Marriage, Murder and Peanuts
Viewing an M.C. Escher painting inspires fascination and frustration. My feelings waver between total awe that he is able to fit all these figures into one uninterrupted whole and the …
Kids + Junie B. Jones = FUN
Kids ages 4-8 and their parents should get ready for a ton of fun when Junie B. Jones' Stupid Smelly Bus rolls into town June 14. The bright pink Junie …
Did He Do It?
Did grocery delivery driver Willie McGee crawl through a window, wake mother of three Willette Hawkins from her sleep as she held her infant daughter and rape her? Or did …
Simply Surviving
When I think of a future dystopian society accompanied by a series of natural disasters, movies like "Waterworld" and "Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome" are regrettably the first stories that …
Books for Mom
Getting any gift for Mom is always a daunting task. It's either classy or sassy, depending on her style. So why not get her a book? It can appeal to …
Books for Grads
Transitional states such as graduation can render a person wide open emotional lows and highs. This is actually the perfect moment to go out and explore the world. The following …
Death by Cubicle
Instead of delving into a 9-to-5 pace, Colleen Kinder sought out a national fellowship that took her to Cuba. The 2003 Yale graduate spent her first year out of college …
Shhh ... It's Top Secret
They're out there—the aliens. You may not want to believe, but I have seen proof.
Biography of a Bomb
On July 24, 1945, President Harry Truman approached Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and told him the United States had developed a "new and powerful weapon." After years of deceiving their …
A Story That Deserves Telling
When three white men invaded the home of an African American family in rural Attala County, the nation saw much of the story through the eyes of Billy McMillan, a …
The Secrets of War
In "The Surrendered" (Riverhead, 2010, $17.79), Chang-rae Lee tells a story of love, loss and sacrifice with a deceptive ease that will hook readers from the first sentence and hold …
Passion, Obsession and Art
In "Swan Thieves" (Little, Brown and Company, 2010, $26.99), author Elizabeth Kostova combines art, obsession, passion and the great lengths people will go to defend their loves.
Reveling in the Details
How do you measure the heft of a novel? I don't mean its weight in your hand, but its importance, its influence. If you're an inveterate reader, as in firmly …
Southern? Not So Much
Years ago, Oxford American magazine published an issue with a Southern Womanhood theme, featuring Ashley Judd in a University of Kentucky jersey. Men lusted after southern women in numerous articles.
Build a Cozy Nest
In their new book, "The Comfortable Home: How to Invest in Your Nest and Live Well for Less" (Clarkson Potter, 2009, $35), co-authors Bob Williams and Mitchell Gold, business partners …
