Pam's Picks

Good Reads

2012-01-17T15:17:00.001-05:00

I've read a few good books so far this year and even though I haven't managed to write a full review for any of them, I didn't want to completely ignore them either. So, here are some quick reviews of three books I think are worth reading.

Sybil Exposed: The Story Behind the Extraordinary Multiple PersonalityCase by Debbie Nathan

Growing up in the 1970s, I was very aware of the scintillating story of Sybil and her childhood of horrific abuse. My mom had a copy of the paperback on the shelves in our family room and being a curious teen-aged bookworm, I, of course, picked it up and read it. When I heard about Sybil Exposed I was completely intrigued and felt compelled to read this painstakingly researched, non-fiction book about how the story of Sybil was actually a fabrication perpetrated by Sybil's psychiatrist, a journalist and mentally unstable (and cruelly manipulated) Sybil herself. I found this book to be fascinating and shocking. Even for the time period portrayed, the behavior of Sybil's psychiatrist was shockingly unethical. One can't help but feel badly for Sybil, who very well could have been cured of her mental illness, if not for the glory seeking psychiatrist who kept her addicted to drugs and believing she was much more ill than she was. Unconscionable. I would recommend this book to anyone who was fascinated by Sybil's story and is curious to know the truth. 4 out 5 stars. I really liked it.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A novel in pictures by Caroline Preston

As the title states, The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is a novel in pictures. But it's not a picture book or comic book. The pages of the book are made to look like the scrapbook pages of Frankie Pratt, who has recently received the scrapbook, along with her father's old Corona typewriter, as a high school graduation gift in 1920. The reader follows Frankie's life from Vassar College, to NYC and her first love to Paris via a transatlantic voyage on the Lusitania. All gorgeously illustrated with actual ticket stubs, advertisements, newspaper clippings, corsages and other tidbits that any young woman would paste into a scrapbook. Accompanying each page are typed passages that relate Frankie's adventures. The story itself is fairly simple, but the presentation is unique, charming and sumptuous. It was a delight to turn each page and discover all it's little gems. As a side note, the author has been collecting vintage scrapbooks since she was a teenager and used items from her own collection to create this utterly captivating book. A feast for the eyes. 4 out of 5 stars. I really like it.

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about the lives of 4 slave women who travel north every summer with their male masters to a resort in Ohio. Here they spend their summers as their masters' mistresses. The juxtaposition of these slave women to the black servants at the resort and the free blacks living in the town is jarring and eye opening. The varying nature of the relationships between the different women and their masters is also fascinating and at times surprising. As is the differing ways these men view and relate to these slave women. Truly a side of slavery I did not know much about. A great book for those who love history. 3.5 out of 5 stars. I (more than) liked it.

Best Books of 2011

2011-12-30T16:42:00.002-05:00

The end of the year seems to be a popular time for "Best of" Lists. I couldn't miss the opportunity to make my own Best List. Of course mine is going to be all about books. Of the 109 books I've read in 2010, 24 of them received a 4 or 5 star rating. Looking back over those, 6 rose to the top as my choice for Best Books Read in 2011. Since not all of these books were published in 2011, this is not technically a Best Books of 2011 list, but a Best Books Read in 2011 list.

Pam's 6 Best Books of 2011

When Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe - A powerful debut novel that will not leave the reader unaffected. One of three books I read in 2011 that received a perfect 5 stars.

Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro Kazuo - A stunner of a book. People either love it or hate. I loved it so much it was the second book to receive 5 stars in 2011.

Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton - A very good story, simply told! The third and final book of 2011 to receive 5 stars.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks - The 2012 Reading Across RI (RARI) winner! Brooks is a master at evoking time and place.

Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon- A very original story with characters I came to care deeply about.

Greyhound by Steffan Piper - Best book you've never heard of and might have a hard time finding. But it's worth the effort to try.

2011 was a pretty good book year for me. While I managed to read 12 more books in 2011 than I did in 2010 and I rated 24 of them 4 or 5 stars, I didn't really read any books that WOWed me. I haven't read any books that blew me away since 2009, which was a blockbuster year for me.

How about you? What are your top books of 2011? I'd love to hear from you. After all 2012 is just around the corner and I can always use some recommendations.

Christmas Comes to the Library

2011-12-01T11:20:00.005-05:00

The Christmas season is now upon us and one of the things I enjoy most about this time of year is watching all of my favorite Christmas movies. One of my all time favorites is the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. Did you know that that movie is based on the autobiographical humor of Jean Shepherd? As a matter of fact, those humorous vignettes have been compiled into two volumes: In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories, both of which are available through the library system.

If A Christmas Story is one of your favorites, you are in for a real treat. On Tuesday, December 6th at 6:30 pm, Living Literature will be performing a two person, 40 minute version of Jean Shepherd's Duel in the Snow, or Red Rider Nails the Cleveland Street Kid from which the movie was taken!

If you've never seen a Living Literature performance, you don't know what you are missing. Living Literature is a collective of Rhode Island actors and educators who present dramatic readings allowing the audience to experience stories in an unique way.

It's sure to be a fun filled evening for the whole family. Whether you're already a fan of the movie, or someone who's never heard of Ralphie Parker and the Bumpus' dogs, you are sure to be delighted by this unique and entertaining holiday program.

You might even catch a glimpse of a leg lamp!

Summer Reading Recommendations

2011-07-07T18:08:00.001-04:00

It's already July and summer is definitely in full swing. I've been getting a lot of reading done and I've read a few really great books. In case you need some inspiration for your own summer reading, here are three books I highly recommend. Happy reading!

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard - When lonely 13 year old Henry and his fragile single mother, Adele, meet a bleeding man on the Thursday before Labor Day, little do they know that their lives will never be the same.

Adele and Henry agree to help Frank and over the course of the next five days, Frank teaches Henry how to play baseball, bake a pie and believe in himself. Henry also learns the importance of putting others before himself. Labor Day is a story of love, redemption and second chances.

I read this book with the library's book club, Books on Main. We had a lively discussion about the characters, their motivations and psyches. This book is ripe for analysis and interpretation. The author has written a wonderful and illuminating essay that adds a depth of understanding to the origin of the story and the characters themselves. A great book for book clubs. 4 stars - I really liked it.

Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner - Vaclav & Lena is the story of two 7 year old Russian emigres living in Brooklyn who meet in an ESL class and become each other's only friend. Lena spends every day after school until bedtime at Vaclav's house where she is embraced by Vaclav's mother, Rasia.

Inexplicably, one day Lena disappears and a bewildered Vaclav spends the next seven years wondering what happened to her. When Lena just as suddenly reappears in Vaclav's life, he finally gets the answer to his questions. And with Vacla's help, Lena gets the answers to her questions as well.

Vaclav and Lena in an absolutely amazing debut novel. The story is original and engaging and the characters are wonderfully rendered and very real. I am stunned that this is Haley Tanner's first novel. She is a talented storyteller and a gifted writer. The level of originality and sophistication in Vaclav & Lena is truly astonishing for a young, first time author. I am anxious to see what Tanner writes next. My only regret is that I didn't read this book for book club. I'm dying to talk about it with someone. 4 stars- I really liked it.

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew -Another debut novel, this time by a woman in her 70s! The Dry Grass of August will appeal to lovers of Kathryn Stockett's The Help.

It's 1954 and 13 year old Jubie Watts and her family are travelling from Charlotte, NC to Florida with their black maid, Mary. Mary has been a part of the Watts' household for as long as Jubie can remember. But Mary is so much more than just a maid. She serves as a stabilizing force and a source of comfort and love to Jubie and her siblings.

As the family travels south, Jubie becomes uncomfortably aware of the increasing level of anti-segregation sentiment and racial tension. This tension will eventually change the Watts family, and Jubie in particular, forever.

The Dry Grass of August is a terrific story detailing a tension filled time in our nation's history. It's also a coming of age story of a young girl confronted with a question of morality at a tender age. Mayhew has written a thoughtful book filled with wisdom. The characters of Mary and Jubie are especially vividly drawn. The voice of Jubie is reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird's Scout and Mary will bring to mind the wise and loving Abileen from The Help. Another wonderful book for book clubs. 4 stars - I really liked it.

How about you? Have you read any good books this summer? Does your summer reading differ at all from what you read the rest of the year? I'd love to hear from you.

Book Reviews: A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates and Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

2011-06-11T21:35:00.000-04:00

I've recently read two wonderful books, either of which would make great summer reads.

A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates - A Widow's Tale is a memoir written by Oates after the unexpected death of her husband, Ray. At first I wasn't going to read this book because I'm a little tired of memoirs and I had read Joan Didion's memoir, A Year of Magical Thinking, which deals with the exact same subject. However, I kept hearing such glowing things about this book that I just had to see for myself. I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed this book on so many different levels. First and foremost was the writing. Oh my goodness. Oates is a master of evocative language. She can express the most emotionally authentic thoughts eloquently and succinctly. I was constantly amazed at the beautiful way in which she set her thoughts and emotions on paper. I also found her descriptions of her life with Ray to be fascinating. They had a very unique relationship. It was an intellectual and academic life between two people who had the utmost respect for each other. But there is also something fragile and childlike about Oates and in many ways her relationship with Ray seemed to have a father-figure quality to it. I was also fascinated to read how Oates views her fame. In her mind, she is Joyce Smith and Joyce Carol Oates (or JCO, as she refers to her public persona) is just that - a public persona, a draining role she is reluctantly required to fulfill. Fascinating! I've never heard anyone else talk about this before. I also learned that she is a notoriously private person and rarely gives interviews or shares anything of her personal life with the public. So writing this intensely personal book was quite a giant leap of faith for her. And very brave for one so seemingly unsure of herself. And lastly, from my own experiences with grief - both personal and as a witness to a situation very similar to Oates - I feel that Oates presents a view of grief that is authentic, real and heartrendingly accurate. 4/5 stars - I really liked it!

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks - I absolutely LOVE Geraldine Brooks' books. If you haven't already read A Year of Wonders or People of the Book, you simply must add them to the top of your tbr list! And while you're at it add Caleb's Crossing as well. Brooks is a master of evoking time and place. Her use of language, dialogue and even her writing style perfectly fit the time period and the characters of her novels. Caleb's Crossing is an historical fiction novel set in the late 1600's on Martha's Vineyard and Cambridge, MA. It tells the story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American to graduate from what would become Harvard University and his friendship with a young white girl, Bethia Mayfield. Bethia yearns for an education, which is closed off to her because of her sex. Meanwhile, Bethia's father is struggling to convert the natives to Christianity and one of his projects is to educate Caleb. Brooks does a wonderful job of presenting the societal issues of the day without becoming preachy or presenting one side or the other as being all good or all bad. The reader is presented with a clear view of the life and times of the Puritan settlers and the Native Wampanoag tribe living both on the wild island of Great Harbor and in the gritty community of Cambridge. What makes the book even more compelling is that Brooks lives on Martha's Vineyard and came to write this story when she came across a document that mentioned the real life Caleb Cheeshahteamuck. There is very little information about Caleb, but Brooks felt that his amazing story was one that should not be forgotten to time. If that isn't enough to grab your attention, it's interesting to note that until this past May when Tiffany Smalley graduated from Harvard, Caleb was not just the first Wampanoag to graduate from Harvard, he was the only one! Imagine that! 4/5 stars - I really liked it.

Reading Across Rhode Island

2011-05-04T12:57:00.002-04:00

As some of you know, I'm on the nominating committee for Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI). This year I was so please when the committee chose Rhode Island native, Craig Mullaney's amazing memoir The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education. When I saw this book on the list of nominated books my immediate reaction was that I had no interest in reading a "war book" and would wait to see if was eliminated in early discussions before committing to reading it. During our first session, another member of the group stated that she had the read book (even though she was sure she wouldn't be interested) and that it was fabulous. That got me curious. I decided to read it before our next meeting. And it made a very positive impression on me. At our next meeting there were several of us who had read the book and we all gushed about what a wonderful choice it would be for RARI. The rest is history.

This past weekend was the official celebration for The Unforgiving Minute. I had the great fortune of being invited to attend a reception for Mullaney on Friday night at his alma mater, Bishop Hendricken High School (a Catholic HS for boys). It was an extremely informal affair and I had a chance to talk briefly with him and have him sign my book. I told him how much I enjoyed his book and that I was strong supporter of it as our RARI selection. He was very gracious and humble. Then on Saturday I attended RARI's culminating event, the May Breakfast, in which Mullaney appeared and gave a talk to 425 enthusiastic readers. I attended the event with 10 members from my two book clubs. Part of the May Breakfast is also a food drive for a local pantry and participants are encouraged to bring canned goods and use them to create a centerpiece for their table. This year one of the women from the library book club, Donna, created a centerpiece that was reminiscent of one of the photographs from the book. She finished setting it up before the breakfast officially began and it immediately caught Mullaney's eye. He came right over to our table and spent the next 20 minutes talking to Donna, her husband Joe and the other members of our group. He even graciously agreed to pose for photos. It was very exciting. In the four years that I have been attending these events, no author has ever come into the crowd to visit with participants! We were all thrilled.

He then went on to give a very moving talk about the lessons he learned during his years at West Point, Ranger School, and at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He also explained to us how those lessons prepared him to lead a platoon in Afghanistan. He spoke emotionally about the deep toll the loss of one of his men had on him and stated that writing the book was really his letter to that young man's parents. This was the first time I have been moved to tears at a RARI breakfast. He also spoke eloquently of personal responsibility, responsibility for others and responsibility to our communities. He summed up this sense of responsibility when he remembered the words of one of the men who trained him at Ranger School - "It's not about you". Mullaney related to us how the full force of those words hit him when he was told of the final words uttered by the soldier in his platoon as he lay dying. Private O'Neill asked, "How are the other guys?" It's not about you. Quite a powerful message.

A Feast of Books

2011-04-01T16:48:00.006-04:00

It seems that for the last several months, when it comes to great books, it’s either feast or famine. And right now I’ve been enjoying the most amazing feast. In the last month or so I’ve read 4 terrific books. Since I’m behind on writing reviews, I’m just going to do mini reviews of all four of them in one post.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier – Chevalier has written quite a few books, most famously The Girl with the Pearl Earring. She is one of my favorite authors and I’m always interested to check out her latest book. I must admit that when I read the summary of Remarkable Creatures, I was not all that interested and had decided not to read it. But then Peggy, one of my co-workers whose opinion I value, said it was a great story and would make a good book club choice. And she was right. The story takes place in the early decades of the 1800s during a time of great scientific discovery. Remarkable Creatures tells the story of Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning, two unlikely friends who live on the coast of England in an area rich in fossils. The two women are both fossil hunters – but for very different reasons. When Mary makes an important discovery, she is thrust into the world of academia, for which she is ill equipped and which is also closed off to her because she is a woman. But Remarkable Creatures is about so much more than fossil hunting. It’s about social class, the roles of the sexes in the early 19^th century and most importantly about female friendship in all its incarnations. This is a great read and it generated a wonderful book discussion – all the more so since it is based on real people and actual events! 4 stars – I really liked it.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy – After watching the wonderful movie, The Last Station, about the last years of Tolstoy’s life, I found myself wanting to learn more about this intriguing and mystifying man. I did a little research which led me to want to immediately pick up one of his books and read it. I have always wanted to read Anna Karenina (and I will someday), but I decided I wasn’t ready to make such a big commitment. During my research, I learned that Tolstoy was fascinated with religion and death and that he was quite a philosopher. His novella, The Death of Ivan Ilyich was mentioned as being “one of the world’s supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying”. I decided it would be the perfect book to scratch my Tolstoy itch. Not only is it short , it deals with a topic that is pure Tolstoy and it was written in the latter part of his life – which fit in nicely with the fact that my interest was generated by the movie. In addition, I remember having read it in college in my Russian Literature course and I still have my copy. It was so much fun to see the passages that I highlighted as a 20 year old all those years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this classic piece of literature, which deals with a middle aged man, who has followed all the rules in his life and now finds himself suddenly faced with his own death. A matter he has never spent a moment considering. The Death of Ivan Ilyich follows Ivan’s journey as he comes to terms with his imminent demise. I noticed as I was reading that my long ago self had not highlighted any of the 34 page introduction. Which is not all that surprising. But it is a shame, because I got so much more out of this story by having first read the introduction. I can’t say that I came to any great epiphany after reading Ivan’s story. I have a feeling I’m still too far removed from my own death (at least I hope I am), but it I did enjoy the wonderful writing and I certainly can appreciate Tolstoy’s message about death. I’m pretty sure the whole point of the story was lost on me as college student. I’m so glad I made the time to revisit this “supreme masterpiece”. 4 stars – I really liked it.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – I LOVED this book! I can not say it enough. I listened to the audio version of this one in my car and I’m not sure I would have loved it quite so much if I had read it, but I can’t be sure. The book is written in a very conversational style, which might have seemed a little sleepy on the written page. Never Let Me Go takes place in England in the 1990s (my best guess). It is narrated by Kathy, a 31 year old woman, who is reminiscing about her time at a Hailsham, a boarding school, with her two closest friends Tommy and Ruth. The students at Hailsham were sheltered from the outside world and made to feel special and separate from it. Kathy left Hailsham, Tommy and Ruth behind long ago, but when they are reunited she begins to allow herself to think about her time there and to explore the dark secrets of who they really are. I don’t want to give too much away, but Ishiguro masterfully reveals the plot in small crumbs that kept me questioning and rapt. I couldn’t wait to get into my car to run errands or drive to work. I simply had to find out how this story would fully reveal itself. Never Let Me Go would make a fabulous book club book since it not only deals with issues that lend themselves well to discussion, but Ishiguro also leaves the reader pondering some big questions. Fabulous! (Note: I have heard from a friend that her book club read this one and people either loved it or hated it, but I think it’s worth giving it a try. Because if you’re in the love it camp, you will be so happy to have read it). 5 stars – I LOVED it!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand – Unbroken tells the remarkable true story of the record breaking Olympic runner and WWII veteran and POW Louis Zamperini. The book covers Zamperini’s life from his years as a delinquent teenager all way up to the present day as a still vibrant 93 year old. But the majority of the book focuses on Zamperini’s time as a bombardier and POW in the Pacific theater during WWII. Zamperini’s plane was shot down over the Pacific and he and 2 other men survived over 40 days on a leaky life raft in the shark infested waters. That alone is hard to fathom. However, when the survivors finally wash ashore it is on a Japanese controlled island and the men are taken as POWs. The majority of the book chronicles Zamperini’s time in various POW camps . What Zamperini and the other POWs were subjected to defies explanation. There were many parts of the book that I found how to believe. And while many of the atrocities are related in the book, they are handled with great sensitivity. But this is not a story of torture, it is a story of survival and the strength of the human spirit and the incredible will to live. But most of all it is the story of human dignity. But I learned so much more by reading this book. I’m embarrassed to admit that aside from Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Nagaski, I knew nothing at all about the war in the Pacific. Seems all I ever learned about was the Germans, Hitler and the Holocaust. I know have a much fuller understanding of Japan’s role in the war. Unbroken is non-fiction at its best. 4 stars – I really like it.

It’s been a really good few weeks of reading for me. I hope it continues. How about you? Read any good books lately?

The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

2011-03-13T20:03:00.000-04:00

Finally! It's been a really long time since I've read a book that I truly love. A book that I am excited to recommend. After months (and I do mean months) of lamenting my dearth of good books, I've finally read a book that I'm excited to review - The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton. I have no recollection of how I heard of The Moonflower Vine, but I'm so glad that I did.

The Moonflower Vine was written in 1962 and it was Carelton's first and only book. After reading the forward, written by Jane Smiley, I came to understand that like many books, The Moonflower Vine had become all but forgotten over time. Then in 2005, Smiley wrote a book called 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, in which she discusses 100 novels (among other things), which led to the reissue of The Moonflower Vine in 2009.

The story takes place in rural Missouri in the first half of the 20th century and tells the story of Matthew and Callie Soames and their 4 daughters. It reminded me in style of To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and So Big. It's a very good story, simply told. The characters are all rich and complex, yet they are simple, moral people trying to live good lives. The story could have been told in a sensationalistic way, but instead Carleton chose to tell the story in a more realistic and subtle way. It's the story of regular people, who see themselves as being essentially good, yet they all struggle with secrets and flaws. What makes it so authentic is that they know they are flawed and they wrestle with the that knowledge and the fact that it doesn't fit in with their own or society's view of them. It's a great story. I couldn't wait to see how the story would play out, yet I didn't want it to end. 5 stars - It was amazing.

Inconceivable by Carolyn and Sean Savage

2011-03-08T12:06:00.001-05:00

By now I'm sure most of you have heard Carolyn and Sean Savage's heartbreaking story. They are the couple who where inadvertently given the wrong embryos during an IVF treatment. When faced with this horrible and horrifying news, they decided to not only continue the pregnancy, but to surrender the child to his biological parents and not fight for custody of him. It's hard for me to imagine a worse situation to be in. And if faced with a similar situation, I'm not sure I would have been as strong, gracious or giving as the Savage's.

The story was made even more poignant by the fact that due to medical considerations, this would be Carolyn Savage's last pregnancy. She would not be able to undergo another IVF treatment with her own embryos. I can only imagine her heartbreak. How difficult must it have been to carry that baby for nine months, knowing you couldn't keep him? And not because you didn't want him. You do want him. Desperately. But you choose to do what's morally right. From the beginning, Carolyn and Sean thought about the biological parents and what they would want if the roles were reversed. And they based their actions on that. Putting their own feelings aside, as much as was possible.

Inconceivable: A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift presents an honest and sometimes raw account of how Carolyn and Sean came to the decision they did and how they got through this most emotional of pregnancies and deliveries. It is a surprisingly honest presentation of their ordeal, in that the Savage's don't try to hide or sugar coat their experience. It is all revealed - the good, the bad and the ugly - but with an astonishing amount of grace, dignity and respect. Carolyn and Sean Savage are amazing people. I was so impressed with their courage and their strong sense of morals. My heart breaks for them.

This book is definitely not for everyone. It's certainly not a book that I'm telling everyone to read. For me, I was interested in reading it because I was so impressed by their story and I wanted to know more about how they came to make this difficult decision and how they were each able to reconcile this terrible situation in their own minds. Additionally, I am interested in all things medical, but especially medical and maternal. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about this strong and compassionate couple, readers who are fascinated with medical ethics or anyone who likes to read stories that force them to question how they would behave in a similar situation. What makes it all the more fascinating, heartbreaking and incomprehensible is that it is all true. 4 stars - I really liked it.

Best Books Read in 2010

2011-01-01T14:55:00.004-05:00

The end of the year seems to be a popular time for "Best of" Lists. I couldn't miss the opportunity to make my own Best List. Of course mine is going to be all about books. Of the 97 books I've read in 2010, 26 of them received a 4 or 5 star rating. Looking back over those, 6 rose to the top as my choice for Best Books Read in 2010. Since not all of these books were published in 2010, this is not technically a Best Books of 2010 list, but a Best Books Read in 2010 list.

Pam's Best Books Read in 2010

Lord of the Flies by William Golding - The only book I read in 2010 to receive a perfect score of 5 Stars. If you haven't read this one since High School or College, you really need to revisit it. It is fabulous.

Room by Emma Donoghue -This book appears on lots of Best of 2010 lists. And for once, I agree!

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education by Craig M. Mullaney - The 2011 Reading Across RI selection. I expected to dislike this book and absolutely LOVED it! Not at all what you would expect based on the title. The best book you haven't heard of.

The Red Thread by Ann Hood - Amazing book by a local author about the experience of both adoptive and biological mothers and their babies.

The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian - The book has a wickedly funny narrator. It deals with a serious topic in a lighthearted and engaging way. Another terrific book you probably haven't heard of.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls - This is the second memoir by the talented Walls, author of The Glass Castle. This time her subject is her indomitable maternal grandmother, Lily.

2010 was a pretty good book year for me. While I managed to read 10 more books in 2010 than I did in 2009 and I rated twice as many of them 4 or 5 stars, I didn't really read any books that WOWed me. 2009 was a better year for books that blew me away. How about you? What are your top books of 2010? I'd love to hear from you. After all today is the first day 2011 and I can always use some recommendations.

Great Reads

2010-12-12T12:33:00.003-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year when "Best of Lists" of all types are published and book lists are no exception. Book Pages Top 40 Books of 2010 and Amazon's Best Books of 2010 are two of many that are available for the perusal of book lovers. I have, of course, checked out those lists and was pleased to see that while I have read only a handful of the books on the two lists, I am familiar with the vast majority of them - some of which sit on my "to be read" list and some of which I have decided not to read. Looking over those lists made me realize that I have strong feelings about some of those books, which I have yet to share here. So thanks to Book Pages and Amazon for inspiring me to write this post of mini book reviews.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - This is a fascinating look at the true story of Henrietta Lacks who died of cervical cancer in the 1950s. Her cancer cells became the basis for numerous medical advances and treatments and they are still being used all over the world in research today. The story is complicated by the fact that Henrietta was a poor black woman from the south whose family didn't know for two decades about the amazing advances made to medical science from the study of their wife and mother's strangely prolific cancer cells. I chose this book for the December Book Club that I run at the library. It was the best attended meeting and most hotly discussed book in the nearly 4 years I have been leading that group. This book has so many layers and is open to so many different points of view that no one is able to come away from it without giving serious thought to medical research and the advancement of medical knowledge. And the best part, is that Skloot writes this like a work of fiction. It is accessible to all readers, not just those with an interest or background in the medical field. 3/5 stars.

I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman - Great psychological suspense story about Eliza, a woman in her mid-thirties who was abducted and held hostage for 6 weeks by a serial a killer when she was 16 years old. The killer, now on death row and soon to be executed, contacts Eliza and asks to see her. Even though Eliza has managed to move on with her life in a healthy and positive way, she feels compelled to talk to him. Are the risks involved worth the benefit she hopes to gain? 4/5 stars.

The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell- I am almost finished reading this intriguing story and can not wait to see how it all plays out. In alternating chapters, O'Farrell tells the separate stories of two women living in London during two different time periods - right after WWII and current day. According to the book jacket, at some point the women's story will collide and the anticipation of that is very compelling. What I'm loving about this book is that each story is unique and fascinating in it's own right and as O'Farrell switches from one to the other I find myself reluctant to let go of one story, but then excited to read more of the other. I can not wait to find out how the two stories intersect. So far I have had only one hint and the anticipation is killing me. I anticipate giving this one 4/5 stars. Though it could go either way and end up being 3/5 or even 5/5. It all depends on how the stories are resolved and how the "collision" plays out. I'll let you know.

Edit: Now that I've finished this book my rating will stay at 4/5 stars. The "collision" was well done, but not mind-blowingly so. Still a great book.

How about you? Have you read or heard of any of these books? Are any already on your "to be read" list? Do you normally consult these types of lists to find new books to read?

Stay tuned for Pam's Picks Best Books of 2010...

Book Reviews

2010-11-12T12:36:00.004-05:00

I have been fortunate enough to have read three really good books recently. Here are some quick reviews to whet your appetite.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls - another excellent book by the author of The Glass Castle. This time she tells the story of her maternal grandmother, Lily, who was without a doubt a woman ahead of her time. Lily admired Scarlett O'Hara because "[s]he was tough, she was sassy, she knew what she wanted, and she never let anything or anyone get in her way." The same could be said of Lily herself. 'Nough said!
4/5 stars - I really liked it.

Room by Emma Donaghue - this is the first book in recent memory that I couldn't wait to get back to every time I had to put it down. Room tells the story of a 29 year old unnamed woman who is kidnapped at age 22 and kept hostage in a hidden room. In time she gives birth to a little boy, Jack, who has only a rudimentary knowledge of the world "Outside". The story is told from 5 year old Jack's perspective and it is absolutely fascinating. 4/5 stars - I really liked it.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda - Secret Daughter tells the story of Kavita a poor Indian woman who secretly gives up her baby daughter for adoption to avoid the infant's death. At the same time Somer, an American woman and her Indian husband decide to adopt a child from India after learning the devastating news that Somer is infertile. Gowda deftly intertwines the stories of Kavita, Somer and the child that binds them together while presenting the story from the perspective of all three women.
4/5 stars - I really liked it.

All three of these books were good reads and any one of them would make an excellent book club selection. Happy reading!

More Mini Book Reviews

2010-07-29T21:27:00.004-04:00

Here are some quick reviews and thoughts about three books I've read recently.

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen: I was excited to see that Anna Quindlen had written a new book. I loved Black and Blue and many of her collections of essays and I hadn't seen anything substantial from her in a long time. The description of the book sounded interesting as well - the story of a mom dealing with the trials of parenthood and especially her concerns over her youngest son. Quindlen did an amazing job of capturing the life and role of a typical suburban mom. I could identify completely with Mary Beth as she goes through the days of soccer practices, prom planning and guitar lessons. And then the story takes a completely unexpected turn that takes my breath away. Unlike Little Bee by Chris Cleave, Every Last One is a book that you shouldn't know too much about before you read it. My suggestion is not to read any reviews or to let anyone tell you too much about the plot. Let the story unfold naturally. I loved this book. It would be a great book club selection. But I don't want to say anything else about it. I gave Every Last One 4 stars - I really liked it.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson: I had heard about this book at least a year ago (way before it became so popular) and decided that because it's a mystery/suspense/crime thriller, I wasn't interested. Then the books in the series (this is book one in a trilogy) simply exploded in popularity and I decided I had to see for myself what all the fuss is about. On top of that, my personal book club chose this book for our July selection. I will admit that I was excited to read it and was all ready to love it and anxiously devour the other two books in the series. Well, that didn't happen. While it is a good mystery/suspense/crime thriller, it isn't good enough to make me want to read more. At least not right now. Maybe next time I'm in the mood for that type of book I will pick up the next book. But for right now, I've had my fill. I gave Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 3 stars - I liked it.

The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living With the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science by Jill Price and Bart Davis: I stumbled upon this book quite by accident. I happened to be in a library in a nearby town when I decided to check out their collection of playaways. There are not a lot of books available on playaway through my library system, so in order to find one to read I really do need to browse the titles and see if something captures my interest. And that is exactly how I found this intriguing memoir. The title caught my eye, since I have an interest in psychology and medicine and the study of memory is a big part of the study of psychology (I have a degree in psychology). I found Jill's story absolutely fascinating. She has a remarkable autobiographical memory in that she is able to remember, in great detail, every single day of her life from the age of about 10 on. And she has many vivid memories from even earlier. She is not a savant who can perform great feats of mathematical skill nor can she recall long lists of words. Instead her memory is one that does not let her forget one single moment of her life. And these memories come to her, oftentimes, unbidden. And not just pleasant memories, but all her horrible memories as well. In addition, she experiences all the emotions of those memories each time the memory is recalled. For Jill, this ability has been a huge burden for her. I found her story fascinating. I'm not sure this book would be for everyone since it does go into some detail on memory research, brain studies and diagnostic testing. But if you have an interest in the topic, I recommend it. I gave The Woman Who Can't Forget 4 stars - I really liked it.

How about you? Have you read any good books lately? Any bad books?

Mini Book Reviews

2010-06-29T18:23:00.002-04:00

Suddenly, I've reading up a storm and have finished several books recently. Only two are worth recommending, but I thought I'd do something different this time and write "mini reviews" for a few of those books. I hope you find something here that sparks your interest.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok: This is a book unlike any I've read of the Asian experience (and I've read a lot of books with Asian protagonists). This book presents a very authentic view of the life of a mother and young daughter who emigrate to NY from Hong Kong. It's not the typical struggle between mother and daughter over traditional vs. American ways. It is the story of how these two people struggle to survive under harsh circumstances. How they work together to better themselves. And how Kimberly, an eleven year old girl, works hard at school all day and then spends her evenings in a sweat shop helping her mother meet her quota. Only to go back to their condemned apartment, which is infested with roaches and has no heat. Eventually, Kimberly wins a place a prestigious private school ,and with the blessing of her mother, enrolls there knowing this is her only way to lift herself and her mother out of their dire circumstances. All the while continuing to work at the sweat shop and hiding her dual life from her friends and from the school authorities. Surprisingly, this is not a dark and depressing story. Not at all. It the story of triumph over hardship. Of determination, support and love. I highly recommend it. One of the best books I've read so far this year. I gave Girl in Translation 4 Stars - I really liked it.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost: Are any of you as fascinated as I am by the TV show Hoarders? The organizational side of my personality (which is, admittedly, a bit overdeveloped) loves this show. I sit here and talk to the screen and cringe at the mess. Itching to get in there and clean the place up. And throw away all that "stuff". I'm the antithesis of a pack rat (much to the chagrin of my husband, who has some mild hoarding tendencies, based on the information in this book). Anyway, this book was less of a voyeuristic peak into the lives of hoarders than it is an explanation of how hoarders think and how this mindset makes it nearly impossible for anyone to "help" them or for them to change. It was really eye-opening and it did give me a bit more sympathy for hoarders. I'm a little less likely to judge them now when I watch the show. Fascinating, though not riveting reading. If this topic interests you, I think you'll like it. If you are just curious about hoarders for the curiosity factor E. L. Doctorow's novel, Homer and Langley, is probably a better choice. I gave Stuff 3 STARS - I liked it.

Tinkers by Paul Harding: This book was a major disappointment. You might remember that I blogged about it a few months ago when it won the 2010 Pulitzer for Fiction. An event that was a surprise to most everyone. I chose this book for the book club I run here at the library, Books on Main. And while it did generate some good discussion, the book itself was a difficult read. There are parts that were interesting and told in the usual way. You know, a story with a beginning a middle and and end. But there were large portions that were told as the wandering, disjointed hallucinations of a dying man. Long unintelligible sections that left me scratching my head, wondering what the heck was going on. Pretty much everyone in the book club felt the same way, though some disliked the book more than others. Though, as happens occasionally, after discussing the book and sharing some research on it (which was written by a woman with a PhD in comparative literature), we all agreed that we liked the book more after the discussion and that it might warrant a second reading. Well, not me. I don't reread books. Especially books I didn't like the first time around. I would recommend this one to all you PhDs in comparative literature. The rest of you, I would suggest you pass on this one. I gave Tinkers 2 stars - it was OK.

Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel: Another disappointment, though I can't say I was surprised. After reading Martel's fascinating and amazing Life of Pi a few years ago, I was thrilled to see he had written a new book. I had read that his newest book was an allegory with two animals, a donkey and a monkey, as main characters. Right there I was sceptical. I don't like allegories. Mostly because I don't understand them. I'm a very literal reader (and person, for that matter). But, considering the fact that Life of Pi also cleverly used animals as characters, I thought I would give it a try, even though I'd read very mixed reviews of the book. I am happy to report that I understood the allegory perfectly. It was very obvious. So that's a plus. The story itself was not very interesting, however. If you are interested in reading something by Yann Martel, I'd recommend Life of Pi. If you loved Life of Pi and can't resist, I won't dissuade you. Beatrice and Virgil is a quick and easy read, which is not something I can say about most allegories. So there isn't much to lose if you want to see for yourself. I gave Beatrice and Virgil 2 stars - it was OK.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan: I had never heard of this slim book until it showed up on this year's Reading Across Rhode Island nomination list (yes, I'm participating again this year). I really enjoyed this simple, yet thoughtful book about the general manager of a Red Lobster as he prepares for and works through the final shift of "his" restaurant before corporate shuts its doors for good. It's a story of pride in one's work, of ethics, of doing the right thing and of reinventing yourself. I could really relate to Manny as he navigated the last night that his restaurant would be open. A timely book that I recommend. I gave Last Night at the Lobster 4 stars - I really liked it.

So, how about you? What have you read lately? Anything you would recommend? I'd love to hear all about it.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

2010-05-15T17:40:00.002-04:00

This is the hardest book review I've ever written. I'm actually kind of afraid to write it. Why? Because here is what it says on the inside book jacket:

We don't want to tell
WHAT HAPPENS in this book.

It is a truly SPECIAL STORY
and we don't want to spoil it.

NEVERTHELESS, you need to know
enough to buy it, so we will
just say this:

It then goes on to give a very brief summary of the story and then is says this:

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.

Wow, if that doesn't grab your attention, I'm not sure what will. Actually, I do know. When two friends, whose opinions I trust recommended the book to me, I decided to find out what the big mystery was for myself. And you know what, I have absolutely no idea. None! I'm worried that maybe I missed something. I was expecting some sort of Sixth Sense or The Others type of story. You know, something that if you tell others it ruins the story for them. And I did not find that to be the case. So I'm confused. And a little bit afraid to write a review that includes a summary. What if I just missed something?

So, be warned, I am going to summarize the story in the next few paragraphs. So don't read them, if you are worried about being spoiled simply be learning the basic plot of the story. But before I do that, just let me say this - I think the publisher/editor/author/whoever did this book a big disservice by writing that blurb. I felt disappointed and a little cheated when the story did not live up to it's "promise" (for lack of a better word), . I found myself forming my opinion of Little Bee based on the fact that it didn't deliver a big surprise, instead of on the merits of the story itself. When I took a step back and tried to objectively evaluate the story (which was very hard, I might add), I realized it's actually a pretty good story. But I didn't feel that way upon finishing it. Instead I felt frustrated, tricked and confused. So, if the topic of the story interests you, by all means, read it. But if you are tempted to read it to be wowed by some clever plot device, I'd say don't waste your time.

OK, my summary is coming up now. So you may want to stop reading.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave tells the story of Sarah O'Rourke a British journalist and Little Bee a 14 year old Nigerian girl whose village is the scene of terrible violence due to the discovery of oil there. Sarah and her husband Andrew travel to Nigeria for a vacation and while on the beach, they encounter Little Bee and her sister, Nkiruka. The sisters are running away from the violence in their village. This encounter will have far reaching ramifications for all involved.
The story picks up two years later when Little Bee is released from a detention center in Britain and finds her way to Sarah and Andrew's home in the English countryside. Much of the story deals with the slow uncovering of the facts of what happened on the beach and of Little Bee's experiences during the intervening two years.

The strength of Little Bee lies in the story of Little Bee's life in her Nigerian village and how different life can be in more volatile parts of the world. It's not something most of us here in America can even fathom. And that is exactly what happens to Sarah and Andrew. They are forced to confront the reality of Little Bee's life and deal with their own impotence in the face of this great injustice. And on these merits, Little Bee is a good story. Cleave does a good job of slowly unveiling the story to keep reader interest high. It reads almost like a suspense novel. It is a quick read and in parts it is a page turner. I have such mixed feelings about this book due to my unmet expectations. But when think about Little Bee objectively, it really is a good story.

I would give Little Bee 3 STARS - I liked it.

The Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin

2010-05-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Queen of Palmyra takes place in 1963 in small-town Millwood, Mississippi. The story is told through the eyes of 11 year old Florence Forrest, the daughter of Win, a down on his luck burial insurance salesman and Martha, the neighborhood "cake lady" who has a taste for bootlegged booze. Like the rest of the south during the turbulent 60's, Millwood is a town racked with racial tension and the white population doesn't mix with the blacks in the "Shake Rag" section of town - except when the residents of Shake Rag come to their homes to cook, clean and care for their children.

It is through Florence's innocent and sometimes bewildered eyes that the reader sees the events of the summer of 1963 unfold -from the mysterious box that her dad has her carry up from the basement before he leaves for evening "meetings", her wild nighttime rides into Shake Rag with her mother on bootleg runs, to the save haven of her grandmother's house and the reluctant, yet strangely comforting presence of her grandmother's black maid, Zenie - Florence slowly begins to piece together the truth of what is happening within her town and within her own family.

It is also during the course of that fateful summer that Florence witnesses the implosion of her parents marriage and the increasing unease and violence between the black and white residents of tiny Millwood. An unease she does not understand and a violence she can not comprehend.
Minrose Gwin does an amazing job of evoking the atmosphere of a small, middle class town during the early 1960's. Florence's voice is at once innocent and wise and Gwin has done a great job telling the story through the eyes of an innocent and idealistic 11 year old. It is hard not to make comparisons between Florence and Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. Another comparison that comes to mind immediately upon starting to read The Queen of Palmyra is to Kathryn Stockett's fabulous book The Help. Both stories take place in the same general time and place, but The Queen of Palmyra is a grittier story. It is told from the point of view, not of a privileged young woman who is expected to marry and continue the racial segregation in her own home (as in The Help), but from the eyes of a less privileged and neglected child whose parents are more intimately involved in the lives of residents of the black community. It's a similar story told through a different, more raw, lens. The Queen of Palmyra is a book well worth reading and would be a great choice for a book club.

I would give The Queen of Palmyra 4 STARS - I really liked it.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

2010-05-06T06:51:00.004-04:00

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake takes place during WWII and tells the story of three different women and how their lives interconnect due to their personal experiences of the war. Two of these women live at the very tip of Cape Cod. Iris is the middle aged postmistress of tiny Franklin, MA and she takes her job as postmistress very seriously. She believes in the importance of her job - especially during war time. Sweet, fragile, Emma is a new bride and new to Franklin. She has recently arrived in Franklin as the wife of Will, the town's young doctor. The third woman is Frankie Bard, a young American woman living in London and working as a radio broadcaster bringing the war home to Americans. Like Iris, Frankie believes strongly in the importance of her job. She is determined to transmit the real face of war home to America, where she feels everyone is very insulated from the truth.

The Postmistress is a good, if not great, book. I enjoyed the characters and the story. Frankie's story was especially compelling as she is concerned about the fact that Americans living stateside do not truly understand the effects of the war on the ordinary citizens of London and the rest of Europe. And it is true, that most of the residents of Franklin are not at all concerned about the war reaching America's shores or affecting them in any personal way. Frankie must censor what she says in her broadcasts due to regulations and she finds herself frustrated by this. She decides to travel to France in an attempt to gather more data on the lives of civilians. This aspect of the story is especially relevant now with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As much as I enjoyed The Postmistress the absolute best part of the story was the author's essay, "The Story Behind the Story", at the end of the book. In this essay Blake explains how she came to write The Postmistress and how the characters came into being. And further how she connected them into a story. Many books have author's notes that talk about their research and what inspired them to write that particular story. But Blake's essay is more than that. I can't really explain how, but she goes beyond merely stating the genesis of her ideas and her essay provides a clear and precise insight into the creation of this story and these characters. If you are a writer of fiction or a bibliophile, I think you will find this 4 page essay illuminating. Whether you read the book or not.

I would give The Postmistress 3 STARS - I liked it.
I would give "The Story Behind the Story" 5 STARS - I loved it.

Pulitzer Redux

2010-04-16T18:27:00.000-04:00

Today I read a fascinating article in yesterday's Boston Globe about the the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning book Tinkers. Now I'm even more excited to read this book.

Not only is Tinkers Paul Harding's first novel (!) it was published, not by a giant in the publishing world, but by a small publishing house. - Bellevue Literary Press. And its initial run was a paltry 3,500 copies. And Harding's advance? A meager $1,000 (apparently a tiny fraction of the typical advance). So how did this novel, which was originally rejected and then sat in a drawer for three years, not only get published, but win the Pulitzer? Word of mouth! I kid you not. It was a real grassroots effort sparked by "personal interactions between publishers, booksellers, and reviewers that launched the book the old-fashioned way." Wow! I love this!

And what's even more unbelievable is that no one called Harding to tell him he had won. He, of course, didn't even dream that he would be the winner and he found out when he checked online to see who had won! OMG! If this isn't a quintessential American success story, I don't know what is. Congratulations to Paul Harding. What a way to make your debut in the publishing world.

2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner

2010-04-14T17:48:00.001-04:00

On April 12, the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced. The prize for fiction was awarded to Tinkers by Paul Harding. I was so surprised when I read this because just the day before I had received an email from Amazon with a list of recommended books. None of which I had heard about, by the way. (That always makes me nervous. But, I digress.) One of those books listed was Tinkers! So when I read the Pulitzer announcement I felt vindicated that not only had I heard of Tinkers, I had even added it to my "to be read" list. Only problem is, now it's going to take a long time before I can get my hands on a copy. Oh well. Something to look forward to. Here's hoping I enjoy it as much as I did last year's winner - Olive Kitteridge.

Click here to see all the 2010 Pulitzer winners.

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

2010-04-06T18:14:00.000-04:00

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore is one of those books I kept hearing about. I think I first saw a book review in print somewhere or other. From the summary of the plot, it didn't sound all that appealing, so I didn't add it to my "to be read" list. Then I read a review on someone's blog. Ah, that book again. The review was good, but I still wasn't interested. But then I started to see it reviewed over and over again and all the reviews were glowing. I figured I should check it out.

A Gate at the Stairs tells the story of Tassie Keltjin, a college student in the Midwest. Tassie takes a job as a nanny for a white couple who are adopting a biracial little girl - three year old Emmie. In addition, Tassie is experiencing her first serious romance with a fellow college student and also dealing with the reality of her growing independence from her family.

At first, the story really did grab me. But then I began to notice something about the writing. I couldn't really put my finger on it. The writing was good, very good - but not in a way I could describe. It wasn't poetic or clever or beautiful. And then I figured it out - it was intelligent.
And that's why it lost me. I think this book is what you would call a "literary novel". And I usually don't like novels that are too "literary". Somehow I always feel that the story takes a back seat to the writing. And I'm just not intellectual enough to appreciate that kind of book. I appreciate good writing and I consider myself to be a discerning reader, but I read for the story first and the writing second. Unfortunately, the story in A Gate at the Stairs was sacrificed for amazing writing, in my opinion.

The other problem I had with Moore's "intelligent" writing is that she spent pages and pages and pages describing the thought process of Tassie, the main character. At first I enjoyed reading Moore's deft description of the inner workings of Tassie's mind, but after a while I just wanted to get back to the story.

Ah, the story. What exactly was the story in A Gate at the Stairs? From my perspective, there were three very serious and important story lines in this book. And Moore didn't do any of them justice. She started and stopped each one without ever really fully telling any. I really wanted to know more about the main storyline. Why did she need to add two more unfinished plots to this book. It felt very disjointed to me.

Maybe that's the point. Maybe A Gate at the Stairs is supposed to be a reader's view into Tassie's mind - hence all the pages and pages of her thoughts. And these three plot lines were all different things Tassie was dealing with in her life. And of course, in real life nothing gets resolved in 321 pages (or one semester of college). But for me, that adds up to a very unsatisfactory read. Even if it is intelligent and literary.

Have you read A Gate at the Stairs? What did you think? I'd love to hear from you. Especially if you loved it. What was it about that book that you loved?

I would give A Gate at the Stairs 2 STARS - It was OK.

Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

2010-03-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

When I learned Chris Bohjalian had written a new book, Secrets of Eden, I was very excited. Excited, but skeptical. The very first book I ever read of Bohjalian's, Midwives, blew my socks off. It was amazing! Since then (approximately 10 years ago), I've read several other of Bohjalian's books - with mixed reviews. None has thrilled me the way Midwives did all those years ago. For me, Bohjalian's books have always been very hit or miss. And that's why I say I was skeptical when I heard he had published a new book. Well, I'm happy and excited to report that Secrets of Eden is a winner!

Secrets of Eden tells the story of Reverend Steven Drew, a pastor in a small church in Vermont. When his parishioner, Alice Hayward, is murdered by her husband in a murder-suicide, Drew begins to doubt his faith. He is saved from complete despair by the appearance of Heather Laurent, an author of two very successful books about angels, of all things.

Heather Laurent is the child of parents who both died in a murder-suicide and she identifies with Katie, the Hayward's now orphaned daughter. Heather offers herself as a counselor to both Stephen and Katie. When Stephen steps down from the pulpit of his church immediately after Alice's funeral, the state's attorney begins to question Stephen's reasons. And when Alice's secrets are uncovered, more questions begin to arise.

Bohjalian has done a masterful job crafting this novel. It is divided into four parts, each told from the perspective of a different person - Stephen Drew, Catherine Benincasa (the state's attorney), Heather Laurant and Katie, the Hayward's teen aged daughter. As I read each section I fully accepted each person's perspective as right and true. All the characters have very believable and trustworthy voices. But, of course, someone is lying. Or at least mistaken. In addition, Bohjalian does a wonderful job of foreshadowing. His characters hint at things that serve as a trail of crumbs to the truth. Brilliant. This was a very clever way of structuring this novel and it worked well.

The other thing that really jumped out at me and is something I remember so clearly from Midwives, is that Bohjalian is very skilled at writing in a woman's voice. I found Catherine Benincasa's voice to be very authentic. I've found this to be fairly unusual when men are writing female characters. Kudos to Bohjalian for that.

One thing I want to warn against is that from my and other descriptions of this book, one may get the idea that this novel is overly religious, or New Agey or even that it is a police procedural or suspense/thriller. It is none of those. It is a wonderful novel full of flawed characters who are simply trying to make sense of two senseless deaths and the aftermath of them.

I would give Secrets of Eden 4 stars - I really liked it.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

2010-03-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

The February book club selection for Books on Main, the book club here at the library, was The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. I absolutely LOVED it! The story takes place in Scotland and centers around Iris, the owner of a vintage dress shop with a complicated and complex personal life. Iris' world is rendered a little off kilter when she is informed that she is the next of kin of her great aunt Esme Lennox, who is being released from an asylum after being locked away for 61 years. The most surprising thing about this is that Iris didn't even realize she has a great aunt. Esme is the sister of Iris' grandmother, Kitty. However, Kitty has advanced Alzheimer's Disease and Iris can not question her grandmother about this mysterious relative.

But that is not even the most interesting part of this multi-layered story. As Iris begins to unravel Esme's story, she begins to uncover layers of secrets within her own family. Not the least of which is that Esme was locked away mainly because she was an unconventional woman during a time in British history when it was extremely unacceptable, especially among the upper classes.

Maggie O'Farrell handles the complex telling of this story very deftly. The story alternates between the voices of Iris, Esme and Kitty and also between the past and present. Through these vignettes of memory, the author slowly unveils the story of these two very different sisters and how Esme comes to be hospitalized and what happens to each of them after that event. As a reader, I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the story as the layers where peeled away. And each piece of the puzzle led to a wonderful understanding of the characters as a whole.

What fascinated me the most about this book is that Maggie O'Farrell states in an interview that she was inspired to write this story based on actual British history. Apparently, until the 1950s it was possible for a man to commit his wife or daughter to an asylum with just a signature from a doctor. Women were locked away for reasons as nebulous as "taking long walks", refusing offers of marriage, accidental pregnancies, refusing to cut their hair and most shockingly one girl was diagnosed as insane because she was "caught dancing before a mirror, dressed in her mother's clothes". Amazing, but true! O'Farrell further states that she's long been interested in what happens to "non-conforming" women in different points in history. In the 16th and 17th century they would have been burned as a witch, more recently they were locked away in asylums. It isn't hard to think about women today in fundamentalist Muslim families who are murdered in "honor killings" for "non-conforming" behavior that brings shame to their families. O'Farrell maintains that in The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, "Iris and Esme are essentially the same person and it's just the luck of the draw that Iris was born in a time when that didn't happen to her". Let's all be thankful we live in the time and place that we do.

I LOVED The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. I would give it 4 Stars.

A New Take on an Old Classic

2010-02-25T19:03:00.000-05:00

If you're like me you keep saying you're going to read (or reread) the classics, but you don't get around to it very often. Or perhaps you've tried to read one and found it to be too dry or difficult to get into. Maybe you got lucky and read one and hit the jackpot. I've actually had all of the above happen to me recently. I keep thinking I should throw a classic into my reading lineup every now and then. And then I read Wuthering Heights and it was awful (my apologies if you loved it). More recently, I read Lord of the Flies as part of a HS assignment that I did with my daughter. And if you've been reading this blog for a while you know I LOVED it. So, how do you find a good classic as opposed to a boring one? Up until now that has been the $64,000 question.

Well, I have good news.

Welcome to 60 Second Recap, a series of one minute video clips that give quick summaries of different aspects of classic literature - plot, themes, characters, etc. It's all hosted by Jenny Sawyer an energetic, insightful and cool 20-something. She doesn't give anything away and it's not a Cliffsnotes-type summary, but it does give you some idea of whether or not you might like the book. As a test case I watched the clips of Lord of the Flies, and they were very entertaining and I felt she did a terrific job presenting the book.

This would be a valuable resource for students who need to choose a classic for their English classes or could use a little help figuring out the themes of the story. It's also a wonderful resource for bookworms like me, who would love to read the classics, but don't know where to begin.

Check out the one minute Overview clip of Lord of the Flies.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

2010-02-20T17:37:00.001-05:00

A while ago, I posted about participating in the Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. Well, I finally finished the first Booker Prize winner - Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which just so happens to be the 2009 winner. This was an easy first choice since this book was already on my to be read (tbr) list.

Wolf Hall is a novel that deals with the reign of Henry VIII during the time period when he was striving to divorce Katherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. There are plenty of books, both fiction and non-fiction, covering this topic, and I've read quite a few of them. But Wolf Hall is unique in that it is presented from the point of view of Thomas Cromwell, Henry's chief minister, and the man who made Henry's divorce and remarriage(s) possible. I have a fascination for this period in English history and I've read many books about this time period. But Wolf Hall is the first one I have read that presents the story from Cromwell's perspective. I found it interesting to see the events from his eyes. It was also illuminating to see the other major players in this drama as Cromwell might have viewed them. As often as I've read and studied the Tudor period, it is always interesting to come at it from another direction.

As much as I enjoyed Wolf Hall, I'm not sure it's for everyone. It's a very detailed account of the events of the period and unless the reader has an interest in this topic, I think it could be a bit dense. It took me almost two weeks to finish this book, which is about three times longer than I normally spend reading a book. If I didn't have a real fascination with the topic, I doubt I would have finished it. And I think this may be part and parcel of reading award winning books. They are denser and heavier than their non-award winning counterparts. And this is the very reason why I wanted to participate in this challenge. I'm ready to stretch myself in my reading. For the past 13 years or so I've been reading primarily contemporary literary fiction. And I would classify Wolf Hall as literary fiction. A genre I've struggled with in the past. Part of the problem is that I'm impatient. I want to read a book quickly so that I can move on to the next one on my tbr list. I had to keep reminding myself while reading this book that this is not a race. These more literary books are meant to be savored, like a luscious multi-course meal at a classy restaurant. But I must admit that I'm now deep into a wonderful contemporary literary fiction book* and I'm just so thrilled to be devouring it quickly. I think for me, literary fiction, like super fancy meals in super fancy restaurant, is meant to be enjoyed infrequently. My everyday reading needs to be something I can devour with gusto. But who knows? Maybe by the time I finish this Booker Challenge, I'll be wanting to enjoy those sophisticated reads more frequently. We'll see....

I would give Wolf Hall 3 stars - I liked it.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (book review coming soon).

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

2010-01-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

A week or so before Winter Break my younger daughter asked me if I would be willing to be her partner in an assignment for her English class. Basically, she needed to find an adult who would agree to read a book with her and journal their reactions to the book. I was more than simply willing... I was quivering with excitement! The book she chose was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I was happy about this choice as I had read it in High School and didn't remember much about it and I'm always saying I want to read more classics and never do it. So it was a great choice. It turned out to be a great choice in more ways than one. It is an absolutely fascinating book and one that lends itself quite well to analysis.

On the surface Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of boys, ages 5-13, who are stranded on a deserted island during WWII. The novel tells the story of how the boys navigate the island, find food, shelter and try to keep a fire going in order to be rescued all while negotiating their relationships with each other. But it is so much more than that. It is essentially a psychological and sociological study of human behavior. It explores the human psyche and what happens to human behavior when societal conventions and authority figures are absent. Lord of the Flies exposes the most basic elements of human psychology from survival to power struggles to the man's ultimate primitive nature. Golding is a master writer and his insights into civilization and humanity are fascinating and thought-provoking.

I am so glad that I had an opportunity to reread Lord of the Flies. This is exactly the kind of classic novel I want to read. One thing that keeps me from reading more classics is that I don't know which ones will be enjoyable to a modern day reader and which ones will not. Some books that are considered to be "classics" are extremely dry, difficult to read and full of inaccessible language. But there are accessible classics out there. And Lord of the Flies is one of them. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read the classics and especially to anyone in a book club. This book is just screaming to be analyzed and discussed.

I would give Lord of the Flies 5 stars - I loved it!

How about you? Have you read any classics that you would recommend?

The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge

2010-01-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to participate in a reading challenge this year. I did one last year - Support Your Local Library. It wasn't much of a challenge (and that was by design), so the whole thing was kind of pointless, really. All I really accomplished was one more thing to keep track of and organize. I'm really good at adding things to organize to my life. Not sure there's a lot of value in that. As 2009 came to a close, I did a little looking around other book blogs to see if there was a challenge that was interesting and actually challenging in some (small) way. Until yesterday, I didn't find anything that interested me. Then I visited The Boston Bibliophile and she posted about The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I'm embarrassed to admit that I am not very well versed in book awards (gasp!). I've read some Pulitzer Prize winners and usually I don't like them. This award caught my attention however because I just read a book, Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, that I loved and the cover said that Toibin was a past Booker Prize winner. So when I saw The Complete Booker Challenge it piqued my curiosity. I checked out the website and the list of books and it looks like a good challenge for me. I have read some of those books and some I loved and some I hated. I think these books are a "stretch" for me. And I'm ready to be "stretched" in my reading. My TBR list is woefully short right now and I'm finding that I'm at a crossroads in my reading. The type of books that I've been drawn to for the past 8 years or so are starting to be less appealing. I feel as though they are all starting to be the same. Does this make sense? This has happened to me in the past and it's always been a good thing. It's led me to broaden and deepen my reading horizons. So what better way to expand my reading than to read award winning books. If you are interested in joining you can find all the information at The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge. I am going to participate at the Winner's Circle level (I will read at least 6 winners). I haven't chosen which books I will read, but I will keep you all updated on my progress through book reviews. Hopefully, I will like the books I choose. Keep your fingers crossed.

Book Prize Winners Read:

1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Best Books of 2009

2010-01-01T16:06:00.001-05:00

The end of the year seems to be a popular time for "Best of" Lists. I couldn't miss the opportunity to make my own Best List. Of course mine is going to be all about books. Of the 87 books I've read in 2009, 13 of them received a 4 or 5 star rating. Looking back over those, 4 rose to the top as my choice for Best Books of 2009. And one book which I gave 3 stars to continues to come to mind when people ask for book recommendations. So I just had to give it a place on Best Books of 2009 list.

Pam's Five Best Books of 2009

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - The only book to receive a perfect 5 stars.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan - The book I fought for (and lost) to be the 2010 RARI selection

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - The first book I have nominated for the 2011 RARI selection

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert - A surprisingly uplifting book considering the depressing topic

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - The best 3 star book I've ever read. I'm still thinking about it all these months later.

2009 was a great book year for me. I read quite a few memorable and recommendation worthy books. How about you? What are your top books of 2009? I'd love to hear from you. After all today is the first day of 2010 and I can always use some recommendations.

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

2009-12-13T13:36:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I've written a book review. I've been in a bit of book slump lately. But there was one bright spot. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig was the November/December book club selection for the library book club, Books on Main. I had read a review of this book in The Providence Journal ages ago and decided that the book sounded interesting. I added it to my list of possible book club choices and finally got around to selecting it. It was a wonderful selection.

The Whistling Season is told through the eyes of the now middle aged Paul Milliron, as he recounts his childhood in rural Montana in the early 1900's. Paul's father is an overwhelmed widower trying to raise three rambunctious sons while also eking out an existence on the unforgiving land. When he hires a housekeeper, sight unseen, from a newspaper add that states "can't cook, but doesn't bite", the lives of the the Milliron "men" are changed forever. The fascinating Rose arrives with a surprise guest- her scholarly and gentlemanly brother, Morris. When the teacher in the one room school house runs off to get married, Morris takes over the duties as teacher. His passion and knowledge transform the children of Marias Coulee in wonderful ways. As the story unfolds we learn more about the lives of the people living in this harsh landscape.

The Whistling Season is a simple story, beautifully told. Doig is a master of language and his writing is glorious and poetic. As a matter of fact, Doig himself has discussed in interviews his love of the "poetry under the prose". He states that "rhythm, word choice, and premeditated lyrical intent are the elements of this type of writing". His writing evokes a different time and place. What I loved most about this book is its simplicity. There is no intrigue (OK, maybe a little at the end), no drama, no big conflicts. Just a good old fashioned story. That seems like a rare commodity these days. If you want to read a story filled with lyricism, simple yet fully formed characters and be transported to a time gone by, I highly recommend Doig's literary novel - The Whistling Season. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I would give The Whistling Season 4 stars - I really liked it.

2010 Reading Across Rhode Island Title

2009-11-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

The official announcement has been made concerning the Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) book for 2010. Drum roll please.....

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The nominating committee is now hard at work planning the January launch conference and the May breakfast. You can read more about these events are The RI Center for Book's website.

As you may know, I served as a member of the nominating committee this year. And while The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was not my first choice to be the 2010 RARI book, I do think that it is a good choice. Many avid readers are already fans of this well loved book. It will be very exciting for them to hear that a book that they loved was chosen. Not to mention how eager they will be to attend the May Breakfast and have an opportunity to see Annie Barrows and hear her speak.

So save the date. The May Breakfast will be held May 8th and it's sure to be a wonderful event for all you bookworms. I will be sure to keep you all up to date as details are forthcoming. You can also find information at the Reading Across Rhode Island website. In the meantime, happy reading!

Library Book Sale

2009-10-14T19:17:00.000-04:00

The Annual George Hail Library Book Sale will be held this Saturday, October 17 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm. In addition to a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books for the whole family, we will be selling DVDs, videos, audio books (both cassette and CD) and music (cassette, CD and even a few LPs). This year we will also be selling raffles tickets for two signed and matted prints and one signed poster by local children's book illustrator Mary Jane Begin. Most items will be half price from noon until 1:00 pm and from 1:00 until 2:00 prices will be $3.00/plastic grocery bag! Can't beat that.

I've always loved a used book sale, but this year's sale is especially near and dear to my heart. After the 2008 book sale our library director, Pat Redfearn, donated all the leftover books (some of which had seen several book sales) and started with a "clean slate". I have spent the past year sorting and organizing all the generous donations of books, movies, music and more that have come in over the course of this past year. It has been a very rewarding experience to witness the garage/storage area go from an empty room to an orderly, clean and well organized warehouse of great books, etc. I'm confident that there is something for absolutely everyone and that browsing through the books will be a delightful experience for all bookworms and bibliophiles. I will be at the book sale all day on Saturday and I hope to see you all there!

EDIT: Due to the expected rain, the book sale has been postponed. It will now be held on Sunday, October 25 from 9:00 - 2:00. It will, however, still be fabulous!

Images from Google Images

2009-09-23T16:57:00.000-04:00

There was a great article in the Providence Journal today about the important role that libraries play in our communities and in society. In case you missed it, I've copied the text of the article here:

Rita Lussier: Let’s give a quiet cheer for libraries
09/23/2009 01:00 AM EDT

On a recent visit to the Jamestown Library, I happened upon one of the most cheerful statistics I’ve heard in quite some time. The children and young adults’ librarian there, Rowena Dunlap, mentioned that this has been the busiest summer she could remember in her 20 or so years of working at libraries.

A quick look around seemed to confirm what she was saying. There were kids all over the place. Three boys sitting at a nearby table. A brother and sister browsing the shelves. A mother with two girls walking up and down the aisles, searching for a little quiet time in a wired world.

The busiest summer!

Rowena’s words rang in my ears, a sharp and pleasant counterpoint to most of what we’ve been hearing for the past year or so. Jobs are down. Sales are down. Revenues are down. Tourism is down. Income, spending and optimism. Down, down, down. Even the number of sunny days seemed in painfully short supply this summer.

A call to Lisa Davis, Interlibrary Systems Librarian for Ocean State Libraries, confirmed on a statewide level what Rowena had observed in Jamestown. In our 49 public libraries at more than 70 locations, the total number of items checked out this summer are up over the same time last year. The number of items placed on hold are up. New patrons, Web site visits and calls. Up, up, up! Every which way you measure, it’s true. Our libraries are busier than ever.

According to Joan Gillespie, executive director of Ocean State Libraries, there are many reasons for the upturn, many of which are directly related to the downturn we’ve been experiencing in just about everything else. As you might expect, with the drop in the economy, people are more appreciative of the free services the library offers — the books, the movies, access to computers and the internet.

Children have been taking advantage of the many programs offered as a way to keep their skills sharp and not lose ground over the summer. In addition, some libraries have designed special workshops to assist those looking for work, helping patrons with resumés and cover letters, interviewing and job search strategies, Internet listings and computer employment resources.

She points out that all of these services, especially during difficult times, illustrate and reinforce the library’s role as the “third place”, the center of the community. The paradox here, of course, is that at a time when more services are needed by more people, the libraries are feeling the pinch from budget cuts in cities and towns across Rhode Island.

Indeed, across the country.

Take California, for instance, where one author has taken up the fight to keep the funding for public libraries flowing.

“Libraries raised me,” Ray Bradbury said in a recent interview. “When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.”

A library is a place where we’re expected to be quiet. To keep our voices down. To speak in hushed tones. But Ray Bradbury isn’t keeping quiet. He’s speaking up. He’s making some noise. We all should. Now more than ever.

For the sake of the three boys sitting at a nearby table. For the brother and sister browsing the shelves. For the mother with two girls walking up and down the aisles. Searching for a little quiet time in a wired world.

Rita Lussier can be reached at ReetsAL@aol.com or by mail c/o Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain Street, Providence, RI 02902

I couldn't agree more!

Image from Google Images

My Life in France by Julia Child

2009-09-18T16:25:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago my husband and I saw the movie Julie and Julia and we got all inspired to cook together from Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Yeah, well, that didn't happen. But all is not lost, because the day I bought the cookbook I was also ~~sucked in by the display~~ inspired to buy Julia Child's memoir - My Life in France. I am happy to report that I had much more success with this book than I did with her cookbook.

My Life in France was written as a collaboration between Julia Child and her great-nephew Alex Prud'homme and was published after her death in 2004 at age 91. It covers a huge portion of her life and virtually her entire marriage to Paul Child. After seeing the movie, I was really curious to learn more about Julia and especially more about her marriage and relationship with Paul. The movie depicted their relationship as being a true partnership and an amazing love story. I was hoping to learn more about this intriguing couple. While the book did provide a inside view of their marriage and partnership, it was so much more than that.

Paul and Julia's relationship really was one built on mutual respect and collaboration. Paul was much more involved in Julia's work on her cookbooks and TV show than was portrayed in the movie. And based on Julia's recollections it was a very supportive and happy marriage.
What I wasn't expecting to gain from the book was such an open window into Julia's personality. She was an incredible woman with fascinating views and a joie de vivre rarely seen. She was so open to new experiences, cultures, foods and adventures. She had an amazing capacity to adapt and a wonderful sense of humor. She was not one to get sidetracked by "bumps in the road". Rather she accepted all that life had to offer and lived life to the fullest. I loved this about her.

She also describes France, the French and the French lifestyle with such enthusiasm and love that it's impossible not to want to hop on the next plane to Paris and find a ramshackle apartment on the Left Bank to live in for the next couple of years. One of the items on my bucket list is to live in a foreign country for an extended period of time. I've always assumed it would be a French speaking country since I am familiar with the language after having taken 6 years of French in HS and college. After reading this book, it's definite. France it is!

There was one aspect of the book that was a definite drawback for me. At different points in the book, Child goes into great detail discussing her recipes and how she developed them. Since I'm not someone who likes to cook all that much, these passages tended to bore me somewhat. They also made me realize how technical and inaccessible the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking are. I wish I had read My Life in France before I spent $40 on the cookbook. Now more than ever, I am convinced that my husband and I will never be able to make a single recipe out of that book. (I have renewed respect for Julie Powell. How she managed to cook at least one of Julia's recipes every day for a year is beyond me).

Overall, I enjoyed My Life in France. I would it give 3 stars (I liked it).

Image from Google Images.

A Book-Free Library?

2009-09-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

On the front page of today's The Boston Globe is an article with the headline - "Welcome to the Library. Say goodbye to the books". I nearly fell down in a dead faint when I read that! I couldn't grab that newspaper and read that article fast enough.

Apparently James Tracy, the headmaster at Cushman Academy in Ashburnham, MA, has decided that books are obsolete and the library at Cushman will now be completely digital. In Mr. Tracy's words, "When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books". Somehow I don't think that if I ever met Mr. Tracy we would ever be friends. Personally, I do not believe that books are a form of technology at all.

I can understand a library having all its academic books, textbooks and reference materials in an all digital format. That makes some sense to me. It really does. Textbooks are prohibitively expensive and it would be a welcome relief to both students' pocketbooks and their backs if they were digital. Same with reference materials. Most people do all their research online and this actually makes sense to me. It's easier, faster and can be more thorough (if you know what you're doing. Please, no Wikipedia or Google. Use Reference Datebases). But Mr. Tracy has decided to discard ALL of Cushman's books - including the classics, novels and poetry. I beg to disagree with Mr. Tracy on this. Personally, if I had a child attending Cushman Academy I withdraw him/her immediately. I'm not exaggerating. A student should have access to books. Paper and ink books. Books they can hold and be immersed in. Sorry, reading Jane Eyre on a Kindle is just not the same. Nor is reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or even The Kite Runner. Young people today are already too connected to technology and electronics. Please don't take away their access to books.

As far as I know, not too many libraries are going book free. I think there might be a middle ground here. Libraries could be partially digital and still have books. I certainly hope that other libraries do not follow in the misguided footsteps of Cushman Academy's headmaster. If all libraries decided to go book-free, it will be a sad day indeed.

"A house without books is like a room without windows" ~Horace Mann

Image from Google Images

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

2009-08-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

Historical fiction is my guilty pleasure reading. I don't like all historical fiction (some of it can come a little too close to romance for my taste), but I've always enjoyed Philippa Gregory's books about the Tudor period. And I eagerly wait for her new historical fiction to be published. Her newest book, The White Queen, is the first book in a new series by Gregory which will deal with the Plantagenet kings who preceded the Tudors as England's rulers.

The White Queen deals with the time period in English history known as the War of the Roses - when the Houses of Lancaster and York were fighting for control of the crown. Elizabeth Woodville, a young widow with two small sons, catches the eye of new Yorkist king, Edward IV. She spends the next 18 years (or so) in the tenuous position of trying to help her husband retain possession of the crown. When Edward IV dies of an illness, Elizabeth must do everything she can to be certain that the crown passes to her and Edward's eldest son, also named Edward (of course!). This is no small task, as the King has two brothers who have been plotting for years to take the crown away from him and there is always the threat that the (defeated) Lancasters will try to reclaim the crown for themselves. Not to mention, Henry Tudor, a young boy who is the son of Margaret Beaufort, herself a member of the Lancastrians. Elizabeth does all she can to keep her son Edward and his younger brother, Richard, safe. But their fates have been a mystery for centuries. Even today no one is absolutely certain what ever happened to the "Princes in the Tower".

I was very excited to learn that Gregory's newest book was going to deal with the War of the Roses and the Princes in the Tower. I've done a little studying of this time period, and I've never been completely clear on the details of the war between the Lancasters and the Yorks. The books I've read have been non-fiction and I tended to get a bit bogged down in the details. I'm happy to report, that after reading The White Queen, I now have a firm grasp on the basics of that time period in English history! Of course because this is fiction, I was sure to go back and check Gregory against the history books, and I'm happy to report that in all the important, verifiable details she was accurate.

I will say, however, that there were some elements in this book that I didn't really appreciate at first. The very beginning veered too far into the romance genre for my taste and I was afraid that this would continue throughout the book. I'm happy to report that it did not. I don't remember Gregory's other books doing this. Maybe I'm mistaken, but if this is something new she is doing to draw in more readers, I, for one, think it's a mistake. The other thing that bothered me about this book is that it has an element of mysticism to it that I have never encountered in Gregory's other books. Again, this is a matter of taste, but books with too much mysticism or magical realism do not appeal to me. The mysticism was not gratuitous, there was a reason for it, but it still irked until I read Gregory's notes at the end of the book. Apparently, Elizabeth Woodville was descended from the "dukes of Burgundy who cherished the tradition that they were descended from Melusina, the water goddess. " So, there was a legitimate reason for this being included in the book. I felt better knowing that. The other thing that really bothered me about the book (until I read the author's note) has to do with the Princes in the Tower. I don't want to spoil the story so I won't go into any detail, but I had never read the theory that she presents here. She explains this in the notes and that appeased me. I do know that this is fiction, but I think that it's important for historical fiction not to play too loose with history. Gregory's explanation in the note explains why she chose to write it this way, and she does alert the reader to the fact that this element of the story is not based in fact. Good enough for me.

Overall, I liked The White Queen. Mostly because it gave me a better understanding of this period in English history. It's not my favorite Philippa Gregory book, but if you are interested in this subject or if you are a Philippa Gregory fan, it is worth reading. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the Plantagenet series.

I would give The White Queen 3 stars - I liked it.

Image from Google Images

Reading Across Rhode Island Nominations

2009-08-22T10:34:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday I attended a meeting of the Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) nominating committee. This was the second meeting held by the committee to determine what book will be chosen as the RARI book for 2010 (I missed the first meeting because I was on vacation). At this meeting we decided which of the 29 books still up for consideration would be "short listed" for the RARI nomination. So far I have read 5 of the 7 books that made the cut and I think that any of them would make a fine RARI choice. (Of course, I do have my favorites!) I thought it might be nice to share the short list with all of you and you can decide for yourselves what you think of the possible choices. I'd love to hear your thoughts. It might be fun to see if the majority of bookworms agree with the choice that the committee makes. (And I can make sure to let the committee know what all of you think!)

The nominees for the 2010 RARI book are:

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lhari

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

In case you are wondering, the two books that I have yet to read are: Skeletons at the Feast and The Heretic's Daughter. And I'll be sure to give you my honest opinion of all these books AFTER the committee makes it final selection. But in the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think of these titles. Have you read any of them? Did you love them? Hate them? And most importantly, which one do you think would make the best choice as the 2010 Reading Across Rhode Island book? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Image from the Reading Across Rhode Island website

Book Club Fieldtrip

2009-08-06T09:29:00.001-04:00

On Monday, August 3 the George Hail Book Club (Books on Main) went on a field trip to the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, MA. The park tells the story of four generations of the Adams family (from 1720 to 1927) - including the birthplaces of the 2nd President, John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, who served as the 6th president of the United States.

This trip was prompted by the book, Assassination Vacation by SarahVowell, which the book club read in June. After reading about the historic sites associated with the first 3 Presidents to be assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley), the book group members were inspired to visit the Adams homes in nearby Quincy.

I'm pleased to report that we all had a wonderful time touring the sites, talking to the the guide at the Church of the Presidents, and perusing the multitude of books available at the visitor's center.

The first stop on our tour was the Birthplace of John Adams. He was born in this house in 1735 to Deacon John Adams and his wife Susanna Boylston. The house itself was built ca. 1681.

John Adams Birthplace

John Adams lived in the house above until the death of his father in 1761. At that time he moved into the Belcher house (below) which his father had purchased in 1744. The Belcher house is situated a mere 75 yards from John Adams birthplace at it was here that he brought his bride, Abigail Adams, in 1764. It was also here that John and Abigail's first son, John Quincy Adams, was born in 1767.

=Belcher House, birthplace of John Quincy Adams

In 1788, John and Abigail Adams purchased the Vassall-Borland Estate and renamed it Peace field. It was here that four generations of the Adams family found refuge from public life. In 1946, Peace field was donated to the people of the United States under the stewardship of the National Park Service. This donation was made by the Memorial Society, consisting of members of the Adams Family. Because the house was donated by the Adams family, it remains as it was when the Adams family lived there. All the artifacts in the house are original to it and they all belonged to members of the Adams family - going all the way back to John and Abigail Adams. Fascinating!

Peace field

While the house itself was fascinating, the members of the book club were most impressed and excited by the The Stone Library that was built in 1870 by Charles Francis Adams, the son of John Quincy. Imagine having your own library building in your yard! Pure heaven. The Stone Library consists of 12,000 volumes collected by four generations of the Adams family. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the library, but believe me when I say it was gorgeous and stately.

The Stone Library

No trip to a library by a group of bookworms would be complete with a picture of said bookworms in front of the library. Here we are in front of The Stone Library. Don't we all look excited?

Karen, Barbara, Jean, Jane and Me

The last site we visited was The Church of the Presidents. This church was built to replace the Hancock Meeting House, where John and Abigail Adams worshipped. John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa did worship in The Church of the Presidents and John Quincy's funeral was held here. The church is also the burial place of John and John Quincy Adams and their wives Abigail Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams.

The Church of the Presidents

Needless to say we had a wonderful day. It was such a success there is some talk about the possibility of planning future field trip. Are you interested? We are always happy to welcome new members to Books on Main. Please join us. You don't want to miss out on all the fun, do you? Our next meeting is August 26 at 6:30 pm. Hope to see you there!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

2009-07-29T17:44:00.000-04:00

Of the 6 books I read while on my recent vacation, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is the only one I can recommend wholeheartedly. Rarely does a book elicit a visceral response from me - but this one did. It made me cry. The best part of the is book is that Jamie Ford's writing is so subtle it made me forget I was reading. I was simply along for the ride. Sometimes while reading a really good book I'll be thinking, "this is a terrific book. I'm going to write a book review of it." Not Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I didn't even think of it subjectively until I finished it. Then I said (out loud while sitting by the pool) - "What an amazing story." And that is the strength of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The story. No lyrical prose or gorgeous language, no clever plot devices, no surprise ending. Just a wonderful story, simply told. To me, that is the sign of a talented author. I'm anxious to read more from Jamie Ford.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet tells the story of Henry and Keiko, two 12 year olds living in Seattle in 1942 - the height of WWII. Henry, who is Chinese and Keiko, who is Japanese are the only non-whites attending Rainer Elementary School. Because they are both there on scholarship, they meet and become friends while working in the school cafeteria. Both find refuge from the taunting of their schoolmates in their friendship and in their shared love of jazz music. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Keiko's family, along with the hundreds of other Japanese families living in Seattle's Japantown, is evacuated to an internment camp "for their own protection". Eventually Henry loses contact with Keiko, but he never forgets her.

But Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is about so much more than Henry and Keiko's friendship. It's about Henry's life as the only son of a proud Chinese family. It's about Seattle's fledgling jazz scene and the power of music to bind people together. It's about the difficult experiences of discrimination and prejudice faced by people who are considered to be "outsiders". But, at its heart, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is about hope and memories. Memories of people who have touched our lives and been lost to time...and hope that we will find some small way to keep those memories alive.

I would give Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

4 STARS (I really liked it).

Image from Google images.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

2009-06-20T11:35:00.000-04:00

The June book selection for my personal book club, Chapter Chat, was Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Genova has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard and she is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer's Association. So it is not surprising that her first novel would be a book dealing with a woman suffering from early onset Alzheimer's disease. Write what you know, right? Apparently, Genova had a very difficult time finding a publisher for her novel and decided to self-publish it. That turned out to be a brilliant decision. She was eventually picked up by Simon and Schuster and her book is getting respectable reviews. Rightfully so.

Still Alice tells the absolutely heartbreaking story of Alice Howland, a 50 year old Harvard professor of linguistics and psychology, who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. Genova takes the risky and novel approach of telling the story from Alice's point of view - another brilliant decision on her part. The story is all the more poignant and devastating seen through Alice's eyes as she first comes to terms with her diagnosis and then has to deal with her declining cognitive abilities. The reader is able to identify and empathize with Alice as her disease progresses. We feel her frustration, fear and loneliness as her life is stripped away from her layer by layer. At one point she confides in her husband, John, that she misses herself. I can't even imagine the devastation. In the words of the author, "[Still Alice is] about identity and living a life that matters and about what a crisis does to relationships."

I loved the character of Alice. She was capable and strong and tried her very best to take control of her situation as best she could. She did everything she could to try to slow the progress of this disease. She devised clever ways of making life easier for herself. She even started a support group for other people with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. I identified with Alice in all these ways. I can picture myself doing exactly the same thing if I were in this (or a similar) situation. Alice is a real take charge kind of person. She isn't someone who wallows in self-pity or asks Why Me? I am the same way.

I do think there are some "problems" with this book, however. If you know someone suffering from Alzheimer's Disease (which is the case for one of our book club members), you may find the depiction of Alice's symptoms to be somewhat sugar-coated. Missing from Genova's books is the anger and lashing out that many Alzheimer's suffers experience. Also, Alice's diagnosis is made quickly and without the years of misdiagnosis which is typical in the case of Alzheimer's Disease. And perhaps most problematic, is the way in which Alice is so accepting of her diagnosis. She is never in denial. Even though she has plenty of opportunity to dismiss her symptoms as simple signs of fatigue, stress or possibly depression. According to those who are more familar with Alzheimer's Disease, this does not ring true. Perhaps Genova left some of this out for the purposes of keeping the book to a manageable length. For the average reader, I don't think that these issues will detract from the enjoyment of this book. For someone with Alzheimer's Disease or someone who knows someone with Alzheimer's Disease, this book may not ring true.

I would give Still Alice 3 STARS (I liked it).

Image from Google Images

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

2009-06-15T10:01:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite books from recent years is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I recommend this book all the time - to library patrons, friends, family members, people who read my blog and complete strangers. So I was jumping for joy when Lisa See's newest book, Shanghai Girls, was in a recent box of new books that came into the library. I didn't even know See had a new book coming out. Yippee!! Feels like Christmas!

Before I get to the meat of the story, I have to comment on the cover of this book. It is an absolute work of art. This is probably the most beautiful cover I have ever seen on any book. I love the soft color palette, the 1940's feel of the painting (?), the soft focus used on the girls' faces vs. the sharper focus of their clothing. Just gorgeous. The jacked art is credited to FormAsia Books, Hong Kong. Not sure what that is, but I'm going to check it out as soon as I'm done with this review.

Shanghai Girls tells the story of two sisters, Pearl and May, who live in the very sophisticated and "westernized" city of Shanghai in the late 1930s. Pearl and May come from a prosperous family and live a glamorous life full of excitement. This all comes to an abrupt end when their father gambles away the family's wealth and rickshaw business. In order to pay off his debts, he must sell his daughters as wives to two young brothers who have traveled to Shanghai from California to find Chinese brides. Pearl and May seem to go along with this plan, but they have no intention of fulfilling this contract made by their father. Everything changes, however, when the Japanese begin bombing Shanghai and Pearl and May must leave Shanghai in order to survive.

After a harrowing and life changing journey through war-torn China, the two sisters eventually find their way to Los Angeles and their husbands' family. Over the years Pearl and May make lives for themselves in California with their new family. But, through all their trials and for all their lives they remain devoted to each other as sisters.

Shanghai Girls illuminates a period of history that I previously didn't know much about. Learning about the experiences of Chinese immigrants living in California during the McCarthy era was illuminating for me. As was learning about the lives of the immigrants living in Chinatown and how they came to be in America. Fascinating. The story of Pearl and May and their experiences as wealthy Shanghai Girls, as refugees, as newly arrived immigrants, as new brides and finally as women who have built lives for themselves in the US was also interesting. Overall, Shanghai Girls is a good, solid story. It wasn't amazing. It wasn't a book I'll stop strangers on the street to tell them about. On the other hand, if someone was looking forward to or was interested in reading it, I wouldn't discourage them.

I would give it 3+ STARS (I liked it+).

Images from Google Images

Book Bingo

2009-06-10T18:19:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't love to play BINGO? Now you can play at the George Hail Library! That's right, Book Bingo is back. Come on in to the library to pick up a Bingo sheet or you can download one from the website. There are even going to be prizes. There will be two prize drawings - one on July 6th and another on August 10th. Winners will be drawn from the completed Bingo sheets. All sheets are due August 7th.

You can complete a square by reading books in different genres, attending a library program, checking out a DVD and even by leaving a comment here on Pam's Picks. Now that's a gimme for sure. Go ahead leave me comment. I know you want to ;)

Summer Reading

2009-06-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

I know this is probably not a popular opinion among parents, but I have never been in favor of summer reading (or any other) assignments for kids. Especially for kids younger than High School. I am a firm believer that summer is for relaxing, exploring, family time and simply being a kid. There is so much pressure on kids today to always be performing - even in their leisure activities. And it starts at an extremely young age. I can't state strongly enough how opposed I am to this mentality. I have always been thankful that the school district I live in does not have summer assignments until Middle School (and even then not all teachers assign it). The High School does require the reading of one book (chosen from a list of 4) for every student in 9th through 12th grade. That seems reasonable to me.

Imagine my surprise when I read an article in The Providence Journal yesterday morning reporting that more and more school districts in Rhode Island are rethinking the assignment of summer reading. Some are choosing to eliminate it all together and others are choosing books that are more appealing to kids. I think that's a good start. Even as an avid reader myself, I can't imagine the torture of a HS student struggling through Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, Shakespeare or even Tom Sawyer without the the benefit of classroom discussion. The old classics that we all read in HS are certainly valuable literary works, but read on their own, they are just not accessible to most teen readers (or many adult readers, for that matter). Those types of books need to be read with the guidance and analysis that can only come from reading in a structured setting under the tutelage of a skilled teacher. I am glad that more school districts and teachers are finally coming to this conclusion. Now maybe we can reclaim summer vacation for our children and our families.

Image from Googe images

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

2009-06-03T11:41:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned that one of my favorite authors, Thrity Umrigar, had written a new book - The Weight of Heaven. I have read two of Umrigar's other books - If Today be Sweet (which was a Books on Main book selection) and The Space Between Us. I really enjoyed both of them, but The Space Between Us is one of my favorites.

The Weight of Heaven tells the story of Frank and Ellie Benton whose only child, 7 year old Benny, has died from a sudden catastrophic illness. In the wake of Benny's death, Frank is offered a job in far off India and he and Ellie decide that a change of scenery may help them navigate their profound grief and remove them from painful memories. Being in India does seem to help Frank and Ellie move forward with their lives, but Frank's burgeoning friendship with Ramesh, a bright and engaging boy, threatens to destroy the fragile balance Frank and Ellie have managed to recreate for themselves.

The Weight of Heaven is written in four parts. Book 1 takes place in the present and deals heavily with Frank's job in a big American corporation that has opened a facility in Girbaug, India and the ramifications the company has on the local villagers. This part of the story has a subtle political tone, which is usually something I don't like. Thankfully, the political undertones are mild, but I typically do not enjoy these types of stories. I decided to stick with the book, however, because I have so enjoyed Umrigar's other books. And I'm really glad, because Books 2 and 3 go back in time and deal with the time period before Benny's death when Frank and Ellie were living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This part of the story was much more interesting to me and more of what I was expecting. Book 4 takes the reader back to India in the time period just following the opening of the book. Gone is the political content and the story deals with the unfolding human drama. Again, this is more to my liking. The Weight of Heaven is one of those books that gets more interesting the further you get into it. It's not my favorite of Umrigar's books, but it's a good solid read. It's not a book I will be recommending to anyone and everyone who will listen (like The Help and The Gargoyle), but if someone was interested in reading it I would not discourage them. I would give it 3 STARS (I liked it). *

*I've decided to add a RATING SYSTEM to all the books I review here.

1 STAR Didn't like it (most likely I didn't even finish it)
2 STARS It was OK
3 STARS Liked it
4 STARS Really liked it
5 STARS It was amazing

Image from Google images

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

2009-05-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

I am on a book roll! On Wednesday night the library book club, Books on Main, met to discuss Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. Mudbound is one of the books being considered by RARI for 2010. When it comes time to discuss and vote for books, I am going to give this one high marks. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That is 3 books in a row that I have really, really, really liked. That is unprecedented! Unheard of! Amazing! A book roll! Now that I've said all that I've probably jinxed myself and won't read another great book for the next 6 months. (Gosh, I hope not.)

Mudbound takes place in rural Mississippi in 1946. It tells the story of two families, one white and one black, who are trying to eek out an existence on a hardscrabble farm. The story centers around two young men, Ronsel and Jamie, both soldiers returning to the farm from the war overseas. While serving in Germany, Ronsel was treated as an equal. There was no distinction between the races, even among the German people that he encountered while on leave. This is quite a shock to him, but he soon becomes accustomed to it and he states, "[f]irst time in my life I ever felt like a man first and a black man second." However, it's quite a different story when he returns to rural Mississippi. His reentry into the Jim Crow south is not a smooth one. Jamie also struggles upon his return. Like many returning soldiers he can not escape the horrors of the war. Jamie and Ronsel develop a fragile friendship based on their experiences and this friendship causes ripples of shock, not only through their families, but more ominously throughout the town.

Also central to the story is Jamie's brother Henry and Henry's wife, Laura. Laura is shocked and unhappy when Henry announces that he has bought a farm (without consulting her) and that they will be moving there from Memphis. Laura is a city girl who finds herself living in a rundown shack with no indoor plumbing or electricity. To make matters even worse, Henry's mean-spirited and racist father will be living with them. Tensions continue to rise when Jamie returns from war and moves onto the farm to help Henry.

Mudbound drew me in right from the start with a dramatic opening scene that hooks the reader. Right from the very beginning, Jordan skillfully reveals small seeds of information that leave the reader asking questions and wondering what actions led up to this moment. And that's all within the first three pages. It is hard to believe that this is Jordan's debut novel! Not so hard to believe is that she was awarded the Bellwether Prize for fiction for Mudbound. The intent of the Bellwether Prize "to advocate serious literary fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. The prize is awarded to a previously unpublished novel representing excellence in this genre."* As I said, I'm not surprised at all.

Image from Google Images
*Quote from Bellwether Prize website

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

2009-05-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

While trolling the blogosphere the other day I stumbled upon a whole new corner of the bloggy world. Apparently there are bloggers out there who are SERIOUS bookworms and participate in all manner of book challenges. Are any of you familiar with this? It was certainly news to me. And I was intrigued. Of course this appeals to my ~~nerdy~~ bookish side, but I also love a good challenge. How could I possibly pass up the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge? So, I've decided to participate. This challenge is hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog and it was made for me. In this challenge you decide whether you will read 12, 25 or 50 library books, in 2009. I chose 50. Check out J. Kaye's Book Blog for all the details. Here's my list so far:

2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge

1. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
2. The Last Queen by C. W. Gortner
3. The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin
4. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
5. How Not to Die by Jan Garavaglia
6. Publishing a Blog with Blogger by Elizabeth Castro
7. A Parting Gift by Ben Erickson
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
9. The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir by Patricia Harman
10. Song Yet Sung by James McBride
11. The Everything Blogging Book by Eliza Risdahl
12. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
13. Goldengrove by Francine Prose
14. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
15. The Courtier's Secret by Donna Russo Morin
16. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging by the editors of the Huffington Post
17. The Secret Currency of Love edited by Hilary Black
18. Ex Libris: Confession of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
19. Mistaken Identities: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by Ryn, Don Van
20. The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
21. The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
22. Against Medical Advice: A True Story by James Patterson
23. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
24. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
25. Nov. 22, 1963 by Adam Braver
26. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
27. The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
28. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
29. Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
30. Writing in Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life by Christina Marsden Gillis
31. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
32. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
33. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
34. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind
35. Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins
36. The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser
37. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
38. The End of Manners by Francesca Marciano
39. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
40. Teaser by Jan Brogan
41. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
42. The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
43. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
44. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
45. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
46. A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and His Dearest Meg by John Guy
47. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
48. Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse
49. Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure, and the Man Who Dared to See by Robert Kurson
50. Darling Jim by Christian Moerk

You can follow my progress by clicking on the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge button on my sidebar. Anyone interested in joining me? Are you up for the challenge?

2009 Pulitzer Prize Winner

2009-05-20T07:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a month late on this tidbit of book news, but better late than never, right? On April 20 the winners of the Pulitzer Prizes were announced. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout won the Pulitzer for fiction. When I read this I was shocked. First, I was shocked because Books on Main, the George Hail Library book club, actually read this book back in December 2008. How cool is that? I stumbled across that book quite by accident. It just happened to cross the circulation desk one day when I was working. Lucky me! I hadn't even heard any book buzz about it. I just liked the cover, I had read another book by Elizabeth Strout - which I had enjoyed - and the blurb in the book jacket sounded interesting. Who knew it would be chosen for a Pulitzer?! But, even more amazing is that I really liked this book. This is amazing for two reasons. One, it is a book of short stories and typically I don't like short stories. And two, until now there has only been one Pulitzer prize winning book that I have liked. Usually I find the books that have won the Pulitzer to be dull, boring and/or bland. Go figure. And here's the weirdest part of all. The other Pulitzer winner that I liked, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, was also a collection of short stories! So I guess I can no longer say I don't like short stories or Pulitzer Prize winning books. But I can say that I do like Pulitzer Prize winning short stories! Go figure.

Click here for a complete list of 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners.

Image from Google images.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

2009-05-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Gargoyle is undoubtedly the most unique and fascinating book I've read in a long time. I just LOVED it! In many ways I felt as though the author had written this book with me in mind. It seemed that every page revealed some other little element that just so happens to be something that interests, fascinates or intrigues me - books, libraries, librarians, Illuminated texts, the middle ages, gargoyles, Galileo, time travel and even my phobia of snakes shows up as a metaphor for the narrator's pain. *cue Twilight Zone music.*

The Gargoyle tells the story of the nameless narrator, a cynical and self-absorbed pornographer and drug addict, who is severely burned in a car crash. Soon his friends and associates stop visiting him and he loses his business. However, during his long recovery in the burn unit, he is visited by an alluring, though obviously unstable, sculptress who claims that they were lovers in a past life. Marianne Engel continues to visit the narrator during his hospital stay and regales him with stories of their past life and other ancient legends of undying love. Eventually the narrator is released to Marianne's care and he finds himself, for the first time in his life, growing to care about someone other than himself. In time, Marianne's instability becomes more pronounced and the narrator find himself becoming her caregiver. But during her lucid moments, Marianne continues to weave her story of past life and love. A story that the narrator finds interesting, but that he does not believe to be true. And all the while he is desperately trying to save Marianne from her increasingly severe madness.

Andrew Davidson is a master storyteller. He skillfully teases the reader with the slow unfolding of Marianne's story of past life and love. I found myself, much like the narrator, anxious to hear the next "chapter" in her story. In addition, the other ancient legends, which are woven into the narrative, are then cleverly tied into the present with incredible deftness. Awesome. Being that the book was so brilliant, unique and fascinating, I was expecting some equally clever ending. While it wasn't as jaw droppingly unique as I was expecting, it was still very good. And it does leave the reader wondering and questioning. It's one of those books where you immediately want to ask someone else who has read the book - "what do you think THAT was all about?" I LOVE when that happens in a book. And it doesn't happen all that often. So, if you've read this already or are planning on reading it, I'd love to hear what you think.

Image from Google Images

Good Reads

2009-05-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

In the last post, I shared with you my two All Time Favorite Books. Which truly are fabulous and transcendent! But there are many, many, many other books that I absolute love. Too many to list all of them here. But I would like to share with you some of my other recent favorites. In no particular order they are:

Ten Books I Highly Recommend

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (read my review)
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (read my review)
Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (read my review)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Just curious - have any of you read any of my favorites? Did you like them? Hate them? *gasp* Have any you want to share? I'd love to hear what you all think.

Image from Google Images

Transcendent Books

2009-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

In keeping with the theme of the last post, I thought I might share with you two books that I consider to be "transcendent". A transcendent book is one that you couldn't stop thinking about when you finished reading it. A book that you want to share with all your friends and fellow bibliophiles. A book that touched you in some way. A book that makes you sigh and smile when you utter it's name. THAT is a transcendent book. I have two books that I consider transcendent. Before the RARI event, I referred to them as my All Time Favorite Books. Transcendent sounds soooo much better. Here they are. Can you hear me sighing and see me smiling?

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

I first read this book when I was 14 years old and in 8th grade. I can not remember if it was assigned reading or a book I simply stumbled upon. My guess is that it was assigned. I had a wonderful 8th grade English teacher, Mr. O'Donnell, and I can easily imagine him assigning this amazing book to his Junior High School students. As I grew into adulthood, I remembered that I LOVED this book, but I couldn't remember much else about it. Except for an image of a homeless man with gnarled and filthy feet and how the protagonist (a teen age girl) saw his feet and thought to herself that at one time he was someone's precious baby boy and his mama probably kissed his tender pink toes with love. Wow! THAT image stayed with me for nearly 25 years at which time I finally took the time to reread A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I was curious to see if I still loved the book as an adult as I had as a young teen. The answer is YES! I loved it! It's wonderful. I recommend it to almost everyone who comes into the library and tells me they are "looking for a good book". And not a single one of them has ever been disappointed. Typically, when they return the book they ask for another recommendation. And without a moments hesitation I say....

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Ahhh! Somehow I managed to live 43 whole years before I read this book! What a shame. I remember first hearing about this book from the woman who was my hairdresser at that time. Isabel was a fellow book lover who received this book as a Christmas present and positively raved about it to me. It took me approximately 3 years before I finally decided to pick it up myself. Why did it take so long? Well, I am constantly learning about great new books. I try my best to keep up with all these wonderful new titles. Of course, I can't possibly read all the fabulous books I hear or read about, but I do give it the old college try. Since I am always frantically trying to keep up with all the great current literature being published, to go back and read an "old" book is very hard for me. Such a dilemma! Anyway, this book is worth a bookshelf full of great new books. It is worth dropping everything and reading - right now! And like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, no one has ever been disappointed that I recommended it.

How about you? Is there a book (or books) that you consider to be "transcendent"? Not just a good book or a great book, but your All Time Favorite Book. If so, I'd love to hear about it. Please feel free to leave a comment sharing the title of your "transcendent" book.

Images from Google Images

Reading Across Rhode Island May Breakfast

2009-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I attended the May Breakfast sponsored by Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) to celebrate the 2009 RARI book, Five Skies. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about you can read all about RARI here and you can read my review of Five Skies here.) This year, since I was fortunate enough to attend the breakfast with 7 other women from my two book clubs, we had a table to ourselves - which was terrific. Ron Carlson, the author of Five Skies, was there and he gave an amazing talk to the crowd of over 400 people. Carlson is a professor of creative writing at UC - Irvine and he is a talented and engaging speaker. He is very funny and he had no trouble keeping the audience's attention. (It didn't hurt that he is very easy on the eyes and the audience was predominately female). And to top it all off, I won two tickets to Trinity in the raffle! But, I digress...

Carlson spoke about the craft of writing, how he gets story ideas and his work as a teacher. But, the thing I found to be the most interesting is that he started his talk by saying that groups like Reading Across Rhode Island and events like the May breakfast, in which groups of people get together to talk about books (what he referred to has "literary meetings"), are the foundation of a civilized society. Wow! That is quite a statement. He talked about how some stories transcend the book in which they are written and actually cross over into our very lives. We can all recall books like this. Books that we can't stop thinking about when we are finished reading them. Books that we can recall exactly where we were when we were reading them. Books we can't wait to pass on to other bookworms. Books that become a part of our very history. And, of course, all books are not created equal. Not all books are worth sitting around discussing. Not all stories transcend the book itself. But when you find one, it is a real gift. A gift that should be shared and treasured. After all, according to Mr. Carlson, doing so is the very foundation of civilization. Mr. Carlson, I couldn't agree more.

Image from Google Images

Two New Titles to Add to Your Book List

2009-05-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Good news, bookworms! It recently came to my attention that two of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Berg and Thrity Umrigar have each published new books! Yay!

Berg's new book is call Home Safe and you can read a summary and reviews at Amazon and you can put a hold on the book at the George Hail Library's website.

The Weight of Heaven is Umrigar's latest book. Click here for a summary and reviews and here to place a hold on it.

And be sure to check back here in the weeks to come. I will most definitely be reviewing both of these books. I can't wait!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2009-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

Recently I finished an amazing book. The Help by Kathryn Stockett is one of those books you fall in love with right away and it never disappoints. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about this book over the past couple months. I first heard about it from an online newsletter to which I subscribe. Then I read about it on a couple of book review blogs. And then last week it was featured on The Today Show segment - Spring into a Good Book. As you can imagine, my anticipation and excitement to read this book just kept growing as I heard more and more great things about it. Sometimes when that happens I end up very disappointed, but not this time. This book definitely lived up to its reputation. If any of you are in a book club and need a good title, I recommend The Help.

The Help, which is Kathryn Stockett's debut novel (!), takes place in the early 1960's in Mississippi. This is during the time of the Jim Crow laws regarding segregation of the races. The novel is told from the view points of three women - 2 black maids (Aibiliene and Minny) and one young, wealthy, white woman. Skeeter Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss and much to her mother's dismay did not find a husband while a student there. She is now back living at home in Jackson, Mississippi and hoping to become a writer. Upon the advice of a New York editor, she sets out to write something that "really matters to her" and that hasn't already been written by someone else. She decides to write a collection of stories of the black maids of Jackson - in their own words. She wants to write the "true stories about maids and their experiences waiting on white families." As you can imagine the black maids are at first petrified to tell their stories to Skeeter. If they are caught, losing their jobs would be the least of their worries. Blacks are commonly beaten in Jackson for using the "white" toilet (even in error) or sitting at the wrong lunch counter. Eventually, 13 maids consent to tell Skeeter their stories for her book. These tales give the reader a personal view into the minds and lives of these maids that is heartwarming, tender and also filled with fear, humiliation and self-sacrifice. Through the telling of these stories, the reader is transported to a time before the Civil Rights Movement and is witness to the maids' and Skeeter's attempt to make a change in society - however small. The Help is a terrific book. One of the best I've read so far this year!

Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies

2009-05-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

One of the books featured last week on The Today Show segment Spring into a Good Book was the memoir, Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies. I will be honest and admit that this book was not one that I originally had planned on reading. It's not that I didn't think the topic was interesting. It's that in the past several years memoirs have become far too prevalent, in my opinion. When memoirs first became the genre du jour, I read a bunch of them. And mostly, I liked them. But, soon it felt as though everyone was writing their life story and frankly I started to feel a bit bored by the genre. Anyway, a week or so ago, I was contacted by Katrina, a publicist with Wiredset, who asked me to review this book. What?! Me! Really? Well, as you can imagine, I was deeply flattered and since I had Katrina's assurance that I could be honest in my review of the book, I agreed.

Happens Every Day is a quick, easy and engrossing read. I was so involved in Isabel Gillies' memoir that I finished the book in two sittings. Happens Every Day, tells the heartbreaking story of the dissolution of Isabel's marriage to her husband, Josiah. A marriage that Isabel was deeply committed to and which she had no inkling was in trouble. In fact, she thought she had a wonderful life. When her seemingly perfect marriage and life crumbles around her within the space of 4 short months, Isabel is understandably confused, angry and desperate. Who wouldn't be? But, what is so surprising about this book is that Happens Every Day never degenerates into a diatribe of vitriol and bitterness against her husband or the circumstances of their divorce. As a matter of fact, Isabel is surprisingly candid about her own shortcomings and the deep love she feels for her husband. She takes a very conversational, almost confessional tone, throughout the book. At many points in the book I felt as though I was reading an especially poignant letter or email from a friend. I felt Isabel's bewilderment, confusion and desperation to save her marriage. Isabel does an amazing job of connecting with her readers and I couldn't help but put myself in her shoes. Surprisingly, Happens Every Day is not a depressing story. Gillies has managed to write a story of love and loss, but also one of moving forward and hope for the future. As the title of the books states .... Happens Every Day.

Reading Across Rhode Island

2009-05-01T11:02:00.000-04:00

Those of you who read my book reviews may have noticed that I have mentioned Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) a couple of times. I realized that some of you may not be familiar with RARI. Reading Across Rhode Island is a project of Rhode Island Center for the Book (at the Providence Public Library), whose goal is to promote literacy for all Rhode Islanders. The idea of the RARI organization is to choose one book a year, promote it through all the state public and school libraries and encourage everyone in RI to read that book. Hence the slogan - one book, one state, literally. Each year the book is announced to the public in January. In addition, an official launch conference is held in which the author comes and gives a talk and participants can participate in workshops relating to promoting the book, book clubs, topics covered in the book, etc. The launch conference is open to the public, but typically it is attended mainly by librarians and teachers.

This year marks the 7th year for RARI and the book chosen was Five Skies by Ron Carlson. You can read my review of Five Skies here. And next weekend, I will be attending the culminating event for this year's book - the May breakfast held at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston. This event drew 800 (I think) people last year and it was the first year I attended. At the May breakfast, the author again comes to RI and does a reading, gives a talk and takes questions. Last year I attended this event with two women from my personal book club. This year I will be attending with 7 other women - 3 from my personal book club and 4 from George Hail Library's book club - Books on Main. It's sure to be a great event! For all you bookworms out there, here is a list of the 6 other RARI books:

2003 – Wish You Well, by David Baldacci
2004 – Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
2005 – Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
2006 – Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson
2007 - The Memory of Running, by East Providence native, Ron McLarty
2008 - Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

In case you are wondering, I have read all of these books with the exception of Shadow Divers. If you haven't read Kite Runner or Water for Elephants, I highly recommend them! I'll be sure to let you all know how the May breakfast goes next Saturday. I'm sure you will be hearing more about RARI in the coming months as I am actually serving on the nominating committee for the 2010 book selection! So, many of the books that I will reviewing between now and August will be RARI 2010 nominees. This is my first year to serve on this committee and I'm not sure yet if these nominees are top secret, but if I get the OK, I will be sure to let you know which books are up for consideration. And, if you know of a great book, you can nominate it on the RARI website linked above. How cool would that be - to know that YOU are the one who recommended the book that the whole (itty bitty) state of RI was going to read? Awesome, right? So go ahead, nominate a book or two or three. I know you want to....

The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz

2009-04-29T01:28:00.000-04:00

The Commoner takes place in 1959 Japan and is the story of how Haruko, a young woman from a good family, comes to marry the Crown Prince. She is the first commoner to ever marry into the mysterious and cloistered world of the monarchy. What makes this union so remarkable, aside from the fact that Haruko is a commoner, is that she and the Prince marry for love. Unfortunately, their love is not enough to overcome the restrictions and hostility of the insular world behind the palace walls. Haruko is never fully accepted by either the Prince's mother or her cronies. After giving birth to a son, which is basically all she is really needed for, Haruko literally loses her voice and descends into a deep depression. Slowly she recovers and when her son becomes a man and marries a commoner, Haruko decides to take the girl under her wing and show her the kindness that was so cruelly withheld from Haruko herself.

Before reading this book, I didn't realize that the premise of this story is based on the lives of the current Empress of Japan, Michiko and her daughter-in-law, Princess Masako. I only learned that later when I was reading other reviews of this book. I must say that I was very disappointed in this book. The characters were very two-dimensional and I was never able to fully engage with any of them or the story as whole. It's really too bad, because I think this could have been a very interesting book. Overall, the plot felt very flat and dull. It's not terrible, just bland. Unfortunately, it's not a book I would recommend. What a shame, it had such great potential.

Five Skies by Ron Carlson

2009-04-24T18:06:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday night the George Hail Library book club, Books on Main, met to discuss Five Skies, the 2009 Reading Across Rhode Island (RARI) selection. Five Skies tells the story of three men who are running from their pasts and who find themselves working on a construction project in a remote area of Idaho. As the project progresses, the men begin to reveal themselves to each other and in so doing begin the process of healing from their deep personal wounds.

I must admit that I was not very excited about reading this book. I was disappointed when it was chosen as the RARI book for 2009, because the topic was not in the least interesting to me and I was afraid that all the construction "talk" in the book would bore me. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book much more than I ever thought I would. Ron Carlson is a masterful writer and I found myself enjoying the plain and simple language that somehow managed to be poetic without being flowery. But, the most amazing thing about this book is the brilliant way in which the story of the three men slowly unfolds over the course of the novel. One of the book club members described it as an "evolving" and that is exactly what it was. And this was such a clever writing technique since it mirrored each characters slow journey of healing that took place throughout the novel. Brilliant! I have never read another book in which the story "evolved" in such a skillful manner. And the construction "talk", while at times a little incomprehensible (to me at least), did not detract at all from the story. Those sections of the book were nicely interspersed with the revealing of the characters' stories (and were easily skimmed through without interfering with the understanding of the story as a whole. Shhh! Don't tell anyone I said that).

Five Skies is a wonderful novel filled with richly developed characters that the reader really comes to care about. It is also a wonderful story of male friendship and how the slow unfolding of those friendships can be a source of healing. This is definitely one of those books I never would have picked up on my own. But it just goes to show, that even in our reading, it can be a good idea to step outside our comfort zone and try something new. You never know when you might be pleasantly surprised. I certainly was!

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So Many Books, So Little Time

2009-04-18T14:00:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post to let all you bibliophiles know about Cosmopolitan magazine's list of top reads for the spring. John Searles, Cosmo's book editor, was on the Today Show this morning with a list of ten great reads. One of the books, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is on my current "to read" list and another, Darling Jim by Christian Moerk, I am familiar with. The others were all new to me. The titles cover a variety of genres from literary and contemporary fiction to thrillers, chick lit, memoirs and nonfiction. How exciting is that? I love it when I learn about a whole bunch of new books I might want to read. I'm not sure all of them are my cup of tea, but at least a couple of them sound intriguing. So if you're wondering what to read next, you might want to check out the list on the Today Show's website. There you will find pictures of all the books, plus a quick synopsis of the plots. Happy reading!

Image from Google images

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

2009-04-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

Moloka'i tells the story of Rachel Kalama, a seven year old girl living in Honolulu in the early 1890's who is diagnosed with leprosy. She is taken away from her family and sent to live, in isolation, with other lepers on the island of Moloka'i. Once there, Rachel and the other residents are well treated and well-cared for. They are able to create full and happy lives for themselves, complete with excursions to the beach, dances, movie nights and a deep sense of family and home. Rachel even finds love and marries. Eventually, a cure for leprosy is found and the residents are given the option to leave Moloka'i and return to their former homes. For many this is a difficult decision to make, but Rachel decides to return to Honolulu to find the family that was stolen from her so long ago.

In spite of the depressing topic and the heartbreaking nature of Rachel's story, Moloka'i is filled with joy, love and courage. And the strength of the human spirit. Moloka'i is well worth reading.

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The Hour I first Believed by Wally Lamb

2009-04-18T12:21:00.000-04:00

Like thousands of other Wally Lamb fans I had been waiting with bated breath for years for his next book. And I was so excited to finally be reading it (even though it's a daunting 723 pages). The Hour I First Believed is the story of Caelum Quick a teacher at Columbine High School and his wife, Maureen, who is the school nurse there. Maureen is in the library on the day of the shooting and is able to hide from the two teenage assassins. Caelum, on the other hand, is out of town on the day of shooting attending to the funeral details of his aunt in New Hampshire. The story centers around how this tragic and terrifying event effects Maureen and her life with Caelum. At least that is what the first 1/3 of the book is about. And it is good. Very good. It's after that that the author loses me. His writing is still fantastic, but the book begins to feel a bit like a Forest Gump-type story of how Caelum is touched by all the tragedies between Columbine and the Iraqi War (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib). And of top of all that the author throws in the 150 year history of Caelum's family through the correspondence of his great-great-grandmother, which he just happens to find in his dead aunt's house in NH. Oh, and he ends up with renters who escaped Katrina, one of which just happens to be getting a PhD in Women's Studies and is more than interested in reading through these letters and turning them into a PhD thesis, which is published (and printed within the confines of the book). A bit too neat and contrived for me. That being said, the story was still engaging enough that I read the whole book - including the Afterword, Author's Notes and Acknowledgements. Overall, I thought the book was good, but not great. It's not a book I would recommended as one everyone absolutely should read, but neither is it one I would discourage someone from reading. If you're a Wally Lamb fan and have been looking forward to it, I don't think you'll regret taking the time to read it.

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The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir by Patricia Harman

2009-04-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

Patricia Harman’s memoir is the touching story of a caring health care professional who strives to provide her patients with not only the best possible medical care, but with compassion and empathy as well. In The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife’s Memoir, Patricia Harman tells the story of her life as a nurse-midwife practicing in West Virginia. In it she tells the stories of her patients and her own story of financial struggle trying to keep her practice float. The stories she shares provide a very personal look at each woman’s life, loves and struggles. She expresses the worries, pain and joys of motherhood especially well and I found myself empathizing with many of the women portrayed. Patricia Harman herself is a warm, caring and nurturing practitioner. The kind of medical professional we all search for and hope to find. A great read. I recommend it!

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Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron

2009-04-17T16:01:00.001-04:00

If you love cats, libraries and /or living in a small town, then this heart-warming story of Dewey Readmore Books is one you won’t want to miss. On a frigid morning in 1988, Vicki Myron, the director of the Spencer (Iowa) Public Library, found a frostbitten and frightened kitten in the book drop. When she held him in her arms and he looked into her eyes with love and gratitude, she just knew that he had to be a part of the library. What happened after Dewey found a home in the library is a remarkable story of how a very special cat not only touched the lives of the people of Spencer, but transformed the town itself, and even reached out and touched the world. But this book is much more than the story of a remarkable cat. It is the story of all libraries and how they are a vital part of their communities. And it is the story of small towns everywhere – with all their charm, quirks and individual personalities. I couldn’t help but think of Warren and the George Hail Free Library while I was reading this book.

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The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel

2009-04-17T15:59:00.000-04:00

In 2003, author Lily Koppel found a crumbling red leather diary in a dumpster in New York City. The diary had been written by a teenage girl between the years of 1929 and 1934. Between the pages of the diary, young Florence Wolfson described her hopes, dreams, fears and ambitions. Reading the journal brings NYC in the 1930s to vivid life for Lily. Eventually, Lily decides to try to find Florence and return the diary to her. The result of their meeting is this book, which is a clever compilation of excerpts from the diary and narrative culled from Lily’s meetings with Florence. The Red Leather Diary presents a fascinating look at NY in the 1930s through the eyes of an impressive and eloquent young woman. Be sure to read the Forward, by Florence Wolfson herself, which reveals Florence’s perspective on being reunited with her diary and her lively past.

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The Condition by Jennifer Haigh

2009-04-17T15:56:00.000-04:00

The Condition is Jennifer Haigh’s third, and in my opinion, best book. In it she explores the relationships between the five members of the McKotch family from the fateful summer of 1976 until the fall of 2001. During this 25 year period, each family member comes to a greater understanding of themselves, of each other and of the very essence of their family itself. The Condition is a book that I couldn’t put down because I believe that it touches on the very truth of family relationships. Namely, how well do we ever know another person?

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Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford by Julia Fox

2009-04-17T15:53:00.000-04:00

Julia Fox’s debut book, Jane Boleyn: The True Story of the Infamous Lady Rochford, is an extremely well researched biography of Anne Boleyn’s sister-in-law, Jane. When Jane Parker married George Boleyn in 1524 she had no indication that one day her sister-in-law, Anne, would rise to the throne of England and set off a political and religious crisis in that country. Anne’s entrance into royal life opened up a whole new world for Jane and George - the glamorous and exciting world of life at court. Anne’s descent from King Henry’s favor, however, would also become Jane and George’s undoing.

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Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

2009-04-17T15:47:00.000-04:00

Rhode Island native, Jhumpa Lahiri continues to thrill readers with her newest book, Unaccustomed Earth, a collection of short stories.

Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, writes books that pack an emotional punch. Her writing is flawless and her stories are wonderful windows into the human psyche and experience. Each of the eight stories in this collection is complex and multi-layered. Lahiri has an amazing ability to tell a rich and well developed tale within the limited confines of a short story. Each story vividly, accurately and powerfully exposes the characters’ humanity, foibles, loves, desires, heartaches and triumphs. Lahiri truly is a short story writer without equal.

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People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

2009-04-17T15:45:00.000-04:00

Hanna Heath, an Australian rare book conservator, has been called to Sarajevo to analyze and conserve a mysterious codex. When Hanna discovers some tiny artifacts in the book’s binding, she begins to unravel the mysteries of the book’s tumultuous past. In alternating chapters, Brooks tells the story of the book’s journey through Seville, Tarragona, Venice, Vienna and finally to Sarajevo. Throughout the centuries the book is saved numerous times from the destructive forces of Anti-Semitism. Brooks weaves a tale of courage, strength and faith in each chapter as she tells the story of the book’s treacherous journey through time and the brave people who risked their lives to save it from destruction.

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Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

2009-04-17T15:41:00.000-04:00

This book by Michelle Moran is a fascinating look at ancient Egypt and the power struggle that existed within the Pharaoh's family in the generation before King Tut. If you are intrigued by Ancient Egypt, as I am, you will enjoy this thrilling look inside the world of the Pharaohs.

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Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunitedby Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein

2009-04-17T15:36:00.000-04:00

In 1968, Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein were adopted as infants by separate and loving families. Each girl had grown up always knowing that she had been adopted and for most of their lives neither one had much interest in searching for her birth mother. In 2003, when Elyse was 35 years old, she decided to contact the adoption agency that had handled her adoption and request non-identifying information regarding her adoption. She was not prepared for the news that she received. The information about her birth mother had been sealed and was not accessible. However, she was told that she had an identical twin sister who had also been adopted. Identical Strangers is an amazing story of how two women are forced to examine their sense of self, identity and family and how they come to terms with the extraordinary circumstances of their adoption, separation and reunion.

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The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

2009-04-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

Laura Moriarty’s debut novel, The Center of Everything, is the beautifully told coming of age story of Evelyn Bucknow, growing up in Kansas with her young and somewhat immature mother, Tina. Even though the deck seems to be stacked against her, Evelyn has a couple of things going for her. The first is her relationship with her overly-religious grandmother, who provides Evelyn with the stability that her mother is not always able to provide. Evelyn is also blessed with teachers who recognize her potential and provide her not only with encouragement and direction, but also serve as role models and mentors. As Evelyn grows from a self-conscious fourth grader through her high school graduation, she learns not only to believe in herself, but also to have faith in her surprisingly resilient mother.

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The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

2009-04-17T15:25:00.000-04:00

The Knitting Circle is the story of Mary, a forty-something woman who is recovering from the devastating loss of her 5 year old daughter, Stella. On the advice of her mother she joins a knitting circle as a way to keep both her hands and her mind busy. Here she meets six other women who, through the course of the novel, reveal their own stories and personal tragedies and in so doing guide and accompany Mary on her journey through the grieving process.

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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossieni

2009-04-17T15:07:00.000-04:00

In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini tells a story of Afghanistan, through the eyes of two women. In war-torn Afghanistan under the Taliban rule, Mariam and Laila find themselves married to an abusive man without recourse or means of escape. As their lives become more and more endangered, Mariam and Laila are forced to make dangerous and terrifying choices that will change their lives in irrevocable ways.

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