Book Club: January 2026
Each week, shepherdexpress.com posts reviews of new or recent books. These are not necessarily the books you hear about in mainstream media, but the books you ought to know about.
Our book reviews lean heavy on culture, especially music and film, but also on politics, history and social issues. A well informed, culturally literate public is essential for our democracy, and in an age of dumbed-down media, reading is more important than ever. The books reviewed at shepherdexpress.om survey some of the best current writing about the world we share.
Recent Reviews Include:
What’s Leonard Maltin Cooking for Movie Night?
'Family Movie Night Menus' by Leonard Maltin and Jessie Maltin
Film reviewer Leonard Maltin and his daughter Jessie's boo couples descriptions of 25 popular movies from the 1920s through the 2000s with recipes they deem appropriate for each. Forget popcorn. How about “poison candy apples with Disney’s Enchanted?
Rick Tulsky, Injustice Town: A Corrupt City, a Wrongly Convicted Man, and a Struggle for Freedom
Injustice Town: A Corrupt City, a Wrongly Convicted Man, and a Struggle for Freedom, by Rick Tulsky
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter-lawyer Rick Tulsky has been working for decades to explore the almost casual injustices of America’s justice system, especially as applied to African Americans.
Daniyal Mueenuddin, This Is Where the Serpent Lives
This Is Where the Serpent Lives, by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Social mobility is possible, but as one of the novel’s protagonists learns the hard way, rising entails treachery and danger.
'On the Set of Forrest Gump' by Steve Starkey
According to producer Steve Starkey, writing in his new book, On the Set of Forest Gump, the studio hesitated to make the picture, giving it a flashing yellow, not a green light.
Annie Zaleski, Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs
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Stevie Nicks in 50 Songs, by Annie Zaleski
Rock critic Annie Zaleski’s nicely illustrated chronicle is a biography of the singer framed through songs associated with her career as well as written by her.
Former New York Times Writer Jeff Oloizia to Launch “Writing Forward” Podcast
Photo courtesy Jeff Oloizia
Writing Forward with Jeff Oloizia podcast promo image
Jeff Oloizia
The first episode in the Madison-based writer’s weekly interview series with Wisconsin writers will release on May 6.
