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Wednesday, 15 June 2011 13:11

Stories of local pioneers

Author Hattie Caldwell Davis will read at the Haywood County Library in Waynesville at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, as part of the Sunday Concert Series at the library. Davis has written seven books that document the true life…
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 13:10

Waynesville library offers new Southern book series

Friends of the Haywood Library will offer a new series, Discovering the Literary South, the Louis D. Rubin Jr. Series, from 4 to 6 p.m. beginning June 23 at the Waynesville branch in the auditorium. The books in this series…
Wednesday, 15 June 2011 13:09

Anti-hero investigator brings tension to thriller

Jo Nesbo’s protagonist, Inspector Harry Hole, is a daunting piece of work. A chain-smoking manic depressive and an alcoholic, Harry’s job security is tenuous. In fact, several administrators are eager to fire the hulking, short-tempered Hole. Refusing to observe office…
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 20:33

Library book sale

The Friends of the Library will hold its annual book sale Thursday, June 9, though Saturday, June 11, at the Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library. The summer sale offers additional bargains, and shoppers will find a selection of hardback and paperback…
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 20:33

Book club to hold inaugural meeting

A new book club will meet at Southwestern Community College’s Cashiers Center starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14. The club will have both afternoon and early evening meetings and the first meeting June 14 begins at 6 p.m. and…
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 20:27

Father’s Day picks for the reader

Father’s Day, the third Sunday of June and so falls this year on June 19, sports a peculiar history. Although first proposed as a holiday in 1908 by Grace Clayton of West Virginia, and pushed later by Sonora Smart Dodd…
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 20:01

Author explores hidden local history

Author Alice Sink will read from her new book, Hidden History of the Western North Carolina Mountains, at 1 p.m. on June 4 at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. In her book, Sink introduces readers to the people, customs and…
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 20:00

Crowe and Dawson release children’s book

Jackson County writer Thomas Crowe and illustrator Marilyn K. Dawson will celebrate the publication of their children’s book, The Wake Up Man, at Grateful Steps Publishing and Bookshop at 159 S. Lexington Ave. in Asheville at 10:30 a.m. on June…
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 20:00

Liar's Bench moves to WCU venue

The Liar’s Bench has been adopted by the Mountain Heritage Center The one-year anniversary of The Liar’s Bench will be held at 7 p.m. on June 4 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. The Liar’s Bench, started by Gary Carden,…
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 19:57

The story of a modern-day oracle

Occasionally, books are published in the U. S. that can best be described as “oddities” which acquire a kind of cult following. Their popularity has little to do with literary merit, even though they frequently have much to say about…
Thursday, 26 May 2011 04:38

Learn local plants with botanist and author

Botanist Tim Spira will present a program based on his new book, Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Applachian Mountains and Piedmont, at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 27, at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. Spira, a botanist at…
Thursday, 26 May 2011 04:35

C.S. Lewis’ love story and its lessons

Nearly 50 years have passed the death of C.S. Lewis — he died of illness in 1963 on the same November day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated — yet Lewis remains a household name and a best-selling author. Although…
Wednesday, 18 May 2011 12:32

Cancer survivor reads from memoir at City Lights

Bryson City resident Jane Spotted Bird will read from her recently published memoir, Still Here: Dancing to the Beat of My Own Drum, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. The book tells the…
Wednesday, 18 May 2011 12:32

Author to speak on the publishing

The Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will host an afternoon with Kim Michele Richardson, author of The Unbreakable Child: a Memoir of Forgiving the Unforgivable, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. She will discuss her book and present…
Wednesday, 18 May 2011 12:30

A thinking person’s crime novel

Kind hearts, allow me to introduce Police Detective, Harry Hole. Let me warn you in advance, he is an alcoholic who manages to keep his job in the House of Pain (Oslo’s Robbery Division) by cunning and a talent for…
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 20:47

Book Brigade Buddies to move the last of the library books

Jackson County residents who love the public library are called to join Book Brigade Buddies and help move the last of the library books up the hill to the new facility. At 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, residents are…
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 20:46

Book falls flat in telling of Hemingway

So ends Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, his memoir of his years as a young writer in Paris. This book contains the best of Hemingway: his prose style, crisp and clear as a glass of fine chardonnay; his reporter’s eye…
Wednesday, 27 April 2011 12:39

Satirical writer to read debut novel

Alex Kudera will read from his new satirical novel, Fight for Your Long Day, at 7 p.m. on May 6 at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. The book is a day-in-the-life tragicomedy that follows the unraveling and misadventures of Cyrus…
Wednesday, 27 April 2011 12:37

An agnostic searches for answers

For Christians, Easter is a moveable feast day — this year the celebration fell about as late in the spring as it possibly can — which sparks consideration of the resurrection of Christ and all that this resurrection means for…
Wednesday, 20 April 2011 12:16

Poet to read from new prose collection

Asheville writer and poet Holly Iglesias will read from her new collection, Angles of Approach, at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 22, at City Lights bookstore in Sylva. Iglesias, who teaches at UNC Asheville, is a recent recipient of a…
Wednesday, 20 April 2011 12:15

Franklin headlines book club meet in Sylva

Cyrano’s Book Club will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, in the Senior Citizen’s Center in Sylva. The current book discussion will deal with Tom Franklin’s new novel, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. New members are welcome. Additonal information…
Wednesday, 20 April 2011 12:13

Holman’s novel dubbed compelling, tantalizing

When I was a teenager, I became addicted to a late-night horror movie host named Bestoink Dooley. Based in Atlanta, Bistoink came on at midnight, and I can still see his stark-white face and his silly grin, complete with bloody…
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 19:43

‘Catman’ pens new cat book

Harold Catman Sims has published a new book titled Kevin Tames the Bullies. Sim operates the Catman2 no-kill cat shelter in Jackson County, and all proceeds from the sale of the book will go toward helping operate the shelter. Kevin…
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 19:41

Bart Ehrman to read at Blue Ridge Books

Author Bart D. Ehrman will read from his latest book, God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. Ehrman…
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 19:29

A Southern siren among Manhatten’s literati

In A Ticket to the Circus: A Memoir (978-1-4000-6794-7, $26), Norris Church Mailer gives an account of her marriage to Norman Mailer. Originally from Arkansas, and formerly married with one child, Norris met Mailer when she was in her mid-20s…
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 19:45

Sentimental story is also very memorable

The Memory of Running is a “road book.” In some respects it resembles what critics in the 19th century called a “picaresque,” which means that the protagonist finds himself on a journey or a kind of quest. That would certainly…
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 19:45

Thomas Rain Crowe to Read from New Poetry Collection

Tuckasegee poet Thomas Rain Crowe will be at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 8, to read from his newest poetry collection, Crack Light. The book features photographs by Simone Lipscomb and more than 40…
Wednesday, 30 March 2011 19:37

Poet captures WNC culture in new book

Jackson County resident Thomas Crowe will read from and sign copies of his new collection of poems, Crack Light, at 7 p.m. on April 1 at Grateful Steps Publishing at 159 S. Lexington Ave. (behind and one block over from…
Wednesday, 30 March 2011 19:36

Author discusses adventure on the Appalachian Trail

Jennifer Pharr Davis will discuss her book, Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. After graduating from college with a classics degree, Jennifer wasn’t sure what…
Wednesday, 30 March 2011 19:31

Biography recounts the life of a quiet hero

In “Twelfth Night,” Shakespeare wrote: “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Louis Zamperini certainly was not born great. When he was little more than a toddler, his…
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 19:56

Teens invited to voice their views

The teen friends of the library meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City. Area teens are invited to come share their ideas about materials of interest to them, including…
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 19:56

Library launches website

The Friends of the Macon County Public Library (FOL) have unveiled a new informational web site, MaconLibraryFriends.org. The site showcases the group’s programs and events; and their used book store, which is located at 121 Highlands Road in The Shops…
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 19:55

Book discussion looks at our influence on the planet

Ahead of Western Carolina University’s upcoming literary festival, the Macon County Public Library will host a book discussion on Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24.  James Costa, executive director of the Highlands Biological…
Wednesday, 23 March 2011 19:45

Stephen King collection gets the thumbs-up

At the conclusion of this collection of four novellas: Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King adds an “Afterword.” In acknowledging that his quartet of stories is “a bit harsh,” King goes on to make some provocative observations on both the…
Wednesday, 28 January 2009 16:27

A new take on murderess legend

Midwinter by Maurice Stanley. Whittler’s Bench Press, 2008. 208 pages. North Carolina’s folklore and music resonates with the pain of doomed lovers and guilt-ridden killers: penitents who find themselves standing on a rough-hewn gallows before a silent multitude. In keeping…
Wednesday, 21 January 2009 16:07

Westward Revelations

Art in America by Ron McLarty. Viking Adult, 2008. 384 pages. In Art in America (ISBN 978-0670—01895-6, $25.95), Ron McLarty introduces us to the world of the artist —the writer, the musician, the playwright, the actor, the painter — as…
Wednesday, 14 January 2009 14:50

From Here: Authors spotlight Haywood County

In an expanding spotlight of regional and national acclaim, three of Western North Carolina’s own have distinguished themselves by penning novels that have shed new literary light on our region. In what must be an unprecedented literary flourish of recent…
Wednesday, 07 January 2009 13:45

Beyond the rules of fiction

2666 by Roberto Bolano. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. 898 pages Dear reader, it seems altogether fitting to begin the New Year with a review of the novel that is being hailed as “the book of the century.” Now, before…
Wednesday, 16 March 2011 19:36

Poems, nonfiction readings at City Lights in Sylva

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva will feature local authors of poetry and nonfiction in the coming week. Coffee with the Poet will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 17, with Brent Martin. Martin, the featured poet, lives in Cowee…
Wednesday, 16 March 2011 19:36

Mystery author gives reading

Author Leanna Sain will give a reading at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville from 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. Sain is the author of the mystery trilogy, which includes Gate to Nowhere, Return to Nowhere and Magnolia Blossoms. Sain’s…
Wednesday, 16 March 2011 19:29

Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail with Skywalker

Some The Smoky Mountain News readers may remember a review here several seasons ago of Bill Walker’s Skywalker: Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail. In that book we met the appropriately named Walker narrating his adventures while hiking the Appalachian…
Wednesday, 09 March 2011 21:11

Love, devotion and a restless journey

The great kite of the crucified Christ loomed and caused the crowd to vibrate. Like a pyre before him, the bank of burning candles waited. The hot pure smell of burning. A woman’s fan of blonde hair in front of…
Wednesday, 09 March 2011 21:11

Library offers books for sale

Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library will have hundreds of books, DVDs, CDs and other media on sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. Fiction and nonfiction, reference materials…
Wednesday, 02 March 2011 21:05

Spiritual connections explored by local author

Jody Kraner (aka JadriAnna Lee), author of Northern Lights: A Journey to Insight, will appear for a reading and discussion at City Lights in Sylva at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. The book includes a card set and instructions…
Wednesday, 02 March 2011 21:03

Battling weight problems and ensuing baggage

Though heroin and cocaine are dangerous and illegal, both drugs carry with them a cachet, the dark romance of, say, the doomed hard-rock singer or the wild film star. Alcoholics — unless you happen to live with one — are…
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 20:57

Read Across America

As part of the celebration of Read Across America, Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville is hosting two events that emphasize the importance of reading to young children.  Parents of preschoolers are welcome to come to a free workshop from 5:30…
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 20:56

Wayne Caldwell wins Wolfe award

The WNC Historical Association and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial will host Western North Carolina author Wayne Caldwell from 2-4 p.m. on March 6. The winner of the 2010 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, Wayne Caldwell, will appear in tandem with…
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 20:55

Book group to begin

Gary Carden has announced the first meeting of a book discussion group which will begin with a meeting at 5 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the Sylva Senior Citizen Center in Room 129. The first meeting will be devoted to…
Wednesday, 23 February 2011 20:50

Vampire saga lacks traditional horror appeal

For quite some time now, the literary genre known as “science fiction/horror” has been undergoing radical changes. The “creatures of the night,” be they zombies, vampires or werewolves, have been transformed into either (a) terrifying creations (“Dracula 2000” and its…
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 20:49

WCU to host literacy conference

Educators from throughout the region are invited to attend a one-day conference focusing on literacy hosted by Western Carolina University’s College of Education and Allied Professions. The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25,…
Wednesday, 16 February 2011 20:44

A novel that sparkles with quality writing

In Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand (ISBN 978-1-4000-6893-7, 2010, $25), first-time novelist Helen Simonson has created a superb portrait of life and love in a contemporary English village. Edgecombe St. Mary is the name of the village, and by the end…
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 20:46

New book looks at remarkable work of therapy dogs

Author Deanna Klingel of Sapphire Valley will be at City Lights Bookstore at 2 p.m. on Feb. 12 to discuss her new book, Just for the Moment: The Remarkable Gift of the Therapy Dog. Klingel says the book is not…
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 20:46

Ron Rash returns to City Lights with new paperback edition

City Lights welcomes Ron Rash back to the store at 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 to celebrate the release in paperback of his highly acclaimed short-story collection, Burning Bright. Rash teaches writing at WCU and is a nationally recognized gem…
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 20:44

Area storytellers featured in new book

In view of the fact that Southern Appalachia is acknowledged to be a massive reservoir of traditional storytelling, Saundra Kelley’s objective is a daunting one: to identify, interview and publish 16 of the region’s most gifted and proficient “keepers of…
Wednesday, 02 February 2011 21:09

Author recounts unique parenting journey

Some novels call to mind certain family members. There are the wise old stories that remind us of our grandparents, the zany tales whose style and tone dredge up our crazy but loveable Uncle Harry, the comic narratives whose humor…
Wednesday, 02 February 2011 21:07

Rash commemorates paperback release

Local author Ron Rash will hold a reading at City Lights in Sylva to celebrate the paperback release of his short story collection, Burning Bright, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 13 Rash teaches writing at WCU and is an…
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 21:15

WCU professor co-authors book about rising sea levels

A book co-authored by Western Carolina University professor Rob Young about the global threat to coastal communities posed by rising sea levels has proven so popular that its publisher is announcing a release in paperback. Written by Young and Orrin…
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 21:14

Cancer survivor to talk at Jackson Library

In May 2008, Jane SpottedBird was diagnosed with stage IV cancer. Her doctor gave her 6 to 12 months to live with no hope of survival. In October 2009, her doctor was astounded and said, “She is a miracle.” Today…
Wednesday, 26 January 2011 21:08

A grisly war novel that stands apart

“It took Karl Marlantes 30 years to write his thunderous, brutally granular account of scorched-earth combat in Vietnam. Matterhorn was originally published by a tiny press in California before a prominent New York editor caught up to it, and now…
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 20:00

WCU professor co-authors book about rising sea levels

A book co-authored by Western Carolina University professor Rob Young about the global threat to coastal communities posed by rising sea levels has proven so popular that its publisher is announcing a release in paperback. “We’re very pleased with how…
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 19:59

Haywood author to read from new novel ‘Sweetie’

Kathryn Magendie, an author from Haywood County, will be at City Lights book store in Sylva to read from her new novel Sweetie at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22. Sweetie is a wild girl — rough, almost feral, yet…
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 19:58

Revisiting one of the last raids of the Civil War

Anyone who has driven state roads between Asheville and Winston-Salem has quite possibly seen those state historical markers commemorating the passage of Stoneman’s raiders in the spring of 1865. North Carolina has erected 19 of these markers — the largest…
Wednesday, 12 January 2011 13:25

Program focuses on African-Americans and their history in Jackson County

Victoria Casey McDonald, a local writer and historian, will present a program about African-Americans in Jackson County at the Jackson County Public Library at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26. One of the featured individuals will be Ida Jean Bryson,…
Wednesday, 12 January 2011 13:22

This is quality Southern writing

How many times have you heard the lament, “They don’t write southern novels the way they used to”? This statement is usually followed by a catalog of classics like To Kill a Mockingbird along with a few reverent references to…
Wednesday, 05 January 2011 20:49

A cautionary tale of the dangers of excess

“The rich are different from you and me,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once famously said to Ernest Hemingway, to which Hemingway supposedly replied: “Yes, Scott, they have more money.” After getting through the final pages of Heidi Schnakenberg’s Kid Carolina: R.J.…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:36

Group to discuss ‘Time and Again’ at public library

The next Book Ends book discussion group will be held at the Jackson County Public Library on Thursday, Jan.13. The book selection is Time and Again by Jack Finney. Time and Again is told in the first person by Simon…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:21

In new novel, outlook is grim without technology

Let me begin this review by confessing that I never heard of E.M.P. (Electromagnetic Pulse), and I was distressed to learn that its destructive potential has been readily acknowledged by both the Pentagon and the White House (Newt Gingrich wrote…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:09

Elderly Brothers ring in New Year’s at Legion

The Elderly Brothers will perform on New Year’s Eve at American Legion Post 47 in Waynesville. The Elderly Brothers have been playing together for more than 40 years. “Our group originally started playing together over 40 years ago,” said band…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:08

Gary Carden to present Old Christmas Traditions program at library

Storyteller and author Gary Carden will present a program titled “Old Christmas Traditions” at 7 p.m. on Jan. 4 at the Jackson County Library. During the program Carden will regale the audience with stories of bygone traditions such as serenading…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:05

Pride of the Mountains is California-bound

Nearly 400 members of Western Carolina University’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band will travel to Pasadena, Calif., to march in the internationally televised 2011 Rose Parade. The band is scheduled to appear at the 49th position in the parade,…
Wednesday, 29 December 2010 20:04

Waynesville Inn to play host to second-annual Winterfest

Haywood County residents looking to brave the ice and leave their firesides this January can find an afternoon of respite from the winter in Waynesville’s second annual Winterfest. The festival, themed Fire and Ice, is hosted by the Haywood County…
Wednesday, 22 December 2010 20:44

Leavitt creates emotional story, realistic characters

In her previous novels — two of which, Coming Back To Me and Girls In Trouble, have been reviewed here — Caroline Leavitt showed an exquisite talent for bringing her characters alive on the page. These novels were marked by…
Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:10

Swain library to hold meeting for teenagers

The teen friends of the library meeting will be held at the Marianna Black Library at 3:30 on Thursday, Dec. 16. Teens are invited to come share their ideas about materials of interest to them, including what sort of programming…
Wednesday, 15 December 2010 21:05

A dark story about death, love and loss

Dear readers, if you decide to purchase this amazing novel, please consider the following advice: forget George Romero and the multitudes of lurching zombies that have become common fare in both films and novels. Purge your mind of ravenous, decaying…
Wednesday, 08 December 2010 20:58

A bunch of possibilities for your book lover

To buy affordable holiday gifts for men past the age of 30 can be difficult. When confronted with men who have slogged into their 40s, the task becomes formidable indeed. Givers can always wrap up some gifts that certain men…
Wednesday, 01 December 2010 21:29

Donation to Jackson County library makes a perfect gift

Library lovers and history buffs from all over have a singular opportunity this year to combine giving Christmas presents to family and friends and giving to their community. The Jackson County Library capital campaign is still under way, and co-chair…
Wednesday, 01 December 2010 21:29

Bookstore program to help children in need

City Lights Bookstore has started the 12th year of its annual Holiday Giving Tree, a program designed to put books in the hands of local children during the holiday season. Each year since 1998 the store has worked with local…
Wednesday, 01 December 2010 21:27

Lehane’s latest as good as it gets

For over a decade, Dennis Lehane’s name has been synonymous with skillfully crafted crime novels. Both Mystic River and Shutter’s Island were made into blockbuster movies and Coronado contains some of the best short stories in American fiction. However, Lahane’s greatest…
Wednesday, 24 November 2010 20:05

Find the perfect gift at your local bookshop

For many people, Thanksgiving is a holiday that delivers on its promises. The table sags beneath platters of ham and turkey, bowls of mashed potatoes and yams, green bean casseroles, hot bread, and pies. Family and old friends gather together…
Wednesday, 24 November 2010 20:05

Macon County natives release book

Two Macon County natives, Gail Shepherd Diederich and Gail Kelly Lester, recently released a new book, Tales of Two Gails. With 38 true stories and 68 photos, many shot in the Macon County area during the 1950s and the 1960s,…
Wednesday, 25 February 2009 19:30

Brooding obsessions

Dying Light by Donald Hays. MacAdam/Cage, 2006. 261 pages In recent years, I’m sure that the average reader feels intimidated by the steady onslaught of new publications that flow into the bookstores each day. (I also hear that all of…
Wednesday, 18 February 2009 19:08

The age of acting and the rapture of writing

The Age of Dreaming by Nina Revoyr. Akashic Books, 2008. 320 pages Every once in a while a novel comes at us out of the blue to capture first our attention, then our minds, and finally our hearts. Such a…
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:21

Tales of survival from the American frontier

Fine Just the Way It Is by Annie Proulx. Simon & Schuster, 2008. 240 pages. When critics attempt to define Annie Proulx’ writing style, they invariably use adjectives like “visceral” and “gritty.” Without question, she is the master of a…
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 17:11

WCU Cherokee studies professor wins Oklahoma book award

Robert Conley, the Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University, is winner of the 2009 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Oklahoma Center for the Book. An enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band of…
Wednesday, 04 February 2009 16:34

Savage salvation

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. HarperCollins, 2008. 752 pages. Wally Lamb’s newest novel, The Hour I First Believed (HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN (978-0-06-039349-6, $29.95) opens with a quotation from Dante’s Inferno: “And so, they moved over the dark…
Wednesday, 25 March 2009 20:29

Frank is always provocative and thought-provoking

Criminal Justice in America by Marshall Frank. AuthorHouse, 2008. 276 pages. In Criminal Injustice in America: Essays by a Career Cop (AuthorHouse, ISBN 978-1-43892062-7), former policeman Marshall Frank gives us his take on the criminal justice system through a series…
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 20:23

A complex legacy

William Dudley Pelley by Scott Beckman. Syracuse University Press. 269 pages. The first time I heard the name William Dudley Pelley, a friend of mine was telling me about an Asheville-based oral history project that he had launched. He said…
Wednesday, 11 March 2009 20:01

Digging up John Williams

Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams. New York Review of Books, 1960 reissued 2007. 274 pages. For those of us who truly love books, our greatest pleasures are often derived from discovering the “neglected classics” — remarkable books that somehow manage…
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 15:47

Conservatism with a small “c”

Ain’t My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Ant-Imperialism by Bill Kauffman. Metropolitan Books, 2008. 304 pages. Try to imagine a book enthusiastically reviewed by George McGovern (former Democratic presidential candidate), Ron Paul (former Republican presidential…
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 20:33

Zafón back… but not, this time, in Barcelona

For millions of readers, Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind proved to be one of the most captivating novels of the last decade. Zafon’s talent for combining fantasy, suspense and realism produced unforgettable scenes that linger in the…
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 20:32

Poetry, storytelling and music at City Light

City Lights Bookstore in Sylva will host Karen Holmes for the bookstore’s monthly Coffee with the Poet gathering at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 18. Then at 7 p.m. on Nov. 20, the store will host Gary Carden’s Liar’s Bench featuring…
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 16:57

Dispatches from the kinky South

Surreal South: an Anthology of Short Fiction and Poetry edited by Laura Benedict & Pinckney Benedict. Winston-Salem: Press 53 $19.95 – 378 pages The co-editors of this anthology, Laura and Pinckney Benedict, know “surreal” when they see it. In fact,…
Wednesday, 22 April 2009 16:45

Bradbury succeeds again with new novel

We’ll Always Have Paris by Ray Bradbury. William Morrow, 2009. 224 pages Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Ill., — the town became Greentown in Dandelion Wine and many of his short stories — in 1920. He published his first…
Wednesday, 15 April 2009 16:15

Everyone's mother

Mother Jones by Elliott J. Gorn. Hill and Wang, 2002. 408 pages. When Mother Jones celebrated her (allegedly) 100th birthday on May 1, 1930, our nation rejoiced with her. Hundreds of telegrams arrived from statesmen, celebrities and politicians, including Eugene…
Wednesday, 08 April 2009 15:53

Anne Rice’s spiritual journey

Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by Anne Rice. Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. 256 pages. The books are piling up around my desk, which means the time has come for a spring cleaning. Several books, all read in the…
Wednesday, 01 April 2009 15:36

A gem of a novel

The Missing by Tim Gautreaux. Knopf Double Publishing Group, 2009. 384 pages. This is a novel that seems to vibrate in your hands. It is filled with sounds, smells and the bittersweet beauty of a vanquished time — the Mississippi…
Wednesday, 10 November 2010 21:02

Readings at City Lights

City Lights will host several authors this weekend for a diverse selection of book readings. At 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12, retired WCU English professor Marilyn Jody will read from her new memoir titled Letter to Emily. The book,…
Wednesday, 10 November 2010 21:02

Magendie releases third novel

Kathryn Magendie will celebrate the release of her new novel, Sweetie, at Blue Ridge Books at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13. To add to the celebration, Kathryn’s husband, Roger, will be serving his home cooked jambalaya. The food is…
Wednesday, 10 November 2010 21:00

Book explores the value of silence

The sound of silence. Silence is a rare commodity in our world today. Of course, perfect silence doesn’t exist. The adventurer alone in some Arctic waste will hear the crunching of her footsteps on the ice and snow. The man…
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