“To walk at night” creates “a night twice lived,” Matt Gaw declares in "Under the Stars", which is structured around a series of night walks to delve into the science of the night sky. The pull of the moon is undeniable, Gaw... Read More

Bill Schutt’s "Pump" is an entertaining survey of the evolution of the circulatory system. From grasshoppers to whales, it explains how hearts and other analogous structures work. Zeroing in on the human heart, the book contrasts the... Read More

A hearty “bless your heart” to those who misunderstand the South, the essays of Margaret Renkl’s Graceland, at Last vivify an often maligned region. Renkl is one angle of the face of the changing South: she cares about the... Read More

Anne Liu Kellor’s intimate and revealing memoir "Heart Radical" concerns a struggle to know oneself—and to get into the heart of the Chinese people through language. In Chinese, it takes four brush strokes to form the shape of a... Read More

With consuming literary passion, Janet Todd’s complex novel combines the past and the present together with the living and the dead. Fran is a widow who spent her life immersed in teaching, reading, and gardening. Her retirement (and... Read More

Gritty Liverpool sets the mood for Caroline Smailes’s "The Unwrapping of Theodora Quirke", a most unusual Christmas tale. Nineteen-year-old Theodora (Theo, please), while grieving the death of her boyfriend, Gabe, lives in Dante House,... Read More

Mindful, healthful eating is the essence of "Buddha Bowls", a cookbook that explores popular, Asian-inspired meals that balance grains, toppings, and sauces to satisfy hungry bellies any time of the day. Tanja Dusy’s recipes put... Read More

Glaciologist Jemma Wadham’s anguish over her field of study being besieged by climate change underpins "Ice Rivers", which introduces seven diverse glaciers. It’s an emotional, masterful science narrative that’s coupled with scenes... Read More