Books

Temple Grandin was diagnosed with autism in 1950. And as she explains, that was a good time to be diagnosed: just a decade later, the conversation about the neural development disorder turned to blaming mothers for their children’s different patterns of thinking. But Grandin’s different patterns of thinking has resulted…

Colorado Humanities and the Center for the Book have announced the winners of the 22nd annual Colorado Book Awards from 170 entries, and “the level of talent in Colorado is astonishing,” says Christine Goff, Colorado Book Awards coordinator. The talent includes former Westword staff writer Harrison Candelarie Fletcher, whose book…

It seems obvious that Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) liked hats when you think about it; one of the beloved children’s author’s most famous books, after all, has the word in the title. And in the worlds he constructed, where cats wear hats and food takes on unusual color, whimsy…

In the basement of the Park Hill Community Bookstore, the volunteers who work there have written the opening lines of their favorite books on a yellow door. It’s a daily reminder of the importance of literature — and the reason they decided to donate their time and energy in the…

Though they seem polar opposites, vegans and hunters have more in common than you might think, according to Tovar Cerulli. He would know; he’s been both. In his new book, The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance, Cerulli traces his relationship with mindful eating through years of being vegan…

A young woman with a supernatural talent for finding things goes looking for trouble and gets it in the form of a monstrous man who uses children for his own dark ends in Joe Hill’s new novel NOS4A2. The book delves into a world where certain special people can make…

Most fans will know author Rory Freedman as co-author of the best-selling Skinny Bitch, a lifestyle book disguised as a diet book. Now she’s back to expand on her philosophy about animals in Beg: A Radical New Way of Regarding Animals. And to some people, it will seem radical. We…

With Red Moon, noted author Benjamin Percy dives into genre fiction with a story about werewolves that live among us, feared and reviled and relegated to the fringes of society. The book fuses literary muscle to a skeleton of horror to create a rare breed of werewolf novel that offers…

It was an American writer, Dashiell Hammett, who wrested the detective novel from the polite confines of British tea parlors and morning rooms, packed with sleuthing aristocrats and poisoned butlers, and put it back in the gutter where it belongs. But it took a British writer, Philip Kerr, to retool…

Reading is about more than following a narrative or learning facts; it can also be a profound shared experience that culminates in a better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club, a weekly feature that celebrates the books that inspire Denver artists…

Set in the depths of a Denver recession, Manuel Ramos’ new novel follows Gus Corral as he gets caught up in a gritty world of warring gangs, murder and a missing religious artifact. Out now on Arte Público Press, Desperado: A Mile High Noir uses the North Side of Denver…

Reading is about more than following a narrative or learning facts, it can be a profound shared experience that culminates in the better understanding of ourselves and each other. In that spirit, welcome to the Westword Book Club, which celebrates books that inspire Denver artists. This week, Adrian Mesa, a comedian, gourmand and charming barbecue guest, discusses his favorite book, The Pilgrimage, by Brazillian novelist Paolo Coelho. The Pilgrimage concerns its protagonist’s spiritual development as he traverses the road to Santiago de Compostela, an important catholic pilgrimage site in Northern Spain.

A poet, dancer and visual artist, Serena Chopra is a powerful artistic force. Whether she’s performing as part of the Evolving Doors Dance Company or working as RedLine’s writer-in-residence, Chopra is constantly putting out fascinating work, like her recent This Human, a full-length poetry book that delves into the concept…

When they met a few years ago, Ken Arkind and Charly Fasano became fast friends. Like Arkind — an American National Poetry Slam Champion who tours the world performing and teaching poetry as executive director of the award-winning Minor Disturbance Youth Slam Team — Fasano liked to perform poetry at…

The plane lands in Aspen at a quarter after four; I’m late. Outside the terminal, which doubles as a café for sharp-dressed skiers and businessmen, D.J. Watkins is waiting in his heavy-breathing ’89 Subaru Legacy. The 29-year-old Kansas native moved to Aspen five years ago, determined to preserve Hunter S…

Not long ago, Graham Elliot moved to Colorado to chase a girl. Unfortunately, his quest for love didn’t conclude with a picturesque Hollywood ending. So Elliot did what most spurned lovers do: He wrote a novel, of course. In 2012 Elliot released A Pact for Life, a story about a…

On the phone, author Nathan Englander reminds me of young boys I sat across from at the Passover Seder table as a child; as if hyped up on one sip too many of the mild Manischewitz, he talks and talks, building invisible and fantastical windmills in the air before him…

After 35 years as a criminal defense attorney, Jeanne Winer has published her first novel. The Furthest City Light is set in Boulder and draws on her life in the courtroom, but it’s neither a mystery nor a legal procedural. Instead, it’s a wise and often humorous examination of a…

As a poet, Hoa Nguyen writes concise, lyrical poetry that mimics the quality of music, reflecting on grand themes of planetary grief and experiencing the numinous. Her other pursuit, as a reader of tarot cards, deals in many of the same archetypes and patterns. Nguyen will be in town Saturday…

Benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax are one of the most widely prescribed drugs in America — and one of the most addictive. In Death Grip, which came our yesterday, Boulder-based author, expert climber and former editor-in-chief of Climbing magazine Matt Samet chronicles his five-plus-year struggle with an addiction to the…

It can be difficult to be an introvert growing up in a world geared toward extroverts. In her New York Times bestselling book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain questions what she calls the “Extrovert Ideal” of Western society and suggests that…