Maine Musings: On Screen & Page

DUPLICITY IN THE GEM WORLD Rough Diamonds (Netflix) Rough Diamonds is a fascinating and gripping Belgian series set in the Diamond District in Antwerp in the present day.  The Wolfson family, very orthodox Haredi Jews, have a diamond trading business that’s in trouble.  Unbeknownst to Father Ezra, head of the company, the youngest son Yanki has made some questionable …

Summer Reading: A Book List

I always have ambitious goals for my summer reading and this year is no exception.  I create a list and aim to read as many of the titles as possible.  I usually fall short.  I get sidetracked by other appealing works or find a particular book not engaging (I allow at least 50 pages before I retreat).  Or somehow …

Tidy Tidbits: Biography, Mystery, & Memoir

INTIMATE PORTRAIT The Chancellor by Kati Marton Members of my local book group enjoyed reading Marton’s portrayal of Angela Merkel.  It’s an accessible biography of an intensely private woman in a prominent public position.  It isn’t a comprehensive biography and does not provide detailed analysis of some of Merkel’s questionable decisions and actions.  And the author is perhaps too …

Reading: Favorite Books of 2022

At the beginning of the new year, I like to look back over my list and reflect on the books I enjoyed the most and thought were the best written.  Most of them are recent works. They are novels with a few nonfiction titles tossed in.  Here are my top 10 favorite books of 2022 arranged alphabetically …