“When someone writes about grief they also write about courage, since they survived to tell the story. The beauty and emotional integrity of Holding Silvan strikes me to the core. This book is brilliant.” —Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Chronology of Water. Buy Holding Silvan: A Brief Life from Lidia Yuknavitch’s favorite hometown indie, Portland’s Broadway …
How well do we really understand ourselves, our motives and actions? And how willing are we to share our true selves with others, to fight through our fear and sense of vulnerability to expose ourselves fully? When Scott Nadelson’s life went off the rails in 2004, he began a two-year process of excavation, scrutinizing his …
“When we talk about poetry (those of us who read and write it), we often find ourselves addressing a reluctant audience: readers of fiction and memoir, politics and pop science. What does poetry do in a world of social media and smart phones, drones and climate change? If Incarnadine is our measure, the answer is: …
“On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines – And Future is written by Karen Ellott House, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has been visiting the kingdom for more than 30 years. Saudia Arabia is a country of great importance to the world, but one that most people know little about, one of the last …
“Although I do not consider myself a spiritual person and gave up the church of my parents forty years ago, there is a small handful of ‘religious’ writers I consistently read. At the top of this list is Anne Lamott. She is a Christian writer whose thousands of avid fans include many readers who are …
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple is our new go-to book for anyone who needs to get out of the doldrums, who needs a good belly laugh. A funny funny new novel by the author of This One is Mine, this rockin’ story takes on the PC world of Seattle (Microsoft, rampant blackberry vines, over-polite drivers, coffee shops on every …
“One of my favorite books of the season—and one of the most touching and inspirational (which sounds way smarmier than the book is)—is the true story of a son and his mother who start a ‘book club’ that brings them together as her life comes to a close. The End of Your Life Book Club ($25; Knopf), …
“In a year when so many good cookbooks have been published, one merits our special attention due to its popularity with cooks across the country. I’m talking about Cook’s Illustrated’s The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen ($40, America’s Test Kitchen). Cook’s Illustrated is one of our favorite …
“Wouldn’t it be cool if you were just walking down NE Broadway and out of nowhere someone began dancing, I mean really dancing, when you least expected it? Wouldn’t that make you smile? . . . So imagine a whole book of such things. That’s what photographer Jordan Matter started by asking a member of the …
“When I was a kid, I used to love to play with my Spirograph, happily making designs for hours. Did you do that too? The geometric drawing toy was first developed by British engineer Denys Fisher. It has been a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc., since that company bought the Denys Fisher company. Now Klutz …
