Book Notes: Krakauer’s new novel offers an intense look at rape on campus
“Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town,” by Jon Krakauer. Doubleday, New York, 2015. 367 pages. $28.95.Jon Krakauer’s new book, “Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College...
View ArticleKids’ books: Big rig fans will love ‘Buster the Little Garbage Truck’
Pick up your toys, please.That’s something you have to do every day. You wouldn’t want somebody to trip, would you? Or somebody to step on something, and break it? No, it’s much better to pick your...
View ArticleBook review: In ‘The Canterbury Sisters,’ women share their stories on trek...
It’s November, not April, when a group of American pilgrims set out to trace the route of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” Still, in Charlotte author Kim Wright’s “The Canterbury Sisters,” a lot of tales...
View Article12 books to bring on your summer vacation
Don’t want to spend your beach days flipping through tabloid mags? Looking for something to read on the airplane flight to your summer vacation destination? We’ve rounded up some of the summer’s...
View ArticleBook Notes: A memoir of a marriage
“The Light of the World.” By Elizabeth Alexander. Grand Central Publishing, New York, 2015. 209 pages. $26.“Ficre the miracle,” writes poet, essayist and professor Elizabeth Alexander about her husband...
View ArticleBook Notes: The stories behind the recipes
“New England Open House Cookbook,” by Sarah Leah Chase. Workman Publishing, New York, 2015. 400 pages. $22.95.There as many reasons to like “New England Open House Cookbook” by Sarah Leah Chase as...
View ArticleKids’ books: Kids in need of a good read can get caught up in ‘The Trap’
The summer stretches for miles, and you’ve got plans.You’re going to pack each day with as much fun as you can. It’s gonna be great — although, admit it: by the time summer ends, you’ll be a little bit...
View ArticleBook Notes: Edith Maxwell serves up third Local Foods mystery
“Farmed and Dangerous,” by Edith Maxwell. Kensington Books, New York, 2015. $25.As if Cameron Flaherty, the intrepid farmer trying to grow a business and organic produce on Boston’s North Shore, didn’t...
View ArticleDavid Murdock: Hooked on hard-boiled detective fiction and film noir
There are certain types of books and movies that have fascinated me for so long that I have no idea when I first encountered them. It just seems like they’ve always been a part of my life. I have loved...
View ArticleAfter book and film success, Matthew Quick settles back into writing
Matthew Quick has looked through the silver lining.“It’s funny, when you start writing you say, ‘I want to be a fiction writer’ and you really have no idea what that means,” said Quick. When his debut...
View ArticleBook Notes: Private eye uses brutal mind games
“Brutality,” by Ingrid Thoft. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2015. 452 pages. $26.95.The young and successful Boston private investigator Fina Ludlow has found an M.O. that works wonders. She pesters...
View ArticleBook Notes: Judd Apatow’s comedy interviews are the perfect summer read
“Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy,” by Judd Apatow. Random House, 2015. $27. Since I usually review books I like, it’s a short hop, skip and jump to this: “Sick in the Head:...
View ArticleBook Notes: Short stories explore life in the Bronx
“Bitter Bronx: Thirteen Stories,” by Jerome Charyn. Liveright Publishing Corp./Division of W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2015. 223 pages. $24.95.Most people who read Jerome Charyn’s new book of...
View Article5 things we now know about Harper Lee's 'Go Set a Watchman'
Reclusive 87-year-old author Harper Lee’s follow-up to "To Kill a Mockingbird" will be released tomorrow, but you can read the first chapter now on The Washington Post’s website. (The Post published...
View ArticleDianne Williamson: ‘Go Set a Watchman’ makes mockery of beloved character
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Harper Lee’s novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” comes out today, 55 years after “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Lee’s beloved, award-winning...
View ArticleBook Notes: Lost on a mountain
“The Mountain Story,” by Lori Lansens. Simon & Schuster, New York, 2015. 312 pages. $26.Intertwining plotlines vie for urgency in Lori Lansens’ nail biter, “The Mountain Story.” And though her...
View ArticleBook Notes: ‘The Spiral Notebook’ delves inside the mind of a killer
“The Spiral Notebook: The Aurora Theater Shooter and the Epidemic of Mass Violence Committed by American Youth,” by Joseph and Joyce Singular. Counterpoint, Berkeley, Calif., 2015. 289 pages....
View ArticleVictor D. Infante: In defense of killing a ‘Mockingbird’
It’s been heartbreaking to see so many intelligent, well-intentioned people wringing their hands in horror at the release of “Go Set A Watchman,” Harper Lee’s sequel — or maybe rough draft — to “To...
View ArticleBook review: Sequel intriguing, but no ‘Mockingbird’
Some published novels should never see the light of day. Ernest Hemingway’s reputation has suffered from the posthumous release of such wretched drafts as “True at First Light.” Papa Hemingway didn’t...
View ArticleBook Notes: ‘The Fixer’ shows off the corrupt side of Boston
“The Fixer,” by Joseph Finder. Dutton, New York, 2015. 416 pages. $27.95.A down-on-his-luck Boston investigative reporter who loses his job, his fashion-model-gorgeous girlfriend, his home and a good...
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