A boy in a village plagued by Cossack soldiers battles a curse to help his family and friends in the excellent graphic novel "Mendel the Mess-Up". Mendel, who is approaching his bar mitzvah, lives in a remote Jewish village, Lintvint,... Read More

Using varied stories to lead by example, the self-help book "Outsmart the Learning Curve" guides ordinary people toward extraordinary lives. Joe Sipher’s self-development guide "Outsmart the Learning Curve" explores how ordinary people... Read More

In Raj Tawney’s perceptive novel "All Mixed Up", a multiracial boy contends with bullying and finds friendship in the aftermath of 9/11. Kamal’s father is from India. His mother is a New Yorker with Italian and Puerto Rican roots. At... Read More

In a compelling, conversational style that brings together two unlikely subjects, David Ladensohn’s book explores fly fishing alongside the life and legacy of Leonardo da Vinci. The book follows da Vinci’s life with admiration,... Read More

Larry Carlat’s "A Space in the Heart" is a sensitive guidebook for grieving parents. Holding space for unspeakable grief, Carlat, who lost a son to suicide, draws on lived experience in this guide for fellow grieving parents,... Read More

Set against cultural and generational tensions in the American South, historian Timothy Silver’s gritty true crime book "Death in Briar Bottom" covers a 1972 incident involving free-living hippies, conservative law enforcement... Read More

Encouraging social cohesion, "Be the Weight Behind the Spear" is a spirited memoir that models ethical living and leadership among one’s peers. Army veteran and emergency room physician Josh McConkey’s memoir "Be the Weight Behind... Read More

In Cécile Desprairies’s disquieting historical novel "The Propagandist", a woman reflects on her mother’s experiences as a World War II collaborator. Coline, Lucie’s youngest daughter, contrasts her mother’s duplicitous past... Read More