Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson My rating: 5 of 5 stars During almost the entire reading of this book I had to remind myself it was a true story. I think if the author had gone to his publisher with a story about a 20-year-old American student at the Royal Academy of Music in London who broke into a natural history museum to steal rare bird skins/feathers -- some collected by a colleague of Charles Darwin -- so he could sell them to Victorian salmon fly-tying enthusiasts. The authorities do catch up with the thief, Edwin Rist, but his punishment is less-than-satisfying when you consider the enormity of the crime. Johnson does explain the importance of these skins and feathers, and how/why he got personally involved, which is just as interesting as the weird crime. You can hear my interview with Kirk Wallace Johnson here View all my reviews

If you've wished you could read more about Louisa Clark from Me Before You and After You , JoJo Moyes has granted your wish. You can hear my conversation with JoJo here: Interview with JoJo Moyes

The mother of a teenager finds a Rolex watch, bundles of cash and other items in his bedroom and hires private detective Elvis Cole to find out how he got the loot. Cole learns that the teen and two others are behind a string of home burglaries in rich neighborhoods and, one item they stole is very valuable to the owners -- for a reason other than money. It's so impoCrartant, in fact, that people who get in the way of its recovery are ending up dead. One of my favorite parts of this book is that the mom sees that something is amiss and does something about it. In other words: She's a parent. Hear my interview with Robert Crais here http://wesb.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/LiveLine-01-04-18-Authors-Robert-Crais-and-Brad-Taylor.mp3

I just finished an interview with my friend, author Ann McCauley, about her brand new book, "Pressure Cooker Christmas." (It is not cookbook.) It's been getting great reviews, and I'm so happy for her! She's doing a book signing Friday at On the Side Books on Kennedy Street, and then another December 9 at the Main Street Mercantile. You can hear the interview here: http://wesb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/LiveLine-11-30-17-Author-Ann-McCauley-on-Pressure-Cooker-Christmas-not-a-cookbook.mp3

I had the pleasure of chatting with authors Preston Rice and TK Bethea (separately) recently. You can hear the interviews here: http://wesb.com/liveline-ondemand/ Preston, and his brother Brock, have written these adventure stories to help promote good behavior and outdoor play for young children. The latest is "Little Forces and the Haunted House," just in time for Halloween. http://www.littleforces.com/ TK Bethea has written about a single dad and his son who adopt a dog, Doc Holliday, who overhears a conversation that makes him think the father and son don't want him, so he sets off to find his birth parents. You can also go to https://www.adventuresofdoc.com/ for lots of very cool surprises.

FINALLY: The interviews are finally uploaded! You can listen here . UPDATE: Spoke too soon on that. No one is more frustrated than I am. Believe me. (See what I did there?) We've been having problems with our website all summer and I have been able to upload interviews sporadically at best. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however. I was able to upload the show featuring Linda Fairstein and Ace Atkins, but the page it's on -- http://wesb.com/liveline-ondemand -- won't load. Baby steps, I suppose. Baby steps. Other interviews coming up include T. Jefferson Parker, Katherine Nouri Hughes, Augustus Rose. Stay tuned!

Imagine Jackie Kennedy before she married Jack. Pretty, sophisticated with her own interests and career goals. Then she gets caught up in the Kennedy mystique and gives up everything to live the Camelot dream. Add some dirty little secrets, a wild sister and a brief but intense affair with a cousin. Sound like delicious fun? You bet it is. Replace Jackie with Tiny Schuyler Hardcastle and you've got "Tiny Little Thing," the latest must-read-this-summer novel by Beatriz Williams. Not that this is a veiled biography of Jackie Kennedy. This just gives you an idea of the era, and the kind of people who are in the book. Williams makes you root for Tiny as she comes into her own and realizes she may not want to be part of the Hardcastle dream after all. The chapters go back and forth from 1964 (pre-marriage) to "present day" 1966, when Tiny's husband Frank is running for Congress. We were briefly introduced to Tiny in last summer's "The Secret Life of...

I don't think it would be possible for me to like "Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands" more than I do. A reactor at a nuclear power plant in Vermont has exploded, killing Bill and Mira Shepherd, leaving their teenage daughter Emily an orphan. What's worse is that the townspeople -- and eventually everyone else -- are blaming Bill for the catastrophe. It doesn't take long for Emily to decide she can't let people know who she is because she would be a pariah-by-association. She becomes a street kid, with everything you would imagine that entails. At one point she meets a 9-year-old homeless boy and becomes somewhat of a surrogate mother to him. The rest of the story deals with how Emily decides to get on with her life, and I don't want to give any of that away. I should also add that this book is so compelling that I read it in one day. You can listen to my talk with Chris Bohjalian here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Tom Clancy Under Fire A Jack Ryan Jr. Novel Remember when Russia was "The Bad Guy" and we could all feel secure in the fact that we just had to worry about them and that was about it? Grant Blackwood takes us back to those days of Russia being the bad guy in "Under Fire." Or are they the bad guys? You'll have a fun time trying to figure out the good guys from the bad guys in this latest installment of the Jack Ryan Jr. series. Even Jack isn't sure if he should trust one of his oldest and dearest friends. One of the most interesting parts of the book deals with how social media plays an important role in political uprisings. Simply fascinating. You can hear my chat with Grant Blackwood here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Thank you, Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce for including me in the newsletter (and Don Fredeen for letting them know.). The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Did you see M.J. Rose's "The Witch of Painted Sorrows" in this week's People magazine. Now, you can hear what M.J. herself has to say about the book. WESB.com/listen . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

In recognition of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, WESB's LiveLine is running a series covering a variety of related topics. Last week, Cindy Wright of McKean County Early Intervention talked about that program. Tomorrow, Ann Dunkerton will talk about "positive youth development." You can hear LiveLine at 12:35 p.m. on 1490 WESB, or you can listen on demand by going to WESB.com/listen , click on the "local programs" tab and scroll to the date you want. (Wouldn't you like us to get a new website that made it easier? ;) ) On related note, LiveLine has dedicated every Monday this year to child development issues. Today, Alliyson Maduri talked about when to introduce your baby to solid food, and what foods to introduce. She'll be continuing that next week. If you have questions, feel free to give us a call at 368-9372, leave your question here or at facebook.com/1490wesb or email 1490@wesb.com . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since ...

Earlier this month our Monday LiveLine series on infant and toddler development centered on the detrimental effect "screen time" can have on babies. This includes TV, tablets, phones, etc. Thursday, NPR ran a story on the same topic. You can read the NPR piece here . You can listen to local speech and language pathologists Betsy Costello and Alliyson Maduri talk about it by going to WESB.com/listen and scrolling to "LiveLine 02-02-15 Babies and TV" in Local Programs. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Friends of Hanley Library at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will present its 22nd annual “Season’s Readings” on WESB’s LiveLine program next week. The show, which can be heard at 1490 AM, will be broadcast at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Following up on his reading two years ago of the first half of Truman Capote’s short story, “A Christmas Memory,” Dr. Donald Ulin will read the conclusion of the story, in which the narrator, Buddy, is enrolled in military school. This poignant and evocative short story is based on Capote’s autobiographical recollection of his last Christmas spent with an elderly woman who was his distant cousin and best friend. The narrative, as told through the eyes of a 7-year-old boy, touches on friendship, family, loneliness and loss. The annual radio readings on WESB began with the late Dr. Robert C. Laing, Jr., professor emeritus at Pitt-Bradford. Since 2001, Dr. Donald Ulin, associate professor of English, has carried on this treasured B...

Conewango Creek in Warren County is in the running for River of the Year in Pennsylvania. It is currently in second place in the voting, which ends December 15. You can cast your vote at http://pariveroftheyear.org/2015-river-of-the-year-nominees-3/ And you can hear members of the Conewango Creek Watershed Association on Monday’s LiveLine to learn about what’s been done to get such notoriety for Conewango Creek. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Creepy, grotesque but true stories of the medical field in the 19th Century. Listen to my chat with Cristin here . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

You can find a list of trick-or-treating times and other Halloween activities on our community calendar at http://www.wesb.com/news/comcal/ . You can also listen to some safety tips for your pets by going to WESB.com/listen , clicking on the "Local Programs" tab and scrolling down to today's LiveLine and "Halloween and Your Pets." The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

You may remember a few years ago that a man walked along Route 6 from Cape Cod to Long Beach California. Well, Joe Hurley is making another trip another the historic highway, and this time he’ll be stopping at libraries along the way. Among the places he’ll be stopping are Bradford, Smethport and Port Allegany in McKean County and Coudersport and Galeton in Potter County. We’ll be talking with Hurley on an upcoming LiveLine about his trek, and the book he wrote following his last journey – “Ten Million Steps on Route 6.” The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pulitzer Prize winning author Alison Lurie has written a book about how buildings speak to us. She said while getting ready for our interview this morning she looked up some of Bradford’s buildings and was struck by the differences between the old and current libraries, and that, at first, she was put off by the outside of the West Washington Street building. Listen to her brief comments here . She also talked about Old City Hall and Bradford Area High School. Her book is “The Language of Houses: How Buildings Speak to Us,” and you can hear my chat with her on an upcoming LiveLine. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The annual Crook Farm Country Fair is being held Saturday and Sunday at the historic Crook Farm on Seaward Avenue. 100.1 The Hero's Igor will be broadcasting live at Crook Farm from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Organizers are bringing back the popular Sunday breakfast this year. It will start at 9:30 a.m. Only 100 tickets are available. You can buy them at the Bradford Landmark Society, Tin Ceiling Gift Shoppe or Ott & McHenry Pharmacy. To hear more about the Crook Farm Country Fair listen to today's LiveLine: http://www.wesb.com/listen/ . Click on the "Local Programs" tab and then scroll down to today's date (8-19-14). The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947