A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

Harold Bloom is a prolific, highly decorated literary scholar who has taught at both Harvard and Yale.  The library has one of his books about Shakespeare.  Now we have this book, too: Till I End My Song .  It's a volume of last poems (or poems that Bloom has deemed last poems for whatever reason) by illustrious poets spanning several centuries. It is an intriguing and fascinating premise that is diminished and slightly soured by the pretentious tone of the editor's introductions for each poem.  A glaring oversight is the severe under representation of female poets.  One is nearly 150 pages into the volume and has read the last poems of thirty-four male poets before Bloom presents (finally) the last poem of Emily Bronte, the first female poet he spotlights. This book is available at the library, and lovers of poetry will enjoy this volume. --Reviewed by Ms. Angie

Have you ever gone through a spell where you just don't feel like reading?  For a while there I was reading and reviewing like the world was about to end (which it was supposed to at 6 p.m. Saturday or so I'm told) and then I hit a wall.  I went through several books that I started and didn't finish.  Then I decided to reserve a bunch, and, in the meantime, I borrowed a few from another library in an attempt to throw everything at the wall and see what stuck.  Now most of the books I reserved have come in, and there's a pile of books to read at home.  Hopefully the dry spell is over. The Island by Elin Hilderbrand is one of the last books I read before the reader's block started, and I just never got around to typing up the review.  It's the second Hilderbrand book that I've read. The rotating third person perspective gives the reader insight into the inner lives' of the characters and their past heartbreaks.  The island life and setting draws the...