Gift Shopping

Shopping for STEM gifts, especially for a math-mad granddaughter, isn't easy but Boutique Academia's necklace, She Who Dares, Wins is apt as well as Tardis, Ada Lovelace and molecule necklaces. A soft little book of tips for fresh and saltwater fishers should be a hit as well as other flipbooks. A beautiful line of clothes from Edinburgh is a year round find, as well porcelain from Itsuko and Central Park plates. For my husband, a dopp kit, construction kits for grandchildren from National Building Museum. And an additional shop, SpiceAce. more »

P. D. James Q & A: What is the difference between the detective story and the crime novel? The reader can expect to find a central mysterious death, a closed circle of suspects each with credible motive, means and opportunity for the crime, a detective, either amateur or professional, who comes in like an avenging deity to solve it, and a solution at the end of the book which the reader should be able to arrive at by logical deduction from clues presented by the writer with deceptive cunning but essential fairness. What interests me is the extraordinary variety of talents which this so-called formula is able to accommodate. more »

Jill Norgren reviews: Once again I turned young readers for holiday book suggestions. I asked the same questions as in past years — "which books do you love" and "which books did you read this past year that you think other readers and listeners would appreciate?" Many favorites are new but some are classics. This year a number of books have social issue and political themes. more »

Highlights of the exhibition include a vampire slaying kit and 18th and 19th century Gothic fashions, as well as one of Alexander McQueen's catwalk creations. Also on display is a model of the Wallace and Gromit Were-Rabbit, showing how Gothic literature has inspired varied and colourful aspects of popular culture in exciting ways over centuries. more »