Books

Yona Harvey is an English professor who teaches poetry at the University of Pittsburgh.

KA-POW! Pitt professor flips from poetry to comics

University of Pittsburgh professor Yona Harvey returns to her first love and creates an origin story for Zenzi, the mighty woman of Wakanda.

about 13 hours ago

Book reviews: Funny volumes start school year off right

Three new children’s picture books combine appealing artwork and silly stories into books that are sure to captivate any young child.

2 days ago

David Cay Johnston is the author of "The Making of Donald Trump."

Book review: Pulitzer prize-winning journalist takes on GOP candidate in 'The Making of Donald Trump'

David Cay Johnston puts Donald Trump under the microscope but fails to provide the knock-out punch his critics were hoping for.

3 days ago

Political journalist Joe Conason, left, with former President Bill Clinton.

Book review: Political journalist takes partisan look at Bill Clinton's second act

Joe Conason’s “Man of the World: The Further Endeavors of Bill Clinton” is a positive defense of Bill Clinton’s post-presidency.

3 days ago

Book review: Louise Penny's Armand Gamache returns in 'The Great Reckoning'

Armand Gamache’s retirement is interrupted when he moves to Three Pines only to discover his talents are needed to ferret out the killer.

3 days ago

Poet Ada Limon speaks at Pitt

Ada Limon, author of three poetry anthologies and a contender for a National Book Award, speaks Thursday at Pitt’s Oakland campus.

1 week ago

Carlow book event will focus on discrimination of Muslims

The university will host author Moustafa Bayoumi, whose book features stories of discrimination told by young Muslims in the wake of 9/11.

1 week ago

"Hero of the Empire," by Candice Millard.

Author Candice Millard's book reveals a young Churchill

Young Winston Churchill showed bravery, grit and genius for leadership while covering the Boer War in South Africa for a London newspaper.

1 week ago

Thad Mosley will demonstrate how he creates his large sculptures at his studio on the North Side.

2do this week, Sept. 18-24: Cultural events around Pittsburgh

Sun Ra Arkestra jazz, Ada Limon poetry and classical, hip-hop and rock music from the duo Black Violin are on tap this week.

1 week ago

'The Risen' is a novel of love, sex, drugs and the South

Ron Rash’s book is a lucid and stylish, if not quite riveting, work about sibling rivalry in the South.

1 week ago

'Commonwealth': Ann Patchett's seventh novel is her best

An ambitious and accomplished drama about an extended family fracturing and coming together over many decades.

1 week ago

'Baby-Sitters Club' author takes on challenge with 'Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle' spin-off

Ann M. Martin, who returns with a new take on a funny classic children’s book about bad behavior, speaks Sunday in Pittsburgh.

2 weeks ago

'The Bed Moved': Sharply drawn short stories about anxiety, sexuality and mortality

Rebecca Schiff’s sharp and concise stories revel in dense layers of imagery and internal monologue rather than straightforward narrative.

2 weeks ago

'We Love You Charlie Freeman': The failure to find truthful language to talk about racism

Kaitlyn Greenidge’s remarkable novel explores the mess created by a failure to communicate about racism and its dehumanizing impact.

2 weeks ago

Lianne Moriarty, author of "Truly Madly Guilty."

'Truly Madly Guilty': The unforgettable barbecue everyone wants to forget

Liane Moriarty’s novel is about the intersection of three couples and how they deal with an incident that has lifelong implications.

2 weeks ago

Carlo Rovelli, author of "Seven Brief Lessons on Physics."

'Seven Brief Lessons': A physicist unpacks the universe

Carlo Rovelli creates a Physics for Dummies book that breaks down the quantum and quanta of the universe.

2 weeks ago

'Vinegar Girl' by Anne Tyler: 'The Taming of the Shrew' gets a modern American makeover

The lauded novelist reimagines Shakespeare’s work as a contemporary domestic drama about a heroine asked to do a big favor by her father.

2 weeks ago

'Jerusalem' by Alan Moore: Just don't call it 'Ulysses for Druids'

“Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta” author pens a 1,600-page epic full of magic, poetry, philosophy and the mundane events.

2 weeks ago

Avid reader memorializes her passion for books

Dolores T. Haller of Whitehall gave $67,000 to Whitehall Public Library when she died.

2 weeks ago

The main entrance of the Carnegie Library in McKeesport.

Loving your library will attract grant dollars

Libraries throughout Allegheny County are participating in the campaign to collect part of a $125,000 pool.

2 weeks ago

Pitt English professor awarded major poetry prize

Lynn Emanuel’s “The Nerve of It” recognized by the Academy of American Poets as the most outstanding book of poetry in the United States.

2 weeks ago

The City of Asylum building on the North Side.

City of Asylum moves Alphabet City opening events to tent

Due to ongoing construction at Alphabet City on North Avenue, the organization will hold events at a tent on Sampsonia Way.

3 weeks ago

Peter Oresick gives a reading at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall in Oct. 2015.

Obituary: Peter Oresick / Prolific poet, publisher, printer, painter

Peter Oresick, a prolific poet, publisher, printer, painter and collector of more than 2,000 fictional works set in Western Pennsylvania.

3 weeks ago

Portrait of early Pennsylvania Indian chief No-Way-Ke-Sug-GA, from a book in the State Library of Pennsylvania entitled "History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs" authored by Thomas McKenney and dated 1842.

Public permitted to peruse state library’s rare books

State Library houses documents and books from the 15th century through the comic book introduction of Spider-Man

3 weeks ago

'Show Me All Your Scars': Illuminating essays on mental illness

”Show Me All Your Scars” a collection of essays edited by Lee Gutkind illuminates the lives of those living with mental illnesses.

3 weeks ago

'Here I Am': God, family and the Earth beneath their feet

Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel since 2005 explores the dissolution of an American family with the destruction of Israel as a thematic

3 weeks ago

'The Kingdom of Speech': The babble in the Ivory Tower

Essayist and novelist Tom Wolfe scoffs at Darwin’s theory of the origin of language.

3 weeks ago

The old Masonic Hall on the North Side is about to reopen as City of Asylum's Alphabet City.

Former Masonic Hall goes from house of secrets to place of refuge

Alphabet City, a refuge for writers, will open Friday with Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature.

3 weeks ago

Diane Samuels and her husband, Henry Reese, co-founders of City of Asylum Pittsburgh, an organization that provides sanctuary to exiled writers.

City of Asylum: A waystation for writers and their voices

City of Asylum breaks its Jazz Poetry Concert into a month of music and readings by writers in their native languages.

3 weeks ago

Israel Centeno of Venezuela stands in front of the Burma House on Sampsonia Way, one of the houses owned by City of Asylum. He arrived here in 2011 and is the author of poetry, short stories and 10 novels.

Immersed in America, Israel Centeno writes from City of Asylum

Israel Centeno, a writer-in-residence at City of Asylum, is baffled by our culture but chose America as the setting for his new book.

3 weeks ago

Tuhin Das of Bangladesh stands inside the City of Asylum Alphabet Reading Garden. The garden is paved with custom-made bricks that are inscribed with handwritten alphabet letters from many character systems.

Tuhin Das returns to rivers for inspiration

After months in hiding in Bangladesh, a Bengali poet finds a place to write in a North Side row house owned by Pittsburgh City of Asylum.

3 weeks ago

A list of some authors at Beaver County BookFest

Here’s a look at just a few of the writers who will be at the annual book festival in Beaver County next month.

3 weeks ago

Turning the page on summer: BookFest attracts writers, readers

The annual festival in Beaver gets bigger each year and offers performances, readings, crafts, food and, of course, books for all ages.

3 weeks ago

Appreciation: Donna Wold, the ex-flame who inspired the Little Red-Haired Girl in 'Peanuts' dies

More than six decades ago, she had chosen her longtime firefighter husband over Charles M. Schulz, who turned that heartache into art.

1 month ago

'The End of the Perfect 10': From Nadia to Simone, surpassing perfection in gymnastics

Dvora Meyers lifts the veil on what is arguably the Olympics’ most popular sport — women’s gymnastics.

1 month ago

'You Will Know Me': A murder mystery in the maniacal world of Olympics-bound gymnasts

Megan Abbott’s intriguing novel is a mystery about a hit-and-run death and an Olympian gymnast’s aspirations.

1 month ago

Book cover of “Gena/Finn” (Chronicle Books, $17.99, ages 14 and up) by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson.

Book review: 'Gena/Finn' depicts world of media fandom

Authors Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson provide a nearly perfect mirror to modern-day online fan interactions in their novel.

1 month ago

"Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis" by J.D. Vance

'Hillbilly Elegy': One man's harrowing journey from the hollers

J.D. Vance’s memoir describes how he made his way from the hillbilly world of Appalachia to the pinnacle of American middle-class life.

1 month ago

'Known and Strange Things': Teju Coles' essays on the American immigrant experience

A collection of 55 essays by the Nigerian-American photographer and art historian explore the strangeness of the immigrant experience in

1 month ago

'The Imperial Wife': Two strong women, separated by a century

Pitt professor Irina Reyn has written a transcendent novel about Catherine the Great and a contemporary woman inspired by her.

1 month ago

'To See You': A fresh look at romance novel stereotypes by a Pittsburgh novelist

Pittsburgh romance author Rachel Blaufeld’s latest turns the expectations of what a heartthrob in a romance novel is supposed to be like.

1 month ago

The Gunning of America, cover author, Pamela Haag

'The Gunning of America': Taking aim at the legend of Americans as gun crazy consumers

Detailing the “Business and the Making of American Gun Culture,” it shoots down many myths regarding the so-called love affair with guns.

1 month ago

'Knitting the Andy Warhol Bridge' : A poet renders Pittsburgh as a collage of places, words and images

Poet and former journalist Ann Curran explores Pittsburgh in a wry, affectionate collection of poems.

1 month ago

2do this week, Aug. 14-20: Cultural events around Pittsburgh

Author Sherrie Flick, country singer Scott McCreery and an opening reception at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts are on tap this week.

1 month ago

"Hip Hop Family Tree, Book 4: 1984-1985" by Ed Piskor

'Hip Hop Family Tree, Book 4, 1985-85': Munhall artist Ed Piskor shows hip-hop at the crossroads

Mr. Piskor’s latest “Hip Hop Family Tree” volume explores the rise of a genre as it migrates from the Bronx to Philly, Miami and beyond.

1 month ago

'In the Darkroom' : A father-daughter estrangement takes an unexpected turn

After nearly 25 years of estrangement, Susan Faludi receives a surprise email from her 76-year-old father, who is now transgender.

1 month ago

Jenni Fagan, author of "The Sunlight Pilgrims."

'The Sunlight Pilgrims': It's cold outside (and inside) in Jenni Fagan's new novel

A carefully crafted tale of love and loss in frigid Scotland in 2020.

1 month ago

'The Inseparables': An emotionally rich exploration of three generations of women

Stuart Nadler’s second novel details the link between mothers and daughters and the men who complicate their lives.

1 month ago

"Game of Thrones" novelist George R.R. Martin is one author who doesn't appreciate fan fiction, stories written by fans featuring familiar characters.

Fan-fiction writers can't help wondering what if?

The internet has become fertile ground for new stories featuring familiar characters, especially by women, LGBTQ people and people of color.

1 month ago

Michael Rooker who portrayed Merle Dixon in "The Walking Dead," will be in Pittsburgh for the Steel City Con in Monroeville.

'Walking Dead' and 'Guardians' actor Michael Rooker among celebrities invading Pittsburgh

Actor and others with ongoing geek cred elevate Steel City Con in Monroeville, which remains a mecca for toys and collectibles.

1 month ago

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