National Let’s Laugh Day, March 19. Sample these books for a chuckle. The Commitments (Roddy Doyle) follows talented, unemployed, working class Irish as they create a soul band to make a living. Friend/manager Jimmy Rabbit says, “The Irish are the blacks of Europe; Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland; the Northside Dubliners are the blacks […]

Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan) confirms a book is always better than its movie. Parading hilarious yet thoughtful observations and characters, the novel challenges stereotypes about the super-rich while following a young couple with their typical misunderstandings before the final, required, happy ending. Asian settings more desirable than film versions enhance every scene, and the […]

Colorado Women in World War II, Gail M. Beaton. While the war itself was no cause for celebration, it did bring massive changes to American society and a kick in the seat of the pants to the American labor force, with barriers slowly pried open by females. Colorado’s a good example of how women filled […]

Neglecting reading? Start small with a short story for Short Story Day, 12/21. The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford features the Pulitzer-Prize winner’s short works that appeared for decades in The New Yorker. Unabashedly “literary,” she spotlights the human experience in touching and enlightening looks at people in Europe, Boston, the West, and Manhattan. Called […]

By Bonnie McCune and Kathleen Duhamel ~ Welcome to the United States of Anxiety: Observations from a Reforming Neurotic. The stressors of everyday life—24/7 news about the environment, crime, and divisive politics, not to mention the uncertainty of living through a pandemic—have taken their toll on the American psyche. Author Jen Lancaster takes on the topic of […]

Indulge yourself and share a poem, or read one ~ By Bonnie McCune and Kathleen Duhamel ~ Dog Songs. Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Oliver’s straightforward style and accessible themes have won her a legion of fans worldwide. Dog Songs is a small collection of short poems expressing her unabashed admiration of dogs, including her own, […]

Our Souls at Night, native son Kent Haruf’s final masterpiece, features a paean to older love in fictional Holt, Colorado. Both Addie and Louis lost their partners years before and finally work up the courage to offer one another the second chance they each deserve. Unexpected obstacles, their own histories as well as adult children, […]

The Lucky Hat Mine. The Civil War is raging when young New Orleans resident Millie, in search of a better life, answers a “wife wanted” ad in the local newspaper. She survives a perilous journey to Idaho Springs in Colorado Territory, only to find her fiancé dead and awaiting a proper burial.   When her betrothed’s brother […]

Research has found positive correlations between being married and enjoying better health and greater longevity—as much as a ten-year extension in lifespan. Unfortunately, the baby boomer generation divorces more than any generation before or since. For many couples, the empty nest is a rude awakening. After years of close cooperation with raising children and juggling family […]

Reads for a never-ending summer vacation ~ Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine: A Novel. This astonishing debut novel by Gail Honeyman follows the title character, a lonely and socially inept woman who toils as an accounting clerk in Glasgow. What could have been an utterly depressing story is lightened by Elinor’s wry, humorous observations on […]

Boulder, CO, June 5, 2020 — In our interconnected world, global events impact all of us in one way or another. Knowing how to help ourselves, our families and our organizations navigate a crisis can profoundly affect our emotional health and well-being.

Chicago, IL, June 23, 2020 — The worldwide stay-at-home orders have turned weekend warriors into daily dog walkers, joggers and cyclists — all hoping to stay fit and avoid the “quarantine 15.” But there’s more to being healthy than having a fit physique. Mental health is equally important, but often gets buried beneath the stigma surrounding […]

By Bonnie McCune and Kathleen Duhamel ~ A Journal of the Plague Year (Daniel Defoe). This literary classic, published in 1722 and placed in 1666 during one of Britain’s huge bubonic plagues, set the standard for all subsequent dystopian novels. It’s fascinating to read the narrative—long thought to be real, not a novel—and trace the […]

By Bonnie McCune and Kathleen Duhamel ~ At Your Service,  Sandra Antonelli. Mae is a middle-aged British butler, unknowingly drawn into an international theft and money-laundering operation in this romantic mystery/thriller with a nod to Ian Fleming’s James Bond. It’s up to Mae’s employer, Major Kitt (who just might be a spy) to keep her […]

By Bonnie McCune ~ Roam new realms with books. Here are some suggestions: Doomsday Book. a prophetic view of a pandemic by Colorado’s own Connie Willis, takes the reader on a voyage to Middle Ages plague years as well as forward to the near future to experience the extremes of both. Highly relatable characters in […]