When Melba oversleeps and misses her ride to town, she is worried she will miss Carnival. As she works to find a new way to the festivities, she collects her own parade of friends and discovers that the real celebration is the love that... Read More

The night air smells like irises and honeysuckle when two children’s parents wake them for an undefined adventure. They dress in the blue predawn and walk through the village as their eyes adjust. Here and there, there are signs of... Read More

People can’t see what isn’t culturally visible—that’s why queer history is so necessary, not just as a one-off, but as a perennial part of a culture’s story. In "No Way, They Were Gay?", Lee Wind revisits famous figures of US... Read More

Tyler Gillespie’s memoir "The Thing about Florida" addresses the state behind the myth and memes. Though he’s a fifth-generation Floridian, Gillespie was once embarrassed to call the state “home.” Now, he’s able to survey the... Read More

Anas Atassi’s inviting cookbook is named after a spice that is one of two keys to Syrian cuisine. The other indispensable element, Atassi contends, is figurative: “nafas,” which literally means breath, but also connotes “the art... Read More

Robert Whiting’s memoir "Tokyo Junkie" details his long-standing relationship with Japan’s populous, quirky capital. Whiting first arrived in Japan as a US Air Force soldier; he watched Tokyo emerge from its post-war malaise to... Read More

Karen Hofmann’s skillful, visceral novel "A Brief View from the Coastal Suite" follows a family through the early days of a financial crisis. Though the 2008 financial crisis strikes Vancouver hard, the Lund siblings find ways to... Read More

With an appealing mix of spooky suspense and comedy, "Bone Tree" tackles a serious, delicate subject: dealing with the loss of a loved one. Sixth-graders Roman and Elsie are best friends. Tragedy strikes when Roman is diagnosed with... Read More