The current Gazette Book Club selection is Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Chosen in conjunction with this year’s Metro Library Network’s 2013 Linn Area Reads selection, the book was selected, in part, because 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of “Pride and Prejudice.” The final Linn Area Reads event will be a showing [...]

When I heard that the author of “Saturday Night Widows” had been kicked out of a grief support group, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. Though not as young a widow as Becky Aikman (she was in her 40s when widowed and I was in my early 50s) I’d discovered that [...]

Karen Thompson Walker’s “The Age of Miracles” will be the third book read by The Gazette Book Club. The current Gazette Book Club selection is Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Chosen in conjunction with this year’s Metro Library Network’s 2013 Linn Area Reads selection, several events are planned throughout March. The book was chosen, in [...]

The dozen people at the first Gazette Book Club discussion group agree “Living with Honor” is a book well worth reading and that Sal Giunta, its author, is a likable, impressive man, in addition to being a hero. Giunta, who grew up Hiawatha, received the Medal of Honor two years ago for his actions in [...]

Title: “Iconic Spirits” Author: Mark Spivak About the author: Mark Spivak is an award-winning writer specializing in wine, spirits, food, restaurants and culinary travel. Since 2001, he has been the wine and spirits editor for the Palm Beach Media Group. His work has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Robb Report, Art & Antiques and Newsmax. [...]

Title:“Austerlitz” Author: W.G. Sebald About the author:Sebald was a German writer who was at the top of his game when he died in a car accident in 2001 at the age of 57. His is a unique voice, his prose a compelling mix of fact and fiction rendered in long, meandering sentences, occasionally broken by [...]

Title: “Year Zero” Author: Rob Reid About the author: Rob Reid is perhaps better known as founder of the online music service Rhapsody than as an author, but he’s hit a home run with this hilarious sci-fi novel. Synopsis: Earth is a backwater, unknown planet in an enormous galaxy, with only one claim to fame. [...]

Title: “Pictures & People: A Search for Visual Truth and Social Justice” Author: Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret About the author: Joan lives in Iowa City, where she and her husband, Dwayne, own and operate Penfield Books. Joan has been a photographer for more than 60 years, and her work has been published and collected widely. Synopsis: [...]