Winfrey picks novel 'An American Marriage' for book club
Sunday, 25 March 2018, 11:33
Last update: about 7 years ago
Associated Press
Tayari Jones, whose novel "An American Marriage" has been chosen for Oprah Winfrey's book club, will always remember that phone call from last October. She was driving in Las Vegas, expecting to...
Subject matter of Zadie Smith's 'Feel Free' ranges wide
Saturday, 24 March 2018, 11:30
Last update: about 7 years ago
Associated Press
"Feel Free: Essays" (Penguin Press), by Zadie Smith The subject matter of Zadie Smith's newest collection of essays, "Feel Free," ranges wide. She addresses world issues from the perspective of...
Oral history of 'The Wire' provides fans with insights
Friday, 23 March 2018, 11:29
Last update: about 7 years ago
Associated Press
"All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire" (Crown Archetype), by Jonathan Abrams The now-celebrated television series "The Wire" attracted few viewers and was virtually snubbed by the...
Alfred Hitchcock remains an influence on crime writers
Thursday, 22 March 2018, 11:27
Last update: about 7 years ago
As he wrote what has become one of the top-selling novels so far in 2018, "The Woman in the Window," the author who calls himself A.J. Finn was thinking of a certain master of suspense: Alfred...
A prize for thrillers without female victims divides opinion
Tuesday, 20 March 2018, 11:25
Last update: about 7 years ago
Associated Press
It's a chilling cliche of thrillers that women often end up abducted, abused or dead. One writer is so sick of the violence that she has set up a book prize to reward crime novels "in which no...
Darlingside sometimes soars on inconsistent album
Saturday, 17 March 2018, 12:33
Last update: about 7 years ago
Darlingside, "Extralife" (Thirty Tigers/More Doug Records) Not everything Darlingside does turns to gold, and yet the stylistic quartet out of Massachusetts doesn't sound like anybody...
Troubadour Vance Joy delivers on 'Nation of Two'
Friday, 16 March 2018, 12:31
Last update: about 7 years ago
Vance Joy, "Nation of Two" (Atlantic) If ukuleles make their way back onto the pop charts, you can probably thank Vance Joy. The Australian singer-songwriter delivers an exciting sophomore...
Lee Ann Womack heads off in new direction
Friday, 17 October 2014, 11:52
Last update: about 10 years ago
For more than a decade, Lee Ann Womack ranked as the most traditional female artist in contemporary country music, holding on to old-school values in themes and arrangements as others in the genre...
Blake Shelton the adult shines on new LP
Thursday, 16 October 2014, 11:50
Last update: about 10 years ago
Blake Shelton's public persona - a mix of smart-aleck whimsy and thoughtful sensitivity - has made him country music's most ubiquitous male star. A full-grown man with a boyish cheekiness, his easy...
Bennett, Gaga have special chemistry on new CD
Wednesday, 15 October 2014, 11:48
Last update: about 10 years ago
Tony Bennett has never forgotten the boost he got when Frank Sinatra declared him "the best singer in the whole business." Now it's Bennett's turn to grant his imprimatur to another Italian-American...