Book Notes: Rogue Wave’ is a seasonal delight
"Rogue Wave: Best New England Crime Stories," edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, Leslie Wheeler. Level Best Books, 2014, Somerville, Mass. 269 pages. $15.95.Every year at this time,...
View ArticleBook Notes: Daum uncovers Unspeakable’ truths about life
"The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion," by Meghan Daum. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2014. 257 pages. $26.For some tough, smart reading to kick off the new year, consider "The...
View ArticleBook Notes: An Irish tale of strength from grief
"Nora Webster," by Colm Toíbín. Scribner, New York, 2014. 384 pages. $27.Colm Toíbín's newest novel, "Nora Webster," is set in the late 1960s and early '70s in County Wexford in southeast Ireland.The...
View ArticleBook Notes: Essays on aging, from an aging poet
"Essays After Eighty" by Donald Hall. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston/New York, 2014. 144 pages. $22.When a friend told me she decided not to buy poet and essayist Donald Hall's "Essays After Eighty"...
View ArticleBook Notes: The Silent Girls’ shows off Vermont’s dark side
"The Silent Girls," by Eric Rickstad. HarperCollins, New York. 416 pages. $11.99 paperback, available Jan. 25, 2015. E-book available now.If you think a gothic northern Vermont mystery might harmonize...
View ArticleBook Notes: Joan Price offers a guide to sex after 50
"The Ultimate Guide to Sex After 50" by Joan Price. Cleis Press, 2015. 396 pages. $22.95.Yes, it's true. There's plenty of romance after 50. And because I'm writing for family newspapers, I won't get...
View ArticleBook Notes: Latest Rizzoli & Isles’ thriller keeps readers guessing
"Rizzoli & Isles: Die Again," by Tess Gerritsen. Ballantine Books, New York, 2014. 330 pages. $27."Die Again," Maine author Tess Gerritsen's newest Rizzoli & Isles mystery thriller, begins not...
View ArticleBook List: 10 alternatives to 50 Shades of Grey’
While some eager viewers are champing at the bit (or ball gag, as the case may be) for this weekend's big-screen release of "50 Shades of Grey," we're more in the mood for levity than the lash. If the...
View ArticleBook Notes: Childhood through an adult’s eyes
"My Sunshine Away" By M.O. Walsh. Amy Einhorn Books, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 2015. 320 pages. $26.95.For the boy coming of age in Baton Rouge in the early 1990s in M.O. Walsh's gorgeous novel "My...
View ArticleBook Notes: Memoir of a war photographer
"It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War" By Lynsey Addario. Penguin Press, New York, 2015. 357 pages. $29.95.Extraordinary lives sometimes yield extraordinary books. "It's What I Do: A...
View ArticleBook Notes: Psychological thriller digs out family secrets
"Little Black Lies," by Sandra Block. Grand Central Publishing, New York and Boston, 2015. 352 pages. $15 paperback.Who do you believe? Your psychiatrist? Your mother? Your brother? Maybe not. Dr. Zoe...
View ArticleBookmarks: Author takes a trip through Vermeer’s works
As a boy, Michael White was consigned to the "slow group" in school. He seemed to have trouble concentrating.In fact, White — who went on earn a Ph.D. — turned out to be a poet. He had a habit of...
View ArticleBook Notes: America’s Test Kitchen takes a detailed look at vegetarian cooking
"The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook: A Fresh Guide to Eating with 700 Foolproof Recipes" By the Editors at America's Test Kitchen. Published by America's Test Kitchen, Brookline, Mass., 2015. Paperback....
View Article3 new baseball books worth a read this season
Each spring dozens of baseball titles hit the bookstores. This year, there are several titles about some of the game's biggest names, such as Ty Cobb, Billy Martin and Marvin Miller.But here are a few...
View ArticleBook Notes: A big body is not a bad body
"Body of Truth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight and What We Can Do About It," by Harriet Brown. Da Capo Press, Boston, 2014. 274 pages. $25.99.Author Harriet Brown's...
View ArticleLocal co-authors host book reading at Yreka Library
Vin and Elijah Smith will read from their new novel, “Elijah and the Magic Box,” at the Yreka Library, 719 Fourth St., on Saturday, April 18, at 1 p.m.
View Article8 must-read novels for teens
Today is Celebrate Teen Literature Day, and what better way to celebrate than by rounding up our own favorite YA titles? From classics like "To Kill a Mockingbird" to more recent titles like...
View ArticleBook Notes: Author offers guide on getting back out there
"Getting Back Out There: Secrets to Successful Dating and Finding Real Love After the Big Breakup," by Susan J. Elliott. Da Capo Lifelong/Perseus Books Group, Boston, 2014. 271 pages. $14.99."Getting...
View ArticleBook Notes: Author offers an intimate look at homelessness
"Gotta Find a Home: Conversations with Street People," Book I of three books By Dennis Cardiff. Published by Lifetales Books, an imprint of Karenzo Media. 2014. Available online for $2.99.Joy is the...
View ArticleBook Notes: Recommended reading from the experts
What better way to learn about books than to attend the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference, as I am privileged to do every year in Manhattan at the end of April. Hundreds of authors...
View Article