Review of Moranthology

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed UK writer Caitlin Moran's "How To Be a Woman," I've recommended it to friends, comparing it to Tina Fey's best-selling "Bossypants," another mostly humorous but deeply felt book about the experiences of being a woman. I started following Moran on Twitter and have certainly gotten more than my money's worth.

Someone must have been listening to my raves, because I received Moran's latest book, "Moranthology," as a Christmas gift. It is a collection of her old and not-so-old columns for The Times, each introduced with a retrospective comment about why she picked that topic or how the essay was received.

Moran specializes in writing little jewels of hilarity, perfect for bedtime reading. Laugh, laugh, laugh, zzzz....

My favorite essay was an interview with Keith Richards and review of his recent autobiography, "Life." A former rock and roll critic and radio show host, she got an advance copy of the book, which she devoured and boiled down to its essence in the interview with the flamboyant Richards. It's like watching a Jon Stewart interview: so good you don't need to read the hefty book he's waving around for the camera--he already did it for you.

I also shared Moran's infatuation (along with the whole of Great Britain) for Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, in the Steven Moffat ("Dr. Who") BBC reboot of "Sherlock Holmes."

Whether it's the Stones or some other inexplicably weird thing the Brits are into, you're in for a good time with Caitlin.

Sweet dreams.



Coming Shortly: My First Novella

"Erenarch Academy: Under the Dragon Banner," from World Castle Publishing, is scheduled for wide release April 15. It's an all-ages space opera, the first in a series of books set in the fictional world of Dragon Stead, the solar system surrounding Sigma Draconis. It'll be in both print (available now) and ebook.