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In Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake (2021), first in Alexis Hall’s Winner Bakes All series, single mother Rosaline is working minimum wage jobs and struggling to pay her bills.

Jim Gaffigan, in the book, Dad is Fat (2013) expounds on the challenges of having his hands full with 5 children.  His fertile wife gets pregnant just looking at babies, while Jim wonders if he will be a good father.  To his astonishment he rises to the challenge and finds that having children can be a rewarding experience.  He muses on people who sit around all day and j

Many people associate the Ku Klux Klan with the South. But in Timothy Egan’s compelling and infuriating history, you’ll learn about the rise of the Klan in the 1920s Midwest, particularly Indiana.

Ruth Ozeki's latest novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness (2021), is a big book in terms of length. It's a big book, too, in terms of the ideas and issues with which it deals, including Zen Buddhism, mental illness and the systems that surround its treatment, the nature of reality, and the pressures of the marketplace and capitalism.

A League of Nobleman (2023) is a Chinese historical mystery TV series. It follows Zhang Ping, a poor orphan from the countryside who is making his living as a noodle seller in the capital while studying for the exam to become a government official. His dream is to someday join the Ministry of Justice and solve crimes. In the meantime, he has earned the nickname “Noodle Detective” through his efforts to solve minor everyday mysteries for his neighbors.

Burns and Allen, a radio program from the golden age of radio, were vaudeville acts performed by George Burns and Gracie Allen, his wife.  Gracie is the not-so-smart but charming wife who gets George into trouble, i.e.

I really enjoyed listening to the newest book by Sally Hepworth, The Soulmate (2023), because it had many elements of a great audiobook.

Ocean’s Echo (2022), a sci-fi/romance by Everina Maxwell, puts a military sci-fi spin on the classic fake dating trope. In this novel, scientific experiments have created Readers, who can read other people’s minds, and Architects, who can influence thoughts.

Everyone knows Michael Jordan, the “Be Like Mike” ad, and his Air Jordan shoes. But how many know the story of how the latter came into existence? Based on a true story and set in 1984, Air (2023, rated R) goes behind the scenes at a struggling Nike to show how salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) courted the Jordan family and how the deal revolutionized brand-athlete partnerships.

I've now read the book and also listened to the audio book of I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. I scarcely had a break between my reading of, and listening to, this novel. When it became available, I seized the day, as it had been on hold for some time and, I knew, would probably go back on hold again.

Dr. Henry Marsh, in his book And Finally (2023), addresses issues of life and death as he faces the end of his life due to prostate cancer.  Dr.

The Drift (2023) by C.J. Tudor is an engaging multiple perspectives thriller, following 3 different groups of survivors in a compelling apocalyptic race to save their own lives in 3 deadly situations that may have something in common. The Drift is fast-paced, plot-driven and may be of interest to readers okay with violence, plague, and apocalyptic themes.