Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Books: Elle Marr's Debut Thrlller, "The Missing Sister"





The Missing Sister
By Elle Marr
Thomas & Mercer; paperback, 299 pages; $15.95; available Wednesday, April 1

This thrilling debut novel from Elle Marr is a look into the importance of identity and the strength of sisterhood. The story follows a young American woman in her desperate search for answers about her twin sister's apparent death in the dark underbelly of Paris.

Books: The Latest Installments In The Akashic Noir Series





When Brooklyn-based publisher Akashic Books published Brooklyn Noir, edited by Tim McLoughlin, in 2004, they did not expect that it would be the start of a series.

Monday, March 30, 2020

Books: Wayne Coffey's "The Boys Of Winter" On The Miracle On Ice





The Boys Of Winter: The Untold Story of A Coach, A Dream, and The 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
By Wayne Coffey; foreword by Jim Craig; with a new afterword by Ken Morrow for the 40th anniversary of the "Miracle On Ice"
Broadway Books; paperback; $17.00

The Miracle On Ice, when the United States hockey team triumphed over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, is one of the most iconic moments in sports history.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Books: On Baseball Stories & Strategy





Major League Baseball's Opening Day would have been this past Thursday, but while the games are put on hold, you can still read books about this great game, including these three new releases: Wits, Flakes, and Clowns: The Colorful Characters of Baseball, by Wayne Stewart; State Of Play, by Bill Ripken; and The Cup Of Coffee Club, by Jacob Kornhauser.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Books: "Franchise" On McDonald's History In The Black Community





Franchise: The Golden Arches In Black America
By Marcia Chatelain
Liveright Publishing, a division of W.W. Norton & Company; hardcover; 28.95

Fast food is a staple of American life, and while it may appear to be something that everyone enjoys and depends on, it can mean something quite different to each community.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Books: The Definitive History Of "The Office"





The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History
By Andy Greene
Dutton; hardcover, $28.00; available today, Tuesday, March 24

15 years ago today, the world was introduced to a new kind of sitcom, one centered around a paper company in Scaranton, Pennsylvania.

Monday, March 23, 2020

Books: On How To Improve Personally & Professionally





It's always a good time to read books on how to improve yourself, and that is especially true now in these tough times. Three books to help make the most of your time at home during the Coronavirus pandemic are: Resilient, by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.; All You Have To Do Is Ask, by Dr. Wayne Baker; and Let It Go, by Peter Walsh.

Books: "Problem Child" By Victoria Helen Stone





Problem Child: A Jane Doe Thriller
By Victoria Helen Stone
Lake Union Publishing; 296 pages; paperback, $14.95; Kindle eBook, $4.99; available March 24

This is the second installment of the Jane Doe series, which focuses on this unique heroine. She is your standard sociopath, standard, manipulative, impulsive, emotionless, and utterly charming.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Books: "The Herd" By Andrea Bartz





The Herd 
By Andrea Bartz
Ballantine Books; hardcover, 336 pages; $27.00; available March 24

Brooklyn-based author Andrea Bartz won rave reviews last year with her debut novel, The Lost Night, which was expired by her own experiences as a post-grad in Brooklyn in the time of the Great Recession around 2008. That novel, which was set in the hipster enclaves of Williamsburg and Bushwick, explored themes of friendship, identity, and obsession inside that eerie, closed-door world.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Books: "Faster" By Neal Bascomb





Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best 
By Neal Bascomb
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; hardcover, 368 pages; $28.00

It's amazing how there are still historic sports stories that have not been told, but author Neil Bascomb was tipped off four years ago about a remarkable race car and the improbable team of upstarts who saw it come to creation during the golden age of motor sport. This team was so successful that Hitler reportedly sent a team to have the car found and destroyed when he invaded France.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Books: "The Electric Heir" By Victoria Lee





The Electric Heir - Book 2 in the Feverwake Series
By Victoria Lee
Skyscape; 480 pages; hardcover, $16.99; available today, Tuesday, March 17

Victoria Lee's YA Feverwake series began last year with The Fever King, and readers of all ages and backgrounds were captivated by its diverse characters, striking blend of magic, technology, and science, and skewering of many timely social and political issues.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Books: "The Wartime Sisters" On A Family Navigating Brooklyn In The 1930s





The Wartime Sisters
By Lynda Cohen Loigman
St. Martin's Griffin; paperback; $16.99; available today Tuesday, March 10

Lynda Cohen Loigman grew up in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and received a B.A. in English and American Literature from Harvard College and a law degree from Columbia Law School. She practiced trusts and estates law in New York City for eight years before moving out of the city to raise her two children with her husband.

Books: "The Operator" By Gretchen Berg





The Operator
By Gretchen Berg
William Morrow; hardcover, $27.99; available today, Tuesday, March 10

Gretchen Berg, who was born on the East Coast and raised in the Midwest, taught English in South Korea and in Northern Iraq, and has traveled to all the other continents. Her debut novel, The Operator, is set in small-town 1950's America, and has a masterfully woven plot that dovetails topics of class, feminism, race, and karma.

Monday, March 9, 2020

Books: Mary Adkins Gives An Unvarnished Look At The "Privilege" Of Higher Education





Privilege
By Mary Adkins
Harper; hardcover, 345 pages; $27.99; available Tuesday, March 10

Mary Adkins' debut novel, When You Read This, which came out last year, was named a Best Book of the Year by Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, and Thrillist. Her work has appeared in The New York Times and The Atlantic

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Books: "Death In Avignon" By Serena Kent




Death In Avignon
By Serena Kent
Harper Paperbacks; 352 pages; $16.99; available March 3

Death In Avignon - the second book of the Penelope Kite series and a follow up to the acclaimed Death In Provence - has the amateur sleuth scrambling to solve the murder of an expat artist. 

Books: "The Sea Of Lost Girls" By Carol Goodman




The Sea Of Lost Girls
By Carol Goodman
William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; paperback, $16.99; available Tuesday, March 3

Carol Goodman is the author of twenty-one novels, including The Widow's House, which received the Mary Higgins Clark Award from the Mystery Writers of America. She is nominated for the award again in 2020 for her most recent novel, The Night Visitors.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Books: Maria Kalman Illustrates "The Autobiography Of Alice B. Toklas





The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
By Gertrude Stein - Illustrations by Maria Kalman
Penguin Press; hardcover; $30.00; available Tuesday, March 3

Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on February 3, 1874. At Radcliffe College, she studied under William James, who remained her lifelong friend, and then she went to Johns Hopkins to study medicine. In 1903, she abandoned her studies and moved to Paris with her brother Leo.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Red Bulls, Powered By Duncan's 3-Pint Effort, Open Season With Win

Kaku celebrating his goal. @NewYorkRedBulls.



The Red Bulls, led by New York native 
Kyle Duncan's one goal, two-assist performance, rolled to a 3-2 win over Cincinnati FC in the season opener on Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena.