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Off the Shelf: Such a Life by Lee Martin

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Read the beginning of "Colander" from Such a Life by Lee Martin: "One summer morning the telephone rang in my grandmother’s house, and, because she was busy washing dishes at the sink, I ran to answer it. She kept the new dial phone on a library table by her bedroom window, a bedroom off the kitchen in the modest frame house where I’d spent the night. It was 1962, and I was seven years old. Progress had come to our sleepy, backwoods part of southern Illinois in the form of telephones you dialed instead of cranked and seven-digit numbers instead … Continue reading Off the Shelf: Such a Life by Lee Martin

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Discover great new writers

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Each year, the Discover Great New Writers Program from Barnes and Noble has introduced readers to up-and-coming new authors, many of whom have been from UNP. Past UNP winners include Ted Kooser (Local Wonders), Brandon Schrand (The Enders Hotel), Daryl Farmer (Bicycling Beyond the Divide) and most recently, Jon Pineda (Sleep in Me). Do you know an author (UNP or otherwise!) who you think should be considered for this honor?  If so, enter their works in the Facebook Sweepstakes here. You’ll be automatically in the drawing for a new NOOK Tablet. Check out Barnes and Noble’s website or stop by … Continue reading Discover great new writers

In the NewsLeave a comment

A new year’s resolution of reading

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Inside In the United States of Africa (2009), French-speaking African writer Abdourahman A. Waberi turns the fortunes of the world upside down. On this reimagined globe a stream of sorry humanity flows from the West, from the slums of America and the squalor of Europe, to escape poverty and desperation in the prosperous United States of Africa. It is in this world that an African doctor on a humanitarian mission to France adopts a child. And this story is as deadly serious as it is wickedly satiric. Thanks to the translators, David and Nicole Ball, this tale was made available … Continue reading A new year’s resolution of reading

Guest blogs, In the NewsLeave a comment

An adventurer’s delight

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In a remote kingdom hidden in the Himalayas, there is a trail said to be the toughest trek in the world—24 days, 216 miles, 11 mountain passes, and enough ghost stories to scare an exorcist. Beneth Blossom Rain: Discovering Bhutan on the Toughest Trek in the World is Kevin Grange’s account of his journey across the country of Bhutan by taking on this infamous trail, the Snowman Trek. Seattle University Magazine’s Maura Beth Pagano called it “a treat for any adventurer.” She also said that “not only does the author let readers catch a glimpse into his time on the … Continue reading An adventurer’s delight

EventsLeave a comment

Win food from Negev Nectars

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Get hungry because Zester Daily is having a “Nosh like a Pro” contest! Enter to win a box of Israeli foods from the company Negev Nectars. Five readers will also be picked to receive a copy of Jewish American Food Culture. Click here to enter now. Zester Daily is an award-winning online publication produced by an international collection of experienced journalists, food writers and wine experts who want to engage food and drink enthusiasts. Continue reading Win food from Negev Nectars

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Pipeline denied through Nebraska Sandhills

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 Today, President Obama denies the Transcanada pipeline permit through Nebraska Sandhills protecting Nebraska’s watershed. Read the full story. UNP has two forthcoming titles you will want to check out, one that focuses on the Sandhills and one that is an exploration of America’s energy infrastructure. In David Owen’s book, Like No Other Place he focuses on the Nebraska Sandhills and the essence of its uniqueness and its people.   Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism by Ozzie Zehner provides insight on why we should change our energy consumption habits and why alternative … Continue reading Pipeline denied through Nebraska Sandhills

AwardsLeave a comment

Ruth wins National Jewish Book Award

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Last week, Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and the late Tivka Frymer-Kensky were awarded the National Jewish Book Award in Women’s Studies for The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth, published by The Jewish Publication Society. The award will be presented during a ceremony in New York this coming March. The National Jewuish Book Award is the longest-running North American awards program of its kind in the field of Jewish literature. Ruth is the latest in the JPS Bible Commentary series. The authors provide a critical, line-by-line commentary of the biblical text, presented in its original Hebrew, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, as well as the … Continue reading Ruth wins National Jewish Book Award

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Grace Abbott remembered

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Grace Abbott (1878–1939), was a tireless and brilliant social reformer in the early twentieth century who contributed to the development of social programs that safeguarded mothers and children, protected immigrants from abuse, and rescued child laborers from the appalling conditions of the time. Recently in the Lincoln alternative paper, Prairie Fire, Jane Renner Hood wrote a two-part series on Grace Abbott and her workings in the United States. The first article gives a brief bio of Abbott and describes her work with the Immigrants Protective League, and the second article considers her work as “…the nation’s foremost voice for children … Continue reading Grace Abbott remembered

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What They Saved named first winner of new prize

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What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish Past by Nancy K. Miller, has won the very first Jewish Journal Book Prize. The prize is given in recognition of a book of exceptional interest, achievement and significance and is selected by The Jewish Journal’s book editor and its editor-in-chief. What They Saved was chosen because “…Miller’s account of her own experience is exceptional in the grace of her prose, the depth of her insight and the power of her gifts as a storyteller,” according to an article on the Jewish Journal's website. Miller’s book was originally reviewed in The Jewish Journal … Continue reading What They Saved named first winner of new prize

In the NewsLeave a comment

The best of 2011

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As 2011 came to an end, many UNP books were made best-of lists for the year. Among them: D.G. Myers from Jewish Ideas Daily listed What They Saved: Pieces of a Jewish Past by Nancy K. Miller in a list of his top 38 Jewish books. Golf Digest endorsed Brassies, Mashies and Bootleg Scotch: Growing Up on America’s First Heroic Golf Course by Bill Kilpatrick Jr. as a great holiday book to “stay in touch with the game.” The Dream of a Broken Field by Diane Glancy was named a 2011 favorite by John Wilson from Books and Culture: A … Continue reading The best of 2011