Comment on James Woods' "The Nearest Thing to Life": The art of reading and living

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share their mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer?

When Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German was murdered in September 2022, he became the ninth U. S. journalist to be murdered in connection with their work in 30 years. German is much more than a statistic, though. In “The Last Story: The Murder of an Investigative Journalist In Las Vegas (WildBlue Press), German’s colleague Arthur Kane delves into the reporter’s professional life, the police investigation into his death, and the evolution of Las Vegas and news media over recent decades. “It was important to me to get the story out there,” said Kane, an award-winning investigative journalist who worked at The Denver Post for seven years.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer?

“Pay Dirt,” by Sara Paretsky (Wiliam Morrow) “Pay Dirt,” by Sara Paretsky (Wiliam Morrow) V. I. Warshawski is in a bad place. Depressed because of a death (one that occurred in a previous mystery) and a separation from her boyfriend, she agrees to attend a ball game in Lawrence, Kan., with a goddaughter and her friends.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer?

This month, several Denver-area histories serve as summer tour guides. “The Scenic History of Denver Cemeteries: From Cheesman Park to Riverside,” by Phil Goodstein (New Social Publications) “The Scenic History of Denver Cemeteries: From Cheesman Park to Riverside,” by Phil Goodstein (New Social Publications) Of the first dozen people buried in Mount Prospect, Denver’s first cemetery, two were hanged for murder, five died from gunshot wounds, and one committed suicide.  No wonder the early city fathers wanted the graveyard to be far from the city center. Mount Prospect was expanded to include a Jewish section.