New York Times columnist David Brooks won wide praise for his 2015 book The Road to Character, which celebrated the happiness found in personal achievement. He now believes he was wrong and that “the rampant individualism of our current culture is a catastrophe.” He argues in his new book that true joy comes from service to others. Brooks cites … [Read more...]
‘Palm Beach Wife’ a fun beach read, but could have been edgier
By Sharon Geltner The heroine of A Palm Beach Wife, Faith Harrison, lives in a stunning, $10 million mansion on the Intracoastal in Palm Beach. She doesn’t wrinkle or gain weight. She wears designer gowns to fancy charity galas that she co-chairs with her rich, handsome spouse. And Faith owns a luxury goods consignment shop on Worth Avenue where, “husbands with twitching … [Read more...]
Writer T Kira Madden: Leaving Boca, opening doors for ‘Fatherless Girls’
The tattoos dotting T Kira Madden’s arms may not symbolize everything you need to know about her, but they unlock a number of doors. They include likenesses of the Hawaiian islands, her ancestral homeland; the key to her father’s apartment in New York City; a top hat, tipped in reference to her passion for stage magic; and a hot air balloon, which she and her parents … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Book Festival, at FAU this weekend, features Albom, Orlean
Everything good that’s ever happened to Mitch Albom happened in Detroit. Or so the best-selling author of books like Tuesdays With Morrie says. He’s likely to talk about that next month at Florida Atlantic University, when he joins the lineup for the fifth annual Palm Beach Books Festival. The one-day festival, set for March 16 at FAU’s University Theatre, will feature … [Read more...]
‘Library Book’ is one for the bibliophiles
Susan Orlean was living in New York in 1986 when she heard the shocking news that the Los Angeles Public Library had been destroyed by a monster fire. More than 1 million books were burned or damaged, while 350 firefighters battled the blaze for seven hours. Orlean was raised in a book-loving family where her mother took her to a library near their home in … [Read more...]
Season Preview 2018-19: Books
South Florida has a perhaps surprisingly strong books culture, and not just because it has been home to major writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Zora Neale Hurston. It also is home to Books & Books, a remarkably successful Miami-based chain of independent bookstores, and as the Miami Book Fair it helped found has grown, newer players have appeared on the scene to celebrate … [Read more...]
Authentic South Florida flavor makes murder mystery tell
By Sharon Geltner “I was living through the worst time of my life. I was going to kill myself.” That statement is not from the west Broward mystery, The Other Side of Everything, the debut novel by Lauren Doyle Owens, a 10-year resident of the area. Instead, it’s what the author said about her own life. “I didn’t kill myself,” Doyle Owens said in a recent interview. … [Read more...]
Rather reports on state of nation, and it’s grim
By Myles Ludwig Veteran newsman Dan Rather took the stage at the Palm Beach Convention Center to a standing ovation at the Palm Beach Book Festival on April 14. He was being honored as the Festival’s book of the year awardee for his current What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism, a collection of essays about what Rather believes it means to be an American. It was … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Book Festival offers ‘Oscars’ of literary world
By Georgio Valentino Every spring, a hand-picked selection of the country’s most celebrated writers descend on the Palm Beaches for a boutique book festival of chart-topping proportions. Among the headliners of this fourth annual edition of the Palm Beach Book Festival are multiple award-winning authors Dan Rather and Kwame Alexander. The event is the brainchild of … [Read more...]
‘Line Becomes a River’ finds tragedy on both sides of the border
After Francisco Cantú graduated from college with honors, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Border Patrol, which detains Mexicans illegally crossing into the United States. In The Line Becomes a River, the author’s illuminating prose cites injustices and tragedy on both sides of the border. Mexicans enter the United States in the middle of the night far from … [Read more...]