Bill Bushnell

Maine

Columnist at Kennebec Journal

Columnist at Morning Sentinel

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Articles

BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Outermark’ and ‘Warm Your Bones’

Dec 26, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

OUTERMARKOf short stories, writer Neil Gaiman says: “A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick — a couple of thousand words to take you around the world or break your heart.” And mid-coast Maine writer Jason Brown does all of that magic and more in this powerful short story collection. Brown is a Maine Book Award winner for his short stories, and “Outermark” is his fourth collection.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘A Life in the Garden’ and ‘Bitter Passage’

Dec 12, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

A LIFE IN THE GARDEN: TALES AND TIPS FOR GROWING FOOD IN EVERY SEASONAmerican homespun philosopher Texas Bix Bender has this advice for gardeners: “The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig.” This advice works well if you have a lot of summer houseguests. Put them to work.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘The Busy Body’ and ‘Patchwork Quilt Murder’

Nov 21, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

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BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Tell Me Everything’ and ‘The Maine Standard’

Nov 7, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

TELL ME EVERYTHINGAbout people, British writer Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) said: “I’ve always been interested in people, but I’ve never liked them.” Maine author Elizabeth Strout, however, does like people, but fans of her novels and her fascinating yet profoundly unhappy characters may ask, why?
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘The Space Between You and Me’ and ‘Oxbow Island Gang: Summer Bats’

Oct 24, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

THE SPACE BETWEEN YOU AND MEAn unknown pundit once said: “There is nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won’t aggravate.” Try telling your teenage daughter not to date that boy. South Portland author Julie True Kingsley’s debut young-adult romance novel, “The Space Between You and Me,” is a high-energy tale of young star-crossed teens awash in hormones, idealism, dreamy romanticimages, and an age-old culture clash that threatens to upend everyone’s hopes.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Real Spies Don’t Use Rowboats’ and ‘Hard Line’

Oct 10, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

REAL SPIES DON’T USE ROWBOATSOf boys, J.B.S. Haldane (1892-1964) said: “A fairly bright boy is far more intelligent and far better company than the average adult.” And that surely describes grade-school brothers Sam and John Hassenfuss of Cricket Cove, Maine. “Real Spies Don’t Use Rowboats” is central Maine author Jeffrey Hope’s debut novel for young readers, 8-12 years old.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Flood Tide’ and ‘Stephen King’s Maine’

Sep 27, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

FLOOD TIDEThe Chief of Police of Laurel, Maine, LT Nichols, is a small-town cop with a big heart, quick fists and a stubborn streak. He also does not like being pushed around by people who think he is just a Barney Fife with a badge. And now he has a case that just might bury him. “Flood Tide” by Kennebunkport author Al Waitt is the second book in his excellent mystery series featuring LT Nichols (LT stands for his undesirable nickname), following “The Ruins of Woodman’s Village” in 2023.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘The Cliffs’ and ‘Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone’

Sep 12, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

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BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: Trio of books for children from Maine authors

Aug 22, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

THE STORY OF NEEPS AND TATTIEThe authors and illustrator (two from Maine) combine their talents to tell the story of two tortoises who have lived in Annie McKay’s garden in Scotland for more than 50 years, for ages 4-8. This is a tender story of a woman who rescued Neeps (turnip) and Tattie (potato) when she was just 10 years old. The tortoises dig in the dirt, eat cucumbers, and play with Annie’s two dogs.
BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘A Gardener at the End of the World’ and ‘The Sea Flower’

Aug 8, 2024 | centralmaine.com | Bill Bushnell

A GARDENER AT THE END OF THE WORLDAs with the Black Death in Europe in 1353, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 had a profound effect on human history, for as author Margot Anne Kelley says: “The entire inhabited world changed.” And it remains to be seen if it has changed for the better.