AltWeeklies Wire
Dawn Shamp Celebrates 1920s Roxboro in Her Debut Novelnew
On Account of Conspicuous Women is a picturesque, historically thoughtful look at four young women who become friends in 1920 -- a time when women, recently armed with the right to vote, faced the new challenge of proving their equality with men.
Sci-Fi Set in ... North Carolina?new
North Carolina is better known for tales of ghosts in the hills than fairies and magic, but that didn't stop Warren Rochelle.
Geraldine Brooks' Thrilling Yarn of Biblical Scholarshipnew
Her historical fiction, inspired by a recent real-life discovery, makes a speculative journey with the embattled Haggadah all the way back to its imagined creation in medieval Spain.
'The Feasting Season' Offers a Wine Romancenew
The food novel is a sensuous, luscious read, one foodies and fiction aficionados will be glad they got their hands on before the inevitable movie is made (how about Diane Lane and Vincent Cassel?).
Dispirit of the Seasonnew
Michael Knight's slim volume The Holiday Season might make a good stocking stuffer for family members in need of escape and commiseration after the shrapnel of present-opening has settled, the eggnog has curdled and cabin fever has set in.
Verbal Landscapes of Durham Poet Tony Tostnew
These poems will not take readers gently by the hand and guide us from point A to point B. We are given breadcrumbs to follow and led deeper and deeper into the forest of Tost's language.
Jeanne M. Leiby Debuts with her Childhood Detroitnew
One thing Downriver, the debut short story collection by Jeanne M. Leiby, will certainly not make you want to do is to move south of Detroit, the setting of most of her stories.
'The Air We Breathe' Blends Science, History & Political Allegorynew
Communities are fragile and corruptible things, but Barrett is building, book by book, a stronger, closer, brighter and better one than ours.
'The Big Beautiful': Reach the Beachnew
Above all, Duncan's authentic writing and character exploration allow us to believe in Cassandra's emotional journey from feckless bride to a mature woman who follows her heart while taking physical and emotional risks.
Don't Judge this Book by its Whimsical Covernew
Wallace's fourth novel has a grim worldview -- remember, it may be dedicated to children, yet it isn't a children's book.
The All-embracing Fiction of Alex Mindtnew
Mindt wants to understand everything, even love everything -- and he wants to sing about it -- and his interests in Male of the Species are omnivorous and avid.
Tags: Alex Mindt, Male of the Species
A Fire Engine Rednecknew
The final, unfinished novel of the late, great Larry Brown.
Tags: A Miracle of Catfish, Larry Brown
Day Before Tomorrow: Cory Doctorow's Techno-Presentnew
In an era when the wonders of modern technology exceed our imaginations, boingboing.net co-editor Cory Doctorow understands that to write about the future, you have to write about the present.
Ordinary Madnessnew
Parker is a natural comedian, his ear is keen and close to the ground, and his search for a soul-cure is so genuine, so devout, that his occasional aerobatics of purplish lyricism don't fly away with his stories.
Nothing Up His Sleevenew
In his latest novel, the cartoonist and novelist shows too little imagination in his appropriations of Southern history and literature.
Tags: Doug Marlette, Magic Time
