Paul is my new physical therapist. He’s a British guy on YouTube. The great thing about YouTube medical care is that there’s no paperwork to fill out and your insurance is never questioned. Plus, your health care professional doesn’t know if you leave the workout to answer text messages.

PT Paul has been helping me with my trick knee. It ...Read more

Why do some people step in when something is wrong, while others stay quiet?

It’s a question without an easy answer, but it sits at the heart of Ervin Staub’s "Evil, Goodness, and Creating Active Bystandership." And for Staub, it’s not just theoretical. It’s personal.

As a Jewish child in Hungary during World War II, Staub survived the...Read more

What would you give to be a part of history? What would you trade for the good of humanity? In a contemplative journey across space and time, "Celestial Lights" poses these questions and offers a reminder that some things aren’t worth sacrificing. Author Cecile Pin crafts a story that is both touching and tragic and that examines the personal ...Read more

There’s a good chance the husband has his Cincinnati Reds ball cap surgically attached to his head. It’s that time of year.

We were in the quaint historic river town of St. Charles, Missouri, leaving a sidewalk café, when a voice yells, “PETE ROSE, JOE MORGAN, JOHNNY BENCH!”

It came from an older man, wearing a red St. Louis Cardinals...Read more

Among the many treasures of Saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, is a massive altarpiece painted by the Renaissance artist Jan van Eyck. Its many panels depict an array of biblical figures, saints, martyrs, soldiers, prophets, clergy, angels and other figures attending a pastoral scene at the center, where the Lamb of God bleeds from a ...Read more

Supernatural themes underscore many of the current wave of popular novels. The idea that there are forces beyond our control is enticing to many readers. The new novel from Ava Morgyn, "Only Spell Deep," finds a place in the world of the supernatural that will entice readers to follow along with Jude, a witch who has left a coven, as she ...Read more

I grew up when people wrote letters in longhand on pretty stationery. Going to the mailbox and finding a letter was a whiff of Christmas morning.

Many Sunday nights, as a young girl, I wrote to a great aunt who was a retired schoolteacher. You mind your p’s and q’s when you write to a teacher. She wrote wonderful letters back, often with ...Read more

"Westward Women" by Alice Martin breathes new life into the dystopian genre with a road trip that feels like a fever dream. The hypnotic writing takes you on the road with three incredible young women who embark on a journey of a lifetime, perhaps even their last. A mysterious outbreak is occurring throughout America, as young women are ...Read more

The classic immigrant story usually ends once the family finds its footing in America. In "Both Sides of the Same Coin," author Michael Weiner, MD, asks a deeper question: What happens next?

His novel begins in familiar territory — families fleeing famine, persecution and political upheaval — but it quickly expands into something larger: a ...Read more

Just taking an informal poll today: What were you eating when you cracked a tooth?

My top three answers, which correlate to three new crowns in recent years, are: toffee, a crunchy taco and broccoli cheese soup.

The milk chocolate toffee may have been worth it — probably because I’ll never ever eat toffee again. The taco I have forgiven ...Read more

Most love stories are predictable and ordinary, but this debut novel, "A Latte Like Love," by Michelle C. Harris is anything but traditional or ordinary. I thought this was going to be a typical romance of boy meets girl and they fall madly in love, but instead it was a delightful surprise that felt like sipping your favorite hot latte.

We meet...Read more

Rain is usually background noise — something that blurs the windows, dampens the sidewalks and sends people running for umbrellas. In William Barney’s "The Rain," it becomes something else entirely: a creeping, corrosive force that seeps into a small town and begins to change everything it touches. What begins as a familiar slice of small-...Read more

I just finished a book on AI and its impact on humanity. It was billed as nonfiction but read more like science fiction. I don’t mean to spoil the ending, but here’s a hint as to who wins dominance—it’s a short name with two letters. First letter: A.

The future appears jaw-dropping, amazing and bone-chillingly terrifying, all at the ...Read more

From the author of "How I’ll Kill You," "A Lie for a Lie" by Ren DeStefano is a contemporary thriller that will keep you hooked until the story concludes. This compelling story is about a woman living a carefully constructed double life as a housewife and a spy who must use all her espionage skills to stop a criminal tech billionaire before he...Read more

Losing weight is one of the most frustrating challenges many people face. Diets promise results that rarely last. Exercise routines begin with determination and fade under the pressure of everyday life. Even when the pounds come off, they often return months later. In that cycle of hope and disappointment, the promise of a simple pill can feel ...Read more

I’ve rotated our cold-weather clothes with our warm-weather clothes so many years, I could do it in my sleep. From the looks of some of our clothes, I may have been doing it in my sleep.

Neither the husband nor I are clothes horses. We’re more like clothes turtles.

I could use some new pants, but I’m waiting until the styles change. The ...Read more

Someone has staged them with nails, blood and a cold sense of purpose. The police see a grotesque crime scene. A defense attorney sees a case that will swallow his career. A social worker sees a summons that feels older than the city itself.

Daniel Grace’s debut novel, "In the Wake of Golgotha," starts with that shock and then keeps its foot ...Read more

In his book "Hard Feelings: Finding the Wisdom in Our Darkest Emotions," Daniel Smith’s contemplative reflection is both rewarding and cathartic, as he explores the emotions he has contended with over his lifetime and the scholarly research that has examined similar feelings. Each chapter is full of rewarding insight into feelings such as ...Read more

My desk drawer is a mess. It’s always a mess. Even after I tidy it up, it reverts to a mess as soon as I close the drawer.

I think it’s because I do things quickly. I move fast and mess things up fast. But even if I slowed down, it would still be a mess, just a mess on slow bake.

My desk is considered communal property in that it sits in ...Read more

Some romances race toward the first kiss. "Only the Small Bones" by C.P. Harris takes the longer road — the one lined with rules that exist for a reason. Do not touch. Do not push. Do not demand words that will not come. Harris opens her tale with urgency, then settles into something more intimate: the hours after crisis, the strange quiet ...Read more