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I enjoy cooking, but I totally get why many people don’t. There are so many components to successfully pulling off a meal: balancing nutrition with taste, allowing enough time to properly execute the necessary steps, and knowing the palate of those you are feeding to ensure the...

Many people seem to view working in the restaurant industry as some sort of failure – a melting pot of people who either can’t or won’t get a “real job,” or who are still working their way towards the opportunity to find one. The reality is, while there are those types of...

“I feel something for these machines. I look at it and my mind just goes ‘Where has this machine been at?’ If it could talk, man it could tell some stories.” Ken Alexander, master typewriter repairman, while waxing sentimental on what’s to love about the humble typewriter, hit...

If you’ve paid attention to the news lately, you surely will have noticed that scarcely a day goes by that we don’t have immigration featured prominently in our dialogue. As we adjust to a new administration, the topic has become even more widely considered. What do we do with...

How far would you go to fulfill a promise to a friend? In the new book, “The Women in the Castle,” the answer for protagonist, Marianne, is, as far as it takes. The Under Cover Book Club selection for April, by Jessica Shattuck, takes place mostly during the period immediately...

“The world is not dying. It is not falling apart. It’s changing…What young generation has ever come into its own in a world free of peril?” So says Dr. Wade Davis, renowned anthropologist, National Geographic explorer, and professor, when asked his opinion on the state of our...

Who doesn’t fondly remember their set of Little Golden Books? Just thinking of the small volumes with their golden-bound spines, adorned with animals and flowers, is like taking a trip back to childhood. In fact, it’s quite possible that these unassuming little books are...

Those of you that recognize the name Jean Hastings Ardell, likely know her as both the columnist who writes the Indy’s own “Left of Center” political column, and a staunch local Democrat. What you may not know about Ardell, however, is that she is an equally staunch fan of the...

Those of you that recognize the name Jean Hastings Ardell, likely know her as both the columnist who writes the Indy’s own “Left of Center” political column, and a staunch local Democrat. What you may not know about Ardell, however, is that she is an equally staunch fan of the...

Sometimes, as a writer, you come across a story so compelling and so remarkable, that telling it becomes almost a duty. Such is the case of the recently released book, and Under Cover Book Club selection for March, “The Orphan Keeper,” by Camron Wright. Wright is no stranger to...

With Valentine’s Day having just passed, I’m sure there are more than a few of us who have been hit with a case of the “inequivalent gift blues.” Perhaps your loving husband brought you a little blue box, and you gave him some store-bought sugar cookies? A night at Nobu met with...

Love is in the air, and perhaps also on your TV screen. Of course, the word love is subjective, as is the love story depicted in the new Amazon original series, “Z: The Beginning of Everything.” Recounting the saga of one of the literary world’s most well-known love stories, “Z”...

Happy February! As we draw a big red “X” through the first month of this new year, there is much to look forward to – more political unrest, polarizing views on social media, and thankfully, a new Under Cover Book Club read to escape into, when the former two become a little hard...

It is an interesting time in America’s history. In what has become easily one of the most contentious political landscapes our nation has seen, many are feeling apprehensive and unsure of the direction we will be moving under the leadership of our newly elected...

Reading is a poor man’s airplane. It allows us to travel far and wide, experiencing new lands and foreign cultures, all while our feet remain firmly planted in the same spot. It allows us to experience, if but for a brief moment, a reality that is different from ours,...

The Newport Beach Public Library has a long history of both recognizing, and sharing excellence through their myriad community lecture series. This month, the tradition lives on, as the library continues its nod to the Pulitzer Prize, with the upcoming Library Live appearance of...

Happy New Year, book lovers! It is hard to believe that we have collectively turned the page on another chapter—one more volume of life now closed and tucked away into a grand library, to be looked back upon only occasionally as we move forward in pursuit of what is yet to come....

The holiday season is, at its root, a time of joy. When we remove the commercial trappings, and blatant consumerism, we are all celebrating a joyous event—Joy at a redeemer born in a manger long ago, or joy at the miracle of light, born of oil that lasted eight whole nights. We...

The countdown is on. Christmas and Hanukkah are almost upon us, shipping deadlines are drawing near, and children everywhere can tell you exactly how many days until school is out and the gift-giving begins. Mothers and fathers are carefully checking their shopping lists, to...

December is here, and with it comes a host of holiday merry-making. In fact, I’m sure if you listen carefully, you can hear the strains of The Nutcracker Suite playing softly in your head, while noticing that even our weather is making a half-hearted attempt to get with the...