Written in a slow, languid, lyrical style so light that it nearly floats, Richard Ford’s new novel, Canada, further solidifies the author’s position among the best American writers of our time.  

A beautiful married woman suddenly and mysteriously disappears and her husband immediately becomes the chief suspect in her murder. It’s a storyline so frequently used in books and films that it’s almost become a worn-out cliché. But that is definitely not the case in Gillian Flynn’s third and latest psychological thriller, Gone Girl.  

As the mercury begins its steady ascent and the humid days give way to sultry nights, the climate-controlled environs of Cincinnati’s art galleries beckon. But with the spring season nearing its end and several galleries paring back their programming, despite best efforts to beat the heat, this summer’s hottest works are going to be found outside.
  

Many popular comedians are recognized from TV performances, movie work or perhaps a radio program like The Bob & Tom Show. Or maybe they have a popular podcast like Marc Maron or Jimmy Pardo. Rob Delaney has become one of today’s hottest comedians without any of that. Most comedy fans know Delaney strictly from Twitter. (Follow him at @robdelaney, if you don’t already.)   

Word has started to get out that Contemporary Arts Center’s 2012-2013 season will feature a major show by Patti Smith. But it hasn’t yet been made clear — because the show isn’t scheduled until next May — that this is meant to be far more than just a local stop on a national museum tour.
  

The theme of The Mercantile Library’s Harriet Beecher Stowe Lecture series is “writing to change the world.” Few writers live up to that idea better than Chris Abani, who was imprisoned in his native Nigeria after the publication of his first novel, 1985’s Masters of the Board.
  

The most successful Cincinnati Fringe Festival since the annual event’s launch in 2004 wrapped up on June 9, boasting a nearly 9 percent increase in overall attendance compared to 2011, from 7,177 to 7,728. More than 230 artists performed, and the number of sold-out performances, 24, set a new record.
  

The most successful Cincinnati Fringe Festival since the annual event’s launch in 2004 wrapped up on June 9, boasting a nearly 9 percent increase in overall attendance compared to 2011, from 7,177 to 7,728. More than 230 artists performed, and the number of sold-out performances, 24, set a new record.  

I find a lost fledgling in my backyard. He blunders about on big feet and his bleating mouth asks to be fed or put back in the nest. I do not speak bird, but I know who does. I call Sheida Soleimani, artist, violinist with the band Marmalade Brigade and Cincinnati’s unofficial avian intermediary.  

As CityBeat’s June 6 issue goes to press, the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival is about half over. All 29 shows have opened and a few have concluded their runs. You still have several chances to see some great shows before the Fringe concludes on Saturday.
  

When the Cincinnati History Museum delves into its attic, or “storage,” as museums are more likely to call their collection of out-of-sight possessions, it has at hand treasures from some of the best attics in the city, among other sources.   

I always admired the BombShells, Cincinnati’s yarn-bombing ladies.  I just didn’t think that, given my lack of crafting skills, I could become one. Now, living the dream of wannabes worldwide, I’ve been invited to participate in a bombing.   

It’d be tempting to turn a show titled Full of Color into a gimmick. Just present a lot of bright, happy paintings and watch the crowds come.  

By the time you read this, the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival will be fully under way. Even if you can’t see every show, you owe it to yourself to come for an evening or two and sample the creativity that will be flowing throughout the 10 venues across Over-the-Rhine.  

Does an art academy founded in the 19th century have a place in today’s world? John Sullivan, new president of the Art Academy of Cincinnati, believes it does.