The spur for Linda LeGarde Grover's new essay collection was the birth of her seventh grandchild. She wanted to write about the important Ojibwe connection between the generations, and with the land.

Anoka native Gretchen Carlson found fame as Miss America 1989. Her name filled headlines again last summer when she sued Fox for sexual harassment. Her new book, "Be Fierce," offers practical advice for women dealing with workplace harassment.

Pleasure, purpose and pride: Those are three paths to a happy life, the author says. In his latest book, Buettner examines the places where people live the happiest lives -- Denmark, Singapore and Costa Rica -- and what sets them apart.

Best-selling biographer Walter Isaacson has written a new book about a man who he says takes the cake as the "world's most creative genius": Leonardo da Vinci. He says "we can't be Newton. We can't be Einstein. But we can try to be more like Leonardo."

"The Good People" jumps off from an old account of strange happenings in "this peculiar valley, a very claustrophobic place."

David Enyeart recommends a new novel by British writer Jon McGregor: "He's not very well known in this country yet, but I think he certainly will be."

A conversation with Jacqueline Woodson, author of "Another Brooklyn" and "Brown Girl Dreaming."

In his new book "Why Buddhism is True," Robert Wright, a visiting professor of science and religion at Union Theological Seminary, explores the relationship between science and meditation, and why meditating can help us see the world more clearly.

Bookseller Jude Feldman works at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, the city's destination for genre thrills. She has seven recommendations for readers eager to explore new worlds.

MPR's Kerri Miller interviews author Sherman Alexie as part of the "Talking Volumes" series at the Fitzgerald Theater. He's written a memoir about his mother, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me."