Literature

‘Tis the season for Best Of lists! We’ve discussed the top books of the year according to the New York Times, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more, and today Buzzfeed has released their own. It was chosen by nine Buzzfeed contributors, reporters, and writers, including our own Margaret Kingsbury! The list is divided into genres,

Happy Valley might not be the best title for this hit crime drama. It’s not about a Chinese takeaway and nor does the Calder Valley, where it’s set, seem a particularly happy place. Not in a show dealing with violence against women, rape, suicide, addiction, broken families… But with powerful storytelling, fantastic lead characters and

The grumpy / sunshine trope is nothing new, but watching Wednesday and Enid becoming the best and unlikeliest of friends in the new Netflix show reminded me of just how much I love that dynamic whether in friendships or romances. There’s just something about a hardened, stoic character being soft for that one overly optimistic

Evette Dionne’s anticipated second release after her celebrated children’s nonfiction book, Lifting as We Climb, is a bracing essay collection on the dangers of fatphobia and her personal resistance to its claims. The former editor-in-chief of Bitch magazine braids the personal with the political in Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul, breaking

Oprah Daily is the latest to publish its best-of-the-year book list. The list is 45 books long, was handpicked by Oprah Daily‘s editors, and includes fiction and nonfiction titles. The assortment ranges widely, with genres and topics spanning from romance to fantasy, biography to science. It also has a few books in common with other

Documentary filmmaker and historian Ken Burns believes that photographs are portals “not just to a different time and space but also to dimensions and possibilities within myself.” Through photographs and illustrations, these books are guaranteed to transport you. ★ Apollo Remastered Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record is a weighty, large-format coffee table book that

The Christmas Book Flood Winter arrives in all its glory in The Christmas Book Flood. Dating back to World War II, Jólabókaflóð (which translates to “Yule book flood”) is the Icelandic tradition of giving books to loved ones on December 24. Author Emily Kilgore’s prose is expressive and poetic. As the book opens, she describes how

★ Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking An Italian-born friend, who is a very fine cook, once texted me a recipe for Bolognese sauce. The recipe, she explained, was by Marcella Hazan, and the meal we made from it was a gorgeous triumph. You can find that recipe on page 210 of the new edition of

Sam Heughan, known to legions of fans as Jamie Fraser in the popular TV show based on Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, recently decided it was time to walk the rigorous West Highland Way in Scotland, a long-distance hiking trail that runs from north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. He wanted a

The term Tartan noir might be getting a little tired or over used but gritty Scottish crime fiction still seems to be at the vanguard of British crime writing. Run to Ground is an Edinburgh set police procedural, the third outing for Sergeant Don Colyear. Formerly a community police officer, Don has finally made it

The staff of the New York Times Book Review released their 100 Notable Books of 2022 list a week ago featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles. They’ve since whittled this list down to 10 for their Best Books of 2022 list that was released today. The list is made of five fiction and five nonfiction

What’s your poison when it comes to crime fiction books? Do you flit about like a butterfly from author to author or do you enjoy nothing more than getting stuck into a juicy series? Whatever your approach, there are some writers whose latest releases just can’t be ignored. Let’s take a look at the rather

After inviting readers into a small world of everyday people with his first novel, A Little Hope, Ethan Joella sets his second novel in a similar ​community​, one full of folks whose uniquely challenging lives eventually intertwine.  A Quiet Life is indeed quiet, in that there’s no cross-country adventure or mysterious plot, just a snowy Pennsylvania winter and endless

“What an amazing world we live in today,” Laura Baanstra said. She was speaking at a 2018 press conference to announce the scientific process that had been used to solve the 1987 murders of her brother and his girlfriend. The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder details this brutal

As crime fiction lovers, we all know there’s nothing better than settling down with a new book. These days, however, there is a wealth of well scripted crime shows to attract our attention too, many of them based on books that we know and love. True crime is also a big attraction for viewers on

Because of the holiday in the U.S. this week, the roundup of book censorship news and insights will be shorter than usual. Although there are several right-wing groups eager to implement movie-style book ratings to library titles, the reality is, book rating systems are an exercise in futility and bias. Julia Rittenberg does an outstanding