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BernieBookseller at Seward Park |
Inspector Gamache is off to his favorite summer retreat, a rustic log lodge by a lake in the forests of Quebec. He and his wife are there to celebrate their anniversary and delighted to be joined by their friends Clara and Peter Morrow, who are there for a family reunion. But the Morrow family has secrets that beg to come to the surface. Sit by the lake with Louise Penny as she unravels the plot of this summer mystery. Recommended for foodies who love a good mystery.
This is one of those books that makes us hope that a reading of the past could only inform the present more. Lyndon Johnson was an unlikely choice to be the president who could pass the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is the story of how that historic legislation was passed, and how Johnson was somehow able to get a few politicians to be courageous enough to vote against their political interests to do the right thing. Purdum takes you behind the scenes to see a cast of very imperfect leaders who rise to the occasion to create a moment in history.
Howard Norman has turned out a body of always interesting work. He creates the atmosphere of an old gumshoe detective novel in this exploration of a family secret which forces itself into the open. Jacob Rigolet finds himself in the middle involving his mother's past, her connection to a famous photograph, and his own origins.
LeCarre pays a visit to Peter Guillam in this book that unearths Guillam's involvement with Alec Leamas and takes the reader behind the scenes portrayed in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Guillam's mentor George Smiley looms in the background of the novel. LeCarre fans will not be disappointed as the narrator, and the author behind him, revisits the toll taken on lives during the Cold War and the consequences of his part in it.
When I read a book that I enjoy, it always leaves me wanting to know the author better. Readers of Exit West will have that wish fulfilled with this autobiographical collection of essays from Hamid, subtitled "Dispatches from New York, Lahore and London." His reflections on Pakistan, thoughts on life as an emerging writer, and making pasta for Toni Morrison in his dorm room all contribute to a fuller picture of this exciting writer.
Pico Iyer has been one of our most insightful cultural observers, immersing himself in our new global culture. He has hung out with the Dalai Lama in Dharmsala and written about Kathmandu, Graham Greene and his adopted home in Kyoto. In this essay taken from his TED talk, Iyer explores our need for finding a still place in the midst of our lives. He examines the monastic roots in religious traditions and shares how he carves out the quiet place we all need in a busy modern life.
I am reading this amazing memoir which won the Pulitzer in 1998 and inspired the screenplay of the current movie, The Post. Graham’s story is so relevant now as she gives a personal account of what it was like for a woman to play a pivotal role in the political landscape of the country dominated by men. She had an insider view to history and made some of it with her decision to expose how the government misrepresented the failure of the Vietnam War, and to pursue the Washington Post’s Watergate investigation.
The hunter becomes the hunted in this amazing story set in the Siberian Taiga. Vaillant brings in-depth reporting to this tale of survival. This is a story that you will want to tell people about while you are reading it.
Alistair MacLeod left us with one novel and these sixteen stories which he wrote first in longhand in summers away from teaching on his beloved Cape Breton. These stories evoke a sense of place and will transport you to the closely observed lives of their inhabitants.
