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George Kegley, a retired reporter for The Roanoke Times, would like to recommend "WISDOM, LOVE, SONG" by Richard F. Bansemer.

Blurb Inc. 111 pages. $10.00.

Richard Bansemer, retired Lutheran bishop and pastor, who lives on a wooded ridgetop west of Salem, loves to work with words—He’s the author of 11 books, the librettos for five oratorios and a monthly crossword puzzle in a national magazine.

His latest work is a perceptive book of poems about nature, spiritual matters and relationships. He puts it this way: “Poems inspired by the Wisdom of a Creator, Mother Nature, a Mind above all minds, often marvel at the intricate weaving of seasons, breath, food, pain, mist, life..nearly everything we know as nature.”

Bansemer’s poem about three autumn leaves pictured on the cover says:
“If you’ve ever been kissed by fallen leaf
Upon your cheek on gray cold days.
You know the power of that wet
To grace you with its best effort”

His simple but meaningful poetry is divided in clusters of “Wisdom’s Nature,” “Love’s Passion” and “Song’s Word.”  Another section contains excerpts from his texts to oratorios about Jonah, Job, Solomon, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Jesus.

Most appropriate for these busy days is a poem with these opening lines:
“Slow me down, Lord, I am running too fast;
People expect more out of me than I can give.”

If I were to suggest a must-read book, it would be Howard Blum’s “American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century.”

That’s a weighty subtitle, but this yarn about the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in 1907 and the subsequent search for the bombers, documents the 9/11 of its day. But this time, it’s not international terrorism but the increasingly violent rivalry between labor and capital at the center of the action.

The cast includes a private detective known as “America’s Sherlock Holmes,” his rival, super-lawyer Clarence Darrow, and D.W. Griffith, the man who revolutionized filmmaking and provided the germ that became today’s Hollywood film industry.

— Matt Chittum, data delivery editor for roanoke.com

For a review of "American Lightning," click here.

Have you read a book that you just have to tell people about? Did you ever finish a read and feel truly changed by it? Maybe there has been some purely frivolous fiction in your life that you fell into, or a deeply touching tome that you have never forgotten, or a book you read as a kid that changed your outlook on life. Would you tell us about it?

We have a small piece in the printed paper every Sunday in which we pass on recommendations to our readers. We'd like to hear what you have to add to this feature, and may use your suggestions in a future printed Books page.

If you read a chapter book with your child and really enjoyed the time and imagination spent, tell us about it. If your book club had the best time with a humorous memoir and you think everyone should read it, let us spread the word. Check back here to see what others have to recommend.

Books are like people — very different on the inside and out. And even though their covers range from flashy and colorful to dull and worn, the pages and their stories may still represent something very different inside.

Jodi Piccoult and Adrianna Trigiani are two of my favorite authors. I enjoy every book they’ve written.

Piccoult seems to use almost the exact same formula for writing in every book, yet each is very different and is guaranteed to surprise the reader every time. Above and beyond a very good read, you can expect to finish each Piccoult book with a different perspective on life itself.

Adriana Trigiani wrote the "Big Stone Gap" series of books. I treasure each one as Trigiani knows how to breathe life into each of her characters. She will have a new series of books out in February called "Very Valentine." I can’t wait to dive in.

Other books that have made a big difference to me are "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls; "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen; and "The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian. Each of these books was guaranteed page turner.

— Amy Hanek, Glade Hill