I started making movies at age 13; to make a movie, you need a script, so I became a screenwriter by default. A dozen low-budget movies (and a couple of TV scripts) later, I started writing fiction: Two mystery series, (The Eli Marks mysteries and The Como Lake Players mysteries), four stand-alone novels, plus a couple of filmmaking “How To” books followed. Over the years, I’ve always searched out the best ideas on how to write, and how to write well. If I were to teach a course on writing, the five books I’ve listed would comprise the reading list.
Rejection is a big part of the writer’s life (less so now that self-publishing has taken off, but it still rears its ugly head more times than you might expect).
Actors know all about rejection and the late Charles Grodin had more than his share. While this is technically a memoir, it’s also a handbook on how to deal with and process all the forms of rejection you might encounter on your journey. As an additional incentive to read it, please know that Charles Grodin is a terrific writer and a funny, funny man. You’ll learn while you laugh.
Here is an actor's autobiography that transcends genre. Grodin writes about his share of catastrophic setbacks with candor and liberating humor. He dispenses invaluable advice about the art of surviving in the celluloid jungle. Photos.
The Bookbinder by Pip Williams is a book lover’s dream-come-true novel. Having visited Oxford, I was already in love with the setting. Then, like my other favorites, the book begins with the intimate, distinctive voice of a character, taking a reader into her confidence.
In 1914, Peggy lives with her twin sister on a long boat on the Thames and binds books at the Oxford University Press. With captivating sensory details, she reveals the whole process of a physical book’s creation, simultaneously revealing her intellectual passion for every word she can steal time to read.
Peggy’s desire to learn in the sisterhood of ambitious women and her perseverance through the challenges of World War I, the influenza pandemic, and societal upheavals become her triumph. And her devotion to knowledge is a revelation.
A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words.
“Williams spins an immersive and compelling tale, sweeping us back to the Oxford she painted so expertly in The Dictionary of Lost Words.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife
It is 1914, and as the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, women must keep the nation running. Two of those…
The main character was really likable, as well as the side characters, which always makes a good start! There was also a lot of dark humor thrown in. I enjoyed the strange setup and how it played out. I can’t say much more, as it will be a spoiler!
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR In a prestigious Edinburgh apartment building, gym receptionist Evie whiles away long hours doodling the deaths of residents who've annoyed her. On her birthday of all days, a man slumps off the exercise bike - dead. She tries to get help, but someone has locked the doors and the phones are out of reach. When another resident collapses inexplicably, Evie realises the deaths resemble those she drew ... and her sketchbook is missing. Was she framed... ... or is she next?
Killer Bodies is a darkly humorous locked room thriller that will leave you…
As a kid I loved space, and devoured science fiction (Doctor Who was my favorite). Now I’m a grown-up, I write books for kids - 70 so far and counting. (My latest picture book is called Sometimes I Am Furious, illustrated by Joe Berger.) The Book of Blast Off! is my second book about space (the first one was just called Space – not the most imaginative title, it’s true). I love writing non-fiction for kids because, unlike grown-ups, you can’t blind them with science. You have to know what you’re talking about so you can explain things clearly. They’re the best audience and you want to be worthy of them.
This is a bit of a cheat, I’m afraid, as it’s the first book in a two-book story (which concludes in Explorers on the Moon) but once you’ve read this one you’ll be dying to find out what happens next.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a Tintin nut. I love all Hergé’s comic books about the intrepid boy reporter and have read them countless times. They’re pacy – certainly as zippy and exciting as any modern action movie – and the choice of angles and framing is worthy of a master of cinema.
In this one, Tintin and his friends are reunited with the eccentric Professor Calculus, who is working on a mission to the moon. But there are spies, saboteurs, and stowaways around, so there’s plenty of mystery and peril – as well as humor – when Tintin and the gang embark on an adventure…
The classic graphic novel. Professor Calculus is building a rocket, but Tintin quickly realizes that there are spies around every corner trying to steal the professor's design! When Professor Calculus' rocket finally takes off for the moon, Tintin and his dog Snowy are on board.
I am a Graphic Illustrator, Muralist, and Educator, serving as an adjunct professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art and I love birds! I was born and raised in the Chautauqua Lake Region of Western, NY and I find myself very much at home with our feathered friends. My passion for color, shape, and nature enables me to draw the viewer's eye to things that otherwise might go unnoticed. Letter Birds was created when my children were 5 and 7 and I would draw while they slept. When they awoke they would find a colorful drawing of a feathered friend along with a new letter to learn. My children continue to be my creative muses - even as teenagers!
Color, color, color! A feast for the eyes as you buzz through this brightly illustrated book! Flemming's illustrations explode off the pages with vibrant color and contrast all the while sharing a different vantage point of the world around us. Be reintroduced to our six-legged friends in this delightful and energizing tale!
They crawl up walls, they hide in cracks, they flip, they fly, and sometimes...Crrrash. Beetles some in all shapes and sizes, and they are everywhere in this thoroughly buggy, beautifully designed book. There are striped beetles, spotted beetles, all-over-dotted beetles - and don't forget the noisily gnawing beetles! Whether you love bugs or whether the sight of them makes you itch, you will adore this infested offering from the beloved Denise Fleming.
I married my high school sweetheart and travel partner, and followed my own advice to do graduate work, and started my career working for the French National Railroad in New York City, mapping itineraries for travelers to Europe. Travel means the world to me and if I don’t have a trip on the horizon, I feel aimless and untethered. I worked in book publishing for 30 years and dropped out of the corporate rat race to take a gap year abroad. I wrote about our “Senior year abroad” in my first book Gap Year Girl. I returned to the US to teach middle school French and organize student trips to France.
The European network of GR trails holds a special place in my heart as I have hiked many of them (in full or partially).
I loved reading the author’s beautiful narrative about her trek on the GR5 from The Netherlands to Nice, in the south of France. I too have done similar long-distance walks with my husband and at times, felt the author was reading my mind because our experiences, how we reacted to them, and even our dialog were so similar.
Like all great travel literature, this book will make you want to pack your bags immediately. An inspiring read for anyone thinking of undertaking a physical challenge as well as a great read for those who simply like to read about them.
In 2018, Kathy Elkind and her husband decided to take a grown-up "gap year" in Europe and walk the 1,400-mile Grande Randonnee Cinq (GR5) across The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France.
At fifty-seven, Kathy has chosen comfort over hardship: Unlike the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Coast Trail, the GR5 winds from village to village instead of campsite to campsite. She and Jim get to indulge in warm beds and delicious regional food every night and croissants in the mornings. The GR5 is not all comfort. Walking day after day for ninety-eight days bring sickness, accommodation struggles, language barriers, and…
I have written 13 books and over 200 national magazine articles on U.S. Military weapons and am Field Editor for the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine. The story of the World War II weapons and campaigns have been widely covered but the First World War is sometimes all but forgotten. Those who are not familiar with America’s rather brief, but important, role in the conflict often do not realize how the First World War helped make the United States one of the world’s “superpowers.”
An excellent narrative of the experiences of a Canadian infantry officer who served in France and Belgium from Sept. 1915 to April 1917. There is a lot of emphasis on the sniping weapons utilized by the Allied forces during the early part of the war.
When I was a child, my mother and I shared and discussed Zane Grey books. I loved his portrayal of the past and read every one. My obsession with historical fiction grew, and I wrote my first draft of Elephant in the Room at age sixteen. I’m stuck in the period between 1875 and 1940 because of the simplicity driving life as well as the complexity of larger events changing the world. Wilder, Steinbeck, Twain, all picked me off my feet and set me down in their shoes. I’m not able to remove them. I write about courageous women because we are, whether it’s expressed or is in waiting.
McKinley, the tiny monkey, helps Piper sell peanuts at Coney Island and is the only constant in her young life. Her mother rides bareback for the circus and takes in beastly men. Her father, a determined bachelor, refuses to give her a stable home but eventually saves her from reform school, a probability due to her penchant for fighting and shooting guns.
The tale takes her from Coney to Manhattan to live with her wealthy aunt, on to college, and then to war-torn Belgium. Treachery and brutality follow Piper’s footsteps, and she faces obstacles with the same kind of headlong determination she used as a child; her fists and pluck.
I loved the fast pace and detailed descriptions, expressive language, and surprising but believable events.
The dawning of the Twentieth Century, and it is a world in chaos. Raised on Coney Island among scoundrels, cheats, and dreamers, Piper Albrecht is apprenticed to violence at an early age. Not until she is rescued by her aunt and moves to the elegant Upper East Side of Manhattan does she experience a different life, the life of a well-educated, forward-thinking young woman. But the roller coaster ride is far from over. After building the most fashionable millinery house in America, Piper spearheads relief efforts in Belgium during The Great War, bringing food to civilians trapped behind enemy lines.…
I’ve written two books on the topic of the Battle of the Bulge and countless articles. These are my favorite books on the subject and three of the five books are cited in my own monographs. (Schrijvers wrote his book after I published mine and Kershaw’s work was only tangential to my subject matter).
If stories of divisions and corps advancing and retreating over battlefields don’t pique your interest, then this book will. Kershaw’s tale of a single reconnaissance platoon under the command of a fresh-faced 1st Lieutenant Lyle Bouck as it fights for its life and delays an entire German kampfgruppe for several crucial hours is the stuff of legend. The platoon’s sacrifice contributed significantly to the eventual defeat of the 6th SS Panzer Army, whose mission was to seize Antwerp. Thanks to Bouck and his understrength platoon, that didn’t happen. I wonder why Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have not made this gripping human interest story into a blockbuster movie. Kershaw’s story, though, doesn’t end with the battle of Lanzerath. He follows the service members as they struggle to survive as prisoners-of-war in various German Stalags, scattered throughout the Reich. If you want to read a story about the personal experiences of…
On the morning of December 16, 1944, eighteen men of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance platoon attached to the 99th Infantry Division found themselves directly in the path of the main thrust of Hitler's massive Ardennes offensive. Despite being vastly outnumbered, they were told to hold their position "at all costs." Throughout the day, the platoon repulsed three large German assaults in a fierce day-long battle, killing hundreds of German soldiers. Only when they had run out of ammunition did they surrender to the enemy. But their long winter was just beginning. As POWs, the platoon experienced an ordeal far worse…
This book is a collection of essays from lectures given by 12 scholars at Hidden Charms 3 conference held in Chester, UK on 2 October, 2021. As the name suggests, the essays shed light on the research on the objects and symbols that were used to protect people from supernatural harm for centuries.
The topics of the essays are absolutely fascinating for anyone who is interested in superstitions and the worldviews of the people of the past.
Humans in all societies of the world, for as long as anyone can discern, have taken the threat of supernatural forces seriously. As a consequence of this there are an enormous range of practices in existence which are designed to protect us from these forces.
The Hidden Charms conferences seek to bring together scholars working in this area to share ideas and discuss new research. The first was in 2016 in Norwich, the second in 2018 in Salisbury, and here we have the proceedings of Hidden Charms 3 which took place in St Mary's Creative Space, Chester on October 2nd…
