No turkey sandwiches, no turkey soup…

I am an admitted A Christmas Story junkie. When I was a child I had a VHS of the movie that was recorded directly from TV. I watched it so many times that I memorized the dialogue of the film and the commercial breaks that were caught in time on the tape. I’ve since graduated to a DVD (maybe even a Blu-Ray soon!), but my love of Jean Shepherd’s classic tale has never faded.

For those of you who have watched the movie but not cracked In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, the book of short stories that birthed the epic tale of Ralphie and Randy, I urge you to do so this Christmas Season. Gather the family together on Christmas Eve or Day and indulge in Shepherd’s short stories that capture his hometown of Holden, Indiana and the antics that he participated in upon his return. Walk down memory lane and let the stories unfold as Flick tends bar and the real Ralphie reminisces about life in Holden.

You can bet that I will be snuggled in at least once (probably more) over the next week listening to Jean Shepherd narrate the best Christmas movie of all time. Just in case any of you are already fans, I will not mention the fact that I met Jean Shepherd once many years ago. At the time I couldn’t answer his questions out of sheer awe (or childish fear), but I will answer now. No, Mr. Shepherd, I did not shoot my eye out, but thanks for noticing my patch.

Happy Holidays!

Best Fiction Books of 2012: Free Samples

This time of year the web is full of Best Book lists from everyplace imaginable.  Best mysteries, best non-fiction, best teen books, and best historical fiction to name a few. 
I've taken a sampling of the best fiction books of 2012 from lists by Publisher's Weekly, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Esquire, The New York Times, and Entertainment Weekly.  Each of the following titles were all chosen by two, three, or four of the previous publications.  So, the experts have spoken and you can check out all of their great choices here at the library.

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz (2)

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers (2)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2)

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (3)

Broken Harbor by Tana French (2)

Arcadia by Lauren Groff (2)

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (4)

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers (4)

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (2)

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (3)

Breaking the reading blahs

For the past month or so, I have been unable to get interested in any book I've tried to read. Have I gotten to the point where I don't enjoy reading? I can't imagine a life without a book in my hand...and yet, there I've been: uninterested and uninspired by any book I picked up. It's been, quite frankly, a bit unnerving. But then I picked up The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets by first-time novelist Kathleen Alcott and it was as if I could hear the literary apathy I've experienced being tossed aside.  With this impressive debut, I feel as if my love of reading has been shored up.

Ida and Jackson are neighbors who grow up together. Their connection is so strong that they aren't always clear where one ends and the other begins. They experience life as a unit and nothing can come between them: not Jackson's younger brother James, not their parents, not other kids at school. As they reach adulthood, Jackson and Ida continue the romantic relationship that reached its inevitable commencement in their teen years. However, Jackson feels threatened and used by Ida's desire to market the artwork he creates in his sleep.

Alcott has created a compelling story with a truly accomplished writing style. On more than one occasion, I was reminded of Marilynne Robinson's style, particularly in Housekeeping. It is to Alcott's credit that despite this, her voice remained clearly her own. I am eager to turn to the other books I have waiting for me now that I've broken through my reading apathy with this intelligent, well-written book. 

Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power

When Paul Drey, a German employee of the U. S. Consulate, was asked in 1922 by acting consul Robert Murphy whether agitators such as Adolf Hitler would get very far, he replied, “Of course not! The German people are too intelligent to be taken in by such scamps.” While Murphy remained skeptical (but was told by his superiors to focus his attention on other things, like promoting American commerce), Drey, like so many of his German and American contemporaries, vastly underestimated the staying power of Hitler and the hypnotic thrall under which he would come to hold Germany. And like so many others, Drey would pay for that mistake with his life: he died in Dachau. But this is only one recollection cited in Andrew Nagorski’s Hitlerland, an utterly fascinating survey of Americans, many of whom were reporters, living in Germany before, during, and after Hitler’s rise to power, and their perceptions of and reactions to the Nazi leader and his followers. It was Germany’s openness to “Americanization” during the 1920s that made Americans feel quite at home there, yet while some were sensitive to the growing hatred being aimed at the Jewish population, others were either completely ignorant of it or turned a blind eye to it. As an example, Chicago Daily News reporter Ben Hecht wrote, “The strange bit of history I have to report is that in my two years in Germany [1918-1920], I, a Jew, saw and heard no hint of anti-Semitism.” But to S. Miles Bouton, who wrote for the Baltimore Sun, it was hard to overlook: “There was still no indication in 1928 of the coming pogroms that were to sully Germany’s reputation five years later, but songs about spilling Jewish blood were being sung by uniformed marchers, and the swastika, emblem in Germany for hatred of the race, was ever more in evidence.” And what of Hitler himself? Dorothy Thompson, journalist and wife of writer Sinclair Lewis, was not impressed. She interviewed Hitler in 1931 and came away with the following impression: “I was convinced that I was meeting the future dictator of Germany. In something less than fifty seconds I was quite sure I was not.”  Famous last words, as they say. But Thompson wasn’t far off the mark when she added, “take the Jews out of Hitler’s program, and the whole thing . . . collapses.” As the book goes on, it is these observations and others, given from men and women who witnessed firsthand the frightening spectacle of Germany's bestial transformation and whose perspective on the matter was--for the most part--a decidedly democratic one, that make Hitlerland such a captivating read. Indeed, for those interested in viewing this fateful period in history through a different lens, this is not a book to be missed.

Watch the Movie and Read the Book

The other day while I was watching the movie Brave (which is excellent by the way), I noticed a bunch of the upcoming movies are adaptations of books.  So I did a little research and this is what I came up with.

The following movies were released in the past couple of months:

Argo--based on the book The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA by Antonio Mendez
Lincoln--based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.
Anna Karenina--based on Leo Tolstoy's classic novel of the same name.
Alex Cross--was adapted from James Patterson's novel Cross.
Life of Pi--based on the novel by Yann Martel.
The Cloud Atlas--adapted from David Mitchell's historical-science fiction novel.

This next batch will be coming to theaters this month and January 2013:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey--part 1 of a trilogy based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit or There and Back Again.
Jack Reacher--an adaptation of Lee Child's novel One Shot.
Les Miserables--a musical adaptation of the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo.
Cosmopolis--adapted from Don DeLillo's novel of the same name.
Gangster Squad--this crime drama is based on Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles by Paul Lieberman.

All of these films are based on books that the library owns.  So make sure you see a good flick for the holidays but don't forget to read the books because we librarians know: the book is always better than the movie.  At least most of the time.

Fobbit - Darkly Funny War Satire

In the suburbs of Baghdad in 2005, it was hot, it was boring, and it wasn't the safest area for sight-seeing. What was a Public Affairs Officer to do while deployed there? If the PAO in question has a BA in English and an MFA in creative writing, he might just be tempted to write a diary about his experiences and turn that diary into an ironic, darkly comedic satire that he considers "one part dark horror show of the Iraq War and one part zany antics of public affairs soldiers." Enter Fobbit, the first novel by David Abrams, who retired from the Army in 2008 after 20 years of active duty.

"Fobbit," as the cover of the book clarifies, is a pejorative term for those who work in the Forward Operating Base and who avoid combat by virtue of their hobbit-like reluctance to leave their "shire." In other words, they're the people with the (relatively) cushy office jobs. Abrams was, himself, a fobbit and sticks with what he knew -- and skewers it effortlessly. The book focuses on several of the Fobbits, but the central voice belongs to Staff Sergeant Chance Gooding, Jr., a public affairs officer who spends his time at work writing and re-writing (and re-writing) press releases trying to put a positive spin on the latest round of casualties and his free time reading Catch-22 and writing a journal about his experiences in Iraq, (sound familiar?). Other characters include Lieutenant Colonel Eustace Harkleroad, an indecisive, overweight, spontaneous nose-bleeder who frequently writes to his mother imagined tales of his heroism and valor; Lt. Col Vic Duret, who is a good officer and a good man who just wants to escape images of his brother-in-law's death on 9/11 and return home to his wife; and Abe Shrinkle, a platoon Captain whose incompetence and greed do not go unpunished by karma or the US Army.

This book isn't about the total war experience, nor is it meant to be. The soldiers who are in combat roles are drawn only in comparison to those in the FOB, not as strong characters in and of themselves. But, in offering the voices of Gooding, Harkleroad, Duret, and Shrinkle, Abrams has provided a clever voice to the drudgery of war. 

National Book Awards 2012

It's the end of the year. The days have grown shorter, the shopping lines have grown longer, and the time has come to reflect on the literary contributions that have been made in the past year. Last week, the 62nd National Book Awards were announced, marking the best contributions to American literature in the past year and raising awareness and appreciation of great writing.  Each of the winners is available to check out. Let us know what you think of these great American books!

Fiction Winner - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
- In the spring of 1988, 13-year-old Joe's mother was brutally attacked, irrevocably transforming Joe's life. Despite his attempts to heal his mother, she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Frustrated with the official investigation and his own father's inability to resolve the situation, Joe and his friends attempt to find answers, beginning at the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe.

Non-Fiction Winner - Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
- A poignant examination at the personal level of the schism between the upscale resorts and the slums of India. Boo combined three years of investigative journalism and personal interviews to provide insights that have been widely applauded as the most honest portrayal of India as a culture in transition.

Poetry Winner - Bewilderment : New Poems and Translations by David Ferry
- Praised for his passion and the scope of his poems, Ferry has published a collection of original poetry, translations of classics, and poems responding to poems.

Young People's Literature Winner - Goblin Secrets by William Alexander
- Rownie is the youngest of the stray children living with a witch named Graba. Desperate to find his older brother, an actor who has disappeared after the prohibition of acting, Rownie joins a troupe of traveling goblin actors who are also eager to find his brother in the hope that he might be able to save their town. 

For more information on the National Book Award, including a complete list of nominees in 2012 and previous years' winners, check out http://nationalbook.org/

Hick-sick and other phrases

Mountains of the Moon is a masterfully written debut by new author I.J. Kay. The novel tells the story of a woman in her thirties newly released from prison after 10 years. We are introduced first to the ex-convict, Louise, but we are transported through time to when she was Lulu and Kim and Beverly and Jackie and Catherine. Many readers’ reviews have complained that the unnoted shifts in time are difficult to follow, but Kay uses the main character’s speech to clue the reader in to her age. The flashbacks provide the reader with background for the life that resulted in imprisonment and a subsequent pilgrimage to Africa that allows Louise to move forward after 30 years of being lost in a continual cycle of neglect and misunderstanding. Amidst the heartache of her childhood and the perilous entanglements of her teens and early twenties, you will find horrific pain, extreme beauty, and some humor to tie it all together.  

To me, this debut is one of the best I’ve read…ever. To be completely cliché, the book details the strength and endurance of the human spirit. However, like many people in these situations, Lulu only looks forward and keeps moving. Assuming you and Lulu have little in common, this book will make you thankful for the life you have.

Architect, Antarctica, Blackberry Bush

A good read with a blend of genres is hard to find in one book. Authors sometimes get lost with multiple narrators, attempts at humor, ill-conceived romances…you know the drill. Where’d you go, Bernadette? is the exception to this conundrum. The book received rave reviews and managed to live up to each one.

One time winner of a “genius” grant for her architectural prowess, Bernadette Fox goes into hiding in Seattle with her Microsoft entrenched husband and ramshackle house. Bernadette never really learns to adapt to her new environment and spends her time ranting about the 5-way stops, mother “gnats” from her daughter’s school, and anything else that is distinctly “Seattle.” However, the one thing in Seattle that Bernadette does love is her daughter, Bee (short for Balakrishna). The excitement kicks off when Bee requests that her graduation from middle school be commemorated with a family trip to Antarctica. Yes, Antarctica.  I can’t risk giving too much away, but rest assured that Antarctica becomes the catalyst for mudslides, an affair, anxiety, an overseas assistant, FBI involvement, and a disappearance. The multiple narrators add to the mystery as each offers his/her own perspective on the situations that lead up to Bernadette’s disappearance.

Author Maria Semple is a novelist and television comedy writer. This is her second novel. She also divulged in a NYT interview that Where’d you go, Bernadette? is semi-autobiographical, so keep that in mind as you read.

Enjoy!

"You know, truth is a nebulous thing. . . ."

 

Believe it or not, Yann Martel never intended to be a writer; rather, he aspired to be a (shudder) politician. Luckily for us, while studying at Trent University he began to write, his efforts eventually resulting in a novel, Self, and a collection of short stories, Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios. If you've never heard of them, don't feel too bad; most people haven't. Frustration over the failures of his first two works led a disillusioned 34-year-old Martel to India to contemplate the unfruitfulness of his life, but serendipity won the day, for it was there that he recalled the brilliant premise to a novella he'd read about over ten years earlier, Max and the Cats by Moacyr Scliar. The rest is, as they say, history. Over the space of the next four years, Martel proceeded to write his amazing second novel, the deeply spiritual Life of Pi, in which the son of a zookeeper survives a shipwreck only to end up a castaway on board a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Yeah, just let that sink in for a bit. Life of Pi went on to win the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction as well as praise from critics around the world, and Martel established himself as the literary comeback kid. And in case you've been living under a rock lately, a film based on the book is set to open on the big screen this month. While I have no doubt the film will be brilliant in its own right, as always, do yourself a favor and read the book first (I'm actually reading it right now, and so far it's excellent). But that's not all: Martel went on to write We Ate the Children Last, Beatrice and Virgil, and What Is Stephen Harper Reading?: Yann Martel's Recommended Reading for a Prime Minister and Book Lovers of all Stripes. I can state with all certainty that Yann Martel is a writer who is worth your time.  

Help us hand out free books!

For centuries, April 23 has been an important day, literarily speaking. It is the date of Shakespeare's birth...and his death. It's also the day on which Miguel Cervantes died. Since 1923, Cervantes' death has been recognized in the Catalan region of Spain by giving a flower and a book to a loved one. Inspired by the Catalonian festival, in 1995 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared April 23 the International Day of the Book. This led to the creation of World Book Night in 2011 in the UK, and the introduction of World Book Night to the US in 2012.

Very interesting history lesson, you might be thinking about now, but what does this have to do with anything? Specifically, what's this got to do with me?  I'm so glad you asked! World Book Night relies on the kindness of volunteers who love reading. Last year, almost 80,000 people signed up to pass out books in the four different participating countries.  Givers agree to hand out 20 free copies of a book provided by the author and publisher. The books are handed out to people who might typically not read.  The toughest requirement is to choose the book to give people. World Book Night sends a box of books to a distribution point for the giver to pick up. Last April, Woodbourne Library was proud to be one of the distribution points in the first US World Book Night -- and we're excited to announce that we'll be doing it again in 2013! Will you help us by signing up to be a book giver?

The books being provided include 30 titles ranging from classics like Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Willa Cather's My Antonia to contemporary favorites like Tina Fey's Bossy Pants and Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones.  A complete list of the books is available here. 

You can sign up to be a book giver at The World Book Night website.  If you do, choose Woodbourne Library as your distribution point.  And, let us know what book you choose! 

Happy Birthday To You Too South Dakota!

November 2, 2012 was the 123rd anniversary celebrating statehood of both North Dakota and South Dakota.  We covered North Dakota on Tuesday so today we will highlight the 40th state in the Union, South Dakota.  Known as the Mount Rushmore state, the Coyote state, and Sunshine state, South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes.  Pierre is the capital and Sioux Falls is the largest city.  Notable people from South Dakota are Grammy-award-winner Shawn Colvin, wildlife artist Terry Redlin, TV journalist Tom Brokaw, 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills, and our own former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson.  Try some of the following South Dakotan authors and writers and as the state song goes: "Hail, South Dakota".

Lori Armstrong--lives in Western South Dakota is an award-winning mystery writer.

Black Elk (1863-1950)--was a famous Medicine Man and Holy Man of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux).

Vine Deloria Jr.--was born in Martin and is a Standing Rock Sioux author, historian, and activist.

Paul Goble--this English children's author and illustrator moved to the Black Hills and was greatly influenced by Plains Indian culture.

Dan O'Brien--this wildlife biologist, rancher, falconer, and author lives west of the Badlands and north of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Glen Rounds--born in a sod house in the Dakota Badlands, he is an award-winning children's author and illustrator.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve--this children's author was raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and her books focus on Native Americans.

C. M. Wendelboe--worked in South Dakotan law enforcement and writes the Spirit Road Mysteries based in Pine Ridge.

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)--she grew up near De Smet and based her famous children's books on her life and experiences.

Never too Late

Everyday we are faced with choices.  We choose what we read, whom we vote for, what to wear, and what to eat. Yet we also choose to disagree with our children, our spouse and even our dearest friends.   I want you to think for a moment about what would happen if that was the last word you spoke to them.  Would you be happy?  These seem dreary thoughts, but recently several young people lost their lives on the way to school.  They are gone, but what I would like you to consider is that life is too short to choose not to say a kind word to one another as you part company.  What if something happened and you never got another chance to say, "I'm Sorry" or worse yet you did not get a chance to say, "I love you".

Here are a few titles filled with choices and second chances. Hopefully reading them will give you hope or at least make you consider making better life choices.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon is a book filled with choices.  What would you do if the man you loved lived a hundred years in the past, yet your child was in this time with you? If you had a chance to visit with him, would you leave your child behind to be with your true love?  Learn what Claire Randall chooses in this amazing time traveling romance. This is the fourth book in the epic saga.

Choices by Mary Lee Settle gives us glimpses of a tough lady, Melinda Kregg, who has a lot of heart and struggles to make amends for inheriting a fortune. Her father was a coal-mining mogul and when he dies she inherits what she terms "blood money". Melinda devotes her life to helping others and fights for the underdog. Melinda's life is full of choices and eventually she realizes it is time she returns home, back to the States where she now fights for civil rights.  This is an intriguing story that will take the reader through a century of tumultuous changes.

The Season of Second Chances: A Novel by Diane Meier tells a magnificent story about Joy who learns  the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.

I am hoping everyone will discover it is never too late to change. Every person in the world has said hurtful things to someone they love. Most of us fortunately have an opportunity to make it right.  My hope is that you (and I) will have a chance to bring our families and friends closer together.  Remember the next time (I'm sure there will be one) you are unhappy with your child and speak angry words please remember to hug them and love them.  It is never too late to start a new tradition.  Live each day fully and appreciate what you have.

Happy Birthday North Dakota!

November 2, 2012 was the 123rd anniversary celebrating statehood of both North Dakota and South Dakota. Today I will talk about the 39th state in the Union.  It's called The Sioux State,  The Roughrider State, and even The Flickertail State (named for a twitchy-tailed rodent called the Richardson's Ground Squirrel).  I am talking about North Dakota, the state which brought us actor Josh Duhamel, baseball great Roger Maris, bandleader Lawrence Welk, and Sakakawea (Sacajawea) the Shoshone woman of Lewis and Clark fame and the US dollar coin minted in 2000.
Native Americans have greatly influenced the culture of North Dakota along with people from Northern Europe including Norway--which is why another nickname for North Dakota is "Norse Dakota".
Try one of the following North Dakotan authors and writers and you'll see why the state motto is "legendary".

Peter Brandvold--born and raised in North Dakota, he has written over 30 western novels.
Louise Erdrich--The Roundhouse--she is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and grew up in Wahpeton.
Roxanne Henke--lives in Wishek and is a inspirational columnist for North Dakota Living Magazine.
Louis L'Amour--(1908-1988)--born in Jamestown, he is one of our most prolific and best-loved western writers.
Chuck Klosterman--Downtown Owl, Invisible Man--grew up in Wyndmere, graduated from the University of North Dakota, and is a columnist for New York Time Magazine.
Brenda K. Marshall--Mavis--born on a farm in the Red River Valley, she now lives with her partner of 26 years in Michigan. 
Susan Power--Grass Dancer--is a Standing Rock Sioux writer and storyteller who grew up in Chicago.
Larry Watson--Sundown, Yellow Moon--born in Rugby in 1947 and grew up in Bismarck.

Try back later in the week for some great South Dakotan authors!

Spending some time with an Imaginary Friend

Sometimes, I stumble upon a book that inspires to make me want to immediately go pick up any other books the author has written.  Such was the case when I recently received a copy of Matthew Dicks' newest book, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. It's because of this book that I discovered his debut novel Something Missing, which I found to be even more delightful than Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend*.  I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up Memoirs, other than the memories it brought back of a (real) friend's college band called Imaginary Friend. Once I did pick it up, though, I was delighted by what I read. The title is not representational or symbolic of anything. This book is exactly what it says it is: the memoirs of Budo, the imaginary friend of Max, an 8-year-old boy who has been labeled a "late bloomer" but is probably somewhere along the autism spectrum. Max's parents and teachers try in their own ways to help Max adjust to school, but it is Budo who helps him through each day.

Budo has existed for five years, which is a life span considerably greater than any other imaginary friend he has ever met and which has given him the ability to learn things about the real world. He's not exactly a kid and not exactly an adult. Budo exists only as long as Max imagines him as real and exists only as Max has imagined him to exist.  That is, Budo cannot do the things that Max didn't imagine him having the ability to do.  This becomes critical when Max needs Budo's help to save him.  From what he needs saved, I'm not going to say because I think it's a spoiler (and, incidentally, if you don't like spoilers, don't read the Publisher's Weekly review). Suffice it say, there is charm and warmth and a good dose of quirkiness as Budo tries to help Max while trying to balance Max's best interests with his own precarious existence.

If you liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime or Room, this book captures some of the same use of a child-like voice to great effect.  If you like a little whimsy and light fantasy, the inner world of an imaginary friend is charming. And, if you wonder why most imaginary friends don't have ears,  your answer lies within.

*Something Missing will be discussed at Uncorked, the book discussion group held at Rumbleseat Wine on the first Monday of each month.

Warm Christmas Reads

I know it's early and I, like a million other people, dislike the marketing of the Christmas holiday before Halloween, yet here I am doing something similar. I'd like to say it is for your own good. Truly,....how much fun is it to read a Christmas story in June or July?  I believe Christmas stories are better when it's cold outside and you can sit under a blanket in a comfortable chair with a great book and a nice hot cup of chocolate nearby. I must admit that if that hot chocolate happens to have whip cream and chocolate shavings in it, it is even better. So if you enjoy stories that will leave a smile in your heart and a smile on your face than give these beautifully written Christmas stories a try before the season comes to an end.

I've included new titles and then some of my favorites from years gone by. I would be remiss if I did not include a few children's stories, what would the holidays be like without them?  Reading Christmas stories to my children has always left a smile on my face.  I still, even as my children grow older, read the classics with them every Christmas.  These memories are ones my children and I will always treasure. If you haven't started a tradition of reading stories with your children at Christmas (or any other time), there's no better time to start than right now. So grab a good book, a comfy chair and snuggle in for a few minutes of quiet reading.

New Releases
A Winter Wonderland by Fern Michaels
My Kind of Christmas by Robyn Carr
A Christmas Garland: A Novel by Anne Perry
A Fool's Gold Christmas by Susan Mallery
Together for Christmas by Lisa Plumley
Mischief and Mistletoe by Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, Patricia Rice, Nicola Cornick, Cara Elliot,
Anne Gracie and Susan King
Angels at the Table by Debbie Maccomber
A Christmas Home: A Novel by Greg D. Kincaid
The Walnut Tree by Charles Todd

A Few of My Favorite Christmas Romances
The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
Dashing Through the Snow by Mary Higgins Clark
The Gift by Nora Roberts
A Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh
A Christmas Waltz by Jane Goodger
A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas
A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Classic Christmas Stories
Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus by Francis Pharcellus Church
The Nutcracker by E. T. A. Hoffman
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Short Stories

I've noticed an interesting trend lately.  An abundance of short story collections are being published and popping up all over. 
I love short stories!  It is amazes me how much information and emotion can be conveyed with so few words.  I think it takes a very talented and special author to write a good short story--or a whole collection full.

Pick up one of the following newer collections to try then scroll down a bit and choose some of our staff favorites.  Prepare to be shocked, frightened, amazed, cheered up, and always entertained.


New and Forthcoming

Blasphemy by Sherman Alexie
Have You Seen Marie? by Sandra Cisneros
Astray by Emma Donoghue
An Apple for the Creature edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner
Into the Woods by Kim Harrison
Zombies, Zombies, Zombies edited by Otto Penzler

Staff Favorites

A Vocation and a Voice by Kate Chopin
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg by Deborah Eisenberg
The Great Frustration by Seth Fried
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Zombies vs Unicorns edited by Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black
Dark Forces edited by Kirby McCauley
Like Life by Lorrie Moore

What is your favorite short story?


"I love short stories because I believe they are the way we live.  They are what our friends tell us, in their pain and joy, their passion and rage, their yearning and their cry against injustice."
Andre Dubus

The next Thursday Next

I've been in the midst of some fairly heavy books lately...good books, but nothing that has made me laugh. Whether from Geronimo T. Johnson's Hold it 'til it Hurts, a stunning debut about war, family, race, and love, or Andrew Porter's widely-acclaimed debut In Between Days about the disintegration of a family, I needed a break.  What better respite than a book about an impending smiting in the city center, doppelgangers with a 24-hour life span sneaking in and stealing the protagonist's consciousness, dealing with a daughter who's never existed, and a 64% chance that the world will be annihilated in 37 years because time travel has been un-invented?  Oh, and did I mention the dodo bird who spends a lot of time thinking about The Dukes of Hazzard reruns? 

Jasper Fforde has lifted my literary spirits yet again with his seventh book in the Thursday Next series The Woman Who Died a Lot: Now With 50% Added Subplot. Fforde has created a world in which science fiction and literary classics are smooshed together with a level of absurdity that flirts with annoying, but is just smart and funny enough to keep it from crossing that line.  In the latest addition to the series, the famous literary detective Thursday Next is still suffering from her injuries sustained in Book World and is trying to adjust to her new position as the Chief Librarian at the "All-You-Can-Eat-at-Fatso's-Drink-Not-Included Library." At the same time, she continues to battle Goliath Corporation and her nemesis Jack (I don't think I can publish his last name here because even though it's spelled differently, it still sounds and reads the same). Her children play an important role in this book, with Tuesday attempting to create an anti-smote field by week's end and give a keynote speech at the MadScientists' Convention all while trying to be a normal sixteen year old girl, and Friday adjusting to the fact that he's gone from a promising future as the head of the Chrono-Guard to a certainty that he will murder someone by Friday. As for Jenny? Well, she still never existed.  Confused? It's to Fforde's credit that this all manages to tie together and add to the story, rather than detract from the plot with its silliness. 

The Woman Who Died A Lot is a refreshing return to what Fforde does best, after a rather weak turn in the sixth book of the series, One of Our Thursdays is Missing.  If you've never read any of Jasper Fforde's books, I highly recommend starting with The Eyre Affair, in which Thursday Next is introduced and saves all of literature in well fell swoop. 

Gone Girl, Not Gone At All

 Gone Girl: A Novel, a spectacular thriller, was released June 5, 2012 and it's been smashing the charts ever since. It has been in the top 10 on USA Today's Top Ten Book List and the NY times best seller list for 17 weeks and sold over 1.5 million copies.  There's no doubt about it, Gone Girl is here to stay.  If you enjoy crime fiction and psychological thrillers here are a few of my favorites from this past year.

Gone Girl was an exciting roller coaster read for me.  I personally thought I had it figured out in the first 50 pages (ha! ha! ha!). I also thought one of the characters was timid and should have a bit more back bone. After reading further into the story (well let's just say) I could not have been more wrong!   I would say this book has a plot that twists, but that is not quite accurate, this book has hair pin turns that will leave you wondering, how you missed it?!  I caught myself cringing and turning the page to see what would happen next.  If you like fast paced reads, which give you quite a few twists and turns, read this book.  Do not read it because everyone's reading it (which they are), but read it because it is an excellent crime fiction thriller.

I also enjoyed  Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson. This is a fantastic story. Christine's memories are gone every morning when she wakes up.  She has no clue who is sleeping beside her, who her friends are and her only help is a journal she keeps hidden from everyone. She wakes afraid every morning and struggles through the day to relearn who she is and wonders what happened to make her this way.  This is a mesmerizing novel that will keep you hooked from cover to cover.  There are plenty of heart pounding twists that will make you glad your memories are intact.

This last one is for all you Scandinavian Crime fiction lovers. If you enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo you need to try Some Kind of Peace by Camille Grebe and Åsa Träff. This is set in an idyllic town on a lake outside of Stockholm.  Siri Bergman is a psychotherapist who has her own set of issues.  She is terrified of the dark and feels as if someone is always watching her.  This is a keen psychological thriller that uses vivid imagery and a somewhat predictable storyline yet manages to leave the reader wondering who did it.  It's a story of friendship, love and obsession. It is not as intense as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it still made me wonder, gape and shiver with fright.

Check out these wonderful thrillers, if you have not already. After all it is October which is the perfect time of year to read a haunting thriller!

Guest blogger: Ralph Keyes

We at Fine Print are very excited to occasionally share contributions by local authors. We have asked them to share their thoughts about their favorite book, something they've read recently, or the role reading has played in their lives. Today's offering is from Ralph Keyes, whose books have included Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms, I love it when you talk retro : hoochie coochie, double whammy, drop a dime, and the forgotten origins of American speech, and The post-truth era : dishonesty and deception in contemporary life, among others.

Some years ago I read A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley.  This had been recommended to me by a number of other writers, and with good reason.  Exley’s “fictional memoir” was a searing account of his life on and off his living room couch, trying to get his life on track.  The candor with which he wrote invited empathy.  Exley’s portrayal of his fraught relationship with his father was especially compelling.  This father had been a renowned high school athlete in the New York town where the author grew up.  Exley himself, a mediocre athlete, could not match his father’s renown.  In one riveting scene the two compete against each other in a father-son basketball game at the high school where Exley Sr. had once been a star.  His son has to guard him.  He crushes his 13-year-old boy mercilessly.  Afterward, as they walk home, the father rests his arm on his son’s shoulder and tries clumsily to apologize.  The son represses his urge to “sob uncontrollably, and to shout at him my humiliation and my loathing.  ‘Oh, Jesus, Pop!  Why?  Why?  Why?’”  As a memoir-writing man Exley wishes he’d done so.  Instead he just seethed and wished his father – soon to die of cancer – was already dead.  “Among unnumbered sins,” the author concludes, “from that damning wish I seek absolution.” 

A Fan’s Notes gained such a following because it portrayed one man’s struggle to get a grip with such candor.  Reading about Frederick Exley’s struggle made other men feel better about their own.  It did so for me.  As an aspiring writer I found that his honest, well-written memoir gave me courage to write with greater candor myself.  Today I appreciate more than ever the author’s integrity in calling his book a fictional memoir.  During a time in which so many memoirists have been revealed as fabulists who passed their fantasies off as the truth, Exley’s honesty shines even brighter.

Bouchercon World Mystery Convention 2012

This years Bouchercon convention was in Cleveland beginning with a reception at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.  Several sets of awards were presented including The Anthony Awards, The Barry Awards, The Macavity Awards, and The Shamus Awards. Try one of the following winning mysterious and thrilling books:

Anthony Awards

Best Mystery Novel:  A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

Best First Mystery:  Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry

Best Critical Nonfiction Work:  The Sookie Stackhouse Companion ed. by Charlaine Harris

Barry Awards

Best Novel:  The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Best First Novel:  The Informationist by Taylor Stevens

Best British Crime Novel:  Dead Man's Grip by Peter James

Best Thriller:  The Informant by Thomas Perry

Macavity Awards

Best Mystery Novel:  Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

Best First Mystery Novel:  All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen

Shamus Awards

Best P. I. Novel:  A Bad Night's Sleep by Michael Wiley

Best First P. I. Novel:  Shortcut Man by P. G. Sturges


And try some of the following multiple nominated works:

Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making... by John Curran
1222 by Anne Holt
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol & Agnette Friis
Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

For a full list of winners and nominees go here.

Welcome to the dark carnival

Imagine you’ve gone to visit a dear old friend, and after having a good dinner and conversation, your friend turns to you and asks if you would like to hear a “strange and disturbing” story. It’s a bitterly cold night, and as you both sit by a cozy fire, a good story sounds delightful. But this is no tall-tale you’re about to hear. No, my friend, this is something far creepier. Thus begins Susan Hill’s The Man in the Picture: A Ghost Story. In it, Cambridge professor Theo Parmitter relates to one of his former students the story of a strange painting that he purchased as a young man at an art auction and which he still owns. Depicting a rather sinister-looking Venetian carnival scene, this painting—according to what Theo was told of it—apparently has the power to trap the living within its confines, taking them out of this world forever. To be sure, there is a face on the canvas that appears eerily similar to one Theo was shown in a photograph, but surely this is only coincidence? No mere painting could possess the demonic power necessary to accomplish such a feat, could it? Oh, but it could, and according to its dark history, it has claimed many. And yet, ever since he first laid eyes on it, Theo has never been able to rid himself of the desire to possess it, an irrationality that will ultimately prove to be both his and his young friend’s undoing.

With The Man in the Picture, Susan Hill has crafted yet another short but ghoulishly delightful page turner, keeping in line with her much more well-known The Woman in Black. The witching season is almost upon us, so if you’re looking for a quick but classically written ghost story, add this one to your reading lists. And while you’re at it, don’t forget her very latest dark tale, The Small Hand. I enjoyed all three, and hopefully you will too.

 

Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners announced

In 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords were agreed to and initialed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, ending a three-and-a-half year long war in Bosnia and beginning a strong commitment in the Miami Valley to promoting peace. In 1999, community leaders created the Dayton Peace Prizes to "recognize individuals who contributed to the peaceful reconstruction of a society torn apart by war." That tradition led to the creation of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in 2006. It is the first and only US award awarded to recognize the power of the written word in promoting peace.

This past weekend, winners of the 2012 awards were announced.  Andrew Krivak won the fiction prize for his debut novel The Sojourn. Judges Alan Cheuse and April Smith wrote that it was chosen, in part, because, "Though this compact and powerful novel never so much celebrates war as it does the power of the mind to recall it and the power of language that can describe it, which is the beginning of the making of peace." Ha Jin was the runner-up in fiction with his book Nanjing Requiem.

In nonfiction, Adam Hochschild won with his World War I history To End All Wars : A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion 1914-1918. Hochschild has been credited for his narrative style that makes clear the impact of World War I on the development of "Stalinism, World War II, and the Holocaust. And it was also the beginning, sadly, of new-fangled machines of destruction, of a time when, as Hochschild writes, 'the magnetic attraction of combat, or at least the belief that it was patriotic and necessary, proved so much stronger than revulsion at mass death,'” according to nonfiction judge Ken McClane. The runner up in nonfiction was Annia Ciezadlo for Day of Honey : A Memoir of Food, Love, and War.

Finally, each year the Dayton Literary Peace Prize awards the Richard C. Holbrook Distinguished Achievement Award. Previous recipiencts of the lifetime achievement award include Barbara Kingsolver, Geraldine Brooks, Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn, Taylor Branch, Elie Wiesel, and Studs Terkel.  Sharon Rab, founder and co-chair of the awards has said that O'Brien is being recognized for his works, which, "capture the horrors and hallucinations of the twentieth century's most divisive war while carrying a powerful message for peace." At a time when most Americans are insulated from the impact of our ongoing wars, O'Brien's work helps us understand what it means to send soldiers into combat and reminds us that their war continues long after they return home."

For more information about the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the gala to recognize this year's recipients, please visit http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/






 

Miracles Can Happen!

Perhaps Miracles Can Happen is an overzealous title, but... I have never listened to an entire audio book. I love to have a hard copy of a book in my hands and to turn the pages. However, a friend (you know who you are) encouraged me to try, The Lions of Little Rock on CD.  I was skeptical, but I thought, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen? Maybe, I’ll waste a few minutes in my drive listening to a book. If it's bad I can always turn on the radio.’ I know this is not the mentality I should have had, but I love to have a 'real' book in my hands and to turn the pages.

The miracle began the moment I put the CD in my car CD player and I heard, 'I talk a lot. Just not out loud where anyone can hear me.' This novel was fantastic on so many levels. First it was the first audio book I ever listened to in its entirety without turning to a normal book. I listened to it in my car. Well actually I began by listening to it in my car, and then I wanted to hear what happened next so I took it inside and listened as I cooked dinner. Then I had a project to do that required the use of my hands, so I listened while I worked. When I drove my daughter to her lesson I listened and when I took my son to the doctor, (well I bet you can guess) I listened then, too. Do you know what happened next? Yes, you guessed it; my children got hooked on the story as well.

This is a historical fiction novel that takes place in 1958 in Little Rock, Arkansas. It begins the summer after the Little Rock 9 attended Central High School. I learned so much, my children learned so much and it was better than any history class I ever had. Kristin Levine takes you into Little Rock and plops you right into the heart of the story. Her scenes are realistic. The drama, the fear and the circumstances were based on what the people of Little Rock experienced in 1958 and 1959. This was the year the high schools in Little Rock were closed because the people did not want integrated schools. The whites sent their students to private schools or sent them to live with out-of-city relations. This was not possible for the Negroes at the time. There weren’t private schools for them and, with the public high schools closed, they had no other option.

This is a truly amazing story that will capture your attention and transport you back in time. It is a story of friendship, political inequality and the struggle to do what is right. It will make you believe that miracles can happen. Yes I listened to an audio book in its entirety but more miraculous than that the people of Little Rock decided not to keep silent. They chose to take a stand and changed the lives of their children and themselves.  Definitely take the time to read or listen to the author’s note. It is worth every minute of your time.