Jim R.
@jimrbooks.bsky.social
Retired marketing executive. Army vet. Proud parent/grandfather.
Avid, average golfer. Book reviewer for Valley Breeze news group in Rhode Island. Lean slightly left politically.
Avid, average golfer. Book reviewer for Valley Breeze news group in Rhode Island. Lean slightly left politically.
Here's my new Valley Breeze review of "Buckeye" by Patrick Ryan. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Ryan's 'Buckeye' is an off-kilter but worthy read
Patrick Ryan’s new novel, “Buckeye,” is a story of people who are off-kilter. From Cal Jenkins, born in 1920, with one leg 2 inches shorter than the other to Felix
www.valleybreeze.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Here's my new Valley Breeze review of "Buckeye" by Patrick Ryan. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
While the loudest MAGA mouthpieces are spinning ridiculous excuses for election results, rank & file Republicans not in ruby red districts are quietly having Scooby-Doo "roh-ro" thought bubbles! I love it!
November 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
While the loudest MAGA mouthpieces are spinning ridiculous excuses for election results, rank & file Republicans not in ruby red districts are quietly having Scooby-Doo "roh-ro" thought bubbles! I love it!
It's Halloween Eve, let's visit a cemetery. "The Secret Life of a Cemetery" is a fun, informative look at Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Enjoy my Valley Breeze review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
From foxes to famous graves: A memoir of Père-Lachaise
“Did anyone die today?” This was a question Benoît Gallot, author of “The Secret Life of a Cemetery – The Wild Nature And Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise” heard his father
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October 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM
It's Halloween Eve, let's visit a cemetery. "The Secret Life of a Cemetery" is a fun, informative look at Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Enjoy my Valley Breeze review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
You get a twofer in my Valley Breeze review this week; book and music reviews. "Living In The Present With John Prine" by Tom Piazza. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/piazzas-new-...
Piazza's new book captures the spirit on John Prine
Singer, songwriter John Prine passed away on April 7, 2020, at the age of 73. He was one of the first celebrities taken from us by COVID-19.
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October 16, 2025 at 1:16 PM
You get a twofer in my Valley Breeze review this week; book and music reviews. "Living In The Present With John Prine" by Tom Piazza. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/piazzas-new-...
My Valley Breeze review for this week. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Baldacci novel explores unlikely friendships in war-torn London
Bombs away!
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October 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
My Valley Breeze review for this week. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Author Alexander McCall Smith of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" fame returns to his native Scotland to lament upon current conditions at home. My Valley Breeze review for this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'The Winds From Further West' is a tale of new beginnings
Lament. In “The Winds From Further West,” wildly successful author Alexander McCall Smith shifts from the African locale of his best-selling “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series to his
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September 18, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Author Alexander McCall Smith of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" fame returns to his native Scotland to lament upon current conditions at home. My Valley Breeze review for this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
My cousin David Angell & his wife Lynn established a foundation which still gives millions of dollars to charities 24 years after their deaths on 9/11/2001. Their good works live on!
September 11, 2025 at 1:43 AM
My cousin David Angell & his wife Lynn established a foundation which still gives millions of dollars to charities 24 years after their deaths on 9/11/2001. Their good works live on!
A wonderful book for my Valley Breeze review! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'All the Beaty in the World' is a wonderful read
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains a multitude of masterpieces.
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September 4, 2025 at 11:39 AM
A wonderful book for my Valley Breeze review! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
My bi-weekly book review for the Valley Breeze. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Hearts broken, destinies changed in 'Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club'
The title of Martha Hall Kelly’s newest novel, “The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club,” reads like the spawn of a publishing company’s public relations department. How many “buzz” words
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August 21, 2025 at 1:53 PM
My bi-weekly book review for the Valley Breeze. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
My newest Valley Breeze book review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'The Emperor of Gladness' is a story of unexpected friendship
“If you aim for Gladness and miss, you’ll find us. For we are called East Gladness. Gladness itself being no more, renamed to Millsap nearly a century ago after Terry
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July 31, 2025 at 3:25 PM
My newest Valley Breeze book review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Unique fiction showing effect of WWII at a luxury hotel in West Virginia. My bi-weekly review for the Valley Breeze. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Stiefvater transports readers to 1942 in 'The Listeners'
War is hell, but one’s social status often dictates which different level of hell you will experience. Maggie Stiefvater’s newest novel, “The Listeners,” presents a poignant portrayal of how life
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July 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Unique fiction showing effect of WWII at a luxury hotel in West Virginia. My bi-weekly review for the Valley Breeze. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Here's a clever new novel to read over the long holiday weekend. My Valley Breeze review for this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
An unexpected road trip brings a fractured family together in 'Run for the Hills'
In 1979 the R & B group Sister Sledge released the hit song “We are Family.” I doubt they would recognize the Hill family portrayed by Kevin Wilson in his
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July 3, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Here's a clever new novel to read over the long holiday weekend. My Valley Breeze review for this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Finn's Harborside, TwoTen Oyster and now Matunuck Oyster Bar all damaged by fires! Do we have an anti bivalve arsonist loose in Rhode Island? Feel so bad for the owners & their hard working staffs. Be sure to support them when they are able to re-open.
May 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Finn's Harborside, TwoTen Oyster and now Matunuck Oyster Bar all damaged by fires! Do we have an anti bivalve arsonist loose in Rhode Island? Feel so bad for the owners & their hard working staffs. Be sure to support them when they are able to re-open.
Pope Francis penned a memoir in 2024. Here's my review for the Valley Breeze this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'Life – My Story Through History' gives insight into the life of Pope Francis
No pope was born a pope. This seems an obvious statement, however, all the position’s regimented pomp and sartorial splendor evokes a singular image.
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May 15, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Pope Francis penned a memoir in 2024. Here's my review for the Valley Breeze this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
My Valley Breeze review this week combines a review plus a paean to local authors, independent book stores and local organizations which support writers. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'Missing in Molokai' is a tale of intrigue and secrecy
For any writer, even a book reviewer, the empty page or monitor screen looms as a challenge. As the comedian Steven Wright has said, “I’m working on my new book.
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May 1, 2025 at 3:04 PM
My Valley Breeze review this week combines a review plus a paean to local authors, independent book stores and local organizations which support writers. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
My Valley Breeze book review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'I See You Called in Dead' is both uplifting and disturbing
It should come as no surprise that a book bearing the title “I See You Called In Dead,” with the main character and narrator being an obituary writer, authored by
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April 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
My Valley Breeze book review. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Here's my Valley Breeze book review for this week. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'Three Days in June' is a quick, enjoyable read
A great deal can happen in three days. Or not. Or sometimes in between.
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March 20, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Here's my Valley Breeze book review for this week. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Elizabeth Strout returns to Colby, Maine in "Tell Me Everything." was it worth the trip? My newest Valley Breeze review. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Strout brings together characters from previous novels in 'Tell Me Everything'
Elizabeth Strout’s newest best-selling novel, “Tell Me Everything,” could accurately be subtitled, “Lucy Barton and Bob Burgess Take Many, Many, Many, Many Walks Together In The Woods of Crosby, Maine...
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March 6, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Elizabeth Strout returns to Colby, Maine in "Tell Me Everything." was it worth the trip? My newest Valley Breeze review. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
"There's Always This Year", a powerful reflection of growing up Black in a disintegrating section of Columbus, Ohio is my Valley Breeze review this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
'There's Always This Year" is a reflection on basketball and life in Columbus
“There’s Always This Year” by Hanif Abdurraqib is a powerful memoir, not about Abdurraqib, but about a city, Columbus, Ohio. More specifically, about a singular block in a poor section
www.valleybreeze.com
February 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
"There's Always This Year", a powerful reflection of growing up Black in a disintegrating section of Columbus, Ohio is my Valley Breeze review this week. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Jodi Picoult attempts to shake up Shakespeare's legacy in her new novel. Here's my Valley Breeze review. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Picoult's newest novel brings into question the authenticity of Shakespeare
To believe or not to believe? That is the question posed by Jodi Picoult’s newest novel, “By Any Other Name.” Picoult attempts to turn Shakespeare upside down in this ambitious
www.valleybreeze.com
February 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Jodi Picoult attempts to shake up Shakespeare's legacy in her new novel. Here's my Valley Breeze review. Enjoy! www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Here is a link to my Valley Breeze book review of "Time of the Child" an enchanting Irish tale. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Williams' artistry on display in 'Time of the Child'
The three weeks between Advent and Christmas always brings a welcome burst of energy to the small, sleepy town of Faha located on the west coast of Ireland.
www.valleybreeze.com
January 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Here is a link to my Valley Breeze book review of "Time of the Child" an enchanting Irish tale. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Here is a link to my book review of "Redeemer" a biography of Jimmy Carter. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...
Balmer chronicles the life of Jimmy Carter in his revised book
“Redeemer – The Life of Jimmy Carter,” by Randall Balmer, was first published in 2014. Now, 10 years later, a revised and expanded version has been released. Balmer is a
www.valleybreeze.com
January 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Here is a link to my book review of "Redeemer" a biography of Jimmy Carter. www.valleybreeze.com/lifestyle/en...