Books

08/27/2008

Author Jewell Parker Rhodes shares grandma's wisdom at 'Tulisoma' book fair
Years ago as a young, motherless child growing up in Pittsburgh, Jewell Parker Rhodes sat on her grandmother's porch and listened to her stories.

08/26/2008

Co-author of '100 Things to Do Before You Die' dead at 47
Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47.

08/24/2008

'Stand the Storm' by Breena Clarke:
Much has been written about slavery. Novels, poems, essays and narratives fill bookshelves, pages anchored in the atrocities of that historical era.

'Rose Bowl Dreams' by Adam Jones: God exists, and he's a Longhorns fan
If football is not a religion in Texas, it is, at least, "a tonic to overcome all of life's troubles," writes first-time author and University of Texas graduate Adam Jones. As he sees it, "God created football as a grand gift for an imperfect world."

Authors take entertaining and educational looks at what we don't know about Arabs and Islam
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it was discovered with something of a shock that, as a rule, Americans didn't know much about Arab or Islamic culture. This impression was strengthened when we waged war against Iraq and were hard-pressed to find anyone who knew Shiites from Sunnis, or could translate for the troops.

'How Fiction Works' by James Wood: Author makes a graceful case for literature's ability to illuminate life
James Wood's third book of literary criticism, How Fiction Works , is not a manual for critical theorists; Mr. Wood rejects patently theoretical approaches to literary analysis that ignore aesthetic pleasure in favor of philosophical deconstruction. For the most part, literary academics are the only ones still practicing this kind of critical raiding.

Local and national best-sellers
This week's list of local best-sellers is from Borders, Preston Road at Royal Lane . National best-sellers are from The New York Times. Parentheses indicate book's position last week; indicates first week on list.

Book signings part of 'Tulisoma: South Dallas Book Fair'
Several authors will be featured at "Tulisoma: the South Dallas Book Fair and Arts Festival," which takes place at several venues Saturday. Scheduled to appear are: Terrie Williams ( Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting ), Tony Medina (Committed to Breathing and Follow-up Letters to Santa From Kids Who Never Got a Response ), Kevin Powell ( No Sleep Till Brooklyn ) and Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes ( Yellow Moon ).

08/23/2008

Compilation provides the little-known stories behind well-known titles
Former journalist Peggy Marsh had been quietly working on her novel for more than a decade when she was discovered by a publisher scouring the South for new authors. Starring a heroine named Pansy O'Hara, Marsh's manuscript was a theatrical, longing ode to the lost, pre-Civil War era in the Deep South. It's working title: Tomorrow Is Another Day .

Sherry Jones' 'The Jewel of Medina' rattles book world
WASHINGTON – Once upon a time, Sherry Jones was a Montana newspaper reporter who dreamed she could contribute to world peace with a novel about the prophet Muhammad and his feminist leanings. Then she wrote it.

08/20/2008

Nasher Salon Lecture Series brings in luminaries Larry McMurtry, Wolfgang Puck
Just one definition of intimacy, according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, is "the quality of being comfortable, warm or familiar." At the Nasher Sculpture Center, they get it when it comes to intimacy.

08/19/2008

Title, print run on new Bob Woodward book announced
The suspense didn't quite compare to the identity of "Deep Throat," but we now know the name of Bob Woodward's fourth investigative work on the Bush administration, just three weeks before the book's release.

08/17/2008

'The Lace Reader' by Brunonia Barry: Literary novel is threaded with suspense
Novelist Brunonia Barry has pulled off a major feat with her debut, The Lace Reader : It's a gorgeously written literary novel that's also a doozy of a thriller, capped with a jaw-dropping denouement that will leave even the most careful reader gasping.

'Smoke Screen' by Sandra Brown: Police station fire ignites suspense
Smoke Screen , the latest romantic-suspense novel from Arlington's Sandra Brown, isn't quite as much of a rambunctious romp as her last book, 2007's Play Dirty .

'First Stop in the New World' by David Lida and 'Mexican Enough' by Stephanie Elizondo Griest: Fresh takes on an old country
You'll be robbed, kidnapped and probably murdered; the traffic is at a constant 24-hour standstill; the air is so bad that breathing it is like smoking two packs of cigarettes a day; you can't drink the water, the food will give you diarrhea ...

'Leather Maiden' by Joe R. Lansdale: Iraq war vet comes home to a missing person's case
Joe R. Lansdale's books can be hard-boiled, but this one is cracked at the shell. It's entertaining enough, being a naturalistic snapshot of small-town America. We can thank its narrator for that. It's always entertaining to hear the views of an alcoholic, sex-addicted, obsessive-compulsive misfit.

Local and national best-sellers
This week's list of local best-sellers is from Barnes & Nobles Booksellers, 7700 W. Northwest Highway . National best-sellers are from The New York Times. Parentheses indicate book's position last week; indicates first week on list.

Authors touring the area this week
Janine Latus , author of If I Am Missing or Dead , will speak at the Texas Trailblazer Awards Luncheon, which benefits The Family Place, at noon Wednesday at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave. Tickets start at $100. 214-443-7717.

Just what is a university press? Plenty
A university press is not where you call to find out what time the football game begins or ask how to get your yearbook, although they get used to those kinds of questions.

08/16/2008

Stephanie Elizondo Griest talks about her roots in 'Mexican Enough'
Stephanie Elizondo Griest grew up in South Texas straddling two worlds: those of her Latina mother and her white father.

08/15/2008

Salman Rushdie angry with publisher
NEW YORK – Salman Rushdie strongly criticized his publisher for pulling a historical novel about the prophet Muhammad and his child bride due to concerns about angering Muslims.

08/14/2008

Plano lawyer Christine Son realizes her dreams of writing
When she turned 30, Christine Son took stock of her life. The Plano lawyer had secretly dreamed of being a writer. So she decided to write a novel while juggling her full-time job. Off the Menu , published this month by Penguin Books/NAL, is a spirited tale of three Asian-American best friends – a chef, a lawyer and an oil heiress – living in Houston and figuring out their dreams and careers.

08/13/2008

Appeals court reverses John Steinbeck copyrights ruling
A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that awarded John Steinbeck's son and granddaughter publishing rights to 10 of the author's early works, including "The Grapes of Wrath."

08/10/2008

'The White Mary' by Kira Salak: A writer seeks redemption and a missing journalist in the jungles of New Guinea
Kira Salak's debut novel, The White Mary , takes readers on a war correspondent's lonely quest for a symbol of humankind's redemption.

'What the Nose Knows' by Avery Gilbert: An olfactory specialist looks at the smelly side of life
Everybody smells, but some people smell better than others.

'How Far Is the Ocean From Here' by Amy Shearn: Finding family in a barren landscape
First-time novelist Amy Shearn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., but her bio says she was educated, in part, in New Mexico – and she's clearly spent some time in West Texas, as well.

'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson: It's hard to love the characters in this improbable romance
The Gargoyle is a tricked-out romance about a man who was severely burned when his car went off a cliff and a woman who sculpts grotesque statues and may be schizophrenic. But wait, there's more.

'Black and White and Dead All Over' by John Darnton: Murder mystery mixes satire with suspense
John Darnton, veteran New York Times reporter, has written a novel that, against heavy odds, works supremely well on two levels.

Local and national best-sellers
This week's list of local best-sellers is from Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 7700 W. Northwest Highway . National best-sellers are from The New York Times. Parentheses indicate book's position last week; indicates first week on list.

Authors touring the area this week
A'Lelia Bundles will discuss Trip in Time at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Dallas Public Library's Hampton-Illinois Branch, 2951 S. Hampton Road.

08/05/2008

Alexander Solzhenitsyn made history by writing it
At a time when government reports ask whether Americans care about reading anymore, the legacy of Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn reminds us that books can matter as much as life and death.

08/03/2008

Roundup of Texas & Southwest books: 'The Training Ground,' 'What Would Kinky Do,' 'Unbridled Cowboy' and more

'Traffic' by Tom Vanderbilt: the science behind 'park sharks,' idiot drivers and jammed highways
It is a rare book that presumes to explain so many mysteries of human behavior, such as why "park sharks" circle endlessly looking for a space, why rush hour seems to keep getting worse and why every other driver on the road is an idiot. Remarkably, Traffic succeeds in all three, and much more besides.

'So Long at the Fair' by Christina Schwarz: Author loses her groove, giving us characters we don't care about
Christina Schwarz proved herself as one of our most intuitive and nuanced portrayers of relationships with her first two novels, Drowning Ruth and All is Vanity . She's a master at revealing the turmoil lurking beneath the banality of everyday life, someone who can draw poetry from the murkiest linguistic well.

'Palace Council' by Stephen L. Carter: Secrets are murder in this political thriller
Eddie Wesley, a headstrong young black writer, has reached early fame by publishing a story in The Saturday Evening Post (in an era when publishing a short story was a way this could actually happen) and is now getting toasted by literary luminaries such as Langston Hughes, attending the good parties, and moving up the higher circles of what he calls the "darker nation."

'The Likeness' by Tana French: Detective is a dead ringer for a dead woman in this vivid whodunit
"We've got the chance to investigate a murder case from the inside," asserts Frank Mackey, doyen of the Irish police force's undercover operatives and former boss of Tana French's heroine, Detective Cassie Maddox. With that tantalizing premise, Mackey lures Maddox – and Ms. French lures the reader – into the Lexie Madison investigation.

Local and national best-sellers
This week's list of local best-sellers is from the Bookworm, 3245 Main St., Frisco. National best-sellers are from The New York Times. Parentheses indicate book's position last week; indicates first week on list.

Authors touring the area this week
Stephen Coonts will sign Assassin at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Borders, Preston Road at Royal Lane.

07/31/2008

Celebrate release of final 'Twilight' book with midnight masquerade and more

FILE

Breaking Dawn

Fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight book series have been counting down the days until the release of the fourth and final installment, Breaking Dawn. Area bookstores are eagerly awaiting it, too, with many opening their doors for themed release parties full of games, contests and anticipation about what the latest vampire-and-werewolf novel will bring to the saga's two star-crossed lovers.
More: Texas 'Twilight' fans promote fourth installment with New York podcast
Blog: More 'Twilight' series coverage

08/01/2008

Texas fans of 'Twilight' series to podcast from New York to promote fourth installment
Sisters Kallie Mathews and Kassie Rodgers, who run a fan-club Web site for author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books, have gotten used to creating podcasts from the comfort of their local homes.

07/31/2008

J.K. Rowling fairy tales to be sold for charity
Harry Potter fans, rejoice: J.K. Rowling is bringing 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' to print, with both US and UK editions to be published Dec. 4.

07/29/2008

Melissa Gilbert returns to her 'Prairie' roots
MINNEAPOLIS – Melissa Gilbert has finally come home to the prairie – or at least to the big city near the prairie. She has yet to sink her feet into Plum Creek, next to the dugout where the real-life Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in the 1870s.