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What are your favorite local places for shopping, pampering or entertaining? Vote now in this year's Best Of Holiday Shopping readers' choice poll.
Books take on new realms of TV
These are strange times for the television industry, an understatement exemplified by the fact that huge swaths of audiences don’t even watch TV on TV anymore, opting instead for computers or handheld screens. That shift, along with the flexibility offered by DVDs, DVRs, and on-demand services, has shattered network business models of ratings and ad revenue. Meanwhile most critics are hailing recent programs such as “The Wire” and “Breaking Bad”
Novel explores tension between creationists and evolutionists
The last two lines of Robert Frost’s poem “Design,” first published in 1922, question the apparent brutality of nature as a spider consumes a captive moth: “What but design of darkness to appall?—/If design govern in a thing so small.” He creates a mock extreme to underscore the aptness of design, whether natural or supernatural in origin. Lauren Grodstein sets her third novel, “The Explanation for Everything,” in the middle
Climactic battle led to end of a terrible tyranny
In general, volumes on military history sort themselves into two categories: those intended for popular readership, and those for the professional student. A glance at the title would give even the casual buyer a strong clue as to which basket this one belongs. And in the introduction, one finds an even more positive indication of the author’s aim: “The general intention of this book is to synthesize the material and
Book tackles 'Rot, Riot and Rebellion' of UVa's wild early years
The University. The University of Virginia may be the only educational institution in the country that is so widely known as “The University” — a sobriquet that has existed since the late 19th century. It is hard to imagine that a university with a $5 billion endowment that has produced so many successful graduates almost didn’t survive its first 20 years. In “Rot, Riot and Rebellion,” Rex Bowman, a former
If you’re a Beatles novice, don’t start with this book
“When They Were Boys” promises in subtitle to be “the true story of the Beatles’ rise to the top.” After all, author Larry Kane traveled with the boys in the American tours of 1964 and 1965. As the only American journalist to make every stop with the group during those years, Kane has a unique voice. The book offers plenty of interesting anecdotes and eyewitness accounts to make it a
Battle of Winchester is heart-racing history in Shenandoah Valley
The 1864 battle of Winchester in Virginia marked a seminal point in the War of Rebellion and became a proving ground for United States Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s field leadership. Leading the enemy army was Jubal A. Early, former prosecuting attorney and General Assembly delegate from Franklin County who also argued in the General Assembly against secession (as his constituents wanted). Shenandoah Valley native and Civil War historian Scott Patchan
Rapunzel, Snow White mashup disappoints
Carolyn Turgeon has been re-imagining fairy tales for years, and has won acclaim for doing so. But her latest attempt, “The Fairest of Them All,” is so poorly told it’s hard to understand how anyone could enjoy it. The book’s premise is unusual and full of potential. It is the story of Snow White, told from the perspective of her stepmother, Rapunzel, heroine of her own fairy tale. We all
Book explores material culture of Appalachia
Vignettes of craftsmen and -women who turned out such utilitarian items as lap robes for buggy rides, wig stands and all kinds of pottery long ago are featured in “Backcountry Makers, An Artisan History of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee,” by Betsy K. White of Abingdon. In this study, she tells of the almost-forgotten material culture heritage of this part of Appalachia in sketches of 75 potters, quilters, weavers, spinners,
Thriller 'Night Film' might have been even better
Marisha Pessl’s newest novel — after a wait of seven years — is “Night Film.” In the novel, a hard-bitten investigative reporter, Scott McGrath, investigates the suspicious apparent suicide of a young woman, Ashley Cordova. What propels the novel along is that Ashley Cordova is the daughter of world famous horror film director Stanislaus Cordova, whose films are so grotesque and mind-bending that they either repel viewers or preternaturally draw
Virginia novelist’s 'Love and Lament' truly satisfies
John Milliken Thompson’s “Love and Lament” delivers far more than I expected, and with the gentle subtleties of a young Southern woman’s voice. Even as I read with a critical eye, I found myself drawn to the novel’s honesty. Knowing Thompson lives in Charlottesville and set his novel in the North Carolina Blue Ridge, I found myself longing for sweeping descriptions of landscape to frame the lives of his characters’
Book shows John Wilkes Booth is a history mystery
W.C. Jameson is an award-winning author of 80 books and more than 1,500 articles and essays. However, his latest publication, “John Wilkes Booth: Beyond the Grave,” may provoke more controversy than all of his writings combined. When he was 10 years old, the future writer became interested in President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, following the discovery that they were related. Even more astounding, he was led to believe the outlaw was
Reza Aslan concludes in 'Zealot' that Jesus was a radical
The old adage of not judging a book by its cover holds true for Reza Aslan’s latest work, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.” The cover, with its dark hues and half-portrait of Jesus perched above the large font ZEALOT screams controversy, and possibly, the inflaming of passions. Some people will be turned away , and some will even step away from this work because it is
‘Brave’ is enjoyable but doesn’t offer answers
Toward the beginning of Polly Morland’s “The Society of Timid Souls, or How to Be Brave,” the author recounts an experiment that scientists had concocted to determine neurologic factors of bravery. Volunteers’ heads were placed near a conveyor belt that they could control with a simple stop/start switch. On the conveyor belt would be either a snake or a teddy bear (oh, to read that grant application!). Scientists then observed
A heroine’s appealing journey as she travels light
Near the end of “Traveling Light,” Andrea Thalasinos’ second novel, the narrative provides us with its fundamental theme: “There was nothing to lose because, in a way, she’d already gained everything by having lost it all.” Thalasinos, a professor of sociology at Madison College in Wisconsin and native New Yorker, creates an engaging story, a good summer read, about Paula Makaikis’ journey of personal discovery. Stuck for 10 years in
Fun summer fare a nod to ‘Frankenstein’
“The Curiosity,” Stephen Kiernan’s debut novel, raises more questions about humanity than the morality of its subject, cryogenics. Certainly, Kiernan addresses the themes of scientific “God-playing” with the same vitality as his predecessor Mary Shelley, but Erastus Carthage lacks the tortured ambivalence of Victor Frankenstein, and Jeremiah Rice proves far more human than Frankenstein’s monster. Kiernan’s task is ambitious. He invites the reader to question the extravagance of ego in
Early Tudor court full of factious family in Philippa Gregory's latest
It’s one of history’s biggest mysteries: Who killed the princes in the Tower? In “The White Princess,” Philippa Gregory introduces a new mystery: Who was the boy who resurfaced claiming to be Richard, the prince who may have been spirited away and is heir to the England’s throne? Gregory’s latest novel is set just after the Wars of the Roses. Henry Tudor has won and claims Elizabeth of York as
Is Roanoke the 'scare city'?
If you believe in ghosts, this is the book for you. L.B. Taylor Jr., author of 25 books on ghosts throughout the state, says Roanoke may be one of the most haunted cities in Virginia, “if not the entire southeastern United States.” Taylor claims that “ disembodied entities seem to abound here: in old mansions; on the grounds of long-abandoned plantations; in hotels, restaurants and bed-and-breakfast inns; in vintage theaters
Dangerous days for a young country during the American Revolution
“Through the Perilous Fight,” by Steve Vogel, is a day-by-day account that begins with the events of Aug. 9, 1814, and the eventual burning of the nation’s capital. All of the major figures on both sides of the battle lines are given life in this meticulously researched book. While the British were motivated to suppress new acts of rebellion on a distant shore, the former Colonists saw the War of
Bio blows up image of Wild West legend Wyatt Earp
In all of mankind’s dark and dreadful annals, from the merciless slaughters of biblical times to the present, no more dismal a scene of lawlessness, rapine, robbery and casual murder was ever presented than of the American West, in the period following the Civil War to the end of the frontier in 1890, or perhaps a bit beyond. And the tale of Wyatt Earp, by turns lawman and lawbreaker, was
Language, imagery shine in debut novel
Ethan Hauser’s debut novel, “The Measures Between Us,” explores the emotional space between human intimacy and detachment, the riddle of what brings humans together and what keeps them apart. He describes with depth and narrative subtlety how love not only unites people but also separates them. This excellent novel reminds us on many levels of another important debut novel, Carson McCullers’ “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” At the end
1. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant
2. Roanoke resource officer's quick action saved young girl
3. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke
4. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football
5. Captive in Roanoke County describes harrowing time with angry friend
6. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death
7. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win
8. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations
9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech
10. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd
THE ROANOKE TIMES
