The Readers’ Writers: Literary author Lorrie Thomson
When Lorrie Thomson began writing her debut novel Equilibrium, she never imagined how drastically her perspective would change before the storys conclusion.Equilibrium is about a family coping...
View ArticleReview: Two new Bruce Springsteen books offer all sides
By Peter ChiancaApparently everybody has something to say about Bruce Springsteen. Theres been a virtual deluge of books about the rock legend hitting the market, and recent weeks have seen the...
View ArticleThe Readers’ Writers: Author Alison Ellie’ Heller
Alison Ellie Heller is the acquisitions editor for an e-publisher, dedicated blogger and single mom who also writes paranormal and fantasy romance novels.Her latest book, A Matter of Fate, follows...
View ArticleBook review: Blockbusters’ offers look at strategies of megahit movies
If you're a 16-year-old boy you're probably pretty happy these days with your choices at the multiplex. However, for the rest of us, things are not so rosy.It's safe to say that most Hollywood fare is...
View ArticleBook review: Full look at country star in Merle Haggard: The Running Kind’
A few years ago I caught a triple bill featuring Willie Nelson, Ray Price and Merle Haggard. It was a great show. Willie was Willie, Ray was the consummate smoothie, and Merle nearly shocked the...
View ArticleThe Readers’ Writers: Author, educator James R. Nuttall, PhD
The grandson of a one-room schoolteacher and the son of a physician, many would tend to think that learning would be easy for James R. Nuttall. However, on a sixth-grade reading test it was discovered...
View ArticleCooks’ Books: This delicious bucket list includes a very full bucket
"1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die," edited by Frances Case (Universe, $36.95)How far along are you on your list of the thousand or so foods bubbling over in your bucket? As Frances Case, editor...
View ArticleThe Readers’ Writers: Romance author Zee Monodee
Zee Monodee was born and continues to live on the island of Mauritius in the southern Indian Ocean with her husband and family. As such, her stories of love and relationships cross many cultural...
View ArticleCooks’ Books: Her seasoned years just may add spice to your life
"The Spice Merchant's Daughter: Recipes and Simple Spice Blends for the American Kitchen" by Christina Arokiasamy (Clarkson Potter, $29.95).The spice of life may just come in a spice blend. That's what...
View ArticleCooks’ Books: Drown out cold weather with these all-time favorite vegan soups
"Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons" by Nava Atlas (Clarkson Potter, $17.95)Even during years when the polar vortex is not blanketing the country, winter is the perfect time to try eating...
View ArticleThe Readers’ Writers: Business strategy author Robert Skrob
"Your Association Shortcut," written by Robert Skrob, CPA, CAE, helps businesses and entrepreneurs navigate the insider society and internal processes used by more than 100,000 professional and trade...
View ArticleCooks’ Books: No-frills diet advises to forget the fads
By Lisa MessingerCreators Syndicate"American Heart Association No-Fad Diet: A Personal Plan for Healthy Weight Loss" (Clarkson Potter)Have you already tried the dozens of new diets that have emerged...
View ArticleBook Notes: Boiled Over’ spins a well-crafted Maine mystery
"Boiled Over: The Maine Clambake Mystery Series" by Barbara Ross. Kensington Books, New York, 2014. Paperback. $7.99.The carefully planned, high-stakes Founder's Day in Busman's Harbor, Maine, looks...
View ArticleBook review: Saving Babe Ruth’ examines the unseemly side of youth baseball
A generation ago youth sports was just about that, the youth.At practice, often the only adults at the ballpark, gridiron, ice rink or gymnasium were the coaches. On game days, players would ride their...
View ArticleBook Notes: The grandma who saved the Appalachian Trail
Emma Gatewood popularized, among other things, minimalist extreme hiking. To hike all 2,050 miles of the rough and immature Appalachian Trail in 1955, she hand-sewed a yard of denim to form a...
View ArticleBook Notes: For the love of the lobster roll
"Lobster Rolls of New England: Seeking Sweet Summer Delight" Written by Sally Lerman, "The Lobster Gal" at lobstergal.com. Photos by Sally Lerman and Jane Shauck. Published by American Palate, a...
View ArticleBook Review: The Indestructibles’
Since it was written by a colleague — Matthew Phillion, a fellow GateHouse Media journalist — I would have likely picked up "The Indestructibles" just as a show of support. But I challenge anyone to...
View ArticleBook Notes: Murder down on the farm
"'Til Dirt Do Us Part" By Edith Maxwell. Kensington Books, New York, 2014. 303 pages. $24.I want to recommend Massachusetts author Edith Maxwell's newest and thoroughly entertaining cozy mystery, but...
View ArticleInterview with The Giver’ author Lois Lowry
It's no surprise that Lois Lowry is such a prolific writer. The longtime Cambridge, Massachusetts, resident recalls spending her childhood as a voracious reader of all kinds of books, especially adult...
View ArticleBook Notes: People and their problems
By Rae Padilla FrancoeurMore Content Now"Problems with People Stories" by David Guterson. Knopf, New York, 2014. 163 pages. $25.95.David Guterson, most well known for "Snow Falling on Cedars" and...
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