I read for a living, more or less, so Labor Day's approach seems like a good excuse to share some recent titles I loved that are, in addition to many other things, about work. Each does its job well, in very different ways.

In Harlem Shuffle: A Novel, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Colson Whitehead makes the world from 125th Street and above in New York City as complex a character as the people who inhabit it. He opens his tale in 1959 with a tantalizing line: "His cousin Freddie brought him on the heist one hot night in early June." Freddie is cousin to Ray Carney, who up to now had been "only slightly bent when it came to being crooked." That's what Carney continues to tell himself when Freddie tries to talk him into handling a haul from "the Waldorf of Harlem." Even though Carney thinks, "Robbing the Hotel Theresa was like taking a piss on the Statue of Liberty," he agrees to help Freddie fence the goods from their robbery.

During this pandemic, we've all learned that fresh air is important for our mental health and well-being. A daily walk is a chance to allow the mind, as well as the legs, to wander. As a writer, I'm conscious that ideas often come to me while I'm walking around the block, not while sitting at the computer.

While I was contemplating nonfiction topics that would engage kids, my (then) third-grader suggested underwear. Yes! I love hearing children laugh when they read, and there aren't many topics funnier than underpants. Once I began researching what had already been published, I felt there was a need for a concise, quick-paced book that could be amusing and informative. I charged forward like a knight in quilted underpants and wrote the first draft.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Chairman of the Emancipation Support Committee, (ESC), Khafra Kambon, said the work of LeRoy Clarke, who died earlier on Tuesday was “meant to express African reality”.

Miramar, FL. — Agent Sasco is known to reach his audience through his music. As a dancehall artist and entertainer of many years, fans have listened to his words over a beat, now the 38-year-old native of Jamaica will be speaking to an audience through words in a keynote speech at the launch of Pete Kennedy’s bestselling book “When a Man Loves – A Lifestyle & Leadership Most Men Will Never Experience”.

Seattle's 2017 designation as a City of Literature by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recognizes the remarkable diversity and vibrancy of the region's literary culture. Seattle shares this honor with Iowa City and 37 cities across the globe, including Odessa in Ukraine; Durban, South Africa; and the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Floyd Cooper, the author and illustrator of children’s books whose work spotlighted Black history, died after a battle with cancer, the Associated Press reports. He was 65.

When I was a writing student in undergrad, my fiction professor's maxim was, "Tweak up the tension." It's taken me years to figure that out, and what I think it means is best exemplified in a few of my favorite books of late.

James Salter, who died in 2015 at age 90, has long had a reputation among his fellow writers for his elegant style. Two of his best-known novels are exemplars of that gift, and a collection of lectures on writing offers a glimpse into his views of the craft.

Win prizes for reading and listening to books this summer! It’s easy to do! Start by signing up for the Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Summer Reading Challenge from June 5 through August 7.

The Florentine Renaissance is best known for its magnificent art and buildings, which include works by Michelangelo and da Vinci and structures like the Dome cathedral and the Basilica of San Lorenzo. But at the time, Florence flourished in other ways not as well known.