Submit your questions for Civil War author Jeff Shaara

Jeff Shaara

(Submitted photo)

This week, I have a phone call planned with Jeff Shaara, a best-selling Civil War author  – “A Chain of Thunder: A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg” comes out tomorrow, May 21.

The interview is in advance of his appearances at The Gettysburg Festival and in York hosted by the York County Heritage Trust.

So we figured we’d ask our readers — what do you want to know about Shaara?

Whether you’ve read his novels and love Civil War history or are just curious, submit your questions via a comment here or email to schain@ydr.com. We’ll use some of them in the interview and publish Shaara’s answers along with the story in June.

Put on your thinking caps — on your marks, get set… go!

Posted in Author visit, Best-sellers, Book news, Civil War books, Fiction, Historical fiction, Local events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shrewsbury author launches Kickstarter campaign for second gravehunting book

Kevin Buck KickstarterShrewsbury author Kevin Buck already has one book under his belt, a compilation of tributes he’s done at graves of several pop-culture icons.

So why launch a Kickstarter campaign for his second book, “Together Forever Within Our Hearts,” a tribute to entertainment’s famous partnerships?

Licensing costs, Buck explained on his Kickstarter page. After substituting several public domain photos in “Looking for Miss Crabtree,” published in 2012, Buck decided he didn’t want to make the same compromises in his next book.

Continue reading

Posted in Book news, Celebrity, Local author, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Series Sunday: ‘City of Dragons’ by Robin Hobb

Each Sunday, Caryn Rupert shares a book from a series. You can read along with her, or add the books to your own reading list. This week, she read “City of Dragons,” the third book in The Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb.

City of Dragons UKThe pace of Robin Hobb’s story picks up in the third book of the “Rain Wilds Chronicles” as dragons and keepers arrive at Kelsingra, a fabled yet deserted city. The keepers and dragons try to make something out of their new freedom and empty city, but struggle with the rules of their village that they left behind and the memories of the Elderlings that were left in Kelsingra.

The story also takes on a couple new parts. Hobb tells the tale of Chalced, an enemy territory. The decrepit man who rules the faraway city wants to live forever and needs the body parts of a dragon to return him to youthfulness. In “Dragon Haven,” he was mentioned, but in “City of Dragons,” a handful of scenes depict his callousness. The Duke is pure evil, locking away one of his daughters because she’s next in line to inherit the throne from him. The Duke has spies in Trehaug, Cassarick and Bingtown, where the other characters come from.

One spy finds Hest and tortures him  to convince him to hunt for dragons on Sedric’s behalf. While Sedric was evil for a while, becoming a keeper changed him. Sedric finds new happiness with Carson, one of the other keepers, and forgets about Hest. Continue reading

Posted in Book review, Fantasy, Fiction, Series Sunday | Leave a comment

‘Cooked’ by Michael Pollan

Cooked by Michael PollanI am a big fan of Michael Pollan. His best-known book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” was the first book that made me think about where my food comes from. (The grocery, of course, but where did it begin? What was it treated with? How far did it travel?) 

His shorter volumes, “In Defense of Food” and “Food Rules,” engaged my hunger (pun not intentional… I promise!) for simplifying my habits of cooking, for returning to whole foods and real ingredients, for taking the time to cook meals instead of relying on premade meals.

So when I saw Martin Library had ordered a copy of Pollan’s new book, “Cooked,” I requested it right away. And I have to say, I wasn’t impressed.

Continue reading

Posted in Book review, Food, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Dig Into Reading’ with York County Libraries’ summer reading club

summer-reading-york-libraries

Holding a stuffed ‘Pete the Cat’ toy, Giovanni Silimperi, then 5, of Manchester Township, listens as storyteller Miss Ellen reads aloud the book ‘Pete the Cat’ at Sovereign Bank Stadium as the 2012 Summer Reading Club kicked off. (YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS — FILE)

By DEB SULLIVAN 
On the Shelves 

Summer is one of those funny times. As parents, we look forward to having more time with our kids over summer vacation.

The stress of getting everyone up and moving for school is gone for a few months. It’s a chance to slow down. You can kick around, go to the park, swim, even have a picnic lunch on the back porch. The daily rush goes away.

But alas, as the days pass, the gentler pace becomes a challenge as the kids don’t quite know what to do to fill their time.

My best advice to forgo the summer doldrums is to head to the York County library closest to you. It is by far the best entertainment bargain around.

Continue reading

Posted in Book news, For fun, For kids, Gardening, Library events, Local events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Carl Alves releases ‘Blood Street’ e-book

"Blood Street" by Carl Alves“Wherever there are mafia members, there’s usually blood involved, not to mention a good chance that corpses aren’t too far behind. One could also say the same for vampires.”

That’s how Mechanicsburg author Carl Alves describes his second novel, “Blood Street.” It follows Alexei, a vampire who angers Philadelphia mob boss Enzo Salerno when he claims Salerno’s associate as his latest victim — and it’s coming soon as an e-book.

The e-book will be available through True Grit Publishing May 20 for $2.99.

Posted in Book news, Coming soon, E-books, Local author | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From Page to Projector: ‘The Great Gatsby’

gatsbyHigh school reading staple “The Great Gatsby” has been adapted to film before, but the most recent version is a very different take on the classic tale of the American Dream gone wrong. Previous iterations, such as the 1974 film starring Robert Redford and the 2000 A&E TV movie starring Toby Stevens, have tried to tell F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story in a straight-forward manner, capturing the aesthetic and look of the 1920s. The version in theaters now makes a lot of stylistic changes, and director Baz Luhrmann chooses to melt the Roaring ’20s with the present day, an idea that general audiences and fans of the book have been awaiting with great curiosity.

Did the modernization enhance the story? Critics disagree on that front, though they (for the most part) agree on two things: The visuals are stunning, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Gatsby is terrific. The 3D-made visuals, the hefty use of CGI and the hip-hop-heavy soundtrack have some purists crying foul, as does the film’s unique framing of the story, which is totally different from the book. Largely, though, the movie’s story is true to the source, and the 21st-century tone helps the tale hit home to those who might be taking in the story for the first time.

Continue reading

Posted in At the movies, Book review, Books made into movies, Fiction, From Page to Projector | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recently released: ‘Inferno’ by Dan Brown

Inferno by Dan BrownFlipside’s Bethany Fehlinger (our resident Comic Book Wednesday expert) previews a recently released book. Dive in!

Take a trip to hell with Brown
Renaissance men weren’t the only one holding deep, dark secrets, professor Robert Langdon will soon find out in Dan Brown’s latest book, “Inferno.” Langdon is back in the heart of Italy, and this time he is sucked into a world centered on one of history’s most mysterious literary masterpieces — Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno,” part of his Divine Comedy. Brown creates a world filled with classic art, secret passageways, extreme dedication and futuristic science, testing the fine line between fact and fiction. If you enjoy mystery, suspense and history, check out Brown’s “Inferno.”

More:
– Find more entertainment news at FlipSidePA.com
– Find other recent book releases at Amazon.com
– Find more on Dan Brown at Book Buzz.

Posted in Book news, Fiction, Mysteries, Recently released, Suspense, Thrillers | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

York author Ron Hershner releases Civil War book ‘Letters from Home’

Ron Hershner

(Submitted photo)

York author and attorney Ron Hershner will celebrate today’s release of “Letters From Home,” a collection of letters describing the Civil War home front, with a June book signing at the York County Heritage Trust.

The book is a product of family connections: The letters were written by Harvey Anderson from 1863-65 and passed on to his granddaughter, Burneta Wiley Anderson.

When Hershner, her great-nephew, visited Burneta’s home in Lancaster, he found “a story of a family coping with the distance that divided them from each other,” Hershner wrote in a release.

Continue reading

Posted in Author visit, Book news, Book signings, Civil War books, History, Local author, Local events, Local history, Nonfiction, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BAM best-sellers for the week of May 11

"Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the the Duck Commander"Here are the best-sellers at the Springettsbury Township Books-A-Million for the week ended May 11, 2013.

1. “Happy Happy Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander” by Phil Robertson
2. “Dead Ever After” by Charlaine Harris
3. “12th of Never” by James Patterson
4. “The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling
5. “The Duck Commander Family” by Willie Robertson

Find books we’ve reviewed on the blog under our “book reviews” tab at the top of the homepage.

Posted in Best-sellers, Book stores, Books based on TV shows, Celebrity, Fiction, Nonfiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment