All Features

Audio voices add magic to the written word

Feature by David Baldacci

Audiobooks give you two bangs for the buck. You get the written story in all its glory, but you also get a performance of the written material by talented readers who pour their heart and soul into the story. One of my favorite readers is Ron McLarty, who is also a good friend of mine.

Ron has been in tons of movies and TV shows and he has a voice like few others—once you hear it you will never forget it. He’s read many of my novels and if he’s available, I always ask for Ron to read my books.

The best audiobook readers bring the books they dramatize to another level, says novelist David Baldacci. 

I was on a plane going somewhere when I was listening to one of my books (then on cassette tape if you can believe it), Last Man Standing. This was my first experience with Ron’s reading style. There was a character in Last Man Standing called Big F. He was an NFL-sized dangerous drug kingpin, who also had a soft side. When I heard Ron inhabit the character of Big F and that voice shot over my headphones, I would have come out of my seat on the plane except for the handy-dandy seatbelt. I did yell out something like, “Holy s—.” It was a miracle the air marshals didn’t tackle me. But Ron’s voice for Big F came from his toes and up his legs, passed through his torso and exploded out of his mouth like a howitzer. It had all the nuances you would want to have in the delivery: the underlying lethalness, the fact that Big F is not someone you can ever fool. But there’s also that soft side, the humanity buried deeply within a bear of a man who has had to fight his entire life, kill or be killed, in order to survive.

As a novelist, try as I might, I could never bring that experience to the reader because I don’t have the tools to do it. I put the words on the page, as well as I possibly can. But they’re still simply words. Readers like Ron McLarty, exceptional actors really, can deliver that experience. It’s like watching a movie without the pictures. You just hear it all. It’s the reverse of the old silent films. It will catapult you beyond the pages, and into another entertainment world.

When Ron read another book of mine, Stone Cold, I sat in my garage with the car running listening to the last five chapters of that story over and over again because I was mesmerized by Ron’s performance. And I knew how it was going to end, since I wrote it.

Another reader I discovered recently is Orlagh Cassidy. She read my novel Hell’s Corner along with Ron. He did the male voices and the narrative and she did all the female voices, including a number with accents. Now I am a big Orlagh Cassidy fan too. Like wanting to see a favorite actress on the screen in every scene, I waited eagerly for Orlagh’s voice to come on the CD. She nailed every performance in that book.

So, audiobooks. You laugh, you cry, you get angry, your pulse pounds, your heart skips—all from the voice speaking those words. It’s a ride for the reader and I can tell you it’s a ride for the author.

Next time you want a ride like that, pick up an audiobook, buckle in and prepare to be enthralled by that voice speaking those words.

 

Audiobooks give you two bangs for the buck. You get the written story in all its glory, but you also get a performance of the written material by talented readers who pour their heart and soul into the story. One of my favorite readers is…

MemoirCookbooks

Cooking up a special treat for Dad

Feature by Martin Brady

Fatherhood can be a challenge filled with responsibility, frustration and even pain, when life and relationships don’t go smoothly. But love, hope, pride and a sense of personal reward are the fulfilling part of the deal, and this selection of new titles helps to express the importance of the tie that binds.

AT HOME IN THE KITCHEN

A cartoonist, and also an editor and writer for The New Yorker, John Donohue exploits a wonderful idea about men and food and emerges with Man with a Pan: Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families. Fact is, many of the world’s great chefs are men, so there’s no startling revelation here about males being savvy in the kitchen. But Donohue deftly links the phenomenon to the societal changes in modern-day life, where women and men are increasingly exchanging traditional roles, a situation that has opened the doors wide to average guys exercising culinary muscles—and proving to be pretty darn good at it.

Donohue solicits testimony mostly from writers, editors and journalists—including Stephen King—who supply interesting accounts of their personal excursions into the cooking life and recommendations for their favorite cookbooks, plus a few recipes each. Screenwriter Matt Greenberg’s Grilled Burgers with Herb Butter look straight-ahead delicious, as does musician and short story author Mohammed Naseehu Ali’s Peanut Butter Soup. King’s Pretty Good Cake seems simple enough (and tasty), yet the range of the submissions overall is ethnically rich (Manuel Gonzales’ Mexican Chocolate Pie!) and occasionally exotic (Shankar Vedantam’s Yashoda’s Potatoes), and some creations are doubtless more difficult to achieve than others (for example, Slatecontributor Jesse Sheidlower’s Bacon-Wrapped Duck Breast Stuffed with Apples and Chestnuts). Donohue cleverly peppers the text with funny, sophisticated cartoons, making Man with a Pan uniquely smart and also very useful. A must-have for kitchen-friendly dads, this volume should reap rewards down the road for family appetites everywhere.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Veteran CBS newsman Jim Axelrod has had an interesting career covering presidents and world events and hobnobbing with broadcast journalism icons like Dan Rather and Ted Koppel. Yet when shifting fortunes at his job filled him with self-doubt, Axelrod went into reflective mode. His resultant book, In the Long Run: A Father, a Son, and Unintentional Lessons in Happiness, is essentially a memoir of his upbringing, adulthood and working life, but the book’s main thrust concerns Axelrod’s sudden and quixotic attempt to match his late father’s running time in the New York Marathon. The senior Axelrod, a lawyer who wreaked some emotional havoc on his own family, serves as focal point for his son, who strives to reconcile their relationship and adopt his father’s achievement-oriented approach to running as a way to reconnect with the past and his memory of a loving man. The middle-aged Axelrod endures some expected physical lumps in getting into shape, but more importantly, his very readable text imparts some heartfelt lessons about the father-son bond.

THE GAME OF LIFE

Author/journalist Steve Friedman also strives to reconnect with Dad, and in his case golf is the activity that must serve as the linking metaphor. Not so easy, though, since the author despised the game growing up, mainly because he saw it as a barrier between him and his father, who played constantly. Friedman’s Driving Lessons: A Father, a Son, and the Healing Power of Golf tells the story of his return to his hometown in the St. Louis suburbs, resolved to learn golf under his father’s tutelage and make the conscious attempt to understand the game—and also dear old Dad. This brief book offers warm, funny and ironic chapters in which we view the author learning to golf—not an easy task, mind you, once you hit a certain age—and assessing his own life and career status, but mainly benefiting from his father’s encouragement and simple life philosophy. Both warm and cautiously unsentimental, Driving Lessons is a welcome little read and a great gift idea.

COMING HOME AT LAST

Finally, in the category of gut-wrenching fatherhood experiences comes A Father’s Love: One Man’s Unrelenting Battle to Bring His Abducted Son Home. Co-authored with Ken Abraham, David Goldman’s personal tale is one of intense confusion, misunderstanding and deep hurt, not to mention a years-long investment of time and money in a battle in international courts to regain custody of his son.

Seemingly happily married in 2004 and the father of young son Sean, former successful model Goldman was stunned to discover that when his Brazilian wife, Bruna Bianchi, left the U.S. for a vacation with their son in her homeland, she had no intention of ever returning. So began Goldman’s five-year nightmare of attempting to have Sean returned to him, a journey of unimaginable heartache and loss in which he encountered stiff legal challenges, negotiated the thicket of long-distance international diplomacy, raised awareness among American government officials and the media, and combated the determined resistance of Bianchi’s Brazilian family, who refused to return Sean to his father even after his mother’s sudden death.

Goldman’s account seems repetitive at times, mainly because there were so many starts and stops in the process, but ultimately his tireless pursuit of Sean—by way of working the complicated legal system and marshaling support from lawyers, high-profile American officials and TV networks—does pay off. His bittersweet reunion with his son, and a sense of hope for their future together, concludes the coverage. The Goldman story gained a fair amount of attention in the States, and this eventful recounting should draw many interested readers.

Fatherhood can be a challenge filled with responsibility, frustration and even pain, when life and relationships don’t go smoothly. But love, hope, pride and a sense of personal reward are the fulfilling part of the deal, and this selection of new titles helps to express…

Children's & YAPicture Book

Great reads for dads and kids

Feature by Cat Acree

Whether fathers are superheroes or average guys, human or animal or even mechanical, Father’s Day is a day to celebrate dads of all kinds. These four picture books will enchant young readers and provide the perfect bedtime reading, any day of the year.

SUPER DAD?

He might not have a spandex uniform, and he might not have super powers . . . actually, there are lot of things this super Dad can’t do, and My Dad, My Hero by Ethan Long lists all of them. A little redheaded boy with a pet parrot follows his father through his day-to-day routine, watching him fumble and bumble through life. The boy catches a peek of his dad without super strength when Mom has to help him open a jar of pickles. His dad is definitely not invincible, since he cuts himself shaving three times. He doesn’t dress like a hero with a cape hiding underneath his clothes, but he does have a tiny bit of toilet paper trailing from his shoe. Dad’s foibles could have been a joke that kept on going, but the story takes a different direction. As he thinks back to throwing a baseball, playing Battleship and washing the car with his down-to-earth dad, the boy realizes “my Dad does spend a lot of time with me.” And that makes him both "super" and a "hero" in the eyes of his son.

My Dad, My Hero pokes fun at the big guys we love the most, but it also celebrates them in spite of their imperfections. The retro Ben-Day dot-style of illustration coupled with the comic book layout gives this picture book the nostalgic feel of an old-school superhero graphic novel. Dad's dialogue in every scene is limited to sound effects and grunts, which allows the little boy’s narration to say it all.

TWO SIDES TO THE STORY

Sadie and her dad are finally going to the zoo, and nothing—not an escaped tiger or even some rain—will stop them from getting there. Everything always gets in the way of the zoo, but Sadie is determined that today will be perfect. During the ride there, when Dad says, “Sadie, it’s raining,” Sadie is 100-percent positive that it’s not. When she looks out her window, the sun is shining and people everywhere are enjoying the beautiful weather. Dad’s side might be gloomy and raining, but Sadie sees sunflowers and people watering their lawns. They finally arrive at the zoo, but when Sadie gets out to inspect Dad’s side, she announces, “I don’t want you to get wet . . . We should come back to the zoo another day.” Then, just as they begin to head home, the sun comes out on both sides of the car. With huge eyes, Sadie announces, “We’re going to the zoo,” and away they go.

My Side of the Car is written and illustrated by father-daughter duo Kate and Jules Feiffer, who actually had this very conversation (and to this day, Kate is convinced she was right!). Drawn with watercolor and pencil, the loose-line illustrations show a wonky red car driving down a forest road with one side in puddles and the other in the sun. Both sides are created in wild scribbles, as though the illustrations themselves come straight from a child. Dad is wonderfully patient with the forgivably stubborn daughter, and his silence in the face of her unflinching optimism makes her perfect day seem possible. My Side of the Car is a funny book with a wonderful appreciation for a child’s perspective.

A PRIZE FOR DAD

Squirrels love their dads, too, and the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed squirrel in Blue-Ribbon Dad really loves his. The story begins at noon, announcing a countdown for the next five hours until Dad comes home from work. Between moments of the countdown, the little squirrel thinks of all the great things his father does for him, such as waking him up in the morning, helping with his homework and teaching him to tie his shoes. At hour four, Mom begins to bake a cake for the father’s return, while the little squirrel goes in search of his glue, glitter and clay. The two continue the countdown while hard at work, only stopping to think of how Dad reads bedtime stories and comes to swimming practice. Then—finally!—Dad comes home to Mom’s cake and the little squirrel’s homemade Blue Ribbon to celebrate just how great a dad he is.

Simple text and cuddly characters make Blue-Ribbon Dad an ideal book for fathers and new readers to share. Author Beth Raisner Glass tells the story in sing-song rhyme, perfect for sounding out letters and letting little ones everywhere fall in love with reading (“When it’s time for haircuts / My dad sits next to me. / We each look in the mirror, / As handsome as can be!”). Illustrator Margie Moore gives the story its traditional charm with black pen and watercolor squirrels on cold-press paper. Blue-Ribbon Dad loves dads so much, it includes a free punch-out blue ribbon for children to give to their own fathers.

ONE LAST LAP BEFORE BED

Mitchell will not go to bed—but when his dad surprises him with a very special driver's license, bedtime can’t come fast enough! His new car is up on his dad’s own shoulders, and after some quick inspections of the tires (feet), the engine (tummy) and the windshield (glasses), Mitchell and his dad are off! “VROOM!” says his dad as Mitchell hits the gas and (after ramming a wall and quickly hitting reverse) zips around the corner to bed. The next night, Mitchell loves to honk the horn (Dad’s nose) as they screech around corners with a red-dash trail behind them to reveal their wild route. When it’s time to refill the gas tank, Mitchell and his car have a bit of a disagreement on the fuel (cookies!) and soon it’s time for bed. Mitchell falls asleep and dreams of driving through a vibrant yellow field with a cookie gas station in the distance.

A fast-paced, laugh-out-loud book, Mitchell’s License is a great Father’s Day gift for the guys who know just how to keep their rambunctious drivers happy. Author Hallie Durand finds the funniest ways for Mitchell to drive his dad, such as backing him out of the garage by yanking on his ear and “[turning] on his headlights and [pulling] up to the cookie jar.” Illustrator Tony Fucile’s digital art has a pencil-and-marker look that captures a cool young dad with a soul patch who is a curly-haired ball of energy. For father-son car lovers everywhere, Mitchell’s License is just too much fun to read only once before bedtime—your little driver will want at least one more lap before he drops into bed.

Whether fathers are superheroes or average guys, human or animal or even mechanical, Father’s Day is a day to celebrate dads of all kinds. These four picture books will enchant young readers and provide the perfect bedtime reading, any day of the year.

SUPER DAD?

He might…

Summer suspense

Feature by bookpagedev

Plenty of chills and thrills are out there for suspense lovers this summer. Pick up one of these three novels and make it a season to shiver.

Plenty of chills and thrills are out there for suspense lovers this summer. Pick up one of these three novels and make it a season to shiver.

Steamy summer reading selections

Feature by bookpagedev

Whether you’ll be reading on the beach, by the pool or on your front porch, we’ve got five great books to start the summer off right.

Whether you’ll be reading on the beach, by the pool or on your front porch, we’ve got five great books to start the summer off right.

Talented first-timers take the stage

Feature by bookpagedev

Every season brings another crop of new writers hoping to make their mark on the literary world. We dug through the stacks of summer debuts to find authors whose first novels deserve a place on your reading list.

 

Every season brings another crop of new writers hoping to make their mark on the literary world. We dug through the stacks of summer debuts to find authors whose first novels deserve a place on your reading list.

 

Children's & YAPicture Book

Back to the classroom in style

Feature by Angela Leeper

It’s the time of year that parents eagerly await and students nervously dread: back to school. Four new picture books ease first-day jitters with a mix of humor, reality and fun.

A SHOW OF HANDS
Because socialization is as important as academics during the first year of school, parents and educators alike will welcome Rosemary Wells’ Kindergators: Hands Off, Harry!, the first title in a new series featuring a lively classroom of alligator kindergartners. Harry knocks down classmates, spills glue on Miracle’s shoes and ruins Benjamin’s shirt with paint. Time in the Thinking Chair and an emergency session of Friendly Circle give him the opportunity to think about where his personal space begins and ends and the three proper uses of hands: shake a hand, hold a hand and lend a hand. Harry redeems himself as playground monitor, using helping hands on scraped knees.

SAY CHEESE
Always dreaming big, Louise Cheese makes her third appearance in Elise Primavera’s Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty-Pants. This time Louise starts second grade with a burning desire to make straight A’s, and with a teacher named Mrs. Pearl, how can she go wrong? Louise soon discovers that her teacher is drab and rarely hands out A’s. Constantly discouraged by Mrs. Pearl’s “You can do better,” she feels vindicated by the sparkly substitute who gives everyone good grades—until Louise realizes her accomplishments no longer mean anything. Energetic watercolor illustrations capture Louise’s spunk, while thought bubbles reveal her true feelings, like wanting meticulous Mrs. Pearl back in the classroom.

A DOG'S SCHOOL LIFE
From Harry Bliss, illustrator of the best-selling Diary of a Worm, comes Bailey, featuring another endearing and comical character. Bailey the dog attends school and enlivens the day in the process. After riding the bus (with his head out the window, of course), Bailey puts his doggie treats in his cubby, has an excuse for not doing his homework (he ate it!) and gives a class report on FDR’s famous pooch, Fala. Even if classmates raise their eyebrows at Bailey’s water bowl at lunch, they can’t help but love the way he wags his tail during free dance.

NEW CONCEPTS
In Everything I Need to Know Before I’m Five, Valorie Fisher gives parents an entertaining way to prepare young children for kindergarten. Drawing on her collection of vintage tiny toys, she poses her playthings against bright backgrounds to create eye-catching photographs that introduce the concepts of the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, opposites, seasons and weather. The real amusement comes from the book’s many surprises, including an expressive old-fashioned doll pushing a giant frog while her equally animated double tries to pull it from the other side. Fisher’s entertaining retro collections will leave children hoping that school will be just as enjoyable as this book.

 

It’s the time of year that parents eagerly await and students nervously dread: back to school. Four new picture books ease first-day jitters with a mix of humor, reality and fun.

A SHOW OF HANDS
Because socialization is as important as academics during the first year…

NonfictionTrue CrimeMilitary History

Sample a true story this summer

Feature by Heather Seggel

For some readers, summer means enough time to tackle a serious work of history. Other readers relish the vicarious thrills of true crime and courtroom drama, while armchair travelers settle in for an exciting new journey (and save a bundle on luggage fees). These books share one trait vital to any summer read: unputdownability.
 

BATTLE BETWEEN OLD AND NEW
If you know anything about the Crimean War, it’s likely a story told from the British point of view. In The Crimean War, historian Orlando Figes consulted Turkish, Russian, French and Ottoman sources as well, to create a broader picture of “the major conflict of the nineteenth century.”

This battle, both religious and territorial in nature, was the first truly modern war. Steamships and railways were crucial, as well as technology like the telegraph, field hospitals and medical triage. It was also the first to have war reporters and photographers directly on the scene. Yet older traditions such as truces to allow each side to collect their dead from the battlefield were still observed, and “war tourists” traveled from all over the world, opera glasses and picnic baskets in hand, to observe the fighting. Some soldiers were hampered by enforced adherence to traditional dress codes that barely allowed them freedom of movement and didn’t keep out the elements; the war killed almost a million soldiers, but many of those deaths were from cholera and exposure.

It’s fascinating to see a young Leo Tolstoy appear in the story, reporting on the fighting in Sevastopol to Tsar Nicholas and finding his voice as an author in a setting that inspired some classic literature. The Crimean War takes readers through the famous Charge of the Light Brigade, but also well beyond and deeper, in a bold re-examination of this 150-year-old war.

CORRUPTION ON THE CAPE
On January 6, 2002, Christa Worthington’s body was found on the floor of her Cape Cod cottage, stabbed, beaten and half-naked, her two-year-old daughter clinging to her side. Who could have done such a thing? Reasonable Doubt follows the investigation, the trial and its aftermath, and reaches a disturbing conclusion: An innocent man is now in jail for life, and Christa’s real killer is free.

Journalist Peter Manso intended to write a quickie “trial book,” but once he started researching the story, things turned ugly. Christopher McCowen, an African-American garbage collector with an IQ bordering on mental retardation, was interrogated for hours but no recording was made, and his statements were condensed and edited by the investigating officer. Now in jail for life, he maintains his innocence, and can point to a more likely suspect whose connections in law enforcement may have granted him a pass. Manso finds corruption in every corner of Cape Cod law enforcement, possibly even in the presiding judge’s decision to deny appeals for a retrial that would have hurt his chances for promotion. Entrenched racism in the affluent white community made it easy to sell the story of a black murderer, and many believed that a possible sexual liaison between McCowen and Worthington could only have been rape.

It’s a grim tale from any angle, and Manso balances a straightforward accounting of the investigation and trial with a more inflammatory section at the end of the book, listing the missteps by DA Michael O’Keefe along with a Q&A designed to explain the fallibility of DNA evidence and many other pieces of information that were kept out of the trial (but were, in Manso’s opinion, crucial to an understanding of what really happened). Readers will of course draw their own conclusions, but Reasonable Doubt raises potent questions about our courts and the true beneficiaries of justice.

WHEN IN SIENA
Robert Rodi fell so in love with one part of Tuscan culture, it bordered on obsession. Seven Seasons in Siena chronicles the author’s multiple trips to Siena, home of the Palio, a bareback horse race around the town’s central piazza. Seventeen independent societies, known as contrade, compete in the race, and Rodi is determined to find acceptance in the Noble Contrada of the Caterpillar. It’s not a simple matter of asking permission: The culture is insular and macho, while Rodi is a gay American writer who’s just getting a handle on conversational Italian. But he doesn’t give up.

Rodi has been compared to Bill Bryson, and rightly so; Seven Seasons in Siena is packed full of history, trivia and details about Siena, yet reads like a breezy travelogue. It’s also frequently hilarious. When a native indulges Rodi’s rudimentary language skills, “He grins widely, as though listening to a parakeet try to speak Latin.” Seconds after tasting some proffered homemade grappa, Rodi says, “I can feel all the hair on my chest just quietly drop off.” You may decide to spend a season in Siena yourself after reading this love letter to a passionate people and their beautiful corner of the world.

For some readers, summer means enough time to tackle a serious work of history. Other readers relish the vicarious thrills of true crime and courtroom drama, while armchair travelers settle in for an exciting new journey (and save a bundle on luggage fees). These books…

Children's & YAPicture Book

A new classroom full of friends

Feature by Robin Smith

Back-to-school means new classrooms, teachers and friends. While the dance of friendship is an easy line dance for many children, it’s a complicated tango for others. Every year, teachers spend a great deal of time thinking of ways to help their new students make the transition to a new classroom, where the subtle social rules can seem overwhelming, at least at first. Parents want to help their children fit in, and include new friends in their circles. Three new books will help all children explore these complicated social situations through the eyes of three very different children, perhaps picking up some skills—and empathy—along the way.

ON THE OUTSIDE, LOOKING IN
Peter H. Reynolds quietly explores the feelings of a little boy who is on the outside of the social group in I’m Here. The explanatory information on the jacket explains that he wrote the book “to help us all reach out, embrace, and appreciate children in the autism spectrum, as well as anyone who is different from ourselves.” Young children will be drawn into the world of the playground, where the little boy hears the chatter as one big noise. “They are there. I am here.” All alone, with just the breeze, a piece of paper and eventually one new friend, the little boy narrates his story with few words and an unspoken, overwhelming desire for friendship. Teachers and parents who want to help their children understand the perspective of a child with autism will find this book both moving and useful. The slow pace and blessed lack of bullies and mocking that often are included in books about social adjustment will help all children—and their parents—think of ways to embrace those children who might be on the outside looking in. They are here and they want to be friends.

A SMALL RABBIT WITH A BIG HEART
Squish Rabbit is a remarkably teeny rabbit. He is so hard to see that he feels life is passing him by. Graphic illustrations by first-time author-illustrator Katherine Battersby, combined with paper, fabric and photograph collage, allow the reader to understand Squish’s predicaments based on how he is pictured on the page. At times, he is so tiny he is about to be stomped by another critter. When he thinks he is alone, he has a dandy tantrum that spans four comic style squares, bathed in a wash of red-hot anger. But when he is desperate to save a squirrel, his scream of “STOP” covers most of two pages. This is a book where design is the thing. Children will discuss why there is an ocean of white space between Squish and the squirrel when they meet and why they gain size and lose almost all distance when the page turns. And, of course, everyone is happy when Squish realizes that “his friends made him feel much bigger.” Squish Rabbit is perfect for the youngest new friends.

QUIRKY AND CONFIDENT
Perhaps my favorite new book about school and friendship is Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School. David Mackintosh brings us a remarkable little guy. The narrator is suspicious of Marshall; Marshall is different. He reads at recess, eats “space food” for lunch, stays in the shade and does not have a TV. The illustrations really get at the heart of Marshall. We see him wearing a straw hat, yellow-and-green-striped jacket and necktie; riding a giant old-timey bike; using school supplies straight from an antique store. When Marshall invites everyone to his birthday party, the narrator just knows it will be a miserable time. Turns out that Marshall’s party, despite the lack of electronics, is more fun than a trip to an amusement park! Quirky pen-and-ink illustrations provide plenty of details to explore. Adults will be reminded of Quentin Blake and Edward Gorey, which is just the right tone for a fellow like Marshall. It’s great to see a smart, inquisitive kid portrayed confidently as a hero. Marshall is remarkably self-assured, the kind of kid who is happy to have friends and happy to be alone with his own interesting mind. Children need to be reminded that, though it’s great to have friends, it’s also important to enjoy time alone to imagine, explore and invent.

For more back-to-school recommendations, read a roundup of four reviews from the August issue of BookPage: "Back to the classroom in style."

Robin Smith spends her summers thinking about her new group of second graders and hopes she will have at least one Marshall, some Squishies and a few quiet observers in her class each year.

Back-to-school means new classrooms, teachers and friends. While the dance of friendship is an easy line dance for many children, it’s a complicated tango for others. Every year, teachers spend a great deal of time thinking of ways to help their new students make the…

Science Fiction & FantasyFictionWomen's FictionMystery

Suspense, laughter and love

Feature by Dee Ann Grand

Do you prefer your fiction pulse-pounding, heart-wrenching, sprinkled with belly laughs or loaded with hairpin twists and turns? These new inspirational fiction titles offer something for everyone and are sure to deliver.

As if the complicated emotional relationships between animals and humans weren’t enough to stir the soul, Neil Abramson adds a harrowing twist of legal suspense to his moving first novel. Hauntingly told through the voice of a dead woman, Unsaid finds former veterinarian Helena caught between this world and the next as she watches her loved ones and worries about a dark secret she’s taken to the grave. Her widower, David, is still struggling to get back to his law practice, deal with his grief and find a way to care for the many rescue animals (all with their own issues) that Helena had nurtured. 

But David is forced into action when Cindy, a chimpanzee Helena had loved, suddenly becomes the target of a dangerous lab experiment. It is up to David to save Cindy through a harrowing legal battle that (unbeknownst to him) could release Helena from her sad purgatory. Unsaid explores the miracle of sentience in humans and animals, and every character in this story makes heartbreaking mistakes. This compassionate and suspenseful story will remind you to savor every moment of every meaningful relationship you may ever be blessed with—whether human or animal.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE

Whether you’ve read the previous five Bug Man novels by Tim Downs or not, Nick of Time will show you just who Nick Polchak, aka the Bug Man, really is deep down inside. Though Nick is a forensic entomologist who studies insects from murder victims’ remains, this time he faces a much more precarious situation: He’s getting married. And never has Nick Polchak ever been more out of his element. Dead bodies and bugs? No problem. Wedding cake and honeymoon decisions? Run! And whether consciously or unconsciously, he does run—or rather, accepts an invitation from the Vidocq society to attend a forensic specialists meeting just a few days before the wedding ceremony.

Alena Savard, the bride-to-be and a trainer of cadaver dogs, is none too happy about Nick’s sudden departure. Then Nick and Alena, along with several other interesting folks—most of whom are forensic professionals who relish solving dead-end crimes—suddenly find themselves fearing for their lives. Downs uses plenty of humor to expose the quirks of these odd characters. In fact, Bug Man fans might be in for a jolt at the story’s close when the day arrives for Nick and Alena to tie the knot. 

END OF DAYS

Tim LaHaye’s best-selling Left Behind series cast him as an expert on prophetic fiction. The second entry in the End Series, written by Lahaye and Craig Parshall, Thunder of Heaven, does not disappoint. Political squabbling, governments and agencies butting heads, an angry Mother Nature, global warming and unemployment aren’t only today’s top news headlines—they are the bones of this knockdown, drag-out tale that grips readers from the start. 

Almost anyone can identify with Deborah Jordan as she sits in a plane on a tarmac awaiting departure. The hassle of security, boarding and cramped seating just isn’t fun. But unbeknownst to her, her plane—along with several others in other cities departing at the same time—is part of a coordinated attack on America. From there, the pace doesn’t let up until the last page as all the members of the Jordan family do their dead level best to thwart the destruction of our country, in spite of the politically driven media, inept government, soulless terrorists, global threats and enormous personal sacrifice.

A MOTHER’S HOPE

Mark Schultz, an award-winning Christian music artist, has touched millions of hearts with his song “Letters from War.” The song tells an unforgettable story, reminding listeners of the sacrifices our military men and women make for our freedom and the unwavering courage of their families. Now, writing with Travis Thrasher, Schultz has expanded that song into a novel that follows the emotional journey of one soldier’s family, friends and community. Readers get to know one military mother, Beth, who refuses to give up hope even after two years of not knowing whether her son James is being held prisoner, wounded or dead. She finds strength in her faith, continuing to pray and write letters to her son, even as well-meaning friends say hurtful things. The ripple effect of how one missing soldier can change the lives of so many people is vividly portrayed in Letters from War. But most powerful throughout the story is Beth, who continues to give to her family and to her community even though her heart is fighting despair. 

A true master at storytelling, whether in song or in prose, Schultz has written a tale that will bring a tear and lift your spirit, all while honoring the service of our military families. 

 

Do you prefer your fiction pulse-pounding, heart-wrenching, sprinkled with belly laughs or loaded with hairpin twists and turns? These new inspirational fiction titles offer something for everyone and are sure to deliver.

NonfictionAnimalsAmerican History

9/11: Reflecting on our darkest hour

Feature by Martin Brady

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a solemn occasion that will be noted by all Americans. Several recent books recall the events of that day, with emphasis on heroism, courage under fire, sacrifice and loss.

WITNESSES TO TRAGEDY

In tandem with Columbia University’s Oral History Research Office, a team of editors has compiled After the Fall: New Yorkers Remember September 2001 and the Years That Followed. This compelling collection of reminiscences by survivors of, and witnesses to, 9/11 has particular resonance because the subjects were interviewed first after the attack, and then several years later, as a means of monitoring their post-trauma reactions and behavior. The project’s Q&A approach offers readable access into the feelings—both personal and political—of the respondents, including firefighters and police, surviving family members of victims and residents of Lower Manhattan.

Another volume comes from Tuesday’s Children, a nonprofit founded by the relatives and friends of 9/11 victims, which has put together The Legacy Letters, gathering missives written to the deceased victims by their loved ones. With the tragedy now 10 years in the past, these plaintive letters from wives, children, siblings and parents are nonetheless palpably moving, and the poignant expressions of love, hope, regret, sadness and longing serve as stark reminders of the human toll exacted by the brutal attacks.

In a similar vein, but with broader scope, is 9/11: The World Speaks. Compiled by the Tribute WTC Visitor Center and a project of the September 11th Families’ Association, this book compiles the thoughts, prayers and heartfelt ruminations of worldwide visitors to Ground Zero, reproducing the actual note cards and original drawings contributed by the respondents. A paperback with a somewhat ephemeral feel to it, this item is nevertheless a worthy addition to the 10-year commemoration, with a foreword by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and a preface by Tom Brokaw.

STORIES OF HOPE

There are, of course, many noteworthy stories of survival from 9/11, but perhaps none are as stirring as the one related in Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor. Genelle Guzman-McMillan was employed by the New York Port Authority and was working on the North Tower’s 64th floor on September 11, 2001. Her escape from the building following the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 begins almost as a comedy of errors involving misdirection and official confusion. Alas, what should have been a fairly straightforward evacuation turned into a nightmare, and her survival was truly miraculous. She and her colleagues in fact never really escaped from the tower. The building collapsed just as they were nearing the exits, and only Guzman-McMillan survived, discovered alive amid the rubble by rescue workers more than 24 hours later. Guzman-McMillan, along with co-author William -Croyle, crafts a readable account of that ill-fated sequence of events, effectively framing the 9/11 story within the context of her own confused personal life, including her illegal status with the INS. Her story has a happy ending on many fronts and serves to remind us that hope can spring from despair.

Michael Hingson’s 9/11 survival story is unique, to say the least. A salesman beginning a normal workday at the World Trade Center that morning, Hingson happens to be blind, his guide dog, Roselle, ever at his side. In Thunder Dog, Hingson, with a deft assist from co-author Susy Flory, intersperses a solid overview of his life—blind almost from birth—with the tale of his escape from the 78th floor of Tower One. Hingson describes feeling the impact of the plane that morning, the sway of the building, the smell of airplane fuel and his subsequent evacuation with a colleague, traversing some 1,400 stairs to the tenuous safety of the chaotic New York streets below, Roselle determinedly and faithfully leading the way. 

Hingson’s well-written story does more than provide a slice of 9/11 history. Readers will learn enlightening information about the blind experience in general and take away some good advice for how the sighted can better interact with their blind brethren.

MAKING HISTORY

Finally, the 9/11 anniversary has induced two publishers to re–release valuable books on the event. In 102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, authors Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn provide a chronological narrative of the dramatic developments at Ground Zero, with focus on the stories of individuals in both towers caught up in the horror and confusion. Originally published in 2005, the latest edition features a new postscript with updates on the lives of some of the people involved in the events.

First published in 2002, when it was rushed into print as a timely summary of 9/11, the reissued What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001, In Words, Pictures, and Video includes the DVD from the original publication plus a new reflective essay by Joe Klein. This package cogently gathers contemporaneous news stories from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and other major print sources; the authors represented include Anna Quindlen, Maureen Dowd, Howard Kurtz and Pete Hamill, among others. There are also transcripts of CBS News radio and television coverage, and the video disc—narrated by Dan Rather—offers an informative visual look back at the terror and its aftermath.

 

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is a solemn occasion that will be noted by all Americans. Several recent books recall the events of that day, with emphasis on heroism, courage under fire, sacrifice and loss.

WITNESSES TO TRAGEDY

In tandem with Columbia University’s Oral…

NonfictionParentingEducation

The home advantage

Feature by Joanna Brichetto

All four of these featured books take their philosophical cue from the title of Bob Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home. The best way to help your kids have fun learning at school is to make your home a place where what happens at school really matters. In the process, you’ll also be helping school become a place where what happens at home—love and support, study habits and simple values—really matters.

WHICH SCHOOL?

We all want our kids to go the best school. The question is, what does “best” mean? Turns out, despite the fact that today’s parents are more educated, motivated and informed than ever, we are short on the skills needed to evaluate the quality of our children’s schools. The Good School: How Smart Parents Get Their Kids the Education They Deserve can change this. Peg Tyre, author of the best-selling The Trouble with Boys, gives parents a crash course in what to look for. She focuses on “seven essential domains of education” we need to know in order to help preschool, elementary and middle school children. These include test scores, class size, teacher quality and the best practices in teaching reading and math. Each chapter investigates a topic starting with a bit of history, details of current practices (good and bad), a checklist of questions for each school and a handy list of “take aways,” thoughts to keep in mind as you investigate. The checklists in particular make it easy for even the most overwhelmed (or clueless) parent to become “a more sophisticated member of your child’s learning community.”

LIVING TO WRITE

Literacy expert Pam Allyn has already written the definitive book for parents on reading, What to Read When. Now she turns her attention to writing with Your Child’s Writing Life. Why do kids need a “writing life?” Allyn give three research-based reasons: Writing “fosters a child’s emotional growth,” “helps develop critical thinking skills” and “leads to a guaranteed improvement in academic achievement.” Plus, a love of writing is a gift that can last a lifetime.

Parents can unlock a child’s potential with “Five Keys” embedded in the acronym WRITE: word power, ritual, independence, time, environment. These can be tailored to each child’s “personal comfort and unique learning style” and energized with easy, creative prompts. A chapter on the stages of writing development helps parents understand a child’s changing capabilities and enthusiasms. Allyn gives tips on creating an appropriate environment for each stage from birth up, including recommendations for books, activities, toys or materials, plus a list of “writing elements” a child might exhibit. Chapters on common challenges (like fear and frustration), great books to inspire writing and cures for writer’s block (by age group) round out a groundbreaking resource.

BE THE CHANGE

The End of Molasses Classes teaches that home and school should and can “support each other in the education of all children.” Ron Clark, named “America’s Educator,” author of the best-selling The Essential 55 and founder of a revolutionary teaching academy, knows firsthand how a few basic changes can transform a classroom, a school and a child’s entire life. Clark shares 101 strategies, some for teachers, some for parents, all aimed at helping kids succeed, in the best and widest sense of the word.

For example, parents can cultivate drama-free mornings so the school day can start right, read all the communication sent home from school, get to know other school parents, use car time to talk about what children are learning and stop rewarding kids for doing a mediocre job.Examples for any adult include: “set the tone for a love of learning,” “define your expectations and then raise the bar,” “uplift those who help raise your children,” “listen,” “provide students with a chance to shine” and simply “have fun.” Clark will help parents keep molasses un-metaphorical and right where it belongs: on cornbread and biscuits, not in classrooms.

TIMELESS TEACHINGS

When a report card from the year 1915 turned up among a beloved uncle’s effects, authors and family educators Barbara C. Unell and Bob Unell noticed a “Home Report” section completed by parents and returned to the teacher. It included topics like “things made,” “books read,” “money earned,” “manners” and “hours worked,” and, by its very presence, made the assumption that the best education comes from an active partnership between school and home. The discovery inspired Uncle Dan’s Report Card: From Toddlers to Teenagers, Helping Our Children Build Strength of Character with Healthy Habits and Values Every Day. The authors argue that student learning and development is not just about academic achievement, but about the whole child. To succeed in school and in life, all kids “need structure, rules, routines and boundaries to feel calm and secure.” Parents, on the other end, need to know what to teach and how to teach it. The book gives the timeless tools and tips that can inspire kids to want to learn good habits, follow a “commonsense code of conduct” and become more self-sufficient. Everyone wins: parents, teachers, kids and the community.

All four of these featured books take their philosophical cue from the title of Bob Dylan’s album Bringing It All Back Home. The best way to help your kids have fun learning at school is to make your home a place where what happens at…

Fiction

Haunting Halloween horror

Feature by Michael Alec Rose

Let’s face it: if you read horror, you’re a geek. But there’s a broad spectrum of geekiness, stretching from the literary-historical, to the video-related “gross-out,” to the realm of metaphysical inquiry. These books cover all those bases.

THE PAST THAT WASN’T

“Steampunk” is one of those genre terms that few can properly define. There are a few prerequisites, though: 1) Queen Victoria (or her son Edward) occupies the British throne; and 2) the deadly hubris of Dr. Frankenstein has grown apace, thanks to the scientific advances of the Victorian age. The stories commissioned for Ghosts by Gaslight—from a who’s who of fantasy and horror luminaries—derive their energy from the authors’ surrender to the allure of Stevenson, Kipling, Verne, Wells and a host of lesser-known ghost-story writers of that era, whose obscure productions are the hoarded treasure of a special subset of uber-geeks. In this collection, the fruits of such an old-fashioned harvest are variously ripe or wonderfully rotten. Several stories—for instance, those by venerable wizard Peter Beagle and relative newcomer John Harwood—are dazzling. The brief but encyclopedic introduction from editors Jack Dann and Nick Gevers makes the book indispensable.

WHAT'S LEFT OF THE WORLD

Who could have guessed that the author of Vacation is best known as a video-game writer? Well, duh. Once you’re plugged into Matthew Costello’s apocalyptic novel, there’s no friggin’ way to get off this ride. The unrelenting, staccato rhythm of the narrative perfectly matches the enervating effects of video gaming. So, like, survivors of a global agricultural plague in the near future try to avoid being eaten by the zombie “Can Heads” unleashed by the government’s nefarious genetic testing (dude!). Each horrific confrontation works along a jagged crescendo of unpredictability. The hero isn’t only saving his beloved wife and kids, he’s saving civilization (OK, maybe). If this novel doesn’t appear soon in software format, I’ll eat the next NYPD officer whose car breaks down in my neighborhood.

THE SPECTRAL SEA

All three of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s books, including the chilling Let the Right One In, have blown over the ocean from Sweden to win great acclaim from U.S. horror fans. His new novel, Harbor, establishes a new mythos. With an uncanny gift for local color and a psychological acuity for universal fear, Lindqvist finds horror in the element of water, whose inexorable force overwhelms the damned island community of Domaro. In this maritime variation on the grand theme of sacrificial evil—so unforgettable in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home—Lindqvist presents affectionate portraits of both flawed protagonists and implausibly scary demons: the magus Simon; a father who has littorally lost his little Maja to a cryogenic sea; and a pair of teenage ghosts. Lindqvist grasps instinctively that the most horrible thing that can happen to us has already happened (our being born into this sorrow-sodden world). The rest of the story is up to us. 

 

Let’s face it: if you read horror, you’re a geek. But there’s a broad spectrum of geekiness, stretching from the literary-historical, to the video-related “gross-out,” to the realm of metaphysical inquiry. These books cover all those bases.

THE PAST THAT WASN’T

“Steampunk” is…

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

Sign up now

Trending Features

All Features