| Southern Lady Code: Essays by Helen EllisWhat it is: uproarious insights on Southern womanhood, life, and culture, written by the Alabama-raised author of American Housewife.
For fans of: Southern pop culture staples Designing Women and Fried Green Tomatoes.
Book buzz: Cristina Alger (The Banker's Wife) says "Reading this feels like settling into a comfy couch and having a martini (or three) with your most hilarious friend." |
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| Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen by Mary NorrisWhat it's about: New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris' passion for Greek language, history, and culture, which began in unlikely earnest after she saw the science fiction film Time Bandits, partially set in ancient Greece.
Immersive study: Norris traveled solo to remote Mediterranean locales, performed in Greek-language productions of Elektra and The Trojan Women, and convinced her employers to subsidize Greek language courses to aid her in her copy editing work.
Read it for: a lively and upbeat blend of memoir and travelogue. |
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| Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy by Eric O'NeillWhat it is: a white-knuckle account of rookie FBI agent Eric O'Neill's 2001 undercover mission to capture fellow agent Robert Hanssen, a longtime Russian mole.
Want a taste? "Hanssen was a veteran agent, schooled in the tyranny of secrets. I was a pawn."
Try this next: Ben Macintyre's similarly suspenseful A Spy Among Friends spotlights MI6 operative Kim Philby, a double agent who defected to the Soviet Union in 1963. |
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| A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win WWII by Sonia PurnellWho it's about: undeterred American Virginia Hall, who didn't let workplace sexism and the loss of her leg in a hunting accident stop her from serving as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) spy in occupied France, where she established an underground resistance network.
Why you might like it: Offering breakneck pacing and plenty of wartime intrigue, this celebration of a little-known hero is "a joy to read" (Booklist).
Movie buzz: Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley is set to play Hall in a forthcoming film adaptation. |
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Julia Child : the last interview and other conversations
by Julia Child
This delightful collection of interviews with "The French Chef" Julia Child traces her life from her first stab at a writing career fresh out of college; to D.C., Sri Lanka, and Kunming where she worked for the Office of Strategic Services (now the CIA); to Paris where she and her husband Paul, then a member of the State Department, lived after World War II, and where Child attended the famous cooking school Le Cordon Bleu. From there, Child catapulted to fame--first with the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961 and the launch of her home cooking show, "The French Chef" in 1963. In this volume of carefully selected interviews, Child's charm, guile, and no-nonsense advice are on full, irresistibly delicious display. Includes an Introduction from Helen Rosner, food critic for the New Yorker.
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| Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living by Tim Bauerschmidt and Ramie Liddle What it is: a therapeutic and life-affirming family road trip.
Starring: nonagenarian Norma, who forgoes intensive chemotherapy after her terminal cancer diagnosis to tour the country with her retired son Tim and his wife, Ramie, in their "mobile assisted living home."
Norma says "yes" to...hot air balloon rides, NBA courtside seats, a feted appearance at the Boston St. Patrick's Day parade, and more. |
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| Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John HodgmanWhat it's about: humorist John Hodgman's neurotic attempts to maintain summer homes in Massachusetts and Maine, which he does with middling degrees of success.
Read it for: droll, hard-earned wisdom on topics as varied as male privilege, dumpster etiquette, and regional humor.
Want a taste? "Here is some homeowner's advice. Do not put even a single box of stale Cheerios down the garbage disposal, never mind three." |
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| In Other Words by Jhumpa LahiriWhat it is: Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's bilingual memoir of how her love of Italian prompted her to move her family to Rome, where she made surprising discoveries about her identity as a writer.
Want a taste? "Writing in another language represents an act of demolition, a new beginning."
Did you know? A national bestseller, In Other Words is Lahiri's first foray into nonfiction and was originally published in Italian. |
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Horizon
by Barry Holstun Lopez
The National Book Award-winning author of Arctic Dreams presents a lyrical, intellectual account of his world travels and the extraordinary encounters with people, animals and natural elements that shaped his life
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