by Steven Johnson Genres: British History, Science, Nonfiction, Heath & Medicine Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover Length: 299 pages Published: October 19, 2006 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars  Official Book Summary: “From Steven Johnson, the dynamic thinker routinely compared to James Gleick, Dava Sobel, and Malcolm […]

by David Laskin Genres: U.S. History, Nonfiction, Science and Nature Publisher: Harper Perennial Length: 307 pages Published: October 11, 2005 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible My Goodreads Rating: 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: “The gripping story of an epic prairie snowstorm that killed hundreds of newly arrived settlers […]

by Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Biography, Food Publisher: Anchor Books Length: 353 pages Published: republished June 23, 2009 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble Note: This memoir is the inspiration for the popular film Julie & Julia. My Goodreads Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: “The bestselling story […]

by Adam Begley Genre: Biography, Art Publisher: Tim Duggan Books Length: 256 pages Published: July 11, 2017 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble Thank you to Goodreads and Tim Duggan Books for sending me an advanced copy of The Great Nadar: The Man Behind the Camera. Official Book Summary: “A dazzling, stylish biography of a […]

by Carol Lynch Williams Genres: Children’s Literature, Middle Grade, Fiction, Fantasy  Publisher: Shadow Mountain  Length: 176 pages  Published: April 3, 2018  Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble Note: Among many other titles, Carol Lynch Williams is also the author of The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson which I read years ago (4 out of 5 […]

by J.D. Vance Genres: Autobiography, Nonfiction, Politics Publisher: Harper Length: 257 pages Published: June 28, 2016 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble My Goodreads Rating: 2 out of 5 stars (did not finish) Official Book Summary: “From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a powerful account of growing up in a poor Rust […]

As you head back-to-school or fill your fall calendar with events and to-do lists, don’t forget to add the dates of upcoming book releases! It only takes a few minutes, but pre-ordering a few books now can help provide some much needed stress-relief during your moments of downtime this fall. Here are some of the […]

by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaites Genres: History, Young Adult, World War II, Biography, Historical Fiction Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Length: 424 pages Published: October 10, 2017 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble My Goodreads Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: “Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita […]

As you head back-to-school or fill your fall calendar with events and to-do lists, don’t forget to add the dates of upcoming book releases! It only takes a few minutes, but pre-ordering a few books now can help provide some much needed stress-relief during your moments of downtime this fall. Here are some of the […]

by Kiera Cass Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Romance, Fairy-Tale Retelling Publisher: HarperTeen Length: 267 pages Published: July 1, 2009 Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible Note: Kiera Cass is the bestselling author of the young adult romance series, The Selection. My Goodreads Rating: 2.5 or 3 out of 5 stars Official Book Summary: […]

I recently attended the 19th Annual Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival hosted by Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. Each year the two-day festival hosts school children, school teachers, librarians, college students, scholars, and fans of children’s literature. The festival begins with one day of events for the school children followed by a one day conference […]

I am happy to share that I was recently selected as a recipient of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Student Travel Award. These travel funds are based upon an application process and then reviewed and awarded by the Women’s and Gender Studies Advisory Board. Up to three students can receive the […]

I recently returned from the 2014 Dickens Universe conference held at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dickens Universe is the annual conference put on by the Dickens Project, an organization that also hosts institutes, publications, and gatherings for the study of Victorian literature at secondary and post-secondary levels. The Dickens Project consortium consists of […]

I am happy to announce that I recently had a journal article accepted for publication. My essay, “George MacDonald’s Frightening Female: Menopause and Makemnoit in The Light Princess,” will appear in a forthcoming volume of North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald Studies. The North Wind journal is edited by John Pennington and Fernando Soto […]