Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Novel
An engrossing look at the lives of ordinary Germans during World War II.
Submitted by Kathy Clute
Friday, December 14, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Fluke by Christopher Moore
Novel
This wonderful tale of a Hawaiian whale researcher has a witty twist. Nate Quinn cannot take in what he sees when identifying the whale he has been following all day. Through his camera lens he sees not the barnacles and scars usually found on the mammal's tail, but the words "bite me."
From then on his life takes irrational turns and it becomes questionable who is researching whom. For those who love Carl Hiaaasen or Tom Robbins.
Submitted by Linda
Novel
This wonderful tale of a Hawaiian whale researcher has a witty twist. Nate Quinn cannot take in what he sees when identifying the whale he has been following all day. Through his camera lens he sees not the barnacles and scars usually found on the mammal's tail, but the words "bite me."
From then on his life takes irrational turns and it becomes questionable who is researching whom. For those who love Carl Hiaaasen or Tom Robbins.
Submitted by Linda
Dough by Mort Zachter
Memoir
Dough, a story of bread and money, examines life's ironic twists as Mort attempts to solve the mystery surrounding the substantial brokerage accounts left behind by bachelor uncles Harry and Joe who ran a day old bread store on Manhattan's Lower East Side. If the money was honestly made, why was it such a big secret? Why did Harry and Joe live like paupers while sitting on millions? Mort explores greed and forgiveness as he struggles to integrate his life's dreams with his sudden windfall.
Submitted by Max
Memoir
Dough, a story of bread and money, examines life's ironic twists as Mort attempts to solve the mystery surrounding the substantial brokerage accounts left behind by bachelor uncles Harry and Joe who ran a day old bread store on Manhattan's Lower East Side. If the money was honestly made, why was it such a big secret? Why did Harry and Joe live like paupers while sitting on millions? Mort explores greed and forgiveness as he struggles to integrate his life's dreams with his sudden windfall.
Submitted by Max
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
History/Biography/Politics
An enormously (757 pages) worthwhile read. It felt like a privilege to read this well-researched study of the political genius of Abraham Lincoln made more obvious through fascinating side-trips into the lives of his cabinet members and their families. Goodwin seemed to have real insight into the personal motivations of Lincoln and what eventually made him such a great man for the ages.
Submitted by VGW
History/Biography/Politics
An enormously (757 pages) worthwhile read. It felt like a privilege to read this well-researched study of the political genius of Abraham Lincoln made more obvious through fascinating side-trips into the lives of his cabinet members and their families. Goodwin seemed to have real insight into the personal motivations of Lincoln and what eventually made him such a great man for the ages.
Submitted by VGW
Friday, November 2, 2007
Eat Cake; Step-Ball Change by Jeanne Ray
Fiction
If you are in need of a light and funny read, you can't go wrong with Jeanne Ray. The above two books center on a middle-aged mother dealing with an entertaining but not overly intense family crisis. The stories of course include the usual cast of interesting and sometimes oddball
family members. These were quick reads that held my attention and made me laugh. A good alternative to an evening of bad television programming.
Submitted by Deb
Fiction
If you are in need of a light and funny read, you can't go wrong with Jeanne Ray. The above two books center on a middle-aged mother dealing with an entertaining but not overly intense family crisis. The stories of course include the usual cast of interesting and sometimes oddball
family members. These were quick reads that held my attention and made me laugh. A good alternative to an evening of bad television programming.
Submitted by Deb
The Journey Home by Olafur Johann Olafsson
Fiction
This book is a well written and moving story about a woman in the latter years of her life returning to the home of her youth in Iceland, having been away since she was a young woman. The story of her life is primarily revealed in flashbacks as she writes in her journal during her travel from her home in England back to Iceland. It is a moving and sensitively told story that genuinely reflects the female mind and perspective. This is especially wonderful and surprising, given that is it written by a male author.
Submitted by Deb
Fiction
This book is a well written and moving story about a woman in the latter years of her life returning to the home of her youth in Iceland, having been away since she was a young woman. The story of her life is primarily revealed in flashbacks as she writes in her journal during her travel from her home in England back to Iceland. It is a moving and sensitively told story that genuinely reflects the female mind and perspective. This is especially wonderful and surprising, given that is it written by a male author.
Submitted by Deb
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
Non-Fiction
I stopped complaining about cold lake water after reading this rousing adventure of a champion ocean swimmer who swims across the Bering Strait, the Cape of Good Hope, and in Antarctica. Interesting insights into the emotional and physiological aspects of endurance.
Submitted by Ed
Non-Fiction
I stopped complaining about cold lake water after reading this rousing adventure of a champion ocean swimmer who swims across the Bering Strait, the Cape of Good Hope, and in Antarctica. Interesting insights into the emotional and physiological aspects of endurance.
Submitted by Ed
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Any mystery by Diana Mott Davidson
Mystery
This is a fun series of light mystery stories featuring caterer Goldie Schultz (her motto: Where everything is just right!), set high in the Colorado Rockies. Murder, tasty recipes and interesting characters make these books a quick, light read.
Submitted by Foodie
Mystery
This is a fun series of light mystery stories featuring caterer Goldie Schultz (her motto: Where everything is just right!), set high in the Colorado Rockies. Murder, tasty recipes and interesting characters make these books a quick, light read.
Submitted by Foodie
Monday, October 22, 2007
Minister's Daughter by July Hearn
Historical Fiction
Here's a great historical novel for those who loved The Witch of Blackbird Pond, or anything to do with the Salem Witch Trials, when they were young. The year is 1645 and the Puritans are warring with the Royalists in England. Hearn uses three young women in a small village to tell her story: Nell, apprentice to a local healer, and Grace and Patience, the two daughters of the new minister. Excellent book for teens and adults.
Submitted by Linda
Historical Fiction
Here's a great historical novel for those who loved The Witch of Blackbird Pond, or anything to do with the Salem Witch Trials, when they were young. The year is 1645 and the Puritans are warring with the Royalists in England. Hearn uses three young women in a small village to tell her story: Nell, apprentice to a local healer, and Grace and Patience, the two daughters of the new minister. Excellent book for teens and adults.
Submitted by Linda
Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison
Mystery
Skull Mantra is the first in Pattison's beautifully written series following Shan Tao Yun, a Chinese inspector of the Ministry of Economy in Beijing, exiled in a Tibetan prison. The description of the Tibetan culture, landscape, and the Buddhist monks who share his imprisonment by Chinese authorities make these books extraordinary. I would liken Pattison's writing to Amy Tan's Bonesetter's Daughter. Although I will never see Tibet, I've been there in part through his writing.
Submitted by Linda
Mystery
Skull Mantra is the first in Pattison's beautifully written series following Shan Tao Yun, a Chinese inspector of the Ministry of Economy in Beijing, exiled in a Tibetan prison. The description of the Tibetan culture, landscape, and the Buddhist monks who share his imprisonment by Chinese authorities make these books extraordinary. I would liken Pattison's writing to Amy Tan's Bonesetter's Daughter. Although I will never see Tibet, I've been there in part through his writing.
Submitted by Linda
Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
Mystery
I am not going to Laos, and this book is why; it's TOO HOT. That aside, go there vicariously with Dr. Siri Paiboun, age 72, the state coroner, in a somewhat surrealistic mystery taking place a year after the 1975 Communist takeover. Naturally there is a corpse or two, lots of bureaucratic red tape, and hidden secrets...all to be solved by Dr. Siri sitting on the river bank talking with his good friend over lunch. The series continues with Disco for the Departed and Thirty-Three Teeth.
Submitted by Linda
Mystery
I am not going to Laos, and this book is why; it's TOO HOT. That aside, go there vicariously with Dr. Siri Paiboun, age 72, the state coroner, in a somewhat surrealistic mystery taking place a year after the 1975 Communist takeover. Naturally there is a corpse or two, lots of bureaucratic red tape, and hidden secrets...all to be solved by Dr. Siri sitting on the river bank talking with his good friend over lunch. The series continues with Disco for the Departed and Thirty-Three Teeth.
Submitted by Linda
The Damascus Gate by Robert Stone
Novel
Follow Christopher Lucas, an American journalist, as he walks from his apartment high on a Jerusalem hill down through the crowds of Muslims, Jews, and Christians as the crowd awakes in the heart of this political hot spot. Holy sites, holy visionaries, holy wars, in a wonderfully written book. Lucas' story enlightened me about the particulars of the Middle East conflict. Stone covers Vietnam, Central America, and Hollywood in his previous novels.
Submitted by Linda
Novel
Follow Christopher Lucas, an American journalist, as he walks from his apartment high on a Jerusalem hill down through the crowds of Muslims, Jews, and Christians as the crowd awakes in the heart of this political hot spot. Holy sites, holy visionaries, holy wars, in a wonderfully written book. Lucas' story enlightened me about the particulars of the Middle East conflict. Stone covers Vietnam, Central America, and Hollywood in his previous novels.
Submitted by Linda
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Mystery
First in a series featuring a young female detective in post-World War I England. Once people discover this series, they seem to get hooked on it. I loved the strong character development, vivid historical setting, and compelling plot.
Submitted by Judith
Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson
History/Biography
Fascinating, well-researched look at the tense yet loving relationship between Louisa May and Bronson Alcott.
Submitted by Judith
Mystery
First in a series featuring a young female detective in post-World War I England. Once people discover this series, they seem to get hooked on it. I loved the strong character development, vivid historical setting, and compelling plot.
Submitted by Judith
Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson
History/Biography
Fascinating, well-researched look at the tense yet loving relationship between Louisa May and Bronson Alcott.
Submitted by Judith
Monday, October 1, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
George and Sam: Two Boys, One Family, and Autism by Charlotte Moore
Nonfiction
Charlotte Moore, a British journalist, has three sons. Two of them are autistic. The book examines the process of diagnosis, the repercussions of the boys' behavior on their family life, and the author's growing understanding of her role as reporter from the front lines. The different ways that autism impacts her two sons, and Moore's willingness to accept her sons on their own terms, lends deeper insight into this confounding disorder.
Submitted by Sharon
Nonfiction
Charlotte Moore, a British journalist, has three sons. Two of them are autistic. The book examines the process of diagnosis, the repercussions of the boys' behavior on their family life, and the author's growing understanding of her role as reporter from the front lines. The different ways that autism impacts her two sons, and Moore's willingness to accept her sons on their own terms, lends deeper insight into this confounding disorder.
Submitted by Sharon
Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
Novel
Although the subject matter of this novel (a child gone missing) is harrowing, in the author's hands the story is less horrifying than it is just gripping. The pace never slows, even as characters are well developed and relationships examined. The vagaries of memory and the mutability of perception are examined; but the suspense of the search never flags.
Submitted by Sharon
Novel
Although the subject matter of this novel (a child gone missing) is harrowing, in the author's hands the story is less horrifying than it is just gripping. The pace never slows, even as characters are well developed and relationships examined. The vagaries of memory and the mutability of perception are examined; but the suspense of the search never flags.
Submitted by Sharon
Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick
Biography
Thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley continues to be one of the most important figures in American popular culture. This is the definitive biography; it is a textured, layered examination of the man, and of a time in American life, that is unsurpassed in a sea of books about the singer. If the recent anniversary of his death prompts you to finally read a book about Elvis, this is the book to read.
Submitted by Sharon
Biography
Thirty years after his death, Elvis Presley continues to be one of the most important figures in American popular culture. This is the definitive biography; it is a textured, layered examination of the man, and of a time in American life, that is unsurpassed in a sea of books about the singer. If the recent anniversary of his death prompts you to finally read a book about Elvis, this is the book to read.
Submitted by Sharon
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
Memoir
Warsaw zookeepers Jan and Antonia Zabinski shelter the homeless of many species in a war story set during the German occupation. Antonia's unusual understanding of animal behavior enables her to keep peace in a household illegally sheltering a continually changing assortment of fugitives from the ruthless predators loose in the streets. She soothes the frightened and beguiles the savage while confessing her fears secretly to a diary on which the book is based.
Submitted by Max
Memoir
Warsaw zookeepers Jan and Antonia Zabinski shelter the homeless of many species in a war story set during the German occupation. Antonia's unusual understanding of animal behavior enables her to keep peace in a household illegally sheltering a continually changing assortment of fugitives from the ruthless predators loose in the streets. She soothes the frightened and beguiles the savage while confessing her fears secretly to a diary on which the book is based.
Submitted by Max
If You Lived Here: A Novel by Dana Sachs
Novel
This books is a fascinating read for anyone who has been touched by international adoption. While the story doesn't focus on adoption, it does become an important part of the story of Shelly, as she and her husband pursue adoption in Vietnam. The story involves a Vietnamese grocery store owner in Shelly's hometown and the friendship that the two women forge while each struggle with the painful aspects of their lives.
Submitted by Stacey C
Novel
This books is a fascinating read for anyone who has been touched by international adoption. While the story doesn't focus on adoption, it does become an important part of the story of Shelly, as she and her husband pursue adoption in Vietnam. The story involves a Vietnamese grocery store owner in Shelly's hometown and the friendship that the two women forge while each struggle with the painful aspects of their lives.
Submitted by Stacey C
Monday, September 24, 2007
Passions of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland
Novel
This is one of my favorite books-I always enjoy historical fiction and this account of Artemesia Gentileschi kept me entertained and reading to see how her story would end. Artemesia was a painter in Italy during the early 17th century, best known for her masterpiece Judith. Her story begins with a powerful courtoom drama and the book narrates her rise into a male-dominated world of artists. Her life was full of drama, struggle, joy and visionary thinking-something all women, no matter when they were born, can relate to.
Submitted by Stacey C.
Novel
This is one of my favorite books-I always enjoy historical fiction and this account of Artemesia Gentileschi kept me entertained and reading to see how her story would end. Artemesia was a painter in Italy during the early 17th century, best known for her masterpiece Judith. Her story begins with a powerful courtoom drama and the book narrates her rise into a male-dominated world of artists. Her life was full of drama, struggle, joy and visionary thinking-something all women, no matter when they were born, can relate to.
Submitted by Stacey C.
Foreign Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China by Rachel DeWoskin
Memoir
This is a memoir about a 21-year-old poetry major (Columbia Univ.) looking for adventure who headed to China in 1994 and became an overnight sensation as the American vixen of a Chinese nighttime TV series. The author wrote about her experience of cultural clashes in real life while performing a fictional version on screen.
A delightful and insightful read!
Submitted by Caroline
Memoir
This is a memoir about a 21-year-old poetry major (Columbia Univ.) looking for adventure who headed to China in 1994 and became an overnight sensation as the American vixen of a Chinese nighttime TV series. The author wrote about her experience of cultural clashes in real life while performing a fictional version on screen.
A delightful and insightful read!
Submitted by Caroline
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Fiction
A nursing home resident in his nineties recalls another time and place in which he ran away to join the circus. The time shifts contrast his very limited and protected life at the nursing home with his hair-raising experiences as a veterinarian in a traveling circus during the Great Depression.
Submitted by Max
Fiction
A nursing home resident in his nineties recalls another time and place in which he ran away to join the circus. The time shifts contrast his very limited and protected life at the nursing home with his hair-raising experiences as a veterinarian in a traveling circus during the Great Depression.
Submitted by Max
Friday, September 21, 2007
Peony in Love by Lisa See
Historical Fiction
See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, once again writes about the women of long-ago China. Peony, daughter of a wealthy man, is ready to be married. A chance encounter during a night of opera ignites her passions, and sets in motion a series of events that will ultimately betray her. Wonderful depictions of the life and mythology of the era.
Submitted by PJP
Historical Fiction
See, author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, once again writes about the women of long-ago China. Peony, daughter of a wealthy man, is ready to be married. A chance encounter during a night of opera ignites her passions, and sets in motion a series of events that will ultimately betray her. Wonderful depictions of the life and mythology of the era.
Submitted by PJP
See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America by Logan War
Nonfiction
A different slant on the "eating locally for a year" genre. Ward and his wife with their two-year old son leave high-powered jobs in New York City to live on a farm in the Shenandoah River Valley. Their plan is to live as if it is 1900. The book is by turns funny, informative, honest and always engaging as they survive drought, snakes, pests, stress and ultimately find community.
Submitted by Enid B.
Nonfiction
A different slant on the "eating locally for a year" genre. Ward and his wife with their two-year old son leave high-powered jobs in New York City to live on a farm in the Shenandoah River Valley. Their plan is to live as if it is 1900. The book is by turns funny, informative, honest and always engaging as they survive drought, snakes, pests, stress and ultimately find community.
Submitted by Enid B.
Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
Nonfiction
You don't have to be a dog lover to love this wonderful book about the author's life with Merle, a dog who found him on a canoe trip. It's fascinating, heart warming and you learn a lot about dogs, human nature and wildlife. I couldn't put it down.
Submitted by Enid B.
Nonfiction
You don't have to be a dog lover to love this wonderful book about the author's life with Merle, a dog who found him on a canoe trip. It's fascinating, heart warming and you learn a lot about dogs, human nature and wildlife. I couldn't put it down.
Submitted by Enid B.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
Historical Fiction
A mesmerizing first novel set in 16th Century Persia, this book tells the story of a young woman who is left destitute when her father dies suddenly. She and her mother are forced to move in with her uncle’s family, and are treated as servants until she enters into a contract for a “temporary” marriage. The setting of the story is full of lush descriptions of food, details about the Persian rug trade, and the limited choices women had in that society.
Submitted by PJP
Historical Fiction
A mesmerizing first novel set in 16th Century Persia, this book tells the story of a young woman who is left destitute when her father dies suddenly. She and her mother are forced to move in with her uncle’s family, and are treated as servants until she enters into a contract for a “temporary” marriage. The setting of the story is full of lush descriptions of food, details about the Persian rug trade, and the limited choices women had in that society.
Submitted by PJP
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
Memoir
A Yale historian recounts memories of his privileged boyhood in 1950s Havana and the upheaval of the Communist revolution and his eventual transport with his brother to Miami. It’s a deeply personal and vividly described story of boyhood events followed by the terrorizing sweeping away of everything he held dear. A gripping true story.
Submitted by Judith
Memoir
A Yale historian recounts memories of his privileged boyhood in 1950s Havana and the upheaval of the Communist revolution and his eventual transport with his brother to Miami. It’s a deeply personal and vividly described story of boyhood events followed by the terrorizing sweeping away of everything he held dear. A gripping true story.
Submitted by Judith
Hedwig and Berti by Frieda Arkin
Historical/Domestic Fiction
Saga of tall and commanding Hedwig and her diminutive husband Berti fleeing Nazi Germany to their cousin’s flat in London, and then to the U.S. They raise a tempestuous daughter who is a piano prodigy and pursue a variety of unusual jobs, with both light and dark moments. The quirky characters are described with humor and pathos. It’s an emotionally gripping story.
Submitted by Judith
Historical/Domestic Fiction
Saga of tall and commanding Hedwig and her diminutive husband Berti fleeing Nazi Germany to their cousin’s flat in London, and then to the U.S. They raise a tempestuous daughter who is a piano prodigy and pursue a variety of unusual jobs, with both light and dark moments. The quirky characters are described with humor and pathos. It’s an emotionally gripping story.
Submitted by Judith
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Mystery/Humor
Isabel Spellman comes from a long line of private investigators, but wants to get out of the family business. Her last case before leaving, however, is a long-standing dead end. This is a zany mystery story that’s at times laugh-out-loud funny.
Submitted by PJP
Mystery/Humor
Isabel Spellman comes from a long line of private investigators, but wants to get out of the family business. Her last case before leaving, however, is a long-standing dead end. This is a zany mystery story that’s at times laugh-out-loud funny.
Submitted by PJP
Tiger in the Attic: Memoirs of the Kindertransport and Growing Up English by Edith Milton
Memoir
The touching story of two sisters sent to England by their parents in Nazi Germany. I found their story compelling, as they adjusted to life in England and formed new relationships with those who cared for them. Interesting memoir and different take on World War II.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
Memoir
The touching story of two sisters sent to England by their parents in Nazi Germany. I found their story compelling, as they adjusted to life in England and formed new relationships with those who cared for them. Interesting memoir and different take on World War II.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven by Susan Shreve
Memoir
An appealing memoir by a good writer of her life at Warm Springs, GA, a polio treatment spa, when she was eleven years old. It came as a real surprise to me to discover what a positive experience Warm Springs was for polio patients. (President Franklin D. Roosevelt founded Warm Spring, went there for treatment, and that is where he died). But the book isn’t as much about polio as it is a fascinating picture of a time and place in our culture. It’s all combined with a story told by a delightful young girl, just beginning to grow up, of how she coped, the people she met, and the wonderful institution Warm Springs was.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
Memoir
An appealing memoir by a good writer of her life at Warm Springs, GA, a polio treatment spa, when she was eleven years old. It came as a real surprise to me to discover what a positive experience Warm Springs was for polio patients. (President Franklin D. Roosevelt founded Warm Spring, went there for treatment, and that is where he died). But the book isn’t as much about polio as it is a fascinating picture of a time and place in our culture. It’s all combined with a story told by a delightful young girl, just beginning to grow up, of how she coped, the people she met, and the wonderful institution Warm Springs was.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
On the Ridge Between Life and Death by David Roberts
Nonfiction
I have never understood the fascination of those who feel the compelling desire to climb the world's tallest mountains, but I have enjoyed reading the books they write. Some of these books were outstanding, such as Into Thin Air. On the Ridge Between Life and Death is somewhat different as it gives the reader more insight into why people climb mountains and what the experience means to climbers. It took this author many years to get to an age where he began to question this desire, and wondered if it was worth the risk to himself, his friends and his family. Fascinating people these mountain climbers, and often pretty good writers. Try this book; I think you’ll enjoy it.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
Nonfiction
I have never understood the fascination of those who feel the compelling desire to climb the world's tallest mountains, but I have enjoyed reading the books they write. Some of these books were outstanding, such as Into Thin Air. On the Ridge Between Life and Death is somewhat different as it gives the reader more insight into why people climb mountains and what the experience means to climbers. It took this author many years to get to an age where he began to question this desire, and wondered if it was worth the risk to himself, his friends and his family. Fascinating people these mountain climbers, and often pretty good writers. Try this book; I think you’ll enjoy it.
Submitted by Queen of the Hop
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