Epinions Recent Reviews for kskopitz

The Natural

Sat, 3 Nov 2001 01:17:15 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - A collection of some of McPhee's best--leisurely without ever dipping into boring. The three best pieces: The Headmaster, Oranges, and A Roomful of Hovings. The Headmaster is a brief and beguiling biography of Frank L. Boyden, the headmaster of the...

...of cabbages and Kings.

Mon, 1 Oct 2001 14:19:54 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - A lot changed between 1955 and 1970--15 years that saw the explosion of rock and roll, equal rights, drugs, and of course, anti-war protest. It's a change that Elvis Presley (aka King) can't quite get a fix on--of course, it's a little hard to get a fix...

Not Texas Barbecue

Thu, 6 Sep 2001 16:08:41 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Having spent a decade in Texas, I feel comfortable saying that what the Rib Ranch offers ain't it.

When a friend suggested we visit, I was initially excited; as much as I love Southern barbecue (which relies on pork), I found I had missed the...

Updated Odyssey

Thu, 6 Sep 2001 13:23:25 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Preston Sturges meets Homer, introductions courtesy of the Coen Brothers. The 1930s director, famous for his rapid-fire dialogue and slapstick, made a movie (Sullivan's Travels) about a director who wanted to make "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Sturges'...

Poets Clash by Night

Wed, 5 Sep 2001 17:03:58 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Despite the world being filled with great and tragic love stories, few have the poignency of that of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Each great poets in their own right, they clashed and complemented as much and more as one might expect of geniuses...

Murder in an English Village

Wed, 5 Sep 2001 11:36:50 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Elizabeth George came highly and frequently recommended by other mystery fans, and as a result I opened "A Great Deliverance" with high hopes. Hopes that weren't quite dashed, but a trifle disappointed. I can't quite see what the hype is about--the...

Perfect for Fried Chicken

Tue, 17 Jul 2001 14:00:09 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - I grew up around cast iron skillets, but never saw the need for one myself--I remembered all too well how difficult they were to lift, if nothing else.

A few months ago, Cook's Illustrated recommended the Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven for...

P is for Pallid

Fri, 6 Jul 2001 12:53:55 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - I hate reading series books, because no matter how much they dissolve into triteness, I'll keep reading. I just have to know how the main character is doing, even if he/she isn't really doing very much. And sadly, this is the case with P is for Peril...

The Story of a Modern Bride

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 16:16:42 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Amanda Beesley wrote a series of articles over one year for Self magazine, describing the transition from girlfriend to wife; these articles are the basis of this book. Unlike the articles, which were strictly focused on the relationship itself, the...

Faithful Writing, Faithless Characters

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 16:04:54 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - A collection of short stories, most of the mystery genre, featuring myriad betrayals--sexual, filial, societal, self.

Once again, Oates has entered the fevered mind of the insane, the criminal, the desperate, and enticed the reader to join...

The Southern Girl's Guide to Families

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 15:49:24 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Patricia Foster tells her story perhaps better than it deserves to be told. Her parents scratched their way out of Alabama mining towns and unimaginable poverty to become university graduates and her father a doctor. As a result, her life is filled...

The King of Flours

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 14:03:40 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Flour. The most basic ingredient in bread, cake, cookies, pasta. And still, the most easily overlooked. For years, I just picked up whatever happened to be on sale at the grocery store, and never gave my selection a second thought.

But then,...

How to Cook a Whole Lot of Stuff Adequately

Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:56:12 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz -

Mark Bittman's huge volume is designed for the absolute novice,

one who is most comfortable making popcorn in the microwave,

and has no real desire to achieve a 'gourmet' level of cooking.

("Gourmet" is something of a dirty word to...

The Slowing of Scarpetta

Tue, 5 Dec 2000 17:01:48 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Patricia Cornwell's follow-up to Black Notice finds Kay Scarpetta still chasing Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, or Le Loup Garrou (the werewolf) despite suffering from the broken elbow she acquires at the end of the last novel.

True to form, she...

Arby's: Expensive for Fast Food, But Worth It

Mon, 20 Nov 2000 19:14:08 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - There's nothing fancy about an Arby's--the typical cookie-cut-out furnishings and design of all fast food restaurants. (And who comes up with these uniforms, anyway? Are they trying to dissuade people from working there?)

But the food is a...

First in a Brilliant Series

Sat, 18 Nov 2000 15:40:28 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Cover Her Face is the first of the Adam Dagliesh mysteries by P.D. James. Ostensibly an English country house mystery, James does a subtle job of twisting the conventions to create an unique puzzle with unusually well-described characters. All of the...

A Fictional Bio of Marilyn Monroe

Fri, 17 Nov 2000 01:08:15 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Norma Jean Baker was not Marilyn Monroe--she just played her in the movies. But the fact that she could never make anyone else understand that, least of all her husbands and lovers, aided in pushing a woman of already fragile mental health further to...

Krispy Kreme: Hot Now!

Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:27:36 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - I adore Krispy Kreme, and it is always a puzzle to me when I find people that don't like them. Jane and Micheal Stern, who make more money reviewing restaurants than I ever will, dislike them as being too greasy, which I can't even comprehend, given...

Braum's: A Tradition, But Why?

Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:16:36 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - As soon as I moved to Dallas, people started telling me about Braum's. I had already seen one; passed by it everyday on the way home. It looked unprepossessing enough, and like an ice-cream shop ought to; a simple white building with a sign out front...

A Moral without Preaching

Wed, 15 Nov 2000 14:06:34 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is an exquisitely drawn and told tale of a little mouse eager to show off her latest gift, and the problems that ensue (her teacher would like to teach class, not have it interrupted), and Lilly's resulting feelings are...

Bittersweet Nostalgia

Wed, 8 Nov 2000 14:33:13 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - Would that we could all have had Calvin Trillin's father, or at least the son's sense of humor. There are no regrets here, even as he admits his father's faults (stubborn being a kind understatement) and much love as he recalls his father's admirable...

The Stuff Which Nightmares Are Made Of...

Wed, 8 Nov 2000 14:22:26 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - The story of a little girl nicknamed Bone by a family that is mostly kind, always impetuous, and nearly always poor. Bone admires the beauty and hard work of her mother and aunts, relishes the stories of her violent convict uncles, and rarely misses the...

A Staggering Look at the Revolution

Wed, 8 Nov 2000 14:12:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - The story of the American Revolution as told by Tim Meeker, a young adolescent living in the Tory community of Redding, Connecticut. His brother Sam is a Yale student infatuated with the idea of rebellion, whether from family or England, and joins the...

WWII Mystery

Tue, 7 Nov 2000 19:22:47 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - The Last Innocent Hour was inspired by a seemingly inexplicable moment; during the Rohm Putsch, or Night of the Long Knives, an SS officer wound up crying on the sofa at the residence of the American ambassador. Margot Abbot has written an intriguing...

A Gesture of Futility

Fri, 3 Nov 2000 15:38:42 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kskopitz - It's hard to imagine that Victor Mature wasn't continually frustrated as an actor-once again, the handsome, Brooklyn-accented guy is cast as an 'ethnic type', this time an enigmatic Arabian. He does a yeoman's job, though, and it's hard not to...