Nancy Sundstrom

Books Nancy Sundstrom It was expected that former American President Bill Clinton’s highly-anticipated autobiography would be one of the hottest sellers of the summer, but wasn’t expected was exactly just how hot it would be. Though it has been on the bookshelves for just two weeks now, there is only word to describe the barometer reading for “My Life,” and that is scorching.
Too bad we can’t say that for the tome itself, but we’ll get back to that in a minute.

Books Nancy Sundstrom In general, book reviewers tend to gravitate toward and steer other readers on to works of quality, ones that merit a solid recommendation and are worth plunking down your hard-earned dollars for or giving up spare precious time to enjoy.

Books Nancy Sundstrom Marian Keyes is a talented, intelligent, prolific Irish novelist who, nearly single-handedly, has put the “lit” into chick-lit. Keyes’ books are chatty, charming and cheeky, and fairly crackle with killer one-liners and insightful observations about women, careers and relationships. Throw credibility and heart into the mix, and you’ve got works that completely engage while they entertain.

Books Nancy Sundstrom We all have many reasons for looking forward (all year-long) to summer, and that‘s certainly the case if you love books.  Of course, there are always new “beach reads,“ but summertime also traditionally brings with it a number of paperback releases, works by new authors and eagerly-awaited titles.

Books Nancy Sundstrom BBC host, screenplay author and literary personality Sarah Dunant is one of Britain‘s most innovative suspense and travel writers, so critics and fans alike were holding their breath as they awaited release of her first historical novel earlier this spring.

Books Nancy Sundstrom After a lifetime of responding to jokes about his last name, it was probably inevitable that Steve Almond should finally cave in and write an open love letter to the world of sweets in the form of “Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America.“

Books Nancy Sundstrom As a longtime fan of the gifted author Anne Tyler, I had very much been looking forward to reading her latest and 16th novel, “The Amateur Marriage,“ when it came out earlier this winter.  Just as the book was released, my own 25-year marriage came spiraling apart, and try as I might, I just couldn‘t seem to immerse myself in Tyler‘s tale of two people who love each other deeply but seem to be unable to live together – it simply cut too close to the bone.

Books Nancy Sundstrom Continuing with a trend that this reviewer has been particularly enjoying as of late, another engaging and entertaining memoir has surfaced The title is “40 Watts From Nowhere,“ and the author is Sue Carpenter, a feature writer for the Los Angeles Times and a senior contributor to Jane magazine., whose work has also appeared in such publications as George, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan.

Books Nancy Sundstrom Readers worldwide have had a longstanding love affair with books about New York City, a trend that has shown no sign of diminishing in the recent years, thanks largely to the works of gifted authors like Don DeLilo, Richard Price and Tom Wolfe, to name just a few.

Books Nancy Sundstrom For writer Helene Stapinski (“Five Finger Discount“), there are a lot of
parallels between being in a relationship and being in a rock band. Hence
the title of her delightful and sometimes heartbreaking new memoir about
band life and marital problems, “Baby Plays Around: A Love Affair, With
Music.“

Books Nancy Sundstrom The book‘s title intrigued me first, but once I‘d confirmed its subject matter, I just planned on sitting down and not getting up until I‘d finished it off.

Features Nancy Sundstrom In just a few short years, the Great Lakes Children‘s Museum (GLCM) has become one of Northern Michigan‘s, premier attractions. Located in downtown Traverse City, the new museum was voted “Best Place to Take Kids“ in the recent Northern Express “Best of Northern Michigan“ poll.

Books Nancy Sundstrom If you intend on picking up “Handsome Harry,“ the eighth novel from James C. Blake, then plan on spending some time with it. That doesn‘t mean it‚s a hefty read - more that it‘s one that you‚ll most likely have an extremely hard time putting down, especially if you‘re any sort of afficionado of crime novels.

Books Nancy Sundstrom Ten years ago, when Traverse City native Samantha Abeel was just 13-years-old, she collaborated with local artist Charles Murphy to create “Reach for the Moon,“ a stunning collection of evocative poetry accompanied by Murphy‘s beautiful and unique watercolors.

Books Nancy Sundstrom With books like Augusten Burroughs‘ “Running With Scissors“ and James Frey‘s
“A Million Little Pieces,“ 2003 was a very good year for angst-ridden
memoirs by troubled young men who are also brilliant young writers.