No summer movie blockbusters this year. The lakefront is closed, and music festivals are canceled. Pools likely won’t open, either. Baseball? Who knows. So what’s left? Books. Read More ⇒
I was in my favorite bookstore back when that was a thing to do, when I came face to face with my past. Read More ⇒
In “Becoming Mrs. Lewis,” bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry explores the turbulent life of Joy Davidman, wife of renowned writer C.S. Lewis. Read More ⇒
THREE MILE BAY — International bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman creates novels that are praised for their compassion, authenticity and depth as they explore difficult experiences and historical events. Read More ⇒
Canceled plans and stay-at-home orders have many (especially teenagers) singing the latest TikTok anthem: “Bored in the House.” Read More ⇒
DULUTH, Minn. — So we aren’t supposed to travel to wild places now, or anywhere far from home for that matter, so maybe the next best thing is to sit in a comfy chair and read about the outdoors. Read More ⇒
“Murder Off the Page’” by Con Lehane; Minotaur (323 pages, $26.99) Read More ⇒
MASSENA — The Massena Central School District Board of Education has approved a June 16 referendum for voters to determine if the Massena Public Library remains funded by the town of Massena or becomes a school district public library. Read More ⇒
What to read while you’re self-isolating to avoid the coronavirus? How about books about all the various plagues humankind has survived before? There are classics like Giovanni Boccaccio’s 1353 classic “The Decameron,” about Italian aristocrats who flee the bubonic plague in Florence, or Dan… Read More ⇒
MASSENA — The Massena Town Council has officially thrown its support behind the Massena Public Library’s plan to transition from a town-funded library to a school district public library. Read More ⇒
Cheri L. Farnsworth dedicated her latest book to her first grandchild — “the ultimate antithesis to the disaster and despair” that she writes about. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — A Louisville resident says he has some concerns about the Massena Public Library becoming a school district public library rather than one being funded by town of Massena taxpayers. Read More ⇒
When you think of quinine water do you think of stout, pink-faced British sea captains being revived by gin and tonics? “Just the Tonic: A Natural History of Tonic Water” (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, $25) turns that image on its ear. Read More ⇒
PHILADELPHIA — Rev. Donald R. Fletcher was 80 and recovering from cancer surgery when he made the prayerful vow that launched his latest career. Read More ⇒
The inspiration for the new book by prolific Adirondack author William J. “Jay” O’Hern has partial roots in his days working at a sawmill in Red Creek in the mid-1960s when he was a teenager and a bit later when he took a job at a paper mill in Oswego. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Massena Public Library officials are expected to attend the next Massena Central School Board of Education meeting on March 19 as part of the process to form a school district public library. Read More ⇒
HARRISVILLE — Checking off an item on her bucket list, a daughter has recounted her father’s experience in World War II, utilizing letters he wrote home. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — A vote to determine if the Massena Public Library remains owned by the town of Massena or becomes a school district public library is scheduled for June 16. Voting will be held from noon to 8 p.m. at the Massena Public Library. Read More ⇒
OSWEGO - Dr. Anthony Jack will discuss the central paradox of his book “The Privileged Poor” as the next speaker in SUNY Oswego’s I Am Oz Diversity Speaker Series, at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, in the Sheldon Hall ballroom. Read More ⇒
As a hiker with thousands of miles trekked, numerous peaks climbed and considerable trips guided, Alan Via has heard a similar refrain on the trails: “Don’t worry, he won’t bite!” Read More ⇒
MASSENA — If you have old videotapes or pictures of your family and you’re worried about losing those precious memories, the Massena Public Library can help preserve them. Read More ⇒
POTSDAM — The Potsdam Kiwanis Club is looking to the community for redeemable bottles and cans in raising funds for children’s books. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — If his visits to the offices of the Watertown Daily Times is any indication, James C. Harberson III appears to be a mild-mannered, soft-spoken gentleman. Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — The past decade has seen a boom in the popularity of graphic novels. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Massena Town Council members hope to have a better understanding in February of the potential impact if the Massena Public Library was no longer owned by the town, but became a public school district library. Read More ⇒
“Roaring Reptiles, Bountiful Citrus, and Neon Pies: An Unofficial Guide To Florida’s Official Symbols” by Mark Lane; University Press of Florida (133 pages, $19.95) Read More ⇒
“SAM: One Robot, a Dozen Engineers, and the Race to Revolutionize the Way We Build” by Jonathan Waldman; Avid Reader (288 pages, $28) Read More ⇒
After more than 20 years in the public eye, Jessica Simpson is shedding light on some of the darker sides of her private life. Read More ⇒
LOUISVILLE — Massena Public Library Director Elaine Dunne made her case to Louisville residents Wednesday night about the need to transition from a municipal public library to a school district public library, a move that would spread the cost of operation from just town of Massena taxpayers… Read More ⇒
How Madrid native David G. Rupert went from a debt-ridden businessman to an undercover agent in order to infiltrate an Irish terrorist group boils down to a simple recipe. Read More ⇒
While growing up in Champlain, Clinton County, Lawrence P. Gooley was given some words of advice by his mother. Read More ⇒
BRASHER FALLS — If you can dream it, you can draw it. Read More ⇒
How do you single out five books, out of all the hundreds coming out in 2020, for special attention? With great trepidation! Here are five very different books, all highly anticipated, making their way to our shelves in the new year. Here’s hoping it’s full of good reading. Read More ⇒
MASSENA — Massena Public Library officials are expected to ask voters this year to approve a new way to fund the library, which they say would spread the cost more equitably among users. Read More ⇒
OSWEGO - A collaboration between SUNY Oswego faculty members resulted in “Lights! Camera! Execution!: Cinematic Portrayals of Capital Punishment.” Read More ⇒
PARISH - It’s been about a decade long journey for Altmar-Parish-Williamstown (APW) social studies teacher Derrick Smith to become a published author. Read More ⇒
By Zachary Leader. (Vintage, $22.) This second volume of Leader’s biography begins with Bellow’s ascent to best-sellerdom with “Herzog,” balancing discussions of the author’s work and personal life. In The New York Times Book Review, Mark Greif called it “brilliantly calibrated to explore Be… Read More ⇒
I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story Read More ⇒
The Season: A Social History of the Debutante Read More ⇒
WATERTOWN — Though still not as popular as print books, e-books, along with audiobooks and e-magazines, are rising in popularity across the country — and the north country is no exception. Read More ⇒
Books about mental illness often reflect on how reality is experienced. In addition to the standard questions — What do we know, and how do we know it? — is another layer of inquiry: What do we know about our own minds, and what if it isn’t true? Read More ⇒
“Blade Runner,” the movie based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” takes place in a futuristic November 2019. In reality, replicants and floating cars have failed to materialize. Compare that to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which, when it was p… Read More ⇒
Emily Dickinson, faced with a long Christmas list, famously scribbled “There is no present like a book.” OK, the word “frigate,” not “present,” is what you’ll find in modern collections of her poetry, but I’m sure she must have initially been thinking about holiday gifts. Even now, books are… Read More ⇒
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay believes his new cookbook, “Bobby at Home,” is his most important book to date. That’s because it’s a collection of his favorite recipes, the ones he is likely to serve family and friends when he’s at home. Read More ⇒
In a publishing year crowded with gear books (Instant Pot, Air Fryers, sous vide) and diet books (Keto, plant-based), it’s got to be hard for authors to stand out. As we searched through the hundreds of books that came in this year, these 11 did. From immigrant cooking to in-depth vegetable … Read More ⇒
NEWARK, N.J. — An office tower in this gritty Northeastern city seems an unlikely nerve center for theatrical inspiration. Yet here, in the sky-high studios of Audible, the audiobook and audio entertainment company, a new model for bringing drama to the people is taking shape. Read More ⇒
By Joanna Maclennan and Oliver Maclennan. (Thames & Hudson, 253 pages, $40.) Forget those manufactured “tiny houses.” Try living inside an overturned boat. Don’t shore up that collapsing wall with an expensive metal beam — use a shark’s bone. And while plaster is nice, walls built of whi… Read More ⇒
By Michael Beschloss. (B/D/W/Y, $20.) This sweeping look at presidents who led the United States through military conflict opens with a reluctant James Madison during the War of 1812 and closes with Lyndon Johnson facing defeat in Vietnam. Times reviewer Jay Winik called it “a superb and imp… Read More ⇒
Where the first lady, Melania Trump, is concerned, theories abound. Read More ⇒
On the slight possibility that you might have some reading time on Thanksgiving weekend (don’t forget to visit a local independent bookstore on Small Business Saturday!), here’s a half-dozen fresh paperbacks for your perusal. Read More ⇒