American author Daniel Mason is a psychiatrist on the staff of Stanford Hospital and a professor of writing at Stanford University. His most recent novel, “Country People,” is set in southern Vermont. Kate and Miles, she a Ph.D. professor of English Literature, he a frustrated academic struggling to complete a doctoral thesis on Russian folklore, have moved to Vermont, where Kate has accepted a 1-year visiting professorship at a prestigious liberal arts college. They, with t

“The Truth About Ruby Cooper,” by Liz Nugent, is a story told in alternative voices and chapters between two sisters, Ruby and Erin Cooper. Each gives their viewpoint of a criminal incident occurring in 1999 when they were teens. Occasionally, a short chapter is narrated by their mother Maureen in which her perspective is given. In 1999, Erin is a senior in high school. She is beautiful, a talented writer, and kind. She also is in love with Milo, a year older tha

The second sentence of the Declaration of Independence declares, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” On the 250th anniversary of its adoption, Walter Isaacson has written an 80-page book that examines and appreciates each word and vision of the Declaration. Isaacson maintains that the second sentence i

American journalist Pamela Colloff is a reporter for ProPublica and a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. A former editor at Texas Monthly, she published several long-form articles describing the tortuous road leading to the release of two prisoners whose convictions were overturned after extensive investigations showed the evidence against them was fabricated. In her first book, “Catch the Devil,” Colloff describes a similar scenario, but one that does not, at the

“The Lowe Job,” by Grave Alexander, is a sexy, contemporary book rife with scandal and humor that pulls readers right in. Think of it as a blending together of Monica Lewinsky’s story and “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” The story begins with Lili Lowe, the oldest of four sisters, becoming the center of a media storm when she is photographed giving Teddy Landen, a married member of Parliament, oral sex in his car. As the scandal erupts, threatening to ruin Lili’s career a

Jill Biden stepped into the role of First Lady of the United States in a turbulent time defined by the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol insurrection. She recounts her White House experience of helping to reassure and steady a stressed and frightened nation, while maintaining her own identity. Dr. Biden led a multifaceted life, balancing her career as an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College with serving as a major representati

“Sunlight Finds You” is a historical fiction novel that explores the ramifications of teen pregnancy in the late 1940s. Being a pregnant teen back then meant shame, isolation and scandal that affected not only the pregnant girl, but the entire family. Families went to great lengths to hide pregnancies for which the young women ultimately suffered. “Sunlight Finds You” also is a love story broken into three parts. In the first, Eleanor meets Leonard in her new high

Mexican-American novelist and essayist Valeria Luiselli holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Columbia University and teaches creative writing at Bard College. Her earlier writing emphases on Latin American culture and life, as well as the challenges of immigrant children. Her most recent novel, “Beginning Middle End,” her second to be written in English, details a mother-daughter road trip around the mother’s ancestral island of Sicily. The novel proceeds in three pa

The New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan interviewed more than 1,000 people for their new book, which depicts an unrestrained president remaking the United States government and its foreign relations in sweeping and alarming ways. The authors’ interview with the president reveals that he has become fixated on becoming “a great man of history.” Trump showed them a document that compared him to Mao, Hitler, Attila the Hun, and Genghis Khan. “The list [h

"The Traveler: One Man’s Quest to Discover Our Shared Humanity" recounts the life of naturalist and anthropologist George Forster, who was born in 1754 in a hamlet outside Danzig, Poland (modern-day Gdansk). George was the shy but curious son of a strict and cantankerous father. At the age of 17, the young man joined Captain Cook's second voyage on the HMS Resolution that had orders to find the "southern continent." The search for Antarctica required the expedition to stop a

Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead’s most recent novel, “Cool Machine,” concludes the Harlem Trilogy. The first two novels, “Harlem Shuffle” (2021) and “Crook Manifesto” (2023), tell the story of Ray Clancy, a Harlem native who has grown a successful furniture store through the 60s and 70s, into the 1980s, where the new novel is set. Clancy, the son of a long-dead small time Harlem crook, augmented the early days of his business by selling the occasional stolen item of f

Fans of crime fiction that take place in a wide array of settings will find Don Winslow’s latest collection of action-packed stories smart, rowdy, and poignant. In “Final Score,” best-selling author Winslow has included six short novels in a single volume, each featuring strong characters and compelling plot lines. The author uses his firsthand experiences as a former investigator, anti-terrorist trainer, and trial consultant to write some of the most eloquent crime fiction

American author Sigrid Nunez is best known for her novels, one of which (“The Friend”) won the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction. She also writes short fiction, some of which has been published in such periodicals as The New Yorker and The Paris Review. Nunez’s most recent book, “It Will Come Back To You,” is a collection of 13 stories, largely contemporary, although at least one is from early in her career. Many of the stories are set in Nunez’s home, New York City, alt

If you like Victorian historical fiction/romance then “A Perfect Hand” is the book for you! Ayelet Waldman has written a very clever take on the intrigue of love mixed with class consciousness, gender roles, and political climate of the era. The asides that the narrator issues to the “dear reader” make the story even more enjoyable. The year is 1879 and the main characters are Miss Alice Lockey, Lady Jemima, Mr. Smythe-Roberts, Sir Wynstowe, and Charles Wells. Alice, a youn

Master Naturalist, Besa Schweitzer, has written an interactive guidebook to native landscaping in Missouri. Her easy-to-follow planner lists garden tasks for each month of the year. The talented gardener challenges readers to help save nature by acting locally—in their own yards—by removing invasive plants and introducing native species. Besa notes that planting one tree can become a habitat for a variety of birds. An oak tree, in particular, can provide habitat for more tha

"A great thinning of the skies is underway. There are three billion fewer birds in North America than half a century ago." With this chilling observation, nature writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris introduce an imaginative, vividly illustrated collection of lyrical narratives and paintings about endangered birds. "Instead of photographs—paint. Alongside data—metaphor, story, poetry. In place of definition—relation. As well as classification—something like l

In the novel, “The Children,” by Melissa Albert, beloved children’s author, Edith Sharpe, and her infamous husband, Llewellyn, die in a fire when their children are 13 and 10. Overnight guests, including several famous actors and artists, also perish in the flames. Ennis and his sister Guinevere miraculously manage to flee as the house is consumed. They are found in a little shelter known as The Farmhouse, that they have built by themselves over the years in the fore

The earliest documented habitation of Ireland dates to millennia before the Christian era. The island has been inhabited by multiple waves of cultures including mainland Europe, the Scandinavian region, and the Vikings. Maggie O’Farrell’s recent novel, “Land,” includes references to the earliest inhabitants of the island. The book is set in the 19th century, the years that saw the great potato famine leading to the loss of 20 % of the island’s population, both to death by st

In a collection of telling essays, Evan Osnos appraises the lives of 1% of the US population known as the super wealthy. The talented author explores their obsession with $500 million yachts and bomb-proof bunkers. He discloses their political influence and the extreme measures they take to avoid paying taxes. “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich” is composed of three sections: "THE REWARDS—How to Spend It" which describes what the mega rich purchase, "TH

American author and humorist David Sedaris first came to public attention in 1992 when he read his essay Santaland Diaries on National Public Radio. He published his initial collection of essays and short stories, “Barrel Fever,” two years later. Sedaris has published more than a dozen collections since that time, the most recent being “The Land and Its People.” Throughout his career Sedaris’s work has been characterized by his eyes-wide-open observations and characterizatio