Books category, Page 19

Most people know the story of the USS Indianapolis from the movie “Jaws.” To them, it’s a story about sharks. But to best-selling author Lynn Vincent, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis is more a story of faith and leadership. On March 10, she will tell that story in Pittsburgh...

Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss won a 2019 National Jewish Book Award for her book “How to Fight Anti-Semitism.” Weiss, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and graduated from Shady Side Academy, won the Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award in the category Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice. Hers was one of...

NEW YORK — Elizabeth Wurtzel, whose blunt and painful confessions of her struggles with addiction and depression in the best-selling “Prozac Nation” made her a voice and a target for an anxious generation, died Tuesday at age 52. Wurtzel’s husband, Jim Freed, told The Associated Press that she died at...

PHILADELPHIA — Recently unveiled letters from T.S. Eliot to his muse Emily Hale show how much he loved his longtime friend, but a statement from beyond the grave by the poet himself dismisses his feelings and shows how Eliot tries to rewrite the narrative of their relationship, scholars say. Hale...

Three bestselling female authors who hail from the West Coast will discuss their writing and today’s publishing industry during a presentation Tuesday at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. “An Evening with Juliet Blackwell, Rachael Herron and Sophie Littlefield” is set for 7 p.m. in the Carol Reichgut Concert Hall at...

With “The Rise of Skywalker,” the latest “Star Wars” sequel, currently blasting the competition at the box office, science fiction films are enjoying as high a profile as ever since the original movie in the franchise debuted in 1977. Today, fans of the genre are encouraged to take a deeper...

National Science Fiction Day was the perfect opportunity for Ben Rubin, horror studies collection coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh Library System, to show people that the library offers even more resources than they realize. “People think archives and think it’s inaccessible,” Rubin said. “We want to demystify the collections...

Long before headline-grabbing attorneys basked in the spotlight of television cameras, there were lawyers like Thomas Mercer Marshall. In the early 19th century, Marshall traveled the Perrysville Plank Toll Road between present day West View and Pittsburgh’s North Side nearly every day. Dismayed that the road was deteriorating, took matters...

Barack Obama included a Pittsburgh gem in his list of top books from of the year. The former president and avid reader shared via Twitter 19 titles that impressed him. One of his sports favorites was Jim Rooney’s “A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl...

Nora Roberts has crafted a chillingly timely piece of fiction with her book “Shelter In Place,” released in 2018. The prolific author has taken on an active shooter scenario, with a plot frighteningly reminiscent of the 2012 theater shooting in Colorado. That’s where all similarities end. Roberts sets her book...

DALLAS — Cartoonist Jim Davis is offering up more than 11,000 “Garfield” comic strips hand-drawn on paper in an auction that will stretch into the coming years, with at least a couple of strips featuring the always-hungry orange cat with a sardonic sense of humor available weekly. “There are just...

For historian Barbara Burstin, researching the life of Sophie Masloff, Pittsburgh’s first female and Jewish mayor, was a fascinating and rewarding project. She sees Masloff’s story of overcoming poverty, sexism and anti-Semitism as inspiring to everyone. Masloff served as mayor from 1988 to 1994. “Her story is a reflection of...

DALLAS — A rare near-mint condition copy of the first Marvel Comics comic book has sold at auction in Dallas for $1.26 million. Heritage Auctions says the Marvel Comics No. 1 from 1939 sold Thursday. Heritage says the buyer wished to remain anonymous. Ed Jaster, senior vice president at Heritage,...

The smell of freshly printed books greets you as you enter the Penguin Bookshop, located in the heart of Sewickley. Friendly faces offer assistance to the steady flow of customers that enter the cozy space, quickly helping them find their next read or wrapping the perfect present to give to...

NEW YORK — Former national security adviser John Bolton has a book deal, The Associated Press has learned. The hawkish Bolton departed in September because of numerous foreign policy disagreements with President Donald Trump. He reached a deal over the past few weeks with Simon & Schuster, according to three...

Before hosting the 2019 Steelers Alumni Weekend Dinner at Heinz Field, Merril Hoge will be appearing at The Tiny Bookstore in Ross Township on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. Hoge will be at the store to promote his most recent book, “Brainwashed: The Bad Science Behind CTE...

Don Roberts said it was a breath of fresh air to have found a creative outlet such as writing fiction shortly after retiring. The Monroeville resident, 76, had a 35-year career in education with Pittsburgh Public Schools. He concurrently taught at the University of Pittsburgh as a history lecturer. “As...

Bonita Lee Penn uses her words to empower women. Her poetry gives a voice to those who are not heard or are marginalized. Through her writing, she tells the story of her experiences as a black woman and the troubles she sees in the world. “Usually, I am inspired by...

NEW YORK — Panic, joy, shock: Dan Piepenbring felt them all when Prince plucked him to collaborate on his first memoir, followed by more shock and profound sadness at news of the superstar’s death while the book was in its early stages. Though the project was thrown into chaos when...