Attention, Tom Hanks: Dan Brown's new novel, 'Origin,' is ready for you
"Origin" by Dan Brown, Doubleday. 480 pp. $29.95 Dan Brown is back with another thriller so moronic you can feel your IQ points flaking away like dandruff. "Origin" marks the fifth outing for Harvard...
View Article'The Woman Who Smashed Codes' should be the next 'Hidden Figures'
Every once in a while as I'm reading a book it becomes clear that, for some reason or confluence of reasons, the text in question would make the perfect movie. This perhaps implies a poverty of my own...
View ArticleJoni Mitchell from both sides now
"Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell" by David Yaffe, Sarah Crichton. 420 pp. $28 With her regal beauty, imperious nature and nifty clothes, Joni Mitchell could fit right into "Game of...
View Article‘The Good People’ by Hannah Kent, offers haunting look at Celtic superstition
“The Good People” by Hannah Kent; Little, Brown (388 pages, $27) Foreboding builds from the get-go of “The Good People,” Hannah Kent’s haunting historical novel about a rural Irish community gripped by...
View ArticleDr. Seuss’ racial history draws controversy
He was a doctor who made house calls, millions and millions of them, and his unique and wildly popular prescriptions influenced the way generations of children see and understand the world. Now Dr....
View ArticleFor Amy Tan, life is still 'joy lucky'
SAUSALITO, Calif. — Yes, Amy Tan is happy to answer questions about "The Joy Luck Club." But nearly 30 years after the publication of her blockbuster novel, she also wants to talk about birds,...
View ArticleJann Wenner doesn't like the new book about him. But you just might.
"Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine" by Joe Hagan, Knopf. 560 pp. $29.95 Jann Wenner doesn't like the way a new biography of him turned out. He's called the...
View ArticleBoo! The best ghost stories you probably haven't heard yet.
As the March sisters of "Little Women" might have said, "It wouldn't be Halloween without any ghost stories." Below are six recent books to help you get in the holiday spirit."The Ghost in the Corner...
View ArticleWhat sparked our fear of witches — and what kept it burning so long?
"The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present" by Ronald Hutton, Yale University Press. 376 pp. $30 These days, when the accusation of "witch hunt" seems far too casually invoked, we...
View ArticleNew Harry Potter book takes readers behind the scenes of J.K. Rowling’s...
“Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic” by British Library; Arthur A. Levine (144 pages, $19.99) The big, lopsided words written in pencil captured not just the charm and innocence of...
View ArticleHow the four Warner brothers built a movie empire that conquered the world
"Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio" by David Thomson, Yale University Press. 220 pp. $25 I can imagine only one thing more pleasurable than reading this book: writing it. The fun...
View ArticleWe'll always have Casablanca
"Destination Casablanca: Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II" by Meredith Hindley, PublicAffairs. 491 pp. $30 "If you picked up this book, you might be a fan of the...
View Article‘Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race,’ kids battle fake-news-posting villains...
Parents need to know that “Mr. Lemoncello’s Great Library Race” is the third installment in bestselling author Chris Grabenstein’s series aimed at showing kids the wonders of libraries. Like other...
View ArticleBook World: Khizr Khan's long love affair with America
An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and SacrificeBy Khizr KhanRandom House. 271 pp. $27---It took about two minutes in 2016 for Khizr Khan to become a celebrity and a national symbol. He was a...
View Article‘Design a Better Life’ with Carol McManus in Milford
Carol McManus, author of “Choices: Real People Share Their Stories of How They Overcame Challenges to Design a Better Life,” will present a book reading at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Pâtisserie Fauchère,...
View ArticleHow these kids’ books can introduce a lifetime of fitness
When I became a parent last year, it seemed likely my marathon running days were behind me. Running had made me a grittier person. It had given me the very specific self-assurance that comes from...
View ArticleSnoopy finally gets the book he deserves
"Celebrating Snoopy" by Charles M. Schulz, Andrews McMeel, 560 pp. $75 Growing up in the early 1970s, I drew Snoopy constantly. I started young, depicting Snoopy on his doghouse as three small white...
View ArticleWhat we need now is a Swift kick in the pants
"Jonathan Swift: The Reluctant Rebel," John Stubbs, Norton. 752 pp. $39.95 If Gulliver could travel through time, instead of sailing around the world, imagine how familiar the Yahoos of Washington...
View ArticleLiars, hucksters and fake news are nothing new: A history lesson in hoaxes
"Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts and Fake News" by Kevin Young, Graywolf. 560 pp. $30 What is more American than reinvention? After all, only a keystroke separates...
View Article‘German Girl’ author coming to Clymer Library
Armando Lucas Correa, author of 2016's “The German Girl,” will speak during the Lake Naomi Book Group meeting at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Clymer Library, 115 Firehouse Road, Pocono Pines.“The German Girl”...
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