Book Review: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley [spoiler alert and language warning]

On a foggy summer night, eleven people — ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter — depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are the painter Scott Burroughs and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.

 

I’ve been on a bit of murder kick lately, so when Georgia Hardstock of the super-cool podcast My Favorite Murder recommended Noah Hawley’s Before the Fall, I eagerly grabbed a copy. This review will contain the big spoiler, so consider yourself warned. (more…)

Top Ten Survival Books to Get You Safely Through the Storm

Hurricanes, Wildfires, Tornados, Floods, there are endless disasters, natural and man-made, that threaten humans on a daily basis – are you prepared? We’ve put together a checklist of top survival books to get you safely through the storms. SAS Survival Guide by John “Lofty” Wiseman A classic outdoor manual covering every numerous disaster scenarios, this book has gone through multiple editions and sold millions of copies. John Wiseman was a former survival instructor for Britain’s elite Special Air Force. The … Continued

Collecting Thomas Wolfe

Here in Asheville, NC, where Thomas Wolfe and Biblio.com both have their roots, Wolfe’s novels have always been well known and touted throughout the small mountain town. Actually – that’s not true at all – Wolfe left Asheville when he was 15 and didn’t come back until right before his death at the young age of 37 – and his reception during his visit wasn’t the welcome homecoming he was hoping for.  But Asheville was never far from his thoughts, … Continued

An uncommon collectible – City Directories

Don’t throw those Yellow Pages away quite yet! City directories are an interesting niche where the world of collectible books and ephemera meet. While they aren’t the most riveting object to collect, city directories deserve a place on the shelf of a some collectors. For example, if your book collection based on your hometown, a city directory can be a great addition! Famous businesses, family names, and other facts about the town are beautifully bound in a directory. These annual … Continued

Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018)   Nothing can replicate the screen presence of Burt Reynolds, but there are some excellent books available about the acting giant. But Enough About Me  by Burt Reynolds and Jon Winokur This memoir, published in 2015, is described as “scandalous, sentimental, no-holds-barred, New York Times bestselling memoir from one of Hollywood’s most enduring and resilient stars.”         Burt Reynolds: My Life Published in 1994 by Hyperion, Reynolds admits that he censored … Continued

Collecting Popular Authors of the 2000s

Continuing where we left off with Collecting Popular Authors of the 1990s, here are some mega-bestsellers from the 2000s and their most collectable works: John Sandford Born, John Roswell Camp, John Sandford (2/23/1944) starting writing for newspapers, winning a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for a series in 1985 titled “Life on the Land: an American farm family.” He then turned his attention to fiction, and began writing his most popular works, the Prey Series, starting with Rules of Prey … Continued

Collecting Popular Authors of the 1990s

Collecting Popular Authors of the 1990s Collecting popular fiction from best-selling authors may seem like heresy for some – there is nothing rare about most of these commercially printed books, and some book scholars may snub their noses at the literary value. But collecting doesn’t have to be high-brow or based purely on monetary value, it can just be fun. If you have a passion for a popular author there is no reason to not dub yourself a bibliophile and … Continued

The Enduring Relevance of Dr. Seuss’s Political Cartoons and Illustrations

“And the Wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones…But those were Foreign Children and it really didn’t matter” An early Dr. Seuss cartoon has gone viral for the second time in recent years. First used as a condemnation against international inaction regarding the crimes against humanity in Syria in 2015, the cartoon has more recently been used to oppose the detention camps on the US-Mexico border, where children are being separated from parents seeking asylum in the … Continued

Beloved Bears in Children’s Literature

Goofy and Lovable Bears are an Important Cornerstone in Children’s Literature There’s just something about bears. For an animal so potentially dangerous, they have become a staple in children’s literature. A given a quick glance over their representation in children’s books and it’s easy to understand why — they’re large, fluffy, and endearingly dopey. And for the last nearly 100 years, they have maintained a permanent presence in libraries and children’s bookshelves. We highlight some of the most well-known literary … Continued

A Complete List of Anthony Bourdain’s Books

A Career In Writing Anthony Bourdain may be best known as the television persona traveling the world and eating exotic cuisines in his hit shows on the Food Network A Cook’s Tour, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and The Layover, along with CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, but he is also the author of multiple best-selling books. Most of his books, both fiction and non-fiction, center around cooking and food, including his first breakout best-seller Kitchen Confidential, published in 2001. The … Continued