The gift of words

When we were kids, my best friend Bruce and I often camped in my backyard in the tent I earned by selling seed packets door-to-door. So, when I heard Riley Sager interviewed about his latest mystery, Middle of the Night, which begins with ten-year-old best friends Billy and Ethan camping in Ethan’s backyard, I was immediately intrigued. Ethan wakes up in the morning to find he’s alone in the tent. The side of the tent where Billy had been sleeping has a large gash in it. When Ethan returns to live in his childhood home 30 years later, Billy is still missing. Bizarre things begin to happen—things that suggest Billy might have returned, too. No other book has literally caused chills to run up my spine or so delighted me with its twists and turns. If I can find Bruce, who has gone missing from my life, he’s getting this book for Christmas.

Nobody thought rancher Sonny Lamb would ever amount to anything. He was considered a “good-hearted loser” who married above his station. After all, the townspeople watched Sonny purchase his own beloved bull Joaquin at auction when it became clear that the only other person bidding had dog food in mind as Joaquin’s fate. Unlike others, political operative L. D. Sparks saw potential in Sonny—potential to become a state representative, flipping Sonny’s west Texas district from blue to red. Both Sonny’s campaign and his tenure as a legislator prove that Sonny, although not perfect, does indeed have a good heart plus a creative mind. Lawrence Wright’s characters in Mr. Texas, though fictional, will certainly be recognizable. He plays with stereotypes, then surprises readers by challenging or destroying those stereotypes in a fun way. This novel is clearly informed by Wright’s Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalism.

My family loves word puzzles, particularly Wordle and crossword puzzles. However, they are busy people who don’t have the time to benefit from a full subscription to the New York Times (although they do read the Century). I was delighted to discover that purchasing a gift subscription solely to the Times puzzles is an option. The subscription includes full access to Spelling Bee, Wordle, the Crossword, and other games from the Times.
—Trice Gibbons, audience development editor