Baum on Books
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With an eye on reviewing fiction and nonfiction that has regional resonance for Connecticut or Long Island, Joan Baum considers the timeliness and significance of recently published work: what these books have to say to a broad group of readers today and how they say it in a distinctive or unique manner, taking into account style and structure as well as subject matter.
Baum on Books
1w ago
A rodent rejuvenates the life of a woman who has given up on living. That’s the heart of the new novel Sipsworth, by New York-based writer Simon Van Booy. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
1M ago
A sinister underground entity builds babies with stolen DNA. Meanwhile, celebrities, with “desirable traits" hire biotech detectives to keep their genetic material safe. But will it work? WSHU's Book Critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
1M ago
What is the creative process? How does art get made? These are some of the questions a new book by former New York magazine editor Adam Moss strives to answer. Our book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
2M ago
Essayist Arthur Krystal shares his reflections on aging, cultural appropriation, and oversharing on social media in his latest publication. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
2M ago
Yale University Press has published a catalog highlighting rarely-seen drawings and prints by the pre-eminent Renaissance Italian painter, Botticelli. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
3M ago
In her latest novel, The Vixen Amber Holloway, New York author Carol LaHines crafts a tense psychological tale where a Dante scholar descends into her own personal hell. Our book critic, Joan Baum, had this review ..read more
Baum on Books
5M ago
Up on the roof of a New York City apartment building, tenants gather to tell tales and escape their isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. That’s the setting of a new collection of stories. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
5M ago
In her first work of fiction, a New York psychiatrist explores our human need to forge relationships with each other through a series of short stories. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
6M ago
A Long Island detective gets caught up in the greedy intrigue of the pharmaceutical industry as he searches for a missing biochemist. That’s the latest plot in a mystery novel by author Chris Knopf. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more
Baum on Books
7M ago
There are a wealth of biographies on the life of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. A new book challenges how those profiles interpret the man, his life, and his work. Book critic Joan Baum has this review ..read more