Diving into a great book can make a person forget about all the day’s problems, relax the mind, and get into the storyline. But we don’t want to recommend the typical fluffy beach reading for you. Getting lost in this year’s summer reading will include learning about the peacemakers for our world, the shifting of American dominance, the ladies that helped shape our nation to what it is now, and many others. (more…)

by Dinty Moore
Nebraska Press
2008

In his recent book project, Dinty Moore has written a memoir—of sorts. This isn’t your father’s memoir, although it is a memoir about fathers; real fathers, would-be fathers, perhaps imaginary fathers. Between Panic & Desire uses the traditional narrative form of memoir but also explores a variety of other structures to give Moore’s account of his formative years spanning the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. (more…)

by Eve Ensler
Villard Books
2006

There’s something about writers that causes them to want to go there—a curiosity that forces them to detail the taboo and delve into the psyches of people who do what “polite society” spends so much energy distancing themselves from. But often they’re speaking to an audience who can scarcely watch the news or infomercials about world hunger because they can’t bear to see images that disturb their comfortable lives. (more…)

Gival Press (2007)

The language is fresh, the stories stimulating. Holly Farris’s first short story collection, Lockjaw, offers poignant glimpses into the interior lives of an array of diverse characters that linger in the reader’s mind. Her Appalachian narrators, though deeply rooted in Southwest Virginia, exhibit characteristics universally human. As they grapple with life’s challenges in ways not always successful, they struggle to understand their place in this world, whether on their own or in relation to others. (more…)

With much of this issue focusing on financial planning, we thought we’d offer a few book suggestions to help you get your finances in order. (more…)

Do you recall the famous answer to Bob Eubanks’ question on The Newlywed Game: “Where is the weirdest place that you had the urge to make whoopee?” Do you know what other shows Bob Barker hosted before The Price is Right? Which game show host was simultaneously anchor of ABC’s nightly newscast? And just how did Allen Ludden end up marrying Betty White? (more…)