Jon is the receiving manager and unofficial wellness director at Northshire and has worked here since 1998. He loves all things guitar- and listens mostly to blues, classic and selected contemporary rock, and most of all, music that defies genre- most especially The Derek Trucks Band. He loves the Maine coast and most frequently finds himself reading sports non-fiction, music memoirs and selected contemporary lit fiction. Personal gods include guitarist Derek Trucks and writer Ann Patchett.
$27.00
ISBN: 9780593420034
Availability: Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - June 7th, 2022
Romance is a "hot" genre right now and the reason is simple: more and more, we all need some heartwarming stories these days. Nora is a "Romance Channel" writer with two kids, nursing the wounds of being left by her layabout husband. Until her latest, auto-biographical, script is arranged to be filmed on location in her backyard "Teahouse " and Hollywood heartthrob Leo stays over, begins to share the family's daily sunrise routine, and proceeds to win over the variously challenged hearts of Nora and the kids. Kind of too good to be true, right? But when Leo leaves to do a huge movie project and suddenly "ghosts" them all, how in the world will this one end up with a happy ending? There's only one way to find out. ~ Reviewed by Jon Fine
$15.95
ISBN: 9780393357882
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - April 7th, 2020
For a fiction writer to take on the intensely fraught topic of decades-delayed sexual assault allegations is a delicate task. How does one depict the two-reality, he said/she said nature of such epic confrontations without undermining the rights of a victim or victims or heavy-handedly presuming the guilt of the accused? Lasdun threads the needle perfectly. His narrator sees and feels all of the uncertainty and truths from both sides and is a true wonder to experience; nearly invisible at times to the telling of the story yet always present and ultimately the conscience that feels the pain for his friend's actions. ~ Reviewed by Jon Fine
$28.00
ISBN: 9781982169978
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Published: Scribner - November 16th, 2021
In a world before the ultra-hype and glitz and mega-salaries of the modern NBA took over, there dwelled a now nearly unimaginable world where the press traveled with teams they covered. Shaughnessy's first hand experiences not only covering but also interacting with the storied Celtics team of the mid-1980s make for a story that is chock- full of golden moments from his daily coverage of that incredible team and, most significantly, its leader, the once-in-a-lifetime talent and competitor, Larry Bird. ~ Reviewed by Jon Fine
$28.99
ISBN: 9780063065246
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Published: William Morrow - October 12th, 2021
What brought me to the decision to read this memoir? Nostalgia for the "glory days" of classic television? Curiosity about one of the more unique and varied success stories in Hollywood? (Ron's transitions from "Opie to "Richie Cunningham" to Hollywood super-director.) Or just the insight that there was something of value in learning how it all came to pass? Answer: All of the above. Ron and Clint's alternating stories have much to offer in the way of American cultural treasure as well as providing a heartwarming look at their family's bedrock values. Open, honest, conversational and informative, The Boys is a true pleasure to page through. ~ Reviewed by Jon Fine
$30.00
ISBN: 9780374181178
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Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - October 5th, 2021
A new novel from Jonathan Franzen is typically a significant event in the world of American literature- and with good cause. Franzen's strength has always been his ability to portray the minutiae of humanities' ego, id and superego, most specifically as regards the writhing, twisting tortured wranglings beneath the surface of an American family. This is a novel set in the flower-child world of the early 1970s and a family headed by a deeply conflicted associate pastor. Herein lie near-all-consuming religious zeal, horrendous sin, the rippling scars of personal history, and the ever-present power struggles that play out between siblings, spouses, and parents and their children. ~ Reviewed by Jon Fine
