Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler is a stunning new coming-of-age novel about a young woman who leaves her small hometown for NYC where she lands employment at one of the poshest restaurants in town. The author poetically describes food as an accompaniment to and metaphor for the story. The book begins:

“You will develop a palate. A palate is a spot on your tongue wher you remember. Where you assign words to the textures of taste. Eating becomes a discipline, language-obsesses. You will never … [Read more...] about Sweetbitter

“What have I done with my life?” "What do I have time left to do?" "What am I still capable of?"  Perhaps these stirrings and unmet longings live within all of us as we approach new stages of our lives.

Gerald Marzorati explores this idea in his wonderful new memoir, Late to the Ball. After a gratifying career successfully editing the New York Times Magazine, Marzorati sets out in his late 50’s to learn the game of tennis. He begins to train seriously with a coach. The book is not only about … [Read more...] about Late to the Ball

My daughter, the psychology major and recent college graduate, was fascinated when she first read Helter Skelter a few years ago. Despite the harsh reality of the subject matter, the murders committed by Charles Manson and his followers, there is something darkly intriguing about his cult and the devotion and obedience he engendered in his minions, most of them young, vulnerable girls.

I was equally intrigued by Emma Cline’s fascinating and extremely well-told new novel, The Girls, in which … [Read more...] about The Girls

Hope Jahren is a brilliant storyteller. She’ also a scientist who grew up in her father’s laboratory. In essence, her father taught her 42 consecutive years worth of introductory physics and earth science in that lab, nestled within a community college deep in rural Minnesota. Her father loved that lab, and so did she. While her childhood is captured in astonishing, vivid detail--one of the best writers I’ve encountered in a long time--it is her journey to become a female scientist, her love for … [Read more...] about Lab Girl