Friday, October 23, 2026

Join our email blast

Posted August 26, 2015in Book Review

‘Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen’

In her 30-plus years in the copy department of The New Yorker, Mary Norris has corrected the work of many of the finest writers of the time, dedicating herself to maintaining the magazine’s high standards for grammar, spelling and  punctuation. It turns out Norris is a wonderful writer herself, and

Read More →
Posted August 19, 2015in Book Review

‘Narrow Road to the Deep North’

Richard Flanagan’s Man Booker Prize winning novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” is a book that explores the atrocities of war. The novel starts out in Melbourne, Australia, as Dorrigo Evans reflects on his childhood in Tasmania and the time he spent as a surgeon in a Japanese

Read More →
Posted August 12, 2015in Book Review

‘The Wright Brothers’

The Wright Brothers, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and an airplane. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Not so, and David McCullough dispels that notion within the first few pages. Orville and Wilbur Wright were the sons of a bishop, lived in Dayton, Ohio, and owned a bicycle shop. With their time, funds

Read More →
Posted August 05, 2015in Book Review

‘New Prairie Kitchen’

A rich collection of recipes from real-life foodies all over the Midwest, this collection is a tremendous mix of stories, advice and lessons from the people who know real food best — those who grow it, cook it and obsess over it. Farm-to-Table cooking has been a revolution in the

Read More →
Posted July 29, 2015in Book Review

‘The Cherry Harvest’

Featured as one of this month’s Midwest Connections picks, “The Cherry Harvest” is a coming-of-age novel and love story set in Door County, Wisconsin, during World War II, around the time of the cherry harvest. With food rationed and money scarce, Charlotte barters what she can to keep food on

Read More →
Posted July 22, 2015in Book Review

‘The Seven Good Years’

Internationally known Israeli writer Keret, an award-winning author of short stories, graphic novels and screen plays, offers his first book of non-fiction, “The Seven Good Years.” His touching, insightful memoir is told in small, interlinked stories, short, yet powerful observations that reveal Keret’s intelligent, compassionate views. The slim pieces cover

Read More →
Posted July 15, 2015in Book Review

‘How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking’

Would anyone other than a mathematician pick up a book about math to read for pleasure? Perhaps not, but even those not mathematically inclined will find plenty to enjoy in “How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking.” Author Jordan Ellenberg grabs the reader in the early pages

Read More →
Posted July 08, 2015in Book Review

‘The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey’

When Rinker Buck was a young boy in the 1950s, his father took him on a covered wagon trip “to see America slowly.” That trip was the seed that led to his book “The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey.” Buck and his brother, Nick, an experienced team driver, go

Read More →
Posted July 01, 2015in Book Review

‘The Perfection of the Paper Clip’

Stationery and history — this is sure to be a big hit for stationery aficionados. Those various items you find on your desk every day, how did they come to be? And why did they come to be? Although the book starts out as advertised — the history of the

Read More →
Posted June 24, 2015in Book Review

‘East of West Volume 4: Who Wants War?’

Comic books have been a lot more than cavorting caped crusaders and kitschy kids for decades now, yet serious artists and writers who go beyond superheroes and cartoons don’t always get the notoriety and readership they deserve. There are incredible indie comics, covering every genre imaginable, waiting to be discovered

Read More →
Iowa Farmers UnionBest of Des Moines 2027Iowa HHSHouse - Rack Locations