Maine is awash in great art, theater, music and writing. Recent trips to the Portland Museum of Art and the new Emery Community Arts Center at the University of Maine at Farmington reminded us of this.

Bucksport author Jane Harvey Meade declares that her debut mystery novel will appeal to women of all ages, but she is wrong. Surely female readers will like this story — but male readers will enjoy it, too.

Holden author John R. Cobb has announced the publication of his debut novel, “Judith: A Quoddy Tale” (2012, Maine Authors Publishing), a story about a family of lobstermen who work the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay.

Want to impress the flight attendant on your next trip? Make eye contact. Say “please” and “thank you.” Remove your earphones when asked a question. Be nice to your fellow passengers.
Want to alienate him or her instead? Borrow a pen and don’t give it back. Complain that the passenger ahead of you has reclined his seat. Snatch newspapers off the top of her crew bag. Stand so closely behind her in the aisle as she serves beverages that when she bends over, her rear end rubs against you.

“The Last Good Man,” a collaboration of filmmaker Anders Ronnow Klarlund and author Jacob Weinreich under the pseudonym A.J. Kazinski, delivers an intense read.