tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3702252617591849072024-03-13T12:23:51.023-05:00Cats and a BookUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-27406793806612800742016-06-11T17:39:00.000-05:002016-06-11T17:40:23.357-05:00White Dresses, by Mary Pflum Peterson<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbCwEzSyDDM/V1ySxIFFGqI/AAAAAAAAAhM/8NtBD8RLLlcO5NTDtFISEdrBxwcF1Nl2ACLcB/s1600/white%2Bdresses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rbCwEzSyDDM/V1ySxIFFGqI/AAAAAAAAAhM/8NtBD8RLLlcO5NTDtFISEdrBxwcF1Nl2ACLcB/s1600/white%2Bdresses.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mary Pflum Peterson’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/White-Dresses-Secrets-Mothers-Daughters/dp/0062386972/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465684546&sr=1-1&keywords=white+dresses">White Dresses: A Memoir of Love and Secrets, Mother and Daughters</a> reads like a novel. White
dresses are the thread the story is strung upon—christening gowns, graduation
dresses, wedding dresses. To Mary Pflum’s
mother, white meant “cleanliness, innocence, simplicity, sophistication, and
above all, possibilities.” As Pflum
write, “for her, white—a blank canvas—was the embodiment of hope and the
promise of new beginnings and good things to come.” The memoir’s opening scene finds the author
searching through a disaster-struck house for the white dresses from her
childhood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pflum’s story is remarkable.
Her mother, Anne Pflum, was an outstanding student who turned to
religion to salve a broken heart. Following her short stint as a nun, Anne met
and married Mary’s father, who never seemed able to meet the family’s needs,
often absent, angry, or moody. After the
marriage disintegrated, Anne Pflum began a downward spiral that wasn’t apparent
to others. She became a hoarder, and her
home became off-limits to everyone, including her children in order to hide her
disorder. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mary Pflum herself became a successful reporter, working for
a time for CNN, and an awarded television producer. Despite her personal successes, she was
pulled back home, only to find she was unwelcome in the home she grew up in,
her mother preferring to meet at a local hotel.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pflum bares all in this memoir, bravely exposing her family’s
struggles so that others might find strength in their kinship or learn
compassion. <u>White Dresses</u> was published
in 2015 by Harper Collins. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-79760712313262918062015-07-26T11:19:00.000-05:002015-07-26T11:19:00.284-05:00The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, by Vendela Vida
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Faepy6UReQM/VbUITuJ1sTI/AAAAAAAAAgs/Vfog-VaDQu0/s1600/The%2Bdiver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Faepy6UReQM/VbUITuJ1sTI/AAAAAAAAAgs/Vfog-VaDQu0/s1600/The%2Bdiver.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9780062110916-1">The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty</a>, by Vendela Vida, is a study in identity—how we construct it, how we
prove it, and how we change it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Written
in second person, Vida tells the story as if you are the female protagonist
(“You call to cancel your bank card”) whose personal documents, including
passport and wallet are stolen in Casablanca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This gives the reader a sense of personal stake in the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helps us feel her panic and frustration
and perhaps understand her logic as she attempts to regain control of her
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vida’s character is suspicious, but as her true story is
revealed, readers may better understand her perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She weaves fairly unbelievable conspiracy
theories which in her mind support the creation of alternate identities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, when the police return a black
backpack to her, similar to the one stolen from her, she senses that they are
attempting to close the matter through a tacit agreement that she would take
what was offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she does,
including the identity of the woman whose backpack she now possesses, at least
for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Legal documents, physical appearance, the trappings of a
career all lend themselves to creating her multiple identities while she
struggles with recreating her own concept of who she is and how to move forward
with her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty</u> is an entertaining read and a
thought-provoking story about identity—legal, constructed, and imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was published by Harper Collins in
2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-72589078095275672572015-07-26T11:16:00.001-05:002015-07-26T11:19:32.811-05:00The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTDDGDXaXA/VbUHnbYN0wI/AAAAAAAAAgk/Va7TtcUJMjI/s1600/the%2Brosie%2Bproject.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LPTDDGDXaXA/VbUHnbYN0wI/AAAAAAAAAgk/Va7TtcUJMjI/s1600/the%2Brosie%2Bproject.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Project-Novel-Graeme-Simsion/dp/1476729093/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437927168&sr=8-1&keywords=the+rosie+project">The Rosie Project</a> by Graeme Simsion, is the delightful story of genetics professor Don Tillman’s search for a life mate. Having decided through a logical process that he was in need of a wife, Professor Tillman develops a questionnaire which he contends will identify his perfect match. Unfortunately, his questionnaire isn’t quite as precise as he believes, and even his “perfect match” turns out to be flawed. <br />
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Tillman’s charm is his vulnerability and his lack of understanding of nuance. He interprets comments literally, which leads to a number of amusing situations and misunderstandings, but it also leads him to Rosie, a very unlikely match for a life mate. Serving as a balance to Tillman’s more innocent charm is his friend Gene, whose womanizing ways are a sharp contrast to Tillman's naiveté.<br />
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Simsion followed <u>The Rosie Project</u> with <u>The Rosie Effect</u>, for those readers who must know what became of Don and Rosie. <u>The Rosie Project </u>was published by Simon and Schuster in 2014.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-38988604015893474802015-04-11T10:41:00.000-05:002015-04-11T10:50:33.755-05:00Etta and Otto and Russell and James, by Emma Hooper<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6QH6eFc3PFw/VSlAPQVawcI/AAAAAAAAAgM/ulcwit8UbYU/s1600/etta-and-otto-and-russell-and-james-9781476755670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6QH6eFc3PFw/VSlAPQVawcI/AAAAAAAAAgM/ulcwit8UbYU/s1600/etta-and-otto-and-russell-and-james-9781476755670.jpg" /></a>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Etta-Otto-Russell-James-Novel/dp/1476755671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428766429&sr=8-1&keywords=etta+and+otto+and+russell+and+james">Etta and Otto and Russell and James</a>, Etta Vogel sets out
from her native Saskatchewan to Halifax, Nova Scotia, leaving her husband Otto with
a short note and a collection of recipes on the kitchen table. She
also leaves him their only vehicle, the truck.
She has decided to travel on foot. </div>
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Emma Hooper’s bittersweet story chronicles not only Etta’s
journey, but the story of her life as a rural school teacher, her involvement
with best friends Russell and Otto, and her growing memory loss. Otto is stoic in the face of Etta’s
disappearance, as if he understands it is something she is driven to do. He puts on Etta’s apron and using her
recipes, learns to cook. Russell is
anxious when he discovers she has set out on foot for the coast, and attempts
to coax her to return. In order to round
out the quartet, James appears later in the story as Etta’s quite unusual traveling
companion, providing her with company and advice. </div>
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<u>Etta and Otto and Russell and James</u> is reminiscent of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Pilgrimage-Harold-Fry-Novel/dp/0812983459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428766697&sr=8-1&keywords=the+unlikely+pilgrimage+of+harold+fry">The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry</a>. It is
a true story of commitment: to neighbors, friends, and lovers. Hooper creates characters readers not only care
about, but urge on. Readers want Etta to
reach her destination, and then realize why she so badly wanted to. </div>
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<u>Etta and Otto and Russell and James</u> was published in 2015 by
Simon and Schuster. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-24705694944320445222015-02-22T11:57:00.001-06:002015-02-22T11:57:44.811-06:00The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PYEw_oA4Txw/VOoYP5EYPQI/AAAAAAAAAfg/Cw5GQok_Zp0/s1600/the%2Bhouse%2Bof%2Bsilk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PYEw_oA4Txw/VOoYP5EYPQI/AAAAAAAAAfg/Cw5GQok_Zp0/s1600/the%2Bhouse%2Bof%2Bsilk.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Silk-Sherlock-Holmes-Novel/dp/0316197017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424627745&sr=8-1&keywords=house+of+silk"><u>The House of Silk</u>,</a> by Anthony Horowitz, takes us back to 221B Baker Street in London, to the apartment of the famed detective, Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson, Holmes’ biographer and partner in the original adventures, again chronicles a thrilling adventure that will not disappoint fans of the original works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The game's afoot” when an art dealer asks for Holmes’ assistance after being followed by a mysterious man in a flat cap. The dealer and his partner sold a series of paintings to a collector in the United States, but the paintings are destroyed in a botched train robbery. In an effort to bring the thieves to justice, the art dealer and collector place an ad for information leading to the gang’s whereabouts. When the collector is killed, the art dealer escapes home to London. He is now convinced that the man in the flat cap is indeed a member of the notorious “Flat Cap Gang” who killed the collector and is now coming to exact his revenge on him. What Holmes uncovers is far more sinister than a simple plot for revenge, but instead sordid criminal activity at the highest levels of social and political power, which preys upon the most weak and defenseless.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What follows is a fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable story, in which Holmes uses his incredible powers of observation, dons disguises, gets arrested, engages in thrilling chases, and of course, identifies the evil-doers--that is, everything you’d expect from a Sherlock Holmes story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>The House of Silk</u> was published in 2012 by Mulholland Books.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-33165779393953821232015-02-07T09:01:00.000-06:002015-02-07T09:01:48.890-06:00Best of 2014<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Proximo Nova', 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5rem;">
Early in the new year is the time to reflect on the previous one, and in the case of the Nashville Book Examiner, to reflect on books read in 2014 that were impactful: stories elegantly written, or rife with conflict and raw emotion, or impossibly complex. They were the books recommended, talked about, and gifted. Although it is difficult to narrow the list to only 10, these titles stand out:</div>
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1. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/reviewsday-hosseini-s-and-the-mountains-echoed-resonates-with-readers" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini</a>. This beautiful novel is a story of betrayal, loss, love, sacrifice, and reconciliation. Hosseini’s frontispiece is a quote from Jelaluddin Rumi from the 13th century, which well describes the complexity of the story, the decisions his characters face, and the circumstances in which they find themselves:</div>
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Out beyond ideas<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />of wrongdoing and rightdoing,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />there is a field.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />I’ll meet you there.</div>
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It is this meeting place that readers arrive at intervals in the novel, weighing the wrong and right, seeing the consequences play out in the lives of the characters, considering what would have happened “if,” mostly unable to condemn or praise anyone without reservation for their choices. Their motivations were strong: love, family pride, greed, honor, commitment. As his character Nabi says, “ . . . I have come to see . .. that one is well served by a degree of both humility and charity when judging the inner workings of another person’s heart.”</div>
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2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Valley-Amazement-Amy-Tan/dp/0062107321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320777&sr=8-1&keywords=the+valley+of+amazement" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Valley of Amazement</a>, by Amy Tan. Another gem from the prolific pen of novelist Amy Tan, as her protagonist leaves behind her early life in a courtesan house in China to find her destiny.</div>
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3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whered-You-Go-Bernadette-Novel/dp/0316204269/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320805&sr=8-1&keywords=where%27d+you+go" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Where’d You Go Bernadette?</a> by Maria Semple, is an identity journey--witty, touching, and memorable. From Bernadette’s interaction with the other mothers to the way she keeps (or doesn’t) keep house, Bernadette’s journey to find meaning in her life is both entertaining and relatable.</div>
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4. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/reviewsday-the-goldfinch-is-a-deserving-pultizer-win" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt,</a> is well and powerfully written. As the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, that description is clearly deserved. Its story is intense, at times almost too painful to read. Readers ponder the painting at the center of the story and the object of its main character’s obsession from time to time—it’s unique beauty, the simplicity of the goldfinch as the central figure in the work, the chain holding it to its perch—and look for similarities between the subject of the painting, and the existence of the painting itself, to our protagonist’s life. Was he chained by the tragic event that took his mother’s life and left him injured and emotionally scarred? Was he chained by the theft of the painting, or by the painting itself? Was he chained by his love of Pippa, the young girl who was also injured in the blast? Was the survival of the painting itself, and the life of the artist, a parallel to Theo’s life? The Goldfish is an arduous read, but one that will remain with the reader for some time.</div>
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5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Wolves-Im-Home-Novel/dp/0812982851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320878&sr=8-1&keywords=tell+the+wolves" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tell the Wolves I’m Home</a> by Carol Rifka Brunt, is the story of family, whether by blood or adoption, as our young heroine bonds with the lover of her beloved Uncle Finn, who died of AIDS during the 1980s.</div>
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6. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vaclav-Lena-Novel-Haley-Tanner/dp/0812981634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320901&sr=8-1&keywords=vaclav+and+lena" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Vaclav & Lena</a> by Haley Tanner. Two Russian immigrants meet as children and find solace in dreaming of a world famous magic show. When Lena’s difficult home life leads to a long separation between the two, their reunion is a poignant reminder of the bonds of friendship forged years ago.</div>
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7. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Grace-William-Kent-Krueger/dp/1451645856/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320929&sr=8-1&keywords=ordinary+grace" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ordinary Grace</a>, by William Kent Krueger, is at its core, a murder mystery. But it is much more the story of a small town, it’s pastor and his family, their history and connections with others in the town, loves and loves lost, and their faith.</div>
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8. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/reviewsday-national-book-award-finalist-bring-lila-home" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Lila, by Marilynne Robinson</a> is set primarily in the town of Gilead, which readers are acquainted with from Robinson’s previous novels "Gilead" and "Home." Lila Dahl is a nearly feral child, neglected and mistreated by people we assume are family. Her savior is Doll, a woman with a violent past, who takes pity on Lila and cares for her. After Lila is banished to the family’s front porch for complaining, Doll takes Lila and they begin traveling to find work, shelter, and food.</div>
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Lila learns hard lessons from Doll’s experiences. Although Doll doesn’t tell Lila everything—like the history of that sharp knife she carries—Lila knows life is hard and no one can be trusted. Doll tells Lila, “You got to look after your own self,” and Lila learns to live on her own, finding shelter, food, and work along the way, vaguely aware of people from her past who could be looking for her.</div>
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9. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Clocks-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/1400065674/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423320986&sr=8-1&keywords=bone+clocks" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Bone Clocks</a>, by David Mitchell, is a unique, disturbing, and yet satisfying novel, which combines science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary literature in one tome. Mitchell seems to enjoy snatching readers from one genre to another, all the while maintaining our bond with the characters so that we continue to care about their well-being, a remarkable feat considering the complexity of the plot.</div>
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10. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Bridge-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/140003437X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423321010&sr=8-2&keywords=invisible+bridge" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4489e3; cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Invisible Bridge</a>, by Julie Orringer, is the story of Jewish brothers, born in Hungary, prior to World War II. The story focuses on Adras Levi, an architecture student in Paris at the beginning of its occupation by the Nazis and the deprivation and cruelty his family faces at the hands of their enemy.</div>
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More to come in 2015!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-13192684841111459012014-12-06T11:42:00.000-06:002014-12-06T11:45:49.871-06:00Lila, by Marilynne Robinson<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--U3iZ_bqxKw/VIM_wCqg8TI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/OSoJWfNdEDo/s1600/Lila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--U3iZ_bqxKw/VIM_wCqg8TI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/OSoJWfNdEDo/s1600/Lila.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lila-Novel-Marilynne-Robinson/dp/0374187614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417887311&sr=8-1&keywords=lila">Lila</a>, by Pulitzer Prize winning author Marilynne Robinson,
is the story of Lila Dahl. It is set
primarily in the town of Gilead, which readers are acquainted with from
Robinson’s previous novels <u>Gilead</u> and <u>Home</u>.
Lila is a nearly feral child, neglected and mistreated by people we
assume are family. Her savior is Doll, a
woman with a violent past, who takes pity on Lila and cares for her. After Lila is banished to the family’s front
porch for complaining, Doll takes Lila and they begin traveling to find work,
shelter, and food. </div>
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Lila learns hard lessons from Doll’s experiences. Although Doll doesn’t tell Lila everything—like
the history of that sharp knife she carries—Lila knows life is hard and no one
can be trusted. Doll tells Lila, “You got
to look after your <i>own</i> self,” and
Lila learns to live on her own, finding shelter, food, and work along the way,
vaguely aware of people from her past who could be looking for her. </div>
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Lila’s life takes a turn when she arrives in Gilead. When she tells the widowed preacher, John
Ames, “You ought to marry me,” she wasn’t quite sure what she was asking for or
why. Even after they are married, she
doesn’t seem to trust the elderly pastor, despite his acceptance of her—including
her failure to attend church regularly, her cursing, or her petty theft from
his garden or his clothes before they were married. </div>
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Robinson details both Lila’s and Pastor Ames’ introspection
and self-discovery as they come to know each other and develop their unusual
relationship. They are childlike and open as they learn
about themselves, while gently unfolding their past lives, with the pain and
memories that come with them. </div>
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<br />
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<u>Lila </u>was a finalist for 2014 National Book Award. It was published in 2014 by <span style="background: rgb(246, 243, 237);">Farrar, Straus and Giroux</span>. </div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-29253813299609771272014-07-06T11:02:00.000-05:002014-07-06T11:03:50.108-05:00We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eJWGmIUVeE/U7ly18tyyCI/AAAAAAAAAe8/SxsGVv88ZSQ/s1600/We+Are+all+completely+beside+ourselves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4eJWGmIUVeE/U7ly18tyyCI/AAAAAAAAAe8/SxsGVv88ZSQ/s1600/We+Are+all+completely+beside+ourselves.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Are-All-Completely-Beside-Ourselves/dp/0399162097/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1404662279&sr=8-1">We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves</a></u>, by Karen Joy
Fowler, will alternately entertain, enlighten, enrage, and move readers. Fowler’s prose is witty and modern and the
book’s narrator, Rosemary Cooke, rises above most first-person accounts by
being painfully honest without painting herself as heroic or admirable or
self-destructively attractive. In fact, Fowler spins out the story in pieces
through Rosemary’s narrative, so that it’s nearly a third of the way into the
book before the reader learns that one of the main characters, Rosemary’s older
sister, is in fact, a chimp. And this is
critical to the book. </div>
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Rosemary’s father is a scientist, who, along with a troop of
graduate students, studies communication between chimpanzees and humans. Specifically, they study Rosemary and her “sister,”
Fern, who are being raised together in the Cooke household. Rosemary found this unexceptional and in
fact, felt jealous of Fern’s abilities like any warring siblings would. But they were also exceptionally close, and
Rosemary alone felt she could translate Fern’s feelings. Eventually, Fern is sent “to a farm” to live
which is the family’s turning point.
Lowell, Rosemary’s human brother, disappears, later to turn up wanted by
the FBI and Rosemary struggles with feelings of guilt well into her adulthood about
why Fern was sent away. The story starts
“in the middle” as Rosemary narrates, with Rosemary in college and Fern gone
since Rosemary was five years old. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves </u>gives us
relatable and mostly likable characters along with an entertaining plot with
occasionally witty if not snarky narration.
Her story turns a bit heavy-handed from time to time when introducing
details of animal testing and activism.
Elizabeth Strout took on a similarly emotionally charged topic in <u>The
Burgess Boys</u>, but guided the reader to draw their own conclusions through
introducing characters with different perspectives. Fowler, on the other hand, provides the
reader with text that could be coming from activist brochures—not to suggest
that it isn’t true or worthy of outrage, but she doesn’t give the reader the
opportunity to arrive at that conclusion themselves. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>We Are all Completely Beside Ourselves</u> was published
by Putnam in 2013. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-83038364750078436452014-05-31T11:00:00.002-05:002014-05-31T11:02:11.908-05:00The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v87MwS4s0s8/U4n8NwvED8I/AAAAAAAAAes/NuPxK3ucoSQ/s1600/The+Goldfinch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v87MwS4s0s8/U4n8NwvED8I/AAAAAAAAAes/NuPxK3ucoSQ/s1600/The+Goldfinch.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Goldfinch-Novel-Pulitzer-Prize-Fiction/dp/0316055433/ref=la_B000APY632_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401550846&sr=1-1">The Goldfinch</a>, by Donna Tartt, is the story of a young boy who
is present at a museum the day it is bombed by terrorists. Having survived the blast, he stays at the
side of an older man, also a patron at the museum, until the older man
dies. During those last moments, the
young boy retrieves a painting, called <i>The Goldfinch</i>, from the rubble and
understands from the man that he should take it with him which, in his
concussed and confused state, he does.
He intends to return the painting safely, but as time passes, he fears
the punishment that would come with confessing his theft. What follows is the story of the passage from
his young teenage years to adulthood, with the purloined art always in his
thoughts. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>The Goldfinch</u> requires an investment by its readers. At 775 pages, the book not only spans time in
its characters’ lives, it details an emotional and physical journey that draws
in the reader. Theo Decker, the young
boy who walks away from the museum with <i>The Goldfinch</i>, is homeless after the
blast. His mother, who took him to the
museum on that fateful day, is killed by the explosion, and it is some time
before Decker’s estranged father returns to his life. Theo alternately earns the reader’s sympathy
and disapproval. His disintegration is
the product of circumstances inflicted on him by an act of terrorism, but he
exacerbates this downward spiral through drug abuse and dealing in counterfeit
goods. </div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s no doubt <u>The Goldfinch</u> is well and powerfully
written. As the winner of the Pulitzer
Prize for fiction, that description is clearly deserved. Its story is intense, at times almost too
painful to read. Readers ponder the
painting from time to time—it’s unique beauty, the simplicity of the goldfinch
as the central figure in the work, the
chain holding it to its perch—and look for similarities between the subject of
the painting, and the existence of the painting itself, to Theo’s life. Was he chained by the tragic event that took
his mother’s life and left him injured and emotionally scarred? Was he chained by the theft of the painting,
or by the painting itself? Was he
chained by his love of Pippa, the young girl who was also injured in the
blast? Was the survival of the painting
itself, and the life of the artist, a parallel to Theo’s life? </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Goldfinch</u> was published in 2013 by Little, Brown and
Company. Donna Tartt is the author of two other books, <u>The Secret History</u> and <u>The Little Friend</u>. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-30424277513230740232014-04-26T10:06:00.001-05:002014-04-26T10:06:32.864-05:00Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4WBVuFOZCk/U1vJDtbvPAI/AAAAAAAAAeY/cGptBUcriQM/s1600/Gone+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f4WBVuFOZCk/U1vJDtbvPAI/AAAAAAAAAeY/cGptBUcriQM/s1600/Gone+Girl.jpg" /></a>Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, is the disturbing story of two disturbed characters, creator and player in a story of their own making. For the reader, it's a psychological drama and page-turner, one that will keep you alternately feeling sympathy and disgust for the characters, all the while intrigued and mystified by their actions.<br />
<br />
The story features Nick and Amy Dunne, two displaced Manhattanites who have relocated to Nick's hometown. Nick's mom is critically ill and his dad suffers from Alzheimer's. Nick and Amy return to Carthage, Missouri, to help Nick's twin sister Margo care for his parents. Because they are both out of work, Nick borrows money from Amy's trust fund to partner with Margo and buy a local bar. Amy is the daughter of a writers, the authors of the "Amazing Amy" series for which she is the namesake, which amplifies the spotlight on her sudden disappearance. <br />
<br />
The book is written in the alternating voices by chapter of Nick and Amy. Amy's chapters are her diary entries, and Nick's are equally straightforward and compelling versions of his reactions to events as they unfold. He tells us, for instance, how many times he has now lied to police, which is the reader's first inkling that things may not be as they seem. When Amy disappears in what appears to be a violent kidnapping, Nick is identified as a person of interest in the investigation. <br />
<br />
As the novel progresses, we learn that Amy has manipulated the reader as she has others in her life. Her history of deceit is long and complex, and includes harm to herself and others. While one might be tempted to feel sorry for Nick, it's clear he has trapped himself in Amy's story. And, he may be the only one who knows Amy well enough to know what she is capable of.<br />
<br />
Gone Girl was published in 2012 by Random House. <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-1273206735113523442014-03-29T15:04:00.000-05:002014-03-29T15:04:20.037-05:00The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTHL8stbJ2Y/Uzcm-KpXNHI/AAAAAAAAAeI/kPyAfF-DNU4/s1600/The+Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTHL8stbJ2Y/Uzcm-KpXNHI/AAAAAAAAAeI/kPyAfF-DNU4/s1600/The+Light.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Light-Between-Oceans-Novel/dp/1451681739/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1396123258"><i>The Light Between Oceans</i></a>, by M.L. Stedman, is the story of a
dedicated lighthouse keeper and his wife caught in a heartbreaking
deception. Tom Sherbourne is a veteran
who relishes the seclusion of the Janus Rock lighthouse. He reveres the regularity of the light and
thrives under the rigorous requirements of record-keeping and light
maintenance. When Tom marries Isabel,
they plan to raise a family on the island.
Unfortunately, Isabel tends their babies’ graves as they lose their
children by miscarriage or stillbirth. </div>
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<br /></div>
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When a small boat washes up to Janus Rock with a dead man
and a healthy baby, Isabel is smitten.
She rationalizes that a mother would never leave her baby and must not
be alive, and that there would be no harm in caring for the child. Tom worries that he is required to report
this arrival and feels they should return the child and try to find the dead
man’s family. But Isabel can’t imagine
parting with the child and convinces Tom to allow her to claim the child as
their own, and bury the man on the island. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As the story unfolds, Tom and Isabel’s decision has tragic
consequences. Both Tom and Isabel continue
to find ways to justify the wrongness of their actions, but when baby Lucy’s
birth mother discovers she is alive, what is best for the baby becomes unclear,
and the deception around the burial of the dead man puts Tom in a dire
situation. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Light Between Oceans</i> is tragic and heartbreaking. Stedman skillfully weaves a story that presents
to readers a fine balance between right and wrong. <i>The Light Between Oceans</i> was published by
Scribner in 2012. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-12637518646745250642014-02-19T16:57:00.000-06:002014-02-19T16:57:29.513-06:00And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xP3ZW2TGHlw/UwU2p_t7coI/AAAAAAAAAd0/lvz9itOw6kE/s1600/bookshot-andthemountainsechoed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xP3ZW2TGHlw/UwU2p_t7coI/AAAAAAAAAd0/lvz9itOw6kE/s1600/bookshot-andthemountainsechoed.png" height="320" width="214" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/And-Mountains-Echoed-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/159463176X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392849992&sr=8-1&keywords=and+the+mountains+echoed">And the Mountains Echoed,</a> by Khaled Hosseini, is a story of
betrayal, loss, love, sacrifice, and reconciliation. Hosseini’s frontispiece is a quote from Jelaluddin
Rumi from the 13<sup>th</sup> century, which well describes the complexity of
the story, the decisions his characters face, and the circumstances in which
they find themselves:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Out beyond ideas<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> of wrongdoing and rightdoing,<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i> there is a field.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i> I’ll meet you there.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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It is this meeting place that readers arrive at intervals in
the novel, weighing the wrong and right, seeing the consequences play out in
the lives of the characters, considering what would have happened “if,” mostly unable
to condemn or praise anyone without reservation for their choices. Their motivations were strong: love, family pride, greed, honor,
commitment. As his character Nabi says, “
. . . I have come to see . .. that one
is well served by a degree of both humility and charity </div>
when judging the inner
workings of another person’s heart.” <br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The story begins in the country in Afghanistan, as the young
girl Pari is taken to her Uncle Nabi, who works for a wealthy family in Kabul. Pari is too young to have many memories yet,
and is given to Nabi to be raised by another couple as their own. Pari’s brother, Abdullah, feels the loss
keenly his entire life. Intertwined with
the stories of Pari, Abdullah, and Nabi, Hosseini introduces a plastic surgeon
who came to Kabul in an effort to help the injured. Using this doctor as a foil for Abdullah, Hosseini
makes a sharp distinction between those who are in need of help and those who
can. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At every turn in the story, Hosseini does a masterful job
making his characters’ bitter choices real to the reader. Their
excuses are ours. Their reasons are
ours. And their emotions strike a
familiar chord. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>And the Mountains Echoed </u>was published by Penguin Books in
2013. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-2726007342190441912014-01-11T10:20:00.000-06:002014-01-11T10:21:39.526-06:00Best Books of 2013<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The beginning of a new year
finds me making lists of books for my “must read” list, which tends to grow
rather than diminish even as I avidly read all year. I also reflect on my favorites from the
previous year—books that generated feelings or insights that stayed with me or books
I simply found particularly entertaining.
It’s always difficult to pare them down to a small number, but my top
five picks for books reviewed on this blog in 2013 are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>Inferno</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF9EE; line-height: 12.15pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Dan-Brown/dp/0385537859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374362499&sr=8-1&keywords=inferno"><span style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Inferno</span></a>,
by Dan Brown, Robert Langdon, Brown’s recurring hero, returns to solve a new
nail-biter. A mad scientist, intent on saving the world from its own population
explosion, has created a viral time bomb. Accompanied by a smart and pretty
blonde, Langdon attempts to decode the clues left by the suicidal scientist
while being chased by corrupt government officials and a virtual private army
through the streets of Florence and the canals of Venice. His task is
complicated by the fact that he awoke in a hospital in Florence with amnesia,
having no memory of how he got there or why. The only thing the reader knows
for sure is that Langdon is the good guy, as always, and the other characters
Brown introduces could be playing for either side. In fact, Brown cleverly
pulls the rug from under the reader more than once, with unexpected revelations
that induce literary gymnastics and the desire to return and reread sections of
the book so the reader can be “in on” the surprise, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>Beautiful Ruins</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Ruins-A-Novel-P-S/dp/0061928178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364659595&sr=8-1&keywords=beautiful+ruins"><span style="color: #888888;">Beautiful Ruins,</span></a><i> </i></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;">by
Jess Walter, tells the story of Pasquale, an innkeeper in the tiny oceanside
town of Porto Vergogna, who inherited the property after the death of his
father. Pasquale aches to build the property into a resort, complete with
a mountainside tennis court, which will attract famous and wealthy Americans to
the tiny town and mostly nonexistent beach. When a Hollywood starlet, Dee
Moray, arrives under unusual circumstances, he falls in love with her during
her short visit. </span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;">Stitched between modern day and the early
1960s, Pasquale and Moray lead separate lives which are eventually reunited.
Both Pasquale and Dee learn to accept what’s possible and what isn’t—like
building a tennis court on the side of a mountain or luring Richard Burton away
from Liz Taylor (Dee’s long ago wish)—but are still able to find
enrichment in the families they built while away from each other. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>The Burgess Boys</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF9EE; line-height: 12.1pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Burgess-Boys-A-Novel/dp/1400067685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376757196&sr=8-1&keywords=the+burgess+boys"><span style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Burgess Boys</span></a>,
by Elizabeth Strout, is named for Jim and Bob Burgess, who together with their
sister Susan, grew up in a small town in Maine. The incident upon which
the novel’s action is centered involves Zach, Susan’s son. Zach is a
loner, searching for approval, depressed, and somewhat aimless. What Zach
does feeds bigotry against Somalis in his community but simultaneously lays a
foundation for understanding. Strout allows the reader to anguish along
with the characters in the book, hearing “their side” of the conflict and
gaining understanding of their actions. <u>The Burgess Boys</u> invites
readers to adjust their perceptions, without leading them to choose one
perspective over another, just as the characters do in the novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>The Dog Stars</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Dog-Stars-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/0307950476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380382492&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dog+stars" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The Dog Stars</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt;">,
by Peter Heller, tells the story of a world ravaged by a flu virus. Hig,
the central character in the novel, is a pilot and the guardian of a small
airport near Erie, Colorado. This post-apocalyptic setting is marked by
rising temperatures, depleted animal communities and species, roving bands of
scavengers seeking provisions and weapons, and a highly contagious disease
referred to as “the Blood.” Together with Bruce Bangley, a ruthless tactician
with a mysterious past, Hig defends a “perimeter” around the airport.
Flying “the Beast”, a 1956 Cessna 182, he scouts for wildlife, watches for
marauders, and occasionally stumbles on salvage. When a faint signal from an
airport closer to Grand Junction reached him, Hig was determined to know
whether civilization survived somewhere else. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #FFF9EE;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>Let’s Explore Diabetes with
Owls</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;">David Sedaris' most recent collection of
stories and essays, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Explore-Diabetes-David-Sedaris/dp/0316154695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374362959&sr=1-1&keywords=let%27s+explore+diabetes+with+owls" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;"><span style="color: #888888;">Let's Explore
Diabetes with Owls,</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;"> is a quirky, honest, and hysterical
collection of his work. While Sedaris admits he loves the attention of being on
stage and reading from his work, he also reveals himself as a flawed character
in the story of his life--flawed, but very also very funny, and some of those
"flaws" may explain his unique approach to recording life.</span><span style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sedaris doesn't limit himself to witty stories, but occasionally adds a
touch of scathing social commentary--still fun</span><span style="color: #333333;">ny, </span><span style="color: #333333; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">mind you--but clearly has an
agenda of its own. </span><u style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;">Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 12.1pt;"> is
an upbeat collection overall, and made even more enjoyable if readers have an
opportunity to hear Sedaris read from his collection in person, either by
audiobook or at a local appearance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Readers, what were your
favorite books from 2013? What are you
planning to read in 2014? Look for my
2014 reviews on <a href="http://www.catsandabook.blogspot.com/">www.catsandabook.blogspot.com</a>
soon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-4217055615610276112013-12-22T10:59:00.000-06:002013-12-22T11:01:21.630-06:00The Return: A Steve Dancy Tale, by James D. Best<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9enQtoxeiS4/UrcaODaJA-I/AAAAAAAAAdk/f9P7SUZgr48/s1600/The+Return+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9enQtoxeiS4/UrcaODaJA-I/AAAAAAAAAdk/f9P7SUZgr48/s320/The+Return+1.jpg" width="213" /></a><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Return-Steve-Dancy-Tale/dp/1627870083/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387731244&sr=8-1&keywords=the+return+steve+dancy">The Return: A Steve Dancy Tale</a></u>, by James D. Best, is the latest installment in the Steve Dancy
series, and finds our intrepid shopkeeper back on his home turf on the East Coast. Far from the rough and tumble West, the setting for the three previous books, Dancy isn’t safe from treachery
or gun play. The reader can be assured
<u>The Return</u> is as fast-paced and entertaining as the books leading up to Dancy’s
latest adventure. </div>
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Favorite characters like Jeff Sharp and Captain McAllen make
return appearances, although both are a bit out of their element in New York
City, which leads to a few lightly comical scenes. The typically taciturn and assured Captain
McAllen, for instance, finds the closed-in spaces and city crowds
disconcerting, while Sharp gravitates toward the docks to uncover information
by finding drinking partners. </div>
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In <u>The Return</u>, Dancy
and Sharp, along with their Leadville shop manager, Virginia Baker and local
business owners, confront a protection racket in Leadville. The three, along with Captain McAllen and his
Pinkertons, banish the gang leader and travel to New York City to investigate a
alleged plot to sabotage Edison’s electrification project. With Dancy’s investment in Edison’s efforts,
he is particularly interested in ensuring Edison’s success. And, of course, the reader shouldn’t assume
that any former Dancy nemesis is completely vanquished, even Dancy’s own
mother. </div>
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<u>The Return</u> is a lively, old-fashioned style Western—clever,
entertaining, and full of period references to give it authenticity. Best paces his stories so well readers
will find it difficult to put down. <u>The
Return</u> was published in 2013 by Wheatmark. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-36592022670718995682013-11-23T09:43:00.000-06:002013-11-23T09:43:10.305-06:00The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, by Alexander McCall Smith<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 1.625rem; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; padding: 0px;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--tQQ17yh_0A/UpDMmPdPagI/AAAAAAAAAdU/LxBVQWOWxuY/s1600/Minor+adjustment.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--tQQ17yh_0A/UpDMmPdPagI/AAAAAAAAAdU/LxBVQWOWxuY/s320/Minor+adjustment.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="color: #666666;">For fans of Alexander McCall Smith, the latest installment in the adventures of Precious Ramotswe and the "No. 1 Ladies' </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Detective</span><span style="color: #666666;"> Agency" was anxiously anticipated. Their reward is </span><span style="color: #0088cc;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Minor-Adjustment-Beauty-Salon-Detective/dp/0307378411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385221206&sr=1-1&keywords=minor+adjustment+beauty+salon">The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon,</a></u></b></span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Minor-Adjustment-Beauty-Salon-Detective/dp/0307378411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385220675&sr=1-1&keywords=the+minor+adjustment+beauty+salon" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088cc; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="color: #666666;">released this month by Pantheon Books.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 1.625rem; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; padding: 0px;">
In this episode, the tactfully named Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon suffers from a slander campaign, and its owner asks the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency for help in identifying the culprit. A local attorney approaches Mma Ramotswe to disprove a young man is the heir to an estate, and Precious’ husband, Rra Matekoni, is coaxed into taking a course on becoming a “modern” husband. The case workload proves a challenge to Mma Ramotswe, the owner and chief detective at the agency, without her trusted associate detective, Grace Makutsi, who has given birth to her first child and is on leave.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 1.625rem; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; padding: 0px;">
As is typical of Smith’s detective novels, Mma Ramotswe arrives at fair resolutions for her cases, although not without unusual twists, turns, and good humor. Fans of this series enjoy the books not only for their story lines, but for Smith’s care for the accuracy and development of the characters. Mma Ramotswe is kind, wise, and humble and in this book, readers will see a different side of the ne’er-do-well mechanic apprentice, Charlie.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.555556297302246px; line-height: 1.625rem; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; padding: 0px;">
The <u>Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon</u> could be finished quickly, but readers may want to parcel it out, treat-like, until next time.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-48738057982211647742013-10-19T17:27:00.001-05:002013-10-19T17:27:15.003-05:00Kindred Beings: What Seventy-Three Chimpanzees Taught Me About Life, Love, and Connection, by Sheri Speede<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVBiHsl21p8/UmMHIuF-z-I/AAAAAAAAAc0/t6PH6nXtKMA/s1600/kindred+beings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mVBiHsl21p8/UmMHIuF-z-I/AAAAAAAAAc0/t6PH6nXtKMA/s200/kindred+beings.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Beings-Seventy-Three-Chimpanzees-Connection/dp/0062132482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382221410&sr=8-1&keywords=kindred+beings">Kindred Beings: WhatSeventy-Three Chimpanzees Taught Me About Life, Love, and Connection</a>, by Sheri
Speede, is a story about Speede’s transformation from a local veterinarian to
founder of the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, Africa. Dr. Speede once practiced in Goodlettsville,
Tennessee, prior to relocating to the west coast, where she was a co-founder of
In Defense of Animals-Africa. Visits to
Cameroon sealed her commitment to saving chimpanzees after witnessing how captivity affected three
adults housed in cages outside a small hotel.
Later, Pepe, Becky, and Jacky would be the first three she and her team
are able to relocate to the Rescue Center.
</div>
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Dr. Speede shares her struggles gathering resources and
support, working within the cultural and political boundaries, and acquiring help,
either volunteer or paid. Skilled labor
was extremely difficult to find in her remote location, so training was
essential. Resources were negotiated for
or donated, and from time to time, chance brought people into her path who
offered help. As Dr. Speede introduces
the animals to the reader, one can’t help but urge her along in her quest to
create a safe haven for these mistreated, abused, and orphaned animals.</div>
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Dr. Speede shares how she builds trust with the animals,
even those thought of as dangerous, by participating in mutual grooming and
sharing treats. She describes
mischievous</div>
Becky, who was not above “borrowing” items left in her reach that
have to be bargained for to be returned.
She describes how Jacky, once thought to be insane, becomes the strong,
wise leader of the group after he is acclimated to the Center. She writes how friendships among animals
previously separated by the bars of steel cages grew, and their joyful reunions
and introductions to other animals. Dr.
Speede isn’t unrealistic in her portrayal of the chimpanzees. She has no illusions about their strength and
unpredictability. Chimpanzees are not
pets. Her foundation provides animals an
opportunity to be safe while educating the population against poaching and
hunting. <br />
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<u>Kindred Beings</u> is evidence of Dr. Speede’s commitment to
positively affecting the lives of these animals and the community in which her
sanctuary is home. It’s a moving story,
but it hasn’t ended yet. It is ongoing
in Cameroon, on the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center sanctuary. You can learn more about Dr. Speede’s work at
<a href="http://www.ida-africa.org/sanagayong-rescue-center_214.html">http://www.ida-africa.org/sanagayong-rescue-center_214.html</a>. </div>
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<u>Kindred Beings</u> was published in 2013 by HarperOne.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-31103857268060531482013-09-28T10:36:00.001-05:002013-09-28T10:38:13.257-05:00The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2tRuHuay37w/Ukb3g953gEI/AAAAAAAAAck/VtDCZLIVdwA/s1600/the+dog+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2tRuHuay37w/Ukb3g953gEI/AAAAAAAAAck/VtDCZLIVdwA/s1600/the+dog+stars.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Dog-Stars-Vintage-Contemporaries/dp/0307950476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380382492&sr=8-1&keywords=the+dog+stars">The Dog Stars</a>, by Peter Heller, tells the story of a world
ravaged by a flu virus. Hig, the central
character in the novel, is a pilot and the guardian of a small airport near
Erie, Colorado. This post-apocalyptic
setting is marked by rising temperatures, depleted animal communities and
species, roving bands of scavengers seeking provisions and weapons, and a
highly contagious disease referred to as “the Blood.”<br />
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Together with Bruce Bangley, a ruthless tactician with a
mysterious past, Hig defends a “perimeter” around the airport. He plants and maintains a garden. He fishes and hunts, although fish are not as
prevalent, deer are, so Hig is able to supply them with food. Flying “the Beast”, a 1956 Cessna 182, he
scouts for wildlife, watches for marauders, and occasionally stumbles on
salvage he can take back to Bangley. In
the meantime, Bangley manages the weaponry and the defense of their
installation. </div>
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Hig reaches out to others as humans in need of contact,
against Bangley’s counsel. He visits the
Mennonite families who suffer from “the Blood,” sharing his garden’s bounty and
salvaged soft drinks. When a faint
signal from an airport closer to Grand Junction reached him, Hig was determined
to know whether civilization survived somewhere else. </div>
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<u>The Dog Stars</u> is written in a stream of consciousness style:
poetic, narrative, emotional. It is a
compelling and gripping story that leaves the reader with a sense of hopeful
resignation. </div>
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<u>The Dog Stars </u>was published in 2012 by Vintage Books. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-83868318456871715652013-09-21T10:32:00.001-05:002013-09-21T10:41:28.031-05:00Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson with Veronica Chambers<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yL6BDFT86SA/Uj270pwUBkI/AAAAAAAAAcU/6GYQurMr4XE/s1600/yes,+chef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yL6BDFT86SA/Uj270pwUBkI/AAAAAAAAAcU/6GYQurMr4XE/s1600/yes,+chef.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Chef-Memoir-Marcus-Samuelsson/dp/0385342616/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379777377&sr=8-1&keywords=yes%2C+chef">Yes, Chef</a> is the memoir of the winner of the 2010 Top Chef
Masters competition, Marcus Samuelsson.
Written with Veronica Chambers, the book follows Samuelsson’s culinary
trajectory to the ranks of Executive Chef, restaurateur, and James Beard Award
winner. </div>
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Readers may recall Samuelsson from the television program “Chopped”
where he is often a judge on the cooking competition program. Samuelsson’s demeanor—calm and measured—comes across
in his memoir. The reader doesn’t get
the sense that he is exaggerating or overstating the facts or manipulating his
readers’ emotions with maudlin stories of his growing up years. </div>
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Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia and believed to be orphaned
along with his sister when their mother died.
They were adopted by a Swedish couple and raised there, which imbued him
with a rich sense of culinary experience.
Although his early exposure was to Swedish food, as he began training as
a chef, his exposure to new food cultures and flavors extended throughout
Europe and eventually to the United States.
As Samuelsson explores his birth heritage, he discovers the flavors of
his native Ethiopia, along with an extended family he didn’t know existed. </div>
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Samuelsson is forthright in sharing his experience as a chef
of African descent in the kitchens of Europe and North America, allowing the
reader to draw her or his own conclusions and experience their own emotional
reaction to his treatment. His focus is
on food and cooking, so that unfair treatment, slurs, and outright bigotry are
like annoying gnats to him, not nearly powerful enough to deter him from
his ultimate goals. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Yes, Chef</u> is an enjoyable read. Samuelsson is likable and intelligent, and
readers can’t help but root for him as he reaches each milestone along his
culinary journey. </div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Yes, Chef</u> was published in 2012 by Random House. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-73084653907311615482013-08-17T11:37:00.000-05:002013-08-17T11:38:48.952-05:00The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m80-dT-E4A4/Ug-mbjKN4LI/AAAAAAAAAcE/K0G_wQiuL0k/s1600/the+burgess+boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m80-dT-E4A4/Ug-mbjKN4LI/AAAAAAAAAcE/K0G_wQiuL0k/s1600/the+burgess+boys.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Burgess-Boys-A-Novel/dp/1400067685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376757196&sr=8-1&keywords=the+burgess+boys">The Burgess Boys</a>, by Elizabeth Strout, is a novel for modern
times. Strout doesn’t sugar coat
reality; she revels in it, showing the reader manipulation, fear, bigotry, and
deception. But Strout’s gift is her
ability to make that which seems on the surface to be clear—clearly right or
clearly wrong—as a much more complicated matter, affected by a myriad of
influences, and interpreted through the eyes of others in different ways. </div>
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The boys for whom the book is titled are Jim and Bob
Burgess, who together with their sister Susan, grew up in a small town in
Maine. Their father was killed
accidentally when the children were young and this event weighs heavily on Bob and
Jim into their adulthood. The incident upon
which the novel’s action is centered involves Zach, Susan’s son. Zach is a loner. The reader gathers that he is searching for
approval, is depressed, and somewhat aimless.
What Zach does feeds bigotry against Somalis in his community but
simultaneously lays a foundation for understanding. </div>
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Strout allows the reader to anguish along with the
characters in the book, hearing “their side” of the conflict and gaining
understanding of their actions. Zach
offends and frightens the Somali community, yet the reader is allowed to see him
as a sympathetic character who claimed to not fully understand the impact of
what he had done. Susan is an often
absentee mom who is disconnected from Zach, yet the reader sees her as the
struggling and loving parent she is, raised by an overly critical mother. A prominent Somali leader in the community is
angry and fearful following Zach’s offense, yet readers know that he yearns for
reconciliation and understanding, not revenge.
</div>
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<u>The Burgess Boys</u> invites readers to adjust their
perceptions, without leading them to choose one perspective over another, just
as the characters do in the novel. And
greater understanding is truly a noble objective in these modern times. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>The Burgess Boys </u>was published in 2013 by Random House. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-14245334906089856442013-07-28T10:34:00.000-05:002013-07-28T10:34:05.521-05:00Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, by Susan Gilmore<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bg7Y1eAWn8s/UfU5MQVjZBI/AAAAAAAAAb0/BwXWXxLocrY/s1600/Looking+for+Salvation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bg7Y1eAWn8s/UfU5MQVjZBI/AAAAAAAAAb0/BwXWXxLocrY/s1600/Looking+for+Salvation.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Salvation-Dairy-Queen-Novel/dp/0307395022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375025480&sr=8-1&keywords=looking+for+salvation+at+the+dairy+queen">Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen</a>, by Susan Gilmore,
is the story of Catherine Grace Cline, of Ringgold, Georgia. Growing up with her sister Martha Anne, Catherine
can’t wait to move to Atlanta on graduation from high school, to a big city,
and away from the small town world. Her
animosity toward the town is clear. As
she tells her sister when a tornado threatened the town, “Martha Ann . . . if
that twister hits this town, nobody’s even going to notice it’s gone.” </div>
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The girls’ mother, Lena, drowned when they were small, so
they were raised by their father, a third-generation protestant preacher. But Catherine is also mentored by the next
door neighbor, her mother’s friend, Gloria Jean Graves, who channels Lena’s
independence and helps the girls learn about the mother—how beautiful she was,
and how she could sing. But Gloria is
also a little too brash and colorful for Catherine to feel proud of her, and
the story of the Mother’s Tea at school is particularly poignant. </div>
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Upon graduation, Catherine leaves for Atlanta and finds a job
in a large retail store. She lives with
an elderly lady and her maid, themselves in, what readers may feel is an
uncomfortably stereotypical arrangement, until Catherine’s father dies suddenly. Catherine’s return to Ringgold, and a visit
to the local Dairy Queen she frequented growing up, reveals much more to
Catherine about her family and her destiny than she had discovered in her
beloved Atlanta. </div>
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Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen was published in
2008 by a subsidiary of Random House. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-39613646321118887332013-07-20T21:08:00.000-05:002013-07-20T21:08:34.652-05:00Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kwuh3RkewpE/UetCW8mFCbI/AAAAAAAAAbk/hvJx3yw5uuY/s1600/Mr.+Penumbra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kwuh3RkewpE/UetCW8mFCbI/AAAAAAAAAbk/hvJx3yw5uuY/s1600/Mr.+Penumbra.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Penumbras-24-Hour-Bookstore-Novel/dp/0374214913/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374371631&sr=8-1&keywords=mr.+penumbras+24-hour+bookstore">Mr. Penumbra’s 24 -Hour Bookstore,</a> by Robin Sloan, is a
quirky, modern fantasy/mystery set in the digital age. Sloan’s novel features books of clues to the
wisdom of the ages and a curious cadre of young computer geniuses to unravel
the mystery. </div>
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After losing his job
during a downturn in the digital design field, Clay Jannon takes the night
shift job at a 24-hour bookstore. He
quickly determines that the store gets very little business but contains tall
shelves of dusty old tomes that are borrowed but not purchased. Occasionally, a “new” one of these books
arrives but he is cautioned against opening the books by the store’s manager, Mr.
Penumbra. However, he is asked to make
specific note of the person who borrows one of these books, down to their
appearance, demeanor, and clothing. It
doesn’t take long for him and a daring friend to start exploring the books,
which they discover must be written in a type of code, and to determine that
the borrowers are checking out the books in a specific order. Using his computer skills (and working with a
new lady friend from Google), he is able to construct a face in the design of
the bookshelves, following the pattern of borrowing. Things become stranger when Penumbra
disappears to meet with a mysterious benefactor, and Clay and his friends
follow and learn about the underground world of the “readers” and their life
stories. </div>
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<u>Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore</u> is an entertaining book
with likable characters. Although the
resolution may not be as satisfying as some readers might like, there are parallels
between this group of “readers” and other secret societies driven to find
meaning and preserve it for their members.
Sloan also raises the philosophical issue of introducing artificial
intelligence to solving mysteries that had been taxing to human bandwidth. </div>
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<u>Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore</u> was published in 2012 by
Farrar, Straus and Giroux. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-72258619930518863532013-07-20T18:33:00.002-05:002013-07-20T18:33:44.738-05:00Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20.98958396911621px; margin-bottom: 1em;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XnE5WlVv0Yc/UeseIDGZCKI/AAAAAAAAAbU/xfjZ7SzBao0/s1600/Let's+explore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XnE5WlVv0Yc/UeseIDGZCKI/AAAAAAAAAbU/xfjZ7SzBao0/s1600/Let's+explore.jpg" /></a>David Sedaris' most recent collection of stories and essays, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Explore-Diabetes-David-Sedaris/dp/0316154695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374362959&sr=1-1&keywords=let%27s+explore+diabetes+with+owls">Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls,</a><span id="goog_1900675055"></span><span id="goog_1900675056"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> is a quirky, honest, and hysterical collection of his work. While Sedaris admits he loves the attention of being on stage and reading from his work, he also reveals himself as a flawed character in the story of his life--flawed, but very also very funny, and some of those "flaws" may explain his unique approach to recording life.</div>
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<a class="linkUnitText" href="http://www.examiner.com/related-ads?google_kw=Books+Reviews&google_rt=ChBR6xzCAAlgBgo0KS9BAD3zEg1Cb29rcyBSZXZpZXdzGghDLYbuMDpzqCD0pJrGAigBMAJI9KSaxgJSEwiKqdO8nL-4AhUOJzQKHSsaAKM&channel_id=6727461905&google_page_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.examiner.com%2Farticle%2Freviewsday-sedaris-wins-again-with-let-s-explore-diabetes-with-owls" style="color: #3e72a7; display: inline !important; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: inherit;" target="_top"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20.98958396911621px;">Sedaris doesn't limit himself to witty stories, but occasionally adds a touch of scathing social commentary--still funny, mind you--but clearly has an agenda of its own. People of like minds will find it both entertaining and true. And he adds a bit of material to reflect on in this collection as he relates the story of a trip he and his partner Hugh took to Australia. During their visit, a friend described how she'd been asked in a management seminar to think of her life as a four-burner stove. In order to be successful, she was told that most people turn off at least one burner, and possibly two. The burners stood for family, job, friends, and health. Readers may take a moment to reflect on their own burners as Sedaris relates how he and Hugh responded.</span></a></div>
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<u style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20.98958396911621px;">Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls</u><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 20.98958396911621px;"> is an upbeat collection overall, and made even more enjoyable if readers have an opportunity to hear Sedaris read from his collection in person, either by audiobook or at a local appearance. </span></div>
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This collection was published in 2013 by Little, Brown and Company</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-86609013479937967592013-07-20T18:25:00.002-05:002013-07-20T18:26:24.370-05:00Inferno, by Dan Brown<div class="region region-masthead" style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 21.111112594604492px; margin: 0px -15px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qeukqmWDBBU/Uesb3xvmWMI/AAAAAAAAAbE/QoKf5yo7Mz0/s1600/inferno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qeukqmWDBBU/Uesb3xvmWMI/AAAAAAAAAbE/QoKf5yo7Mz0/s320/inferno.jpg" width="210" /></a><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Dan-Brown/dp/0385537859/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374362499&sr=8-1&keywords=inferno">Inferno</a>, by Dan Brown, is one of his typical thrillers. Although "typical" isn't a fair descriptor of this page-turner, it’s only “typical” for Dan Brown.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21.65625px;">Robert Langdon, Brown’s recurring hero, returns to solve a new nail-biter. A mad scientist, intent on saving the world from its own population explosion, has created a viral time bomb. Accompanied by a smart and pretty blonde, Langdon attempts to decode the clues left by the suicidal scientist while being chased by corrupt government officials and a virtual private army through the streets of Florence and the canals of Venice. His task is complicated by the fact that he awoke in a hospital in Florence with amnesia, having no memory of how he got there or why. Visions of the dying and of a mysterious silver haired woman haunt him, and a tiny projector sewn into his jacket leads him to Dante's Divine Comedy. The only thing the reader knows for sure is that Langdon is the good guy, as always, and the other characters Brown introduces could be playing for either side. In fact, Brown cleverly pulls the rug from under the reader more than once, with unexpected revelations that induce literary gymnastics and the desire to return and reread sections of the book so the reader can be “in on” the surprise, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 1.5em;">Brown's books are smart and engro</span><span style="line-height: 21.65625px;">ssing. The action in this book primarily occurs in just a day’s time, and is gripping from the first page. Made f</span><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 1.5em;">or a movie, it’s not difficult to picture Tom Hanks</span><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 1.5em;">reprising his role as Langdon.</span></div>
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<u style="line-height: 21.65625px;">Inferno</u><span style="line-height: 21.65625px;"> was published in 2013 by Doubleday.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-45287641960564950722013-05-22T17:45:00.000-05:002013-07-20T18:15:28.407-05:00Emma Jean's Bad Behavior, by Charlotte Rains Dixon<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1FAsxHvIY4/UZ1KU47HncI/AAAAAAAAAaw/n4mSXrXB1QE/s1600/EmmaJeanCoverThumb-179x268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t1FAsxHvIY4/UZ1KU47HncI/AAAAAAAAAaw/n4mSXrXB1QE/s1600/EmmaJeanCoverThumb-179x268.jpg" /></a><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jeans-Behavior-Charlotte-Rains-Dixon/dp/0615738176/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369261551&sr=8-1&keywords=emma+jean%27s+bad+behavior">Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior </a></i>by Charlotte Rains Dixon is an
appropriately titled romp opening with best-selling author Emma Jean Sullivan
pitching her latest novel, “The Winemaker’s Wife.” Readers quickly get a sense of Emma Jean’s
self-centered character during a book signing. She alternately gushes to fans in her affected
Southern accent or snaps at them, including turning on a customer with a crying
child. Unfortunately, Emma’s newest
novel isn't selling quite as robustly as her previous novels. This she attributes in part to an Oxford Review
article that calls her narrative snarky, among other less charitable
adjectives. Her “bad behavior”—rudeness
to staff, store patrons, and fans—takes a turn for the worse when she falls at
first sight for a fan’s husband, who is buying the book for his wife. A brief but torrid affair follows, which
forces Emma Jean to reconsider her long-held “baby hater” reputation. </div>
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Emma Jean’s “bad behavior” isn’t limited to rudeness and
unfaithfulness to her husband. After
determining that she should try to be kinder to people (in response to the
snarkiness review) and that she should cultivate a best friend (after mentally
polling her acquaintances and discovering that none of them currently
qualified), she turns on a writing student while under the influence of a few
glasses of complimentary wine on her plane home. Unfortunately, her sharing that the student’s
memoir was likely fabricated leads to an expose that beleaguers Emma Jean’s student,
whose book has topped the best-seller list.
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As Emma Jean’s idyllic life unravels spectacularly—her book
sales flounder, she learns that she’s pregnant by her lover and not her
husband, her bank account is dwindling as her soon-to-be-ex-husband spends her
money for his new wine business, and her lover leaves her—she flails about for
help. Emma turns to her Aunt Cleo, who
raised her after her mother was killed running with the bulls, and relocates to
help her aunt in her art gallery business. New characters are introduced into her life
who seem willing to reach out to Emma Jean—something she is unaccustomed
to. As Emma Jean learns to give more
than to receive, Emma Jean’s good behavior brings her healing and reunion with
the people she loves. </div>
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Dixon has written more than a spicy romance. Emma Jean is smart, with colorful analogies,
and a redemptive story line for a character that readers may not like very much
in the first few chapters. After all,
she does demonstrate astoundingly bad behavior and has character flaws
galore. However, “Judge not, lest ye be
judged,” is a suitable theme for this work, since Emma seems to fall short of
the high standards she continuously set for those around her, and when she was
finally able to forgive herself and others for their faults, Emma found herself
surrounded by the people she valued most. </div>
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<i>Emma Jean's Bad Behavior</i> was published in 2013 by Vagabondage Press. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-370225261759184907.post-6520360839111981632013-04-20T12:22:00.000-05:002013-04-20T12:22:47.439-05:00The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow, by Rita Leganski<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lgfyiBVR2r0/UXLOgSrfp4I/AAAAAAAAAYw/9zZFmyX5VC8/s1600/Bonaventure+Arrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lgfyiBVR2r0/UXLOgSrfp4I/AAAAAAAAAYw/9zZFmyX5VC8/s1600/Bonaventure+Arrow.jpg" /></a><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Silence-Bonaventure-Arrow-Novel/dp/0062113763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366478313&sr=8-1&keywords=the+silence+of+bonaventure+arrow">The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow</a>,</i> by Rita Leganski, is the
story of Bonaventure Arrow, a baby boy born mute to the newly widowed Dancy Arrow. Bonaventure doesn't make a sound, but his
hearing is astounding—he can hear the tiniest sounds far, far away, sounds of
colors, or sounds of events that had happened long ago. It is his supernatural hearing that helps him
identify his father’s murderer. </div>
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Bright, thoughtful,
and spirited, Bonaventure’s unique abilities seem almost believable as he
communicates with his father, William Arrow, now in Almost Heaven. Dancy Arrow’s young husband is murdered
before Bonaventure is born by a man Leganski calls “The Wanderer.” The shooting seems random and unplanned,
carried out by an unstable and damaged man who has no identification and is
unable to communicate sensibly after his arrest. William’s mother is unable to rest until the
murderer’s identity is known, and when the police are unsuccessful, she hires a
private detective. </div>
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In the meantime, Dancy wallows in her grief, raising
Bonaventure with the help of William’s mother and their hired help, Trinidad
Prefontaine. Trinidad is their cook and
housekeeper, and has knowledge of hoodoo—the use of charms and plants to bring
about good fortune. She is inexplicably connected to Bonaventure,
but as the family secrets unravel and the murderer’s identity is revealed,
readers will learn about this connection and others which will bring release
for William and healing to those who grieve.
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<i>The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow </i>was published in 2012 by
HarperCollins. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0