Endless Forest

Many years ago, my mother introduced me to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  I was instantly, and completely, hooked.  It had history, it had adventure, it had romance, it had characters who were compelling.  I loved it, and I continue to look forward to new books in this series.  The only problem is, Gabaldon only comes out with a new one every four to five years.  That's a long time to wait.

Not long after exhausting what was then the complete Outlander series, someone recommended I try Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness, a book about Elizabeth Middleton, a 29-year-old old maid from England, and her adjustment to life in the wilderness of western New York in 1792.  While it is missing the time travel aspects of Gabaldon's series, fans of Outlander will identify with Elizabeth's independence and determination, unusual for a woman of her day.  The Wilderness series is full of well-developed, interesting, and relatable characters, and provides a fascinating view of race relations at the cusp of the 18th century, as Elizabeth falls in love with a white man who lives with the Mohawks, and befriends Curiousity, a freed slave. 

The Endless Forest is scheduled for release in January 2010.  If you like the Outlander series, or if you've never tried either, but are just looking for a good historical fiction, check out Sara Donati's Wilderness  series.

Lobster, Anyone?

"So this is Christmas," John Lennon sang, "And what have you done?" Well, if you're like most people, you're running around like a headless chicken trying to have the Best. Holiday. Ever. Presents to buy, parties to host (or attend), and family to entertain, endure, or flat-out avoid--all of which can lead to massive amounts of alcohol consumption if you're not careful. In Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster, it's crunch time for Manny DeLeon, manager of a New Britain, Connecticut, Red Lobster, who's having to juggle the closing of his restaurant (complete with a transfer and demotion), a mutinous staff, and an impending blizzard, all just five days before Christmas on the restaurant's last night. Top that off with problems on the homefront involving a pregnant girlfriend who may not mean as much to him as a former lover and you've got a recipe for disaster. Or a handy excuse to drink. If you're expecting a sappy Christmas miracle in this story, look elsewhere. There are no angels from on high to set things right, no Hail Marys from the mountaintop. There's only Manny's own determination to see things through to the bitter end and to do right by the people who depend on him, even if they turn on him in the process. So to all the Manny's of the world, we salute you this Christmas. And to Stewart O'Nan, thank you for being such an awesome writer.

After 213 years, don't they deserve a rest?

Two hundred thirteen years ago, Jane Austen began writing a story about characters named Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.  Seventeen years later, the book Pride and Prejudice was printed and in the years following, Elizabeth and Darcy have had little chance to rest.  I had long heard about this book and recognized its hallowed status as the pinnacle of romance.  In fact, I had heard so much about it, I didn't read it until a few years ago, because I was afraid it couldn't possibly live up to the hype.  When I did read it, I was pleasantly surprised.  I can see why it remained so popular.  For a book written at the end of the 18th century, it remains incredibly relatable and accessible.

What I've only recently discovered is just how very, very many adaptations the love for this book has spawned.  On any given day in the library you can find stories of life after marriage for the Darcys, such as: Pemberley, or Pride and Prejudice Continued or Two Shall Become One: Mr and Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy: Pride and Prejudice Continues, or Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues.  You can read about the Bennet sisters with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet or Lydia Bennet's Story: The Continuing Adventures of Mrs. Darcy's Youngest Sister. You can read about the next generation of Darcys with An Unequal Marriage: Pride and Prejudice Twenty Years Later or Mr. Darcy's Daughters.  If you like imagining, "what if..." there's a series of books starting with The Last Man in the World that put forth counterfactuals of what would have happened to Darcy and Elizabeth under slightly altered circumstances.  Of course, there are the horror versions, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the lesser known Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, as well as modern re-tellings, including The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy: a Modern Pride and Prejudice, and Pemberley by the Sea: A Modern Love Story Pride and Prejudice Style, which not only is, itself, a modern recasting of the classic story, but also has the Darcy-esque main male character writing a book in which he and his paramour are a modern-day Darcy and Elizabeth.  Oh...and I almost forgot the series that casts the newlywed Darcys in a variety of mysteries they must solve, beginning with Pride and Prescience, or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged: A Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery. 

I've read a lot of re-interpretations of Pride and Prejudice.  I understand wanting to continue a story that you love, but really, none of them come close to the original.  For my taste, I'll take the real deal.  As for all the other versions, can't we just give Elizabeth and Darcy a rest? 

Bestselling Author Tami Hoag to Visit Library

If you love suspense author Tami Hoag, then mark this date on your calendar right now! January 8th, 2 PM at the Centerville Library. Tami is helping the library kick off our Great Books, Great Libraries bicentennial celebration and will be on hand for a reception, a brief talk and a book signing. With the help of Books and Co., we managed to snag Tami just in time for the debut of her new book Deeper Than the Dead - slated to debut on December 29, 2009!

If you aren't familiar with Tami Hoag, she has 13 consecutive Times bestsellers to her credit and is a critic and reader favorite. Check out some of her books at the library and then join us for her visit on January 8th!

Joe Haldeman Named Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America just announced that Joe Haldeman will be honored as the next Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010. The Grand Master represents SFWA’s highest accolade and recognizes excellence for a lifetime of contributions to the genres of science fiction and fantasy.

The author of 20 novels and five collections, Joe Haldeman remains one of the most popular science fiction writers working today. His landmark novel, The Forever War, won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975, and spawned two follow-up novels, Forever Peace and Forever Free. In total, his writings have garnered him five Nebulas, five Hugos and a host of other awards as well as numerous nominations. Other notable works include the novels Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works “Graves,” “Tricentennial” and “The Hemingway Hoax.” His latest book, Starbound, is scheduled for a January release.

Youth Movement

A few weeks ago I discussed the National Book Awards on this blog.  I would like to mention the 5 Under 35 awards that were announced prior to the National Book Awards. This highly anticipated event has been the kick-off for National Book Awards week, which was held last month. The National Book Foundation announces five authors under the age of 35 whose work shows talent and promise for the future of fiction.  This is the fourth year that the foundation has recognized five talented young authors. This year's honorees are:

Ceridwen Dovey for Blood Kin
C.E. Morgan for All the Living
Lydia Peelle for Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing
Karen Russell for St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
Josh Weil for The New Valley

Check out the 5 Under 35 site here for more information.  Have you read the work of a new author recently and would like to tell us about it? 

A perfect combination

Last week, a friend sent an email suggesting I read Serving Crazy with Curry by Amulya Malladi.  Choosing to ignore the possibilty that she simply saw the word "crazy" and thought of me, I trusted her and read the book.  The story of Devi, a 27-year-old Indian-American and her family was definitely worth a read.  It begins with Devi's attempted suicide, thwarted only by her mother's tendency to key into Devi's apartment unannounced.  What follows is a deconstruction of how the family dynamic affected Devi's decision to kill herself and, in fluid transitions between past and present, the construction of a new family dynamic between Devi, her parents, her sister and brother-and-law, and her grandmother.  In the process of her recovery Devi chooses to remain mute but expresses her feelings through cooking (when she's angry, her food is so spicy even her stoic father goes through several glasses of water during the meal).

As a foodie-wannabe, I love the combination of fiction and food, and particularly love the way characters often express and affect emotions through food.  Joanne Harris's Chocolat is a delicious examination of deprival and pleasure and, while not my favorite book ever, the mystical realism of Like Water for Chocolate is a great way of highlighting how food can be tremendously evocative of the feelings a chef wants to share.  There are food books like any of Ruth Reichl's (I especially love Garlic and Sapphires: the Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise) that focus on the way food can change our lives and our perceptions of our selves, and food books, like Mary Kay Andrews's Deep Dish, that are fun, funny, and use food as a tool to establish personal identity.  Lara Vapnyar's collection of short stories, Broccoli and Other Tales of Food And Love is a great example of how food unifies a people and identifies them as distinctly together, and Mei Ng's Eating Chinese Food Naked is one of many where food serves a tie between mothers and daughters.  There are many, many other wonderful books where food plays a pivotal role, but for some reason, I'm feeling a little peckish and need to go find a snack.  Care to share some of your favorites while I nosh?

The Big Payback

Admit it: we all love the big payback. You know, someone wrongs us, and said wrongdoer gets his comeuppance. And while we ourselves may not be the agent of vengeance, all that matters is that the dirtbag eventually gets what's coming to him and gets it good. But think about it. If you've ever been on the wrong end of an injustice (and most of us have), would you take matters into your own hands? And if so, how far would you go to right the wrong? Washington Post journalist Laura Blumenfeld bravely tackles these questions and many more in her book, Revenge: A Story of Hope. In Laura's case, when she was a student at Harvard College, her father was shot in the head by a member of a PLO death squad and left for dead. Luckily, the wound was only superficial and her father survived, but the scar it left on Laura haunted her for the next twelve years, culminating in her decision to find and confront the gunman. She also wanted to understand her own obsession with revenge and to find an answer to the question of why some people hit back and others don't. Beginning in Israel under the cover of an extended honeymoon in Jerusalem, Laura's quest led her to interview people all over the globe, some victims of violence, others perpetrators, and in between trips she tracked down and befriended the imprisoned PLO gunman's family in the West Bank in an effort to arrange a meeting with him. You've got to admit that this woman is brave beyond words--foolish, perhaps, but undeniably brave, and it was her love for her father that gave her such tremendous courage. So where exactly can hope be found in all of this, you wonder? And what did Laura do when she finally met her father's assailant face-to-face? Read the book. You won't be disappointed.  

When it's all said and done, revenge is serious business in some parts of the world. Some even consider it a sacred duty to be allowed, encouraged, and demanded. Make the wrong move, say the wrong thing, and you could be inviting a blood feud upon yourself and your family. So be careful, and if you should ever find yourself in Albania, you'd better be on your best behavior!

In the Queue

La’s Orchestra Saves the World
by Alexander McCall Smith
In the shadow of the war in Europe, Lavander has moved to a small town in Suffolk to escape memories of her shattered marriage. It’s there that she forms an amateur orchestra to entertain the locals, keep up morale, and soothe her broken heart.

Noah’s Compass
by Anne Tyler
Liam is concerned these days because he doesn’t remember what happened the first night in his new condominium, so he hires a “rememberer” to help him with his memory. His efforts take him to an unexpected detour in his life.

The Lady In the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn
by Alison Weir
The second wife of Henry VIII will never make the Best Wives list. She was vilified by history and her contemporaries. As if that’s not bad enough, committing adultery while you’re married to the king also gets you charged with treason!

The Ultimate Chicklit Collection

I have a list of web sites and blogs focused on books.  It is a list that I must keep hidden from myself, buried five folders deep in my inbox.  If I don't hide these book blogs, I can get sucked in and am lost to the world.  One of the websites that has the ability to wipe away five hours of time with one click of the mouse is The Chicklit Club. 

To celebrate the end of the decade, The Chicklit Club is compiling a list of the Ultimate 100 chicklit books that define the genre.  They're announcing the top 100 in December.  Bridget Jones's Diary will undoubtedly be at or near the top of the list, but I've been wondering what else will be on the list.  I imagine there will be something by Marian Keyes, an Irish writer known for her chick-lit sagas of family dysfunction.  If I were picking one of hers, I think I would go with Watermelon, one of her trio of books about the Dublin-based Walsh sisters.  The queen of chick lit, Jennifer Weiner, will probably also appear at least once on the list; I imagine both Good in Bed and In Her Shoes will be on there. 

Some of the others that I'd like to see on there include:

Jemima J : A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans by Jane Green
just about anything by Katie Fforde
Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne
and
Enchanted, Inc by  Shanna Swendson

What would your choices be?  You can still vote by emailing the Chicklit Club here.  I'm curious, too, so share your thoughts with a comment!