In praise of the local library

Some people are devotees of whiskey, cigars, wine, and craft beer. Some are aficionados of the fine arts, experts on…
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Music from inside the Great Pyramid

Looking for something unique and different? Then I’ve got something for you.
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Hewson’s mysteries should come with a warning

So a friend thrusts a book into your hands and tells you, “You gotta read this one. I know you’ll…
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A poem for D-Day
 

A poem for D-Day

“Normandy Invasion” By Paul Willis Across the sands of Normandy They came up from the sea. For many days and…
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Understanding how to disagree and still respect

Nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman once wrote “I hear America singing.” Ah, those were the days.
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Wit, wisdom and a walk around New York City

It is 1926, and Lillian Boxfish, mid-20s and ambitious, arrives in Manhattan, where she lands a job working for the…
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A memoir written in songs and poems

In his Preface to Love Songs For A Country Lane, country music icon Chris Gantry writes: “Grant King was a…
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A fresh look into an enduring classic

After finishing the last pages of Libertarians On The Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of…
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Need I say more? The power of wit

When verbally attacked and left speechless by an assailant, who among us has not long afterwards pondered the mot juste…
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A desperate tale, beautifully written

“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry And satisfy the needs of the oppressed, Then your light will…
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Pondering the power of forgiveness

In Charles Martin’s novel A Life Intercepted (Center Street Publishers, 2014, 326 pages), college senior Matthew “the Rocket” Rising has…
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The Final Day brings Forstche’s trilogy to a close

In 2011, William Forstchen’s apocalyptic novel, One Second After, appeared on best-seller lists. After reading for review this story of…
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An ancient story well told

In Jennifer Frick-Ruppert’s statement of intent at the back of her book, The Legend of Skyco, she states “While this…
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David Joy’s new book is a dark gem

Just after I bought The Weight of the World, I ran into an old friend of mine who is extremely…
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Pour me a glass of great words, and let’s party

Having given up listening to the dreadful music and talk shows available in my car radio, last week I popped…
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Books always make a thoughtful gift

You’re stuck.  It’s your boss’ birthday, your nephew’s graduation from high school, your cousin’s promotion at work, and you need…
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Burke’s writing shines in The Jealous Kind

In The Jealous Kind (Simon and Schuster, 2016, 400 pages, $27.99), novelist James Lee Burke drops his readers into Houston,…
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In rural Scotland, lessons on the power of books

Readers of this column know I am a sucker for books about books. Novels like The Little Paris Bookshop, collections…
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‘Casablanca’ one of the finest scripts of all time

“Casablanca.” For some, that name evokes a city in Morocco, an urban center of four million people quartering one of…
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Blizzard of 1993 is catalyst for a fine first novel

In True Stories At The Smoky View (She Writes Press, 2016, 325 pages, $16.95), Vrai Stevens Lynde — the “Vrai”…
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Ben-Hur’s long history is captivating

Some authors and critics sniff at best-sellers. I suppose the idea is that a novel appealing to so many thousands…
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Hillbilly Elegy author can’t shake the label

“Southern Appalachia is a region about which, perhaps, more things are known that are not true than any other part…
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Books about the American South will delight

Let’s go exploring. More specifically, let’s explore the American South.
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A vow to open a few more books

New Year’s resolutions and I make for poor company. Like many reading this column, I have in the past made…
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Books from different ends of the spectrum

Opposites attract, so the old saying runs. We’ve all known friends, husbands and wives, and lovers who match this adage,…
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Book about artist is itself a work of art

In mid-October I attended the second lecture of three at my local library on the Italian artist Caravaggio (1571-1610). A…
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From cradle to grave: books for growth and health

Visit any bookshop or library and you will find loads of books telling you how to live a better life,…
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A fresh look at the life of Evelyn Waugh

Fifty years ago this past spring, on Easter Sunday, Evelyn Waugh died of a heart attack in his home in…
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A mystery tale with a canine hero

This is a delightful book and I am confident that it will be judged one of the best books of…
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Local bookstores should be celebrated, supported

In My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc., 2012,…
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It’s OK sometimes to just take a dip

Of course, we’re intended to read from cover to cover many books — novels, histories, biographies, and more. It would…
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You might enjoy a visit to Broken Wheel, Iowa

One of the great joys of reading occurs when we bump into a book by an author we’ve never heard…
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This is historical fiction well worth a read

Nearly 20 years ago, while browsing the shelves of the Haywood Country Public Library, I came across a collection of…
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Searching for the meaning in a grueling trek

Recently, I attended “Coffee With the Poets” at City Lights Bookstore and heard the poet, Newton Smith, read and discuss…
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Coming to grips with her own image

Among Americans the two most egregious social stigma are smoking and obesity. We relegate smokers to sidewalks and rooftops when…
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A reviewer must learn to roll with the changes

Have you ever experienced one of those moments when you look at what you are doing and where you are…
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Sorry, but Bob Dylan didn’t deserve the Nobel

One moment, please. To ward off the brickbats, cudgels, stones, dirt clods, and rotten tomatoes sure to come my way,…
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A story about coping with loss

Sometimes loss and death give little or no warning of their arrival. The doorbell rings at two in the morning,…
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Presidential power grows at an alarming rate

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will…
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A rollicking debut novel with a Hemingway twist

In December 1922 Hadley Hemingway set out from Paris to join her husband Ernest, then a newspaper reporter and an…
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Burke spins complicated tale full of violence

In House Of The Rising Sun (Simon & Schuster, 2015, 435 pages, $27.99), James Lee Burke tells the story of…
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Putting a face on the growing white underclass

For decades, the lot of poor white Americans has worsened. Marriage rates have plummeted while out-of-wedlock births have skyrocketed. Unemployment,…
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The best way to learn to write is simple – write

This one’s for students, especially those of you in secondary school and college. Let’s get right to the point. Reading,…
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Sociologist got it wrong; religion is on the uptick
 

Sociologist got it wrong; religion is on the uptick

In 1968, Peter Berger, a Boston University sociologist, told the New York Times that by “the 21st century, religious believers…
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Novel explores questions of real import

It’s a wonderful day when a book surprises us with its wit, story, style, and wisdom. Recently I was talking…
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I’ll say it: Epstein is the greatest living American essayist

Most of us like lists: “The 100 Greatest Novels of the Twentieth Century,” “The Ten Best Movies of All Time,”…
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The life of Harry Crews makes for depressing reading

This may be the most depressing biography I have ever read. Although I frequently considered abandoning this painful trudge through…
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Bradbury created a genre all his own

Last year a storm of controversy erupted over the destruction of writer Ray Bradbury’s home in Los Angeles. Architect Thom…
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Getting what you give up

In a 12-round heavyweight professional boxing match, at the beginning of the twelfth round there is a bell and the…
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Cowan’s writing could make you cry
 

Cowan’s writing could make you cry

When Leo Cowan, Jackson County’s noted historian and author, died last February just after his second book was published, I…
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