Rebecca McBane

Author and journalist Steve Almond found himself struggling to wrap his head around the election-night results of 2016. The result of that journey is his latest book, Bad Stories: What The Hell Just Happened to Our Country. He'll discuss it Monday, March 26, with Books & Books owner Mitchell Kaplan.

The internet has been a boon to modern moms in many ways. It has provided stay-at-home moms with contact and communication with the outside world. It has practically created the work-at-home mom. And just as important, it has given moms a way to vent, to get real — often with hilarious results.

Hurricanes bring wind, rain, and a massive cavalry of windblown reporters and meteorologists who park themselves in front of cameras. But hurricanes move through and then move away and generally take the media attention with them. Inhabitants are left to clean up and rebuild in an echoing silence, grieving and...

Once upon a time, the proverbial cat lady was maligned in all forms of mainstream media, from novels to sitcoms. But no more. Since the early days of the internet, sites such as LOLcats have given quirky humans with deep affection for kitty culture a sense of community. Suddenly, all the closeted cat lovers of the world realized they were far from alone.

Once upon a time, food was something you ate. Period. The average person couldn't even name a chef, with the rare exception of someone like Julia Child. In case you haven't noticed, food is trending. Nary a meal goes by without being Instagramed, everyone is a self-proclaimed foodie, and star chefs come in all flavors. Celebrities in other fields, such as singer Trisha Yearwood, have even crossed over and become food-famous.