Stories to warm your heart

It's the time of year when, after the rush of holiday cooking, shopping, and traveling, it's nice to relax and curl up by the fireplace with a book. Action-adventure, thrillers, horror, and mystery all have their place but, sometimes, we all need a story with a happy ending. A feel-good love story, whether or not it's a "romance," can be the perfect kind of book for this time of year. From the importance of family and the relationships that separate them and tie them together, as in Rosamunde Pilcher's classic, The Shell Seekers, to the modern tale of Eleanor and Abel about love found late in life, the range of love stories is vast. You might be familiar with some, like Kazuro Ishiguro's Remains of the Day, from the movie version, and this is a perfect time of year to read the stories that came first.  If these sound good, or you're interested in what other titles we think will warm your heart, check out the last of our Great Books Great Libraries booklists for the year: Loved Ones : Stories to Warm the Heart.  As with all of the featured genres this year, a paper booklist is available at the Readers' Advisory table at each library, in addition to the expanded list available online.


What's your favorite story about loved ones?  What books touch your heart?  We'd love to hear -- leave a comment below!

Thanksgiving!

The holidays are my favorite time of year. For me the Holidays  start off with Thanksgiving and roll right into winter, snow, sleighbells and before you know it the new year has begun.  So let's take a few minutes amidst all the hub bub to savor the turkey and the fixings.  I, myself, plan to sit down, relax and enjoy a great book. Here are a few books that are about taking whatever we are given and making the most of it.  

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower By Stephen Chosbky

You've Got To Read This Book: 55 People tell the story of the book that changed their life
edited by Jack Canfield

The Last Lecture By Randy Pausch

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff By Richard Carlson

Faith Hope and Love By Llwyd Owen

Heroic Measures By Jill Ciment

Hope Through Heartsongs By Mattie Stepanek

They Almost Always Come Home By Cynthia Ruchti

In the Queue

The Wolves of Andover

by Kathleen Kent

Strong-willed Martha falls in love with mysterious Thomas. Rumor has it that Thomas was connected to the death of King Charles I. After Thomas saves Martha from a wolf, he discovers assassins have arrived from

London to capture Charles I’s executioner.

The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton
A letter sent in 1941 finally reaches its destination in 1992 with powerful repercussions for Edie, a London book editor. The letter is addressed to Edie’s mother, then a young teen evacuated to Milderhurst Castle during WWII. Curious, Edie visits the castle in search of answers. Why was her mother so devastated by a letter sent 51 years earlier?

Atlantic
by Simon Winchester
Winchester returns with his epic “biography” of the Atlantic Ocean, from its origins millions of years ago through the population of its shores by humanity. He examines the early explorations and the perils of the open sea. This saga is necessary reading for those who want to understand the planet better.

An ode to bookstores...and libraries too!

I love libraries. But you know what? I also love bookstores. Yes, I realize this is the age of Amazon.com, where you can search for and purchase just about any book (or anything else, for that matter) you can think of, and have it delivered right to your doorstep without leaving the comfort of your bathrobe or being particularly web savvy. Don’t get me wrong: I’m an avid user of Amazon, but just like browsing the shelves of your local library, there’s something to be said for actually going into a bookstore and taking in the scenery. Getting lost in the aisles and running your fingertips along the book spines, waiting for the moment a title catches your eye and makes your acquaintance. Care to spend a quiet afternoon together? Some of my fondest childhood memories were of trips to the mall and beelines made straight to the bookstore, where I would sit quietly in a corner and get lost in the pages of a new friend. And, if I was lucky, I’d get to take that friend home with me. Of course, I did this wherever books were sold or loaned, because bookstores and libraries were—and still are—sacred places to me, and just being in a room filled with bookcases stuffed to the gills with books makes me giddy. I once overheard a little girl in the library exclaim after breathing in deeply, “Ahhh, now that’s the smell of knowledge.” It was absolutely wonderful. So here’s a suggestion for you: take a field trip. Whether it’s to your local library or bookstore, you decide. Hopefully you’ll visit both, but regardless, just get out there. Look around and touch and breathe it all in. You never know what you'll find--or what may find you.  

Juliet...and maybe a little Romeo

I don't think I would  normally rush to recommend a book that, when pushed to come up with a pithy description, prompts me to say, "think Dan Brown meets Nora Roberts."  And yet, Anne Fortier's book, Juliet, has managed to jump that hurdle.  There's suspense, intrigue, secret societies, and a mystery that must be decoded in order for the protagonist to discover who she really is, coupled with a questionable romantic attachment.  It's got the intrigue of a Dan Brown (although better written) coupled with the romance of a Nora Roberts.

When 25-year-old Julie Jacob's great-aunt Rose died, Julie expected a windfall inheritance from the wealthy woman who had raised her; what she got was a letter.  The letter instructs Julie to go to Italy and find the treasure left for her by her mother in a secret safe deposit box.  The note also includes a further surprise -- Julie's real name is Giulietta Tolomei.  Giulietta... as in Juliet... as in the real Juliet whose life inspired Shakespeare a few hundred years later.  The book then transitions back and forth between Julie/Giulietta's adventures in Italy today and the original Giulietta Tolomei and her quest to be with her true love (named Romeo, of course). 

While some of the twists and turns of the plot are questionable at best and require a bit of a logical leap (think of the kindly old caretaker in any given Scooby Doo episode), if you can suspend your disbelief it is an original book that is perfect for a cool, gray, fall day.

Crossover Literature It's Ok to read them

Crossover literature is composed of stories that appeal as much to adults as they do to children or young adults. I didn't realize that I was part of the phenomenon or trends of the past decade, when I began reading the stories my children were reading and enjoying them. Authors who write crossover titles include, but are not limited to: JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Suzanne Collins, Robert Jordan, RA Salvatore, Brian Sanderson, Stephanie Meyers, Philip Pullman, Mark Haddon, Tamora Pierce and Christopher Paolini. Some of these author's books have been published with different covers and sell well in both markets.

Crossover fiction usually has protagonists who are tweens. They are just on the edge of turning into adults. They are faced with tough life choices and most must grow up quickly. Many, although not all, feature some use of magic. Susanne Collins does not use magic, but technology abounds in her Hunger Games Series. This technology adds a feeling that big brother is watching you and knows everything. This in itself can be a form of magic.

Rowling's Harry Potter series is set in a magical world where anything can happen. As with most children's stories good usually triumphs over evil and true to the form of a crossover novel, a somewhat ordinary 11 year old boy is thrust into deadly situations that he almost assuredly will not survive. This is truly a coming of age story, one where the love and devotion of friends sees him through.

If you enjoy fantasy, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time Series is an excellent crossover adventure. It also has 13 books in the series with the final story to be released possibly in 2012. It's a story packed with adventure, intrigue, magic and of course the good vs. evil controversy. Jordan's series begins with story lines and insight into each character's point of view. Most of his characters are children who are just on the cusp of adulthood and grow older as the series continues. The insight into each character captures the reader’s attention and holds it from one book to the next. The latest novel, Towers of Midnight,  is primarily Mat's and Perrin's storyline and lasts an amazing 861 pages. In comparing this novel to Tolkien's series, the latest novel is similar to the Two Towers. The 13th novel in the series is the gathering action. The battle against the dark forces begins in ernest and the struggle to survive is intense.

Of course, in most stories nowadays sex is everywhere, including young adult literature. Fortunately, this is done with more care in crossover literature. In crossover books adults are reminded of the innocence and purity of their first love and how life can change in a moment. Stephenie Meyer's novel, Twilight series is an excellent example of young love with consequences and choices.  The crossover novel shows children hard choices, pain and possible heartache depending on their choice. It gives them a look at consequences based on the decisions they make.

Most crossover stories have a mixture of light and dark. Crossover books can be dark like Pullman's The Golden Compass, JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or light hearted and not quite so dark as in Harry Potter. Graceling and its sequel Fire are a blend of childhood lightness and growing up which becomes filled with dark choices. The choices are necessary but each has its own impact on the world and what happens next. The characters can only hope that their choice makes the world a better place.

The primary power of a crossover novel is the story-telling quality. The reader, be they adult or child is hooked by the characters, the settings and fantastic plot lines. The crossover novel is by definition good children's literature. It requires the writer to stay true to the story line and entertain the reader. There is of course violence and emotional conflicts abound but there is a much broader sense of friendship that ties the story together. This is evident  in Shifter  and Blue Fire by Janice Hardy.

So don't hide the cover of your book. Chances are that someone sitting next to you has already read the book or it is on hold for them. You might  also be surprised to learn that the adult title you just read was also read by a teen. This has happened to me and often leads to wonderful and insightful discussions. So pick up a good book any style (juvenile, young adult or adult fiction) and read.

You never know when you'll find someone with similar interests reading the same book, even if you might be generations apart.  

PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelists) Awards 2010

PEN American Center, the largest branch of the oldest literary and human rights organization, has announced the winners of the 2010 PEN Literary Awards.  Each year PEN confers over $100,000 to writers, editors, and translators.  The following winners and runners-up were honored on October 13th in New York City:

Don DeLillo--Achievement in American Fiction
Susan Choi--Fiction Writer in Mid-Career
Marilyn Hacker--Poetry

Tinkers by Paul Harding
In the Valley of the Kings by Terrence Holt
Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Soul of the Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare
by Jonathan Bate
Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
by Graham Farmelo
Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson
by Wil Haygood
Outcasts United: A Refugee Soccer Team, an American Town
by Warren St. John

On the opposite coast, PEN USA (West Coast), unveiled the winners of its 2010 Literary Awards competition.  The winners and finalists will be honored at the Beverly Hills Hotel on November 17, 2010.  Past winners include: Ray Bradbury, Barbara Kingsolver, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gore Vidal, and Alice Walker.

Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato
The Heydey of the Insensitive Bastards by Robert Boswell
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing by Charles Bowden
The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum
Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
by Robin Kelley

International PEN, PEN USA, and PEN American Center all strive to protect the rights of writers around the world and to stimulate interest in the written word.

For further information:

International PEN--http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/--was founded in London in 1921 after World War I. Today they are composed of 145 centers in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

PEN American Center--http://www.pen.org/--was founded in 1922 and is the largest of the centers in 101 countries.

PEN Center USA--http://www.penusa.org/--is one of the two centers in the United States and the third largest in the world.  It was founded in 1943 and has a membership of more than 800 writers.