Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
By Helen Simonson
Random House, 2010. 358 pgs. Fiction

Can a village seeped in out-moded convention give an atypical love story her blessing? The widowed Major Ernest Pettigrew lives a contented, albeit solitary, life in the idyllic village of St. Mary, England, and trods along well enough until his only brother dies. However, in the midst of his grief, the lovely Mrs. Jasmina Ali--widow of the late Pakistani shop owner--begins turning up in the most pleasantly fortuitous moments. Despite their difference in heritage, the two soon find they have much in common.

And yet, both the village and their families aren’t ready to approve the growing courtship between the Major and Mrs. Ali. In the end, Major Pettigrew will be forced to decide exactly what ties he must break in order to make his most judicious stand.

Lots of charm, lovely characters and a chance for self-reflection make this a most definite, crowd-pleasing read.

DAP

ZUMBA !

Zumba: Ditch the Workout, Join the Party!
By Beto Perez
Wellness Central, 2009. 289 p. Nonfiction

Zumba, anyone? (pronounced Zoom-bah) If you haven’t heard, Zumba spells Dance Party and it’s the hottest aerobic craze sweeping the nation. It all started when Beto, a Columbian-born aerobics instructor, forgot his traditional aerobics mix and had to make do with the only CD he had in his gym bag, which just happened to be some Latin dance tunes. Deciding to wing it, he led the class through a sweaty series of energetic salsa moves, meringue steps and cha-cha hip swivels—the class went wild and the rest is history. Read all about Beto’s early years, learn some basic steps and pair it with the Zumba diet and accompanying recipes if you’re looking to re-energize your fitness routine and start partying with the rest of us Zumba fanatics.

The book comes with an “Exlusive Zumba Fitness DVD”, however it’s not much to brag about. Granted, 5 of the most basic Zumba moves are taught in an easy to follow, 3-part: slow, medium, full-speed style; but, the party quickly stops because for the next hour all that happens is a large count-down clock appears on the blank screen while great Latin music plays in the background. Quite a let-down if you were looking for an actual workout routine.

But if you’re interested in a live Zumba class, check-out your local gym or the Provo City Community Recreation Center (soon to be relocated in a brand-spanking new building), where you can find Zumba classes six days a week. Can you say dance party!?!

DAP

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

At Home: A Short History of Private Life
By Bill Bryson
Doubleday, 2010. 497 p. Nonfiction

“Home is where the heart is” said John McLeod and that sanctuary is the focus of Bill Bryson’s current work of historical brilliance.

Bryson and family live in an old rectory in Norfolk, England, and while doing a spot of home repair one day, Bryson began to ponder the origins of home life: why the original rector needed a dining room of such grandiose proportions for his single self, why the only indoor toilet was tucked away in a small cupboard on the stair landing and seriously, what function did that extra row of buttons on his suit coat sleeve really serve?

All these questions and many more fascinating details of home living are brought to glowing life as Bryson takes us on a historical tour of our own home, room by room, cellar to roof, through the glorious past of what has now come to be commonplace. He examines the advent of the sofa (so shockingly intimate), the introduction of the mousetrap and the relief of relieving yourself indoors with the benefits of working plumbing. However mundane you thought your home used to be, you'll think so no more.

Anyway you look at it, by examining the homes of the past you’ll be forced to appreciate your home of the present—whether you’ve got a gourmet kitchen or not. A grand book to ring in the Thanksgiving season and start you listing the million blessings of our modern age.

DAP

The Charming Quirks of Others

The Charming Quirks of Others
By Alexander McCall Smith
Pantheon Books, 2010. 256 p. Mystery

“One should never mislead a friend, or an enemy for that matter, she thought. We owed the same duty of truthfulness to everybody, no matter what we thought of them.”

This is merely one of the ethical conclusions drawn by the beautiful mind of Isabel Dalhousie as she ponders the perplexities of the human condition. As a moral philosopher living in Edinburgh, Isabel is the endearing protagonist in the Sunday Philosophy Club series and is always engaged in more than one ethical mystery or another. Unable to say no to anyone in need of help, this time Isabel reluctantly agrees to sort out an anonymous message portending searing consequences in the hiring of a school principal.

Yet again, McCall Smith delivers his ever-charming, deliciously quirky cast of characters, juxtaposing a deep awareness of the human psyche and an entertaining story, gracefully told. But, it’s McCall Smith’s ability to gently push us to examine our own conscience that might be his greatest achievement. Although it's not a mystery of Halloween proportions, it's one that will warm your soul.

DAP

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English

Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English
By Natasha Solomons
Little, Brown & Co., 2010. 357 p. Fiction

There are a strict set of rules to follow if one wishes to be a true English gentleman and this is the sole desire of Mr. Rosenblum’s heart. A three member family of German Jews, the Rosenblums are fortunate enough to arrive on English soil just before WWII breaks out. Given a set of rules to follow in order to blend in with the natives, Mr. Rosenblum proceeds with exactitude and throughout the ensuing years he continues to add to the original rules with dearly naïve, comical observations.

As the years pass Mr. Rosenblum has yet to achieve the last step rule in the gentleman's rule book - entry into a golf club. But due to his "unfortunate" heritage the clubs will never accept him, so taking a proactive approach, Rosenblum decides he will simply build his own. The building of the course is full of adventure as Mr. and Mrs. Rosenblum navigate the tricky business of village life. But, just as the course reaches fruition tragedy arrives in the form of a wolf in sheep’s clothing and the “gentleman” Mr. Rosenblum believed to be his friend ends up bestowing a most crushing betrayal.

Solomons delivers a solid read with her delightfully light-hearted, endearingly bittersweet, international bestseller. With a depth that offers complete satisfaction, Solomon manages to evoke the difficulties of the Jewish experience in England and explore what it truly means to be both friend and gentleman.

DAP

The Sonderberg Case

The Sonderberg Case
By Elie Wiesel
Alfred A Knopf, 2010. 178 p. Fiction

“Guilty and Not Guilty” -- that is the plea Werner Sonderberg enters when he is placed on trial for the murder of his uncle.

From the Nobel prize-winning author of Night comes The Sonderberg Case by Elie Wiesel. The plot follows two separate threads and Wiesel slowly and circuitously unwinds and intertwines the story of Sonderberg and his uncle (two German men who enter the mountains but only one returns) and the life of Yedidyah, a Jewish theater critic working at a local newspaper given the task of covering the trial. Yedidyah is a complicated soul with a complicated past (and present), but the trial’s impetus will allow him to question and resolve much of his personal angst. And when you finally find out what happened on that mountain, the discovery will leave you reeling.

This is no ordinary legal thriller, but instead a deeply introspective, moral conundrum. Wiesel asks us to examine the legality and the morality of action and consequence, whether or not our personal actions affect the lives of those in our sphere and to what degree we are culpable. With this book our debt to Wiesel increases: for the beauty he creates, for his constant examination of the human character and for his ability to push us to greater levels of consciousness.

DAP

I'm with Fatty

I’m with Fatty: Losing 50 pounds in 50 miserable weeks
By Edward Ugel
Weinstein Books, 2010. 244 p. Biography

Some people have a bit of a weight problem, but when Edward Ugel gained 10 pounds one month he realized he might have a crisis on his hands, or to be exact, in his hands as he jiggled his rapidly growing love handles. His daughter also gave him some honest criticism when she loudly pointed out that he was ‘TOO BIG’ to jump in her kiddy pool. But when his doctor told him his life was now on the line, he started to get serious. That’s when he developed the “50 pounds in 50 weeks” scheme to take off his weight. It took a lot of spousal encouragement, a nutritionist, a personal trainer and a couple colon cleanses to make it through this tough year and with plenty of setbacks, Ugel had much to contend with. But he came through it with a lot less weight on his bones, a love of racquetball and a newfound respect for himself.

The book is an amazingly honest self-portrayal of a man who discovers he has an out-of-control eating disorder and commits to subdue his weighty mass. As the title portends, it’s a humorous and sympathetic look at losing weight from the rare male perspective, but Ugel is overly crass and it’s not something I’d highly recommend.

DAP

The Mapping of Love and Death

The Mapping of Love and Death
By Jacqueline Winspear
Harper, 2010. 338 p. Mystery

Maps are fascinating objects and the making of them requires certain character traits: courage, an adventurous spirit and an ability to see the world from different points of view. Finally, a cartographer must be willing to travel wherever necessary, often confronting serious danger in the process.

Michael Clifton has the right personality and the right skills, so when WWI begins he immediately sets off from California to join an English cartography unit deployed to map unchartered war grounds. Sadly, Michael won’t last out the war and when his remains are found years later a mysterious packet of letters is returned to his parents which hint at a wartime love affair in Paris. Wanting to find the last person Michael loved, his family travels to England and employs the inimitable Maisie Dobbs to discover the truth of the matter. But Maisie’s quick to discern that Michael was murdered before the bombing even started and when that detail comes to light the investigation explodes in all directions, leaving Maisie to follow each piece of the highly dangerous puzzle all the way to the end.

Winspear’s latest mystery featuring Maisie Dobbs is pleasant enough and followers of the series are in for a surprise when a new love interest crops up; however, the book wasn’t especially notable unless you’ve become attached to Maisie and her past adventures.

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Devil's Food Cake

Devil’s Food Cake
By Josi S. Kilpack
Deseret Book, 2010. 361 p. Mystery

If eating a hunk of rich devil’s food cake topped with moist, chocolaty frosting along with a plate of Killer Nachos dripping with cheesy goodness sounds as enticing to you as catching a criminal mastermind then you’ve come to the right place, because Sadie Hoffmiller does both--at exactly the same time.

Sadie has quite a history for being in the right place at the wrong time and her desire to see justice served has this amateur sleuth kicking up all kinds of trouble in the humble little town of Garrison, Colo. At the annual library fundraiser, Thom Mortensen, the town’s famous/only novelist steps up to speak and his publicist is brutally shot. When Thom disappears, Sadie’s told to give her statement and head home, but so many obstacles put Sadie right back in the middle of the action that even an ABP for her arrest (for interfering in a police investigation) doesn’t stop this gastronomic gumshoe from pursuing the truth. With a killer on the loose it’s surprising how many mouth-watering treats Sadie has time to make, but every recipe is included and each sounds utterly scrumptious. Dieters beware because it will take all your willpower not to whip up one of these alluring snacks while reading. Just don’t drip on the pages.

Coming 3rd in the series, this culinary mystery by Josi Kilpack is sure to please those who like their mysteries clean and cozy.

DAP

The Blind Side

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
By Michael Lewis
W.W. Norton, 2006. 299 p. Biography

More than just a blockbuster movie with an Oscar winning cast, The Blind Side began life as a biography recounting the true story of Michael Oher. And if you liked the movie, you’ll love the book.

It all begins with the left tackle. Quarterbacks are the highest paid player on the football field; the left tackle is the second. That’s because the NFL finally realized that protecting the quarterback’s “blind side” was the 2nd most important spot on the team. Coincidentally, Michael Oher is an enormous black kid growing up on the wrong side of town in Memphis, TN, with all the makings of a star left tackle. The only problem is that he’s homeless, doesn’t go to high school and doesn’t even know how to play football. It isn’t until Michael miraculously winds up at the Briarcrest Christian School and falls under the care of the Tuohy’s that he starts making sense of his innate talent. Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy are a wealthy, football-loving couple that begin by making sure Michael has something to eat and end up legally adopting him as their own son.

Lewis writes pretty good football for the sporting illiterate. But if you’re a reader who only watches football in order to critique the uniforms, it’s easy to skip all the left tackle jazz and focus on the true heart of this inspirational story, that of a poor orphan kid with no future making it to the big time against incredible odds. Locals are sure to love BYU’s role in Michael’s rise to fame thanks to the Independent Study program. The school’s help earned them the back-handed compliment, “Mormons might be going to Hell, but they’re sure good people.” Good football, better reading.

DAP

I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle
By Dodie Smith
Boston, Little, Brown, 1948. 343 p. Historical Fiction

Managing your family is difficult under the best of circumstances, but when you’re merely the daughter of the household and your family consists of the quirkiest members imaginable, you’ve got a bigger job than most. Cassandra and her family have been reduced to a life of gentile poverty and been forced to move into an old, tumbling little castle in England. Her father was a one-time, superbly famous literary critic, but has lost his knack for writing. Her stepmother is a vaguely airy-headed, ex-portrait model with a surprising gift for housekeeping and her dear sister takes the role of the beautiful heroine destined for…something grand to be sure. Her younger brother is good for adventures and such and the servant boy is more a family retainer than true hired help. With such an assortment of characters the comedic element is ripe and when circumstances force the family to lock up father in the castle tower until he agrees to begin writing again a grand hullaballoo ensues. Moreover, when a duo of wealthy brothers moves into the village the possibilities for romance become ever more likely.

I Capture the Castle takes place during the period between the two world wars and is told in semi-journal format from the point of a truly endearing young woman. It has to be one of the most delightful, charming books I’ve read in years. I laughed myself silly and was utterly captivated from beginning to end. The veritable J. K. Rowling herself said, “This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I’ve ever met.” It’s a superb choice for any selective reader and the library recently purchased a Book Club set for everyone’s enjoyment. Highly Recommended.

DAP

The Overton Window

The Overton Window
By Glenn Beck, et al
Threshold Edition/Mercury Radio Arts, 2010. 321 p. Fiction

Public Relations is all about who can tell the most convincing lies. Thankfully, Noah Gardner and his father are some of the best. They’ve helped spin the glamour of bottled water (while disguising its idiocy) and the American people have lapped it up like kittens. Then steps in a powerful group that wants the firm to spin a story like no other. With a current-day America heading toward financial and political disaster, this group wants to “transform” the country into a socialized, police state. Except the firm hadn’t reckoned on Molly Ross and her organization, who’ve set out to save the country before disaster (and a nuclear weapon) strikes. And when Noah comes under Molly’s charming spell it seems he’s headed towards a conflict of interests, so whether his father or his new lady love will win his loyalty is yet to be decided.

It’s not necessarily fiction, but it’s not nonfiction either. At least that’s Beck’s perspective. He asserts that his venture into novel writing is a blend of both fact and fiction and should appropriately fall into a new genre entitled, (drum roll please), “faction”. The Overton Window is ripe with bombastic overtones, conspiracy laden plots, patriotic speeches and laudable references to the US Constitution—much like Beck himself. Granted, there are some incredibly cringe-worthy lines, but it has a certain magnetism as well. Whether all that can be attributed to Beck or his 3 co-authors is debatable. In the end, it’s a credible political thriller—not great literature, but definitely entertaining, from many points of view. And with an ending that is less about wrapping things up and more about opening a window for a sequel, Beck fans are sure to be pleased.

DAP

Committed

Committed: a Skeptic makes Peace with Marriage
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Viking, 2010. 285 pgs. Biography

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby…you know the rest. However, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the immensely popular Eat, Pray, Love published in 2006, is now arguing against the staid virtues of that well-known rhyme because, quite frankly, the state of marriage is abhorrent to this divorcée. In Committed, her latest memoir, she’s fighting to keep her single state. That is, until her partner, Felipé, is forced to surrender his American passport and notified that he will only be allowed to re-enter the country if the couple legally join together in the official state of matrimony, holy or not.

Thus, Gilbert and her Brazilian lover (whom she met in Bali at the end of Eat, Pray, Love) grudgingly agree to wed, but only in order to appease the authorities. And so Gilbert begins her research, seeking to come to terms with her impending shackles. She sets out to explore marriage as an institution, melding the books she reads with the stories and experiences of the southeast Asians she meets while awaiting immigration’s permission to return to the U.S. Her adventures and insights are just as compelling as those of her first memoir, but conservatives will find her conclusions disturbing as Gilbert ends up seeking a broader interpretation of traditional matrimony -- the author ultimately decreeing that it is not she (or others) that will have to bend to the constraints of marriage, but “it is the institution of marriage that has to bend around us.”

DAP

Dear John

Dear John
By Nicholas Sparks
Warner Books, 2006. 276 p. Fiction

War has a sorry history of affecting everyone, not just the soldiers being paid to fight. When John makes the decision to join the army he gives up a lot; however, saying goodbye to a lazy, rebellious past can only be an improvement. His relationship with his single-minded, coin collecting father has been tenuous for years, but he’s hoping his career choice will somehow make his father proud. Army life is hard, but as it begins to mold John into the man he wants to be, he knows he made the right decision. Nevertheless, when Savannah slides into John’s world like a warm, southern lilt, the life he’s already committed to will clash harshly with the life he wants now.

Besides being just another sentimental love story, Dear John also takes on deeper themes such as: Asberger’s syndrome, father-son relationships, army life and the effects of 9/11 on specific individuals. In the end, Dear John asks us all to contemplate what we would sacrifice in order to make our true love happy. Now a major motion picture, Sparks fans can see the book unfold on the big screen.

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Promises to Keep

Promises to Keep
By Jane Green
Viking, 2010. 343 p. Fiction

The Tollemache family has much to learn this year. Steffi’s cooking up a vegan storm in her new job as head chef at Joni’s, the hippest restaurant in Manhattan. But when one of her hottest (and unfortunately married) customers needs a dog-sitter she happily leaves her rock-star boyfriend and the city life to live in Mason’s charming old house in the country. Her sister Callie is living the suburban dream, with a handsome husband, 2 kids and a thriving home photography business. Their parents have been divorced since the girls were little, but the sisters have always held onto a faint hope that they’ll somehow reunite. But tragedy strikes everyone when Callie begins to experience disturbing medical abnormalities and how they manage to survive the crisis will take more willpower and love than any of them imagined possible.

Jane Green is the author of numerous bestsellers in the chick-lit genre. However, Promises to Keep falls somehow flat, lacking depth and character strength, even though the subject is particularly emotional and the characters seem interesting from the outside. Yet, hope is always a welcome message and with an ending imbued with it perhaps the book will appeal to those looking for a light, marshmallow-ish read.

DAP

I'll Mature When I'm Dead

I’ll Mature When I’m Dead: Dave Barry’s Amazing Tales of Adulthood
by Dave Barry
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010. 254 p. Nonfiction

When retirement hits, Dave Barry surprisingly finds himself doing a lot more than he expected—namely activities involving sloth. Let's here it for sloth! But foregoing wisdom and good advice he decides to document his journey through this strange period anyway, through a series of essays dedicated to fatherhood, parenting and general unpleasantries involving highly over-rated medical procedures such as the vasectomy and the colonoscopy. My advice is not to read or listen to this section while eating…seriously.

With his characteristic wit, Dave expounds on the absurdities of Miami, where you can either be mugged during a free shuttle ride from the airport or take the public transit system with a live shark—pick your poison. He regales the crowd with his take on his daughter’s ballet recitals (boring as all get out, except the 3 minutes where she is actually on the stage and he manages to pick her out from the 10 other little girls dressed in just the same way) and the over zealous soccer moms and dads of the peewee league (hot-headed miscreants who are spoiling youth sports for the entire human race). But through it all you will not (or should not) be surprised to find the quintessential bathroom humor he is known for. It’s guaranteed to provide a laugh for many and offend even more and that is precisely why Dave will never be described as mature, even when he’s dead.

DAP

The Three Weissmanns of Westport

The Three Weissmanns of Westport
By Cathleen Schine
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010. 292 pgs. Fiction.

Sense and Sensibility lives again! You remember that the original featured three women who were forced to retire to the country and practice economizing while various love interests flitted in and out of their lives? In The Three Weissmanns however, the cast is not the three damsels of Austen’s 19th century England, but a modern-day family of Jewish New Yorkers who find themselves in similar economic woes. Betty is the family matriarch and after 48 years of marriage she finds herself being divorced from her 70-ish husband for “irreconcilable differences” (translation=another woman). Feeling completely at a loss she gathers her two middle-aged, (and single) daughters to her bosom and retreats to a dilapidated beach cottage on loan from wealthy cousin Lou where she waits for her husband to come to his good senses.

Adventures abound at the cottage and various bachelors are plentiful, ranging from the dashing young theater actor who rescues Miranda from the surf to the wealthy author who intermittently pursues the shyer and more responsible Annie. But the cast grows ever larger, due to the lavish parties hosted by cousin Lou, and the more people to which the Weissmanns are introduced, the more complicated their lives become. Until, as in good Austen form, most things manage to right themselves into a satisfactory ending. Austen would likely not approve the liberal interpretation of her original plot, but the story is nicely written, humorous and enticingly bitter-sweet.

DAP

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness and Obsession
By David Grann
Books on Tape, 2010. 11 discs, Nonfiction

Truth is stranger than fiction. If the old adage can be trusted, then David Grann has compiled some of the more incredible stories which lay claim to that principle. Grann is a reporter and all his tales contain an aura of mystery that Sherlock Holmes could only dream of solving; however, that most revered detective figures only in the first anecdote and fans will have to be content with such as it is. (I, myself was hoping for more.) Yet, the story of an obsessed Sherlock Holmes fan—who just might have committed suicide in the hopes that it would be mistaken as a murder—is indeed worthy of Holmesian detection. Half the fun is using your own detecting skills to solve the puzzle in order to decide which it really was.

Moving on, Grann presents the reader (or listener as may be) with more tales of the unusual and macabre. He offers up the strange case of a Polish murder, which may or may not have been committed by an eccentric philosopher who published a book with remarkable similarities to the crime. Another tale offers the bizarre story of a chameleon-like Frenchman who posed over and over again as an orphaned teenage boy with the hopes of being loved. Thus, if the bizarre world of true crime suits your summer reading fancy then step into a world where the possibilities are often grisly.

DAP

The Double Comfort Safari Club

The Double Comfort Safari Club
By Alexander McCall Smith
Pantheon Books, 2010. 211 p. Mystery

Detection knows no finer ally than Precious Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in the good country of Botswana. With her wisdom and genuine good sense, Mma Ramotswe is available to aid all her countrymen and women. This time, McCall Smith’s cherished detective must solve the mystery of a friend’s presumed infidelity, find and award an unknown safari guide and relieve her assistant’s fiancée from the grasping clutches of his odious auntie back into Miss Makutsi’s (of the 97 percent fame) grateful arms.

As usual, McCall Smith’s view of the world (even in far-off Botswana) is spot on. He deftly reaches inside the human heart and psyche to place his gentle, inky finger on humanity’s resplendent heroism and sheepish foibles. A favorite sentiment from the book reads, “That was the way the world was; it was composed of a few almost perfect people (ourselves); then there were a good many people who generally did their best but were not all that perfect (our friends and colleagues); and finally, there were a few rather nasty ones (our enemies and opponents)." Too true!

DAP

The Lonely Polygamist

The Lonely Polygamist
By Brady Udall
W. W. Norton, 2010. 602 p. Fiction

It might be life's great irony, but with four wives and a couple dozen kids, Golden just can't seem to find true companionship. He's beset by worries about his failing construction company, which house he's supposed to sleep in on what night, how he's going to keep his kids fed and moreover, he can never find an empty bathroom when he needs one. It's a dog's life he's living and the paradox is that his dog is the only one who seems to be there for him. On top of all that, he's dallying with a married woman at his current building site--which happens to be the new headquarters for a thriving brothel instead of the retirement home he's told his wives and fellow brethren he's building. Golden knows the two lives he's living will eventually collide, he's just not sure when.
"The Lonely Polygamist" is a smashing success if you're looking for excellent writing on an original topic. The book is startling, laugh-out loud hilarious and ingenious in its ability to capture the humanity in a less-than-common family situation. Udall creates an immense variety of sympathetic characters that worm their way into your heart and leave you yearning for the chance to meet them all in person. It took me more than a few chapters to find myself hooked, but after that I was spellbound. Never has a writer managed to make polygamy seem so humane. Golden and his family face all the normal human crises, they're simply exacerbated by the number of people in the picture. However, the book is quite earthy, includes a wide gambit of situations and language that sensitive readers won't find appealing. But if you're not afraid of the ride, then saddle up and enjoy Golden's unusual, yet unforgettable world.
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