reading Archives

Petals of Haiku

Of Longing and Loneliness and Love Author: Richard Hauken Haiku: A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world. ~ Dictionary.com Petals of Haiku is a short but powerful collection of poems documenting the ordinary and extraordinary life of the author, Richard Hauken. It is both retrospective and introspective, highlighting the warring emotions of love and loneliness, dreams attained and longings as yet unrealized, and the impacts of a mental disorder. Petals of Haiku is divided into three parts. The first portion is Family, Home, and Friends. Through each [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-23T13:10:06-07:00December 23rd, 2025|Tags: book review, haiku, poetry, read, reading, Richard Hauken|

Play Nice

“But so often, being right means nothing but winning a round of a losing game.” Author: Rachel Harrison A selfish young stylist/influencer who loves her content and feels nothing for people, including family, friends, and lovers. A demon-possessed house in need of some TLC. A traumatic childhood. And A LOT of drinking, drugs, and things that go bump in the night and leave smiley faces etched on the walls. And that, dear potential readers, is Play Nice. A less sarcastic, more complete synopsis looks like this: A divorced mother accused of child abuse and alcoholism finally loses custody and visitation rights [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-22T20:21:44-07:00December 22nd, 2025|Tags: book of the month, book review, botm, haunted house, horror, Play Nice, Rachel Harrison, read, reading|

Secrets in the Cellar

The True Story of Elisabeth Fritzl Author: John Glatt I came to the true story of Elisabeth Fritzl, an 18-year-old Austrian woman who was raped and imprisoned in a secret cellar for twenty-four years by her own father, through Bailey Sarian’s Murder, Mystery, and Makeup podcast. I was in equal parts shocked and horrified – both by the crime itself and the fact that no one else in the house, including Elisabeth’s mother, siblings, and over 100 boarders over two decades ever noticed anything strange. Elisabeth’s father and captor, Josef Fritzl, spent years building the secret cellar, moving tons of rock [...]

Frances Carden2025-12-22T14:32:17-07:00December 22nd, 2025|Tags: book review, Elisabeth Fritzl, read, reading, true crime|