Opinion

Paul Harding offers deep insight into the passage of time, loss, and the importance of family in this highly literary work of fiction, "Enon."

The investigation of a serial killer near Mt. Tamalpais threatens and shapes the life of a thirteen-year-old girl in Joyce Maynard's novel, "After Her."

Violence, political upheaval, and illness are the reality which begins to intrude on Farida's dreams of life in Africa, and she must wrestle with love and make a heart-wrenching decision in Rebecca Walker's debut novel, Adé.

Jayne Anne Phillips brings back to light the haunting story of serial killer Harry Powers in her novel, "Quiet Dell."

The second movie in "The Hunger Games" series lures us into the theater for one of the fastest 2 1/2 hours on record...

Hanna Krall's novella, "Chasing the King of Hearts" is a story of love and survival during the horror of the Holocaust.

Bring on the Dark Elves and the popcorn, we're gonna watch Thor slam the bad guys!

Part memoir and part science, "What the Dog Knows" is Cat Warren's journey with a bigger-than-life dog as they go from novices to professionals in the world of the working K9.

P. D. Viner examines the weight of grief and its destruction of a family in the wake of a child's death, in this debut novel, "The Last Winter of Dani Lancing."

How much of a difference will there be between viewers who have and viewers who have not read the book?

A solitary orchardist in the Pacific Northwest, grieving for his sister's death, finds two traumatized young girls on his property in Amanda Coplin's novel, "The Orchardist."

What, the cheapskate Bernie coughed up the bucks to see a movie twice? Oh, the 3-D...

Bernie and Sand take their popcorn habit to check out Tom Hanks and the ocean in the movie "Captain Phillips."

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney turn in superb performances in the science fiction movie "Gravity."

An old American at the end of his days living in exile in Brazil writes down the story of his grand and improbable life, placing the pages in an antproof case for safekeeping, in Mark Helprin's novel, "Memoir From Antproof Case."

Seriously, there are some things you don't need to ask about...

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul...let's hope that the mouth is not the window to the brain...

Author Beth Kephart presents a workshop about the writing of memoir, and shares her knowledge in her book, "Handling the Truth."

Michael Crummey has crafted a novel rich in the history of Newfoundland: River Thieves, a story of the loss of hunting and fishing grounds of the Beothuk Indians.

Kate Atkinson's novel "Life After Life" is flawless, darkly comic, and filled with a poignant insight into what makes us human.

After his Keira Knightley film festival, Bernie presents his findings.

Kelly Braffet dares to go to disturbing places, digging deep inside the pathos of her characters in her novel, "Save Yourself."

Derek Sherman's debut novel, "Race Across the Sky," explores the limits of human endurance both physically and emotionally.

The trilogy of movies by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright concludes with "The World's End."

Kristiana Kahakauwila's "This is Paradise" is a haunting, beautifully crafted collection of stories from a penetrating and talented new voice in fiction.

Bernie finds an old DVD, and his daughter and son-in-law talk him into watching "Hot Fuzz."

Detective Alex Morrow must defy her boss and solve a brutal murder -- one in which a childhood friend is a suspect. Book Two of the Alex Morrow trilogy by Denise Mina.

Margaret Atwood gives a different take on "The Odyssey" in this novelette, "The Penelopiad," told from the point of view of Odysseus' wife.

Bernie and Sand head off to see the latest sci-fi flick, "Elysium," and Sand vows never again to see any film that has the phrase "bone saw" in it.

"Mr. Darwin's Gardener," by Kristina Carlson, explores faith, religion, and life through peoples' grief and loss, and through the hope that heals them.