Holiday Reading Ideas
Four books to enjoy reading over the holidays (or at any other time!)
Tema Frank
Historical Fiction & Business Author, World Traveler & Speaker
Tema Frank
Historical Fiction & Business Author, World Traveler & Speaker
Read MoreHoliday Reading Ideas
What’s a Jew To Do?
How a secular, humanist Jew loses friends on both sides of the Israel-Gaza divide. It is scary to speak up at a time like this but too isolating not to.
Fun With History
You get a different sense of history when you read old newspapers instead of just history books.
Book Review: Darkness at Noon
Written in 1940 about Stalinist Russia, Darkness at Noon contains a chilling explanation of the recent trend towards authoritarianism in much of the world. I give it 5 stars.
Book Review: Street Corner Dreams
Street Corner Dreams: A Novel by Florence Reiss Kraut My rating: 4 of 5 stars My father grew up in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn that was about half Italian and half Jewish. It marked him in several ways, most…
Book Review: The Confessions of Young Nero
Nero gets an unfair bad rap, according to Margaret George's book, The Confessions of Young Nero. If you grew up in the kind of environment he did, you'd have issues too.
Read This Before Deciding Whether to Retire in Cuenca, Ecuador
There's a lot to love about Cuenca, Ecuador. But it has a few downsides too. This article should help you decide if it's right for you.
ChatGPT and Me: A Distressing Comparison of OpenAI & Bing GPT
OpenAI's ChatGPT is seductive, but still highly inaccurate. How does Microsoft's Bing AI compare? A test.
Where to Find Live Music in Cuenca, Ecuador
One thing we look for in choosing where to spend our winter months is a wide variety of cultural activities, and especially live music. When I was in my late teens and 20s I couldn’t go to clubs because I…
Book Review: The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank
A beautifully written examination of survivor guilt and PTSD.
Book Review: The Courtesan’s Daughter
Book review of "The Courtesan's Daughter" by Susanne Dunlap. See also my review of her book, The Portraitist, which I loved!
Are the Galapagos Islands Worth the Cost & Hassle?
We hesitated about going to the Galapagos because of the cost. Turns out you can do it more cheaply & help the locals. Totally worth it!