Books | Journal Gazette

Dazzling time-travel tale blends romance, thriller

Reviewed by Elizabeth Hand — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

"The past is a foreign country," L.P. Hartley famously wrote. "They do things differently there." In "The River of No Return," Bee Ridgway's wonderful first novel, the past is also a battleground where opponents in an eons-old conflict meet across time, as well as a trysting place for lovers separated by the centuries.

Gatsby' resonates still

Catherine Lee — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

"Not as good as the book." That is the standard dismissal of movies based on novels. It is an easy way to shortcut conversation and proclaim, "I read the book!" But books and movies are very different media. Translating texts from one form to another is more adventurous than a formula that reduces the equation to "x should equal y.

Book events

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Janie Ebinger - Author of "Live Well, Eat Well"; 1 to 3 p.m.

Best-sellers

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to Publishers Weekly:

Rural toughs give life to riveting tale

Reviewed by Dave Astor — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Looking for literature with a high body count? You could go historical with Cormac McCarthy's grisly masterpiece "Blood Meridian," futuristic with Suzanne Collins' dystopian "Hunger Games" trilogy or present-day with Frank Bill's new "Donnybrook.

1st novel walks on wild side of state

Reviewed by Jennifer Miller — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Reading Brian Kimberling's debut novel, "Snapper," is a fascinating and disorienting experience. The protagonist is Nathan Lochmueller, a southern Indiana native who makes a meager living observing the effect of climate change on the region's songbirds.

New library books

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new books on cats and dogs are available at the Shawnee Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Angelou's latest is a perfect Mother's Day tribute

Reviewed by Valerie Sayers — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

"My mother was irresistible," Maya Angelou says, but "irresistible" is also a word that many readers have applied to Angelou herself. She is a one-woman autobiography industry, as well as a poet, playwright and performer, but mostly she is a Large Public Presence.

Some food for deep thought

Reviewed by Joe Yonan — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Why bother cooking? You don't have time, of course (or you think you don't); that's the big one. But you also don't do it as well as the professionals, so it's tempting to let them handle it for you. Or at least let them give you a head start in the form of meal-assembly shops, cake mixes, and canned, frozen and prechopped ingredients.

Best-sellers

Sun, 12 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Gun deals backdrop to devil of a story

Reviewed by Patrick Anderson — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Have you ever suspected that devils walk among us, insidious creatures who pretend to be as benevolent as you or I, but who in truth exist to inject chaos into our world.

New library books

Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new books on spring cleaning are available at the Little Turtle Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

A year of consequence

Reviewed by Jeffrey J. Malanson — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Civil War has been a subject of deep fascination for Americans almost from the moment it ended.

Book events

Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

C.B. Huesing - Author of "The Trouble with Cass"; reading and book signing; 2 p.m. Wednesday; Huntington County Public Library, 255 W. Park Drive, Huntington; 260-356-2900

Actress' switch to author captivating

Reviewed by Jen Chaney — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

"Someday, Someday, Maybe" is a novel about a 20-something actress struggling to catch a break in 1990s New York. Not coincidentally, the author of "Someday, Someday, Maybe," Lauren Graham, was once a 20-something actress struggling to catch a break in 1990s New York.

Best-sellers

Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Rural tale rife with evocative portraits

Reviewed by Steve Donoghue — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Scott McClanahan's short, impressionistic "biography of a place" has a few strikes against it right out of the bullpen. It's from a small press in Columbus, Ohio; it's by an unknown author from West Virginia; and it's got a hideous cover.

New library books

Wed, 01 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new urban fiction is available at the Pontiac Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 01 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

Book event

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Jonathan Safran Foer - Author of "Everything is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"; 7:30 p.m.

Love Song' captures career of anti-Bieber

Reviewed by Steve Donoghue — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Teddy Wayne starts off his winsome, hugely entertaining new novel, "The Love Song of Jonny Valentine," with an epigraph by Justin Bieber: "I want my world to be fun. No parents, no rules, no nothing. Like, no one can stop me. No one can stop me.

Facts behind the fiction

Reviewed by Michael Dirda — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Ever since Jane Austen died in 1817, at 41, her novels have inspired the most intense veneration. Early on, the 19th century historian Thomas Macaulay praised her as second only to Shakespeare in the creation of characters. Today, few classics are more truly or widely beloved than her masterpiece, "Pride and Prejudice," which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year.

Best-sellers

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Spiritual rebirth a Catholic noir tale

Reviewed by Katherine A. Powers — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

First published in 1950, "The Encounter" is, curiously enough, Crawford Power's only published work - and a great one. It is the story of a Catholic priest and his struggle with his own ascetic, humanity-abhorring soul. This is Father Cawder, the pastor of a comfortable little parish in Maryland.

New library books

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new books about raising chickens are available at the Monroeville Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

Writer' examines women's lives of waiting, waste

Reviewed by Amy Rowland — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

"Rose had told Claire once that men had affairs to stay married, and women had affairs to get out of their marriages."

A mix of soldiers and spies

Reviewed by Peter Bergen — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

On May 1, 2011, CIA Director Leon Panetta was in overall command of the single most important U.S. military operation since 9/11: the Navy SEAL Team 6 assault on a mysterious compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden was suspected to be hiding.

Best-sellers

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Fine art intrigue's characters lack color

Reviewed by Wendy Smith — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The high-stakes trade in fine art provides an atmospheric setting for Allison Amend's second novel. Her two unhappy protagonists find dangerously tempting opportunities to satisfy their thwarted desires in this secretive marketplace, whose business practices Amend convincingly paints as considerably less lovely than the artworks being sold.

New library books

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new books about families and relationships are available at the Hessen Cassel Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

Keeping buyers hooked

Reviewed by Hannah Wallace — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

In "Salt Sugar Fat," investigative reporter Michael Moss shows how executives and food scientists at Coca-Cola, Kraft, Frito-Lay and Nestle are well aware that sugary, fatty and salty foods light up the same pleasure centers in our brains that cocaine does.

Young widow finds others to grieve, groove with

Reviewed by Reeve Lindbergh — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Six women spend a weekend together at a spa. After fitness classes, massages and body polishes, they gather by the fire at the end of the day to talk and laugh. Watching this lively group, another spa client becomes curious. "How do you know each other?" she asks. The six women respond in unison, "You don't want to know.

Best-sellers

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Couple protected kids from Nazi grip

Reviewed by Sarah Halzack — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

At one point during her yearlong imprisonment at Auschwitz extermination camp, the typically resilient Odette Rosenstock broke down in an anguished crying jag. When a fellow prisoner asked why she was in tears, Rosenstock answered, "The children." And when the woman asked how many children Rosenstock had, she replied, "Hundreds.

New library books

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new history books are available at the Georgetown Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

Coben weaves his signature tale of a life unraveled

Reviewed by Art Taylor — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Six years after losing his one true love to another man, Jake Fisher is still haunted by memories and questions. Was it really just a whirlwind summer romance? A brief escape from the real world.

Best-sellers

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

Intimate musings play well as a pair

Reviewed by Jen Chaney — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Publishers have become quite adept at re-releasing books the masses already have consumed. Just slap on a fancy, limited-edition cover or add a freshly penned prologue and bam - suddenly it's a new product designed to generate additional revenue within a struggling industry eager to maximize profits.

New library books

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

The following new books on aging and health are available at the Aboite Branch of the Allen County Public Library.

Books

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books at Barnes Noble Booksellers at Jefferson Pointe:

Hands-on music mogul catalogs his greatest hits

Reviewed by Jen Chaney — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The initial media attention surrounding Clive Davis' "The Soundtrack of My Life" implied that the well-known record executive's autobiography overflows with dishy, music-industry gossip. Davis' decision to appear on Katie Couric's talk show and drop one of his memoir's key bombshells - that he's bisexual - helped foster that impression.

Biography as advocacy

Reviewed by Jeff Shesol — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

In 1997, the anti-tax evangelist Grover Norquist launched a campaign he called the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, with the aim of putting the name of the former president on virtually anything that could not raise its voice in protest: airports, expressways, federal buildings. Reagan, for his part, had started a legacy project of his own as president.

Best-sellers

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Last week's best-selling books, according to the Publishers Weekly:

A peek behind curtain of fame

Reviewed by Eugenia Kim — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Lindbergh. The name conjures up the internationally famed hero and the "Crime of the Century." But it's also the name of the first woman to obtain a glider pilot's license: Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the Lone Eagle's wife for 45 years.