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Icon book review: John Grisham's Camino Winds

This is Grisham's 43rd novel, and continues his very earnest genre writing
Posted by Fred Steiner on Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Review by Robert McCool

Get blown away by the end of hurricane season.

John Grisham scores again.

In Camino Winds (Doubleday ISBN 978-385-5493-8) John Grisham sets his opening during Hurricane Leo, and a questionable death of one of Camino Island's writers.

The book is set around one Bruce Cable, owner of Bay Books, the book store and anchor for all of the island's authors. The book follows Bruce, a character from the previous novel “Camino Island, as he investigates Nelson Kerr's presumed murder. With a group of friends like Bob, Nick, and Larry they decide that  Nelson's death was committed by a mysterious woman named Ingrid.

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Icon movie review: It's October, let the screaming begin

A look back and some spooky movies
Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, October 5, 2020

Now that we’ve entered October, it feels appropriate to entertain some spookier fare. This month my goal is to share about some horror classics and why they’re worthy of revisiting in 2020. First up, is 1996’s Scream.

Scream opens with the best sequence in the film that runs close to 15 minutes as Casey Becker (DREW BARRYMORE) is terrorized by the film’s killer.

Home alone, Casey decides to pop some popcorn and put on a scary movie while she waits for her boyfriend, Steve, to come over. While she’s getting ready, she receives a phone call from a mystery person who may have dialed the wrong number.

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Icon music review: ALICIA - Alicia Keys

Not Keys’ finest work by any stretch of the imagination. Still, there are enough good tunes and her smooth vocals to recommend it.
Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, September 28, 2020

Reviewed By Craig Hoffman
American singer-songwriter and actress Alicia Keys is out with her seventh studio album Alicia (stylized all caps) in 2020. This comes after a number of delays due to COVID-19. Keys has received numerous awards in her fantastic career, including 15 (competitive) Grammy Awards. 

The artist was the host for the Awards show in 2019 becoming the first woman in 15 years to do so. She repeated the feat in 2020 in addition to singing a soulful tribute to the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

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Icon book review: Where the Crawdads Sing

There is much depth in this book; it's worth the cost of purchasing it rather than waiting for it to come around to you
Posted by Fred Steiner on Friday, September 18, 2020

Review by Robert McCool
The book's title is all the introduction it needs. Anything more would be superfluous.

I waited over a year for this book to become available at my local library. There's a reason for that. It's that much in demand. Rightfully so.

There are books that are so perfect that I feel my ability to comment on them is inadequate to do them justice. “WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING” (Random House, IBSN 978-1-9848-2761-6) by Delia Owens, is such a book, a book about isolation and loneliness.

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Icon movie review: Black Panther

It's a film worthy of celebration for generations
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, September 17, 2020

The news of Chadwick Boseman’s death at the age of 43 – coupled with the knowledge that he privately suffered from colon cancer for a number of years – shocked many in the film community and anyone who had been a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of the MCU’s greatest strengths is that it was able to deliver fan-pleasing experiences across multiple movies in the extended film canon. 

Arriving relatively late in the Avengers/Thanos story arc, Chadwick Boseman catapulted to superstardom when he took the role of Black Panther and appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Two years later, he headlined the Black Panther solo film.

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Icon book review: The Devil in the White City

This is a thickly paced book, at the speed of steam
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, September 10, 2020

Review by Robert McCool
Welcome to the White City - Chicago in 1890-1893.

It's been a while since I've written a review, as my wife had an emergency back surgery and an extended stay in the hospital that has kept me busy doing other things than writing.

But even as immediate as my time has been recently this book has been on my mind quite a bit. Once again, it comes recommended by a member of the Ada book club, and is justified as a good read.

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