Deep in the Appalachian Mountains near rural Cashiers, North Carolina, the McNeely family persists in its legacy of drugs and violence. Eighteen-year-old Jacob wants out but is resigned to his fate: “There was no escaping who I was or where I’d come from.” In his beautiful yet brutal novel, author
Read More →The Internet may be composed of bits of code and bytes of data, but it is built on bacon. Bacon cake, bacon beer, bacon laced with extra bacon, bacon shirts that proclaim an undying love for the crispy goodness, bacon candy, even Kevin Bacon. No corner of pop culture remains
Read More →“My Name is Mary Sutter” is the story of a strong-willed young midwife from Albany, New York, who is determined to become a surgeon at a time when women were largely barred from that career path. When the Civil War breaks out, Mary defies her mother by traveling to Washington,
Read More →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
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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
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