“The Seven Daughters of Dupree,” by Nikesha Elise Williams, is a multigenerational story that focuses on the lives of generations of women who share the Dupree name.  As layers of their family history are slowly revealed readers learn that their pasts were full of pain, love and sacrifice. The historical revelations of the story begin in 1995 when 14-year-old Tati begins uncovering the identity of her father, even though her mother Nadia has ignored all of Tati’s previous re

I have rarely read a novel about the exploration of uncharted territory  (in this case Tibet) that so vividly describes the hardships of mapping “a blank space” in the world. At the same time, the descriptions of the absolute beauty and wonders of the country, home of the Himalayas and Mount Everest, made me feel that I was accompanying the explorers on a very trying journey.         In 1869, two explorers set out to map cities and rivers that run through Tibet. They do not k

January marks a day set aside to honor handwriting—the 23 rd  to be exact. It seems a fitting time to suggest “The Correspondent,” a heartfelt novel in letters by Virginia Evans. This lovely story will make readers fall in in love with Sybil Van Antwerp, the narrator, a character of a woman, both bristly and soft, but altogether proper, plucky and intelligent. Each day Sybil puts great thought into the letters she writes, often drafting an original and spiffing it up before

Young men are not doing well. In 2022, among 10 to 24-year-olds, males accounted for 78% of suicides. In 2023, male high school graduates were 8% less likely to enroll in college. The labor-force participation rate has dropped by 10% among young men ages 20 to 24 over the last 30 years.   “The data around boys and men is overwhelming,” writes author Scott Galloway, a popular podcaster and university professor. Drawing on social and economic trends and his 61 years of life exp

Obsessive parental love taken to the next level runs rampant in “Homeschooled,” an addictive memoir that while disturbing also inspires. Stefan Merrill Block has written a testament to the resiliency of children, to their ability to survive abuse in in a page turner that focuses on a mother overly attached to her youngest son. The opening incident highlights what’s to come for young Stefan as he fantasizes about injuring himself just enough in a fall to get his mother to sta

In May 1884 the Mignonette, a 52-two-foot yacht, set sail from England to be delivered to its new owner in Australia. Many thought the Mignonette was too frail a vessel to withstand the seas it would encounter in its 122-day voyage to Sydney. Nevertheless, the ship was manned by a captain with extensive seafaring experience, two mates with similar backgrounds, and a 17-year-old cabin boy. Several weeks into the journey the ship encountered heavy seas in the south Atlantic, s

Hooray! A brand new year! Let’s welcome 2026 with some stellar Picks. Clover’s suggestions for January are light-hearted and fun, stories to tickle readers’ funny bones. Moving forward, let’s set the mood-meter to pure joy, stay resolute about adding a smile-a-day to our calendars. Everyone knows “laughter is the best medicine,” and Clover is happy to prescribe a trio of “Smile-a-While Reads” that are sure to please. Page On! Enjoy! The Community Literacy Foundation, in partn

Public education is at the forefront in almost every community in the United States. Teaching is key to shaping values and lives. Because of the power of education, schools have become a battleground over what gets taught. Angry citizens confront school boards with critical questions: who gets instructed, how, by whom, and who decides the curriculum? Efforts to suppress freedom of speech and knowledge about race, gender, and sexuality have become so politicized and heated tha

In the summer of 1994 Christine Kuehn, working at a Maryland radio station, received a letter from a Hollywood screenwriter. He was writing a screenplay based on a World War II incident that might have involved Otto, her grandfather. The writer hoped to make contact with Eberhardt, her father, Otto’s son, to uncover facts about the matter. Thus began a 30-year quest that led Kuehn deeper and deeper into unknown territory in her family’s history. Her father had always been qu

"The Zorg" is a historical horror story, the wrenching, little-known story of an 18th-century incident on an Atlantic slave ship that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and eventually the United States. "The Zorg" (a Dutch word meaning "care") was a merchant vessel flying the Dutch flag that the British captured. Purchased by a privateer, it set sail from the Gold Coast of Africa in 1781 with a rough and tumble crew of 17 men who carelessly stocked it with

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer for The   New Yorker  magazine since 1992. She is the author of the best-selling novels “The Orchard Thief “(1998), “Rin Tin Tin: the Life and the Legend” (2011), and “The Library Book” (2018). Orlean has written for television and for Vogue , Rolling Stone , and Esquire magazines.                “Joyride” is a memoir of Orlean’s writing career. At age 70, she is still writing and retains the same curiosity about the unusual or elusive su

Anthony Hopkins’ memoir, “We Did OK, Kid,” proves the 87-year-old native born Welshman is not just an accomplished wonder of the stage and screen, but also is an accomplished writer. His book is thoughtful and heartfelt as it delves into the pain he suffered as a friendless boy who never fit in, and as an actor dodging potholes that threatened to upend him on his career path. As a child Hopkins wasn’t into sports, didn’t do well in school and had no friends. He did enjoy pla

Indian-born British/American author Salman Rushdie’s extensive literary output is best known for his 1988 Novel “The Satanic Verses,” whose depiction of the prophet Mohammed was deemed blasphemous by some Islamic authorities and led to a call for his assassination by the supreme ruler of Iran. For years Rushdie lived in seclusion under an assumed name. In 2022, after his return to the public, Rushdie was attacked during a presentation, costing him the use of his right eye an

Excitement mounts for the click of hooves on the roof, and the joy we feel, at the hive or house, when friends and family come for the holidays. Memories flood our minds as we recall times past—our senses full to bursting with the sights, sounds, scents, and tastes in store for us in the coming days and weeks. To commemorate this blessed and best month, Clover presents her “Gift of a Good Book” Picks, a trio of superlative treasures to enjoy by the fire, share with a loved on

“Bad Bad Girl,” by Gish Jen, has been named by Time  magazine as one of the 100 must-read books of 2025. The autofiction novel is an account of the conversations the author Jen wishes she had had with her Chinese mother before her mother’s death in 2020 at age 96. When Jen was born, a multi-generational chain of dysfunction and abuse sadly continued, broken only when Jen had her own children. The novel also chronicles the immigrant experience and the complex relationship be

“The Ivory City,” by Emily Bain Murphy, is a historical romance/murder mystery set in our own back yard. With thorough research, Murphy has captured the sights, sounds, smells, and wonders of the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, making this world-class event the center of her story. Grace, the poor cousin of Lillie and Oliver, experiences the excitement of exploring the attractions of the fair by day and attending the gala evening events thanks to her cousins. Early in the op

After an 8-year hiatus Jan Karon is back with her 15 th  book in the Mitford series. This gentle story is full of love, laughter and faith. Father Tim Kavanagh, the main character, is a retired Episcopal priest who married his artistic wife, Cynthia, late in life. Cynthia tells Tim that the one thing she wants for Christmas is a love letter. Christmas is a big deal for the Kavanaghs and a special time in the small mountain town of Mitford, North Carolina. After much thought

Mesmerizing and complex, “The Land in Winter,” by Andrew Miller, is an atmospheric British novel set in a village near Bristol in the 1960s. A record-breaking snowstorm mirrors the disquiet and turmoil its main characters face. The novel paints pictures with words, the English countryside, and the cities of Bristol and London coming to life on its pages, the sacrifices of World War II an undertone pervasive in the narrative. Two young Brit couples from vastly different backg

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down             Of the big lake they call Gitchie Gumee So begins Gordon Lightfoot’s iconic 1976 ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Michigan journalist John U. Bacon’s book, “The Gales of November,” published only weeks before the 50 th  anniversary of the Great Lakes shipping disaster, (11-10-2025) offers a deep dive into the details of the tragedy. But Bacon’s book offers more than a recounting of the Fitzgerald’s loss.

Historian Bruce Henderson draws on personal interviews and extensive research to tell the story of the collaboration between U.S. bomber crews and the French Resistance during World War II. The military operation, code-named Operation Carpetbagger, commenced in 1942 and continued through D-Day, June 6, 1944. The mission was for U.S. B-24 Liberators, based at a secret airfield near London, to "fly low and slow in the dead of night to parachute spies and supplies" into Nazi oc