Reader’s Lounge: Give the Gift of Adventure in the Form of a Book
I love to give books as presents at Christmas time. What other present can enrich, enlighten and entertain? I have spent many a Christmas Eve inscribing the end pages of my gift selections with descriptions of my thoughts and feelings as I chose each title — a habit I inherited from my mother and that I hope will be continued by my children. Here are a...
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Reader’s Lounge: Empowered By Words
Adults and Teens Can Find Inspiration in These Books It has been quite some time since I last felt compelled to proclaim, “You must read this book,” to anyone and everyone I meet. But as this year’s season of thanks approaches, I have encountered just such a story — that of East Lansing resident, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, and his work with the AIDS...
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Reader’s Lounge: Find Your Next Favorite Book By Remembering Your Last
When a customer comes into the bookstore looking for something new to read, the first question that I ask is, “What books have you enjoyed recently?” If you enjoy the work of Elizabeth Peters and Diana Gabaldon, you may like… Dark Road to Darjeeling By Deanna Raybourn ISBN 9780778328209 $14.95 Mira Books The fourth in the Lady Julia Grey series of...
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Reader’s Lounge: Back-to-School-Fuel
As summer draws to a close, thoughts turn to the coming school year. For some children this can be an exciting and somewhat stressful time. There are many books that deal with starting school and all the emotions surrounding that experience. This month I have highlighted some of my favorites. Mouse’s First Day of School By Lauren Thompson Illustrated by...
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Reader’s Lounge: Summer Reading Medley
Books For All Ages Russian Winter By Daphne Kalotay ISBN 9780062004659 $25.99 HarperCollins When reclusive, former Russian ballerina, Nina Revskaya decides to auction off her remarkable jewelry collection, she becomes overwhelmed by the memories of those she has loved and lost … memories that come flooding back to her, unbidden. The story weaves in...
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Hefty Summer Reading
The term “summer reading” almost always applies to books that require little concentration and even less shelf space. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Summer can also afford us the time to attack some reading with heft. With that in mind, I have recommended a few books that can be beach reads, but aren’t necessarily light. Brooklyn By Colm...
Continue ReadingFavorite Books for Fathers
Every year, my children make their father breakfast in bed for Father’s Day. Many years, we try to add a present of allowing Dad to eat and read in peace. What could be more enjoyable than a yummy breakfast, some quiet time and a delicious book? Following are two titles that will provide your favorite dad with hours of diversion and one that should be good...
Continue ReadingMysteries to Unravel
From setting to time period, there is little to connect Jacqueline Winspear’s The Mapping of Love and Death and Wendy Webb’s The Tale of Halcyon Crane — except that the main character of each is a woman undergoing transformation, an often challenging and uncomfortable process. One is a capable, career-driven woman in Great Depression-era London;...
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Playful Poetry and Pensive Prose
April is National Poetry Month. What better way to celebrate it than to share a poetry book with your favorite little one? I’ve provided two titles that are fun and beautiful ways to introduce or appreciate this wonderful written art form with your son or daughter, niece or nephew, granddaughter or grandson. And for adult readers, I’ve included The Postmistress,...
Continue ReadingColorful Page-Turners for Young Minds
March is National Reading Month. Children across the country will be involved in activities encouraging reading and the learning that goes with it; so I put together a short list of books to share with the children in your life. And, because March is still a rather gray and dreary time here in Mid-Michigan, I looked for titles that could bring a little color...
Continue ReadingSweet Titles to Indulge In
For me, choosing the right book to read is often like deciding what I want to eat. Sometimes I am in the mood for something with meat-and-potatoes substance that teaches me more about myself and the way I view the world. Sometimes I want something exotic to take me far away to different times and places. Every once in a while, however, I want something light...
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Stories to Lose Yourself In
When it is cold and snowy outside, nothing is more fun than curling up under my favorite blanket with a good book — a book that takes me to different times and places and introduces me to characters which leave me thinking long after the book is finished. Two books that I have recently read, one by myself, the other with my daughters, are perfect titles...
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