Pensive Pelican Reads: July/August

My July and August reads included six non-fiction and six fiction books. Three of them were re-reads, ten were hard copies and two were Kindle versions. If I had to choose just one to recommend, I would suggest Bad Blood. The topic […]

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My Top 12 Writing Resources

This is a picture of a fraction of my books on writing, but it really does represent a good cross-section of my collection. I think they’re a little something for everyone here. Some of them are older, but I linked them to […]

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Unhinged Book Review

Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault Newman I wasn’t terribly familiar with Omarosa. I was aware she had been on The Apprentice, but I had never seen the show, so this was my introduction. She came off pretty well in the account, as is […]

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The 5 Second Rule Book Review

The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins I expected this book to be gimmicky or like a blog post that had gone on far too long. I was pleasantly surprised. I picked 5 Second Rule after seeing Amy Landino interview Mel Robbins. […]

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The Trespasser Book Review

The Trespasser by Tana French One of the things I enjoy most about about Tana French’s books are the unpredictable twists and turns. For fans of mystery or thrillers there is a delicate balance between figuring out the puzzle and being baffled […]

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My Outdoor Writing Kit

Lenova Yoga. Small, light, holds a charge forever. Can be used as a tablet too. Easily goes from the patio to the coffee shop and even to bed, when I just have to finish one more scene before closing up shop. Blue […]

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Choose Your Own Disaster Book Review

Choose Your Own Disaster by Dana Schwartz Equal parts Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar and Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. I wanted to say this book is a fun read, and it is, in the sense of how you proceed […]

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Kitchen Confidential Book Review

Kitchen Confidential  by Anthony Bourdain I binge read this the weekend after Anthony Bourdain died. I had never read it previously. I knew him to be churlish and talented. I was unaware that he had struggled with substance abuse.I saw him as […]

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Every Day I’m Shoveling

Today is a beautiful snowy day. I’ve been living in Buffalo since January since 1994. We get quite a bit of snow here, but it is generally not terribly bitter cold. Also, the snow tends not to be all that big of […]

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The Perfect Place to Write

What would be your ideal place to write? I think about this a lot. It frequently involves me living in the 1920s, maybe in Paris as Hemingway and Fitzgerald did. I’d roll out of the rumpled bed in my flat, and head […]

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