Book Notes: A tale of siblings who must stick together
“The Dutch House” By Ann Patchett. HarperCollins, New York, 2019. 337 pages. $27.99Ann Patchett’s newest book, a novel titled “The Dutch House,” tells the story of a brother and sister who, early on in...
View ArticleCarmen Maria Machado's "In the Dream House" puts the reader in the shoes of a...
In the Dream House: A MemoirBy Carmen Maria MachadoGraywolf. 272 pp. $26---This review would be easier to write if Carmen Maria Machado weren't so good. "In the Dream House," her lyric memoir of queer...
View ArticleThese titles were the bestselling books of the decade
If you started and ended the decade as a voracious reader, perhaps you picked up a few of these titles. According to NPD Bookscan, these were the books that flew off the shelves this decade. "Fifty...
View ArticleBook Notes: Solitary detectives make a solid team
“The Night Fire: A Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel” by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company, 2019. 416 pages. $26.99Harry Bosch, one of contemporary literature’s best-known detectives, is...
View ArticleBook Notes: Solitary detectives make a solid team in Connelly’s ‘Night Fire’
“The Night Fire: A Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel” by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company, 2019. 416 pages. $26.99Harry Bosch, one of contemporary literature’s best-known detectives, is...
View ArticleBook Notes: Resuming the story of Olive Kitteridge in ‘Olive, Again’
“Olive, Again” by Elizabeth Strout. Random House, 2019. 304 pages.Few people, fictional or otherwise, make me cringe like Olive Kitteridge does. When I read any of the linked stories in “Olive, Again,”...
View ArticleJeanine Cummins' migrant book 'American Dirt' is problematic; author's note...
"American Dirt" (Flatiron, 400 pp., ★½ out of four) starts out as one hell of a thriller: At her niece’s quinceañera, Lydia’s entire family is slaughtered by a cartel: 16 people total, including her...
View ArticleBook Notes: A thriller that finds hope in bleakness in ‘Long Bright River’
“Long Bright River” by Liz Moore. Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House imprint). 2020. $26. 492 pages.“Long Bright River” by Liz Moore is a rare treat. A thriller by definition, it is much more. But...
View ArticleBook review: ‘Prairie Lotus’ reimagines ‘Little House’ world through eyes of...
Like countless American girls, Linda Sue Park devoured the “Little House” novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder, re-reading them and imagining herself in the stories as a friend of young Laura.But as she grew...
View ArticleJim Higgins: How to read 35, 50 or 100 books a year: Give up on the boring ones
I read a lot of books. During this decade I’ve finished more than 100 in a year at least twice. Sometimes when people find this out, I get polite chatter about how I find the time, not unlike the kind...
View ArticleJames Patterson launches #SaveIndieBookstores to help booksellers during...
NEW YORK (AP) — James Patterson has a history of helping independent bookstores.The best-selling novelist has donated millions in recent years to booksellers, while also giving millions to schools and...
View Article'Glass Hotel' review: Emily St. John Mandel examines devastation of a Ponzi...
Emily St. John Mandel’s last novel, 2014’s rapturously received “Station Eleven,” had one hell of an elevator pitch: What does the world look like after it’s been ravaged by a pandemic and civilization...
View ArticleSolitary detectives make a solid team in Connelly's 'Night Fire'
"The Night Fire: A Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel" by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company, 2019. 416 pages. $26.99Harry Bosch, one of contemporary literature's best-known detectives, is...
View ArticleBook review: New book on The Association provides a different look at pop...
If you can remember hearing the catchy strains of “Along Comes Mary” by The Association back when it first hit radio’s top 40 stations, wow ... you’re old! If you’ve never heard of The Association,...
View Article'The End of October' is a thriller for our times
“The End of October” by Lawrence Wright; Knopf (400 pages, $27.95)Timely books are often described as “ripped from the headlines.” But Lawrence Wright’s new novel, “The End of October,” scooped the...
View ArticleBook review: New book on The Association provides a different look at pop...
If you can remember hearing the catchy strains of “Along Comes Mary” by The Association back when it first hit radio’s top 40 stations, wow ... you’re old! If you’ve never heard of The Association,...
View ArticleBook review: Jim Bouton biography goes deep inside writing of ’Ball Four’
Jim Bouton the pitcher was famous for a time for a few successful World Series appearances as a New York Yankee in the early 1960s. But Jim Bouton’s legacy was minted as a writer, and he reveled in...
View ArticleBook review: Smith’s ‘The Meat and Potatoes of Life’ gives a funny look at...
Once upon a time, young Lisa Smith, a lawyer, married Francis Molinari, an up and coming naval career officer. Then they had three kids, and military service caused multiple relocations. Like everyone...
View Article5 books not to miss: Colin Jost's 'Very Punchable Face,' David Mitchell's...
In search of something good to read? USA TODAY's Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases.1. "A Very Punchable Face," by Colin Jost (Crown, nonfiction,...
View ArticleMother who lost son to addiction shares struggle in memoir
HARDYSTON — Mary Burns watched her son Eric struggle with mental illness and drug addiction throughout his teenage years. She documented the battle and in May released a memoir "13 years in the making"...
View Article