Recent content from Cory Oldweiler
In 'After the North Pole,' explorer chronicles impossible challenges
Nonfiction: An engaging history of the quest to reach the North Pole from a Norwegian explorer who knows all about extreme trips.
A look at the trailblazing musicians who came 'Before Elvis'
Nonfiction: A wide-ranging look at several pioneering Black artists from the Memphis scene who influenced the music and career of Elvis Presley.
Stop us if you've heard this one: Grizzled loner and kid make their way in an unforgiving land
Fiction: Imaginative post-apocalyptic journey in "The Way" is more focused on the ends than the means.
Review: Haruki Murakami is in fine form with 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls'
Fiction: The novel is a fantastical consideration of life, love and longing from the revered Japanese author.
Love, war and the birth of many of the world's most beloved artworks in 'Paris in Ruins'
NONFICTION: It's a precise, engrossing account of the artistic and military environment that preceded the emergence of the Impressionist movement.
From Japan, a novel about a girl who makes new friends and rides a hippo to school
FICTION: In "Mina's Matchbox," a girl lives with her aunt's family for a year and discovers a world of knowledge and mystery.
A mysterious body is just one adventure the narrator encounters in 'The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia'
FICTION: A young woman learns about the pitfalls of good intentions in an isolated Italian village.
Lydia Millet celebrates family and our green world in 'We Loved It All'
NONFICTION: An acclaimed novelist shares scientific and personal concerns.
'If You See Them' shows what happens if you don't look away from unhoused youth
NONFICTION: A tireless advocate explains how she has made a difference.
Review: 'Animal Life,' by Audur Ava Ólafsdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon
FICTION: A thoughtful meditation on midwifery and the difficulty of living in the light, set in the darkness of the Icelandic winter.
Review: 'If I Survive You,' by Jonathan Escoffery
FICTION: A remarkable debut collection of interconnected stories centered on a family of Jamaican immigrants, whose American-born son struggles to establish his place and his identity.
Review: 'Mercury Pictures Presents,' by Anthony Marra
FICTION: An entertaining and occasionally edifying look at European immigrants making movies in Hollywood during World War II.
Review: 'The Last White Man,' by Mohsin Hamid
FICTION: A thoughtful look at the evolution of racism in the United States as white people begin to lose their whiteness.
Review: 'The Angel of Rome,' by Jess Walter
FICTION: Jess Walter's new story collection features a return to Italy and a riotous take on climate change.
Review: 'Last Summer on State Street,' by Toya Wolfe
FICTION: A poignant look at growing up in Chicago public housing by a debut novelist who lived in one of the city's most notorious developments.
Review: 'An Island,' by Karen Jennings
FICTION: A probing look at the roots of inhumanity and how the past can poison our compassion.
Review: 'Marrying the Ketchups,' by Jennifer Close
FICTION: Wonderfully entertaining novel about lessons in life, love and business centered around one family's suburban Chicago restaurant.
Review: 'The Orchard,' by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry
FICTION: An intensely evocative and ultimately shattering coming-of-age novel set in the waning years of the Soviet Union.
Review: 'Small Bodies of Water,' by Nina Mingya Powles
Nina Mingya Powles' poetic and personal essay collection explores her relationship with nature and our ever-changing world.
Review: 'Thank You, Mr. Nixon,' by Gish Jen
Intricately enmeshed stories examine personal ties between families in China and the United States over the past 50 years.
Review: 'Present Tense Machine,' by Gunnhild Øyehaug, translated by Kari Dickson
A heartfelt tale about a mother and daughter separated in parallel universes brought about by the power of language.
Review: 'White on White,' by Aysegul Savas
A lyrically spare, thematically lush look at how we tell each other's stories.
Review: 'The Writing of the Gods,' by Edward Dolnick
A wide-ranging look at the discovery and decoding of the Rosetta Stone, which catalyzed our understanding of hieroglyphs and ancient Egypt.
Review: 'Lean Fall Stand,' by Jon McGregor
FICTION: A profoundly affecting story of the lives upended when a man loses his ability to communicate clearly.
Review: 'Summer Light, and Then Comes the Night,' by Jón Kalman Stefánsson
FICTION: A wistful and whimsical novel looking at life in a tiny Icelandic village.
Review: 'Tin Camp Road,' by Ellen Airgood
FICTION: A heartfelt story set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula about a single mom trying to provide for her gifted daughter.
Review: 'Below the Edge of Darkness,' by Edith Widder
NONFICTION: This enthralling memoir recounts the lifetime work of a marine biologist trying to see into the dark depths of the oceans.
Review: 'The Hero's Way,' by Tim Parks
NONFICTION: An engaging and informative trip through Italian history and the Italian countryside.
Review: 'Catch the Rabbit,' by Lana Bastašić
FICTION: A rich, rewarding debut novel of female friendship set against the backdrop of the Bosnian war and its aftermath.
Review: 'The Bookseller of Florence,' by Ross King
NONFICTION: Ross King's delightful, immersive history of books and bookselling in the heart of the Renaissance.
Review: 'First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time,' by Emma Chapman
NONFICTION: An in-depth look at the ongoing search for the universe's first stars.
Review: 'A Crooked Tree,' by Una Mannion
Fiction: The author's 1980s-suburban setting is the perfect antidote to today's hyper-technical rat race.
![Gas was $2.39 at the BP gas station ay 46th Street at Lyndale in South Minneapolis. ] GLEN STUBBE * gstubbe@startribune.com Friday September 4, 2015 P](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/4U372WPXFGGQGQHPL2CTC4SFUY.jpg?w=600&h=600&auto=format%2Ccompress&cs=tinysrgb)