One for the Books

I have some excellent novels and one nonfiction recommendation for you about women who changed lives or whose lives were changed by others. Three deal with women who have been mistreated by society because of “the America Plan,” our country’s eugenics program in the early 1900s.

Once in a while I like to escape into Amish romance. It’s comforting, it’s clean and wholesome, and there’s almost always a happy ending.

History buffs may find some entertaining reading in these nonfiction books about people lost in one way or another.

With NASA’s Artemis moon project in the headlines, I thought it would be fun to look at a few imagined off-Earth futures. I wouldn’t claim to be a diehard fan of science fiction, but I do like a good story set on another planet or aboard a spaceship, such as Mary Doria Russell’s “The Sparrow” or Andy Weir’s “The Martian” and “Project Hail Mary.” Plenty of recent books fall into this category, but many are part of long-running series, and I didn’t want to jump into one already established. These novels are all firsts or standalones.

Much of our discourse today is about the Epstein Files and the abuse of minors. I turned to several memoirs to learn the facts from actual victims. Caution: There’s no fiction here.

Myths are among the world’s oldest stories, and the Greeks had some fantastic tales. These were usually based on the deeds of the gods, who were often mean and sometimes downright horrible. There are plenty of modern retellings of the stories, and I found these three particularly fun.

Their names are familiar, for completely different reasons, and their life stories, luckily for us, make for good reading.

To get into the holiday spirit, I found a few stories set during the Christmas season.* Mostly, I was looking for heartwarming and cheerful, and mostly, I found it. Some of these are short and sweet, so I’ve included the number of pages in each.

They’re teachers, they’re advisers, they’re know-it-alls. They’re a veritable fountain of information. They’re trained to know what you want to read and where to find what you want to know. They’re our librarians. Here are three novels I enjoyed recently that feature librarians, as well as a must-read nonfiction account of what it’s like to stand up to censorship.

The current crop of bestselling fiction includes books I’ve eagerly awaited, and they’ve turned out to be page-turners filled with adventure, great characters, and ideas to ponder.

Do you like dark stories? Maybe a bit scary, a little paranormal? Or maybe with just a bit of magic? Try these novels.

Some of the players in the health industry want you to be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Others couldn’t care less; they’re in it for as much money as they can make, and if you die, … meh. Here are three informative nonfiction works.

I thoroughly enjoyed the latest novels from three of my favorite authors. They’re all great reads! Oh, and all of these are great books for both men and women.

If you’re planning to head off for a vacation this year, especially to a foreign land, here’s some travel advice from several experienced sources, including The Points Guy and the PBS travel guy. “How to Win at Travel” was written by Brian Kelly, known online as The Points Guy. This is a pretty comprehensive volume of practical advice for both the seasoned traveler and the novice. “The goal of this book,” he writes, “is to give you the knowledge to […]

A song from the movie “White Christmas” is running through my head: “Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.” Well, some of these fictional siblings are devoted to each other; some, not so much.

Don’t you love a book that has the power to pull you out of your seat and drop you in a whole other setting? These three novels do that! (And they’re really good!)

I love a good mystery, and all of these are excellent. But each book also has something else going for it.

I love a good story. Add a memorable character, and I’m hooked. Here are a few to try.