A young woman’s diagnosis is only the beginning of the mystery in “Lightning Flowers.” As Katherine E. Standefer tried to make sense of her heart condition, her conscience sent her on a trip across the world.
The British author writes beautifully of her own recent bout with a personal winter, a period when she felt low and overwhelmed — and aims to help others to embrace their winters.
The authors of “The Office of Historical Corrections,” “Igifu,” “Where the Wild Ladies Are” and “A Sense of the Whole” would like to revise the record.
In “The Fabric of Civilization,” the journalist and author Virginia Postrel recounts the evolution of textile production across cultures and centuries.