In writing “Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League,” Jonathan Odell drew on his childhood experiences in Mississippi in the 1950s. Now living in Minnesota, his novel has been chosen as a March pick by the Midwestern Independent Booksellers, a well-deserved honor. The story brings together two young women —
Read More →This is an account of the history of the digital age, from Ada Lovelace’s mathematical writings in the 19th century to the emergence of the Internet that we have today. In between, there are many fascinating stories of the people who worked together to make it happen. Isaacson’s theme of
Read More →I love post-apocalyptic fiction. A shattered land, the sputtering hope and the triumph of heroes in the most desperate circumstances draws me in like a moth to the flame. In “The Country of Ice Cream Star,” award-winning author Sandra Newman delivers a stunning piece of post-apocalyptic literature, epic in scale
Read More →M. O. Walsh’s astonishing debut novel takes place in the ’80s and 90s along Piney Creek Road in the suburbs of Baton Rouge. Good meals and cold drinks are consumed to stave off the oppressive heat, lawns are well manicured, and the neighborhood children attend private school. Amid the charming
Read More →The haunting World War II stories of a French girl and German boy are told in parallel in Anthony Doerr’s beautiful and best-selling novel, “All the Light We Cannot See.” Blind 12-year-old Marie-Laure LeBlanc flees Paris with her father when the Nazi occupation of the city begins. Her agoraphobic great
Read More →This intriguing work of historical fiction is told from the point of view of Vanessa Bell, a post-impressionist English painter who lived from 1879–1961. I have to admit, before reading this novel, I had never heard of her. On the other hand, her sister needed no introduction. She was the
Read More →
Posted February 04, 2015in Book Review
“Abandoned America” was featured recently on BookTV, piquing my interest in the history to be found in old, abandoned buildings. The book did not disappoint. Although the impact of the photographs themselves is great, the author/photographer has included much of the history of each of the 30 sites. The combination
Read More →Cookbook lovers are a special breed and seemingly always on the lookout for something new, different or simply with awesome pictures. We have stacks and stacks of books — never mind that the Internet has all the recipes you’d ever need, it just not the same as those gorgeous, picture-filled
Read More →Christopher Scotton has published a splendid debut novel, a coming-of-age story as devastating as it is hopeful. Scotton’s story takes us to the mid-1980s to the small, impoverished coal-mining town of Medgar, Kentucky. Kevin Gillooly, 14, has just moved there with his mother. His grandfather, Arthur “Pops” Peebles, invited them
Read More →
Posted January 14, 2015in Book Review
“The Resurrection of Tess Blessing” is a poignant, heart-tugging and often hilarious new novel from award-winning Wisconsin author Lesley Kagen. Tess Blessing is facing many of the normal challenges of middle age, including sullen, teen-aged children with hair-trigger emotions and a husband going through his own mid-life crisis. She also
Read More →
