BOOKS
It’s summertime, and if your workload is lighter, you may actually have time to read for pleasure. As you pull out your sappy romance, sci-fi, suspense or mystery novel, try to be discreet while enjoying your favorite “guilty pleasures.”
July 01, 2009
All the books you’ll “never” read but might be worth the embarrassment
It’s summertime, and if your workload is lighter, you may actually have time to read for pleasure. As you pull out your sappy romance, sci-fi, suspense or mystery novel, try to be discreet while enjoying your favorite “guilty pleasures.”
June 24, 2009
Wireless digital reading becomes a portable reality with Amazon’s latest e-reader
The iPhone changed the way we use our cell phones, the Nintendo Wii took us into the future of simulated gaming, and now Amazon’s Kindle is poised to revolutionize reading.
June 17, 2009
Wine guru Karen MacNeil gives insights into the world of red and white refreshment
The “pop” of a cork as it flies off a champagne bottle is evocative of many things: A celebration is in order, it’s time to decompress, or someone’s about to get lucky.
June 03, 2009
DearReader.com introduces new books and encourages reading among Columbians
There’s online shopping, online classes, online TV shows — now online book clubs? The Columbia branch of the Daniel Boone Regional Library system has teamed up with a program called Dear Reader to introduce this new trend to you lazy, er, technologically savvy folk. DearReader.com founder Suzanne Beecher created her Web site in 1999 to encourage people to get into the habit of reading, and her club now boasts a membership of over 350,000 people.
May 27, 2009
The weird world of niche magazines that you never knew existed
It’s Amateur Radio instead of Allure, Rock and Ice instead of Food and Wine, and Online Genealogy instead of O. Each of these niche magazines can be found in Columbia, and Vox is here to take you inside the pages. We unearthed just a few niche magazines in case you need the perfect periodical for the cat lady with afghan quilts galore or the trench coat-wearing kid who never steps away from his horror-ridden videogames. Here are just a handful of the crazy, quirky magazines found around town.
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University details Roose’s experience as a Liberty student and his attempts to learn about the oft-ridiculed but little-studied, subculture of Christian evangelism.
Kevin Roose takes a break from Brown University to spend a semester studying Liberty
(Web Exclusive) Several topics shouldn’t be brought up at a cocktail party. Politics, sexual preferences and religion are especially sensitive issues, as Kevin Roose learned firsthand. At age 19, Roose left his liberal haven at Brown University and traveled to the über-conservative Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He documented his experience in The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University.
May 20, 2009
CoMo's writers turn to these books when their creativity runs dry
Writer’s block. It comes for even the most accomplished authors. When the creative tank is running on empty, one of the most useful places to fill it up is in another book. Vox gets recommendations from four Columbia writers for books to read when the creative juices aren’t so juicy.
(Web Exclusive) George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, always demands the best. In 1996, Steinbrenner chose Joe Torre as the team’s 18th manager in 19 years, and Torre miraculously stretched his employment to 2007. Steinbrenner’s decision was controversial as Torre had just been fired from the St. Louis Cardinals after five years of mediocre managing. Throughout its 500 pages,The Yankee Years praises Torre’s managing techniques unabashedly. But when managing the baseball team with the highest major league payroll how much success is based on his personal genius?
May 14, 2009
Dan Brown’s secret for success catapults book-a-likes to stardom
Back in elementary school, “copycat” was a vicious insult. Nowadays, Dan Brown could throw out quite a few insults as writers attempt to copy his formula for writing best-selling thrillers. Authors hope to achieve the success that Brown has found — The Da Vinci Code sold 81 million copies and made $758 million at the box office — however, such authors probably would prefer not to have their names tied so closely to controversy. Angels & Demons opens in theaters tomorrow, so take notes. You might learn a thing or two about Brown’s methods.
(Web Exclusive) Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, was unaware that his books would be controversial because they centered on topics that have been around for years. Or so he says on his Web site. Brown’s threshold for debate seems pretty high. But something must be up if the Vatican, people with albinism and Brown’s colleagues don’t like him.
(Web Exclusive) DNA. It’s more than an acronym for an acidic tongue twister. It’s where you place blame when your hairline begins to recede and why you unintentionally find yourself imitating the square personalities of your parents. It ultimately determines what you look like based on those who came before you. So for those with a less-than-ideal lineage like protagonist Summer Davis in The Visibles, the infamous double helix can wind up causing chaos and confusion.
April 30, 2009
How to navigate the self-help section’s highs and lows
Only in the self-help section can someone learn how to think like a woman, make a million dollars in a month and learn the secrets of self-hypnosis. With so many options on the shelves, it might be hard to distinguish the books that offer sound advice and those that fill the pages with enough fluff to stuff a pillow. But Columbia’s experts are here to help.
Some self-help books fall short of their goals
(Web Exclusive) The self-help section of your local bookstore has solutions to almost any problem. Have a broken heart that needs mending? Check. Indulged in one too many Krispy Kremes? Got it covered. Just stay away from these titles, or risk further screwing up your life.
April 23, 2009
Jane Austen joins the undead
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a classic novel in possession of a good reputation must be in want of a zombie theme. In the case of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, that means a breakdown of about 80 percent Jane Austen to 20 percent random zombie mayhem, all of it clothed in a cover picture worth much more than a thousand words.
When movie monsters attack the summer reading list
(Web Exclusive) You loved the Grapes of Wrath as much as you went crazy for Godzilla. Find out what happens when they're put together. Or, if you're more of a Catcher in the Rye person, take a look at the Vampire in the Rye!
April 16, 2009
John Elder Robison opens up about Asperger’s in his memoir
One crucial piece of information was missing throughout John Elder Robison’s life. He grew up knowing he was different from everyone else but was unsure why. “All of my life I felt like I was a freak and a misfit,” Robison says. “When I learned I wasn’t like some sociopath, and I was a normal person, that was such a tremendously liberating thing.”
April 09, 2009
Madoff causes a catastrophe on Wall Street
The face of investment manager Bernie Madoff, eerily framed in black and hovering above a sea of burning bills, is not exactly the most sophisticated choice for a book cover. The writing in Catastrophe: The Story of Bernard L. Madoff, the Man Who Swindled the World reflects a similar level of advancement.
The list of schemers and swindlers goes on
(Web Exclusive) Watergate, Enron, New Jersey corruption and yet another Ponzi scheme start the catalog of books covering the sleaze that has sullied the country. Several authors, some with experience in investigative reporting, have worked their way into the thorny details behind these shattering events. These four books narrate a few of the most recent of the epic disasters.
April 02, 2009
David Sedaris’ life is once again engulfed in flames
David Sedaris’ rise to mainstream success has always revolved around his dry, often self-deprecating sense of humor and his inimitable way of looking at the world.His newest collection of essays, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, quickly ran to the top of the New York Times Nonfiction Bestsellers list in June and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks.
