Opinion

Felix J. Palma takes the reader on an intricate time-travelogue in the Victorian Era in his novel, "The Map of Time."

Who are you going to believe? That ugly thing on the floor?

Wendy Robards reviews Kate Watterson's fast-paced thriller "Frozen."

Set in apartheid South Africa, Eleanor Morse's brilliant and heartbreaking novel, "White Dog Fell from the Sky," explores the ways in which lives become entangled with others in the face of tragedy and loss.

"...a penetrating and compelling look into the life of one young girl during a time in history when women were considered property..." Nell Leyshon's novel, "The Colour of Milk."

What could be more classic than Boy meets Girl -- with Zombies?

Lisa O'Donnell's novel, "The Death of Bees," leads the reader on a dark and mysterious path to drugs and a backyard burial.

Giggling with anticipation, Bernie and Sand grab their popcorn for a movie with witches, crossbows, and gatling guns!

Finally, the movie powers-that-be decide to be merciful and do a general release of "Silver Linings Playbook," a movie nominated for 8 Academy Awards in 2013.

Edward Belfar's collection of stories, "Wanderers," describes the ethical and personal trials of men and women around the world.

In "All Our Worldly Goods," published five years after her death at the hands of Nazis, Irene Nemirovsky writes of the heart-wrenching uncertainties of life during wartime.

A movie about the 2004 tsunami draws the Pilarski duo back into their roles as movie critics.

Laurel, a well-known English actress living in London, wants to uncover the horrific secret her mother has kept all these years ... and must do so before her mother dies, in this novel by Kate Morton, "The Secret Keeper."

A mysterious vision experienced by a strange woman leads Emil Larsson into a turmoil of murder and political intrigue in Karen Engelman's novel "The Stockholm Octavo."

A book made into a stage play made into a movie -- is this a good idea? Eat your popcorn before the movies starts, though ...

A woman travels across the country to New England to investigate her great-aunt's disappearance -- and finds clues to her own shattered past in Brunonia Barry's debut novel, "The Lace Reader."

The story of Hungarian Jews during WW II, Julie Orringer's novel "The Invisible Bridge" is a searing, sweeping, and ultimately triumphant story about love, war, survival and the endurance of the human spirit.

After years of waiting, Bernie and Sand eagerly trek to the theater to see what Peter Jackson has come up with in his version of Tolkien's Middle Earth.

Jennifer Spiegel's novel "Love Slave" is a funny yet surprisingly poignant journey into the heart of a young woman looking for real love in New York City.

The life of Zhu Da, the Prince of Yiyang, the influential Chinese poet and painter, is at the heart of this poetic novella by Richard Weihe.

Wendy Robards reviews Kathleen Alcott's debut novel of childhood, memory, and loss: "The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets."

Two troubled kids run away from home, have a great time together, and outrage their respective adults in this quirky movie, which Sand and Bernie have waited a long time to see.

Curious about what director Ang Lee has been up to lately, Sand and Bernie get in line for the first area showing of "Life of Pi."

Author Adam Johnson takes the reader behind the secrecy of North Korea in his novel "The Orphan Master's Son."

Wearing their Steven Spielberg Fan Club hats, Bernie and Sand brave the first big winter storm to see "Lincoln" in the theater.

Barbara Kingsolver's newest novel, Flight Behavior," explores the impact of global warming and the divide between science and religion.

Can the latest Bond film redeem the dreadful mess that was "Quantum of Solace?" Bernie is eager to see, and Sand would rather accompany him to watch "Skyfall" than stay home and scrub potatoes.

Denzel Washington stars in this gripping tale of the wreckage following an in-flight mechanical failure of a passenger jet.

Wendy Robards reviews the novel "The Lighthouse Road," by Peter Geye.

Made curious about an astonishing lack of promotion, Bernie and Sand attend the first area screening of "Cloud Atlas."