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.

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.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

Before I go to sleep by S. J. Watson

Here is a thrilling read for the beach this summer! This is the story of Christine Lucas who has amnesia. Christine wakes up every morning thinking that she is in her twenties with life waiting to be lived. However, throughout the day she learns that she is married, is in her forties, and was in an accident that erased her memory. She holds on to her memories throughout the day but as soon as she goes to sleep...everything is erased. With the help of a therapist Christine begins writing in a journal as a way to have a memory, even if it's on the page.

After a few days of writing in her journal, her adult memories come back and the memories she is remembering aren't matching up with the realities of her life. As she writes more she starts to suspect that the man claiming to be her husband isn't her husband, that there is something he's not telling her, and then there is the problem of how she got her amnesia--which may not be the car accident she's been told about.

This mystery by S.J. Watson will keep you reading through the night to unravel Christine's past and all of the unanswered mysteries surrounding her new memories.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
Adult Biography - Upper Level - JANZEN

After a difficult divorce and a car accident, Rhoda Janzen returns home to her Mennonite parents to heal. She recounts her Mennonite upbringing and finds that all the things that drove her away as a young adult are the same things that she finds safe and comforting now. The author is funny in a sarcastic, plain-spoken way, and the passages about Mennonite traditions are especially entertaining. This is an easy, fast read - perfect for a summer weekend!

American Salvage

American Salvage Bonnie Jo Campbell

Adult Paperbacks Campbell


American Salvage is a highly atmospheric collection of short stories set in rural Michigan. The author, Bonnie Jo Campbell, is from the rural Kalamazoo area and in this collection she introduces us to her neighbors, people who know how to survive but have no clue as to how to prosper. The stories are gritty and dark yet compassionate and quirky, and have an authenticity that moves them along. These are people we know – damaged people who are somehow salvaged like the old trucks and machinery that they keep alive. This book is part of the Made in Michigan Writer Series and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. It’s a quick and worthwhile read.

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron #1

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

No, not the OTHER Shades of Grey. In fact, this book couldn’t be different! “Shades of Grey” takes place in a future world, after the mysterious “Something That Happened”, where people’s eyes have devolved to only see certain colors and certain resolutions of those colors. Because of this, society has created castes and rules based on which colors you can see and how well you can see them. The story follows Eddie Russett who is accompanying his father to the Outer Fringes, away from the marriage that will bring his family up the social ladder and away from the life Eddie has been dutifully planning all his life. It is in the Outer Fringes that Eddie discovers that not everything is as peaceful as it seems in his safe and controlled existence.

In this world, good behavior is rewarded with merits and bad behavior is punished by demerits. The manufacturing of spoons is forbidden. Eddie, through his dangerous curiosity and questioning, becomes low on merits and must risk his life by going to High Saffron, a city untouched since the “Something that Happened.”

Fforde has crafted an uncanny love story between Eddie and the Grey peasant called Jane and a hilarious mystery that leaves you eager for the second book to be written. Fans of Douglas Adams and the Thursday Next series will devour this quirky read!

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

“after dark” is set in Tokyo and takes place during the night, after the trains have stopped running. The story follows Mari, a nineteen year old woman who is seeking a reprieve from her home, though it’s not clear why until the end of the novel. While reading studiously at a Denny’s, Mari is recognized by Takahashi, who once went on a double date with Mari and her sister, Eri. Mari describes her sister as very beautiful and herself as very plain and ugly. Through Takahashi, Mari meets a retired female wrestler who works at a Love Hotel. She helps save a young Chinese prostitute who has been beaten and left with nothing at this Love Hotel after speaking with Takahashi. The novel investigates the man who beats the prositute as well as the pursuit of the man by the gang responsible for her. The novel also follows the mysterious sleep of Eri, Mari’s sister, who has been asleep for two months. There is a ghostly quality to the sleep and the story becomes more dream than reality following her into a world in which she is trapped and running for her life.

Murakami writes this story as if writing a script for a film. The imagery and description will keep you reading and invested in this ethereal narrative. "after dark" is wrapped in mystery about the night, about the people who live and play at night, and about what it means to be searching for who you are. A perfect summer read!

Rogue Island

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva
Adult Mysteries - DESILVA

Rogue Island is a noir mystery about newspapers that really delivers! It's a fun read with lots of humor amidst the action - in the tradition of Robert Parker, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, etc. A wise-cracking newspaper reporter investigates a spate of mysterious arsons in the seedy part of town, which also happens to be his old neighborhood. There's intrigue in high places, petty corruption, wiseguys, a rumpled hero, romance and all the other elements of good noir. A must read for Red Sox fans!

101 Places not to see before you die

101 Places not to see before you die by Catherine Price
Travel Collection-Upper Level 910.4 P

Human beings love to travel to various places in the world. Earth is filled with natural wonders or breathtaking man-made creations. Many people have a desire to see more than what they grew up being around at their homes. However, author Catherine Price warns us with her 101 Places Not to See Before You Die that some locations around the globe may be best to skip during the next family vacation this summer.

Price’s book is filled with places that run the gamut from the bizarre to the slightly unexpected. For instance, have you ever been to the Seattle Gum Wall or taken a literal beer bath at the Chodovar brewery in the Czech Republic? How about chasing a piece of cheese off a cliff during the Gloucester Cheese Rolling Competition? Not your idea of a well spent summer vacation I imagine. Many tourists may already see little reason to sightsee in locations such as the Beijing Museum of Tap Water or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch but the author also makes convincing arguments against touring more popular destinations such as Mount Rushmore, Stonehenge, or Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Some of the entries are also included for pure comedic effect such as Jupiter’s worst moon or a Monday morning at the Department of Motor Vehicles. More of a wacky trivia book than an anti-travel one, 101 Places Not to See Before You Die reminds us just how unique and occasionally weird the planet can be at times.

Reduced Shakespeare

Reduced Shakespeare by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor.
Adult Nonfiction – Upper Level – 822.33 M

I’ve had Shakespeare on my Official List of Favorite Authors for years now, and only just realized that while I have a handful of Shakespeare plays that I love and have read and watched over and over again, there are many, many more that I haven’t read. I’m too tired these days to put out the effort that reading or watching Shakespeare demands, especially if I don’t know ahead of time that I’m getting into one of the good ones. The Reduced Shakespeare Company to the rescue! Like their show (which I loved on DVD), this is short and funny, as well as alarmingly accurate. This book covers all the bases in just 244 pages – Shakespeare’s biography (what’s known and the vast amounts that aren’t), the plays, poetry, authorship controversy, industry and films. I was most interested in their analysis of the plays and film adaptations, but I learned a lot about the authorship controversies that I’ve always been too skeptical to pay attention to before. For each play they include the title, date published, class (history, tragedy, comedy), setting, source, best known for, major characters, plot, one-sentence plot encapsulations, moral, famous quotes, best & worst features, a rating in bard heads, an interesting fact, and an essay question. Here are a few even more abridged examples:
Cymbeline
Best known for: Not being very well known. Two bard heads.
Hamlet
One-sentence plot encapsulation: Hamlet avenges his father, and it only takes four hours. Best feature: In all likelihood, this is the best play ever written. Five bard heads.
Henry IV
Essay questions: Does the sequel Henry IV, Part 2 have more in common with Godfather II or Rocky II? Why?

Because they are comedians, all of the reviews are so funny that I found myself laughing out loud and reading bits out loud to whatever hapless colleagues happened to be in the break room with me while I was reading it. The reviews for the less popular plays are probably even funnier than the ones for the good ones. Still, the bard head ratings could come in handy if you were trying to decide whether or not it would be worth hiring a babysitter to go see whatever Shakespeare play happened to be coming by locally, or even just reading through the text.

The reviews for the films also are very funny and include the bard head ratings as well as notes on how faithful to the play they are and whether or not they work as movies. They are organized by the original play, with straight-up adaptations (hint: the movie has the same name as the play) followed by films inspired by the play, like West Side Story and 10 Things I Hate About You, which they like better than any of the straight-up film adaptations of the Taming of the Shrew. Hilariously, they include the 2001 Charlie’s Angels as a Lear adaptation. There are also critiques and yet more funny making-of-the-film bits from classic and modern Shakespeare films. Now I need to check the book out again to make a list of all their favorites that I haven’t seen to add to my too-watch list. The biggest shortcoming with the book is its publication date – 2005 – which means they’ve not covered the many film adaptations and spin-offs that have come out since then. Update, please! In general, though, whether you’re a fan of the Bard or just need a little cultural literacy, this book is an entertaining way to learn more, and points the way to further (alas, more serious) learning if you want it.

Because of Winn-Dixie

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Youth Cd Books - Lower Level - DiCamillo

Because of Winn-Dixie is a story about the true love that exists between a human being and their animal. It is an absolutely touching tale that will withstand the test of time.

Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni lives with her father who is known as "The Preacher" since he is a minister. They have just moved to the small town of Naomi, Florida. Young Opal is afraid and scared to be in a new town. Moreover, she has a profound sadness in her heart because her mother abandoned her and her father seven years earlier. However, one day Opal meets her absolute best friend at the local grocery store, a stray dog that she names Winn-Dixie. Once Opal has Winn-Dixie, the sadness of her life starts to fade. For instance, she begins to make new friends including: Miss Franny Block, Gloria Dump, Sweetie Pie Thomas, and Otis. She also learns some life lessons about not judging a book by its cover, letting grudges go, and finding joy in life in spite of sadness.

Because of Winn-Dixie was awarded the Newbery Honor in 2001, and it is not hard to see why. The novel portrays universal themes of love, forgiveness, and friendship and is beautifully written. The characters are richly drawn and well-developed including the hero of the story, Winn-Dixie. Smiling Winn-Dixie is such a precious dog, and all dog lovers will understand the blessings he presents to everyone within his path.

On a side note, I listened to the book on Cd. The narrator, Cherry Jones, did a WONDERFUL job creating all of the different characters. She used different voices so believably that the story truly came to life. I highly recommend this book to all ages!

The Curse of Chalion

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. Read by Lloyd James.
Adult Science Fiction – Main Level – BUJOLD
Eaudio book, mp3 and WMA formats.

Lord Cazaril was once a castle-warder and a military captain. Now he is homeless and broken from brutal treatment on a Roknarri slave ship. He’s walked across Chalion on foot to get to the Provincara of the country estate where he was a page in his youth. He’s hoping for a place in the kitchens; instead, he is assigned to tutor the Royina Iselle, sister to the heir of Chalion, and her companion Betriz. Iselle is full of sixteen years of innocent passion and belief in justice, of the type that causes her to publicly expose a judge for suspected fraud. After a few months of trying to teach the girls diplomacy and caution along with the languages and geography of the surrounding countries, Iselle and her brother Tadez are both summoned to court. The king, their older half-brother, is weak and ill and wants them to become familiar with courtly living. Unfortunately, returning to court for Cazaril also means facing the very men that Cazaril knows deliberately betrayed him to the galleys, now the king’s trusted advisers and the most powerful men in Chalion. Cazaril’s loyalty is tested to the utmost, as he becomes literally bound up with the curse that he learns is on all of the royal family of Chalion. He asks for the help of the Gods, and the Gods make it clear that they wish to work their will through him – if only he can figure out what their will is in time to save Iselle and Tadez. I found it impossible not to hope for Cazaril not only that he would find his way through his dilemmas, but also that he could find a way to hope for a future for himself beyond his duty.

Despite being a book filled with bad things happening to good people, the story isn’t depressing. There’s love and beauty and plenty of humor. Politics are part of the driving force of the plot, but there are only a handful of major players to consider, so it doesn’t get confusing. The book is filled with interesting characters, including Royina Ista, Iselle and Tadez’s mother, and the Roknarri divine of the Bastard (see below) who works, oddly, as the head groom in Roya Orico’s private menagerie. The gods are major players as well, allowing the plot some literal Deus Ex Machina moments. I suppose I can think of a handful of other fantasy novels where religion and theology play such a major role, but I really enjoy Chalion’s unique religion, somewhat similar to earthly paganism, with the buildings, bureaucracy and culture of earth’s major religions. Chalion and a few of the neighboring countries are Quintarian. The five gods are the Mother, the Father, the Son and Daughter (each assigned to a season of the year, sexes, and stages of life), and the Bastard, who watches over bastards, people of non-mainstream sexuality and events out of season. The Daughter of Spring, Iselle’s patron, and the Bastard are the most featured in this book. Several other neighboring countries are Quadrenes, who do not hold the Bastard to be a god. Naturally, both sides hold the other to be heretics, and it echoes into politics as people who are natural followers of the Bastard flee from Quadrene countries to Quintarian. Though I’m condensing it here, the theology comes up naturally through the story as it is lived. The whole world is set up just as well, without long expository sections. Lloyd James has just the right voice to pull off the battle-weary Lord Cazaril, if the voices of the two girls sound just a little young for young women who are definitely taking charge of their own destinies. This is top-notch fantasy, with something for everyone. Bujold may be better known for her science-fiction Vorkosigan saga, but this and her other Chalion books show her to be a master of the fantasy genre as well.

Other Chalion books:
Paladin of Souls
Adult Science Fiction - Main Level - BUJOLD
Also on eaudio.

The Hallowed Hunt
Adult Science Fiction - Main Level - BUJOLD
Also on eaudio.

Guardian

Guardian by Julius Lester
Teen Zone Fiction-Main Level - Lester

Here's a small (119 pages) book by the award-winning Julius Lester. If you have not read anything by him, I encourage you to give him a try! Fair warning, though: his books are gritty and unapologetic. This is powerful stuff. Parents are encouraged to read before or with their mature teens! There is difficult language, implied (though not graphic) sexual situations, and violence.

This is the story of two boys in a small town in Mississippi in 1946. One (Ansel) is white, the son of a general store owner. The other (Willie) is black, the son of a handyman. The town of Davis is named for the Davis family, and Zeph Davis III terrorizes everyone in it. He is mean, nasty, and as racist as they come. When Willie’s father witnesses Zeph committing a horrible crime, he is afraid that he will be blamed for it – which he is. He is lynched, even though everyone in town knows that Zeph is to blame. They are afraid to publicly blame the young, rich white teenager.

The adult nature of this story is actually appropriate for its time and place, and makes the impact that it is meant to make. It is not easy to read, but the message resonates. This is historical fiction that evokes serious emotions, and which is so important that we never forget.

Campaigns

Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races by Alan Brinkley and Ted Widmer
Adult Non-Fiction-Upper Level 324.973 N


The presidential campaigning season is upon us. As the country becomes bombarded with political ads and nonstop debate on how important certain issues or states will be in this election, Americans need a reminder of how political campaigning in our democracy has both changed during the last one hundred years yet oddly stayed very much the same. Alan Brinkley and Ted Widmer’s Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races examines the varies contests for the White House from years 1900 to 2000. While the authors do analyze the elections and issues of each era, this book is very much a visual guide as well. The New York Times has supplied over 350 election photographs along with 75 photos of campaign memorabilia. Political junkies and history nuts will find much to enjoy here.

Campaigns is striking in illustrating the changes that took place in America over these hundred years but also shows how many election strategies never change. Do you think that only modern politicians try to emphasize how just like the common man they can be by working low paying jobs for a day? Warren Harding pulled a publicity stunt by becoming a printer for a day at his Ohio newspaper in 1920. Have the political pundits or candidates convinced you yet that our current election is the most important in history and a literal apocalypse might occur if votes do not go their way? This bombast is nothing new as Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed, “We stand at Armageddon and we battle for the Lord” in 1912. The inventions of radio and television would clearly dramatically alter the nature of political campaigns and would usher in the modern campaigning structure and tactics all Americans love to hate. Campaigners could now spread their messages to millions more Americans. Appearance and image became vital as Nixon would discover by losing a television debate to the youthful and more confident looking Kennedy in 1960. Overall, Campaigns shows the paradoxical nature some Americans have with politics. We love democracy but seem to be perpetually frustrated with politicians in general just as people were a hundred years ago. The more things change the more they stay the same.