Off the Grid By C.J. Box

Off the Grid is the best Joe Pickett story yet.

How can you not like a story where nothing less than the future of the country as we know it – and possibly the world – is at stake? Oh, and there’s an 800-pound grizzly bear, too.

Joe and his buddy Nate Romanowski don’t even realize they are both in Wyoming’s Red Desert until their missions start to overlap, but when they do finally get together their camaraderie is magic, as usual.

I wish I could tell you more of the story, but I don’t want to give away anything because the discovery is a big part of the fun – and scariness – of this book.

Something I like about the Joe Pickett books is that the characters age in “real time.” You know how, in some series’, a character is 5-years-old in the first book and, 20 years later, she’s only in junior high school? Annoying when I think about it. But the Pickett stories aren’t like that. And if you thought Sheridan was an interesting teenager, wait until you see what the 22-year-old gets herself into.

One character I hope Box brings back is the newspaper editor. Not because I like him, but because I really, really dislike him. He’s not a fan of libraries for goodness sake!

And, there’s the cliffhanger. I’m ready for the next one already!

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#Bonas Payne Talks About New Book, 'Crash!,' Importance of Thinking About History

A new book by St. Bonaventure University history professor Phillip Payne, Ph.D., frames the story of the 1929 stock market crash within the booming New Era economy of the 1920s and the bust of the Great Depression.

“Crash! How the Economic Boom and Bust of the 1920s Worked” was released by Johns Hopkins University Press in December.

The book by Payne, chair of the Department of History, discusses the topic of speculation in economics, specifically explaining the 1929 stock market crash.

Payne said the idea for the book originated when he was talking to an editor at an American History Association meeting about the launch of a new series called “How Things Worked.” The meeting was shortly after the stock market crash in 2008, and Payne said his students were shocked so he talked about it in his classes.

The book is intended for an undergraduate audience and aims to make complicated stories understandable, according to Payne.

“A lot of effort went into making this book accessible, a book you can pick up and read without a deep knowledge of economics or politics,” Payne said.

Kevin Sidoran, a senior biochemistry major, is in Payne’s “United States History since 1865” class this semester.

“Dr. Payne is a storyteller,” Sidoran said. “He is able to segue almost any discussion or side comment, however irrelevant, to what we are covering in lecture, and he always pulls in little tidbits of background info to make the larger ideas more tangible and coherent.”

Payne said he noticed many students are not interested in the topic of speculation in stock market crashes, but that it has real impact on their lives.

In the 19th century, bankers were just about the only ones following the stock market, according to Payne, but now the stock market is increasingly part of the economy.

Payne said he tells young people they need to think about history, especially in the turbulence of the modern economy, where people move from job to job.

A major takeaway from the book, according to Payne, is that to get to that level of speculation, to get to where the economy gets blown up, people have to forget it happened before and convince themselves the current time is different.

“In 1929, they convinced themselves the stock market was a money making machine and it was never going to crash,” Payne said. “In 2008 they convinced themselves of this again.”

Payne said we are still dealing with many of the issues discussed in his book in the current presidential election, such as fallout from the 2008 crash and transitions taking place in the economy with technology and globalization.

In addition to Payne’s interest in economic history, his areas of research include Warren G. Harding and exploring how popular culture is shaped by politics and vice versa. He is the author of “Dead Last: The Public Memory of Warren G. Harding’s Scandalous Legacy,” released by Ohio University Press in 2009.

Learn more about Payne and the history department via the blog bonashistorydept.blogspot.com.

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The Good Girl By Mary Kubica

Before I start the actual review, I’d like to say I think it’s about time every good, psychological thriller stop being compared to “Gone Girl.”

With that said, I really liked this book and was blown away by the ending, which answered – perfectly – one gnawing question I had starting about halfway through the book.

The story is told in present day, and in flashbacks, by Eve Dennett, mother of 25-year-old kidnap victim Mia Dennett; Gabe Hoffman, the detective assigned to the case; and Colin Thatcher, the kidnapper. Throughout the book we get various perspectives on the lives of the narrators, as well as Mia, her sister Grace, their father Judge Dennett, and Colin’s mother.

As you get closer to the end you might wonder, as I did, how the author was going to wrap everything up in just the few pages that are left. She manages to do it in a way that I didn’t see coming until the last few pages.

After I read the book I quite a few bad reviews from people who absolutely hated this book. I don’t understand that at all. I was totally immersed in the story and find myself making up stories about what happened to the characters after the end of the book.

I am looking forward to reading Mary Kubica’s next two books.

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Out of the Blues By Trudy Nan Boyce

Do you like D.D. Warren, Amelia Sachs and Stephanie Plum? Then you’re sure to like Sarah Alt, better known to her colleagues in the Atlanta Police Department as “Salt.”

Trudy Nan Boyce has created a truly original female detective who is tough on the job, but extremely vulnerable – and a bit damaged – and totally likable.

Boyce, a veteran police officer herself, delves into all the juicy details of the crimes Salt is investigating during the first days after her promotion to detective in the homicide unit, and her description of the different neighborhoods and settings in and around Atlanta is stellar.

Just as Salt is getting settled in as a homicide detective, she’s put on a case that had been considered an accidental overdose by a blues singer. Now they have evidence that it may have been murder.

As Salt gets closer to the truth, she also learns that this crime could be tied to others. The supporting characters are just as interesting and well-drawn as Salt. You’ll love Rosie the receptionist, but I won’t say why. Sergeant – “Don’t call me ‘Sarge’”—Huff is quirky and funny. And Wonder, Salt’s dog, is so cute!

After you read “Out of the Blues,” I’m sure you’ll put Trudy Nan Boyce on your must-read list, too.

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While the City Slept By Eli Sanders

Powerful and compelling, this book tells the story of Isiah Kalebu, Teresa Butz, Jennifer Hopper and how what passes for mental health care in this county failed all of them.

As he tells the story of how Isiah brutally and repeatedly raped the women, critically injured Jennifer and killed Teresa, Pulitzer Prize winner Eli Sanders lays out an argument that this horrendous crime – and a double fatal arson for which he wasn’t charged – could have been prevented if Isiah had received help when he first displayed signs of having a mental illness.

Before getting to the crime, Sanders masterfully tells the stories of Teresa and Jennifer from their childhoods to the time they met, as well as Isiah’s troubled childhood. He also introduces us to many of the members of all three families.

We also get a look into the overburdened criminal justice system as well as the woefully inadequate mental health care system. I found the segment about the history of mental health care in the US especially interesting. It seems mental institutions were started because prisons were filled with people who committed crimes because of their mental illnesses. Then, President Kennedy decided to do away with the institutions because they were considered cruel and dedicate federal funding to an updated, more efficient way of treating the mentally ill. But then came Vietnam and one economic crisis after another. Although mental institutions were closing, the new and improved system was never fully put into place. President George W. Bush was ready to start a new mental health care initiative, but then came September 11, 2001.

And here we are in 2016. Or, related to the book, they we were in 2009, back to 1/3 of all prison inmates having some sort of mental illness which prisons are not designed to handle.

This is one of the best true crime stories I’ve ever read. It reads more like fiction than a piece of journalism and, several times, I had to remind myself the things Sanders was writing about really happened.

One more thing, Jennifer Hopper is one of the most courageous, resilient, compassionate women I’ve ever read about. If for no other reason, read this book to learn her story.

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Coming Up ...

interviews with:

Robert Krott on Robert B. Parker's "Blackjack"

Eli Sanders on "While the City Slept"

Lisa Gardner on "Find Her"

Claudia Kalb on "Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder"

Jan Ellison on "A Small Indiscretion"

Matt Haig on "Reasons to Stay Alive"

And more!

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Why We Write About Ourselves

If you like reading memoirs, you’ll like “Why We Write About Ourselves,” a book that tells us why 20 memoirists do write about themselves.

Among the people sharing their stories are Sue Monk Kidd, Ayelet Waldman, Nick Flynn and James McBride.

Honest, compelling and funny, the book really does give the reader an insight into the writer’s mind. They answer questions like “how true is true?” and how much they should write about other people.

Waldman, for example, writes, “If you’re not uncomfortable and scared while you’re writing, you’re not writing close enough to the bone.”

If you don’t like reading memoirs, this book might lead you to making a trip to that genre.

“Why We Write About Ourselves” is edited by veteran editor Meredith Maran, who is currently working on another memoir of her own.

You can listen to my talk with Meredith Maran here: WESB.com/on-demand. Click on LiveLine for 01-27-16.

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