Emphasizing personal style, Joan Barzilay Freund’s Defining Style is a freeing, inspiring and extremely innovative look at interior design.
Emphasizing personal style, Joan Barzilay Freund’s Defining Style is a freeing, inspiring and extremely innovative look at interior design.
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Author Mary Laura Philpott has crafted another witty, heartfelt memoir-in-essays with Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives. To celebrate its release, we asked Philpott a few questions about her favorite bookstores and libraries, both real and imagined. (Spoiler alert: Her method for organizing her own bookshelves is every bit as charming as you’d imagine.)


What are your bookstore rituals? For example, where do you go first in a store?
I go right to that front table to check out new fiction and nonfiction. I’m also a sucker for a good display. It’s fun to see what booksellers are showcasing on a given day.

Do you visit bookstores differently after having worked for Parnassus in Nashville?
I pay more attention to the shelf-talkers—the little cards on which booksellers write up their favorite reads. That’s partly because I often know the people writing them! But I also know now how hard booksellers work every day, and I know it takes extra time to come up with a concise blurb that somehow conveys what they love about a book. Same goes for librarians. A lot of librarians and booksellers are really good writers!

Read our starred review of ‘Bomb Shelter’ by Mary Laura Philpott.

Tell us about your favorite library from when you were a child.
I went to an elementary school for a few years that held chapel services in the mornings, and for the littlest kids the services were conducted in the library. We sat cross-legged on the floor in rows. It was my favorite room of the school, but it drove me crazy to be expected to concentrate on singing hymns when all the books were RIGHT THERE.  

While writing your books, has there ever been a librarian or bookseller who was especially helpful?
Oh my goodness, so many! The first thing that comes to mind is actually from an airport bookstore. I can’t even remember what city I was in, but I had just gotten off a plane and checked my email. A newspaper editor had asked if I could write about a book, but the deadline was going to be tight. I knew if I could get the book in my hands before I got on my connecting flight, I could use my airborne time wisely and start working on it. So I dashed into a Hudson Booksellers shop and explained all this in a breathless and verbose and probably nonsensical way. The staffer knew exactly the book I was talking about. She also helped me find a new travel charger for my phone, because I realized I’d left mine in a hotel. I love airport bookstores!

“More of an open YES to every opportunity I get to see a beautiful library or shop I haven’t seen before.”

Do you have a favorite library from literature?
I can’t stop thinking about the virtual library in Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land. One of the plotlines involves a teenage girl all alone on a spaceship; the idea is that she was part of a mission to populate a distant planet after Earth became uninhabitable, but somehow she ended up as the only one alive on the vessel. She has a headset she can put on to enter a library where she can find any book ever written, plus video archives of human history. There’s more to the story about the importance of reading and the evolving life of literature from generation to generation, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Everyone should read this book; it’s a big, strange, amazing masterpiece.

Do you have a “bucket list” of bookstores and libraries you’d love to visit but haven’t yet?
Not a list, per se—more of an open YES to every opportunity I get to see a beautiful library or shop I haven’t seen before. Thankfully my children are used to this by now, so no one balks when we’re on vacation and I make everybody detour into a book spot.

How is your own personal library organized?
Not alphabetically or by genre or color. I shelve books together that have something thematic in common or that I feel would be friends. For example, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven is next to Karen Thompson Walker’s books, which are next to Ling Ma’s Severance. All the end-of-the-world gals have their own little neighborhood.

“I love any bookstore animal. Give me bookstore lizards, bookstore chickens, bookstore goats!”

What’s the last thing you bought at your local bookstore?
I marked the publication date of Taylor Harris’ memoir, This Boy We Made, on my calendar and went to buy it the day it came out.

Bookstore cats or bookstore dogs?
I’m more likely to pet a bookstore dog than a bookstore cat because I’m allergic to cats, but I like the cats just as much. I love any bookstore animal. Give me bookstore lizards, bookstore chickens, bookstore goats!

What is your ideal bookstore-browsing snack?
Oh, I can’t eat in a bookstore—I’m too nervous about spilling things, and I need my hands free for making book piles—but I love a hot beverage once I’m home and settled on the sofa with my new reads.

Author headshot of Mary Laura Philpott by Heidi Ross.


Read more: Philpott reads her own audiobook with a Southern lilt, at times laughing or on the verge of tears.

The bestselling author of I Miss You When I Blink reflects on her life among the stacks.
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Much of the fuel for conspiracy theorists comes from the U.

S. government’s childish refusal to tell the truth until spanked. Again and again, military officials claimed that reconnaissance balloons were weather balloons and denied the existence of secret aircraft. Of course, that doesn’t mean aliens are visiting us, but somehow many people think it does. Phil Patton addresses these issues, and many others, in his new book, Dreamland: Travels Inside the Secret World of Roswell and Area 51. You may be familiar with Patton’s popular book, Made in the USA: The Secret History of Things That Made America. Nothing like the word “secret” to perk up a subtitle.

Although officially it doesn’t exist, Area 51, in the dry lakes of Nevada and California, is a top-secret test site. Patton argues that a great many of the reported flying saucer sightings were actually glimpses of secret Air Force vehicles, from the U-2 through current UAVs unmanned aerial vehicles, or robot planes. Dreamland is also a tour of the alien subculture, from Area 51 to Roswell to the rest of the country. Along the way, Patton tells many fascinating stories, from how Gary Powers of U-2 fame wound up a traffic helicopter pilot in L.

A., to the fad for airship sightings in the mid-1890s, when balloons were becoming common and flight experiments were rampant.

Reviewed by Michael Sims.

Much of the fuel for conspiracy theorists comes from the U.

S. government's childish refusal to tell the truth until spanked. Again and again, military officials claimed that reconnaissance balloons were weather balloons and denied the existence of secret aircraft. Of course,…

Review by

Once you’re done dealing with the present, it’s time to take a look at the game’s glorious past. It has often been said that, more than any other sport, the history and tradition of baseball lends itself to the written word. And perhaps no one exemplifies those attributes more than Babe Ruth. Lawrence Ritter, author of the classic oral history The Glory of Their Times, and Mark Rucker, considered one of the games’ greatest pictorial archivists, have assembled The Babe: The Game That Ruth Built. Through prose and pictures, this handsome volume marks the 50th anniversary of the Babe’s passing. It’s a sentimental look at the man who some say saved baseball in the wake of the 1919 world series gambling scandal and the dark days of the Depression. The photographs some rare, others familiar offer a glimpse of the Babe not only as the most legendary figure in sports, but also as a father, husband and friend. Beloved by millions all over the world, the snapshots of Ruth in Japan, surrounded by adoring children, are evidence of this global homage.

Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.

Once you're done dealing with the present, it's time to take a look at the game's glorious past. It has often been said that, more than any other sport, the history and tradition of baseball lends itself to the written word. And perhaps no one…

Review by

Most children would rather eat their lima beans than look up a word in the dictionary. Guide words, phonics, and varying word forms fall prey to well-meaning answer givers, computer spell-checks, and old-fashioned laziness. When a child is told to look it up, the response is often a resounding groan. The solution? Fight fire with fire. When the folks at Merriam-Webster sought to develop the first dictionary with attitude, they went right to the source: that feisty feline himself, Garfield.

Anyone who has read Jim Davis’s cartoons knows that Garfield is one cat who doesn’t have time to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable. Garfield and Merriam-Webster was a logical partnership, creating a dictionary for children that is not only easy to use, but fun to use. Unlike its counterparts, The Merriam-Webster and Garfield Dictionary does not include obsolete words, highly technical words, or rare meanings of certain words. Instead this volume focuses on words commonly used around the classroom or office.

Following the basic A-Z section, there are several listings of names, foreign words and phrases, documentation and style techniques, and other helpful tidbits that enable youngsters to work independently.

Garfield, of course, is prevalent throughout the entire book, with cartoon clips that demonstrate usage of various words found on the corresponding pages. Garfield even has his own Daffy Definitions section, with hilarious words that are defined with Garfield’s . . . er, unique spin.

A dictionary is one of the most important tools a student needs; a really good dictionary is invaluable. The Merriam-Webster and Garfield Dictionary is a great resource for a child who is reluctant to use a dictionary, or children who are learning basic dictionary usage. After all, spell-check isn’t foolproof.

Most children would rather eat their lima beans than look up a word in the dictionary. Guide words, phonics, and varying word forms fall prey to well-meaning answer givers, computer spell-checks, and old-fashioned laziness. When a child is told to look it up, the response…

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In the words of that great philosopher Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over Ôtil it’s over.” So this article can’t conclude without mentioning The Yogi Book. He wants to make one thing perfectly clear. Well, perhaps not perfectly, but he does want to address the misconceptions regarding many of the quotes attributed to him throughout his long and colorful career. Known as “Yogi-isms,” many of these aphorisms have woven themselves into folk-lore stature. Yogi freely admits that some were simply syntactical errors, but if you look under the surface they make a lot of sense.

Take his signature phrase. Viewed in a strictly baseball context, it’s absolutely true. How often has a team been behind late in a game, only to come back from the brink of defeat? From a technical standpoint, it’s accurate as well: a thing is not over until it is over. It’s a phrase worthy of Candide.

Surely there are other ballplayers, as well as us regular folk, who have made similar verbal gaffes, but somehow the amiable Mr. Berra is the leader of the pack.

So whether you’re a “dummy” or a “brain surgeon” regarding baseball, there’s a book out there for whatever your special interest. Step up to the plate, dig in, and enjoy.

Reviewed by Ron Kaplan.

In the words of that great philosopher Yogi Berra, "It ain't over Ôtil it's over." So this article can't conclude without mentioning The Yogi Book. He wants to make one thing perfectly clear. Well, perhaps not perfectly, but he does want to address the misconceptions…

Review by

Aunt Agnes’s daughter Nadine married your former neighbor’s son Neville recently. Nadine and Neville, the ambitious newlyweds, are hosting a housewarming party and you’re invited. What housewarming gift comes in a variety of colors, matches every period piece in every room, and can accentuate even the most sparse decor? Why, books, of course! Nadine had to part with Fluffy, her pampered, prize-winning Persian, due to Neville’s allergies. To help ease the pain caused by Fluffy’s absence, why not give her a copy of Cat: Wild Cats and Pampered Pets (Watson Guptill, $19.95, 0823005712). Author Andrew Edney, who is also a veterinarian, includes more than 300 depictions of felines slinking, sleeping, socializing, and so much more! This 400-page oblong book offers a unique addition to a cat lover’s coffee table or library.

What kind of gift is given away, but meant to be returned? Tommy Nelson, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., has developed Grandmother’s Memories to Her Grandchild ($12.99, 084995911X) and Grandfather’s Memories to His Grandchild ($12.99, 0849959128) for just such a purpose. These make wonderful keepsakes, especially when completed and given away. Set in journal format against a backdrop of renowned artist Thomas Kinkade’s breathtaking landscapes, headings for each section include Me, My Hometown, Early School Years, My First Romance, etc. Each section is broken into segments, with titles like A time I had to stand up for my beliefs, or Something I want you to remember about me when you are grown up, and space is provided for folks to write their responses. Grandparents with multiple grandchildren, beware you may unwrap several of these! Nadine’s recollections from her wedding are, no doubt, still fresh on her mind. Why not encourage her to laugh about them with This Is Your Day! But Everybody Has An Opinion? Perfect for newlywed brides or brides-to-be, author Lisa K. Weiss offers humorous tidbits of pre- and post-wedding truisms. Victoria Roberts’s cartoony illustrations complement tongue-in-cheek advice cliches, such as Now that you’re married, it will be easy to fine-tune his wardrobe, and Including your pets in the ceremony can add a warm, cozy touch. A definite garnish to the Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt books, it is a perfect gift for those who tend to take life (and life’s events) too seriously.

Anne Boleyn is an unlikely target for the tabloids. Chances are even slimmer for a tell-all book about Guy de Maupassant. London writer Mark Bryant, however, has compiled all sorts of entertaining facts about 200 well-known figures in Private Lives: Curious Facts About the Famous and Infamous (Cassell/Sterling Publications, $29.95, 0304343153). For example, did you know that Queen Elizabeth I drank beer for breakfast? Or that Walt Disney wasn’t the first person to draw Mickey Mouse? Private Lives is also available in paperback ($14.95, 0304349232), and makes a wonderful gift for trivia buffs and researchers.

Who said, It is more blessed to give than to receive ? (Well, okay, besides your Gift Gallery helpers!) The quote actually originated with Aristotle but has been paraphrased by others, including Jesus. Anyone who loves to quote, but has difficulty remembering whom they are quoting, will appreciate Random House’s all-new Webster’s Quotationary ($45, 0679448500). Author Leonard Roy Frank has assembled over 20,000 quotations by subject, but makes it easy to locate a quote through cross-referencing as well. Varied profundities from Plato to Oprah make this one of the most comprehensive reference books around. You may want to study it ahead of time and wow Nadine and Neville’s party guests!

Aunt Agnes's daughter Nadine married your former neighbor's son Neville recently. Nadine and Neville, the ambitious newlyweds, are hosting a housewarming party and you're invited. What housewarming gift comes in a variety of colors, matches every period piece in every room, and can accentuate even…
Puzzle lovers old and new will be thrilled to discover this entertaining exploration of why we love (and often become addicted to) all sorts of puzzles.

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