LIFE&STYLE
Cartoonist shares untainted love of childhood
Exuding youthful exuberance and expectations, American cartoonist Jeff Kinney decided to make a living sketching comics while in college. Majoring in computer science at the University of Maryland, ...
Dec 14, 2016
Award-winning novelist, Shirley Hazzard, dies at 85
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Hazzard, an award-winning novelist who wrote of love affairs disrupted and intensified by age, distance and war, has died at age 85. Hazzard had been in failing health and ...
Top translators awarded for promoting Korean literature overseas
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea has announced the winners of translation awards that recognize their role in the promotion of Korean literature worldwide. The awards, which will be giv...
Dec 7, 2016
Murakami's new novel set for release in Japan in February
TOKYO (AP) -- Haruki Murakami’s new novel is set for release in Japan in February -- and that’s about as much as his fans are being told. Publisher Shinchosha Publishing Co. made the announcement We...
Dec 1, 2016
Spanish author Mendoza wins 2016 Cervantes literature prize
MADRID (AP) -- Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza has won the 2016 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, for bringing a “new narrative style to Spanish fiction.” Educat...
'Napoleon's Last Island,' by Thomas Keneally
“Napoleon's Last Island” By Thomas Keneally Atria Books (423 pages, $30) Australian Thomas Keneally, author of “Schindler’s List” and 2013’s brilliant “The Daughters of Mars,” is one of the finest...
Nov 30, 2016
Lead-up to day of infamy
“Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days to the Attack” By Steve Twomey Simon & Schuster (416 pages, $30) As Hollywood regularly reminds us, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec...
‘The Lion in the Living Room’ explores why we love cats
“The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World” By Abigail Tucker Simon & Schuster (237 pages, $26) I read much of Abigail Tucker's “The Lion in the Living Room,” ap...
Coll Thrush’s ‘Indigenous London’ spins history’s lens
“Indigenous London: Native Travelers at the Heart of Empire” By Coll Thrush Yale University Press (328 pages, $38) Vancouver-based scholar and author Coll Thrush cleverly spins history's lens with...
Megyn Kelly's memoir revisits controversies with Roger Ailes and Donald Trump
“Settle for More” By Megyn Kelly Harper (352 pages, $18) This was supposed to be the Year of the Woman. Instead, 2016 has shaped up to be the Year of Powerful Men and the Women They Demeaned, Hara...
From fashion to film, gift-worthy coffee table books abound
NEW YORK (AP) - Come holiday time, there's never a shortage of splashy coffee table books to please just about any aficionado. Some suggestions: Fashion & style “Fashion Made Fair,” by Magdalena ...
Nov 17, 2016
Tragedy, hope and a little magic mix in 'Faithful'
“Faithful” By Alice Hoffman Simon & Schuster (272 pages, $26) Shelby is that girl in high school -- the smart one who seems popular and happy when basking in the reflected glow of her best friend,...
Nov 16, 2016
How electric guitar came to dominate music world
“Play It Loud” By Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna Doubleday (379 pages, $26.95) The scream of the electric guitar was the dominant soundtrack of the 20th century. First developed to provide loude...
Charming stories of English village life in 'Notwithstanding'
“Notwithstanding” By Louis de Bernieres Vintage (372 pages, $16) “Notwithstanding,” the new collection of 22 short stories from Louis de Bernieres, is utterly charming. And, no, that’s not damning...
Short, masterful take on Hitchcock's life and works
“Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life” By Peter Ackroyd Doubleday (276 pages, $26.95) There are days when an 800-page biography of some fascinating person is just what we want to dive into. And then, th...