The Warmth of Other Suns (2010)

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This title is showing up on every list of top books of 2010. It deserves to be there. Personally I think it will be an important work for years to come. Isabel Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist, spent years culling stories and memories from 1,200 people who made the journey from the 'Jim Crow' South to the North, where they hoped to be free. She researched what others had to say and has distilled what she discovered into a highly readable account of an aspect of our history that has not been fully acknowledged. Because she personalizes the story by following the lives of three representative people, the reader feels the loss of these 'friends' by the end.

Thank you to the friend who recommended The Warmth of Other Suns to Me and the serendipity that let me find it sitting on the new book shelf at my local library.


View all my reviews

Still Life (2006)

After being surprised with my discovery of Louise Penny's most recent Chief Inspector Gamache mystery, I went back to the beginning to read the rest of the series in order (as was recommended by a friend).

In Three Pines, a charming village south of Quebec City (which seems unlikely to be touched by crime) an elderly woman is found in the woods on Thanksgiving Sunday. Was her death an accident or will Gamache uncover a murderer?

These are the titles in the series: Still Life; A Fatal Grace/Dead Cold; The Cruelest Month; A Rule Against Murder/The Murder Stone; The Brutal Telling; and Bury Your Dead. Where there is a / slash, the title to the left is the one used in the US and the one to the right is used in the UK.

And Louise just posted the following good news on Facebook:

"Finished editing the next book - A TRICK OF THE LIGHT. Wanted to end 2010 by getting that done. Feels terrific. Quiet, but lovely evening. Hope you enjoy the last evening of the decade."

The Hunger Games (2008)

I finished The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, a few miles south of St. Louis, Michigan on the way to our Holt Family Christmas in Mt. Pleasant on December 26th. I don't like to read in the car but I had to know how this first part of the trilogy would end.

Science Fiction is not generally a genre to which I am attracted; but if the category is instead Speculative Fiction, "that extrapolates from some phenomenon or theory and postulates 'What if?' ", I am often intrigued. 

Although this is considered a Young Adult novel, the ideas are compelling ranging  from the huge gap between the ruling class living in obscene wealth while the rest of the population is near starvation to the emphasis on cruel mass entertainment. At some point Katniss remarks that everyone has broken some law or other to survive. You'd have to be blind to not see parallels in our own world.

Looking for Katniss

Book One

Book Two

Book Three

I just brought Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, the first book in the trilogy, home from the library last week thinking it was about time to see what all the fuss is about. Apparently the large group of readers has now moved past books two and three and are now waiting to see who will be cast as Katniss in the movie. I have a lot of catching up to do!

Early Word (the Librarian / Publisher Connection) has posted this link about who might be in the movie. Looking for Katniss

BOOKS? FOR CHRISTMAS?

Holidays are for curling up with a book

"I have sought rest everywhere, and have found it nowhere, save in a little corner, with a little book."
-- Thomas à Kempis

Read This in Your "Succisive" Moments

My Chicago friend Deb posted this link on Facebook and it is worthy of being shared. Called SAVE THE WORDS. The idea is simple. You adopt a word (or two) and pledge to use them as often as possible. I adopted "succisive", which means "of spare or extra time". I just love my new word.

But SAVE THE WORDS is better experienced than described.

Kirkus Review Posts Top Books of 2010

 Every librarian knows where to find the important reviews and Kirkus is one of a handful of sources. They have just posted their top book lists for 2010. If you're looking for some good reading to add to YOUR list, check it out HERE.

Having just discovered Louise Penny, I was pleased to see that Bury Your Dead was in the top ten mystery list!


"Founded in 1933, Kirkus reviews more than 500 pre-publication books each month, including fiction, nonfiction, children's and young-adult books.  Our reviews are a trusted and authoritative decision-making tools, crafted by specialists selected for their knowledge and expertise in a particular field." 

Another Creative Use for Old Books

Not a conventional type of  'safe' person? Take a look at the Secret Safe Books - a place to hide your treasured items. You can purchase them ready made from Esty or use the inspiration for your own project. (The artist - Kara - makes 'flask' books too.)

The Warmth of Other Suns (2010)

Because a friend mentioned having read The Warmth of Other Suns, I snatched it off the library new book shelves and added it to my pile. The subtitle is The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and it follows the story of three specific individuals who left the south while embedding their lives in the greater story of that migration. I'm about one third through this beautifully written and researched book by the Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Isabel Wilkerson. I wanted to share this  poem that starts the next section.

I pick up my life
And take it with me
And I put it down in 
Chicago, Detroit,
Buffalo, Scranton. . .
I pick up my life
And take it on the train
To Los Angeles, Bakersfield,
Seattle, Oakland, Salt Lake,
Any place that is 
North and West--
And not South.

One Way Ticket
by Langston Hughes

My Library Just Sent Me a Christmas Present (and if you live in Jackson County, you can get one too!)

And no it wasn't a book.

My library just purchased access to the database Freegal for all its library card holders. Never having heard of Freegal (rhymes with legal), I wasn't very excited until I read what that actually meant to me.

Just by entering my library card number, I can download up to 3 mp3 songs a week for FREE! The database is poorly organized and the search engine leaves a lot to be desired but the collection is a treasure trove of surprises. My first guess was that the music would be odd, old, and unwanted. Wrong. Understand that not everything is there. I didn't find Madonna, Taylor Swift, Audra McDonald or Steely Dan. On the other hand, I did find R. Kelly, Usher, Beyonce, Britney Spears, and a ton of show tunes and soundtracks as well as R&B, pop, country, and classical.

There are alphabetical listings of performers and I stumbled across Hal Holbrook in the classical section. Voila! There was the recording of Mark Twain Tonight! with each section a separate download. If you wanted the entire album, it would take a few weeks but rather than downloading a 3 minute song, you could download a 15 minute story!

You have to really dig deep to find things sometimes. Always check the bottom of the page to see if there are additional pages.

Performers are listed by first name. Dionne Warwick is listed under D (for Dionne) in R&B. There are lots of things listed under THE (examples: The Fifth Dimension, The Isley Brothers, The Canadian Brass)There are only three albums listed to a page, but Earth, Wind and Fire has nine pages.

Did I mention Glee albums? They've got them.

So if you don't have a library card, maybe now is the time to go and get one. Where else can you legally download FREE music?

Look! Books!

Anthology Bookstore from the outside

Yes, it's on the second floor

Maybe you thought the only thing you needed to know about Scranton, PA was that the Office was set there. You'd be wrong. Recently opened off an alley in the downtown area is a charming second story (but handicapped accessible) used and new bookstore called Anthology. At Thanksgiving my daughter treated me to a visit and I was charmed.

School Librarians Continue to Disappear

Recently I was greeted by an above the fold front, page article about school librarians here in Jackson County, Michigan.

"There are four school districts in Jackson County that employ no one who has a master’s degree to be a librarian: Western, the county’s second-largest district; Concord; Napoleon and Springport."

Actually I was under the impression they had already gone the way of the dinosaur but apparently the process isn't quite complete. You can read the article by clicking HERE.