Atlantic. But first, let’s take a look at our Rome trip. We flew there for a three-night stay before heading to the cruise terminal and sailing off. It wasn’t a lot of time, but we saw plenty. Check out my travelogue below with some photos.
We stayed at the Mascagni Hotel, a boutique hotel near the busy central city. I’m not giving it a thumbs up or down. I knew from past experience that European hotels in general are smaller, and that was the case here. But the decor is lovely, the staff was (mostly) friendly and helpful, and it was easy to get everywhere … until you started walking to your destination! Rome’s streets are very pre-grid, and even using Apple Map we got lost. The pathways are winding, in comes cases even seeming tortured, and if you take a wrong turn the map just reorients and takes you another route. Maddening, especially when your walking tour leaves at 10:30 a.m. and you’re sure you won’t make it. But we did! And here’s what we saw …
Say hello to Genny and Paul, the lovely couple from Canada who were among the travel friends we made, and these folks are keepers!
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Online Workshops in December: Fiction Writing, Self-Publishing, and Autobiographical Journaling
I’m excied to announce three online workshops coming up in December, with more online and in-person workshops planned for the new year. These will be held via Zoom from 2:00 – 4:00 pm eastern to accomodate participants in multiple time zones. (Workshops are limited to 8 participants each.) Just click on the links below to register. And now you can also purchase gift certificates for the writer in your life!
Gift certificates are good for any workshop or project.
Fiction Writing Essentials: 2 Hour Online WorkshopJoin us on December 03 via Zoom – 2:00 – 4:00 PM easternIn these writing classes and workshops you’ll explore your own creativity as writers, learning what makes good characters, page-turning plots, and the illusion of conversation we call dialogue.
Have you wondered where story ideas come from? Or how to take an idea and turn it into fiction? What do you do when you get stuck? How are some of the ways we can keep ourselves going from the whisper of an idea to a full-fledged short story or novel? Learn structure, outlining, narrative, point of view, and more, as you become what you want to be, or what you already are: a writer. Yes, you can!
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Book Review: A True Crime Roundup
By Terri Schlichemeyer
The Bookworm SezTrue Crime Books by various authors
c.2025, various publishers
$28.00 – $32.00 various page countsWhodunit?
Sometimes, the answer is known before you even have a chance to hear the whole story. Other times, the story of a crime is more than just a murder or a B&E. Either way, most definitely, you need a good true-crime book, like maybe one of these…
What you’ll read inside “Shadow of the Bridge” by Aine Cain and Kevin Greenlee (Pegasus, $29.95) will chill you to your toenails, especially if you’re a parent. It’s the story of two teenage girls out on a hike, the man they accidentally met along a bridge in Indiana, and the crime that shocked a nation. Yes, you saw the search for the girls and the reports on the news; this book takes things further with excellent journalism. You’ll be riveted.
A true-crime book doesn’t have to be set in recent years; the crime can be decades old and still be of interest, as you’ll see in “Sisters in Death: The Black Dahlia, The Prairie Heiress, and Their Hunter” by Eli Frankel (Citadel Press, $28). Ever since Elizabeth Short was discovered nude and surgically bisected in an empty Los Angeles lot in 1947, sleuths both professional and amateur have tried to figure out who killed her. Here, Frankel offers another possibility to the solution, and it may reach farther back – more than eight decades ago, in fact. If the Black Dahlia death still confounds you, here’s your book.
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The Twist Podcast #306: Halloween on the High Seas, Roaming Around Rome, and Some Twist Must-Sees
Join co-hosts Mark McNease and Rick Rose as Mark podcasts from his Royal Caribbean cabin on the highest of the high holidays – Halloween! Thare are a lot scarier things out there these days.
NEW! You can treat your co-hosts to a cup of coffee … just $3 a brew!
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Savvy Senior: How to Make a Home Safer and More Accessible as You Age
By Jim Miller
How to Make a Home Safer and More Accessible as You Age
Dear Savvy Senior,
What simple tips can you recommend for making a home age friendly? My husband and I are in our late-sixties and want to remain living in our home for as long as possible.
Homebody Hanna
Dear Hanna,
Many older adults, like you and your husband, want to stay living in their own home for as long as possible. But being able to do so will depend on how easy it is to maneuver your living space as you get older.
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The Weekly Readlines October 31
From the editor’s desk: This is a new way of offering The Weekly Readlines. It’s a work-in-progess, kind of like most things in our lives. Now I just need to keep refining it. Until then …
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES
House Speaker Mike Johnson keeps House out of session for 6th week
One big house and nobody’s homeTrump calls for endig the filibuster
It’s about time. Make senatorial elections matter again!Texas Supreme Court rules judges may refuse to officiate same-sex marriages based on religion
San Antonio Express-News+1Crisis calls among LGBTQ+ youth in Oklahoma drop after the state’s schools chief resigned
Advocate.com+1Global monitoring: Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and rights rollback
theguardian.com+1 -
Upcoming Holiday Ad in the Bucks County Herald (Now With Gift Certificates!)
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Book Review: Joyride: A Memoir, by Susan Orlean
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez“Joyride: A Memoir” by Susan Orlean
c.2025, Avid Reader Press $32.00 368 pagesYou’ve got the pedal to the metal.
Ninety miles an hour, that’s how you live your life. Zooming here, careening around corners, racing to the next deadline, the next milestone, the next goal. Once in awhile, you run out of fuel, but it’s back on the road tomorrow and you can’t imagine living any other way. As in the new memoir Joyride” by Susan Orlean, it’s been a wild journey.
For much of her life, Susan Orlean has been “lucky.”
She was born at a good time in history and had the benefit of privileges. Though her parents constantly sniped at one another, they were supportive of Orlean and encouraged her natural curiosity. Her father pressed her to become a lawyer, but Orlean knew early-on that she only wanted to be a writer.
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The Weekly Readlines October 15
BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S STOP STORIES
Or maybe just my favorites …
Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva Win Official, Stata AG Threatens to Sue
Will Mike Johnson do his job? Will hell freeze over?More Airports Refuse To Air Government Shutdown Propaganda
Imaging respecting people who didn’t vote for you?UnitedHealth Paid AARP $9B To Sell Medicare Products
About that annual renewal fee …The Great Neo-Soul Icon D’Angelo Died From Cancer At 51
Brilliance goes silentLGBTQ
LGBTQ+ History Project: The Need To Preserve LGBTQ+ Histories Of Rural America
Supreme Court Skeptical Of State Bans On Conversion Therapy Aimed At LGBTQ Kids
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On the Map: What’s A Repositioning Cruise?
By Mark McNease
We’re leaving later this week for one of the longest vacations we’ve taken – almost three weeks! It begins with three nights in Rome, where we’ve book walking tours of the Vatican and the Colosseum. I’ve had a fascination with gladiators since I was a child. I can’t imagine why …
After our Rome visit, our first to Italy, we board a Royal Caribbean ship that cruises the Mediteranean and ends with a 5 night return sail across the Atlantic. It’s a repositioning cruise, bringing the ship from its season there to its next one home-ported here. The best part? It docks in Bayonne, New Jersey, about 90 minutes from where we live. Given my loathing of all things airports, it’s a real treat to fly only one way. So what’s a repositioning cruise? Keep reading!
Repositioning cruises are unique voyages offered by cruise lines when a ship needs to relocate from one region of the world to another. Unlike traditional cruises that circle back to their original departure port, repositioning cruises begin in one location and end in another, following the movement of cruise ships between seasonal home ports. For example, a ship might travel from the Caribbean to Europe in spring or from Alaska to the Mexican Riviera in the fall. Or in our case from the Mediterranean back to New Jersey!
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Around the House: How to Make Your Bathroom Seem Larger Without Renovations
By Mark McNease
We’ve been talking about moving to a larger house for the past several years. Some of the common and obvious reasons have to do with getting older: our laundry machine is in the basement, down a narrow, creaky set of steps that should have been replaced thirty years ago. Another is the smallness of the house itself, with our bedroom on the first floor and a renovated, A-frame attic that serves as a guest room for our infrequent visitors.
And yet another is the bathroom. I’m not an overly large person, but this bathroom is not much bigger than a small walk-in closet. The bathtub almost touches your legs when you’re at the sink across from it. It’s just not meant to accommodate anyone larger than an elf, but we do our best to work with what we have.
It was brought to our attention a couple years ago that a wheelchair or walker simply will not fit into this bathroom, and that’s before the challenge of maneuvering between the sink and bathtub if any of your limbs is broken or not functioning properly. It’s a nightmare waiting to invade our golden years, and we sometimes think of ways to make it larger without the expense of a renovation that would only accomplish so much, given the width of the room. It would also be an expense we don’t need if we’re really going to move. Considering the house itself, a new bathroom would not increase the value by much.
So … let’s take a look at some ways to make your bathroom larger without the cost or inconvenience of renovations.
- Use Light Colors
Choose light, neutral tones like whites, creams, and pastels on walls and tiles. Light colors reflect more light, making the space feel larger and brighter. We met this one half-way: our shower tiles are white with inlaid pink flamingoes, the tub itself is white, and one of my rotating shower curtains is white. However, the walls are pink (to go with the flamingoes) and add a sense of fun, which can offset the despair of feeling like I’m in a broom closet.
