The alternate-history TV series The Man in the High Castle, loosely based on the 1962 Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, has become Amazon’s most-watched original series. The premise here is that the Axis powers won WWII and the U.S. has been split into the Greater Nazi Reich and the Pacific States. People live in […]
Audiences and critics can’t stop talking about the beautiful new movie based on Colm Tóibín’s 2009 novel, Brooklyn. Fans of books set in the 1950s might enjoy these other mid-century tales that have been transposed onto the big screen. Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison Chocolat, by Joanne Harris Cool Hand Luke, by Donn Pearce Different […]
Have you ever read a book that was so good the characters seemed to leap off the page? How about off the page and into another book? Gregory Maguire’s new book, After Alice, is the latest in a long line of literary crossovers. Readers who enjoy seeing a new take on old favorites will love […]
Like Sting, Cher, or Ditka, sometimes a reputation is so large that the person behind it requires only one name. Cormoran Strike, the unforgettable lead in Robert Galbraith’s mystery series (Career of Evil, The Silkworm, The Cuckoo’s Calling), is poised to become one of literature’s single-name superstars. If he does make the leap, he’ll be in […]
In Adriana Trigiani’s latest bestseller, All the Stars in the Heavens, she imagines what was going on behind the scenes when actress Loretta Young discovered she was pregnant with the child of the married Clark Gable. Trigiani’s not the first author to find fodder for her fiction behind the closed doors of Beverly Hills. Direct readers to […]
Is it just too bad a pun to say that the literary world is ablaze with buzz about Garth Risk Hallberg’s stunning debut City on Fire? This immense (944 pages) tale of 1970s New York is heating up the charts. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) The holds list might move a little slowly as readers embrace such a lengthy […]
Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye (and a good book list) OK, Dorothy Parker didn’t say the part in parentheses. But she was smart enough to surround herself with interesting people and listen as much as she talked. Everybody’s got something to learn, and creative types are no different. Mary Karr is […]
The new ABC thriller Quantico takes viewers inside the legendary FBI Academy on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. Given the bureau’s jurisdiction over violations in more than 200 categories of federal crimes, agents of all stripes are well represented in the contemporary thriller field. From rookies to retirees, FBI agents are some of the genre’s most popular heroes. The 7th […]
Librarians are accustomed to filling demand for titles written by sports stars, Hollywood hotshots, and music industry moguls. But the Internet continues to shift where, how, and why people are becoming celebrities. For a whole generation of viewers, their favorite personalities are coming to them online and on demand. According to Google’s chief business officer, […]
Jennifer Weiner’s new book, Who Do You Love, will leave her legions of fans wanting more tales of true love—lost and found. Romantic readers should be forewarned, though: in love, sometimes once is enough. Coming Up for Air, by Patti Callahan Henry Dedication, by Emma McLaughlin For Once in My Life, by Marianne Kavanagh Here […]