A poem for D-Day
“Normandy Invasion” By Paul Willis Across the sands of Normandy They came up from the sea. For many days and…
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Understanding how to disagree and still respect
Nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman once wrote “I hear America singing.” Ah, those were the days.
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Wit, wisdom and a walk around New York City
It is 1926, and Lillian Boxfish, mid-20s and ambitious, arrives in Manhattan, where she lands a job working for the…
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A memoir written in songs and poems
In his Preface to Love Songs For A Country Lane, country music icon Chris Gantry writes: “Grant King was a…
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A fresh look into an enduring classic
After finishing the last pages of Libertarians On The Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Rose Wilder Lane, and the Making of…
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Need I say more? The power of wit
When verbally attacked and left speechless by an assailant, who among us has not long afterwards pondered the mot juste…
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A desperate tale, beautifully written
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry And satisfy the needs of the oppressed, Then your light will…
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Pondering the power of forgiveness
In Charles Martin’s novel A Life Intercepted (Center Street Publishers, 2014, 326 pages), college senior Matthew “the Rocket” Rising has…
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The Final Day brings Forstche’s trilogy to a close
In 2011, William Forstchen’s apocalyptic novel, One Second After, appeared on best-seller lists. After reading for review this story of…
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An ancient story well told
In Jennifer Frick-Ruppert’s statement of intent at the back of her book, The Legend of Skyco, she states “While this…
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David Joy’s new book is a dark gem
Just after I bought The Weight of the World, I ran into an old friend of mine who is extremely…
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Pour me a glass of great words, and let’s party
Having given up listening to the dreadful music and talk shows available in my car radio, last week I popped…
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Books always make a thoughtful gift
You’re stuck. It’s your boss’ birthday, your nephew’s graduation from high school, your cousin’s promotion at work, and you need…
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Burke’s writing shines in The Jealous Kind
In The Jealous Kind (Simon and Schuster, 2016, 400 pages, $27.99), novelist James Lee Burke drops his readers into Houston,…
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In rural Scotland, lessons on the power of books
Readers of this column know I am a sucker for books about books. Novels like The Little Paris Bookshop, collections…
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‘Casablanca’ one of the finest scripts of all time
“Casablanca.” For some, that name evokes a city in Morocco, an urban center of four million people quartering one of…
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Blizzard of 1993 is catalyst for a fine first novel
In True Stories At The Smoky View (She Writes Press, 2016, 325 pages, $16.95), Vrai Stevens Lynde — the “Vrai”…
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Ben-Hur’s long history is captivating
Some authors and critics sniff at best-sellers. I suppose the idea is that a novel appealing to so many thousands…
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Hillbilly Elegy author can’t shake the label
“Southern Appalachia is a region about which, perhaps, more things are known that are not true than any other part…
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Books about the American South will delight
Let’s go exploring. More specifically, let’s explore the American South.
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A vow to open a few more books
New Year’s resolutions and I make for poor company. Like many reading this column, I have in the past made…
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Books from different ends of the spectrum
Opposites attract, so the old saying runs. We’ve all known friends, husbands and wives, and lovers who match this adage,…
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Book about artist is itself a work of art
In mid-October I attended the second lecture of three at my local library on the Italian artist Caravaggio (1571-1610). A…
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From cradle to grave: books for growth and health
Visit any bookshop or library and you will find loads of books telling you how to live a better life,…
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A fresh look at the life of Evelyn Waugh
Fifty years ago this past spring, on Easter Sunday, Evelyn Waugh died of a heart attack in his home in…
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A mystery tale with a canine hero
This is a delightful book and I am confident that it will be judged one of the best books of…
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Local bookstores should be celebrated, supported
In My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc., 2012,…
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It’s OK sometimes to just take a dip
Of course, we’re intended to read from cover to cover many books — novels, histories, biographies, and more. It would…
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You might enjoy a visit to Broken Wheel, Iowa
One of the great joys of reading occurs when we bump into a book by an author we’ve never heard…
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This is historical fiction well worth a read
Nearly 20 years ago, while browsing the shelves of the Haywood Country Public Library, I came across a collection of…
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Searching for the meaning in a grueling trek
Recently, I attended “Coffee With the Poets” at City Lights Bookstore and heard the poet, Newton Smith, read and discuss…
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Coming to grips with her own image
Among Americans the two most egregious social stigma are smoking and obesity. We relegate smokers to sidewalks and rooftops when…
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A reviewer must learn to roll with the changes
Have you ever experienced one of those moments when you look at what you are doing and where you are…
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Sorry, but Bob Dylan didn’t deserve the Nobel
One moment, please. To ward off the brickbats, cudgels, stones, dirt clods, and rotten tomatoes sure to come my way,…
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A story about coping with loss
Sometimes loss and death give little or no warning of their arrival. The doorbell rings at two in the morning,…
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Presidential power grows at an alarming rate
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will…
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A rollicking debut novel with a Hemingway twist
In December 1922 Hadley Hemingway set out from Paris to join her husband Ernest, then a newspaper reporter and an…
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Burke spins complicated tale full of violence
In House Of The Rising Sun (Simon & Schuster, 2015, 435 pages, $27.99), James Lee Burke tells the story of…
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Putting a face on the growing white underclass
For decades, the lot of poor white Americans has worsened. Marriage rates have plummeted while out-of-wedlock births have skyrocketed. Unemployment,…
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The best way to learn to write is simple – write
This one’s for students, especially those of you in secondary school and college. Let’s get right to the point. Reading,…
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Sociologist got it wrong; religion is on the uptick
In 1968, Peter Berger, a Boston University sociologist, told the New York Times that by “the 21st century, religious believers…
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Novel explores questions of real import
It’s a wonderful day when a book surprises us with its wit, story, style, and wisdom. Recently I was talking…
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I’ll say it: Epstein is the greatest living American essayist
Most of us like lists: “The 100 Greatest Novels of the Twentieth Century,” “The Ten Best Movies of All Time,”…
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The life of Harry Crews makes for depressing reading
This may be the most depressing biography I have ever read. Although I frequently considered abandoning this painful trudge through…
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Bradbury created a genre all his own
Last year a storm of controversy erupted over the destruction of writer Ray Bradbury’s home in Los Angeles. Architect Thom…
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Getting what you give up
In a 12-round heavyweight professional boxing match, at the beginning of the twelfth round there is a bell and the…
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Cowan’s writing could make you cry
When Leo Cowan, Jackson County’s noted historian and author, died last February just after his second book was published, I…
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The glitterati’s influence not always what it seems
In her novel Under The Influence (William Morrow, 2016, 321 pages, $25.99), Joyce Maynard makes her title do double duty…
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Sylva movie’s author is famed British playwright
Back a few months ago, when Hollywood came to town, I was fascinated and when I heard that for a…
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Falling into the rabbit hole of fiction
For reasons unfathomable to me, I have spent the last two weeks on a fiction-reading jag. Until I was about…
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