ArcaMax

Part of what makes novels so appealing is how they allow us to step into the lives of others. This allows us to not only escape the real world — like in science fiction and fantasy — but also to see the real world through a new lens. To see — to feel and experience — what it’s like to live a completely different life, even if only for ...Read more

"The Librarians of Lisbon" is accurately described on the cover as “A WWII story of love and espionage,” and novelist Suzanne Nelson certainly delivers, as promised, a fine work of historical fiction for adult readers.

This former children’s book editor and award-winning author has previously written dozens of middle grade and young adult...Read more

Looking out the window of his home in Troy, New York, on a Friday night, Kyle Wessels made note of his first chore the next day: shoveling snow.

On Saturday morning, he saw that only a few inches of snow had fallen, but it was the wet, heavy kind.

Having grown up in Troy, then-47-year-old Wessels knew the drill. He grabbed his snow blower and ...Read more

'SNOW WHITE'

Rated PG for violence, some peril, thematic elements and brief rude humor.

What it’s about: This musical adaptation of the 1937 animated Disney feature has a modern sensibility and execution but a faithfully vintage style.

The kid attractor factor: Kids will be drawn to the fairy-tale story, cute animals, princess power and ...Read more

Q. I have two sons, 5 and 7. I do not allow my children more than a half hour a day on their iPad. My partner uses screen time as a way to appease his son, who is turning 8. Recently my bonus son lost his temper and yelled at me in front of my sons. I took away his iPad believing if I did nothing it might set a precedent. My partner came home ...Read more

I can’t call heads or tails on whether we should stop minting the penny. There are two sides to every coin, right?

Zinc and copper used to make a penny are worth almost four times the value of the coin. Bottom line: The penny is not cost-efficient. I empathize. Some days I’m not terribly cost-efficient either.

It’s hard to imagine life ...Read more

Is there such a thing as too old or too late to find new love?

I admit that before I turned 40 almost a decade ago, I didn’t give much thought to this question. Though I was writing romance and love stories, my protagonists were my age or younger, because that was what I knew. The protagonists I read about or watched on film and television ...Read more

With her mother in labor, then-17-year-old Jamie Dawson sneaked past nurses and headed for the delivery room.

The door was cracked open just enough for her to hear baby brother Max cry for the first time. Dawson felt a surge of love like she'd never experienced. When she became the first person to hold Max other than his parents, the feeling ...Read more

The fate of America sits in the crosshairs as Russia unleashes its most ambitious plan yet to deceive, distract, and sow chaos. But no Russian machinations have yet survived a run-in with Dan Reilly, international hotel executive and part-time CIA spy, as Ed Fuller and Gary Grossman reveal in the fourth installment of their popular Red Hotel ...Read more

'BLACK BAG'

Rated R for language including some sexual references, and some violence.

What it’s about: A pair of married spies spy on each other in this sexy espionage thriller.

The kid attractor factor: This is a mature thriller aimed at adult audiences.

Good lessons/bad lessons: Trust no one, including your spouse, but devotion is ...Read more

I attend a spirituality group for an hour every week that holds loving kindness as its anchor.

During the hour, we read the poetry of such luminaries as Mary Oliver and John O'Donohue. We meditate, and we talk about the ways we find to extend loving kindness to ourselves and others.

The dozen or so gentle-spirited members of this group also ...Read more

Q. My ex and I have been apart for six years. Our son is 9 and we share his time equally. For years we got along OK, but her boyfriend moved in last year and now she tapes all the exchanges. It upsets our son, and it upsets me. Today I received a notification that she is taking me back to court to revise the parenting plan we have had for six ...Read more

We have just done a school pick-up; 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister are in the car with us. In a unanimous decision, we head directly to Chick-fil-A because some days the main thing you get at school is hungry. Very, very hungry.

We ordered and are seated with waffle fries and ice cream, checking off vegetables and dairy for the ...Read more

Harold Phifer’s "My Bully, My Aunt, and Her Final Gift" is a refreshingly honest, darkly humorous, and unexpectedly heartfelt memoir that masterfully balances comedy and introspection. With sharp wit and a candid narrative style, Phifer takes readers on a journey through his complicated past, shaped by the formidable presence of his Aunt Kathy...Read more

The day Angie Loving married Sam Abadir, she was on the list for a heart transplant. It was Feb. 29, 2020, three months after she survived a massive heart attack. She was still relearning seemingly simple givens of life like how to eat, speak and walk; still dealing with ensuing blood clot issues; still working through daily therapy.

But while ...Read more