From the Read in Ned columns published in The Mountain-Ear and the Gilpin Weekly Register-Call newspapers
The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel For decades, residents in central Maine speculated about the identity and motives of the “North Pond Hermit”....by Tom Lambrecht
The Wonderful World of Lynda.com If you’re interested in learning some new skills but don’t want to have to spend money, be sure to check out Lynda.com....by Roberta Brown-Jones
The DIVIDE: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap by Matt Taibbi Taibbi was compelled to try to find answers to the question of how and why justice is administered so unequally in the United States....by Roberta Brown-Jones
Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. Saddened by the state of the world these days, I began searching for something to read that would take me out of my bad frame of mind. I found a couple of perfect prospects...by Roberta Brown-Jones
Rebecca Solnit’s 2005 book A Field Guide to Getting Lost and Howard Axelrod’s debut novel, The Point of Vanishing. The titles of Solnit’s book and Baker’s film have “getting lost” in common, a state of mind that can be both terrifying and exhilarating....by Tom Lambrecht
Daring Greatly, You are a Badass, and Presence With a new year fresh at our backs, it is a good time to reflect on things that are going well for us, as well as things we would like to improve upon...by Celine Cooper
When Breath Becomes Air, A Really Good Day, Battleworn, The Liar’s Club, Hillbilly Elegy- With few exceptions, the memoir genre has always struck me as self-serving and redemptive, especially when written by someone in the prime of life. Here are some of the exceptions that are worth your time....by Susan Gerhart
Elizabeth McKenzie’s The Portable Veblen. I always enjoy books that are fictional but nonetheless expose me to real-life ideas and people that I previously knew nothing about....by Roberta Brown-Jones
Moonglow, Thus Bad Begins, End of Watch, The Sympathizer, White Trash- It’s the end of the year, and all the major book reviewers are issuing their “best of 2016” lists. The New York Times, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kirkus all have their favorites. Here are my top five....by Susan Gerhart
The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks, A Thinking Person’s Guide to America’s National Parks, Rightful Heritage -- The Nederland Community Library has added three new books that celebrate this legacy. These range from the philosophical to the historical to a travel guide, but all three titles manage to blur these rigid classifications, making for immersive reading....by Tom Lambrecht
