Something to Crow About

Clocking in at a mere 114 pages and titled with a clever twist on an Emily Dickinson lyric, Mark Porter’s Grief is the Thing With Feathers is a stunning summer read. You can read it as a long poem or a short novel, but it almost doesn’t matter, unless you’re a purist. It’s the lush, musical language that lifts Porter’s story out of the mundane and into the magical.


On the Road Again

Summer is upon us, and with it, the unmistakable urge for going. I’ve got a trip lined up in a few weeks to visit my family on the west coast, and … Continued


Lexi, Lily, and the Octopus

Steven Rowley’s debut novel Lily and the Octopus is about the bond between man and dog, between friends, and also lovers. It follows frustrated writer and chronic first-dater Ted and his dog, best friend ever and constant companion and confidant Lily, a 12-year-old dachshund who develops a brain tumor. Yes, it’s sad, and yes, it will probably make you cry.


Hang Ten: Nonfiction Picks for Summer

What does a surfer and a woman suffering from chronic depression and anxiety have in common? They’re both amazing authors with the ability to pull the reader into their stories, even if you’ve even seen a surfboard in real life and are cool as a cucumber in all situations.



Nonfiction Books about Grief

  Randy Pausch was a Pittsburgh professor whose book, The Last Lecture (DB 66601), became a bestseller in 2008. Pausch wrote this while dying of cancer and it was based … Continued


Blue is the [Most Beautiful] Color

Illustration, yet another way books make you feel things. Big things like happiness, sadness, anger and hope. Julie Maroh’s graphic novel, Blue is the Warmest Color makes you feel all that and more.



Read Between the Gap…

The #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement is showing no sign of slowing down. Here is a list of titles by diverse authors that promote understanding and compassion.