The Best of the Abbott and Costello Show

The two CDs in this set from the Great Radio Shows series provide over two hours of hilarious classic sketches of Abbott and Costello working their comic genius.
Bud Abbott (the straight man) worked vaudeville for many years before teaming up with Lou Costello in 1929. They started performing on radio shows in 1938 and had [...]

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The Cinderella Rules, by Donna Kauffman

After their mother died, Darby Landon developed a protective instinct about her younger, ditzy sister Pepper — and she lets herself get talked into bailing Pepper out again and again. The latest scheme is to take Pepper’s place escorting a potential business partner of her father’s around D.C. while Pepper whiles away some time [...]

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Lost & Found, by Jacqueline Sheehan

I made the mistake of picking up Lost & Found to read while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Within the first few pages, I was crying and getting strange looks in the waiting room. It wasn’t the sort of impression I wanted to give strangers – but I was quickly drawn into Rocky’s [...]

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Dead Girls are Easy, by Terri Garey

A near death experience leaves vintage clothing store owner Nicki Styx with a crush on the delicious Dr. Joe Bascombe — and the ability to see ghosts. After she decides she’s not going crazy (but how to keep others from thinking she’s nuts is another problem!), she realizes she needs to help these ghosts [...]

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The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler

The title caught my eye — how could you not pick up this book to see what it’s about? I was delighted to find the story inside engaging and clever.
The Earth… is a Young Adult novel about Virginia Shreves, the youngest daughter in a seemingly perfect family, though Virginia doesn’t think she’s so perfect.
She [...]

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The Last Time I Was Me, by Cathy Lamb

My sister recommended this book, and I loved it! It’s got all the great elements of a fantastic chick lit – friends, career, personal growth, a dead body, parties, humor, romance… all tied up in likable characters.
Jeanne Stewart isn’t a twenty-something looking for her first career. She’s a successful PR rep who works too [...]

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Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard

Generally, we think of a pilgrim as one who leaves his or her home in search of enlightenment or spiritual awakening. In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard does the opposite. She stays put in her cabin by the banks of Tinker Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, and lets the natural [...]

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Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey

Some of the best known naturalists seem to take to their work from a desire to be alone in the wild. Think of John Muir hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains for weeks at a time or Peter Matthiessen trekking in the Himalayas in search of snow leopards. The urge for solitude can also be [...]

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Journey into Summer, by Edwin Way Teale

In the 1950s, naturalist and writer Edwin Way Teale made a series of car trips with his wife Nellie across the U.S. from north to south and east to west. Along the way, Teale recorded his encounters with researchers, other naturalists, scientists, and particularly with the wildlife, both plant and animal, of the American countryside. [...]

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A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold

Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is one of the benchmark titles of the ecological movement, and one that continues to resonate in the 21st century. Leopold’s essays set the tone for writing about conservation and the need for our culture to place a value on the preservation of the natural world. The book was [...]

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