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Book Reviews
May 23, 2013 — A poor father sells his daughter to a wealthy, childless couple, dividing her from her beloved brother and setting a chain of stories in motion in Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed. Moving and morally complex, this is the most ambitious book yet from the author of The Kite Runner.
May 22, 2013 — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's latest, Americanah, follows the trials and tribulations of Ifemelu, a middle-class Nigerian immigrant to America. Reviewer Jennifer Reese calls Americanah a "rich and gloriously detailed tapestry ... hung on the sturdy scaffolding of a sweet love story."
May 21, 2013 — George Packer's The Unwinding explores the social and economic upheavals that have transformed the U.S. over the past 30 years. In a nuanced work of literary journalism, colorful characters from across the class divide tell their own stories of a social contract in tatters.
May 16, 2013 — A dirty deed and official cover-up drive the plot in John le Carre's A Delicate Truth. The novel sets its sights on old-boy corruption and corporate criminality at the heart of the "Deep State," but critic Alan Cheuse finds this latest effort lacks the tension of le Carre's Cold War novels.
May 15, 2013 — Some novels you read to find out what happens next, and some you read to linger in the moment. In Tom Drury's Pacific, plot takes a back seat to sharp observation and deadpan wit. The book juxtaposes scenes of teenaged Micah as he moves to Hollywood, with stories set in Micah's heartland hometown.
Cover detail: An Adirondack Passage, the Cruise of the Canoe Sairy Gamp
How a canoe sparked a trek and a book
May 22, 2013 — Almost twenty years ago, Christine Jerome and her husband paddled a weeks-long canoe route through the Adirondacks. They followed the path of a nineteenth-century writer and outdoorsman, George Washington Sears, known as Nessmuk to his readers. Our book reviewer, Betsy Kepes, spoke to Chris about the new edition of her book An Adirondack Passage, the Cruise of the Canoe Sairy Gamp. Go to full article
Book review: "Peak Experiences"
May 14, 2013 — The mountains of the northeast attract hikers to their rocky summits. What happens, though, when something goes wrong? Carol Stone White collected over 50 essays in her new book, Peak Experiences - Danger, Death, and Daring in the Mountains of the Northeast. Betsy Kepes as this review. Go to full article
Book Review: "Safekeeping"
Mar 27, 2013 — Vermont author, Karen Hesse, earned the Newbery Medal and a MacArthur Fellowship. Her new book for Young Adults is set in Vermont and explores a world gone wrong. Betsy Kepes has this review of Safekeeping. Go to full article
Books: A Cold and Lonely Place
Colton, NY, Feb 06, 2013 — In the opening scene of Sara J. Henry's new novel, a body is found in Lake Flower, frozen into the ice near the village of Saranac Lake. Betsy Kepes has this review of A... Go to full article
Review: girls in sports books
Jan 11, 2013 — Two new books by writers with ties to the Adirondacks feature girls in elite level sports. Betsy Kepes reviews Soccerland by Beth Choat and Sugar and Ice by... Go to full article
Books: "Man of War"
Dec 26, 2012 — What would it have been like to fight in the Roman Legion or row a cargo boat down the St. Lawrence River, or march to Stalingrad during World War II? Charlie Schroeder... Go to full article
Books: "Eating the Bread of this World"
Dec 18, 2012 — North Country visual artist and sculptor Becky Harblin included her poetry in a recent exhibit at the St. Lawrence County Arts Council in Potsdam. At the opening, poet and... Go to full article
Book review: Half-blood Blues
Colton, NY, Dec 12, 2012 — Each year, one Canadian author receives the Giller Prize, Canada's premier literary award for fiction in English. In 2011, the novel Half-blood Blues by Esi Edugyan... Go to full article
Preview: Kingston WritersFest
Sep 26, 2012 — Writers and readers are gathering in Kingston this week for the annual celebration of books and writing. NCPR's book reviewer Betsy Kepes spoke with artistic director Merilyn... Go to full article
Review: "The Great Northern Express"
Colton, NY, Sep 07, 2012 — In the year he turned 65 and was treated for prostrate cancer, Vermont writer Howard Frank Mosher took a summer to travel around the country for a book tour, driving his... Go to full article
