Book Reviews

4.8

The graphic novel adaptation of Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire — illustrated by Mike Holmes and published by Graphix in 2018 — brings the opening chapter of one of middle-grade fantasy's most successful series to the visual page, putting five dragonets at the center of a war-torn world and a destiny they never asked for. With the broader series having sold over 27 million copies worldwide and spent more than 200 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, this adaptation arrives with the full weight of an established phenomenon behind it.

Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave by Joanna Gaines

4.8

Homebody is Joanna Gaines's comprehensive interior design guide, structured room by room to help readers identify their personal style, solve common decorating problems, and create homes that feel genuinely their own — an instant #1 New York Times bestseller upon its November release from Harper Design.

Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynne Jackson

4.7

Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe is a New York Times bestseller in which psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson presents a guidebook designed to help readers recognize and interpret messages from loved ones and spirit guides on what she calls the Other Side — a work that blends personal memoir with spiritual instruction and is aimed squarely at those navigating grief, loss, or a search for deeper meaning.

Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings: A Cookbook by Karen Mordechai

4.7

Sunday Suppers: Recipes + Gatherings is a cookbook by Karen Mordechai, published by Clarkson Potter in 2014, that translates her acclaimed Brooklyn-based dinner series into 100 seasonally driven recipes designed to bring friends and strangers together around a communal table. This review assesses the book's content, organisation, and published reception — not a kitchen test.

The Color Purple: A Novel by Alice Walker

Alice Walker's epistolary novel The Color Purple — winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983 — follows Celie, a young Black woman in rural Georgia whose letters chart a harrowing and ultimately triumphant journey from abuse and silence toward selfhood and independence. It remains one of American literature's most decorated and contested works of the twentieth century.

The Box Turtle Manual: From the Experts at Advanced Vivarium Systems (CompanionHouse by Philippe de Vosjoli, Roger J. Klingenberg

A compact but substantive care manual from two reptile authorities, covering box turtle husbandry, health, and breeding — with a standout veterinary chapter on disease and disorders that sets it apart from generic pet guides.

It's the Manager: Moving From Boss to Coach by Jim Clifton, Jim Harter

Published by Gallup Press in May 2019, It's the Manager: Moving From Boss to Coach is a business leadership book by Jim Clifton, Chairman of Gallup, and Jim Harter, Ph.D., Gallup's Chief Scientist for Workplace. Drawing on Gallup's decades of workplace research, the book argues that the single biggest factor in organizational performance and employee engagement is the quality of the manager — and that today's workforce demands coaches, not commanders. It earned recognition as a Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller and remains a widely cited resource in management and human resources circles.

Stuart Little by E. B. White

First published in 1945, Stuart Little is E. B. White's debut children's novel — a picaresque, episodic tale of a two-inch-tall boy born into a normal New York City family who resembles a mouse in every outward respect yet possesses the confidence and courage of a dashing hero. Illustrated by Garth Williams, the book has endured for decades as a recognized classic in children's literature, admired for its understated humour, graceful wit, and ironic interplay of fantasy and everyday possibility, even as it has attracted genuinely divided critical opinion since its original publication.

Inside the Criminal Mind by Stanton Samenow

Stanton E. Samenow's Inside the Criminal Mind is a landmark work in criminal psychology that dismantles decades of social-deterministic explanations for crime, arguing instead that criminal behavior originates in flawed thinking patterns within the individual — a thesis that has made it essential, and controversial, reading in its field across multiple editions.

From Here to the Great Unknown: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir by Lisa-Marie Presley, Riley Keough

From Here to the Great Unknown is a posthumously completed memoir co-authored by Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter Riley Keough, published by Random House on October 8, 2024. Lisa Marie began recording audio tapes for the book in 2022 shortly before her death in January 2023; Keough transcribed and completed those recordings into the memoir readers hold today. The result is a dual-voiced account covering Lisa Marie's childhood at Graceland alongside Elvis Presley, her marriages to Danny Keough and Michael Jackson, her battles with addiction, and the grief that threaded her entire life. A national bestseller, a New York Times bestseller, and an Oprah's Book Club pick, the memoir drew praise from The New York Times and The Washington Post for the unflinching depth with which it confronts its hardest material.

The Cat Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Troubleshooting Tips, by Sam Stall, Dr. David Brunner

4.5

Published by Quirk Books in 2004, The Cat Owner's Manual pairs the clinical authority of Dr. David Brunner — a veterinarian with 25 years of experience and operator of Indianapolis's Broad Ripple Animal Clinic — with the popular writing of Sam Stall to deliver a humour-forward yet genuinely informative reference guide for cat owners new and experienced alike. Framed as a product manual for feline "technology," it tackles hundreds of common questions through step-by-step instructions and schematic diagrams, courtesy of Philadelphia-based illustrators Paul Kepple and Jude Buffum of Headcase Design.

Warren Buffett Biography: Investing in the Values of Life by Shaina Loerzel

Warren Buffett Biography: Investing in the Values of Life by Shaina Loerzel is an independently published biography examining the life, principles, and investing philosophy of one of the world's most studied financial figures. Published in February 2025, it offers readers a portrait of Buffett organized around the values that shaped his approach to both business and life.