If you’ve ever wondered how to commit the perfect murder, this book will give you some clues. Much delightful mayhem occurs in these five short chapters, where we come to know the seemingly mild-mannered Maud, an elderly retiree in Göteborg, Sweden. Maud leads a rather comfortable but pedestrian life of solitude, which she will protect at …
Those of you who know Jane Mount only from her colorful illustrations of shelved and stacked book spines might be surprised—as I was—that her new book of literary “miscellany” is as miscellaneous as it is, full not only of her trademark spines but of profiles of bookstores and libraries, lists of recommended reading, and general …
First, we have Mark O’Shea’s Big Book of I Don’t Think So. O’Shea is a herpetologist, which is someone who knows the difference between a stick and a snake. In fact, O’Shea is so good at telling the difference that he’s put together a comprehensive guide of over six hundred species of snakes. That’s right. Everything …
For those of us who love Harry Potter (and there are a LOT of us), the magic never truly ends. We re-read the books. We watch the movies for maybe the hundredth time (and I might not be exaggerating). We find camaraderie and instant connections with fellow Potterheads who also believe in love, magic, and forever friendship. …
This is an incredibly beautiful– and inspirational– coffee table book that will make you want to put down your coffee and read! Each of the 200 women interviewed and photographed answer the same five questions about the change they’d like to see in the world and what matters most to them. These incredible women from …
Charlie, aka the Grenadine Kid, is the son of an American diplomat in France in 1961. By chance–or is it?– he witnesses a pick pocket, Amir, similar in age to himself being accosted by police, Charlie comes to his aid and by doing so strikes up a friendship. Charlie really has no friends and is …
For the cook (for the novice to the accomplished): Dinner: Changing the Game by Melissa Clark. I cannot recommend this book enough! The recipes are simple,delicious and inventive, the photography is fantastic. Every recipe I have made has been a hit. The recipes can be a stand alone meal with perhaps the addition of a …
Here is an indulgent gift (for yourself or those Vonnegut fans you know) that you may not be able to pass up. Organized by subject, a concept unique to most short story collections, Vonnegut’s prodigious writing (this title is 900 pages!) is organized by such topics as War, Women, Science, Romance, Behavior, and more. –Watermark …
Have a dog lover in the family? This utterly charming book is just the thing for a birthday, Christmas, or just because. I loved Humphrey’s first book, Maddie On Things, and this one is even better. Humphrey adopted Maddie from a shelter in 2010, she being a hound of some kind. Sweet and gentle and …
Literary Witches is a tribute to a pantheon of women authors like no other– part biography, part grimoire– envisioning their conjuring of words and worlds as sources of magic. Jamaica Kincaid becomes “the sorceress of islands,” Mary Shelley “the alchemyst of monsters.” Virginia Woolf “understood the longing of cupboards when no one was looking into them.” …
