Literary Biographies: Shirley Jackson, A Rather Haunted Life

Shirley Jackson is one of my favorite authors. She is a writer who continued in the American Gothic tradition of Hawthorne and Poe, but kept her work uniquely her own: the horror, either psychological or supernatural, blended with postwar, suburban mundanity.

Jackson was a significant figure in 20^th century American literature, though often kept on the edges of mainstream literary canon. How many people have read the short story The Lottery, with its unflinching portrait of brutality and rituality in small American towns? Or how many people have seen either the 1963 or 1999 film adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House?

Last year we were lucky enough to see Let Me Tell You published -- a volume of Jackson’s previously unpublished and uncollected stories and nonfiction writings. This year, on the centenary of her birth, we get a biography from book critic and author, Ruth Franklin.

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life is a meticulous, critical, empathetic work – not only a glimpse into Jackson’s motivations for her novels and stories, but also an exploration of the woman herself: someone who had a successful writing career but who struggled with marital issues, substance abuse, and personal and social anxieties.

Neil Gaiman writes of the new biography, “Ruth Franklin is the biographer Jackson needed: she tells the story of the author in a way that made me want to reread every word Jackson ever wrote.” I agree and would highly recommend it. It is nice seeing Jackson get her much-deserved due at the hands of a skilled biographer.

Below are a few other literary biographies I would recommend:

The Real Jane Austen / Paula Byrne

My Wars Are Laid Away in Books / Alfred Habegger

Beatrix Potter / Linda Lear

Flannery / Brad Gooch

And make sure to check out the New York Times Literary Biographies Reading List for even more suggestions.

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo by Sandrine Revel

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo by Sandrine Revel

I have long listened to the many, wonderful variations of classical composers done by Glenn Gould on piano. My first exposure to him was when I was flipping through classical vinyl records at a thrift shop when I stumbled across his Bach variations for 50 cents. Naturally, I grabbed it, took it home for a listen, and became an instant fan of Gould’s. From then on, he was one of the artists whom I always looked for when record hunting. But, I knew very little about the man until I picked up Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo by Sandrine Revel.

The story is not a straight forward one, with Revel intermixing typical documentary convention with surrealist interludes. These little interruptions could have detracted from the odd yet compelling story of Gould and make for fascinating breaks as we follow this quirky genius as he grows up from a boy to the intense and difficult classical musician we all know. The muted, cool colors on water color paper are wonderful to look at, each page beautifully done. The wonderful artwork does an excellent job of supporting the story of the intense, difficult musician. This is definitely one of the better graphic novel biographies that I have read and I would recommend it for any fan of classical music, of Gould himself, or of graphic novel non-fiction.

2015 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize (DLPP) began in 2006. The express mission of the award is to honor the advancement of peace through literature. The DLPP is the only annual literary award in the United States to take on this mission. Works of adult fiction and nonfiction promoting peace and humanity published within the past year are able to be nominated for cash prizes. It is a unique and prestigious award, and it is a Dayton original!

The 2015 winners of the DLPP offer an interesting range of subjects, which is not uncommon to the awards. Each year four books and one lifetime achievement winner are recognized.

Holbrooke Award Winner for Lifetime Achievement

This year Gloria Steinem was selected to receive the Richard C. Holbrooke Lifetime Achievement award for her work as a leader and spokesperson of worldwide feminism. Steinam has spent her life using words to achieve peaceful political action in many arenas. She has driven the women’s movement with her written and spoken word. Her newest book, My Life on the Road, is her memoir of travel, activism, and leadership.

Fiction Winner

Josh Weil’s debut novel, The Great Glass Sea, is a novel of political, philosophical and historical. Weil’s book blends genres, but ties it all together nicely with expert storytelling.  Weil has been named a National Book Award "Five Under Thirty-Five" author, he has received fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, Columbia University, the MacDowell Colony, Bread Loaf, and Sewanee.

Nonfiction Winner

Bryan Stevenson, attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, wrote Just Mercy to bring attention to the different inhumane elements that we allow to inform our sense of justice in the U.S. His book focuses on an unjust death penalty case, but also highlights the focus of work overall—giving a voice to the condemned, both just and unjust cases. Stevenson has been recognized numerous times for his work exhaustive work defending human rights. He is also a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Fiction Runner-up

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Nonfiction Runner-up

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

To place holds on the books or view last year's winners, please check out our new Dayton Literary Peace Prize booklist.

For more information on the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, please go to daytonliterarypeaceprize.org.

Women of the Wild Blue Yonder: Amelia Earhart and Company

Amelia Earhart

"Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, 
their failure should be a challenge to others."

                                                                                                         Amelia Earhart

In July of 1937, Amelia Earhart was last heard from somewhere over the Pacific.  She and her navigator, Fred Noonan, had completed all but about 7,000 miles of their around the world flight when they landed in New Guinea.  The weather was cloudy and rainy when they left but the U. S. Coast Guard had ships in place to help guide the pair to the next stop.  Earhart transmitted: "We must be on you, but we cannot see you.  Fuel is running low.  Been unable to reach you by radio.  We are flying at 1,000 feet."  
Her last transmission, about an hour later, was "We are running north and south."  Thus began one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in history--aviation or other.  Earhart, Noonan, and their plane have never been found.  Their fate and location is still debated today.

Amelia Earhart and Her Navigator, Fred Noonan

Amelia Earhart and others like her paved the way for generations of women in aviation, both military and non-military.  Enjoy some of the following  books and movies about Amelia Earhart's life and legacy:

Amelia Earhart

Letters from Amelia, 1901-1937 by Jean L. Backus

Finding Amelia: the True Story of the Earhart Disappearance by Ric Gillespie

Amelia Earhart: the Sky's No Limit by Lori Van Pelt

Amelia Earhart: the Thrill of It by Susan Wels

Amelia Earhart: the Turbulent Life of an American Icon by Kathleen C. Winters

Amelia Earhart (DVD)

Where's Amelia Earhart? (DVD)

British aviator and writer Beryl Markham

 was the first woman to fly solo

 westward across the Atlantic Ocean.

Other Pioneers

West With the Night by Beryl Markham

Powder Puff Derby: Petticoat Pilots and Flying Flappers by Mike Walker

Anne Morrow Lindbergh: First Lady of the Air by Kathleen C. Winters

Breaking Through the Clouds: the First Women's National Air Derby (DVD)

Fiction

Breaking the Ice by Kim Baldwin

The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone

Velva Jean Learns to Fly by Jennifer Niven

The Art of Uncontrolled Flight: a Novel by Kim Ponders

Breathe the Sky: a Novel, Inspired by the Life of Amelia Earhart by Chandra Prasad

Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Author and Aviatrix

Rocking New Year

Before I realized that it is almost impossible to listen to CD books in a car where the disc gets ejected constantly, I began lining up several biographies of famous musicians to listen to while on the road. I am not an audiobook person, but I thought it seemed more fitting to listen to the biographies of people that built careers by appealing to our auditory preferences. Not to mention, several of the books are read by familiar voices. Just for the sake of name dropping, Johnny Depp and Keith Carradine make the list of rock and roll biography readers. If you decide to read rather than listen, check out our music selection for appropriate background music for your walk/read on the wild side.

Here is a list of some recent rock musicians' biographies that will be sure to spice up your new year:

Who I am: a memoir by Pete Townshend

The man who sold the world: David Bowie and the 1970s by Peter Doggett

Waging heavy peace: a hippie dream by Neil Young

My cross to bear by Gregg Allman; with Alan Light

 

 

Mick Jagger by Phillip Norman

Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin

Kicking & dreaming: a story of Heart, soul, & rock and roll by Ann and Nancy Wilson; with Charles R. Cross

In the pleasure groove: love, death, & Duran Duran  by John Taylor; with Tom Sykes

mem•oir/ˈmemˌwär/

One of my biggest pet peeves as a reader and as a librarian is the general jumbling together of memoir and biography. Yes, the two genres obviously relate, but you cannot carry the same expectations from one genre to the next. Biographies are a recitation of events, a sometimes emotionless rendering of a human life (yes, I generalize). However, a memoir is a vignette of a person’s life in their own words, a glimpse into the private thoughts, feelings, and events that helped to create the essence of the person. Sound good? Maybe you should jot these down…

Take for example, Townie, by Andre Dubus, III. Many of you may be familiar with Dubus’ novel, House of Sand and Fog, or maybe you’ve heard of his father, Andre Dubus, who was a short story writer and essayist. Regardless of how you know Dubus’ name, or if you don’t, I guarantee the life you’d assume he led as the son of a successful writer is far from accurate. Growing up in some of the roughest areas of Massachusetts, Dubus beautifully details his reconciliation of brawn, brains, and what it means to be a townie while he looks for the purpose of his life.

Across the pond, Jeannette Winterson delicately weaves humor into the strands of a confusing and desperate childhood in Why be happy when you could be normal?. Her honesty is brutal, her story is unique, and she is nothing less than a force of nature. It would be regrettable for anyone to miss out on her memoir. Seriously, slip her shoes on for a while and see how your life feels afterward.

The last author I’ll mention is dedicated memoirist, Mary Karr. Karr has written three memoirs over the years : The Liar’s Club, Cherry, and Lit. Each memoir details a different segment of her life beginning with her childhood in The Liar’s Club. Karr’s childhood memoir is character heavy and rich in detail. She is able to successfully show that love can still exist in chaotic, unpredictable families.

The vague descriptions of each memoir are in reverence to the writers' unique voices. Part of the enjoyment of reading memoirs is getting to experience the movement of the text as the story unfurls. All of these memoirs will leave you inspired and pondering your own journey. Perhaps you’ll even feel motivated to pen your own memoir. Besides, hiring a biographer can be expensive.

Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant

Having a crummy day and need something to lift your spirits? What you need is a little Cary Grant in your life. What you need is some Good Stuff. Grant was fond of this phrase and used it whenever he was happy about something, and it’s also the title of the book written about him by his only child, daughter Jennifer Grant. Now, if you’re looking for dirty family secrets and tabloid fodder, look elsewhere. You won’t find any of that in Good Stuff. In Jennifer’s eyes, Grant was a thoughtful and loving father, and she absolutely adored him. That adoration positively shines through on every page of this slim volume, making it a glowing tribute to one of Hollywood’s greatest actors. While most people are only familiar with Grant as the charming movie star and ladies' man, Jennifer saw a much more intimate side of him. She knew him as a man who could grow teary-eyed at the singing of the national anthem, a homebody who often ate dinner in front of the television with her while watching their favorite sitcoms, and a father who was never afraid or embarrassed to tell her how much he loved her. That he doted on Jennifer is an understatement; indeed, he gave up his movie career to focus solely on raising her.  But while he made sure she never wanted for anything, he also taught her the value working hard and earning one’s way in the world. Good Stuff is filled with family anecdotes, pictures, and snippets from the “Jennifer Grant Archives.” Yes, her father kept meticulous records of her childhood, everything from tape recordings to letters to Super 8 movies; practically anything she touched was fair game to be filed away for safekeeping. It’s through these mementos that he speaks to her still, “a little grumble with a Cheshire cat sparkle in the mix,” and gives us a glimpse of the type of man and father he truly was. Trust me, it really is good stuff, and it will make you smile.

I Never Knew

Who's hotter than Hot? Betty White is hotter than hot! She has been in the public eye for 70 + years and has recently made an even bigger name for herself.  I always enjoyed the characters she played. However, I did not believe that she was as sweet as the majority of the characters she played.  After reading, If You Ask Me and Of Course You Won't,  her latest autobiography, I believe she is down to earth, sweet and most definitely funny.  

Her latest book is full of short essays (chapters) that I actually shared with my teenage daughter.  Betty is not at all who I imagined her to be.  She adores animals, does not seem to want to do a lot of shows, (but....she doesn't want to let anyone down either) and enjoys helping others.  I learned that one of her favorite awards was being made an honorary forest ranger.  What an amazing woman.  She is 89 and still (I'm sure) has many adventures left to make.  If you enjoy a quick, witty, exciting book written by a down to earth, lovely lady give this one a try. 

Have you been to the Secret Annex?

I tend to read a lot of Holocaust literature. Morbid fascination? In a word, no. I think what I’m trying to do is understand how the savagery that was unleashed across Europe and Russia could be discussed, agreed upon, planned, and executed as though it were nothing more than a course of action to manage the weeds in one’s garden. The question—How could this happen?—is one that haunts me still, and the fact that similar atrocities continue to occur throughout the world reveals the sad truth that we still don’t get it. So I keep reading, not only of the whys and the hows, but perhaps most important of all, the whos: those who lived through the Holocaust, and those who perished. A recent late-night viewing of the moving BBC adaptation of “The Diary of Anne Frank” led me to the diary itself (Het Achterhuis; its English title is Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl) when I realized with shock that I’d never actually read it. I’m sure you’re familiar with the story: in 1942, thirteen-year-old Annelies Frank and her family (joined by four others) went into hiding in Amsterdam after the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. They remained in hiding until 1944 when they were discovered, arrested, and ultimately shipped to Auschwitz. These events are bookends to the majority of the entries within the diary in which Anne gives a detailed and highly literate account of life in “The Secret Annex,”* from the suffocating pressures of confinement to the hopes that waxed and waned with each report from the war front, and everything in between. It is a young girl’s struggle to simply live and celebrate life in the face of death, put to a symphony of words, sometimes harsh, sometimes naive, but always eloquent. Yes, in spite of the horrors taking place around her, there is real beauty to be found in Anne’s words, so much so that as the entries draw closer to August 4, 1944, the day the Franks were arrested and taken from their hiding place, the entries become that much harder to read. Anne always believed that she would survive the war and become a great writer. Had she lived, I have no doubt she would have achieved whatever she set her mind to, but as her Het Achterhuis demonstrates, she was already an extraordinary writer.     

*Click the link to visit "The Secret Annex Online"

Have a Little Faith

So, if someone came up to you and without warning asked you to to write and deliver their eulogy, how would you respond? While you're thinking that over, let's up the ante a bit: let's say this person is your minister...but you don't really attend church anymore, except maybe when the holidays roll around. In fact, you haven't been a regular at church in over 25 years. At this point, you'd probably be thinking, Why me? You wouldn't be alone. In Have a Little Faith: A True Story, Author Mitch Albom (Tuesdays With Morrie) found himself in just this predicament when his long-time rabbi, Albert Lewis, cornered him after a speech and popped the question. A few days later, Albom agreed to Lewis's request, but only if the two of them could spend some time together so Albom could learn more about him. What began as an awkward first meeting at Lewis's home grew into an eight-year friendship that gave Albom an invaluable education on the importance of faith, family, and tradition. Along the way, Albom befriended another man of faith, Pastor Henry Covington, from whom he learned that even the worst among us can be transformed and changed, and in turn can change others. Have a Little Faith: A True Story is a slim volume that packs a healthy wallop of goodness, and fans of Tuesdays With Morrie as well as those who've never read Albom before won't be disappointed.

The Water Giver

If you are a parent you need to read this book.  Many of the details in Joan Ryan's Book, The Water Giver: A story of a mother, son and their second chance will apply to any parent and child. 

Joan's son is learning disabled. He is prone to outbursts, temper tantrums and has difficulty in school.  Joan struggles to cope with the school system and her son's behavior daily. When her 16 year old son has a skateboarding accident, that causes a brain injury, the hardships she faces fade into the background.

This is more than a story of a mother and son getting through a terrible tragedy. It is a story of Joan's transformation and of her finally understanding what her relationship with her son is all about it.  This is a tale of tenacity, courage and Ryan's endless optimism despite multiple setbacks.  You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll think about how your life would be different if something terrible happened to your child.  How would you cope?  The one thing you will not do is put this book down.  Joan's story is a heart-warming one that will keep you turning the pages.

Joan learned that sometimes, the best you can do for someone you love is to be the water giver and soothe their thirst.

Great Books About Extraordinary People

If you're the type of reader who loves a good memoir, boy do we have a treat for you! April's Great Books, Great Libraries Featured Booklist is Life Lines: Great Books about Extraordinary People. Everyone has a story to tell, and sometimes that story makes a great page-turner. Take, for example, Carolyn Jourdan's Heart in the Right Place. After her mother suffers a heart attack, Jourdan ultimately leaves behind a high-powered career as a U.S. Senate counsel to help her father run his medical practice in rural Tennessee. Laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarming, this book is a definitely a keeper. Think your family is eccentric? Perhaps you should read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Actually, eccentric is putting it mildly. Walls's father, a brilliant dreamer, is an alcoholic and a gambler, and her mother a scattered artist who often couldn't be bothered to feed her own children. Walls and her siblings learn to fend for themselves and use their tenacity and wits to survive--and eventually escape--their hard-scrabble upbringing. Now if you have a soft spot for musicians, try The Soloist by Steve Lopez and The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman, both soul-stirring examples of lives turned upside down by unfathomable tragedy. Rounding out our selections is the modern classic Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, and the harrowing A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. 

Still want more? You'll find additional selections--including books for teens and kids--right here. Enjoy!

Coming To America

So, what would you do if you arrived in a foreign country with nothing but the clothes on your back and only $200 in your pocket? You've barely eaten in days, you don't speak the language, and no one is meeting you at the airport. In fact, no one knows you've arrived because no one even knows you exist. But let's up the ante a bit. The country you've just left, no, escaped is a better word, is torn by civil war. Friends, family, and strangers alike are being butchered, all in the name of someone's maniacal idea of revenge. You were lucky to make it out alive, and now, lost in a new land, you wonder if you'll ever see your mother and father again. The very thought you won't makes you cry. True story? Yes. It's called Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder. He recounts the harrowing tale of Deogratias, a young man who spent six months running from certain death in his homeland of Burundi during the civil war that erupted there in 1993. After coming to America, his circumstances take a turn for the better when he meets ordinary people who develop a sincere interest in helping him forge a new life. With their support, Deogratias is able to resume his education (he was a third-year medical student in Burundi) and, in time, reconnect with his family back in Burundi, eventually returning there to visit them and oversee the building of a clinic. Strength in What Remains is a moving tribute to the redemptive power of human kindness in the face of human evil.

In the Queue

Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie
by Richard Hack
Hack offers up an in-depth look at one of the most popular and most private writers in history.
Christie’s life was as full of romance, travel, wealth, and scandal as any mystery she crafted.

Burn
by Linda Howard
After winning the lottery, Jenner finds out money does change everything. Her father rips her off, her boyfriend dumps her, and her friends-turned-freeloaders give her the cold shoulder when she stops paying for everything.

Twenties Girl
by Sophie Kinsella
Lara Lington knows she has an overactive imagination, but now she thinks she may be losing her mind. She’s getting ghostly visits from her great-aunt Sadie who wants Lara to track down a missing necklace.

Biographies & Memoirs

Biographies and memoirs are wonderful. I love reading about the frailty of the human spirit. Bauby's story of living with Locked-In Syndrome without whining or complaining in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a perfect example. I also love reading about people's strength to overcome incredible odds in order to achieve a better life and, sometimes, to simply survive, such as in Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. However, I mostly love reading about, and this will make you think me shallow, the interesting facts that I can share with friends and co-workers – or even complete strangers who stand still long enough to listen.

For example, did you know that Albert Einstein (Albert Einstein by Alice Calaprice), who today would probably be diagnosed with ADHD, had multiple extra-marital affairs? Did you know that entertainer Steve Martin (Born Standing Up, a Comic’s Life) lost his virginity to Christian writer Stormie Omartian (only she wasn’t a Christian writer at the time; she was a performer)?

If you’re not sure where to start in your search for a well-written biography or memoir, try The Color of Water: a Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother by James McBride. I’m fairly certain you will enjoy the story, will appreciate seeing how his mother overcame incredible odds, and will find an interesting fact to share with someone else.