For more than 25 years, millions of people have awakened and grabbed not their phones, but paper, filling stream-of-consciousness “Morning Pages” — a creativity-boosting ritual first prescribed in author Julia Cameron’s breakthrough book, “The Artist’s Way.” (The book has sold more than 5 mi… Read More ⇒

MASSENA — One-on-one story time will begin in February at the Massena Public Library. Read More ⇒

Put on your sunglasses, folks. It’s a shiny new year out there. Say what you will about 2020, it was a great year for books. How’s 2021 looking? Here are some titles we are looking forward to in the first four months. Read More ⇒

As a long-time reader of mysteries and thrillers, author Tessa Wegert loves those types of stories that focus on character development. Read More ⇒

After enjoying the 2013 TV series “The Fosters” (ABC Family/Freeform), which follows the stories of several foster children in southern California, I was intrigued to read a memoir that tackled the realities of the American foster care system. A.M. Grotticelli’s “The Bond: How a Mixed Bag of… Read More ⇒

PHILADELPHIA — Housing today looks largely the same as it did in 1950, Diana Lind observes in her new book “Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing.” Many builders are still constructing 2,500-square-foot homes with two-car garages on tree-lined streets. Read More ⇒

John W. Warner IV’s “Little Anton” is a story to get lost in. Teetering between fact and fiction, it’s a trove of information and historical events we would have remembered from high school classes had we been paying attention. Read More ⇒

CHICAGO — Chicago isn’t just an architectural capital because of its great buildings. It’s a vital forum of ideas about what makes architecture great. Read More ⇒

POTSDAM — The region has a smorgasbord of places to visit for some family fun, and a new book highlights some of those areas. Read More ⇒

During months of watching calming ASMR videos on YouTube, mindlessly staring at anything on TV that wasn’t the news and listlessly reading older comfort reads on my library app while ignoring my to-be-read pile, some new romance books did provide bright spots of enjoyment. Read More ⇒

In days of old, books about nature were often as treasured for their illustrations as they were for their words. “World of Wonders,” American poet and teacher Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s prose ode to her muses in the natural world, is a throwback that way. Its words are beautiful, but its cover … Read More ⇒

The seeds for Glenn Erick Miller’s debut novel were planted in his mind by a fleeting scene of a young woman behind the wheel of a beat up motor home in Saranac Lake in the summer of 2000. Read More ⇒

CAPE VINCENT — The Cape Vincent Community Library continues to serve its patrons, and has developed a number of new ways to provide services while staying safe and socially distant. Read More ⇒

It’s cold out! Stay home and read! Here are six fresh paperbacks, all of which might go nicely with a mug of tea and an armchair. Read More ⇒

“The End of the Day” by Bill Clegg; Scout Press (320 pages, $27) Read More ⇒

Since 2009, Stacy Pratt has written 12 novels. None have been published, nor has she sought to do so. In her mind, they remain letter perfect as they are — an exercise in creativity and determination. Read More ⇒

“A Wild Winter Swan” Read More ⇒

OSWEGO — “Midwest Gothic,” a new award-winning book from SUNY Oswego English and creative writing faculty member Laura Donnelly, brings together a collection of poems on the themes of family, memory, history and a sense of place. Read More ⇒

“Winter Counts” Read More ⇒

OSWEGO — “Darkened Enlightenment,” the latest book by SUNY Oswego sociology professor Tim Delaney, finds the prolific author seeing society at a crossroads, with a choice between rational thought and anti-intellectualism. Read More ⇒

OSWEGO — A curbside book giveaway will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Oswego Public Library, 120 E. Second St. Read More ⇒

I’ve had the good fortune to fall in love with Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries twice. Read More ⇒

Christopher K. Hopper writes about fantastical far-away worlds that have landed on scores of Amazon best-seller lists. But it was his wife who brought him down to Earth so he could find his launching pad. Read More ⇒

Every once in a while, a book comes along that is so darkly comedic, with such a defined sense of place and filled with characters that range from the fascinating to the bizarre to the earnest, that partway through reading, it hits you: This has got to become a Coen brothers movie. Read More ⇒

LOS ANGELES — Author Rumaan Alam kept his expectations low, even as the film rights to his upcoming book “Leave the World Behind” became the center of a bidding contest among Hollywood studios this summer. Read More ⇒

In Mariah Carey’s new memoir, the Grammy-winning artist makes one thing clear: She sees “no benefit to protect people who didn’t protect me.” Read More ⇒

Two new novels, one for young adults and one part of a series, are set in the Adirondacks. Read More ⇒

Sam McBratney, the Irish author of the bestselling children’s book “Guess How Much I Love You,” died last week. Read More ⇒

OSWEGO — Tommy Orange, author of this year’s Oswego Reading Initiative selection for SUNY Oswego, the novel “There There,” will connect with the campus and community for a virtual event at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Read More ⇒

“My larger fear: that all my efforts will prove futile, and Gilead will last for a thousand years. Most of the time, that is what it feels like here, far away from the war, in the still heart of the tornado. So peaceful, the streets; so tranquil, so orderly; yet underneath the deceptively pl… Read More ⇒

CHICAGO — John Updike was visiting family in Brooklyn on Sept. 11, 2001. He wrote later about watching Manhattan explode and crumble that day as if it were episodic TV, a perfect day with perfect reception, though every time he tuned in, hoping for the finale, “The nightmare is still on.” Th… Read More ⇒

KNOWLTON, Quebec — Louise Penny adores her adopted village of Knowlton in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. And she’s delighted that her Three Pines mystery series has inspired fans to make the trek southeast from Montreal, searching for sites mentioned in her books and hoping, magically, to stumb… Read More ⇒

PARISHVILLE — Situated under canopy cover east of Parkhurst Brook and the West Parishville State Forest, BirchBark Book Shop draws book lovers each weekend from across the north country. Read More ⇒

The man who built a business empire encouraging Americans to visit Europe is embracing a new concept: Stay at home. The continent remains on his mind, though, especially while recording the audio version of his recently released book, filled with favorite travel moments, “For the Love of Eur… Read More ⇒

When public libraries closed statewide in mid-March, patrons were barred from browsing shelves, using computers and nodding off in the quiet community spaces avid readers and researchers love. Read More ⇒

CHICAGO — Some years ago, a not-so-young and close-to-penniless journalist named Mike Comerford took a trip. It was not his first trip, but it was a long trip, taking him across this country and into Mexico. He traveled by bus (5,740 miles), train (2,130 miles) and by that vanishing means of… Read More ⇒

BUFFALO — The state’s response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic have been all consuming of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s time the past five months. Read More ⇒

WATERTOWN — Ellen Marie Wiseman, whose historical fiction novels have been published in 19 foreign languages, has literally hit the Target with her latest accolades. Read More ⇒