I say that I am married to a collector because pack rat sounds unkind. My husband comes from a long line of collectors.

When they closed out the farmhouse his father lived in all his life, the lead auctioneer kicked off the three-ring, two-day auction under the main tent bellowing, "Ladies and gentlemen! The same family has lived in this house ...Read more

Every morning at 8 a.m., Honey German calls her husband, Nuni.

He goes to work much earlier than her, so they've made a routine of touching base once Honey wakes up.

It's such a habit that when Nuni didn't get a call from Honey one July morning, he knew it was a red flag.

Nuni tried ringing her once. Twice. Three times. Four. Each call went ...Read more

Christopher Michael‘s "Tomb of the Black Pharaoh" is a gripping tale that blends cosmic horror, historical intrigue, and psychological suspense, centering on a protagonist whose curiosity propels him into the dangerous realm of forbidden knowledge.

Beginning with the discovery of ancient relics in a dusty attic, his journey quickly spirals ...Read more

If in another life author Richard A. Danzig decided to become a standup comic, well, he could probably do a lot worse, given his spot-on talent for writing funny monologues for his comedian character Verne Slater in the recently released legal thriller, "Punch Line."

Despite what the book’s title might infer, "Punch Line" is anything but a ...Read more

Saturday morning began with a video text of one of the grands doing a wild gymnastics routine on an exercise mat in the middle of their family room. She was lunging, flipping and cartwheeling (barely clearing the sofa, the TV and a younger sister’s head), all to the soothing strains of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

The antics culminated in a ...Read more

The sweeping tale of the French Acadians in America and one family’s trials over hundreds of years of persecution is revealed in "The Acadians" by Samuel Andre Aucoin.

Aucoin mixes history and light fiction to tell the often heartbreaking story of the Acadian experience in America. Beginning with a trip to the Vietnam War Memorial in ...Read more

History is most clearly observed through the rearview mirror. Leaders can more accurately be judged by the impact of their speeches, actions or inaction, beliefs and accomplishments not by eulogies but after an adequate amount of time has passed for a more objective assessment. Yesterday’s lauded heroes may have legitimately earned the ...Read more

Can we ever make peace with our regrets? That is the question I asked myself while reading Tom Casey’s "Unsettled States" (Heresy Press), which begins with a raw portrait of familial fracture. Bradley’s visit to his mother, Eleanor, opens the door to a past steeped in warmth now shadowed by regret.

Eleanor, a once-spirited woman, is now ...Read more

A week after giving birth to her second daughter, Amelia Laytham's focus was on baby Jocelyn's and big sister Vera's sleep schedules; on breastfeeding her newborn; on the balancing act that parents navigate.

The morning she was scheduled to bring Jocelyn to the pediatrician for her first checkup, Amelia woke up feeling like someone was sitting ...Read more

"Stay tuned for a weather impact update," says the man on the television.

I have problems with the word impact and not just because it's one of those words that can be both a noun and a verb. Impact always reminds me of when my brother was a toddler and shoved a Red Hot up his nose. The Red Hot was impacted and our mother had to carefully ...Read more

The best romance novels often work off the dichotomy between the story’s meant-to-be and can’t-possibly-work elements. Kay Cove’s latest novel, "Snapshot," delivers beautifully on both, with plot twists and outside characters that seriously threaten a happily-ever-after ending. For added depth, Cove intertwines two love stories, one from a...Read more

Ashley Boyea had asthma, so she wasn't surprised when she got breathless at work. But when she began gasping for air just walking around, the then-25-year-old sales associate went to her pulmonologist for a checkup.

The doctor had her wear a heart monitor for a few days. It showed her heart was beating too fast. More testing revealed that, in ...Read more

With only four minutes of exercise a day, middle-age women might reduce their risk of cardiovascular problems by nearly half. It’s the latest discovery from University of Sydney researchers, whose study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

“We found that a minimum of 1.5 minutes to an average of 4 minutes of daily ...Read more

-- A company uses an AI system to streamline its hiring process, but the system favors certain demographic groups over others.

-- A hospital employs AI to diagnose patients but might miss rare conditions or produce false positives.

-- A bank uses AI to determine loan eligibility, but the system starts denying loans based on certain data ...Read more

There’s nothing better than being lost in a book and letting a story overtake you. Some fiction is life-changing and permanently alters your worldview. Other books bring you to tears and consume your thoughts for the subsequent days or weeks. If you’re a reader who seeks out the kinds of books that will have a long-lasting impact on you, ...Read more

Navigating the world as the parent of a child with a unique or difficult-to-pronounce name can be a constant source of frustration.

When I named my daughter Chiara, I never considered that people would struggle with its pronunciation. Her name, which means “light” or “clear” in Italian and is deeply rooted in our family’s heritage, is...Read more

We have smoke detectors that warn of fire, dashboard icons that warn of low fuel and dying batteries, and health hazard warnings are printed on every pack of cigarettes.

In 2024 we were given a clear and resounding warning for cell phones. It came in the form of a thick book titled “The Anxious Generation” (How the Great Rewiring of ...Read more

Set against the backdrop of the early 20th century and World War I, "Crossroads of Empire" captures the essence of a world in turmoil. Author Michael Cooper’s diligence and attention to detail bring this period to life, from the smoky trenches of the Western Front to the political maneuvering in Europe.

The protagonist, Evan Sinclair, a 16-...Read more

All people who are pulled from the water after drowning should receive CPR with rescue breaths and chest compressions, according to updated guidance from the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The guidelines were published in the journals Circulation and Pediatrics. The article in Pediatrics focuses on literature...Read more

You’ve no doubt heard of the infamous Judas Iscariot — and his well-known betrayal — but you’ve never seen him in this light before. In the first of Martin Davey’s exciting The Black Museum series, Judas is, well … miraculously, the hero.

"Judas the Hero" follows Detective Inspector Judas Iscariot through the dark underbelly of ...Read more