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New and upcoming books, author events, book groups and more!
July 3, 2008
  
An Adult Summer Reading Club member at the Liberty Branch gave a 5-star rating to Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen. Here’s the review:
“I loved this book. It was a very magical story about love, and edible flowers that changed the characters’ way of looking at life. It was a warm, easy read. It is a lot about two sisters who were not close, but the garden spells and love bring them back together. It was a wonderful book.”
Readers may also want to check out Allen’s current title, The Sugar Queen, which has similar themes and tone, and is an equally warm and easy read for summer.
July 2, 2008
Yesterday marked the kick-off of our first-ever adult summer reading club. After all, why should kids have all the fun?
Thanks to the Friends and a wide variety of generous local businesses and organizations, participants will get chances to win great gift baskets as well as the GRAND PRIZE of Red Sox-Yankee tickets!
Club details, as well as registration and review forms, are available on our website, as well as at all of our branches.
We’re off to a great start, and have already received a few comments like this one: “My friends and I were saying just the other day how much we missed the summer reading fun from when we were kids.” The fun is back!
June was an exceptionally busy month, so I got way behind in summarizing the new books discussed at the June book discussion groups. I’ll try to mix in a title or two of those, along with some of the reviews submitted for the reading club, over the next couple of weeks. We’ve already received our first club review, and it was an enthusiastic one:
National Treasure, by Ann Lloyd. 5 stars. “Awesome, intense, mind-blowing. Better than the movie, much better!”
Register for the club and share your own favorites!
Members of the Wednesday Book Group at Central and the First Thursday Book Group at Pine Point read and talked about many super books during June. Here are a couple of my picks for summer reading:
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by Edgar Wroblewski. Hamlet in Wisconsin with dogs? Don’t miss this unusual, wonderful tale of the mute Edgar, his psychic connection with the rare breed of dogs his family raises, and his exile in the forests of northern Wisconsin. It’s long but beautifully crafted.
Don’t Tell a Soul, by David Rosenfelt. This stand-alone thriller by the author of the Andy Carpenter series is the perfect summer page-turner. I’m not alone in my praise - the book got starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal. If you like riveting crime fiction, don’t miss this one!
May 30, 2008
Thirteen members - including one attending for the very first time - spent most of a glorious spring morning sharing opinions about an array of new (and some not-so-new) books. I introduced advance reading copies of three upcoming titles:
  
Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex. The author of Leonardo’s Swans returns to tell the story of the Elgin Marbles from the viewpoints of two strong, unconventional women who lived 2,000 years apart. In 1799, Mary Nisbet, a 21-year-old Scottish heiress marries Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin, who is soon appointed British Ambassador to Turkey. Although the Embassy is in Constantinople, it is Ottoman-controlled Athens that obsesses Lord Elgin. Specifically, he wants to remove from the Acropolis its marble statues, which are in danger of being turned into bricks or even crushed for ammunition lead, and ship them home. It is Mary who charms male-dominated Constantinople to get permission for her husband’s “rescue” work. In Pericles’ Athens, we meet Aspasia, philosopher’s pupil and highly intelligent courtesan of Pericles. While Pericles has the idea for creating a fitting monument to Athena Parthenos, it is Aspasia who devises the strategy to convince the good citizens of Athens to pay for the project. Enter sculptor Pheidias. The details of both the creation of the marbles and the disassembling and transporting of them make for fascinating reading, as does the convincing portrayal of the two historical women.
The Reapers, by John Connolly. Fans of Charlie “Bird” Parker might be disappointed to find that Parker is not the viewpoint character in Connolly’s tenth novel, but viewing him at a distance through the eyes of characters usually more peripheral gives an intriguing perspective. Besides, Connolly’s rich language and pulse-pounding plotting are very much in evidence. Parker’s sometime accomplices Louis and Angel are a miss-matched couple living in Queens. Louis has once been a “Reaper,” an elite killer recruited after he sought vengeance against the man who murdered his mother, although he has since turned towards more conventional businesses. But the past is never really past, and it soon becomes clear that a Reaper is hunting him down. Meanwhile, Louis takes one last job at the request of a reclusive billionaire who wants an old enemy snuffed, so Louis and the decidedly non-violent Angel find themselves in upstate New York facing what turns out to be a deadly set-up. When they don’t return, it’s left to their friends - including both Parker and the lovingly-depicted auto mechanic Willie Brew - to find out what’s happened to them. A stand-out.
Twenty Wishes,by Debbie Macomber. The fourth in Macomber’s “Blossom Street” series focuses on bookstore owner Ann Marie Roche. Suddenly widowed at 38 and never, she is sure, to have the child she desperately wants, she has fallen into a depression. On Valentine’s Day, she invites three other widows from one of her book groups to a party above the store. They talk about all of the things they should be doing, such as getting their finances in order, but one says that if she made a list, it wouldn’t be her “shoulds” but rather her wishes. Sadly, the first of Ann Marie’s twenty wishes is “to find one good thing about life,” but by becoming a “lunch buddy” to a shy little girl at a neighborhood school, she begins the process of re-engaging with life. As she and the others identify their wishes and life presents them with possibilities, every plot point is telegraphed from a thousand miles away, and the dialog is surprisingly clunky for such an established writer. Still, Macomber is tops at creating characters you really care about and story lines that draw you in. For a hopeful, warm, feel-good book, Macomber can’t be beat.
Members gave rave reviews about numerous titles, including: Unaccustomed Earth, the new book of luminous short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri (even those of us in the group who aren’t crazy about short stories love hers); Olive Kitteridge, the new book of linked stories by Amy and Isabelle author Elizabeth Strout; City of the Sun, a top-notch suspense novel by David Levien; and Ian McEwan’s “delicate,” “breathtakingly beautiful” Atonement. One reviewer loved Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain so much she plans to purchase it, while a big fan of British history praised Anne Easter Smith’s Daughter of York, which she said should be read before A Rose for the Crown.
Here are a couple of less-familiar books that reviewers singled out for top honors:
The God of War, by Marisa Silver. The reviewer found this a wonderful read that she thinks would be a great choice for book discussion groups. In the late 1970s, Ares, a teenage boy growing up poor near the Salton Sea in California, is consumed by guilt because the brother he dropped as an infant now has severe developmental problems. His brother had been born that way, but his single mother, both bohemian and self-righteous, never explained that to him. The family tragedy that unfolds once Ares hits adolescence is harrowing.
The Diary of Mary Berg:Growing up in the Warsaw Ghetto, by Mary Berg. The reviewer was captivated by then-teenage Berg’s depiction of life in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Most of the people close to her were slowly taken away; Berg herself survived by the skin of her teeth.
This is just a sampling of the many books presented and reviewed at the session - join us to hear them all! The next session is Wednesday, June11 at 10 am in the Central Library’s Community Room.
May 19, 2008
With 16 members in attendance at the Wednesday Book Group, including a few who had been away for the winter, the May 14 meeting was an especially lively one. I gave thumbs up to the three books that I introduced to the group:
  
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. By rights, I should have hated this book. The main human, Denny, is a race car driver (no interest in racing); the book is full of inspirational aphorisms based on racing (suspect on both counts); and, worst of all, the POV character is Denny’s dog (something almost guaranteed to make my teeth hurt). However, something drew me to this book, and once I started reading, I LOVED it! Lab-mix Enzo is one trip to the vet’s away from the end of his life, but he’s not worried - according to a National Geographic special he watched about Mongolian reincarnation beliefs, once a dog has learned all possible canine lessons, his next life will be as a human. Enzo’s confident that that will be his fate. Enzo certainly has learned lessons - about patience, love, loyalty, and the hearts of humans - which he ponders with both wisdom and humor. Even if you don’t enjoy either dogs or racing, this one has the potential to charm you completely, and perhaps shake up your thinking a little. I’ve already put “the car goes where the eyes go” (i.e., you’ll crash into that wall if you keep your attention focused on it) effectively to use.
Black Out, by Lisa Unger. After two suspense novels featuring New Yorker Ridley Jones, Unger switches to a Florida setting, but her protagonist, Annie Powers, has even more troubling identity issues than Ridley did. Born in New York poverty as beautiful but troubled Ophelia March, her life takes a turn when, at the age of 16, her mother moves them both to a trailer park in Florida to be closer to Frank, the man with whom she’s having a relationship. There’s just one problem - Frank’s a convicted rapist and murderer on death row. While her mother works tirelessly to have his (unjust, she’s sure) conviction overturned, Ophelia is captivated by Frank’s son, Marlowe, who’s even worse; for several years, she’s his lover, his captive, and unwilling or not, his accomplice. During a show-down that results in Marlowe’s death, Gray Powers, the co-owner of a private security firm, grabs her, stashes her in his car, fakes her death, and sets up a whole new identity for her. Annie has blacked out most of her time with Marlowe, and suffers from frequent panic attacks. Still, she marries Gray, moves to a lovely beach-front estate, and has an adorable daughter. One night when Gray was away on business, Annie is convinced she saw Marlowe, who’d always told her that he’d always come after her if she left him, on their property. Terrified and confused, Annie fakes her death a second time to escape and try to come terms with her identity and her past. The time shifts in the narrative can be confusing, and one portion of the story uses an awkward POV, but Annie’s dark psyche fuels a powerful, involving journey.
Outlander, by Gil Adamson. Canadian Adamson is also a poet, and her love of language is evident in this carefully-crafted debut novel. In 1903, 19-year-old Mary Boulton is scrambling through Alberta, on the run from red-headed twins with hounds who are out to run her down. Their problem? Mary is a “widow by her own hand,” and her late husband, John, is the twins’ younger brother. Why Mary used John’s hunting rifle to end his life is a mystery as the book starts, but events in the present and flashbacks to the past slowly paint the picture. An intriguing array of eccentric characters, some helping her, some hindering her, punctuate her struggle for survival. She even has a brief but intense affair with an historical figure, legendary mountain man William Moreland. Eventually, she finds her way to the small mining town of Frank, Alberta, which is the scene for an actual dramatic event. Mary is a strong, complex character, and the whole time and place are brought to life with a sure hand. This one’s a keeper.
Members then shared their thoughts on over thirty additional titles. A few just didn’t cut it. For instance, the reviewer didn’t like Diane Wei Liang’s mystery, Eye of Jade, at all, except for the description of contemporary Beijing, which was sufficient to interest another well-traveled reader to give it a try, and Eleanor Clift’s memoir Two Weeks of Life was deemed not consistently compelling. Overall, though, most had found satisfying reads.
Probably the most enthusiastic 5-star review was for Mark Gimenez’s The Abduction, a particularly well-crafted and involving suspense novel centering around the kidnapping of a spunky young girl. Readers looking for a new suspense writer may want to begin with his amazing The Color of Law, which IMHO is even edgier and more powerful. The reviewer of Debra Dean’s The Madonnas of Leningrad called it “phenomenal” - this story about a woman’s experience in the Hermitage during WWII is certainly impossible to forget.
The reader who reviewed Manda Scott’s The Crystal Skull said she hadn’t really expected to like this apocalyptic thriller, but she thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s certainly the perfect lead-up to the new Indiana Jones film. Those interested in the mysterious 13 crystal skulls that supposedly have the potential to avert catastrophe on December 21, 2012 will find this fascinating. Curious readers and would-be readers might also want to check the SCI FI Channel’s listings to catch their two-hour special on the crystal skulls.
Two of our snow birds rejoined the group and shared their winter-long reading and viewing about the Tudors; Philippa Gregory was just the tip of the iceberg. There were numerous other favorable reviews. If you’d like to hear about new books and authors in a very congenial, lively atmosphere, I heartily invite you to join the group at its May 28 meeting. I’ve already heard from one person who plans to join us then for the first time, so you wouldn’t even be the only newbie!
May 5, 2008
My mother and I went to a great book event at Bay Path College yesterday and heard local authors Elinor Lipman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Linda Cardillo, and Deborah Noyes. I really love Elinor Lipman’s work (her novel The Inn at Lake Devine is one of my all time favorites) and enjoyed hearing her read from a forthcoming novel. It also reminded me to pick up the one book of hers that I have not read, The Dearly Departed. I was was also intrigued by Linda Cardillo’s reading from her book Dancing on Sunday Afternoons. My mother and I both plan on reading it and I’ll be sure to share both of our impressions! We also heard interesting readings from Sundays in America: A Yearlong Road Trip in Search of Christian Faith by Suzanne Strempek Shea and Angel and Apostle by Deborah Noyes.
May 2, 2008
Celine commented on my last post and asked whether Iris Johansen has any new books coming out. Actually, Johansen is incredibly prolific right now. In April, she published Quicksand - in our network, there are still around 50 people on the waiting list, although there are LOTS of copies, so the wait shouldn’t be too bad.
In July, she’s coming out with a new thriller, Silent Thunder, which she wrote with her son Roy. Reviews on that look super - it seems that having her son writing with her has resulted in a particularly muscular book. In December, she has still another title, Treasure, due out, although there’s not much information on that one yet.
I wanted to take this opportunity to explain a bit about our book ordering. If you follow the Silent Thunder link above, you’ll see that Springfield does not have the book on order. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, and after that, there is a period of a couple of weeks in which we can’t receive and pay for any new library materials as the city’s accounting system closes out the old year and opens the new one. Thus, the blockbusters to be published in early July can’t be ordered until purchasing resumes - as soon as we get the green light, we’ll be ordering all of the early summer hits. Meanwhile, in most cases, other libraries with different purchasing practices will still be ordering, so you should be able to place your holds on upcoming titles by your favorite authors before we order them. By the end of July, multiple Springfield copies of all of the summer blockbusters will be on the shelves and available to fill holds. Stay tuned to hear all about an upcoming online service that will deliver lists of new titles right to your e-mail!
April 23, 2008
To kick off the April 23 book group, I reviewed three very different titles, each excellent in its own way.
  
The Story of Forgetting, by Stefan Merrill Block. This amazing debut by upcoming young (24-year-old) author Block perceptively explores the impact of Alzheimer’s Disease, a “full reversal of life,” on individuals and families. Block’s grandmother, who suffered from a genetic form of early-onset Alzheimer’s, lived with them as he was growing up, so he has witnessed the ravages of the disease up close. Still, this story of forgetting and loss manages to be upbeat as well in its depiction of our ability to create meaning despite the forgetting. The path of a hunchbacked 68-year-old Dallas-area hermit eventually crosses that of a gifted, scientifically-inclined teenager from the Austin suburbs as the latter seeks to discover the history of the family of his mother, who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Both have grown up hearing tales about the mythical land of Isidora, where the inhabitants have no memory, and are thus perpetually happy. Very affecting.
Note: NPR journalist Scott Simon interviewed Block recently on Weekend Edition (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89785584).
The Crystal Skull, by Manda Scott. This Shropshire author has written both Edgar-nominated suspense and Celtic history/fantasy. This one is an apocalyptic thriller centered around the Mayan prophecy that the end of the present era will take place on December 21, 2012. This catastrophe can only be averted - or humanity given the strength to transcend it - if the 13 crystal skulls that the Mayans crafted thousands of years ago are all placed in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Only then, the energy from the skulls will unleash the sacred beast, a dragon of mythic proportions, who will have the power to save humanity. In the mid-sixteenth century, we meet Cedric Owen, an English scholar and physician whose family has been keeper of a sapphire skull - the heart-stone - for generations untold. Owen voyages to New Spain to learn what he needs to know in order to determine where and when the skull should be placed in the future, as well as where to hide it in the present, and how to code the information of where it is hidden so that those who would seek to destroy it or use it for their own power-hungry ends will be stopped, but the rightful keeper can find it when the time comes. In the present day, Cambridge astrophysicist Stella Cody and her husband Kit O’Connor, who is obsessed with the skulls and has been deciphering Owen’s many volumes of journals, find the skull while on a caving honeymoon. They are being followed, though, and disaster ensues. Will Kit live? Will Stella be able to de-code the journals to figure out what she needs to do to save the world while evading those who are on her trail? A ripping good yarn, even if the plausibility factor is rather low.
Skeletons at the Feast, by Chris Bohjalian. This author’s 12th novel is a harrowing WWII love story, based on a diary written by a friend’s grandmother. In January of 1945, it is becoming clear to all that the war is going badly for the Germans. The Emmerichs, a family of Prussian aristocractic landowners, are forced to leave their sugar beet farm as the Russians invade from the east. The father and the two older sons head east to try to hold back the Russians, while the mother, their lovely 18-year-old daughter Anna and sweet 10-year-old son Theo join the thousands of refugees heading west, over the Vistula, past Berlin, and ultimately aiming for the Allied lines. With them is a young Scottish POW, Callum Finella, who had been serving as forced labor on their farm. He is with them to offer protection on the journey and safety when they reach the Allied lines. Anna is especially pleased that Callum is going with them, since they have been lovers for months. Their little group is soon joined by Wahrmacht corporal Manfred. Callum is suspicious at how casual Manfred seems about locating and re-joining his company. There’s a very good reason. In reality, “Manfred” is Uri Singer, a young Jew who has escaped from an Auschwitz-bound train, and has survived by killing German soldiers and assuming their identities. Uri is the stronger man, and soon becomes their real protector. Possibly, he might supplant Callum as Anna’s lover. What will Uri do to survive, though? Might he ultimately betray the Emmerichs, who had been solid Hitler supporters? As they travel, the Emmerichs see and hear things that make them realize that the vague rumors they had heard about Nazi atrocities just might have a basis in reality. Intercut with this journey is another - the death march of a group of Jewish women, sent from their concentration camp as the Russian approach. They look on the Russians not as sub-human monsters but as their possible saviors. Hard to read at times, but an important glimpse of an aspect of the Holocaust.
Following this opener, the eleven members in attendance reviewed and commented on over thirty different books. There were a few books that reviewers didn’t like at all, such as Alice Sebold’s The Almost Moon and David Baldacci’s The Camel Club, but reviewers were positive, in varying degrees, about most of the books they described. Here’s just a sampling of the day’s enthusiastically-reviewed books, with at least one good possibility for every reading taste:
Whistling Season, by Ivan Doig. A Montana widower hires a whistling housekeeper to help with work on his homestead in the early 1900s, and her well-educated brother takes over as teacher in the area’s one-room schoolhouse. The author, who clearly loves Montana, does a wonderful job at presenting the history of the west as it is and as it was.
Crow Lake, by Mary Lawson. In this debut novel, four children in rural northern Ontario try to keep their family together after their parents are killed in a terrible accident. Excellent!
A Pale Horse, by Charles Todd. In the 1920s, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge heads to a Yorkshire village to investigate the death of an unidentified man, whose body was found wearing a hooded cloak and a respirator. The boys who were at the abbey ruins the night the man was murdered are afraid to speak, since they’re convinced that their incantations raised the devil himself. A great entry in a great series!
This Republic of Suffering, by Drew Gilpin Faust. This history by the first woman president of Harvard explores the immense impact and cost of the American Civil War, and how the country changed as a result, from battle tactics to medical advances. Fascinating.
Staggerford, by John Hassler. Explores life in a small Minnesota town in the late 1950s-early 1960s from the point of view of a teacher in town. The characters are beautifully described. It’s both funny and sad - like Garrison Keillor with more depth.
The Romanov Prophecy, by Steve Berry. This straightforward novel of suspense is based an intriguing idea with a twist of history. The Russian people vote to bring back the Tsar, and interesting things start to happen while one of the candidates is being investigated. Very exciting, with good, solid writing, this one would make a great movie!
Lady MacBeth, by Susan Fraser King. The reviewer really liked this portrayal of Lady MacBeth, based on the few remaining records of the times, and said that it will forever change her picture of Macbeth and his wife.
The Keep, by Jennifer Egan. ”Weird!” began the reviewer, who proceeded to describe how she couldn’t put it down once she got started. In this unusual novel of psychological suspense, a boy does a terrible thing to his cousin at a picnic - he pushes the cousin into water in a cave, then pretends he has no idea what happened. Decades later, the cousin, now living in a medieval castle in Eastern Europe, plans his revenge.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. In this autobiography, a former child soldier in Sierre Leone, now a human rights activist, describes the horrors of civil war. The book is gruesome in parts, but the author is amazingly articulate. The reviewer heard the author speak, and worries how he, who is now 28, will be holding up by the time he reaches middle age, with all the memories that haunt him.
April 11, 2008
On April 9, the Wednesday Book Group welcomed the second new member in the past two months. If you think this group might interest you, please give it a try - you won’t be the only newbie! If you like the format but aren’t free on Wednesday mornings, try the First Thursday Group at our Pine Point Branch, which meets on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm.
I previewed four very different titles, all of which are well worth a look.
   
The Calling, by Inger Ash Wolfe. This original and compelling crime novel was written pseudonymously by a “prominent North American literary novelist,” a description which has sparked much speculation. In the small town of Port Dundas, Ontario, 61-year-old Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef is dealing with a divorce after 36 years of marriage, a spunky live-in mother, severe back pain, recovery from alcoholism, staffing shortages, and a lack of respect from her boss in another town. When a religiously inclined serial killer comes to town, keeping one of his appointments with his terminally ill victims, Hazel uses unconventional - some would say unprofessional - methods to crack the case. This one is completely involving from start to finish. Whoever the author is, I hope he or she brings Hazel back for another case soon.
The Cure for Modern Life, by Lisa Tucker. Philadelphian Matthew Connelly has risen to top management at a big pharmaceutical company, largely because he brought top-selling pain medication Galvenar to market, and is reaping substantial financial benefits. Emotionally, though, he is much poorer. He has just completed some successful matchmaking between his best friend and his former girlfriend, Amelia, although his motives are less than pure; Amelia, an idealistic bioethicist who left him because he wouldn’t give up his lucrative position with “Big Pharma” (inevitably evil and greedy, in her view), has concerns about Galvenar’s side effects and its potential for addiction, and is poised to cause major trouble for Matthew and his company. Matthew hopes to soften Amelia by playing cupid. Meanwhile, a clever 10-year-old homeless boy and his toddler sister take up residence in Matthew’s fancy apartment while their mother is sent off to rehab. As fast-paced as a thriller, this intriguing relationship novel explores, often with both humor and insight, some of the moral issues of our time.
The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton. 14-year-old Grace is sent to be a housemaid at Riverton Manor in Oxfordshire in the years before the Great War. Caught up in the lives of Frederick Hartford’s three children, Grace is also witness to the death of emerging WWI poet Robbie Hunter at a soiree on the estate in the summer of 1924. When a director working on a film about Hunter approaches the now-elderly Grace, she recollects everything about those crucial years. Australian Morton’s debut is an atmospheric historical with generous dollops of mystery and romance.
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri. The author of The Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake returns with a second collection of stories. Eight longish stories explore the intricacies of family life and the immigrant experience. I confess I only had time to read the title story, but found that it contained more insights and sensitive turns of phrase than most full-length novels. Splendid!
The thirteen attendees reviewed over 30 titles, with ratings ranging from a “I guess quirky is just not my thing” (N. M. Kelby’s Whale Season) to “5 1/2*, I loved it even though it was a 6-hankie book” (Jean-Dominque Bauby’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly).
A reviewer who had been away for the winter seconded the previous enthusiastic review for Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick, in which a beautiful serial killer insinuates herself into the life and mind of the detective who caught her (or whom she caught?) - from her prison cell.
Maisie Dobbs fans will want to check out An Incomplete Revenge, by Jacqueline Winspear. The reviewer declared that this fifth mystery in the series, in which Maisie explores a series of fires in a village in Kent, is the best one so far. Another series favorite is Peter Robinson’s Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, most recently featured in Friend of the Devil. A reviewer was struck by how realistic the book was, not just the description of the crime and its solution, but the psychologically astute and realistic portrayal of both Banks and his one-time partner (and lover) Annie Cabbot.
Thriller fans who have not yet discovered Mark Gimenez might want to check out his second, The Abduction, a page-turner about the kidnapping of a young girl which the reviewer absolutely loved.
Another reviewer found Mary Doria Russell’s Dreamers of the Day latest, about a 40-year-old Ohio schoolteacher who gets caught up in the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference when she takes the trip of a lifetime to Egypt, “fabulous.” Other attendees enthusiastically recommended all of Russell’s previous novels as well.
Close to a dozen other books, from authors ranging from Gail Tsukiyama to Peter Carey, garnered 4-5* ratings. Join us to hear about them all, and share your own opinions!
March 28, 2008
Join us at the Sixteen Acres branch at 1187 Parker St. on Saturday, March 29, at 1 pm for the final event in our Massachusetts Book Award author series. Dawn Clifton Tripp, author of the 2006 Fiction Award winner, The Season of Open Water, will be speaking and signing. While her atmospheric novel is set in the small Massachusetts coastal town of Westport in the late 1920s, she has strong ties to Springfield. Her mother was born and raised here, and her grandfather was formerly headmaster of the MacDuffie School. Come and welcome her back to Springfield at this literary event, generously sponsored by the Friends of the Springfield Library.
March 27, 2008
The March 26 meeting of the Central Library’s Wednesday Book Group was an especially lively one. The thirteen attendees and I reviewed over forty books from every genre, and heard a few intriguing side stories in the bargain. Chief among the latter was a discussion of the independent film, Paranoid Park, directed by Gus Van Sant. This film about a teen who accidentally causes a death in a Portland skateboard park has been garnering both rave reviews and awards - many say it is Van Sant’s finest work. Check it out if you get the chance, although it’s not currently playing widely. The connection to Book Group is that one of our members is related to the author of the young adult novel upon which the film is based.
Among the three books I featured, there are two very good reads and one “can’t miss” title:
  
1. Mary Doria Russell’s Dreamers of the Day. Don’t miss this one! Like Russell’s haunting A Thread of Grace (another book not to be missed), this is a historical novel, although unlike that title, this one is told entirely in one spirited woman’s distinctive voice. Plain spinster schoolteacher Agnes Shanklin takes the trip of a lifetime in 1921, arriving in Cairo at the time of the Cairo Peace Conference that shaped the modern Middle East. Based on a connection with T.E. Lawrence, Agnes is drawn into the inner workings of that conference, and is drawn into romance with a German Jew who might well be a spy. Russell captures the time and place perfectly. As Agnes says: “My little story has become your history. You won’t understand your times until you understand mine.” Wonderful!
2. Mameve Medwed’s Men and Their Mothers. This upcoming title by the author of the award-winning How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life is equally warm and witty. Anyone who has had issues with a mother-in-law - or a daughter-in-law -will warm to the adventures of plucky and likeable Cambridge divorcee Maisy Grey Pollock. If you enjoy Elinor Lipman, try Mameve Medwed.
3. David Levien’s City of the Sun. This screenwriter’s debut suspense novel has a few implausibilities and predictable twists, but the fast pace and particularly the well-fleshed-out characters more than compensate. An Indianapolis couple is torn apart when their 12-year-old son disappears while on his paper route. The police are sympathetic but not aggressive about the case, so over a year after their son’s disappearance, they hire ex-cop Frank Behr, a loner with demons of his own, to work the case. Fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole will want to make the acquaintance of Frank Behr.
Members gave “five-star” ratings to too many books to list here. Remember, this group is a fantastic way to get exposed to lots of super books, new and old, fiction and nonfiction - new members are always welcome! The most enthiasistic praise went to:
John Elder Robison’s Look Me in The Eye, his memoir about his struggle with Asperger’s. The reviewer just loved this book, and said she learned a lot about what it’s like to go through life with Asperger’s.
John Hart’s Down River. The reviewer loved this story of murder in a small North Carolina town amid complicated personal relationships, and thought she might even want to read it again.
Chelsea Cain’s Heartsick. The reviewer enjoyed this graphic, fast-paced thriller so much, she was delighted to learn that there will be two more in the series! I’ve had a couple of library customers asking about this title as well, so word of mouth seems to be working for this one.
The best non-glowing review comment was about Debbie Macomber’s 16 Lighthouse Road, which the reviewer said was “like reading Days of Our Lives. The end never stops.” Many who enjoy every-changing relationships among a large cast of characters have enjoyed this series very much, though.
And finally, an avid reader re-read Charles Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities (numerous editions available) for another book group, found it a completely different book than she remembered from her youth, and said it is “wasted on high schoolers.” Another group member said that this was the first “serious” book that had made a lasting impression on her when she was in high school. In any case, if you haven’t read this book in decades, it’s worth another look.
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