Book

I'm proud and happy to work for newspaper organizations who still believe it's important to publish news about books and the folks who write them. In the past few years I've gotten the impression that other newspapers consider books as little more than competition for their own...

"Your Heart Belongs to Me," is not a sappy Tin Pan Alley lyric, but the title of a new thriller by Dean Koontz (Bantam, $27).

Several years ago, my friend novelist Carolyn See wrote a tell-all book about her family's century-long love affair with alcohol addiction, written with her usual literary flair. See is a fine California novelist ("Rhine Maidens," "Making History") who doesn't get enough attention...

Years ago, I saw a wonderful Twilight Zone episode in which a small time newspaper editor sold his soul to the devil in order to save his newspaper. The devil was played by Burgess Meredith, who arrives at the newspaper and tells the hero he is a linotype operator and would like to...

Two talented upper Midwestern writers with ethnic interests headline today's book report. The first is by University of Wiscosnin-Superior poet and fiction writer Anthony Bukoski. It's a collection of short stories, Bukoski's fifth book, entitled "North of the Port" (Southern...

Merry Christmas! James Merrill (1926-95) grew up in the lap of luxury, the son of Charles Merrill, the founder of Merrill, Lynch. He went to all the right schools and taught at others, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And he grew to become one of the most respected...

The R.H. Stafford Branch Library book club will discuss "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 6 in the library's conference room, 8595 Central Park Place in Woodbury. Pre-read the book to discuss at the meeting; no sign-up is necessary. Questions may be...

It's not an easy story to tell, but for Kathleen Arndt, it's one she feels she's been called to share.

Still looking for last minute holiday gifts for hard-to-buy friends and relatives? I've got a few that just came across my desk in time for you to run out and buy a copy. Books, you know, are easy to wrap. If you get stuck with a batch of apples, you make applesauce. That's what...

Great works for readers of all ages make the list I'd have given my right arm for the new volume before me when I was book review editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Back then my job at Christmas was to comb through famous works of literature about Christmas. These were difficult...

There's a little something for everyone this week. It's stocking-stuffer time on the prairie and local publishers are stepping up to the presses with a slew of fun books for teenagers of all ages. Remember the movie "Slap Shot," starring Paul Newman?

Two elementary schools are slated to have bookfairs held on their behalf at Barnes & Noble, 7020 Valley Creek Plaza, Woodbury. Saturday, Dec. 6 is Woodbury Elementary Day at Barnes & Noble. Mention the school when a purchase is made that day and the store will donate a percentage...