Columbus, OH

Halfway through the year is a good time to take stock of our reading. The spare elegies of winter have left their mark; the elegant literary novels of spring have come and gone; the big juicy beach reads of summer are just beginning. Let’s pause here and take a look at what good things the year has already brought to us before we look ahead to the riches of the fall. Here are the 10 best books from the first half of 2024.

The best books of the year (so far)

Los Angeles Times

The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, July 28, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.

The week's bestselling books, July 28

The Conversation UK

Looking for a great read to take on holiday with you? We had our experts review some of the hottest books of 2024. From love stories to tales of murders and food, there’s something for every fiction lover. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. How do we make meaning out of...

Five of this summer’s best fiction reads

Irish author Colin Barrett has made the 2024 Booker Prize longlist for his debut novel “Wild Houses.”. "With two collections behind him, Barrett is well established as a master both of the short story and the sentence; his debut novel confirms and extends all his promise," the Booker Prize panel of five judges said.

Irish author makes Booker Prize longlist for "darkly comic" debut novel

(Penguin Random House/Knopf 9780593481691, $20.99, 496pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 07/30/2024) Young-adult dark fantasy novel, second in the Silver in the Bone duology. With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death’s plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts” powerful enough to stop Lord Death, but the mirror is not all that it seems.

New Books, 30 July 2024

Looking for recently published books to add to your TBR list? Here are five new books to consider adding to your reading list. Each offers a unique journey through history, culture, and personal discovery. Every book on this list takes readers on an enlightening journey into the transformational power of...

5 Recently Published Books to Add to Your TBR List

This week’s list of the most read books on Goodreads has shifted dramatically from last week! Get ready for a whole new batch of titles you’ve never heard of! I’m kidding. It’s identical, except two books have swapped spots. But which two?? You’ll have to read on to find out!

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Happy Friday, book lovers. A particularly good line-up for you today on Book Riot:. I still can’t resist a good bookshop-based novel. Traveling to distant lands, magical or otherwise, is all well and good. But for me, nothing beats the magic that can be found in a brick-and-mortar shop just bursting with books.

9 Great Novels Set in Bookstores

Stephen King is the undisputed master of literary horror. No one else in the genre comes close to him in terms of quality or quality. He has penned over 60 novels and 200 short stories, continuously captivating readers with his exploration of the dark corners of the human psyche. His best works, like The Shining, It, and Misery, are not just tales of terror but profound examinations of family, addiction, and madness. In addition, they are great snapshots of late 20th-century America, particularly its small towns.

The 10 Best Stephen King Books, Ranked According to Goodreads

Snopes

Fact Check: JD Vance's Last Name Means 'Bedbug' in Yiddish?

David Levinthal, famous for his fine art photographs of toys and miniatures, has finally approached the delicate and treacherous subject matter of the Vietnam war. A traumatic fault line in American collective memory spanning several generations, Levinthal’s portrayal of the war was a project that proved so rich and technically daunting that he hasn’t dared embark on it until recently. Now, after a career spanning nearly fifty years, he has a new book, published by Kehrer Press, featuring 132 color plates that treat both the reality and the myth of Vietnam through painstakingly accurate, detailed dioramas.

Book Review: David Levinthal's Vietnam

New York City, NY

The Forward

(JTA) — On Friday, for the third time since September, Timothy Reif found himself standing in the New York District Attorney’s Office to accept a modernist drawing that the Nazis looted from his family. With him in the room was a relative of another family that survived the Nazis and that — in an unusual...

Another Nazi-looted Schiele painting has been returned to heirs of ‘Cabaret’ inspiration Fritz Grünbaum

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Cheryl E Preston

Yesterday was the third time this year that an ad stating Chelsea Clinton lives in a beautiful Virginia home popped up on my laptop. My computer did not warn me this was a dangerous site, so this time, I clicked on the link.

Chelsea Clinton is rumored to be living in Virginia but probably still in NYC

One of the most popular movie stars of all time – he still continuously remains in the top rankings – John Wayne was the personification of the Western hero, and with more than 175 films under his belt in a career that stretched over 50 years, it’s easy to see how he solidified his place as an American icon. His on-screen persona as the rugged cowboy who exhibited American values had fans devouring his movies.

20 Interesting Facts About John Wayne You Probably Don’t Know

Neel Mukherjee’s most recent novel, Choice, tells a triptych of tales, all tangentially related to one another and all, not surprisingly, centered around the idea of choice. The first story follows Ayush, an editor at a publishing house where the focus has shifted from books and authors to profits. He is also not merely concerned with climate change, but obsessed with it, to the point that it disrupts his relationships with his husband, Luke, and their two children. He consistently repeats, as narrator, that one must change their life, which leads him to an important decision.

Book Review :: Choice by Neel Mukherjee

The Independent

A selection of 13 “timely and timeless” books that “navigate what it means to belong, to be displaced and to return” have been longlisted for the 2024 Booker prize.Two British authors, Sarah Perry and Samantha Harvey, feature on a line up that also includes the first Dutch and Native American writers to be longlisted for the prestigious award, which is given to a full-length novel written in English each year. Chair of the judges Edmund de Waal noted that “the precarity of lives” is a theme that “runs through our longlist like quicksilver” – but also stressed that the selected titles are...

Booker Prize announces 13 books on ‘glorious’ longlist of ‘timeless and timely fiction’

Early 20th-century portraits by Edward S. Curtis played a crucial role in preserving the heritage of Native Americans during a period of rapid American expansion and government intervention. Curtis, motivated by a belief that Native American cultures were disappearing, dedicated over 30 years to documenting their customs and traditions. Through the financial backing of patrons like J.P. Morgan, Curtis embarked on an ambitious project to produce a series of 20 volumes containing 1,500 photographs. His journey took him across the American West and into various Indian territories, where he photographed prominent Native Americans such as Geronimo, Red Cloud, and Chief Joseph. Beyond photography, Curtis aimed to provide a comprehensive view of Native American culture by recording their languages and music, ultimately producing 10,000 wax cylinder recordings. Despite facing financial difficulties and the impact of World War I, which diminished public interest in his work, Curtis’s efforts resulted in a vast archive that remains a valuable cultural resource.

Early 20th-Century Portraits Preserve the Heritage of Native Americans

Virginia State

Wendy's birthday was spent away from her loved ones. Virginia Wendy Williams fans, the latest update is not encouraging. The former talk show host turned 60 on July 18 without any of her loved ones around. According to Yahoo, family members remain "out of bounds" and have no access to Wendy as she battles dementia and progressive aphasia.

The family of talk show diva Wendy Williams were unable to celebrate her 60th birthday by her side

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Emily Standley Allard

If you’ve ever wondered why your partner or mate was so gosh darn easy to love, or on the flip side impossible to love at times, their sun sign could give you some important clues! I’ve definitely been in relationships that have tested my patience to the limits and other ones that have been a smooth sailing ride. The answers just may be in the stars! Read on to discover the zodiac signs according to Astrology.com that are the easiest to the hardest to love.

The Zodiac Signs Ranked Easiest to Hardest to Love

Edna O’Brien, the prolific Irish author known for her portrayal of women’s lives against repressive expectations in Irish society, has died at the age of 93.Her death was announced by her publisher, Faber, who said she died peacefully on Saturday (27 July), “after a long illness”. They added that their thoughts were “with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo”.“A defiant and courageous spirit, Edna constantly strove to break new artistic ground, to write truthfully, from a place of deep feeling. The vitality of her prose was a mirror of her zest for life: she was...

Edna O’Brien death: Acclaimed Irish novelist dies aged 93

NewsBreak

Horses! Chaucer! The libertines of London! 20 new books out today.

The end of July is upon us. (What a month it’s been, Dear Readers, what a wild, wild month.) And how better to usher in a...

Horses! Chaucer! The libertines of London! 20 new books out today.

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