Tag: Book It
-
Bam! Pow! Krakoom! The everlasting allure of the American comic book
Pick one up. Be seduced by its glossy cover. Gaze upon the impossibly muscular body clad in a skin-tight suit. Our hero or heroine will surely ... -
Historian McCullough’s curiosity abounds in ‘History Matters’
The late Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough told an audience in 2012 that writing history was like working on a detective case. “And once on the ... -
A novelist on book tour is stalked by a stranger
Author Hank Phillippi Ryan has written a crime novel titled “All This Could Be Yours” about an author on tour to promote a crime novel titled ... -
Wife digs into husband’s past and finds unsettling things in ‘I Become Her’
Imogene’s first serious love affair ended when she discovered her partner was unfaithful, and this has left the insecure young woman watchful and suspicious. She is ... -
A private eye investigates whether her husband sent an innocent man to prison
Joe Green is serving time for killing his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer, but he claims he didn’t do it. Nick Carelli, the Chicago homicide detective who put ... -
Following a vicious attack, a woman solves her own murder in Holly Jackson novel
After the shattering conclusion of “Not Quite Dead Yet,” author Holly Jackson addresses her readers this way: “… and breathe. Sorry. I know that was intense.” ... -
Michael Luo tells the harrowing story of Chinese exclusion in America
The history of Chinese immigrants in America is about far more than one ethnic group. As Michael Luo’s “Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging and the ... -
‘Fatherhood’ studies the impact of family ties through history
The painter Norman Rockwell was known for his depictions of calm, domestic life in America, but his home life was nowhere near those idyllic portraits. In ... -
Spare writing style propels tragic story in ‘Flesh’
Istvan, the protagonist in David Szalay’s new novel “Flesh,” is a character who reveals little in his conversations with others. His clipped responses to questions are ... -
‘Disposable’ a journey through the inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic
Five years after COVID-19 first emerged, the United States is still grappling with the aftereffects of the pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide. They include ... -
Hunted by the FBI and Russian Oligarch, a hedge fund manager flees into the wilderness
Paul Brightman, a former hedge fund manager, has been keeping a low profile, changing his name to Grant Anderson and making a modest living as a ... -
Kyle Paoletta’s ‘American Oasis’ offers lessons for a hotter, drier world
Albuquerque-born author Kyle Paoletta takes readers on a virtual road trip around his native region, transporting us across hundreds of years and thousands of miles in ... -
‘How to Think Like Socrates’ leaves readers with questions
The lessons of Socrates have never really gone out of style, but if there’s ever a perfect time to revisit the ancient philosopher, now is it. ... -
A man searches for meaning in Mike Fu’s unnerving debut novel
Meadow is coming up on 10 years living in New York, and he’s still adrift. His boyfriend ghosted him, his current residence is actually a housesitting ... -
Paula Hawkins returns with psychological thriller
Since bursting on the scene in 2015 with “The Girl on a Train,” Paula Hawkins has established herself as a reliable writer of psychological thrillers set ... -
A New York writer finds solace in a Northern Irish town
Can what looks like running away from grief and sadness actually be a way to heal? In “The Slow Road North,” writer Rosie Schaap chronicles her ... -
‘Swole’ or, what masculinity could be in a hyperconnected, TikTok-imaged world
Author Michael Brodeur takes the gym too seriously, and not seriously at all at the same time, in his book “Swole: The Making of Men and ... -
Brooks’ Austen-esque WWII novel has romance, betrayal and a touch of macabre
In a chance meeting in 1934, Nina hosts a dinner party. She’s 14, trying on womanhood for the first time, and even the drunken foolery of ... -
The Velvet Underground’s story and afterlife told in the oral history ‘Loaded’
Before they became synonymous with downtown cool, the Velvet Underground played a multi-band bill at a suburban New Jersey high school in 1965. Parents and kids ... -
David Mamet screams at clouds in new collection of grievances about Hollywood
Just in time for Christmas, when you need a gift for that weird old uncle who is upset that everyone gets a trophy in youth soccer, ... -
‘Eyeliner’ examines the staple makeup product’s revolutionary role in global society
Zahra Hankir opens “Eyeliner: A Cultural History” by marveling over her mother’s elegant beauty process as she delicately sweeps black kohl on her waterline, dreaming of ... -
Small-town politics and big family drama drive crime thriller
“Where the Dead Sleep” begins pleasantly enough: Detective Ben Packard is back, becoming more comfortable with Sandy Lake, making his rounds as acting sheriff at the ... -
‘The Art Thief’ is an astonishing story that capitalizes on our love of true crime
The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession” by Michael Finkel (Alfred A. Knopf) What is it about stories of transgression ... -
Lisa See’s ‘Lady Tan’s Circle of Women’ celebrates a Ming Dynasty physician
Soon after she published her last novel, 2019’s “The Island of Sea Women,” Lisa See joined much of the rest of the world in seclusion, sheltering ... -
‘Pathogenesis’ offers different lens on history
Great historical changes are often conceived of as being brought about by the genius and tenacity of great men, or occasionally women, but Jonathan Kennedy argues ... -
‘The Peking Express’ raises niche historical event
A little-known piece of history is resurfacing 100 years after the luxurious Peking Express train was attacked by bandits in the middle of the night and ... -
Vietnam vets try to help nation they once attacked
In the U.S., we’ve mostly moved on from our military engagements in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the American way — not dwelling on our mistakes ... -
Reporter’s murder shows cost of pursuing the truth
The confluence of corrupt governance, poverty, drug trafficking and reporters who can be bought is a dangerous place for reporters and democracy. Accomplished Mexican investigative reporter ... -
WWII novel sets high bar for historical fiction
Gundi, Irma and Hilde all find themselves at a Lebensborn Society house for future mothers who are deemed to be racially fit. Each woman is there ... -
History of movie academy favors facts over melodrama
Film historians and others digging for a deeper vein of Oscar knowledge than mere trivia will turn up many nuggets in “The Academy and the Award,” ... -
‘Proving Ground’ profiles first women programmers
When the world’s first general-purpose, programmable, electronic computer, known as ENIAC, debuted in 1946, great fanfare was given to the men who created it, John Mauchly ... -
Bourland autopsies the princess myth with precision
It’s about time someone took the princess story that’s normalized to girls and autopsy it with absolute precision. “The Force of Such Beauty” opens on the ... -
‘Mermaid of Black Conch’ melds history and magic
David is a fisherman and Aycayia is a mermaid. It’s pretty obvious where the story goes from here: David falls for Aycayia. But author Monique Roffey ... -
An Irish hitman juggles murder with parenthood
Patrick Callen, a Dublin, Ireland hitman with a mild case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, stays organized by making lists. On his first day in Keith Bruton’s debut ... -
Birdsong offers three powerful portraits of womanhood
Destiny O. Birdsong’s “Nobody’s Magic” tells three separate stories, each centering on a Black albino woman living in Shreveport, Louisiana. First, we meet 20-year-old Suzette, who ...
