Lila

Lila

by Marilynne Robinson

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. 261 pages. Fiction

Lila is the third in a related series by Robinson (first is Gilead and second is Home) exploring the characters of Gilead, a small Iowa town. This book is told through the lens of Lila, a quasi-orphaned drifter who finds her way to the town, and unexpectedly into the heart and home of aging widowed preacher Ames. For the first time in her life she finds herself in a stable, loving environment; and she struggles to trust, to stay put, and to reconcile the tragedy of her earlier life with the peace and gentle Christian view of her husband and new home. 

Robinson is know for her deeply meditative, language and character driven books that quietly and slowly carve their way through beautiful prose and profound ideas. Lila is no exception. It is a gorgeously crafted book that often left me in deep thought on essential question about life, it's meaning, and injustices. It is not fast paced or plot driven, but certainly a compelling and worthwhile read, especially for fans of Robinson's work. ZB

A Match Made in Texas

A Match Made in Texas
By Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, Carol Cox
Bethany House, 2014. 379 pages. Romance.

A collection of four novellas set in Dry Gulch, Texas in 1893. In each story, a mysterious matchmaker brings two unlikely people together to ultimately find true love. Each author writes a separate story, but all are tied together by the characters and the setting.

Before you read this collection, you'll definitely want to read the two full-length books Witemeyer has written about the Archer brothers: The Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher. The first novella in the book is a continuation of their stories. But the other authors carry on where Witemeyer started, taking minor characters from the Witemeyer story and writing their own stories of frontier love. The unity of the stories made the book that much more enjoyable to read. The writing was entertaining, the characters were very likeable, and I found myself completely invested in learning everyone's futures. This was just good, clean fun.

JH

The Witch: And Other Tales Re-told

The Witch: and Other Tales Re-told
by Jean Thompson
Blue Rider Press, 2014. 256 pages. Short stories.

In this collection of short stories, Thompson recreates classic fairy tales in modern settings and situations. But hers are not just light, Cinderella-like knock-offs; in these stories, be prepared to look deeply at modern society and see how the events of today so closely mirror the fables recorded hundreds of years ago by the Brothers Grimm and others.

This really was a fascinating collection of short stories. Each one was obviously based on a fairy tale, but in a retelling so contorted and original that each stood alone, independent of the fairy tale as well. The writing was exquisite and the stories, while not always the happiest (and what Grimm fairy tale ever actually ended happily outside of Disney?), really depicted a modern way of living and thinking that will be as familiar to readers as the original stories are. This collection of stories will make you reflect and look for a moral, much as Aesop and the Brothers Grimm encouraged their readers to do.

JH

Becoming Lady Lockwood

Becoming Lady Lockwood
By Jennifer Moore
Covenant Communications, 2014. 199 pages. Romance.

Amelia Beckett is a widow before she even meets her husband. When her father sends word to her on her Jamaica estate to sign the marriage contracts, she finally agrees only to get a modicum of freedom from the strictures of society. But being a widow seems to be an even better life for her than an arranged marriage - until her new brother-in-law, Captain Sir William Drake, arrives in Jamaica full of accusations that she is trying to illegally take possession of her dead  husband's estate. Forced to sail with the captain to England to attend the legal proceedings, will Amelia find that her brother-in-law is more amiable than he first appears?

Okay, I will admit up front that most of the basic premises of this novel are patently improbable. Is it possible to be actually married to someone who lives on a different continent by signing a piece of paper and without any kind of legal ceremony? Would Regency laws really consider it illegal to marry your dead brother's wife because you were now brother and sister? Is it even possible to fit 6 bottles of rum and 2 pistols under anything less than a Civil War-era hoop skirt with any hope of going undetected?? And yet, in spite of the horribly irrational plot, I was completely entertained by this book. The characters were fun, there was some action to balance out the romance, and the pace moved quickly. This is a great book for a lazy afternoon read.

JH

The Rosie Effect

The Rosie Effect
By Graeme Simsion
Simon & Schuster, 2015. 344 pages. Fiction.

In the sequel to 2013's surprise hit The Rosie Project, geneticist Don Tillman and his new wife, Rosie, are living happily in New York City, with Rosie working on her Master's thesis at Columbia and Don teaching genetics and both of them moonlighting as cocktail-makers extraordinaire. Don applies his usual scientific method to saving his friend Dave's business, helping his neighbor George manage his industrial beer refrigeration unit and, the most important project of all, The Baby Project, which will help Rosie take perfect care of herself and her fetus in her unexpected (to Don) foray into motherhood. But will Don and Rosie's marriage be able to stand up to the problems facing them from all sides?

I really enjoyed Simsion's first book and was looking forward to his sequel until I happened upon a less-than-favorable review of it. So when I finally got it in my hands, I was a little apprehensive. But I found that it had a lot of the same qualities that I loved in the first book. Don's character is hilarious, even more so because he doesn't see why the way he reacts to things is so out of the ordinary or humor inducing. The author was able to remain true to the character he introduced at the beginning of the series while still reflecting the growth that Don was able to make, both in the first book and in the course of the second. My only quibbles with the book were that sometimes the conflict seemed a bit manufactured - if they had both sat down and actually talked for a minute they could have worked things out pretty quickly, I think - and the conclusion wound up pretty fast for the amount of time the conflict carried over. But, overall, I enjoyed every minute of this book.

JH

Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United

Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United
by Zephyr Teachout
Harvard University Press, 2014. 376 pp. Non-fiction

Written as a response to recent Supreme Court decisions, the author describes and evaluates how leading political and legal figures have thought of and addressed the problem of corruption since the founding of the country. Those of us who follow current events might remember Zephyr Teachout (such an awesome name!) for her unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial primary run in New York. In this fascinating book, she thoughtfully and concisely argues that corruption should be regarded as greater and more complex issue than the quid pro quo exchange of money for favorable political acts as recent judicial decision would narrowly define it. Rather, the author contends that gifts, donations or other remunerative exchanges should be closely scrutinized and regulated with a more realistic framework and understanding of how money can distort political decision making.

CHW

First Impressions

First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen
By Charlie Lovett
Viking, 2014. 308 pages. Fiction.

To say that Sophie Collingwood loves books would be an understatement. Books have been her life since her Uncle Bertram first introduced her to the mystery of them as a child. But in an instant, everything in her life falls apart. Her uncle is found dead at the bottom of a staircase, the victim of an unfortunate incident. All his books are sold without her permission. And two different men suddenly request a copy of a very rare book, one of them threatening her life if she can't come up with it. What had Uncle Bertram found in the family library? And how will it all relate to Jane Austen's most famous work, Pride & Prejudice?

Lovett has done an amazing job going between two time periods, alternating a fictional narrative from Jane Austen's life with the modern happenings with Sophie and her desperate attempt to find an almost unknown book that could change the course of Austen history. His historical fiction is so well blended with fact that is hard to tell where the fact leaves off and the fiction begins - always a sign of a well-written historical fiction novel. (I actually had to scour the author notes at the end to satisfy my curiosity.) And the pace is kept up throughout, leaving the reader just as confused as Sophie as the various unimportant trails of the story slowly weave together to bring about the conclusion. A fascinating piece of both historical and contemporary fiction.

JH

Breakfast Served Anytime

Breakfast Served Anytime
By Sarah Combs
Candlewick Press, 2014. 261 pages. Young adult fiction.

It's the summer before her senior year and Gloria is spending a month at a camp for gifted students - Geek Camp - taking a class called Secrets of the Written Word. Cut off from all electronic devices and social media. Gloria and the three other students who compose the class find themselves forming a special bond as the learn about each other and appreciate their talents and differences. And Gloria is finally able to come to terms with her own grief over the recent death of her grandmother and come to terms with her future.

This book was nothing that I was expecting. Young adult books tend to be very straightforward in plot and writing, but this was written with an almost stream of consciousness fluidity. The plot is really subservient to the poetical nature of the prose and Gloria's self-analyses and epiphanies. It is a book that is hard to describe, but beautiful to read. A fascinating debut.

It is, for the most part, a clean read, but does have some strong language.

JH

Pride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits

Pride, Prejudice, and Cheese Grits
By Mary Jane Hathaway
Howard Books, 2014. 314 pages. Fiction.

Shelby Roswell is a Civil War historian at  a small liberal art college, desperate to write an article that will ensure her tenure. Ransom Fielding is a famous historian, visiting faculty member...and the man who skewered Shelby's pride and joy in a national magazine. But as the two are thrown together in the small history department, will they learn to get along? This is a great modern retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

I can sometimes be skeptical of modern retellings of classics - why read a poor variation of what has already been done amazingly well? But what I really liked about this book was that she was not slavishly attached to the original story. She took some basic story points - their mutual antipathy that grows into respect and even love after they get to know each other; a dramatic family situation that has Ransom coming to Shelby's rescue; a point when Shelby is sure that Ransom cannot love her after what has happened, etc. - and but definitively makes her own story around these basic ideas. I especially like that her characters are not even named Elizabeth and Darcy (or any variation of the names). What Hathaway has done is create an independent novel that is an homage to the Austen original but tells its own story.

JH

There Was and There Was Not

There Was and There Was Not
by Meline Toumani
Henry Holt and Company, 2014.  284 pgs. Nonfiction

Who remembers the Armenians? Hitler famously declared in the expectation that no one would care, by and by, for his extermination of the Jews since no one much noticed or cared what the Turks did to the Armenians in 1915.  Meline Toumani is an Armenian-American who grew up in New Jersey and though she grew up among a people obsessed with Turkey's being called to account on an international stage for the Armenian genocide and diaspora, she decides to find out for herself whether the Armenian refusal to let the past go is justified and necessary.  So she moves to the Heart of Darkness, Istanbul. What follows is a beautifully well-written, carefully nuanced consideration of right and wrong, good and evil, indifference and zeal, and the nature of making peace. At the heart of her narrative lies the story of Hrant Dink, an Armenian newspaper editor living in Turkey, who is assassinated because when he wrote that Armenian hatred of Turkey was a "poison in the blood of the Armenians," word got around that he had said Turks had poison blood. With a good man dead, everything in Toumani's investigations becomes more serious, fraught with an intensity that can no longer be cloaked with dispassion. Toumani is a fine, fine writer, clear-eyed about herself and others, and "There Was and There Was Not" was well-chosen as one of the New York Times' Best Books of 2014.

LW

Moriarty

Moriarty
by Anthony Horowitz
HarperCollins, 2014.  285 pgs.  Mystery

Second in a series of neo-Holmesian works approved and supported by the Conan Doyle estate, Moriarty tells a story that lies in between Holmes' supposed death at the Reichenbach Falls and his later reappearance. In this narrative, Frederick Chase, a Pinkerton agent, has arrived at the Falls in hopes of finding some clue to the whereabouts of Clarence Devereux, a criminal mastermind from the States who is thought to have been courting Professor Moriarty before his death to join forces in a terrible consortium of crime in England. A waterlogged cipher on Moriarty's body suggests such an alliance was in the offing and soon Chase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones are on the hunt for Devereux and his brutal minions. Though Inspector Jones is a devotee of Sherlock Holmes and tries to use his methods, it is hard to be totally satisfied with a Holmesian story without Holmes or Watson in it.   Still, Horowitz spins a good yarn, and thought one suspects and unexpected ending, things may turn out even more differently that you might imagine.

LW

Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy

Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy
by Michael J. Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell
Scribner, 2014.  232 pgs. Nonfiction

When the skipper of the tall ship "Bounty" tried to skirt the edge of Hurricane Sandy in pursuit of safe haven in Florida, bad things happened. The bilge pumps, already working at half capacity, couldn't handle the enormous influx of sea water, the storm was ever so much larger than the captain and crew had anticipated, and everything everyone could do was not enough. This, coupled with a delay in ordering the abandonment of the ship left two people dead and the rest of the crew and their rescuers fighting towering seas and furious winds to reach safety. As is his tradition, Michael Tougias writes a fine sea story here, filled with both terror and courage, major mistakes and extraordinary skill. The narrative takes a good long while to get to the action, but when it arrives, hold your breath and hang on.

LW

What If?

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
By Randall Munroe
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. 303 pgs. Nonfiction

The creator of the popular website xkcd.com and former NASA roboticist Randall Munroe has compiled a book based on the "What If" section of his website.  Readers can ask absurd hypothetical questions (From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground?), and Munroe will do his best to legitimately answer the question.  He will run computer simulations, solve equations, research scientific publications, and consult with experts in various fields. Not only does he answer the questions, but he delivers the information in the most interesting way possible, often pushing things to extremes in order to see what would happen if things got really crazy.

His explanations are also full of fascinating information:
"The ISS moves so quickly that if you fired a rifle bullet from one end of a football field, the International Space Station could cross the length of the field before the bullet traveled 10 yards.*"

And often he adds hilarious interjections or observations:
"*This type of play is legal in Australian rules football."

When contemplating reading this book, I wasn't sure I would enjoy it or be able to understand everything.  Instead I was surprised at how readable and entertaining it was.  Everything is explained in easy (and often hilarious) ways to understand, and in the process you can learn really interesting things about how the universe works.  I am now a committed reader of the "What If" section of xkcd.com and I can easily recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting, fun read.

BHG

The Rose Garden

The Rose Garden
by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2011. 441 pages. Romance.

Eva Ward, mourning the loss of her sister, takes her ashes back to the estate on the coast of Cornwall where the two spent happy summers as children before their parents were killed in a tragic car accident. Now alone in the world, Eva decides to spend another summer enjoying the slower pace of Cornish life before deciding where to go next. But walking through the grounds of the estate, she suddenly finds herself transported to 1715 and into the life of intrepid smuggler Daniel Butler and his quest to oust the Hanoverian King George from the throne. As Eva becomes more and more caught up in her life in the past over her life in the present, will she decide that perhaps the past is where she is supposed to stay, after all?

I know what you're thinking: Is time travel realistic? Would anyone choose to live in 1715 over today? Isn't this just a novelistic version of the 1980 movie Somewhere In Time? And my only response is that you should still read this book because it was amazing.

Susanna Kearsley has an exceptional way of writing both contemporary and historical fiction and is able to blend the two together seamlessly. She specializes in the Jacobite rebellions of the early 1700s (many of her books feature this time period) and she puts a lot of detail into everything that is going on. In addition, her prose is exquisitely crafted and her characters are fascinating. Is a time travel plot realistic? No, but this one is definitely worth reading. There may have been some strong language used a time or two, but I'll be honest and say that I was so caught up in the plot, especially by the end, that I didn't even notice.

JH

Puppy Love

Puppy Love
by A. Destiny and Catherine Hapka
Simon Pulse, 2014. 217 pages. Young adult fiction.

Lauren has always wanted to have a dog and, when her dog-allergic sister moves away to college, she finally takes the dog by the leash and purchases a beautiful Sheltie puppy. But who knew that puppies were so much work? Lauren decides that she needs help and enrolls Muckle in a puppy kindergarten class. But is her crush on cute instructor Adam making it hard for her to teach her puppy some new manners? Or distracting her from noticing how much fellow student Lamar seems to like her?

While the approach to this book is formulaic, the writing is engaging and the characters are fun, especially for avid dog lovers. It also has a great theme, reminding teens (and adults, too) that personal connection is a lot more important in a relationship than appearance. Readers who are looking for a little more depth in the writing may be a little annoyed at the superficial treatment, but this is a great read for someone who is looking for a book that is just good, clean fun.

Be warned: some readers may have to try to tune out a young Donny Osmond singing "Puppy Love" in their heads while reading, as I did.

JH

A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove
By Fredrik Backman
Atria Books, 2014. 337 pages. Fiction.

Ove is a grumpy old man. That's really all that can be said about him. But as you see Ove's curmudgeonly interactions with his neighbors, you also learn his past and the things that have made him who he is.

I love Ove! The writing in this book is so real, so personal, that you will forget that Ove is a fictional character. I listened to the audiobook (downloadable on Overdrive) and was entranced the whole time. The reader is amazing and, combined with the wonderful writing, draw you completely into Ove's world. There isn't an exciting plot or lots of action, but people who are looking for great characterization will fall in love with the Ove and his neighbors just as much as I did. A simple book, but lovely, humorous, and deeply touching.

JH

The Lost Sisterhood

The Lost Sisterhood
By Anne Fortier
Ballantine Books, 2014. 608 pgs. Fiction.

Diana Morgan is a lecturer at Oxford University and is an expert on Greek mythology. She is obsessed with the Amazons and her grandmother claimed to be one. Diana is offered a job interpreting ancient text in a recently uncovered temple. She discovers the history of the first Amazon queen and their journey to free her kidnapped sisters. There are so many characters and groups involved in the present as well as past as the narration switches from Diana's sometimes dangerous search for the Amazons, and Myrina's quest for her sisters and a place of their own.

The story is long and has a lot of historical detail, and as mentioned above, characters. The book is interesting, but it does drag at times and the dangerous situations Diana gets in are hard to believe. If you like Ancient Greek history, archaeology , or are interested in a story of the Amazons, this will give you all that.  The beginning starts slow and the end throws in some romance that makes for a sweet ending but may not suit the entire story overall.

EW

The Blind Man's Garden

The Blind Man's Garden
Nadeem Aslam
Vintage Books, 2014. 367 pages. Fiction.

Pakistan, 2001. American troops have just invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and Jeo, a young medical student, has decided to cross into the war zone to help care for the wounded. His foster brother, Mikal, decides to join him to protect him from danger. Neither can know that what starts as a charitable action will have long ranging consequences for both them and their families.

Aslam's novel is not an easy read, but it is an important story to be told. The writing is poetic and lyrical, even when describing the atrocities endemic in post-9/11 Pakistan and Afghanistan. With the war on terror still going strong, this book presents a unique view of a very troubled region, presents a culture in startling color, and will provide a perspective in counterpoint to events most have seen only in the news. The reader cannot avoid the violence that is a part of life in the region, but the author has written the terrible atrocities that happen with as much compassion and restraint as possible.

JH

Leaving Time

Leaving Time
By Jodi Picoult
Ballantine Books, 2014. 416 pgs. Fiction.

The newest book of this bestselling author is completely unique from her other works. Picoult addresses family relationships, romantic relationships, and even human and animal relationships in this touching story of a girl looking for her mother. The story is told from the multiple view points of a 13 year old girl searching for a long gone mom, a psychic that has lost touch with her abilities, a detective that failed at being a cop, and the journal entries of Jenna's mother. The setting is mainly an elephant sanctuary in New England and is full of touching moments with the elephants and their handlers. The answers they get from their investigating aren't necessarily the ones any of them wanted, but it helps them heal in ways they had given up on.

The book is full of facts about elephants, accurate descriptions of research life in Africa and on a sanctuary, and emotional turmoil as all the characters face hard truths. I love elephants, so really enjoyed the author's descriptions of their behaviors and how they interacted with the people that cared for them. The diary entries combined with the present day search created a subtle mystery and I wanted things to turn out for everyone by the end. Picoult writes a fascinating book about motherhood, mourning, and loss. This was definitely one of my favorites from her.

EW

Not My Father's Son

Not My Father's Son
By Alan Cumming
Dey Street Books, 2014. 304 pgs. Biography.

Alan Cumming started working with producers on a popular reality show about discovering famous people's heritage. When he starts to dig in to his past, he starts to also confront issues and facts abut his own father. Alan's success and life have finally normalized for him for the most part, when a family secret about his grandfather brings out more than he ever thought. His painful childhood is narrated, alternating with the present, and this is done smoothly and with enough suspense that I finished the book in one day.

I have become a fan of Alan Cumming after his work on The Good Wife. I thought this book sounded interesting because it focuses on a very specific part of his life. He reads the audio in his wonderful Scottish accent which makes this book even more enjoyable. His emotion, love of his mom and brother, and anecdotes about his work all combine with his awful experiences with his father. He tries to accept everything as he learns of his past and the heartbreak in this book is equal to the times I laughed.

EW