A look at the man who helped solidify Led Zeppelin's hard-partying reputation
"Bring It on Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond — The Story of Rock's Greatest Manager" by Mark Blake, Da Capo. 304 pp. $27 No band ever did more to propagate the stereotype of the...
View ArticleBook Notes: The coddling of America’s college students
“The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure” By Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. Penguin Press, New York, 2018. What happens on...
View ArticleYes, this novel has a cat narrator. I'm not ashamed to say it had me at meow.
"The Travelling Cat Chronicles" by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel, Berkley. 288 pp. $20 I love animals, and I love books, but I tend to avoid novels about animals because I don't enjoy...
View ArticleGarment industry meets the mob in ‘Button Man’
“Button Man” by Andrew Gross, Minotaur. 384 pp. $27.99 Andrew Gross’ prowess for rich historical mysteries, usually with a Jewish theme, takes another leap forward with the engrossing “Button Man.” Set...
View ArticleAn enigmatic child sends a small town on a search for answers
"Once Upon a River" by Diane Setterfield, Atria/Emily Bestler. 480 pp. $28 Diane Setterfield haunts familiar ground in "Once Upon a River," an eerily mystic tale of a mute child who captivates the...
View ArticleBook review: ‘The Breakaway’ one heck of a story about Wirtz, Blackhawks
Over the past decade, the Chicago Blackhawks have been one of the most successful franchises in the sports, winning three Stanley Cups since 2010, appearing in the most outdoor games and increasing the...
View ArticleAuthor releases fourth novel in crime series
Author Jeff Widmer, a former Pocono resident, recently released “Permanent Vacation,” the latest novel in his CW McCoy series.“Permanent Vacation” (Allusion Books, paperback, $10.95; eBook, $5.99),...
View ArticleClapton a restless rocker forever bolting his bands
"Slowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton" by Philip Norman, Little, Brown. 419 pp. $30 "Have I ever been satisfied? Definitely for one night, yeah," Eric Clapton told Rolling Stone last year. He...
View ArticleEastburg author, 13, discusses being 'Unwanted'
EAST STROUDSBURG — Celebrating his 14th birthday next month, J.T. Lambert Intermediate School eighth-grader Donel Wheeler doesn't want any other child bullied for having absentee parents."I know...
View ArticleHow Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress diverted war-worn England
"The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding" by William Morrow. 400 pp. $16.99 When Princess Elizabeth's engagement to Philip Mountbatten was announced in 1947, her wedding dress was the subject of...
View ArticleDallas author Kurt Eichenwald on epilepsy, his new book and the tweet that...
Kurt Eichenwald has been crying a lot. In the course of writing his memoir, “A Mind Unraveled,” which chronicles his struggles with epilepsy, the Dallas writer found all the old fears and traumas...
View ArticleBest tween and teen books of 2018
From fantasy and sci-fi, romance, and historical novels to biographies, mysteries, and thrillers, the year’s best books explore both everyday personal issues — loss, grief, friendship drama, school,...
View ArticleBook Notes: ‘Witch Elm’ is a classic whodunit
“The Witch Elm” By Tana French. Viking, 2018. 509 pages. $28.Good friends, young and hale and full of possibilities, frequently gather at Toby’s family homestead, the Ivy House. They talk and horse...
View ArticleTeddy Roosevelt and his pet cougar leap into action
"The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt and His Times" by Jerome Charyn, Liveright. 283 pp. $26.95 Who wouldn't want to grow old like Jerome Charyn? Now in his 80s, the...
View ArticleFrederick Douglass: From hunted fugitive slave to brilliant elder statesman
"Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom" by David W. Blight, Simon & Schuster. 888 pp. $37.50Frederick Douglass died in splendid isolation, at the top of a lonely hill in Southeast Washington. It...
View ArticleMeltzer’s nonfiction ‘The First Conspiracy’ unravels secret plot to kill...
Thriller writer Brad Meltzer is hoping his first nonfiction book, “The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington” (Flatiron Books), does for the United States’ first president what...
View ArticleIn Tessa Hadley's new novel, death mixes everybody up
"Late in the Day" by Tessa Hadley, Harper. 288 pp. $26.99 With each new book by Tessa Hadley, I grow more convinced that she's one of the greatest stylists alive. The British author of seven novels and...
View ArticleBook Notes: Murder and mayhem in New England
“Past Tense” By Lee Child. Delacorte Press, 2018, $28.99“Below the Tree Line: A Pioneer Valley Mystery” By Susan Oleksiw. Midnight Ink, Woodbury, Minnesota, 2018. 312 pages. $15.99.Two new suspense...
View ArticleBook Notes: Longform nonfiction with a palpable edge
“Dirty John and Other Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders” By Christopher Goffard, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. New York, November 2018. Paperback. $17“A Private...
View Article10 of the coolest libraries in America
February is National Library Lover's Month, and there are so many reasons to love your local libraries.They provide much-needed services to the communities they serve, you've got a world of knowledge...
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