Books
Subscribe to this tagThe 'Good and Kind' Heart of Lincoln
In his final act of compassion, the 16th President spared the life of a war-weary private from New Jersey.
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Of Love and Literature
A new book attempts to demonstrate that some literary classics contain valuable dating advice for the modern era.
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Tea Party Like It's 1774
In Ten Tea Parties: Patriotic Protests That History Forgot, New Jersey-based historian Joseph Cummins shines a bright light on some obscure and forgotten rebellions from America's past.
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Plum Loco
Our Q&A with Janet Evanovich focuses on how her inaugural Stephanie Plum novel made it into movie theaters...albeit 17 years after publication.
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Bottom Dwellers
A collection of short fiction and poetry edited by Joyce Carol Oates explores how much noir literature means in the Garden State.
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Dark Vision
This month we spoke with noted author and creative-writing professor at Princeton University Joyce Carol Oates about her work, her latest editing effort, and life in New Jersey.
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When Bruce Is The Soundtrack
Robert J. Wiersema's book Walk Like a Man: Coming of Age with the Music of Bruce Springsteen, personalizes the impact of the rock superstar's musical canon.
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For Borders, a Final Chapter
New Jersey residents are saying goodbye to summer and to one of the nation’s leading bookstores—Borders. This past Monday, I made my last trip to the Borders in Bridgewater before the store’s official closing on Thursday.
moreThe First Lady of Suspense
Author Mary Higgins Clark’s stellar career began with three simple questions.
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The Burr in America's Side
David Stewart's American Emperor recounts the history of the Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton duel.
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Where Has Everybody Gone?
New Jersey native Tom Perrotta's new novel The Leftovers imagines what happens after the Rapture.
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Breathing Life Into Batman
Michael Uslan describes his struggles to bring Batman to the silver screen in a new memoir—The Boy Who Loved Batman.
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To Infinity and Beyond
A Q&A with Charles Liu, a professor of astrophysics whose The Handy Astronomy Answer Book is very popular among children.
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Whodunnit?
If it’s a best-selling crime novel, the answer is probably Ridgewood’s Harlan Coben.
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Home At Last
David Goldman recounts his experiences fighting for the return from Brazil of his abducted son.
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Birds of a Feather
Author and Rutgers-Newark University professor Tayari Jones displays her Southern roots in her latest novel—Silver Sparrow.
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Jersey Girls Rule!
Two of the species write the definitive book.
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A Promise Well Kept
A librarian father fulfills a promise to read to his daughter for 3,218 days.
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Life On the Sideline
Author Robert Strauss has a new book—Daddy's Little Goalie—about his athletically inclined daughters' participation in sports.
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Warming Up to Siberia
New Yorker writer and humorist Ian Frazier releases a new book—"Travels in Siberia."
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A Wee Irish Trivia Quiz
Jennifer Grace wrote Irish Trivia on Tap: 600 Questions to Measure Your IQ (Irish Quotient) (Fall River Press, 2009) so readers could test their Celtic know-how.
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Still on the Newark Beat
A former Star-Ledger sports and feature reporter scores a big hit with his first novel.
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Lost & Found in Post 9/11 World
A Princeton resident's second collection of stories makes waves on the national literary scene.
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Telling ACORN's Story
A book about ACORN documents its transition from a successful grassroots organization to a scandal-plagued group that was the focus of a major congressional investigation.
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Season's Readings
Literary gifts with a Jersey twist. Here are some holiday book suggestions from our staff.
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His Balm Barks
Dana Jennings, an assistant editor at the New York Times, has written a new book—Bijou: What a Difference a Dog Makes: Big Lessons on Life, Love, and Healing from a Small Pooch.
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Dylan Revisited
Esteemed history scholar and Princeton professor Sean Wilentz tackles a different subject in his new book—legendary musician Bob Dylan.
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The Lennon-McCartney of Cookbook Authors?
That’s what Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton—creators of the Canal House Cooking volumes—have been called. Here’s why.
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Goat Boys Can be Men, Too
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jim Breuer releases a new autobiography—I'm Not High (But I've Got a Lot of Crazy Stories about Life as a Goat Boy, a Dad, and a Spiritual Warrior).
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Take Her Out to the Ballgame
Montclair-based writer Emma Span releases her memoir—90% of the Game is Half Mental—about her brief stint covering the Yankees and Mets for the Village Voice.
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Sweet Plum
The latest book by South River native Janet Evanovich is a mystery about a charming but clumsy Trenton-based female bounty hunter.
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Obama, Year One
Jonathan Alter writes The Promise: President Obama, Year One, a behind-the-scenes look at Barack Obama's first year as president.
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Trading Secrets
The history of baseball card collecting isn't as innocent as the game the cards are derived from. For a fascinating read, pick up Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became An American Obsession.
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Beach Reads
Looking for that perfect volume to tote down the Shore? Here are some Jersey-related titles to consider.
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Test Your NJ IQ
Think you know a lot about Jersey history and culture? Test yourself with this NJ Hall of Fame trivia quiz. All of the individuals named are Hall of Fame members.
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In Name Only
What's in a name? Wes Moore's memoir recounts the events of two men with the same name whose lives couldn't possibly be more different.
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Elena Gorokhova: The NJM Interview
Elena Gorokhova uses vivid, captivating prose to describe her childhood in the Cold War Soviet Union in a new memoir. Our editor caught up with her for an interview.
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From Russia, With Memories
Elena Gorokhova uses vivid, captivating prose to describe her childhood in the Cold War Soviet Union in a new memoir.
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Seeking Success in Suburbia
Themes of parental expectations, elitism, and suburban insularity drive Lauren Grodstein’s second novel, A Friend of the Family (Algonquin, 2009).
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Indie-pendent Woman
Montclair resident Amy Holman Edelman launches a website that markets and sells self-published books.
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Tales of the Times
An expository writing professor at Rutgers University publishes a collection of short stories capturing characters of various ages and geographies.
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Eating, Praying, Loving—and Committing
Author Elizabeth Gilbert has found a sanctuary in Hunterdon County.
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Why We're Not the Jetsons
Have you ever wondered whatever happened to flying cars? Author Paul Milo has some ideas about failed technological predictions from the past.
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Hard Time & Nursery Rhymes
Claudia Trupp’s impressively candid memoir, Hard Time & Nursery Rhymes (Rodale), chronicles the challenges this mother of three daughters faces juggling her domestic life with her career as a Manhattan criminal defense attorney.
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Totally Killer
Madison may be among the least sinister towns in New Jersey, so it’s a credit to debut novelist Greg Olear’s imagination that the thriller Totally Killer (HarperCollins) is authentically dark and savage.
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The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad
The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad (Wyatt-MacKenzie) by Joel Schwartzberg is a collection of 40 essays chronicling the Montclair resident’s experience with the unsettling see-saw of divorce.
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A Million And One Ways To Be One-In-A-Million
When it comes to careers, Steven J. Heaslip has seen it all. The New Jersey resident—who has 25 years of experience as a human relations professional—shares his insights about the workplace in his new book A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million (AuthorHouse).
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Steel Pier Atlantic City
In its heyday, the Steel Pier in Atlantic City hosted big bands, movies, acrobats, and throngs of people who flocked to this all-in-one entertainment mecca.
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Bon Jovi When We Were Beautiful
After touring with the band, photographer Phil Griffin compiled new and old photos, along with snippets of conversations, for Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful (Collins Design).
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I Shudder
Paul Rudnick, a contributor to the New Yorker and other magazines, is also a playwright and screenwriter. But all you really need to know is that he is hilarious.
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How Not to Act Old
Still figuring out how to Twitter? (It’s “tweet,” don’cha know?) Wondering what “hooking up” means? Are you guilty of wearing mom jeans? Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Pamela Redmond Satran’s How Not to Act Old (HarperCollins).
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Botanica Magnifica
Longtime Jersey resident and podiatrist Jonathan Singer rediscovered his love for photography five years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
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Diving Horses, Bodacious Buds
This season’s bookcase bounty includes portraits of the Steel Pier, flower power, Bon Jovi, coming of age in Piscataway, and advice for hip wrinklies.
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New Faces NJ: Timmy Waldron
The title of Timmy Waldron’s first book, World Takes, was inspired by the slogan “Trenton Makes, the World Takes.” In this collection of short stories, the Ewing native weaves absurd situations, disturbed characters, and dark humor into a real page turner.
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Sold on the Book Sale
Doing a summer clean out? You can bring your used books, CDs, DVDs, and videos to the Haddonfield Public Library. It’s almost time for their annual mega book sale.
moreHell's Readers
“I have this urge, a compulsion really, to turn the basic idea of a bookstore on its ear,” says Alex Dawson (above), co-owner and manager of the Raconteur, a used bookshop in Metuchen.
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Jersey Shore Reads
Looking for a romance novel to keep you anchored to your beach chair? We checked out six books by Jersey authors for your beach bag’s consideration.
moreWhole Lotta Love
With tangled plots and double lives, Jersey romance writers tug countless heartstrings.
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Treasure Hunter
Not everybody gets as enthusiastic about old books as John Shaw.
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New Books from Garden State Authors
Here is a look at some interesting new works by local writers.
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London Calling Bruce
Sarfraz Manzoor, a British Muslim, publishes a tribute to the one man who helped him reconcile his conflicting backgrounds and cope with a rocky relationship with his father: none other than Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen.
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