Years ago, when women only a few years older than I am now announced they quit cooking, I silently judged them. I would think to myself, “How in the world do you just stop cooking?”

I get it now. They were tired — tired of chicken, tired of ground beef, tired of pork and tired of salad after salad after salad.

If a judge were to sentence...Read more

Grief does not always behave like an ending. Sometimes it acts more like a ride that refuses to stop: the same drops and turns, the same sickening return to the place where everything irrevocably changed.

In the latest entry to his “Life and Living” series, "Roller Coasters: The Life Kind," Joseph M. Lenard builds a short, intensely ...Read more

If "Murder at the Hotel Orient" were a film, it would be given an “R” if not an “NC-17” rating, as it is a quite naughty, although highly entertaining, murder mystery that would be unsuitable for church or library-based book clubs. The dedication attests to this:“For Mr. Husson, my fourth-grade teacher, who made me promise to dedicate ...Read more

We’ve hit a rough patch over mowing the lawn this summer. The husband is temporarily sidelined with a knee injury and I cheerfully and enthusiastically (a slight exaggeration) volunteered to do the mowing.

We are now engulfed in turf wars. My mowing abilities are under intense scrutiny. The man has high standards. I call him the Sodfather.

...Read more

Kristin Casey‘s "Casey Dancer" takes on subject matter most memoirists would soften or sanitize: a return to stripping at 39 after a stalled real estate career, a decade of dating in sobriety and an eventual pivot into professional companionship work. Casey refuses to flinch from any of it.

What makes the memoir sing is Casey’s voice — ...Read more

Some thrillers begin with a crime scene. "Dawn Before Darkness" begins with a woman trying to end a relationship without angering the man on the other end of the phone. That choice — careful, almost ordinary — tells readers exactly what kind of danger Liz Lazarus is interested in. Not the kind that announces itself all at once, but the kind ...Read more

When my husband was asked if he would help teach twin granddaughters how to parallel park, he immediately yelled, “Yes!” If there was a parallel parking competition, my husband could take first place — unless our son entered the competition, then he’d take first place.

Our son lived in Chicago for 10 years and none of his apartment ...Read more

It’s often assumed that to write a good memoir, a writer must have something happen to them. Something big, juicy, and traumatic. Something unbelievable that really happened to you. Emily LaBarge is here to critique this idea.

In her memoir, "Dog Days," LaBarge challenges the idea that writing a ‘trauma narrative’ is an act of healing, ...Read more

"Fast and Fastidious" is an absolutely smashing and highly entertaining genre-defying first novel by R.M. Caldwell, a pseudonym for New Zealand theater director and escape room puzzle designer.

The author has described it as a “mash-up of 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Fast and the Furious.'” Set in 1810 Regency England amid the Napoleonic ...Read more

My philosophy concerning a garden is the same as my philosophy toward dessert — there’s always room for a little more.

It didn’t take long this spring before I realized I was sowing too many seeds in too little space. Then a light bulb flashed and I thought, “Why not go vertical?” I could just coax everything to latch onto big swaths ...Read more

Vaishnavi Patel, New York Times bestselling author of "Kaikeyi," returns with a heart-pounding new standalone contemporary fantasy novel, "We Dance Upon Demons."

Set in the present day following the events of the pandemic and the most recent political turmoil, "We Dance Upon Demons" introduces us to Nisha — a burnt out reproductive healthcare...Read more

Isabel Klee perfectly captures the feeling of being a woman in her 20s in her brand new memoir, "Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About."

For 20-somethings this will be incredibly relatable, and for those of us who made it through that time, it will conjure feelings of nostalgia that leave you both with the longing for simpler times ...Read more

Fortunately, I didn’t see the late-night text from our son until early the next morning. I wouldn’t have slept a wink if I had.

His two youngest girls spent the night with us. They live in the country, know all the plants and trees and animal tracks and can give wildlife a run for their money.

The 10-year-old, who slept over, is gentle as ...Read more

When I saw the title of this book, "Last Night in Brooklyn," I immediately thought I was about to read a post-apocalyptic dystopian tale (that could have had something to do with the other media I’d been consuming), but I urged myself to read the description. And of course, when I saw a character named La Garza, my mind went into a completely ...Read more

"Before the Devil Knows" is the third installment in the critically acclaimed and award-nominated Gus Wheeler FBI thriller series by R. John Dingle. This dark crime thriller follows Agent Gus Wheeler and his partner, Vanessa Lambert, as they investigate the murder of a 17-year-old boy, which quickly unearths a series of murders connected to ...Read more

The morning of July 4th is so quiet around here, you might wonder if the entire subdivision entered the witness protection program.

But around 9, garage doors start rolling up. Bicycles, ride toys, wagons and strollers emerge as Operation Decoration begins. Red, white and blue streamers wrap handlebars, balloons are anchored to Big Wheels and ...Read more

Buckle up for a road trip unlike any other in "We Burned So Bright." Rodney and Don reflect on the life they’ve built together over 40 years, against impossible odds. When a rogue blackhole appears on the edge of the solar system, the couple realizes their time together will be cut short. One important item remains on their bucket list, a ...Read more

Aries season asked us to burn. To move fast, act first and trust the fire. Taurus season asks something different — and perhaps harder. It asks us to slow down, sink into the earth beneath our feet and sit with what is real.

Richard Powers’ "Playground" — recently released in paperback — is exactly the book for that.

Taurus is the ...Read more

Music is an integral part of modern culture. Musical genres such as rock-n-roll define generations and give hope and excitement to listeners fortunate enough to be a part of the musical experience. Groups such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Pink Floyd have stamped their mark around the world and on pop culture for decades.

In "Pink Floyd: Shine ...Read more

Stone tablets are so yesterday.

A professor from Princeton recently shared that his Ivy League students had to have the Ten Commandments explained to them. Yes, that is the same New England college where the famous Jonathan Edwards was once president.

For the record, I went to Princeton. Once. I walked the campus when one of our kids lived ...Read more