Three iconic women find sisterhood and strength in Rebecca Connolly’s historical novel "Three Queens", about friendship formed through correspondence and courage. While Queen Charlotte manages an empire, a mentally ill husband, and a... Read More
Bar Fridman-Tell’s aching and alarming novel "Honeysuckle" is part star-crossed love story, part allegory about human attempts to effect dominion over nature. Eight-year-old Rory is distraught when his older sister, Wynne, outgrows... Read More
Noelle Cook’s "The Conspiracists" is an in-depth, empathetic study of conspiracism, filtered through the outlook of two women involved in storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Cook ponders what draws middle-aged women, in... Read More
Samantha Ellis’s powerful memoir "Always Carry Salt" exemplifies diaspora yearning and determination. Ellis grew up in the United Kingdom, hearing snippets of the Judeo-Iraqi Arabic of her parents and ancestors. By adulthood, though,... Read More
Full of empathy, humor, and love, Kelly Foster Lundquist’s memoir "Beard" details the trajectory of her marriage to a gay man. When Lundquist and Devin first met as counselors at a Christian summer camp, their connection was immediate.... Read More
Drawing on intimate gossip and rigorous critical scholarship, Todd Goddard’s "Devouring Time" is the first full-scale biography of Jim Harrison, the mold-breaking and large-living man of letters who transformed the literary landscape... Read More
Brian Buckbee’s reflective memoir "We Should All Be Birds" is about how his friendship with a rescued pigeon alleviated his ongoing health struggles. In 2020, Buckbee was walking near home when he noticed a pigeon on a roof. The bird... Read More
An immigrant contends with alienation and love in Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s spirited novel "The Tiny Things Are Heavier". Nigerian Sommy is a graduate student in Iowa, though she’s ambivalent about the virtues of the American... Read More