The Eye of the World

THE EYE OF THE WORLD: Robert Jordan: TOR: 1993: Fantasy: 670 pages

Rand, Mat, and Perrin have never seen anything of the world outside the Two Rivers. They have heard about huge cities, women who can wield the One power, known as Aes Sedai, and dark beings like Trollocs and Myrdraals. But to the Two Rivers folk, they are nothing more than fanciful stories told by Gleemen.

On the eve of Bel Tine their small village is attacked by Trollocs. Though, Rand, Mat and Perrin are saved by the Lady Moiraine and her companion Lan, who turn out to be a real Aes Sedai and warder, the young boys learn that the Trollocs are searching for them. The boys have to flee their beloved village to save it from another attack.

This sets Rand, Mat, and Perrin off on an adventure that will lead them halfway across the world where they encounter one trial after another and learn about their true selves.

Although this book is a little slow, and tends to have way too many subplots, I still found myself enjoying the story and wanting to read the rest of the series.

This book could easily be recommended to teen boys or anyone who enjoys Tolkien’s epic stories.

AJ

The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez

THE SECRET BLOG OF RAISIN RODRIGUEZ: Judy Goldschmidt: Razorbill: Young Adult: 224 pages

In a blog she sends to her best friends back in Berkeley, seventh-grader Raisin Rodriguez chronicles her successes and her more frequent humiliating failures as she attempts to make friends at her new Philadelphia school.

This was a quick read. I read most of it in one afternoon. The story was funny and brought back memories of my own junior high experiences. Although Raisin is only 13, I felt like some of the things she discussed would have suited a character a little bit older. I look forward to reading about Raisin’s other adventures in her upcoming books.

AMM

I Feel Bad About My Neck And Other Thoughts On Being A Woman

I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK AND OTHER THOUGHTS ON BEING A WOMAN: Nora Ephron: Alfred A. Knopf: 2006: nonfiction: 137 pages

This is the perfect book to read when you are in a grumpy mood, you know, one of those days when everything annoys you. Nora Ephron (she wrote When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, & more) does not like fluffy books about aging gracefully, nor does she like how long it takes to look like you aren't. She does not like purses and she especially does NOT like her neck. This commentary on her life is an extremely fast and easy read with only a few expletives. For the younger audience it will give you a glimpse of what you have to look forward to. For those of us nearly or already 50ish, her witty humor is bound to get you smiling while you secretly relate to many of her life's experiences and philosophies. After two chapters grumpiness gone.

mpb

The Thirteenth Tale

THE THIRTEENTH TALE: Diane Setterfield: Atria Publishing: Fiction: 416 pages.

This book had a lovely gothic air about it reminiscent of Jane Eyre and Rebecca. It’s the story of an introverted girl raised in a family troubled by death and emotional separation. As an adult she works in her family bookstore and dabbles at writing, publishing a brief biography of an obscure character. This pamphlet catches the eye of a famous author who requests Margaret visit her Yorkshire castle and write her biography. The author is famous for the misinformation she spreads about her past, and so Margaret is intrigued and travels to Yorkshire to investigate.

She is pulled into a ghost story with a touch of madness, romance and murder which she must unravel. My review doesn’t do this book justice, it was an absorbing mystery that made me want to curl up in a window seat and finish it in one night.

Forever in Blue

FOREVER IN BLUE: Ann Brashares: Delacorte Press: Young Adult: 384 pgs.

In the final book of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, four friends--Lena, Bridget, Carmen, and Tibby--are once again separated during the summer to pursue their own interests but are kept united by a pair of magical pants.

This is not my favorite Sisterhood book, but, like the other books in the series, this one does a nice job of addressing a lot of identity and relationship issues in a very real and engaging way. The girls are all in college in this book, so there are a number of very grown up situations.

MBC

The New York Trilogy

THE NEW YORK TRILOGY : Paul Auster : Penguin Book : Mystery : 371 pages.

Welcome to a house of mirrors. Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy is sometimes confusing, sometimes tedious, but mostly intriguing. The three stories, “City of Glass,” “Ghosts,” and “The Locked Room” are closely related by their theme and plot similarities. The stories possess a few seemingly arbitrary and impossible interconnections. Auster’s characters and storylines fold and unfold in unexpected ways.

There are themes of surveillance, writing, and the relationships between life and texts. The characters evolve and change roles. There are stories within stories—very much like Russian “nesting” dolls." City of Glass" concerns a mystery writer, Daniel Quinn, who becomes involved in a real case—playing the part of a private detective, conducting surveillance on a man who may pose a threat to Daniel’s “client”. "Ghosts" also involves surveillance. Blue, trained by Brown, has now been hired by White to watch Black. When Black never does anything but sit in his apartment reading and writing, Blue becomes bored with the case and begins to feel trapped and resentful toward White. "The Locked Room" is of a man who becomes the executor for the literary works left behind by one of his childhood friends who inexplicably disappeared and is presumed dead.

Refreshing originality, interesting characters and the intriguing storylines make this volume a worthwhile and thought-provoking read.

The Keep

THE KEEP: Jennifer Egan: Knopf:2006:Fiction: 256
The main plot of this book is the reunion of two estranged cousins at an ancient castle, but there is a lot of sub-plot/post-plot going on. The main storyline follows the reunion of two cousins that long ago shared a horrific experience and have carried the guilt/fear from the experience into their adult lives. However, Howard is no longer the nerdy Dungeons and Dragons master of his youth, but a very wealthy (very tan) 30 something retiree. He has purchased an ancient European castle with the intention of turning it into a hotel - a special kind of hotel where all connection with the outside world is cut off and guests are expected to explore their own imagination. Since their childhood together Danny has become a gothic, neuroses ridden icon of New York's underground club scene . He is obsessed with being "connected", and the polarity of Danny's desire for constant contact and Howard's yearning for complete isolation and introspection is interesting to see played out.
This book surprised me again and again. There were three large plot shifts where the people you thought were the main characters became just part of someone else's story. It was spooky like any of its Gothic predecessors, but it was also a story about a return to imagination, hope even.

BES

American Born Chinese

AMERICAN BORN CHINESE: Gene Luen Yang: First Second: Young Adult: 233 pages

This book won the Printz Award for 2006. It is a very clever telling of three stories whose themes converge and reinforce one another at the close of the book. The result is interesting story lines and also powerful messages about racial stereotypes and learning to be yourself. This is the first time I’ve really read a graphic novel closely. The art is amazing in moving the story along and portraying action. I liked being able to dispense with descriptions and having the majority of the text be the thoughts and words of the characters.

The layout includes a lot of white space on each page. This seemed to allow me time and space to think about each page – there was plenty of action but the pace was good. I was also surprised by the depth of the themes. I think the story is complex enough that I wouldn’t recommend it for children – plus there are teen crushes and a character who speaks an American Chinese pidgin that might be hard for some readers to understand. This would be a good choice for teen reluctant readers.

SH

Your Best Life Now

YOUR BEST LIFE NOW: Joel Osteen: Warner Faith: nonfiction: 320 pages

A well-known pastor from Texas, Joel Osteen, reveals seven steps that will enable you to live at your full potential. With Your Best Life Now as the title, my expectations are high that the book will contain some life-altering suggestions as to how to live better. After all, who doesn’t want to learn how to do that?

Based largely on the Bible and his religious sermons, Pastor Osteen reveals seven basic steps to guide an individual towards living the best life you possibly can. The steps are: Enlarge Your Vision, Develop a Healthy Self-Image, Discover the Power of Your Thoughts and Words, Let Go of the Past, Find Strength Through Adversity, Live to Give, and Choose to be Happy.

The book has some good points although the majority of the book contains self-help advice similar to that in other self-help books. For example, in learning the principle of Enlarging Your Vision, we are reminded to live with an attitude of faith, raise our levels of expectancy, and to envision the positive outcomes rather than robbing ourselves of opportunities due to our self-limiting negative thoughts and actions. In the Developing a Healthy Self-Image part, some of what he writes is that we receive what we believe and challenges us to dare to believe for greater things.

Pastor Osteen illuminates his seven points with the use of many Bible examples as well as examples from people he has met and counseled and his own life experiences. He emphasizes God’s role in our lives very much throughout the book but the way in which he describes God’s role in some areas of our lives may be a turn-off to some. Overall, this is a book that will leave you feeling more uplifted and motivated to move forward with your dreams and goals. In a world where too much negativity exists, a book with a positive message is a very welcome read.

EE

Women's Letters

WOMEN’S LETTERS: AMERICA FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR TO THE PRESENT: Lisa Grunwald, editor: Dial Press: Nonfiction: 832 pages.

This marvelous book allows the reader, whether they read two pages or all eight hundred and thirty-two, an intimate, touching, and intensely interesting view of events great and small through the private correspondence of women of America. The glimpses of life events through the eyes of the obscure and the famous illuminate history in a way that no carefully composed historical narrative can. Probably no historical narrative has even tried to capture the essence of women’s lives the way these letters do.

The letters can be read in chronological order but since the letters have no relation to each other except that they are written by women, there is no reason not to just open the book at random and read. A widow writes to Eleanor Roosevelt asking for a coat, Louisa May Alcott instructs her publisher about the title of her new book Little Women, a nurse during the Vietnam War writes to her family about conditions at an evacuation hospital in Vietnam. I can’t help but feel that this is the best, most interesting way to learn about history. Each letter is prefaced by an introduction that gives the context of the events surrounding the letter’s composition.

If you see this book on the New Book display at the Provo City Library, don’t hesitate to pick it up and read even if you only have five minutes. You will probably find that you want to read for a much longer time.

SH

We Are All the Same

WE ARE ALL THE SAME: A STORY OF A BOY’S COURAGE AND A MOTHER’S LOVE: Jim Wooten: Penguin: Biography: 240 pages

Jim Wooten, a senior foreign correspondent for ABC, has written a powerful and shocking tale of truth about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and one young boy affected by the disease. In 1989, Xolani Nkosi was born in a squatter’s camp in what used to be Zululand, South Africa. His 19-year-old, unmarried Zulu mother, Daphne, was unknowingly infected with the HIV virus by his father, and passed it on to him at birth. Knowing she was dying, Daphne took Nkosi to an AIDS hospice for white patients in Johannesburg when he was two. When the hospice was forced to close because of funding issues, Gail Johnson, one of the white founders, took Nkosi into her home and became his second mother.

With the demise of apartheid in the 1990’s, the plight of those affected with HIV became more obvious, but Nelson Mandela and his successor, Thabo Mbeki, refused to address the issue of AIDS. Nkosi and Gail were pushed to the forefront of the fight when they tried to get Nkosi admitted to school. Because of Gail’s care and resources, he had already lived much longer than any other HIV baby - the average life expectancy for an infant born with the virus was three years. He (and Gail) became a symbol and spokesman for all those in Africa with the disease until his death in 2001. Nkosi ‘s frail body, but abundant spirit told the truth even when his country’s leaders denied it. This gentle exposé of the entwined history of AIDS, South Africa, and its’ politicians with one brave young boy is one we should all read and learn from.

DB

Two Little Girls in Blue

TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE: Mary Higgins Clark: Simon & Schuster: Fiction: 322 pages

Before leaving for a black-tie affair in New York City, Margaret and Steve Frawley celebrate the third birthday of their twin girls, Kathy and Kelly, with a party at their new home in Ridgefield, Conn. Later that night, when Margaret can't reach the babysitter, she contacts the Ridgefield police. The frantic couple return home to find the children missing and a ransom note demanding $8 million. Though the Frawleys meet all the conditions, only Kelly turns up in a car along with a dead driver and a suicide note saying that Kathy has died. But Kelly's telepathic messages from her sister keep telling her differently, and Margaret won't give up hope.

I really enjoyed Mary Higgins Clarks’ newest book! I couldn’t put the book down and I was still guessing whodunit until the very end. I enjoyed learning a little bit about twin telepathy and would recommend this book to anyone.

AMM

The Traveler

THE TRAVELER: John Twelve Hawks: Doubleday: Fiction: 456

John Twelve Hawks debut novel is the beginning of The Fourth Realm Trilogy. It is set in a present when the U.S. belongs to the Vast Machine, a society run by the Tabula, a secret organization determined to have total control over every member of society. The Tabula lulls citizens into compliance by promising better protection from terrorists and other dangers if a few personal freedoms are taken away such as surveillance cameras taking your picture hundreds of times a day, tracking what you buy from a grocery store, and monitoring what you do on the Internet.

Travelers are the largest threat to this perfect society because they can project their spirit into other worlds and bring back wisdom that often questions the norms of society. They are protected from the Tabula by a group called Harlequins. Throughout history nearly all of the Travelers and Harlequins have been hunted down and destroyed but there is a possibility that two brothers might still have the power to become travelers. Maya, a Harlequin, must race the Tabula to find these brothers and protect them and this is where the real story begins.

As I read this book, I began to question many of the societal trends that are happening right now. This novel brings up the question of how much personal information and control we are willing to give our government, and if we even realize what we are giving away. It basically comes down to a story of good vs. evil. I found it even more intriguing that the author, John Twelve Hawks, has chosen to live off “The Grid”, and has only communicated with his editor by satellite phone or through e-mail. The Traveler makes you think but is also a great thriller that is hard to put down once you start and makes you look forward to the next book in the trilogy.

AL

The Smoke Thief

THE SMOKE THIEF: Shana Abé: Bantam Books: Romance: 292 pages

The Carpathian Mountains are the home of many fantastical creatures. The latest breed are the drákon, humans who can transform into smoke and dragons. Driven from the mountains, the tribe in the 1700’s, now resides mostly in seclusion in rural Darkfrith, England. The Alpha of the tribe is the Marquess of Langford and he rules the tribe with a council. Christoff Langford is the current Marquess, and he has a problem. There’s a jewel thief currently burglarizing the “ton” of London and they’ve dubbed him the "Smoke Thief" because of the way he seems to vanish into thin air. Kit knows that the Smoke Thief is really a “runner” – a tribe member who’s fled Darkfrith without permission.

Clarissa Rue Hawthorne is a hafling – half human, half drákon and was tormented as a child because of it. On her 17th birthday, when she discovered she could “Turn”, the first female in four generations to accomplish this, she faked her death and fled to London. Now Kit is after the thief, and is shocked to discover it’s a woman and one who can Turn. His determination to unite with her as the Alpha female, her will to not be controlled, and the search to recover the tribe’s most valuable jewel, provide some bewitching conflicts. Believable fantasy woven with an inevitable romance make this an enchanting book!

DB

An Abundance of Katherines

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES: John Green: Dutton Books: 2006: Fiction: 215 Sure, Colin Singleton is a Prodigy, but he's no genius and he certainly isn't good at keeping girlfriends. After getting dumped by the 19th Katherine in a row, newly Graduated Colin and his best friend Hassan take off on a road trip that will hopefully snap him out of his depression. Along the way Colin tries to come up with a mathematical equation for love, and overcome the feeling that at 18 he has intellectually peaked. What he finds is the charming southern town of Gutshot, Tennessee, a new pack of friends (the first pack of friends for Colin really), and the realization that he must look outside of himself for once.
John Green has an uncanny ability to capture the barely post adolescent voice. As the age would suggest, expect a bit of language in this book and a small amount of sex (though not nearly as much as his last book). I really like Green's voice, but this novel didn't pack quite the same punch as his 2006 Printz Award winning Looking for Alaska. The boys' questions/problems didn't seem as central to the teenage experience as other YA books I've read. The math aspect of the book (though a tiny bit gimmicky towards the end), the humor, and again the spot on voice of these teens made this book a fun read. I'd recommend Looking for Alaska (With discretion - it's edgy to say the least) if you want to read this new YA author.

BES

The Experts' Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do

THE EXPERTS’ GUIDE TO 100 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DO: Samantha Ettus: Clarkson Potter: Nonfiction: 326 pages

As a mother of five teens/young adults, I have frequently tried to teach them how to do something “the proper way”. Samantha Ettus has now provided me with the authoritative explanations to support my teaching/preaching.

Ettus, founder and president of a talent and brand-management firm and newspaper columnist, began collecting a list of skills she had never acquired – her “Personal Knowledge Gap”. After determining that others had similar “black holes of skills”, she set about getting 100 nationally recognized experts in their field to write some “Cliffs Notes to life”.

The book is divided into five sections: Morning Life, Work Life, Home Life, Weekend Life, and The Big Life. Each article is a 3-4 page explanation by an expert on one topic. Tracey R. Henderson, executive housekeeper for Holiday Inn explains how to make a bed. Exercise guru Kathy Smith gives instructions on how to correctly do push-ups and sit-ups. Lawn mowing methods are discussed by Fenway Park Director of Grounds, David Mellor. Local expert, Stephen Covey discusses managing your time, while Debbi Fields covers how to bake chocolate chip cookies properly. The articles range from the practical (how to change a baby and pick produce) to the abstract (how to breathe and read body language), but all are concise and informative. There’s something for everyone and a great opportunity to get practical advice from the experts!

DB

Talk to the Hand

TALK TO THE HAND: THE UTTER BLOODY RUDENESS OF THE WORLD TODAY, OR SIX GOOD REASONS TO STAY HOME AND BOLT THE DOOR: Lynne Truss: Gotham Books: Nonfiction: 206 pages

The author of the bestseller, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, here gives voice to her mounting frustration at the prevalence of rudeness in today’s society. But this is more than just a tirade. Truss has done extensive reading about manners and society to enable her to identify six areas in which “our dealings with strangers seem to be getting more unpleasant and inhuman, day by day.” One of her six reasons to bolt the door, “Why am I the One Doing This?,” focuses on how we are increasingly expected to do the work formerly done by staff of the organizations that exist to serve us—such as trying to reach a real person via an automated switchboard or doing your banking online. In the section, “Someone Else Will Clean It Up,” she examines the increasing tendency to avoid accepting responsibility for oneself and one’s actions.

Truss’ research and real-life examples provide interesting insights into this very real problem. Ultimately Truss concludes that rudeness is bad and that bad manners are contributing to the loss of our sense of community, but holds out some hope as she makes a few suggestions for countering this trend. If you’re one of the many who just can’t take any more, this is the book for you.

DW

Spin Sisters

SPIN SISTERS: HOW THE WOMEN OF THE MEDIA SELL UNHAPPINESS–AND LIBERALISM–TO THE WOMEN OF AMERICA: Myrna Blyth: St. Martin’s Press: NonFiction: 342 pages

Just like most women in America, I stand in the check out line waiting to purchase my groceries and take a look at the magazines lined up neatly beside me. They promise to tell me how I can lose extra pounds, rid myself of wrinkles, reduce my risk of cancer and osteoporosis, and lower my stress level through a combination of yoga, deep breathing, Pilates, and feng shui decorating. My problems all solved, and for only the cost of a magazine or two. Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth, editor-in-chief of Ladies’ Home Journal for over 20 years, is a journey behind the scenes of these headlines and the many other messages sent to American Women by the media.

Blyth’s book is filled with statistics and illustrations on how messages to women have evolved over the past 50 years. She dissects these messages and the motivations that drive their prevalence. Selling fear and dissatisfaction is a lucrative business, Blyth reports. Unhappy people are eagerly looking for easy fixes for whatever may ail them, and producers and editors work hard to convince consumers of their dissatisfaction with life, whether or not it is actually justified.

If you are looking for a window into the world of modern American media, here is a great primer. The stories and examples presented are entertaining and enlightening. Blyth’s voice, while at times cynical and critical toward female media moguls, remains candid as she honestly admits she also presented these misguiding messages through her career in order to improve readership. Spin Sisters illuminates issues and trends which, while not groundbreaking or necessarily shocking, can give us a more realistic and informed vantage point when facing the bombardment of propaganda aimed at us daily.

CZ

Some Like It Haute

SOME LIKE IT HAUTE: Julie K. L. Dam: Warner Books: Fiction: 293 pages

Alexandra, fashion correspondent for the British Weekly, thought her first day in Paris covering Fashion Week was going badly when she discovered her favorite shoes had been stolen. That was just the beginning. While trying to find her seat at the Chanel Show, a head-on collision with a model on the catwalk lands Alexandra on the front pages of all the fashion news. Humiliated too much to even leave her hotel room, Alexandra is sure she can never return to another show. Her luck changes when someone else, a handsome American, makes an even bigger scene at another event. Now Alexandra is yesterday’s news. To make the day even better, her publicist friend has the latest scoop on an up-and-coming fashion designer set to change the fashion world--and she has agreed to give Alexandra the first interview. What starts off as a miserable week looks like it might end up happily ever after, after all.

KK

The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers

THE SIMPLE FAITH OF MR. ROGERS: Amy Hollingsworth: Integrity Publishers: Nonfiction: 175 pages.

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?

This song strikes a familiar chord for children and adults across America. Mister Rogers welcomed us into his life and neighborhood making us feel safe and special, one episode at a time. Mister Rogers taught us about life and respect. He taught us that it was okay to express our feelings and he taught us to be proud of ourselves!

Although Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, on the whole he did not use a pulpit to preach. Instead he reached out to the children of America using puppets like: Daniel Striped Tiger, Lady Elaine, King Friday, and Henrietta Pussycat.

In this book Amy Hollingsworth, a long time friend of Mister Rogers, gives us a personal look at America’s favorite Neighbor. Through her correspondence with Mister Rogers, she shows us the legacy that he has left behind. Mister Rogers taught by example the need to slow down and take time for silence. He taught that we are all neighbors and that we need to treat each other with respect, we need to look for the good in those around us, and we need to apply the golden rule in our lives. Fred Rogers “preached” his beliefs through his actions and his legacy encourages each of us to do the same!

AMM

She Got Up Off the Couch

SHE GOT UP OFF THE COUCH: Haven Kimmel: Free Press: Adult Non-fiction: 304 pages

In this delightful sequel to A Girl Named Zippy, Kimmel continues her reminiscences of childhood in tiny Mooreland, Indiana. Kimmel introduced readers to a memorable cast of characters in her first book, including her mother, Delonda, who spent years reading away on the couch until she weighed 268 pounds. In this second memoir, Delonda gets up off the couch, graduates from college, and secures a teaching job. In chapters like “I Knew Glen Before He Was a Superstar,” “A Short List of Records My Father Threatened to Break Over My Head If I Played Them One More Time,” and “A Short List of Records That Vanished From My Collection,” Kimmel spins quirky tales of friends, neighbors, and her mother’s newly found independence.

MBC

Shadow Divers

SHADOW DIVERS: THE TRUE ADVENTURE OF TWO AMERICANS WHO RISKED EVERYTHING TO SOLVE ONE OF THE LAST MYSTERIES OF WORLD WAR II: Robert Kurson: Random House: nonfiction: 375 pages

Perilous danger, history, adventure, mystery, death and human weakness combine in this historical narrative about the discovery and exploration of a mysterious wreck off the coast of New Jersey in 1991. At a depth of 230 feet the wreck was just beyond safe diving depths, creating a competitive challenge and ultimately a death trap for wreck divers. Divers could spend just fifteen minutes at that depth, fighting narcosis every second and needing one hour to decompress. The stamina the divers required for those minutes on the bottom is matched by tenacious determination over the next seven years to discover the identity of the wrecked submarine and learn about the men who died when it went down. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, at first competitive enemies, are drawn into a bond of brotherhood as exploring the wreckage claims lives, friendships and marriages.

But this gripping book doesn’t just take you to the bottom of the sea. The perils and technical difficulties of deep sea diving are only a part of what makes this book so good. Fascinating details about life aboard German U-boats during World War II and the courage of the crews are an important part of the story. History buffs will also enjoy the accounts of sleuthing through dusty military archives and contacting international World War II experts only to discover they were all wrong. Ultimately you meet brothers, sisters, and sons of the German crew of the wrecked submarine.

If you enjoyed The Perfect Storm (Sebastian Junger, 1997), Into Thin Air (Jon Krakauer, 1997) or The Endurance : Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition (Caroline Alexander, 1998), or like to watch the new History Detectives show on PBS, you can plan on enjoying this book as well. The Last Dive : A Father and Son’s Fatal Descent Into the Ocean Depths by Bernie Chowdhury, though not as well written, gives further details about two of the divers who perished while exploring the U-boat wreck in October of 1992.

SH

Saturday

SATURDAY: Ian McEwan: Doubleday: fiction: 289 pages

Almost 150 years ago, Charles Dickens penned the line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” In our era, another of Britain’s great writers, Ian McEwan, depicts much the same sentiment through the ruminations of a modern Londoner, Henry Perowne, as we follow him through a single day.

In the “best of times” category, Henry is an accomplished neurosurgeon, who lives in a palatial London townhouse with a successful attorney wife whom he still adores after a quarter century of marriage. Their two children are thriving in artistic lives of their own; one as a blues musician, the other as a published poet. In addition, as Henry muses on this particular Saturday morning, the teapot has reached the “peak of refinement.”

In the “worst of times” category, Henry’s day begins with a plane crash (observed at a distance from his bedroom window) that taints the rest of his day with a post 9/11 sense of foreboding and anxiety. This sense is accentuated by the millions of protesters gathered in London that day to protest the impending Iraq war, a war that Henry uncomfortably approves of. The protest indirectly causes a minor traffic accident with a mentally unstable street thug that keeps Henry looking over his shoulder as he completes his errands around the city. A late afternoon visit to his senile mother reminds Henry of his own mortality and his frustrating ability to repair the brain but not the mind.

The best and worst of times converge later that evening, when Henry wrapped in the glow of a genial family reunion, relaxes into an aura of warm contentment. And then… the worst walks right through his front door.

This well written story moves along on a stream of thoughtful contemplations that reflect the complex and contradicting themes of the age we live in: war and peace, justice and forgiveness, religion and modern medicine, and still manages an optimistic note. For as Henry recognizes that fateful morning about his amazing teapot, “The world should take note: not everything is getting worse.”

LG

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands

THE PROPER CARE AND FEEDING OF HUSBANDS: Dr. Laura C. Schlessinger: Harper Collins: Nonfiction: 180 pages

Although the title of this book is enough to send some women running in the opposite direction, this is a must-read for all women in a relationship. Dr. Laura does not advise women to slave away at cooking, cleaning, and catering to his every whim; rather, she discusses the emotional needs of men.

The one point that most struck me is that a common expectation of some women is that men talk, react, and behave just as a girlfriend would.
Dr. Laura explains that today’s society has a unisex mentality, meaning that the belief is that men and women are so equal that they operate in the same way. She emphasizes throughout the book the simple fact that men and women are different, and points out how to embrace and work with those differences.

With the use of many enlightening examples throughout the book of
on-air conversations with men and mostly women, she is able to illustrate her main points. This is an eye-opening book with one really good and simple message: treat others as you would like to be treated.

EE

A Private Family Matter

A PRIVATE FAMILY MATTER: Victor Rivas Rivers: Atria Books: 2005: Biography, 364 pages.

This book reminded me of David Pelzer’s A Child Called It. It is a biography of the middle son of a Cuban family that immigrated to America in the 1950’s. The father in this tale was not just abusive but pathologically so; the horrors he committed were many, among them kicking his 8 1/2 month pregnant wife repeatedly in the stomach. His abuse nearly destroyed the entire family and reading about the horrors that he committed was painful. But, this book does have a very uplifting message. Victor details his struggle to gain his self-esteem and rise above the inner voice that continued to tell him he was worthless long after he was out of his father’s clutches. This is a very positive story that shows that it is possible to escape the cycle of abuse and rise above the terrible psychological scars that it leaves.

After leaving his father’s custody at the age of 15, Victor went on to play college football. From college he went on to Hollywood where he continues to have a successful career as an actor. He also volunteers his time as the national spokesperson for the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

DEF

Outwitting History

OUTWITTING HISTORY: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF A MAN WHO RESCUED A MILLION YIDDISH BOOKS: Aaron Lansky: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill: Nonfiction: 316 pages

The recent commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz has reminded us of the deaths of millions of people in the Holocaust. Few realize that the Holocaust also sounded the death knell for a culture and a language. Millions of Yiddish speaking people were executed or dislocated from their homelands. As a result, the following generation learned to speak the native languages of a multitude of adopted countries and Yiddish ceased to be spoken. In the 1970’s, just as Aaron Lansky began to be interested in Yiddish, he discovered that personal collections and entire libraries of Yiddish books were being taken to landfills. He began an urgent personal quest to save Yiddish books from destruction, and along with that, to rescue a lost culture.

Mr. Lansky is president and founder of the National Yiddish Book Center. His adventures in salvaging more than 1.5 million books are interesting and moving. This wonderful book is not just for bibliophiles, it’s a book for lovers of history and literature as well. While reading about midnight dumpster dives, we also learn about Yiddish history, Yiddish writers and intellectuals, meet elderly Jewish immigrants who saved priceless volumes in their own personal collections, and travel to communities of Eastern Europe to restore Yiddish volumes destroyed under Communist domination. The National Yiddish Book Center has translated many Yiddish works into English, reprinted important Yiddish books, and with the help of Steven Spielberg, has digitized their entire collection and made it available online. Mr. Lansky’s chutzpah (Yiddish for daring or nerve) can be experienced and celebrated through this book and by visiting www.yiddishbookcenter.org.

SH

Obsidian

OBSIDIAN: David J. Hawkes: Council Press: Fiction: 103 pages

Obsidian, a captivating tale of parallel lives, is the story of heartache and love, war and peace, richly woven between the past and the present. This is story of an Indian boy, a white man and an unforgettable journey through time.

I really enjoyed this simple tale about life. It is amazing to me how similar Bill and The Arrow Maker were, even though they lived decades apart. The text goes back and forth between the two men’s lives, but flows beautifully. This quick read will leave you feeling thankful for the beauty of nature and your family relationships!

AMM

Never Let Me Go

NEVER LET ME GO: Kazuo Ishiguro: Knopf: Fiction: 288 pages

This is a novel that slowly unfolds its secrets. Kathy and her two school friends, Ruth and Tommy, grew up at Hailsham, an idyllic, isolated school where the children are encouraged to create art and feel special. But there is a darker side to Hailsham. One that Kathy and the other school children sense, but feel they are unable able to discuss even with each other.
Now 31, Kathy re-develops lost friendships with classmates Ruth and Tommy. They begin to examine what clues they had as children that they were different from everyone outside. Like the Hailsham students, the reader is initially protected from the full truth, but ultimately we learn that Hailsham children are clones, raised to donate organs for “real” people.
Although Ishiguro’s novel can be viewed as a cautionary tale of science and the medical field outdistancing ethics, it is also a sensitive and emotional tale of the bonds of friendship, loyalty and the “human” capacity for forgiveness.

AJ

A Mystery of Errors

A MYSTERY OF ERRORS: Simon Hawke: Tor: Mystery: 240 pages

“There was nothing quite so invigorating to the senses, Smythe decided, as ending a long and dusty day by being robbed.” So begins the story of Symington “Tuck” Smythe. On the road to London to find work in the theater, Tuck is robbed so many times that the last highwayman flips him a coin so that Tuck can have dinner and a room in a nearby inn. The inn is full and Tuck must share a room with a stranger, who also hopes to find work with a company of players. Tuck and the stranger, William Shakespeare, finish their journey together, share a room, and find work (as ostlers) with the same acting company, the Queen’s Men. Besides learning to navigate the cutthroat world of Elizabethan theater, Will and Tuck put themselves at risk when they try to help a young woman whose father is pushing her into a marriage against her will. What becomes a confusion of identities almost results in Will’s murder as the two amateur detectives stumble in and out of danger.

This amusing novel will appeal most to Shakespeare buffs and fans of historical mysteries.
Although the story starts off a little slow as Hawke sets up his 16th century setting, the pace soon picks up as the action and intrigue of the plot develop. Hawke’s efforts to incorporate bits of Shakespeare lore into the story, even using the other characters to feed Shakespeare future lines, add a fun element. A Mystery of Errors is just the beginning of the adventures of Shakespeare and Smythe which continue in three additional books.

DW

My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere

MY KIND OF PLACE: TRAVEL STORIES FROM A WOMAN WHO’S BEEN EVERYWHERE: Susan Orlean: Random House: Nonfiction: 285 pages

This is not your normal travel book. Not many of us would pick Sunshine Market in Jackson Heights, Queens, or Portland Meadows Mobile Home Park on the fringes of Portland, Oregon as a travel destination but Susan Orlean does and that is what makes this book entertaining reading. Reminiscent of Charles Kuralt with a little more spice, Orlean’s witty writing drew me into places, people and experiences that I never even thought to wonder about before.

Whether Orlean is marveling at boxes of “Soft Touch Duck Degreaser” while attending the World Taxidermy Championships in Springfield, Illinois, or enjoying a Congolese ballad at Afric’ Music in Paris, the short self-contained chapters make this a great book for those of us who only have time to read (or travel) in 4 minute snatches.

MB