Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín, his eighth novel, is a subtle portrait of a bereaved family in late 1960s Ireland. Nora, 40, has lost her husband Maurice to sudden illness. Repressing her own grief, she helps her four children mov...

No, not that Elizabeth Taylor – she of the ostentatious makeup and jewelry; that many-times-married friend of Michael Jackson. Perhaps you haven’t even heard of English novelist Elizabeth Taylor? Born in my current hometown of ...

Considering that: a) I already knew the full story of Ralston’s days trapped by a boulder in a remote canyon, b) I had already seen the brilliant 2010 film made of his experience (127 Hours, starring James Franco, a favorite of...

At the end of July 2013, I left my job as a library assistant to set up as a freelance book reviewer. For just over a year, then, I’ve been writing reviews and other book-related articles on a self-employed basis. My one-year a...

For your summer reading pleasure, here’s a perfect book to take to the beach, on the train, or to the doctor’s office: Friendship by Emily Gould. It’s just right if you’re a 30-year-old woman, like me and like Gould’s main char...

Through websites like Goodreads, NetGalley and Edelweiss, I get a bit of a sneak peek at some of the biggest titles set for release in upcoming months. Here are ten of the books being published this July (mostly novels this tim...

Miriam Batson, the protagonist of these nine short stories, first appeared in Paulette Alden’s previous collection, Feeding the Eagles (1988). Like Alden herself, Miriam is a writer and sometime college professor based in Minne...