A car wreck, a cardiac arrest, and an unintentional spate of good books about death

If my husband was inclined to browse through my book selection recently, he might have been a little worried.  It's not that he would have cause to, it's just that I've read several books in the past couple of weeks that involved 30-something women and the unexpected death of their husbands.  It was unintentional, but I can see how that pattern might be a bit disconcerting. 

The first one I stumbled across was Emily and Einstein.  Emily didn't realize her husband, Sandy, was on his way to tell her he wanted a divorce when he was killed by a car.  Sandy wasn't ready to die and is given a chance to make things right by staying on as a stray dog named Einstein.  Alternating chapters between Emily's and Einstein's perspectives, the book gives Sandy a chance to become a good man as a dog to make up for the dog he was as a man.  Susan Isaac's new book, As Husbands Go, like Emily and Einstein, also addresses the grief and confusion felt by new widows. 

Shortly after that, I moved on to Sara Pekkanen's new title, Skipping a Beat, which begins with, "When my husband, Michael, died for the first time..." so I knew pretty quickly that it would join my collection of dead-husband books.  Pekkanen explores the relationship between Julia and Michael, who were also near divorce, after his resuscitation from a 4 1/2 minute long cardiac arrest.  

For some older titles, P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern and Good Grief by Lolly Winston are also great reads on this subject.  For now, I'm off to go find some books that won't cause my husband to worry about my intentions. 

Worrywarts of the World Unite!

If you like to laugh and enjoy self-help books, this is a great book for you! The Worrywart's Prayer Book : 40 Help-Me-Get-A-Grip, God Meditations and Prayers by Allia Zobel-Nolan is the answer to my prayers.  I admit it, I am a worrywart.  I am not proud of it, but I stand up for my right to worry about where my child is. What did his cryptic phone message mean? He called and said, "I need to tell you about what happened this morning."  Does it mean he was in a car accident? Did he leave the faucet running at home? Did he just forget his homework? I can't call him, because he is at school, but what if he needs me? I am sure I drive my husband crazy.  I know I ought to relax, but what if? I tell myself, relax, but it is not as easy as it sounds.This is where Allia Zobel-Nolan enters in with her wonderful and lighthearted book for all worrywarts. 


The author is a reformed worrywart and understands what causes most people to fret.  She points it out with a gentle touch and provides inspiration to help the worrier in all of us overcome our angst.  A truly enjoyable novel that will inspire you, relax you and just make you smile. 

Ohioana Finalists Announced

Last year, I wrote a post about the finalists for the Ohioana Book Awards.  It's that time again!  The finalists were recently announced.  These awards recognize outstanding works by Ohio authors and are sponsored by the Ohioana Library Association.  Prizes are given for the following categories; Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's Books, and Poetry.

Here are the Fiction finalists and several books by each:

Lisa Black- Trail of Blood, Evidence of Murder
Carla Buckley- The Things that Keep Us Here
Michael Cunningham- By Nightfall, Specimen Days
Anthony Doerr- The Shell Collector, Memory Wall
James King- Bill Warrington's Last Chance
Ann Weisgarber- The Personal History of Rachel Dupree

Visit this site for more information on the Ohioana Book Awards and the other categories.

In the Queue

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

When Marina’s office colleague, sent to the Amazon to check on the work of a field team, is reported dead, her company asks her to go retrieve the body. What she finds there shakes her to the core.

Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell

Russell writes about the early life of Doc Holliday and his girlfriend Kate. One memorable summer in the two lovers’ lives is ripe with possibility and hope.

The Central Park Five by Sarah Burns

This is the full story of the five teens charged in the Central Park Jogger case: the racial implications, the vacating of the charges against them, and the DNA evidence that cleared their names.

Loved Ones: Stories that Warm the Heart

I wanted to read Heaven is For Real, as soon as I heard about it a few weeks ago.  It's a true story of 3 year old Colton who during surgery actually visits heaven.  It is his story told by his father, Todd Burpo.  The story begins with what led to surgery and his family's faith and frustration with God.  Colton's story is revealed to his parents over a few years time.  In the nature of preschoolers-their descriptions don't always fit within our realm of understanding.  Their lack of verbal knowledge diminishes our comprehension of what they are saying. Consequently, it takes a year or so before Colton's family begins to piece together what their son experienced during his surgery.  This is a wonderfully written inspiring and touching story,which will make you long to see heaven for yourself. 

Although looking through the eyes of a three year old boy--definitely adds an interesting dimension. As a parent it would be hard to get across the concept that crossing a busy street is dangerous to a child who has been to heaven.  When the author reprimands his 4 year old son and tells him he can get killed running into a busy street. He does not expect his son to be happy, but his son is thrilled. Colton is excited because he realizes he can return to heaven if he dies. What on earth does a parent say to that?  Well fortunately Todd had the answer. He simply tells Colton, that he (Todd), gets to go to heaven next.  After all he is older and Colton already went to heaven once.  This is a truly wonderful story that will make you think and dream of what is to come. 
Here are a few other heart-warming stories from our Great Books Great Libraries Reading List, that you may enjoy as well. These stories are of love, loss and moving on as best you can. They show that change can be wonderful.

My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Follow the Stars Home by Luanne Rice

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

This man is a survivor. Are you?

Imagine you're a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. On a rescue mission, your plane goes down over the Pacific Ocean, and only you and two others survive the crash. The search plane sent after you doesn't see you, dashing any hopes of a quick rescue. Surrounded on all sides by water, sharks, starvation, and dehydration, you drift for over forty-seven days before spotting land. Finally, you think, grateful that your ordeal is over, but luck is not with you, for it's the Japanese who come to your rescue. You're a POW now. Next stop: Execution Island. Still with me? Good, because this is exactly what happened to Olympic runner Louie Zamperini during World War II, and how he survived this hellish experience is a tale that is nothing short of amazing, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand in Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. Without question, Unbroken is the best book I have read this year, hands down. It traces Louie's life from his raucous childhood to his career as one of the country's best track athletes, his enlistment in the Army Air Corps and the life-changing events that followed. If you've never met a hero before, you will in Unbroken. And if you've never stopped to count your blessings, this book may inspire you to do just that.

Mommy Lit -- When Chick Lit Grows Up

After a recent post about celebrating International Chick Lit Month, a reader asked if we could include a list on Mommy Lit.  This gave me the chance to not only write more about chick lit (hurray!) but also the chance to write more about the type of chick lit that tends to be nearest and dearest to me (hurray again!).  Chick lit started out with a focus on young singletons like Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood.  While the singletons remain a strong force in chick lit, there are a lot of chick lit authors and characters who have grown up and are now focused on motherhood.  Even the Becky Bloomwood, the Shopaholic herself, has transitioned into Mommy Lit and Bridget Jones, who has so far been the mother only of chick lit, is poised to publish a baby-centric book.

There are some really great Mommy Lit titles out there.  I think Jennifer Weiner's Little Earthquakes is probably the best book about the transition into motherhood.  I regularly recommend it to new moms.  Of course, if you've read Goodnight, Moon, you might also appreciate her book Goodnight, Nobody, about a mother of three living amidst mysteries in suburbia.  Allison Pearson's classic Mommy Lit title, I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother is set to be released on the big screen this summer. 

If you're looking for some other Mommy Lit titles, check out some of these:

Does She or Doesn't She?                                          
The Mommy Fund
Babes in Captivity                                                      
Hanging By a Thread
The Ivy Chronicles                                                    
Making it Up as I Go Along
Odd Mom Out                                                           
Amanda Bright @ Home
Babyville                                                                   
Crossing the Line
Momzillas                                                                  
The Bad Mothers' Handbook

If this just whets your appetite for more Mommy Lit (or if you've read these and are looking for others), don't forget that you can submit a request for a personalized reading list.  Tell us what you want to read (and what you don't) and we'll get a list of about 10 books back to you within a week.

Celebrate International Chick Lit Month

The weather certainly hasn't been cooperating, so if you need another way to jump-start the summer, how about a few great summer reads?  I, for one, have been celebrating the first International Chick Lit Month with a lot of new chick lit books. 

Over the weekend, I caught up on a couple of new releases I'd been waiting for: Kristin Gore's latest, Sweet Jiminy and Erin McKean's debut novel, The Secret Lives of Dresses.  Both have main characters who face difficult situations that force them to grow up and realize their own strength.  In Sweet Jiminy, Gore deals with a heavier subject than her first two novels (Sammy's Hill and Sammy's House).  When Jiminy drops out of law school, returns to her grandmother's small Mississippi town, and begins dating Bo, a local African-American man.  When she learns that Bo's great-uncle and cousin murders in 1966 were never solved, she brings in a civil rights lawyer and, in the process, learns that the town's racism isn't confined to the past.

The Secret Lives of Dresses is the story of Dora, an aimless college student who returns to run her grandmother's vintage dress shop when the woman who raised her is hospitalized after a serious stroke.  In the process of selling and wearing the clothes, Dora learns that if she stops fighting so hard to prove who she's not, she might just find out who she is.  Really, though, regardless of whether the story sounds interesting to you, if you like vintage clothes, you should read this.  The descriptions are fantastic and the dresses' lives are really fun.  The book originated from McKean's blog, A Dress a Day which has made me decide I need to pull out my sewing machine and start using it.  And, if you like vintage dresses, check out Isabel Wolff's A Vintage Affair.

There are a lot of great new chick lit titles out (others I've read recently that I'd recommend include 666 Park Avenue  if you like witch chick lit like Wednesday Night Witches , My Jane Austen Summer for fans of, well...Jane Austen (although I still think the best in this genre is Me and Mr. Darcy), and Emily and Einstein for fans of books like P.S. I Love You.  Of course, if you're looking for great chick lit on a regular basis, don't forget to subscribe to our monthly Chick Lit Newsletter.  So, grab a book and celebrate Chick Lit Month!

Miracle Stealer

If you haven't read a cross over novel perhaps this one will make you start.  Miracle Stealer by Neil Connelly, grabs you and keeps you riveted to your seat. His plot twists and turns. Even when I was sure I knew where he was going I was wrong.  It kept me enraptured until the wee hours of the morning.  It is one of the best inspirational and suspenseful novels I've read in a long time. 

This story is an unwitting journey of faith.  Anderson Grant doesn't believe in God.  She lives in a town of fanatics, who believe her brother, Daniel, is able to perform miracles. Daniel is 6 and has been 'performing' miracles since he was 3. The town and church can't get enough of him. Whenever someone is dying or terminally ill Andi's mom takes him to their bedside and has him pray. Andi sees how upset and pale her brother, Daniel, becomes after each ordeal. She can't help but wonder what will happen to him, if the person dies. Amazingly enough most people he 'heals' get better. However Andi does not care she is concerned for her brother and is determined to keep him safe from the 'crazies', even if it means she has to take him away.

Andi does not believe in God nor does she believe her brother can perform miracles. What happens when her beliefs are shaken?  Who can she turn to? What happens when you are alone and desperate. Does faith begin? Can it begin if you don't believe? Can anyone be a conduit for God's love and blessings? Perhaps, maybe is the best answer. Neil Conelly's novel will make you wonder, believe and thank God for all you have.  

The power of a blurb

For a word that sounds so nonsensical, "blurb" can be very powerful force.  The few simple words written by others can compel readers to pick up a book they otherwise might not have.  Just a few months ago, I picked up book based on the glowing blurb by Katie FForde and found the book (which shall remain nameless) so bad that I read only 20 pages and felt like I'd been led astray by my reliable pal Katie.  Others have missed the mark but have been inconsequential in my reading of a story.  Wench, a wonderful story about four slave women and their relationships with the men who owned them, used them, and had children with them, was blurbed to be a must-read for fans of The Help despite there being very little similarity between the two.

In some extreme cases, blurbs might cause paralyzing fear and anxiety about reading a book that's been so highly praised.  Alright, maybe not everyone would not stare down a book like a poisonous snake just because of the blurbs on it, but let me  justify myself here.  I recently checked out In the Rooms, a new book about a British literary agent living in New York who starts attending AA meetings to get to know a reclusive, Pulitzer Prize-winning author.  It was well-reviewed, but it took me days to pick it up because it was praised on its covers by Helen Fielding, author of the Bridget Jones books, and Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story (seriously, have I still not convinced you to read this?  Go put it on hold.  Really.).  Not only did these authors whom I respect have great things to say about the book, but it was also described as "part Nick Hornby, part Jay McInerney, and part vermouth."  The Library Journal review insisted it was recommended reading for Nick Hornby fans, as which I think I qualify.  So.  There it was.  The source of my anxiety: how does a book live up to that hype?  And what happens if I am expecting Fielding-meets-Shteyngart-meets-Hornby and I get...well, not that? 

Okay, okay, I know.  It's just a book.  I finally girded up my courage and read it.  And it was good.  It certainly wasn't the glory of all the cited authors combined, but it was good.  I could see where those authors were influential in Shone's witty, slightly acerbic, importance-of-everyday-life writing. But maybe the most important lesson is that, while I judge books by their titles and their covers, maybe I shouldn't judge a book by its blurbs.   

Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

April was a good month for Mother Nature.  April 22nd was Earth Day which is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for our natural environment.
April 21st is John Muir's birthday.  Yes--the John Muir.  He founded the Sierra Club and was one of our leading nature preservationists.  He is so well-loved that his image is on the new 2005 California quarter.
April 21st is also the anniversary of Aldo Leopold's death, who is known as The Father of Wildlife Management.  I had never even heard of Mr. Leopold until a few years back when my baby sister, who works for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, gave me her old, ratty copy of A Sand County Almanac.  It was the first book on Nature Writing I had read--but not the last.  Whether you like ecology and environmental issues or just enjoy reading about the beauty of our natural world then Nature Writing is for you.
Celebrate Earth Day every day by reading something by these great authors:

Edward Abbey
John James Audubon
Rachel Carson
Annie Dillard
Gretel Ehrlich
Euell Gibbons
John Muir
Brian Payton
Alex Shoumatoff
Henry David Thoreau
Terry Tempest Williams

And don't forget to read Mr. Leopold's A Sand County Almanac.  It's a beautiful book!

It's not always as good as you remember

I am a fan of Jean M. Auel and I loved the Clan of the Cave Bear when I read it in High School. So in preparation for the release of The Land of Painted Caves I reread the entire series.  It has been many years since I first read The Clan Of the Cave Bear, The Valley of Horses, Mammoth Hunters, and The Plains of Passage. I do not recall reading The Shelters of Stone before, so I read this one for the first time.  While I love the premise and the stories, these books are just soooo long.  I like the characters and the setting. I enjoy learning about pre-historic times and Auel's explanation for the differences between tribes, clans and their cultures. It just seems to me, that the stories are redundant.  Just when Ayla gets comfortable and makes a home for herself and makes new friends/family, she moves again.  The differences between herself and the people she lives with continue and end up making her stand out.  She always wins most people over. There are conflicts between herself, Jondalar, her male friend, and the people they meet on their journeys. However, they overcome most difficulties with minimal effort.

 The novels are great historic fiction, but they are a slow read. There are lots of facts to wade through and some are interesting, but there are only so many descriptions of cave drawings one can handle.  I understand the premise, but it was overkill. Granted, this could be because I sat and read each novel back to back. Each book can stand on its own with the detailed references of Ayla's and Jondalar's past experiences repeated in every novel. This is especially true in the newest and final edition in the Earth Children's Series, The Land of the Painted Caves.   

I must say I began this blog, before I finished the last book and I was so tired and disenchanted with it that I almost didn't finish it.  I am glad I stuck with it.  Don't get me wrong the novels were long (I can't stress that enough), especially the last one, but the last quarter of the final novel was very good. There were less repetitions and the story was not as predictable.

All in all if you have read the previous books in the series. Do not reread them (You don't need to). The highlights from those novels are paraphrased throughout the final novel.  This novel pretty much concludes the series. Auel still leaves a few characters hanging and I wonder if they will negatively impact Ayla's life in the future or if her story is truly finished. The book was ok, but if you wonder if I would read it again, my answer is quite simply, no.

Personalized Reading Requests Covered @ WCPL!

Have you just finished your favorite author's series and are stuck on where to go from here?  Are you looking for classic titles with great character development?  Or maybe you're looking for mysteries with a lot of action?  Don't worry!  We have you covered!

The WCPL Readers' Advisors offer the Personalized Reading List Request online for those who would like suggestions on what to read next.  Choose between different genres such as romance, mystery, horror, nonfiction, etc.  Tell us what you've read and enjoyed or even what you didn't enjoy.  There's even space to tell us what you want the focus of the book to be, where you want the setting to be, what you like from the main character, and more!  You will be sent a list of 8-10 titles that fit your interests!

The Personalized Reading List Request is also available in the library!  The print request gives you the same options as the online version, but with the added bonus of being offered while your browsing the library.  Find print forms at any service desk or ask a staff member. 

Lists are sent within 3-5 days by email or you can opt to pick up your list at the library.  Happy reading!