Voodoo Season

Voodoo Season is a mystery set in contemporary (pre-Katrina) New Orleans, Louisiana. The author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, uses her knowledge of the voodoo religion and surrounding history and culture as the backdrop for this unusual mystery. This was a very quick read for me and I really enjoyed the colorful setting and characters. I particularly enjoyed how Rhodes described Marie's visions throughout the text. I found Marie to be a very likeable, believable character and I hope Rhodes will continue her adventures in self-discovery through the course of future novels!

I liked this well enough that I plan to go back and read earlier books of short stories and novels set in the past, which also have to do with voodoo and Louisiana mystical culture.

Recommended!

The Assassin's Touch

Ah! Another book in Laura Joh Rowland's mystery series starring Sano Ichiro, a detective in feudal Japan. I love this series and was really excited when I found out this book was coming out. :) Rowland uses the conventions of feudal Japanese society to increase the suspense in her novels. She explains potentially unfamiliar conventions of that culture without setting the story aside for the "okay now I'm going to explain things" paragraph or two. Explanations are expertly woven into the story and greatly add to the richness of the setting and gives depth to the characters.

This is not a cozy mystery series, but there is little or no profanity and very little explicit violence or sexual content - though there is violent and sexual content.

Definitely recommend to mystery lovers and to those interested in the time period.

Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman

This book is a series of anecdotes collected from Richard Feynman by the editor, Edward Hutchings. The subtitle, "Adventures of a Curious Character" really is an understatement! While I am not sure if I'd have wanted to date Feynman, he definitely sounds like someone who'd have been fun to meet and get to know.

Highly recommended for those interested in finding out more about the people behind the sciences and for people who enjoy funny stories. A very quick, enjoyable read.