Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Geek Mom

It’s like Christmas when I ask the librarians to buy something for me, and it shows up on the hold shelf for me. This was purchased by our lovely craft librarian.

Geek Mom by Natania Barron, Kathy Ceceri, Corrina Lawson and Jenny Williams.
New Book Shelves – Upper Level – CRAFTS 745.5 G

Geek Mom is a blog on Wired Magazine, related to the Geek Dad blog. Geek Dad the book came out a couple of years ago (my love got it for Father’s Day, and there are two others that we don’t have), and now there’s also a Geek Mom book. This, too, is full of projects and ideas for geeky parents, but written by the moms. It looks like I never reviewed it, and my memory is a bit hazy, the projects in that book looked awesome, but maybe requiring a bit more oomph in the supplies acquiring and time setting aside than we usually have. Geek Mom has more crafty, cooking and reading adventures than I remember from Geek Dad. There are still projects that involve electronics, explosions and computers, so don’t go thinking that being from moms makes the projects less cool in any way. There is the occasional fun sidebar, with topics like “10 Geeky Instruments We Wouldn’t Want to Live Without”. The first five were the accordion, ukulele, theremin, keytar, and moog synthesizer. I will note that the lute made the list, but the harp did not. Their Imagination chapter includes making a secret lair, steampunk and superhero costume ideas, learning about history through comics, exploring fandom with kids, and roleplaying with kids including recommended role-playing systems. Here my love opines that the Icons gaming system is much more kid-friendly than the Mouse Guard system they recommend, which is based on cute comic book mice but not especially simple. The Curiosity and Learning chapter includes lots of preschooler-friendly ideas, which can be tricky to find in books like these. It includes things like cartography, hosting a time travel party, topology, and linking classical and rock music. “Mothers and the Digital Revolution” covers a host of computer-related topics, including internet safety, screen time limits, website building, a history of computers (going back to when it was a job title!), and using tech for fitness. “Science at Home” has a lot of very fun projects, including self-propelled boats, a DIY lava lamp, a blob, making plasma in the microwave (only for use with microwaves you’re willing to risk losing) and much more. They use borax crystals to make a Cthulu rather than snowflakes. “Food Wizardry” includes directions for fixing a hobbit feast, catching wild yeast for sourdough bread, and a tetris cake and cephalopod cupcakes. Also, an essay on the pleasures of loose tea - yum. The sewing and crafting chapter includes felt monsters, a crocheted amigurumi, natural tie-dye, a battery light-up sculpture, and electric component jewelry. (Didn’t you make jewelry out of the resistors in high school physics?)

That was a very long list, and at that, just a sampling of the many cool projects. They are clearly described, with cost, age, time, and difficulty given at the start of each. Most of the projects are in the $5 to $10 range, with some more expensive and some with ranges depending on how much you want to put into them. The projects start working from about age 3, and some would be interesting up through the teen years, but most are aimed at elementary school aged kids. Yes, there were a few projects that I wasn’t interested in myself, some advice I didn’t quite agree with, but not enough to outweigh the many good ideas. This is an approachable book chock full of appealing ideas for active families to have all sorts of geeky fun together.



Saturday, December 22, 2012

A Walk Across the Sun

A Walk aCross the Sun by Corban Addison
Adult New Book Display Main Level - ADDISON


What a great book! This one is highly recommended to adults and mature teens. It's not warm and fuzzy, but just as John Grisham said in his review across the top of the cover, it is beautiful in story and important in message.

It is about two teenage sisters in India whose family die in a tsunami, leaving them orphaned. The same day, they are kidnapped and sold into the Mumbai sex trade.  The sisters are ultimately separated, and the book tells their individual stories.

Then there is Thomas, a lawyer who leaves his high-profile corporate job to work for an NGO that tries to rescue girls from sexual slavery in India.  Thomas and his wife are separated, and she just happens to have returned to her family in India.  The two meet up and try to salvage their marriage.

I can't give away the whole story, but Thomas's story intertwines with that of the sisters'.  Will have be able to rescue them?  Will the sisters be reunited?

As disgusted as I was reading about human trafficking, I learned a lot from this story. I was moved by the plight of the sisters and the good intentions of the non-profits who work to help girls in their situation.  I was also horrified at the corruption in the Indian legal system and the issues of jurisdiction when the problem crosses borders.  Even those who want to help are hindered by legalities, loopholes, and international politics.

It's a reasonably-sized book at less than 400 pages, but its message is huge and worth hearing.  It's a riveting story, and although this is fiction, I'm afraid it is all too a reality in many young girls' lives.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Shall I Knit You a Hat?

Shall I Knit You a Hat? by Kate Klise. Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.
Youth Holiday – Lower Level – K

When Mother Rabbit hears that a giant blizzard is expected for Christmas Eve, she knits Little Rabbit a hat to keep his long ears warm. He loves it so much that he asks if they can make hats for all their friends. They go out to the Market together, where all their friends are, and find sneaky ways to measure them all – the horse, the dog, the goose, the cat, the squirrel and the deer. Then they go home, where Little Rabbit takes the lead in designing the hats. He puts great effort into making hats just right for each friend, but of course, as Christmas is only a few days away, they can’t be all knit, and incorporate some household objects along with the knitting. Oh, the looks on the poor animals’ faces when they first see themselves in the mirror that Little Rabbit brings along with the gifts. Soon, however, it starts to snow, and all the animals realize how warm they are despite it and how perfectly suited the hats are to them. The bright acrylic illustrations make the story even cozier. This is a wonderful story of friendship and generosity, yarn and carrot cake for Christmas. It’s a little wordy for toddlers, but perfect for preschoolers through early elementary – both my 3 and 8-year old are loving it this season.

There are several more books about Little Rabbit, including

Why Do You Cry?
Imagine Harry
Little Rabbit and the Night Mare
Little Rabbit and the Meanest Mother on Earth

And newly published this year in a similar vein,
Grammy Lamby and the Secret Handshake.


Monday, December 10, 2012

The Lucifer Effect


The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo
Adult Non-Fiction-Upper Level 155.9 Z


Human beings (and social psychologists in particular) have often wondered what drives people to do horrible things. Are the situations we find ourselves in partially to blame for why normal people do morally questionable things? Famed psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil examines how situational forces and group interaction can cause the average person to commit inhumane acts. Zimbardo is best known for the Stanford Prison Experiment in August 1971 which the majority of this book discusses in detail. In this experiment, Zimbardo took a group of college volunteers and randomly divided them up into “inmate” and “guard” groups while inside a mock prison environment. To complete the illusion, the guards were dressed in realistic guard attire and carried around wooden clubs while the inmates were called by numbers instead of names and were also locked up at night. Zimbardo was interested in seeing how much a certain setting or situation contributes to a person’s actions and sense of identity.

The experiment did not take long to spiral out of control. While the guards were not allowed to physically hurt the inmates, they found other ways of asserting their authority. The guards took away food, forced the inmates to do repeated pushups, and committed other dehumanizing acts. The inmates tried different techniques to rebel such as hunger strikes and blocking the doors to their cells. The experiment was supposed to run for two weeks but was stopped after six days. The participants had completely disappeared into their roles. In the rest of the book, Zimbardo applies his findings to more current events such as the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and discusses how the system failed the people involved. It appears that the book concludes that most people can be coerced into committing horrible acts under the right circumstances if the setting encourages it or does nothing to prevent bad actions. But all hope is not lost as Zimbardo offers steps to help people and society become more humane in order to make sure the situational factors which cause these atrocities can be lessened over time. All in all, a fascinating read for anyone who is curious about why mankind often strays from a nobler path.


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Here Comes Hortense!


Here Comes Hortense! by Heather Hartt-Sussman
Picture Book Shelves Lower Level - HAR


I love this book! A little boy is taken to an amusement park by his Nana and her new husband Bob. Bob's granddaughter Hortense is there too. Hortense and Nana hit it off and ride all the scariest rides. Bob and the boy (who I don't think is ever named) prefer to stay closer to the ground, so they hang out together. The boy is jealous of the time Hortense is spending with Nana. The ending is very sweet - I won't give it away. The people in the illustrations are very cartoony with huge heads and mouths, and the action of the amusement park is well-captured. This is a very cute, modern story with a lot to discuss in the picture details.

Friday, November 30, 2012

The Shoemaker’s Wife

The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani. Narrated by Annabella Sciorra and Adriana Trigiani.
CD Book Shelves – Main Level - TRIGIANI

I’ve enjoyed many Adriana Trigiani books in the past – Rococo is the only one I’ve reviewed here, but I’ve read 5 or 6 others that I can think of off the top of my head. Naturally, I went for this one, though I waited for the hold list here at the library calmed down a little.

This one is an epic based on the lives of her grandparents that Trigiani has been researching for 20 years. We meet Enza and Ciro as they are both teenagers in Alpine Italy. Enza is the responsible oldest daughter of a large brood; Ciro is the youngest of two, left with his brother at a convent after their father dies. It’s love at first sight when Enza and Ciro first meet as Ciro is digging Enza’s baby sister’s grave, but before they can meet again, Ciro is to emigrate to America. Enza and her father travel to America somewhat later, knowing nothing of Ciro’s fate. They are just hoping to earn enough money in the U.S. to build their family a house before returning home. In America, Ciro is apprenticed to a shoemaker in Little Italy, while Enza labors in a sweatshop in New Jersey, before finding a better job in the Metropolitan Opera’s costume shop, sewing for Caruso. After years of working, romances with other people, and Ciro fighting in World War I, they finally marry, but decide to stay in America rather than trying to return to Italy. As there are plenty of shoemakers in New York City, they move to the Iron Range in Minnesota, where Ciro and his fellow former apprentice become the only shoemakers to the miners.

Maybe if I’d remembered more of the reviews I read, I wouldn’t have been disappointed – but I was expecting Enza and Ciro to be married for most of a book titled “The Shoemaker’s Wife.” Instead, they got married about disc 9 of 12. Somehow, I was strongly reminded of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series, and wished that this, too, divided the independent life, the courting, starting married life and having children into separate books. While I enjoyed the earlier parts, I felt like the last part, the part that was what I was expecting the book to be about, was rushed through, with years skipped over without transition. There were a few instances – Ciro’s first romance, and every upholstered item being covered in chenille – where I wondered about the historical accuracy, though it’s obvious that a lot of research went into it. Trigiani writes here, too, with a more emotional style than in her other books. I’m sure it’s deliberate, but sometimes when I could hear the violins in the background, it was a bit much for me. Writing along the lines of “If only Enza had known that she would never see her mother again, she would have hugged her longer” as part of a whole paragraph along those lines. It was Trigiani’s decision also, apparently, to switch to narrating the book partway through. I understood this decision a little more when I listened to her talk about it in the interview at the end, but it was initially very jarring to hear the characters talking in completely different voices, with New York accents while being described in the text as having strong Italian accents. That being said, while I personally preferred Sciorra’s narration, Trigiani read more expressively than many authors I’ve heard.

Despite its flaws, I sincerely cared about Ciro and Enza and their friends. Along with the Trigiani elements that I’d expect – the Italian family in America, the food, and the transformational trip back to Italy – there’s a lot of Caruso love, and a strong feeling both for the hardships that drove Italians to immigrate and the experience they had when here. If you’re in the mood to curl up with a historical novel set mostly only a hundred years ago, this is a fine choice.



Ruby Sparks


Ruby Sparks
New DVD Shelves – Main Level – Comedy RUB


Ruby Sparks is a clever and off-beat romantic comedy. It is the story of Calvin, a genius writer who published his first book while in high school. However, he is currently fighting both writer’s block and loneliness. He starts writing about his dream girl, Ruby, and one day she actually appears in his apartment. Calvin thinks he is going crazy until he realizes everyone else can see and hear Ruby as well; she is a real person. The rest of the film covers the ups and downs of their relationship as Calvin also deals with his own insecurities. Overall, Ruby Sparks is a unique love story with good performances by the two main actors, Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Kazan, granddaughter of Elia Kazan, also wrote and produced the film and it will be interesting to see what she does next as a filmmaker and actress.


Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Richest Woman in America


The Richest Woman in America: Hetty Green in the Gilded Age
by Janet Wallach Upper Level New Book - BIO Green

Hetty Green should be at the top of the list of feminist icons. From the 1870's until her death in 1916, she exemplified the feminist ideal in many ways; she ran her own business, lived her life her by her own rules, and went down to Wall Street every morning and beat the men at their own game on their own turf. Her business acumen earned the respect of contemporaries such as J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. She saved New York City from bankrupcy several times by loaning it money at below-market rates. And yet if she is remembered today at all, it is as "the witch of Wall Street", one of history's biggest misers.

In "The Richest Woman in America" Janet Wallach traces Hetty Green's life back to her Quaker upbringing that put her forever at odds with the media's idea of how women of her class should behave. They couldn't comprehend her plain personal tastes in someone with so much money. She simply didn't care about stylish gowns, opulent mansions, and lavish parties. And they mocked her relentlessly for it, ignoring the millions she spent building libraries and hospitals, endowing colleges, and helping those who genuinely needed it.

Hetty Green isn't remembered as one of the great american proto-feminists and iconoclasts because she never had time for the movement's marches and speeches and publicity stunts. She was too busy living the life that they wanted women to have the opportunity to lead. A fascinating life ably chronicled by Janet Wallach.


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

I Kissed the Baby

I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy.
Picture Books - Lower Level - MUR

Bold pictures, mostly white on a black background, with shots of bright yellow and pink, illustrate this story. Pond animals including fish, birds, a squirrel, and insects, all join to welcome a new baby. Each spread features two animals, the first asking the other a question about the baby: “I tickled the baby! Did you tickle the baby?” “Yes! I tickled the baby, the wriggly giggly thing!” Finally, at the end, we meet the adorable duckling that everyone is so excited about. Though it isn’t rhymed text, lots of attention is paid to the sound of the words for reading aloud. The short text and bold images make it perfect for reading to babies and toddlers, but it was still fun enough for my eight-year-old to want to read it to his sister, and she both asked for it and read it to herself over and over again. I often get asked about recommended books for new baby gifts, and this is a great one. It’s still in print in board book, which is ideal for the target age, and you can still find it in hardcover if you look.

Here are other board book favorites about baby love just right for new babies:
Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers. Illustrated by Marla Frazee.
Picture Books - Lower Level - MEY

Hush, Little Baby by Marla Frazee.
Picture Books - Lower Level - FRA

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton.
Board Book Bins - Lower Level

All of Baby Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler. Illustrated by Hiroe Nakata.
Picture Books - Lower Level - ADL


Saturday, November 17, 2012

Son



Son by Lois Lowry
Teen Zone New Fiction – Main Level – LOWRY


In this sequel to The Giver, Lois Lowry pulls together characters from the previous three books in ‘The Giver Quartet’ in a satisfying conclusion. Following Claire, a teenage girl chosen to be a ‘birthmother’, Son tells the tale of what happens when this young girl is unable to come to terms with being separated from her baby. Risking everything to be reunited with her son, Claire finds herself in new, strange places that are nothing like the community in which she was raised.

Readers young and old who loved any or all books in ‘The Giver Quartet’ will enjoy this page-turner that brings them back to the dystopia first created in The Giver. In this long-awaited conclusion, Lowry takes readers on an emotional and nostalgic journey that brings many of the quartet’s loose ends together at last.


Friday, November 16, 2012

The Convicts


The Convicts by Iain Lawrence
Teen Zone Fiction-Main Level LAWRENCE



Tom Tin’s life is about to get horribly worse. A young teen in 19th century London, Tom has already experienced the death of his sister, the ensuing madness of his mother, and finally Tom has to watch his father being thrown in debtor’s prison. Tom’s fortunes briefly appear to be turning around when he finds a diamond on the shoreline. However, Tom’s diamond is lost during a botched grave robbing attempt while soon afterwards a case of mistaken identity and false accusations will put Tom in a prison ship for boys. Here, he will have to find the strength to simply survive let alone possibly escape.

The Convicts by Iain Lawrence is the first part of a trilogy concerning Tom Tin and his friends. The novel is an excellent book for readers who are looking for a story with adventure or one that has characters overcoming adversity and changing for the better. Tom does not start out as a particularly noble young boy. He is more than a little selfish, self-serving, and sometimes even cruel. By the end however, he starts to value and look out for his friends and family more than before his ordeal. An enjoyable historical fiction read for any age.



Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Between

Between by Jessica Warman
Teen Zone Fiction - Main Level - Warman


Liz Valchar dies on her 18th birthday, and then spends the next several months with another dead teenager. They visit old memories and watch their family and friends, trying to figure out what happened to them. Liz and her friends are all rich, privileged teens with secrets and problems they hide from each other - and even from themselves in some cases.

Themes and subjects include: death, teens, anorexia, wealth, drowning, drug use, ghosts, afterlife, murder, and unsolved crimes. In other words, it is filled with lots of angst, fear, and worry, but ultimately peace and redemption. This haunting novel is recommended to mature teens and adults.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Iron Wyrm Affair

The Iron Wyrm Affair. Bannon and Clare Book 1. by Lilith Saintcrow.
Adult New Books – Main Level – SCI FI SAINTCROW

The Iron Wyrm Affair drops us into the middle of a fight scene in a complex alternate-Victorian steampunk world. I think it was the complexity of this world that made the first couple of chapters feel slow to me, even though it started off with action and never slowed down. Emma Bannon is a top-level sorceress, a Prima, in service to Queen Victrix, current vessel of the ancient spirit Britannia. Emma is talented, beautiful, fashionable, and fiercely intelligent and has fought her way up from the gutter to be the only Prima among several male Primes. (Though she’s fashionable because she wants to be, her jewelry stores power for her and is always chosen carefully as an ensemble.) As our story begins, she’s searching for Archibald Clare, an unlicensed mentath. Here we must learn that a mentath is someone along the order of Sherlock Holmes, more intelligent than your standard-issue genius, who notices details without trying, processing them into patterns, and who will go crazy without enough information to process. Clare, having lost his license, is indeed on the verge of insanity, but Bannon is looking for him because he is the last mentath of any kind to be found in London, the rest having been recently murdered. Bannon’s out to protect Clare, but as long as he’s in her house, he might as well be useful – and all the murdered mentaths are the first pieces of a dark puzzle that leads to a threat against Queen Victrix herself. (Here I confess that I was did double takes the whole book, trying to keep straight that Bannon meant Emma and Clare, Archibald – I kept want Clare to be the woman. Oy.) Bannon is assisted by a single Shield, Mikal, a man with yellow eyes and a dark past, whom Bannon both can’t completely trust and can’t stop being attracted to (but not in a romance-novel, can’t focus on anything else kind of way, and we never see inside his head). As mentaths and sorcerers don’t really work well in close proximity, Bannon hires Ventinelli, an assassin whom Clare rightly immediately pegs as an aristocrat hiding as gutter scum, to act as Clare’s bodyguard. Bannon and Clare set off in opposite directions, she investigating the magical murder of another sorcerer as she was trying to interrogate him, and he to find out the reason there are suddenly no Prussian capacitors on the market, a line of investigation which leads to large clockwork war spiders. The combination of magic and Holmesian mystery is intriguing, the setting brought beautifully to life, the characters interesting. It’s not as funny as Gail Carriger’s Soulless, and deals much more with the dark and seamy side of politics, though with somewhat fewer serious underlying issues thanThe Iron Duke There are dragons and griffons here, rather than werewolves, vampires, or zombies. It still worked very well as a steampunk vision, and I’d look forward to reading more of Bannon and Clare’s adventures. It’s written for adults, and though the language is a little off-color, there’s nothing here in the way of sex or violence that action-loving teens would find exceptionable.


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Find a Cow Now!

Find a Cow Now! by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
Youth New Book Shelves--Lower Level--STE

When a cattle dog gets tired of lying around his city house, he begins to throw chairs and shake rugs. This aggravates the family parakeet, who tells the cattle dog that he's supposed to herd cows. The parakeet, full of half-baked wisdom, does not know what a cow is but tells the cattle dog that cows live in the country. This sends the cattle dog on a journey to the country where he tries to herd a variety of farm animals until he finally gets it right.

Find a Cow Now! is a hilarious book that will delight children and adults alike. The illustrations are so beautiful and detailed that children will want to examine them after the story has ended. This is an especially good story to read aloud since it features a variety of animal noises and character dialogue. A truly wonderful read!


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Harriet the Spy


Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Youth Fiction--Lower Level--Fitzhugh

Harriet the Spy is not a typical children’s book and Harriet Welch is not a typical child. At age 11, Harriet prefers work to play. Every day after school, she grabs her notebook and attends to her spy route. She’s been spying for years and believes that a good spy never gets caught. Her route involves everything from peeking in windows to sneaking into neighbor’s homes, which lends the story plenty of suspense. Her best friends, Sport and Janie, are equally responsible. Sport cleans and cooks for his father, a depressed writer. Janie concocts scientific experiments, often with explosive results. Fitzhugh’s children are serious about their interests and concerns, making this book a great read for intelligent children who dislike being talked down to.

The most important adult in Harriet’s life is her nanny, Ole Golly, who has been with her since birth. Ole Golly is the kind of wonderful mentor who accepts Harriet for who she is while gently prodding her to be open to new experiences. Harriet relies on Ole Golly’s guidance and assumes that she will always be around to help her find her way.

Then two terrible events turn Harriet’s world upside down: Ole Golly is taken away and her notebook—in which she’s written brutally honest observations--falls into the hands of her unforgiving classmates. Suddenly Harriet is an outcast with no one to turn to for help. What’s a cunning spy to do?

Children in grades 4-6 will enjoy Harriet the Spy for the suspense of Harriet’s adventures and for its memorable details: from Harriet's love of tomato sandwiches to the Boy with the Purple Socks. It’s also the kind of book that you can revisit as an adult for reasons beyond nostalgia. Fitzhugh’s characters are morally complex and as real as the people in your own neighborhood.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Secret Chicken Society


The Secret Chicken Society by Judy Cox. Illustrated by Amanda Haley. Youth Early Chapter Books – Lower Level – COX

Daniel, our third-grade hero, is the second oldest in a family of six, which also includes teen older brother Tyler, sisters Kelsey (7) and Emmy (4), as well as a nurse mom and stay-at-home blogger dad. One day, his beautiful teacher, Mrs. Lopez, announces that the class is going to try to hatch some eggs. No one in the class is more excited or devoted to the five chicks that hatch than Daniel. When the school year ends and it’s time for the chicks to find permanent homes, though nearly all the kids put their names in for a chick, he’s the only one whose parents actually say yes. His family is on board (mostly) with the five adorable chicks. The neighbors’ reactions are more mixed – sweet Mrs. Grafalo next door loves them, but her grouchy husband (nicknamed Mr. Gruffalo) is sure one of them will be a loud rooster, and that they’ll get into his yard and destroy the garden. And when it turns out that one of the sweet chicks might actually be an illegal rooster, the siblings form the Secret Chicken Society to protect Peepers. This is realistic and funny family fiction on a trendy topic in early chapter book form, with enough details in the text and the appendix that would-be chicken owners could really get started. My seven-year-old son, normally a fan of adrenaline-filled epic fantasy, ate this up and begged for more chapters every night I read it to him.


Tuesday, October 23, 2012

It Can't Happen Here



It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Adult Graphic Novels-Main Level GIA



The Great Depression was one of the defining events for the United States. In hindsight, it is easy for the current generation may just assume that our country was destined to pull through with our democratic system intact. But this was no guarantee. Powerful forces such as Father Coughlin, Huey Long, and the Business Plot against FDR were real, dangerous threats to American democracy. Authors such as Sinclair Lewis wrote works of fiction to criticize these authoritarian figures. Lewis’s 1935 novel It Can’t Happen Here is one of the many novels written last century that warns Americans about how fragile democracy can actually be. Many Americans have always assumed that a dictatorship is not possible in this country but Lewis details in chilling fashion how such a takeover could have happened at this vulnerable point in history.

Americans during this point of the Great Depression were weary and uncertain about the future. In the story, the charismatic Senator Buzz Windrip rises to power with his paramilitary group the Minute Men along with promises to restore American greatness. Windrip gains support by using xenophobia, prejudice, and even promises of paying Americans a cash sum after he is elected. These promises, along with the general discontent in the country, help him win the election of 1936. Windrip quickly consolidates power by curbing the authority of Congress, lets corporations extend their influence, and silences any dissent. While some characters can see the horrible direction these actions will lead the country, others dismiss these fears because they simply cannot believe a real dictatorship can happen in the country, hence the title of the book. The rest of the novel sees the main character Doremus Jessup enduring the tightening state control over his life while struggling to find a way to fight back.

Lewis’s novel may come from a different era but its lessons can apply to any generation. During any economic distress, citizens may turn to easy answers while people in power use the circumstances to justify their actions. This book will easily appeal to fans of the genres of dystopian fiction, political fiction, or alternate history.


Friday, October 19, 2012

Marcelo in the Real World



Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Teen Zone Fiction - Main Level - Stork


Marcelo Sandoval is a seventeen year old boy. He is high-functioning on the autistic spectrum, similar to Asperger's Syndrome. He goes to a special school where they keep horses, and Marcelo plans to spend his summer working as Stable Boy. His father has other plans.

Marcelo's father, Arturo, wants Marcelo to spend the summer working in his law firm. He wants Marcelo to experience the "real world," away from other autistic kids and with other "normal" working adults. He also wants Marcelo to finish high school in the public school system. Marcelo feels comfortable at his special school, though, and the thought of attending public school puts fear into his heart. The deal is that if Marcelo successfully finishes a summer working at the law firm, Arturo will let him decide where he finishes high school.

This is a great story. Marcelo's thought process and the way he approaches problems is interesting and at times even funny. What an interesting look into the mind of a highly intelligent, unique, young man! Marcelo's understanding - and misunderstanding - of people and situations will keep you turning pages in this quick read. Highly recommended!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Giant Monster


Giant Monster by Steve Niles
Adult Paperbacks-Main Level LEWIS



As a kid, the idea of giant monsters or creatures of any type in horror movies was always good for entertainment. I was a massive fan of the Godzilla movies as a child and enjoyed both Cloverfield and the King Kong remake as an adult. While many of these movies seem cheesy today, giant monster movies such as ones from the 1950’swere used as a cautionary tale against mankind’s unchecked technological daring. Steve Niles of 30 Days of Night fame tries to replicate the spectacle of these giant monster horror movies with the graphic novel Giant Monster. The format of a graphic novel seems ideal for this type of story. Movies are limited by their special effects budgets while graphic novels are only held back by the imagination of an artist.

The storyline is light and easy to follow. Space shuttle pilot Don Maggert is infected with a space parasite which turns him into a massive brainless red monstrosity which grows larger as it devours everything in sight. Normal human military methods never work in these situations so of course the only real solution is to unleash a giant killer robot built by a former Nazi scientist. As you might have guessed by that last sentence, the plot takes several bizarre twists. This graphic novel is intended for mature audiences as several scenes of monster destruction and the aftermath can be gruesome in their depiction. The artwork manages to convey the proper scale for two giant creatures fighting although the colors are dark and dreary. Niles gets the spectacle right but Giant Monster is not for those who are looking for the social commentary of the previously mentioned monster works. The characters are nothing more than archetypes of the figures seen in other stories such as the men in black government figures, a couple of kids who get stuck in the mix, and a general who wants to shoot first and ask questions later. But with a title as simple as Giant Monster, readers should already not expect much in-depth storytelling. What they should expect is a carnage filled scare fest perfect for any horror fan.






Sunday, September 30, 2012

Battle of Blood and Ink

Battle of Blood and Ink by Jared Axelrod and Steve Walker.
Adult Graphic Novels – Main Level - BAT

The author’s note for this book says that the two guys were talking together about the craziest story they could come up with, and what they came up with was a floating city. The Floating City is a steampunky place, with distinct neighborhoods for different classes of people. Ashe, however, journalist and publisher of the insanely popular newspaper The Lurker’s Guide to the Floating City, goes wherever she wants. As the story opens, she has her friend and co-conspirator Tolban fly their little glider up close enough to catch the radio waves coming from a ship in distress. Not until the captain promises that he and his crew will go into slavery to the City are they allowed asylum. Once published, this secret is the one that finally determines the Provost of the City to stop the Lurker’s Guide. But Ashe is not without friends – she is not-so-secretly admired by Cardor, son of one of the richest citizens of the city. And for Ashe, being a target is only a reason to find more dark secrets to reveal and more ways to irritate those in power. The art is spare and angular black-and-white ink, which give it a modern feel despite the setting. The dark secrets were a little too dark to make this altogether light reading, and certainly make it most appropriate for adults or older teens, but this is a fun graphic adventure in a pseudo-Victorian, high-tech world.



Saturday, September 29, 2012

Where'd You Go, Bernadette


Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Adult New Book Display – Main Level - SEMPLE

Simply put, I loved this book. I found myself laughing out loud while reading it and also being moved by the family relationships it explores. It is the story of a reclusive architect, Bernadette Fox, who lives in Seattle with her husband, Elgin, and 15 year old daughter, Bee. Bernadette is considered a genius in the architecture world, yet she hasn't designed anything in years. Instead, she spends her days getting into squabbles with other parents and neighbors and having a virtual assistant on the other side of the world take care of everything for her. She is also preparing for a family trip to Antarctica. However, right before the trip, Bernadette disappears. Bee tries to figure out what has happened to her mother and the novel is told through a series of emails, letters, notes, and other correspondence between characters, with commentary from Bee. Overall, Where'd You Go, Bernadette is an excellent and unique read.

Quiet



Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking
by Susan Cain
New Book Shelves - Upper Level - 155.232 C


I am an introvert. I would not say that I'm shy, exactly, but definitely introspective. I need a lot of alone time, and generally think before I speak. I feel most confident when I know my subject well, and prefer to write than speak. That said, I can deliver an engaging presentation to a room of 300 people (and have!), but running a meeting of 5 or 10 people is absolutely torturous.

This book is about how undervalued introverts are. We're seen as quiet, shy, and even non-participants by those who believe in what Cain calls "The Extrovert Ideal." As Cain's research reveals, though, introverts are responsible for some of the greatest innovations and inventions of our time, as well as masterpieces of art and music. We are team players and often excellent listeners - which lends itself to good leadership.

This book is for everyone, whether introvert or extrovert. It teaches us how to understand and appreciate each other; especially the particular intricacies of introverts.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Bitterblue

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
Teen Zone New Fiction – Main Level – Cashore

In Cashore’s first book, Graceling, our heroes defeated the sadistic King Leck, whose Grace allowed him to force people to hurt themselves or others and believe that nothing bad was happening. They rescued his ten-year-old daughter, Bitterblue, and set her on the throne with a team of advisors. Now Bitterblue is 18 and trying to repair the damage her father did to the kingdom. We’re talking kidnapping girls from every village in the kingdom just as a start, so this is no small matter. Her advisors are for the most part men who served her father, as well. They have decided that what the kingdom needs is forwardthinkingness, so that nothing from Leck’s reign will be discussed or brought up for trial. All crimes committed during the reign are forgiven, because Leck could have forced any crime. But Bitterblue feels that she needs to know what her father did and what’s going on with the kingdom now if she is to do her job. She starts sneaking out at night, finding the hidden pubs where people tell stories, often obliquely related to what happened during Leck’s reign. The very first night she is out, she befriends two young trouble-makers, Saf and Teddy, giving her name as Sparks to protect her anonymity. Thus her trying to find out the truth starts out with lies, which always complicate matters. Katsa and Po make brief visits from time to time, but they are busy trying to topple evil kings in other nearby kingdoms, and so cannot stay. The more Bitterblue learns, the more she realizes that the problems in the kingdom are deep. They did not die along with Leck, and she must find out who among her advisors she can trust and who is perpetuating the problems. Bitterblue journeys through darkness trying to understand her father, comparing remembering and forgetting as paths to healing. There’s a lot of dealing with ciphers, as Bitterblue’s mother taught her the theories of ciphers in secret, and both her parents used ciphers to keep their secrets. And while Bitterblue’s darkness is dark indeed, there’s still light to balance it, from the beauty of art and the joy of friendship, with a bit of early romance. It was very satisfying to see Bitterblue find her way towards a more open justice. It’s not for reading when one needs unicorns and rainbows (one does, sometimes), but it is a hopeful treatment of a dark subject.



Thursday, September 13, 2012

#DigitalVertigo



Digital Vertigo : how today's online social revolution is dividing, diminishing, and disorienting us by Andrew Keen
New Book Shelves - Upper Level - 302.231 K


Are you a member of a social network? If you're like me, you belong to several. Between Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Groupon, and any number of other online communities, it is easier than ever to connect to other like-minded people. Sounds great, right?

@ajkeen (the author, Andrew Keen's Twitter handle) disagrees. In this book, he makes the argument that the more connected we are, the lonelier and less powerful we become. He acknowledges that the social media revolution is the most significant since the Industrial Revolution, but at a cost. It is so easy to voice our opinions and share our ideas and our whereabouts that we often alienate others. People may say things online that they wouldn't necessarily say out loud, which can offend or just plain annoy our online connections. Also, the more we share online, the less weight our words carry. Our points of view become just a part of the stream.

Keen also points out that as we join more networks and make more connections, we share more information about ourselves in more places. We want to participate in our networks and share with our "friends." Meanwhile, we complain about online security and privacy and want to keep our online information to ourselves. There's a catch-22 between wanting to share more and wanting that information to be private.

Finally, Keen says that we become lonelier as the very term "friend" becomes more and more shallow. Our networks, whether made up of "followers" or "friends" or some other term, are often surface connections. People collect connections, but do not often seek out relationships with those people. Why do we want to be so connected to people we care so little for?

This is a great book to make social networkers think about the information they share and who they share it with. We should re-evaluate our goals in using social networks. This book is a real eye-opener!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Oh No, George!


OH NO, GEORGE! by Chris Haughton
Youth New Book Shelves – Lower Level – HAU


When the owners are away, the dogs (or at least George) will play! When George’s owner Harry leaves for the day, George promises to be good. But, as George finds himself faced by a number of temptations, including cake on the kitchen table and a cat that is just begging to be chased, he realizes that being good is a lot harder than he ever expected.

With its retro illustrations and simple humor, Oh No, George! is sure to be a hit in any household. Children will love looking at the different comical expressions on George’s face and repeating the phrase 'Oh No, George!' with you as you read this book aloud. Released this year, Oh No, George! has all the right stuff to become a classic picture book.



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Why Don't Penguins Feet Freeze?


Why Don't Penguins Feet Freeze? by New Scientist
Adult Non-Fiction-Upper Level 500 N


Life is filled with little questions that we sometimes do not even think about until they are spoken out loud. Why does skin become wrinkled after being in water? Why do birds not fall off their perches after falling asleep? What makes a boomerang come back to the thrower? And of course the age old question, why don’t penguins’ feet freeze? New Scientist magazine answers these types of questions and more in Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze which is a collection of questions written by the public to the magazine. Anyone who has had a random question such as these and cannot get to a librarian for answers would find much to enjoy in this book. The book is a quirky composite of scientific fact, trivia, humor, and also anecdotes from the experts in the various fields the questions come from and is sure to amuse all types of readers. Also pay attention to the penguin illustration on the far right of each page while flipping through the book to get a funny cartoon effect.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season



Six Feet Under: The Complete First Season
DVD Collection-TV SIX


Six Feet Under is a show about saying goodbye. With rare exception, each episode begins with the death of a person whose body will pass through Fisher & Sons Funeral Home. The deaths range from devastatingly sad to darkly humorous and involve everything from interactions with machinery gone awry to visions of the Rapture. You see the Fisher family talk with the deceased person’s loved ones (or, in some cases, the person who is stuck tying up the loose ends for someone they only knew in passing…or for an ex-spouse). Sometimes, you even see the Fishers talk with the deceased themselves. Such interactions are similar to when Dexter Morgan interfaces with his dead father on Dexter. The words and actions of the deceased are dictated by whatever issue is currently vexing the living, making the visions less like hallucinations and more like projections.

Among those who are laid to rest by the Fisher family is patriarch Nathanial Fisher Sr. (Richard Jenkins, The Visitor), whose death kicks off the pilot episode when he is hit by a bus on Christmas Eve. He reappears throughout the series, interacting with wife Ruth (Frances Conroy, American Horror Story), adult sons Nate Jr. (Peter Krause, Parenthood) and David (Michael C. Hall, Dexter) and teenage daughter Claire (Lauren Ambrose, Can't Hardly Wait) in some of the show’s most poignant moments.

Part of what makes Six Feet Under so memorable is the complexity of its characters. You see each of the Fishers and their acquaintances in their best and worst moments. As a result, you’ll love and loathe each in turn. For better or for worse, you’ll also wonder about the interior lives of everyone you know or meet in real life.

When creator Alan Ball (American Beauty, True Blood) announced in 2005 that the show’s fifth season would be its last, I remember thinking, “surely this is a mistake.” There were still so many stories that could have been told and so many aspects of each character that could be explored. However, as anyone who has watched the show’s powerhouse finale knows, it wasn’t an error but rather the decision of someone who knew how to say goodbye with grace.


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Defending Jacob


Defending Jacob William Landay

Adult New Fiction Landay




Imagine your teenage son has just been accused of murder. You have a happy family, a powerful job as a District Attorney, and your family is beloved in the community. Now it’s all gone. That is what happens to Andy Barber when his 14 year old son, Jacob, is accused of murdering a classmate.

This novel reads like a cross between John Grisham and Jodi Picoult. The setting is primarily in the courtroom where Jacob is being tried but the now unemployed Andy is our narrator and his instincts to protect his family are central to the story. He refuses to believe that Jacob could do such a thing while his wife, Laurie, isn’t so sure. The evidence does seem compelling. And then there is the “murder gene.” Nope, I’m not going to tell you about that one. You’ll have to read the story to find out.

The book is as compelling a read as any I’ve experienced. And the ending! Well, when I finished the book, I uttered a single expletive and sat there feeling utterly spent. What a book.



Bird & Squirrel On the Run



BIRD & SQUIRREL ON THE RUN by James Burks
Youth Graphic Novels – Lower Level – BIR


In this colorful graphic novel, two unlikely friends, a nervous squirrel and a carefree bird, join together to escape the menacing cat that wants to eat them. When Squirrel’s winter nut supply is destroyed in his attempts to save Bird from the evil cat’s claws, Bird and Squirrel decide to escape the upcoming cruel weather by embarking on a road trip south. Along the way, Bird annoys Squirrel with his laissez-faire attitude and the theme song he created for the duo.

Despite their differences, Bird and Squirrel must find a way to work together to escape the hungry cat that seems to be lurking around every corner. Will they survive the cat, and each other? Recommended for children and adults alike, Bird & Squirrel On the Run will have you laughing and rooting for the animal pair until the very end.





Homeland: The Complete First Season



Homeland: The Complete First Season
DVD Collection-TV HOM


CIA officer Carrie Mathison receives intelligence that an American prisoner of war has been turned by terrorists. When U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody is found alive after having been presumed dead for eight years, Carrie cannot shake her suspicion that he is the POW in question. While the CIA pats itself on the back for helping to recover Brody and media outlets clamber to interview the man everyone considers a war hero, Carrie will stop at nothing to prove that he is not what he seems. Glimpses into the past eight years of Brody’s life reveal that he has plenty to hide. However, Carrie has secrets of her own. The early revelation that she is taking an anti-psychotic casts doubt on her sanity and judgment.

In Homeland: The Complete First Season, Carrie Mathison and Nicholas Brody engage in an intense game of cat-and-mouse. Both are nuanced characters who compete for the viewer’s sympathy and trust. Claire Danes (My So-Called Life, Temple Grandin) as Carrie Mathison and Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Life) as Nicholas Brody turn in three-dimensional performances. Though their characters are damaged, you cannot help but care about them. A taut thriller, the drama in Homeland unfolds organically. The twists—while shocking—never feel contrived. This show is an excellent choice for people who enjoy complex dramas like Six Feet Under, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. The second season premieres September 30th on Showtime.


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Empress of the World



Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
Teen Zone Fiction Ryan


Nicola Lancaster attends a summer camp for the talented and gifted. She hopes to discover whether she can make her dream of becoming an archeologist a reality. She uncovers more than artifacts, though, when she meets Battle Davies. Battle has the grace of a dancer, the reserve of a preacher’s daughter, and the defensiveness of someone shielding an emotional wound. Battle’s older brother, Nick, ran away from home and has not been heard from since. Battle keeps the pain she feels over Nick’s absence a secret. Among their friends at camp, only Nicola knows about Nick. She wants to do something for Battle—make a sweeping gesture that will set her world right again. She also wants to sort out her own feelings regarding Battle. She’s been attracted to boys before, but now finds herself fancying another girl. Ryan expertly captures how tricky it is to negotiate a new relationship—especially when you are unsure of your own identity.

Clockwork Angels



Clockwork Angels by Rush
CD Bins - Rock - R


The newest album from Canadian progressive rock group Rush is amazing. I've been a fan of Rush for years. Whenever you're a life-long fan of a music group, you begin to worry that each album is as good as it can possibly get for them. How could Rush possibly top themselves again? Well, they've done it. I really, really loved Snakes & Arrows (2007), but Clockwork Angels is just as good. It's a concept album with a companion science fiction novel, coming in September (Clockwork Angels: The Novel by Kevin Anderson, who's a long-time friend of drummer Neil Peart). Themes of time, angels, miracles, divinity, voyages, and characters called "The Watchmaker," "The Anarchist," and "The Pedlar" create steam-punk greatness. Halo Effect, Wish Them Well, and The Garden are among my favorite tracks, but there's not a bad song on the album! Rush is touring soon, making a stop in Detroit on September 18. Get your tickets soon!

Blue Asylum



Blue Asylum by Kate Hepinstall
Adult New Book Display-Main Level - HEPINSTALL


Iris Dunleavy was sent to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good wife. Her crime? She disagreed with her slave-holding husband and helped his slaves to escape. Even worse in his eyes, she escaped with them. At Sanibel, she meets Ambrose Weller, a confederate soldier. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from the war, but the civil war-era doctor just considers him as crazy as the others. Iris and Ambrose fall in love, and conspire with the doctor's twelve-year-old son to get off the island. But where will they go? Who will take them in? Can Iris handle Ambrose's fits of rage and grief? This is a beautifully-written novel with layers of complexity.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

At the Mountains of Madness




At the Mountains of Madness by H.P Lovecraft
Adult Science Fiction-LOVECRAFT


The horror/sci-fi genre has a number of pioneers when it comes to well-known authors. H.P Lovecraft may not be as famous as other authors from his era, but his ideas influenced a generation of fiction writers and he has a dedicated contemporary fan base. His book At the Mountains of Madness is one of his essential works and a part of his Cthulhu Mythos. Horror readers who are unaware of his writings and mythology have probably at least seen his ideas in other people’s work. Movies such as Hellboy and some novels from authors like Stephen King are admittedly done in the Lovecraftian style. The plot itself for At the Mountains of Madness is deceptively simple. A scientific expedition to Antarctica discovers a vast city and also uncovers evidence of an ancient civilization that once ruled over the planet before humans. As the scientists Danforth and Dyer piece together the history of these Old Ones, the two quickly realize that they are not alone and that something has awakened after eons of sleep.

The themes of the story are similar to previous Lovecraft works. Lovecraft’s horror comes not from the typical blood and guts common in horror works now, but from building a sense of dread and fear along with showing humanity’s basic cosmic insignificance when compared with the Old Ones. The story makes it clear that the former masters of the world would have little trouble retaking what was theirs if they reawaken. This central tenant of Lovecraft’s mythology, that mankind’s power and place on earth is nowhere near as secure as we seem to think, is a far more horrifying prospect than is typically seen in horror stories then and now.


Monday, July 23, 2012

The Beginner's Goodbye


The Beginner's Goodbye Anne Tyler

Adult New Fiction Tyler


When a tree falls on Aaron's house, killing his wife Dorothy, he feels
completely lost. Everyone in his neighborhood and at work wants to cook
for him or take him out, but all Aaron wants to do is be alone with his
grief. So he empties out casseroles, dumping them in the garbage and
sending thank yous. In his grieving, the one person he longs to speak with
is Dorothy. There's a beautiful quote to that effect, but I can't find it.



After staying in the hospital for days on end, he returns to his torn up
home until a rainstorm forces him to move in with his overbearing sister.
Dororthy starts to visit Aaron for brief moments as he recalls his
courtship and their 10 year marriage. Dorothy, or Dr. Rosales as she would
always correct everyone, was a plain, no frills woman. Aaron was crippled
as a boy on his right side. The two seemed to converse through silences
and it takes Dorothy's visits after her death to show Aaron how to say
goodbye and to realize the truth of his marriage, that it wasn't really a
happy one.



This is a brief book. Aaron is a publisher of a vanity press, inherited
from his father, not something he would have wanted to do after having
graduated from Stanford. His company publishes "beginners' guides to..."
and in this way this book is a guide for Aaron to say goodbye. As usual
Tyler sets this in Baltimore and she has a way of drawing upon the most
ordinary of characters and finding their humanity and quirkyness.


The Marriage Plot


The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides

Adult Cd Book Eugenides


During her senior year of college, Madelaine Hanna, a lover of British
novels by Jane Austin and George Eliot, is embarking upon her senior
thesis on the marriage plot, a theme that runs through the works of these
writers. Then she takes a class in semiotics where she meets the
charismatic Leonard Bankhead. Beginning as an intellectual relationship,
it quickly becomes erotically charged and wildly unpredictable as
Leonard's manic depression cycles from mania to depression.



Throughout this relationship, her friend from freshman year, Mitchell
Grammaticus, like Eugenides from Detroit, resurfaces. He's been reading
Christian theology, saying his mantra, the Jesus prayer, over and over and
is planning a trip to India to work with Mother Theresa. Mitchell has been
madly in love with Madelaine since freshman year, but has never been able
to get anywhere with her, which has caused him a great deal of self
loathing.



With this love triangle, Eugenedes writes a marriage plot of our time that
has humor but long bouts of depression as Leonard tries to find his way
through his mental illness.



I listened to the audio book, performed ably by David Pittu. He did a
remarkable job with the many voices, only failing in pronouncing a few
foreign words. I highly recommend it.

Away


Away Amy Bloom

Adult Fiction Bloom


Barbara Rosenblatt does an excellent job narrating the story of Lillian
Leyb who comes to America in 1924 after her family is killed in a Russian
pogrom. Here she manages to get a job as a seamstress in the Goldfadn
Yiddish Theater where she becomes the mistress of the leading actor and
his father. Her friend at the theater, Yaakov Shimmelman, gives her a
thesaurus and coaches her in English. When she learns that her daughter
Sophie did not die in the pogrom, he helps her procure cheap passage to
Seattle, her launching off point for a trip to Siberia to find Sophie.
There she falls in with a kind African-American prostitute who rescues her
after she is robbed.



Lillian's trip by foot across Alaska is amazing, helped along the way by
kind strangers. Lillian's voyage is filled with tragedy, humor and
compassion; she is not one to wallow in self-pity. Lillian is open to all
experiences and without umbrage. A wonderful read or listen.


Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward

Adult Fiction Ward


This powerful book is set in the woods of Mississippi in the days leading
up to Hurricane Katrina. It's a gritty story about a family of 3 boys and
their father, told by the 14-year-old sister, Esch, who discovers she is
pregnant. She is a lover of mythology, especially the story of Medea and
Jason and her ideas of Medea and Jason surround her unrequited love for
Manny, her sun, who made her pregnant but rejected her. Esch's brother
Skeetah loves his pitbull, China, who has just given birth to puppies
which he hopes to sell to pay for the older brother's basketball camp.
There is the youngest, Junior, whose birth was their mother's death, and
who has been cared for by all of them. Their lives are filled with grief
from the death of their mother and their father's most important
possession seems to be photos of her. West's writing is earthy and filled
with metaphore as well as love and respect for this family living in
desperate poverty.



Caleb's Crossing

Caleb's Crossing Geraldine Brooks

Adult Fiction Brooks


In 1665 a young Indian man from Martha's Vinyard graduated from Harvard
College and upon this fact Geraldine Brooks creates a dramatic account of
two cultures engaging and colliding. Bethia Mayfield is growing up in
Great Harbor (Martha's Vineyard) where her widowed father is a tolerant
preacher and where she has time to wonder the island. In her wonderings
she meets an Indian boy, Cheeshahteaumauck, whom she will later call
Caleb. Caleb and another Wampanoag, Joel, eventually come to live with her
family and study with her father. It is at that time that two more
tragedies strike and Makepeace, her brother, along with Caleb and Joel go
to study at Cambridge. Her wealthy grandfather offers her as an indentured
laborer to the school master in order to pay Makepeace's fees.



Eventually Joel and Caleb will attend the Indian College at Harvard
College and distinguish themselves as scholars of Latin, Greek, Hebrew all
for the study of the Bible. While Bethia is prohibited from learning, she
listens in to all their lessons, even getting a job at the Buttery at
Harvard after her brother leaves school.



Brooks uses archaic terms and turns of phrase that give authenticity to
what she calls her diary. What incredibly beautiful writing. I haven't
loved reading/hearing language like this in a long time. Jennifer Ehle
gives a careful reading, timing it as a woman might have spoken in the
1660's.



In One Person

In One Person John Irving

Adult CD Book Irving


The early part of In One Person focuses largely on the amateur theater
productions of First Sister Playhouse for which Billy's mother is the
uptight, rigid prompter, his Grandpa Harry prefers to play women, and the
director, Harry's business partner is an hysterical Norwegian who
constantly gets his word order wrong and brings levity to a pretty heavy
book. There is also the theater at the Academy where Billy plays Ariel in
The Tempest, Ariel whose sexuality is mutable.



Following graduation, Billy leaves Vermont and goes on to college, travel,
explore his sexuality with gay men, transsexuals, and women. Perhaps it
bogs down a bit here, but as the 80s commence, the novel takes on a
deepening cast as friends and lovers start to get sick and die. Irving
goes into much detail about the ravages of AIDS, not wanting us to forget
what it was like.



Told from the point of view of a nearly 70 years old William Abbot, the
novelist, he will confront many ghosts from his past before the novel ends
and he will support the younger generation of GLBTQ teens that he comes to
teach. This is an extraordinary novel from one of my favorite novelists,
one that bears rereading.



I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator, John Benjamin Hickey,
quite good. I would have liked him to have more of a Vermont accent for
Grandpa and other family members, but he reserved accents for foreign
characters, which was okay and perhaps for the best.


The False Prince

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Teen Zone New Fiction – Main Level - NIELSEN

High-spirited orphan Sage, always a troublemaker at his orphanage, is sold to the noble Lord Conner, who is buying up orphans the right age who resemble Prince Jaron. Prince Jaron was lost four years ago, and presumed to have been killed by the pirates who took the ship he was on. Lord Conner’s plan is to train all four boys to impersonate the prince, and thus prevent the civil war that would otherwise break out when it’s discovered that the king, queen, and crown prince have all been poisoned. There’s a lot at stake, as it’s clear from the get-go that the boys who don’t get chosen won’t have any future at all. While Sage refuses, somewhat inexplicably, to buckle down to his studies, the other boys are doing their level best, including studious and sycophantic Tobias and the less educated but tough and street-smart Roden. Sage is too smart to want to be a pretend prince, forever doing Lord Conner’s bidding, but he’s walking a tightrope between making it clear that he won’t give in to Conner’s demands while co-operating just enough not to get booted out altogether. All too often, his open defiance gets him hard knocks from Conner’s toughs. He’s got two weeks to learn enough to stay in the contest, figure out what Lord Conner’s real motives are (surely not as virtuous as he claims), and find a way to get out of the whole situation alive, preferably saving the lives of the other boys as well. Sage is cagey about his history, even with the reader, and it’s clear he’s got secrets of his own. Having read reviews of this other places, I already knew the Big Secret. (Hint: why does Sage both refuse to pretend to be the prince forever if he’s chosen and tell Conner “I am your prince.”?) Theoretically, knowing this ahead of time could have spoiled the book for me, like already known whodunit in a mystery. Not so. There are still so many gaps in Sage’s story, past and future (and present, the wily kid) that I was sucked in. Ultimately, Sage has to decide if he should go for being a prince or not – and how to get there without Conner coming with him if he does. As I get tired of books leaving me hanging waiting for the next in the series, I was somewhat surprised to see that the catalog record for this says “Ascendance Trilogy Book 1”. Nielsen has been very considerate with her series making: while I definitely want to read more of Sage’s adventures, this is a nicely rounded story in its own right, without being awkwardly chopped off at the right page count. The False Prince combines strong characters with fast and tricky plotting, similar to – dare I invoke the name? – Megan Whalen Turner’s the Queen’s Thief series. That series has similarly strong characters who hold on to their secrets to the end, combined with top-level politics with a small number of players, though the gods and magic don’t play a noticeable role in The False Prince. That means that despite it not being set in any place definitely on our earth and having a very similar feel to fantasy books, it not really fantasy. Still, highly entertaining and well worth reading.