– Book Reviews
The Best of Me by David Sedaris. New York: Little, Brown, 2020, 388 pages, $30
Essayist David Sedaris now physically lives in England, but his intellectual output inhabits permanent real estate at the street corner of Tragedy and Comedy in the American humorist oeuvre. The Best of Me contains a smattering of his …
Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi. New York: Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2020. 192 pages.
Have you ever found yourself craving cake on a weeknight, but making one seems like too much effort? Snacking Cakes is here to save the day. With easy to follow recipes and sophisticated recipes, Snacking Cakes is sure to be a …
“Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice” by Michel Paradis; Simon & Schuster (472 pages, $28).
Published in 2020, Last Mission to Tokyo by Michel Paradis is a thrilling New York Times bestseller which reveals the dramatic aftermath of the 1942 Doolittle Raid …
All the Little Hopes by Leah Weiss. Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks Landmark, [2021]. 352 pp.
Many of us whose families grew up in North Carolina understand well life on a farm (even if our families moved “to town” a generation or more ago). It doesn’t take long to drive from our cities to …
“The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive” by Philippe Sands; Weidenfeld & Nicolson (432 pages, $30).
Published in 2020, Philippe Sands’ bestselling historical exposé, The Ratline, follows the trail of one Baron Otto Gustav von Wächter. Wächter held many titles in his life, having been an Austrian lawyer …
The start of a new school year often brings up a mix of emotions—excitement to see friends, worry about new teachers or a new school, or even sadness that summer has ended. These feelings can be a lot to process, and reading a book may help. These great picture books will help …
“The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor” by Eddie Jaku; Macmillan Australia (195 pages, $25).
Published in July 2020, The Happiest Man on Earth is a N.Y. Times bestselling autobiography written by smiling Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku. At 101 years old, Eddie has over a century of wisdom …
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. New York: Celadon, 2021, 322 pages.
Can the plot of a book be stolen? And what are the consequences of that action?
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist. Now, he barely makes ends meet with his job as a teacher at Ripley College, a low-residency …
“The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss; New York : DAW Books ; [New York] : Distributed by Penguin Group, c2011. 994 pages, $30.
“My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left …
Survive the Night by Riley Sager. Boston, MA: Dutton, 2021, 336 pp.
Riley Sager’s latest chiller is an homage to the B movies of a different time. A little claustrophobic, a bit of whatever it is that makes slasher movies so compelling, and a touch of Hitchcockian, gas-lighting psychodrama.
To get into the groove …