‘Full Measure’ is realistic on every level

Full MeasureBy T. Jefferson Parker (St. Martin’s Press)T. Jefferson Parker, known for his crime novels, delivers an emotional and gut-wrenching literary departure that’s miles away from what his fans and readers would expect in “Full Measure.” Patrick Norris returns home after a military tour in Afghanistan. He has been forever changed by the horrors he faced, the people he was forced to kill and the friends he watched die. Patrick is happy to see his family and start a small sport fishing busin

Oct. 16, 2014

Couple finds lost spark in ‘Brightwell’

Murder at the BrightwellBy Ashley Weaver (Minotaur)At the heart of this light, energetic tale of a group of wealthy eccentrics on holiday at a seaside resort in England emerges a story of a marriage. Yes, there’s a juicy scandal, snobbish comments and petty disagreements among people of a certain class feeling carefree and insular in 1932 Kent. It’s all very Downton Abbey. But “Murder at the Brightwell” by Ashley Weaver also proves to be an insightful look at a marriage that started with a stron

Oct. 16, 2014

‘Truth Be Told’ has romance, humor

Truth Be ToldBy Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest entry to feature investigative reporter Jane Ryland showcases the author’s ability to balance humor, gripping drama, romance and contemporary issues. In “Truth Be Told,” Ryland is investigating families who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. While onsite at a house that a bank is taking away from a family, Ryland sees police and then the medical examiner arrive. When Detective Jake Brogan arrives on the scene, Ryland

Oct. 16, 2014

New history of ‘Star Wars’

How Star Wars Conquered the UniverseBy Chris Taylor (Basic Books)“How Star Wars Conquered The Universe” by Chris Taylor is an immensely readable look at the worldwide impact of the “Star Wars” saga over the decades. He calls it “a biography of ‘Star Wars.’”The book covers more than the six movies, cartoons and authorized adaptations. The history includes the fans and their vast creativity and explores the franchise that has become a cultural touchstone with worldwide reach.“I was really very con

Oct. 16, 2014

Australia’s Flanagan wins Booker fiction prize

LONDON (AP) ― Australian writer Richard Flanagan won the Booker Prize on Tuesday with a visceral book about wartime brutality and its aftermath ― a novel the head of the judging team said was as powerful as a kick in the stomach. Flanagan drew on his father’s experiences as a World War II prisoner of the Japanese for “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” which centers on the Burma Death Railway, built with forced labor at the cost of tens of thousands of lives. Named after a classic work of Japan

Oct. 15, 2014

Choi In-ho’s novel published in English

The late beloved Korean novelist Choi In-ho (1945-2013)’s novel “Another Man’s City” was published in English in the United States this week. “Another Man’s City” is the author’s last full-length novel written in 2011 before he died in September 2013 at age 68 after a long battle with cancer. The novel centers on protagonist K, who experiences gradual and increasing shifts and changes in everything he believed to be true. Choi In-ho’s “Another Man’s City.” (Dalkey Archive Press)The scenario of t

Oct. 15, 2014

Finding home in words: Book club serves homeless

MADISON, Wisconsin ― Sipping coffee and nibbling slices of cake, book club members paged through tattered copies of Alice Walker’s novel “Meridian” and discussed the death imagery throughout the first few chapters of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s work.They took turns reading out loud, helping those who had difficulty deciphering some words.All of the paperbacks had been donated. These book club members can’t afford to buy books. And none has bookshelves at home.They don’t have homes.The ho

Oct. 15, 2014

Tory Burch book gives look at what inspires her

DALLAS (AP) ― Tory Burch’s new book is all about color, a compilation of the influences that inspire her, from people to music to art to culture to travel to home design.“It’s this eclectic mix, and that’s really what our company’s about as well, so it made perfect sense. It was really taking all the references that inspire us,” Burch told The Associated Press while in Dallas for an event Friday to kick off the release of her first book.“Tory Burch in Color,” set to be released Tuesday by Abrams

Oct. 14, 2014

Nobel prize boosts Modiano’s book sales

Following the announcement of French novelist Patrick Modiano as the recipient of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, on Oct. 9, domestic sales of his books have boosted. Modiano’s titles, including his renowned 1978 novel “Missing Person” had been introduced in Korea, but never appeared among the top-selling titles in the past. According to Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book chain, a total of 1,200 books written by Modiano have been sold since last Thursday ― 300 in stores and 900 o

Oct. 13, 2014

[Newsmaker] Young writers debut on global literary scene

When people think of Korea, many identify the country with K-pop, TV dramas and, to a lesser extent, films. As the Korean wave, or Hallyu, has been shaped around the popular Korean culture, the country is taking the chance to prove the excellence of other aspects of Korean culture. This time, young Korean writers and editors have gathered to introduce contemporary Korean literature. Under the title “K-fiction,” the project has released Korean-English translations of short stories by young, emerg

Oct. 9, 2014

Kim Young-ha probes into modern Korean society in new essay

Kim Young-ha, one of South Korea’s most celebrated novelists of his generation, has published a book of essays titled “See,” collating his thoughts and observances of changes in Korean society since his return from New York in 2012.The much-awaited book came five years after his previous collection of essays “Remember What You Have Lost” was published in 2009. “I used to live like a radio station from a government in exile,” Kim wrote of his motivation for the book. “I once believed that my job

Sept. 22, 2014

Journalist’s memoir lacks personal insight

Foreign Correspondent: A MemoirBy H.D.S. Greenway(Simon & Schuster)A memoir is defined as a written account in which someone describes past experiences. Longtime journalist David Greenway certainly does that in “Foreign Correspondent: A Memoir.” Working for Time, The Washington Post and others, he covered nearly every significant historical conflict during the past half-century from Vietnam and Israel to Afghanistan and Iraq. Greenway’s book serves as an excellent primer to America’s history of

Sept. 18, 2014

Professor looks at economics of slavery

The image of the genteel, benevolent Southern slave owner was the creation of early 20th century artists and writers like D.W. Griffith and Margaret Mitchell. Life on the antebellum plantation, they led us to believe, was as languid as a slow-moving river winding through magnolia trees.At about the same time, American historians were writing the first analyses of slave-centered Southern society. Slavery was an economically inefficient institution, they argued. For slave owners, profit was a seco

Sept. 18, 2014

‘Hold the Dark’ no simple crime story

Hold the DarkBy William Giraldi (Liveright) If dark, violent novels aren’t usually my cup of tea, why did “Hold the Dark” exert such a hold over me, right from the start? “Hold the Dark” begins simply enough ― wolves have taken three children from a tiny Alaska hamlet. Medora Slone, mother of the most recent missing child, beckons Russell Core, a nature writer who has become a wolf expert after living with them for a year in Yellowstone, to her village that is so far off the grid that it doesn’t

Sept. 18, 2014

Novel with vivid sense of Japan

Tokyo KillBy Barry Lancet (Simon & Schuster)Art, social issues, culture and, yes, war ― all the things that make or break a society ― converge in Barry Lancet’s exciting second novel about antiques dealer Jim Brodie, who inherited his father’s Tokyo-based private investigation and personal protection firm. Lancet delves deep to illustrate the intricacies of Asian culture in “Tokyo Kill,” while also delivering a believable, action-packed plot. The combination of Brodie’s occupations might seem od

Sept. 18, 2014

‘Blind Spot’ picks up Jesse Stone novels

Robert B. Parker’s Blind SpotBy Reed Farrel Coleman (Putnam)Although Robert B. Parker died in 2010, stories about iconic Boston private eye Spenser have continued through novels by Ace Atkins. Now award-winning author Reed Farrel Coleman takes up the mantle by continuing the Jesse Stone novels with “Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot.” In his first outing with Jesse Stone, Coleman deftly captures the nuances of this character who Parker introduced in 1997 and featured in nine novels. Parker was caref

Sept. 18, 2014

Historic fantasy to inspire youth

Most people in their 70s slow down when it comes to work and settle into the comfort of retirement ― but not Daisy Lee Yang. Instead, the former teacher, doctorate in comparative and international education, diplomat’s wife, and loving grandmother pursued a new chapter in her life. She decided to write a novel with a superhero whom her grandchildren can look up to. The result is “Lady Bora from Diamond Mountain,” a historical fantasy novel of a super heroine during the Joseon era (1392-1910). Th

Sept. 18, 2014

‘Champagne Supernovas’ explores ’90s fashion world

“Champagne Supernovas: Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and the ’90s Renegades Who Remade Fashion” puts readers in the front row and three of the era’s biggest names in the catwalk spotlight. Author Maureen Callahan contends that the waifish, plain models and thrift-shop grunge aesthetic of ’90s fashion was an antidote to the “Glamazons” and gold-plated excess of the 1980s. There was a hunger for authenticity, and no one kept it more real than designers McQueen and Jacobs, and their mu

Sept. 11, 2014

Following the footprints of Korea’s past

Veteran journalist Lee Ki-hwan, with a writing career that has spanned almost three decades, believes that one can’t really live meaningfully in the present without references to the past.A journalist and history buff, Lee has been writing a history column titled “Lee Ki-hwan’s History with a Trace” for the vernacular daily Kyunghyang Shinmun since August 2011, focusing mostly on the Joseon era (1392-1910), but considering other periods as well.He begins his new book “History with a Trace” ― bas

Sept. 11, 2014

‘Summer of the Dead’ has powerful plot

Summer of the DeadBy Julia Keller (Minotaur Books)Small towns ― where everyone knows your name and keeping secrets seems unfathomable ― can be hotbeds of concealment. No one really knows what goes on behind closed doors or within a family’s dynamics. Julia Keller’s third novel set in the Appalachian community of Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, expertly explores how people in small towns hide in plain sight many of their flaws, hopes and even a propensity for violence. Keller’s insights into the vaga

Sept. 11, 2014