Joanne Leedom-Ackerman used to teach writing at NYU and CCNY. Now she is a Vice President of PEN International and the author of a new political thriller. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

Up on the roof of a New York City apartment building, tenants gather to tell tales and escape their isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. That’s the setting of a new collection of stories. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

In her first work of fiction, a New York psychiatrist explores our human need to forge relationships with each other through a series of short stories. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

A Long Island detective gets caught up in the greedy intrigue of the pharmaceutical industry as he searches for a missing biochemist. That’s the latest plot in a mystery novel by author Chris Knopf. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

There are a wealth of biographies on the life of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. A new book challenges how those profiles interpret the man, his life, and his work. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

First, it was a biography. This summer it was a must-see movie. Our Book critic Joan Baum read the book and saw the film. Here’s her review of American Prometheus.

Star Crossed is a new book that tells the true story of two young people in Paris, who fell in love during the Nazi occupation. Our Culture Critic Joan Baum has this review.

Life in Harlem during the volatile 1970’s. That’s the setting for author Colson Whitehead’s latest novel. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

The Box Art Auction is one of the highlights of summer on the East End of Long Island. And it's all for a good cause. WSHU's Culture Critic Joan Baum speaks with Arlene Bujese, the benefit chair of the auction.

A missing child, a family torn apart, and a genealogy test that uncovers long-held secrets. That’s just the beginning of a new novel by WSHU’s Classical Music Producer Lauren Rico. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.