Brien Crothers's Blog

Elena���s Tale ��� a morning at the gun club
BRIEN CROTHERS

An American Landscape Short Story

Livermore Pleasanton Rod & Gun Club

One Sunday morning

On her first day off in several months, she pulled through the large parking lot, parked her gleaming white BMW 640i, and retrieved her shotgun and gear from the vehicle���s trunk.

Her father gave her that shotgun when she had graduated from college. Her grandfather bought her the sports car when she joined the CIA. Both men were dead n...

Some Rise to the Top
BRIEN CROTHERS

Demon Copperhead, a standout novel

Have you seen my reviews on a few books I���ve read this year? That post was titled��Be Brave because during high school, some handful of decades ago, I hated writing reviews and book reports and I needed to be brave with a return to that endeavor. Feedback was good. Thank you all.

One novel I left out���on purpose���was Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. This novel, a winner of the Pulitzer Pri...

Be Brave
BRIEN CROTHERS

Remember writing book reports during high school?

Oh, how I dreaded book reports. Other than Speech class and a consistently heckling tormentor, book reports were the absolute worst part of high school.

Here, I���ll be brave, though, to be more accurate, these are book reviews. I���ll tell you a little something about the things I���ve read and enjoyed so far this year. (In future pieces, keep an eye out for TV series and movies I���ve been watching this year.)

The Bitches in #366
BRIEN CROTHERS

The Unraveling of a Winner’s Tale

(Author���s note:��During a recent dinner party, one of the guests arrived late. She was abuzz with that afternoon���s acquisition of eighteen female mannequins for her boutique. She shared a picture of them in a storage unit, Unit #366.)��

Decisions are easy to make; sometimes they���re hard to live with. 

Imagine one of those TV mysteries that starts with a young woman walking a stream-side path during a misty n...

The Orville
BRIEN CROTHERS

Do you geek out over Star Trek? Do your friends lovingly call you a Trekkie? If so, welcome to the club! I’ve been a card-carrying member since the shag carpets and lava lamp days of the 60s. Hence, when The Orville hit the screens, a creation daring to trace its lineage back to the original series but not birthed by the Paramount clan, it felt like a mutiny. I staunchly refused to give it a peek.

Now, quick disclaimer, I’m as into contemporary American TV as a veg...

How Deep?
BRIEN CROTHERS

What’s the depth of your literary (or any) mastery? 

This question, of course, leads us on an introspective journey, more rhetorical than realistic. I dream of wielding my pen with the grace and poise of Gabriel Garc��a Marquez. Or perhaps, mirroring the prolific nature of, say, a James Patterson. 

In the happy place of my mind, my stories would captivate readers who like novels from a couple of my favorites, Kristin Hannah and Jennifer Donnelly. But reality loves...

The Joy of Simple Pleasures: A Perspective on Entertainment
BRIEN CROTHERS

What really tickles your funny bone?

Or, digging deeper into the matter, have we lost our ability to let loose and revel in simple joy? I’m no expert on the subject, merely a humble observer, sharing my thoughts. In the comfort of our homes, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to entertainment. We can indulge in a smorgasbord of digital delights on our sleek flat screens, immersing ourselves in the enchanting wond...

Dow 11,000
BRIEN CROTHERS

As the new millennium dawned, the Dot-Com bubble teetered on the brink of collapse. The Dow Jones had scaled the dizzying heights of 11,000 points, but my boss, a petroleum engineer with a shiny Penn State masters, was prophesying doom and gloom. His wisdom was legendary, but on this occasion, I felt compelled to disagree.

You see, I was neck-deep in an electrical engineering course at the time, hoping to transition to the sunny shores of project management. As the ...

Reviews on Google Maps
BRIEN CROTHERS

You’ve likely heard the saying, “If you want reviews, you gotta write reviews������perhaps written in another writer���s newsletter. It never hurts to be reminded, and I admit I often remind myself. Picture this, pre-pandemic, I embarked on a journey, penning down my thoughts on eateries, inns, and attractions. Google Maps became my canvas.

What type of processor are you?

Let’s switch tracks momentarily. Are you the visual-processor type? You know...

How it All Began
BRIEN CROTHERS

���Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness…” Mark Twain

Ever pondered your passions? For me, this can be one of those big, philosophical life questions that keeps me up at night. We hear the question ���what���s your passion?��� all the time, like a broken record. Of course, some folks love to debate this topic. They just can���t see a path to happiness, I say.

So, here���s my tale: Some time ago, I hung up my hat as a Project Manager i...