Nature writer Roger Deakin considers wood as a vital element of life.

An emotionally resonant story about a Swedish mother whose passion for photography offers her an escape from an oppressive marriage.

The Scottish band Franz Ferdinand broke big in 2004, but to whom much is given, much is expected. Fortunately, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand finds the gangly mod-pop quartet tinkering with its formulas, implementing innovative production and unique instrumentation while retaining its core sound.

Lauren Groff's lyricism and brash, adolescent bravura help her stories wear their graver themes as lightly as summer dresses. Smart-alecky chick-lit tales even a man can love.

At the Kennedy Center's Arabesque festival, audiences are meeting a strangely familiar bad guy. He's speaking Arabic, and courting women in burqas, but he acts a lot like Shakespeare's Richard III.

A 9-year-old finds refuge in the fantasy world ofAlice In Wonderland; for her mother, it's an all-consuming dissertation project. Daniel Barnz's film looks at a family living on the edge of the looking glass.

Theatrical, lushly orchestrated album a worthwhile experiment

Is it possible to write music that sounds like an icy landscape? Claude Debussy succeeded in a Prelude he called"Footsteps in the Snow," taking the solo piano to places it had never been before.

From the opening track of Toronto artist Laura Barrett's debut LP,Victory Garden, it's clear that this isn't the work of a traditional singer-songwriter. First of all, there is no mention of a guitar in the liner notes. Instead, a eclectic mix of instruments are listed, like the glockenspiel, vibraphone, grand marimba, theremin, oboe, viola, banjo, trumpet, trombone, xylophone, piano, and autoharp.