Carnegie Branch - Jackson District Library (MI)

The Jackson District Library has begun a trial subscription of the Jackson Citizen Patriot from 1865-1922. Remote users can access this with their library card barcode and PIN.

Do you know the services your library offers? You might be surprised. Ask a librarian today!

Then She Found Me (1990)

Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first Elinor Lipman was The Inn at Lake Devine (1999) and that was all it took to make me fall in love. Sometimes I forget about Elinor; but in the end, I discover her again. This time it was Then She Found Me, her first novel published in 1990 picked up in a used book store.

Bernice Graverman is a talk show host and full of herself. Thirty-six years after giving up a child, she decides to find her and becomes an whirlwind force in April Epner's quiet life. But this isn't the story you might expect. The characters are charming and exasperating and funny. The surprises keep coming, one more outrageous than the next. It's a wonderful dance of a fairytale life.

You can see a list of Elinor Lipman's books on Wikipedia by clicking HERE. I am busy trying to figure out which titles I have missed. As it turns out, none, more's the pity. Her personal website is HERE.

Apparently this is the only one of Elinor's books that has been made into a movie starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. The cast alone makes it something I will have to search out this summer. (I just requested from my local library!)

P.S. Elinor Lipman has a new book coming out Coming 8/28: TWEET LAND OF LIBERTY, a collection of Tweet Poems concerning the 2012 elections. She writes one everyday. Here's a sample, "Dressage is Mrs. Romney's passion/Expensive sport of horses prancin'/Tails & top hat crown the picture/& make the very rich look richer" Follow her on Twitter to read her acerbic and insightful 140 character rhymes! https://twitter.com/#!/ElinorLipman


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Why I am not going to read SERENA (2008)

Recently, in a talk to a group of book lovers, I shared Nancy Pearl's approach to enjoying reading. She espouses her Rule of 50 which states "If you still don't like a book after slogging through the first 50 pages, set it aside. If you're more than 50 years old, subtract your age from 100 and only grant it that many pages." Being well over 50 these days, allows me to read even fewer pages before calling it quits.

Ron Rash's new book The Cove is on reserve for me at my local library. While waiting, I thought I would read his earlier Serena. There seems to be much division of opinion on Serena. Love it or hate it. I just don't want to read it.

"The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire."

Right there things begin to fall outside my areas of interest. Rash's first novel was called 'a masterful balance of violence and beauty' and 'riveting' so don't let my lack of enthusiasm turn you away from this book. And who knows what my reaction to The Cove will be?

After Annie (2012)

After Annie by Michael Tucker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Herbie Aaron is one half of a celebrity marriage. . .But when Annie  dies of cancer, Herbie is lost."

I wanted to like this book. Then I started reading it and I didn't think that was going to happen. First of all, I didn't much like Herbie or the lifestyle he described. The sex and booze we all suspect is indulged in by theatrical types is very much in evidence. And, of course, since the author (and his wife) are well-known performers, we assume the book is built on their relationship and lives, whether that is true or not.

But something happened after a few pages and I fell in love with the characters. All of them. Even Herbie.

This is the first book in a long time that has made me really laugh and cry. (It says something like that on the cover, but for once it's true.) You'll want to hang out with these people. You'll think about making changes in your life and relationships. And because theater has been my life long passion, I can attest to the fact that the advice about acting and how to approach a role is truly insightful.

After all, Herbie is unique and seeing through his eyes makes you rethink the way you understand your own struggles. You'll be sorry to leave his world when the story ends.

Although this is Tucker's first published novel, he has written three other books of nonfiction about food and family. His bio says he is a writer and an actor. Both are more than true.


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The Icon Thief (2012)

The Icon Thief by Alec Nevala-Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nothing is better than winning a book in a contest than winning a really good book in a contest! I scored when I was chosen to receive a copy of Alec Nevala-Lee's thriller The Icon Thief. Mostly I don't even bother to enter contests but 1) I love thrillers and 2) I love the Philadelphia Art Museum. Some people might not find those compelling reasons but as a 'random reader' they make me happy.

Nevala-Lee's first foray into fiction takes the thriller concept to a higher, more sophisticated level. And since I love 'literate' mysteries, it stands to reason that a 'literate' thriller is going to be a pleasure to read.

Set in the international art world, a controversial work by Marcel Duchamp is stolen and everyone from the Russian mafia to art galleries to secret societies seem to be interested. Betrayal and greed make it difficult to know who should be trusted.

I was often torn between turning another page and running off to the computer to do research.

Even worse than reaching the end of the book was the teaser chapter of his next book, City of Exiles, which is not coming out until December 2012!

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Armchair BEA Holding Twitter Parties

I've blocked out June 4th through the 8th for Armchair BEA and scheduled two of the three possible Twitter parties to attend. Registration has hit 200. Interested?

Suggested for the conversation are:

• What are you currently reading?
• What books are you most looking forward to this Fall?
• How do you connect through books and blogging?
• Name your dream panels - authors and topics.
• What has been the best book you have read so far this year?

The Drama Book Shop

Why I never made a visit to The Drama Book Shop on one of my infrequent trips to New York City, I can't say. This legendary location caters to actors and others in the theatrical profession. They have 8,000 plays in stock and a 50-seat theatre downstairs. They have even been awarded their very own Tony.

Read more about this fabulous Midtown Manhattan book store HERE.

Save Queen of Sheba (1981)

Save Queen of Sheba by Louise Moeri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Years ago I was the sole librarian at a small, rural branch. Deciding it was my duty to know the collection, I chose random titles regardless of recommended ages.

Save Queen of Sheba, an adventure story for young reluctant readers, caught my attention from the opening lines when King David becomes conscious after an Indian attack on their wagon train and realizes he has been partially scalped.

King David, who is twelve, and his spoiled little sister Queen of Sheba, who is six, are the only survivors of the vicious attack. With luck he might save himself, but does he need the burden of his little sister?

This story is a gem. The ending is perfect. And unlike other books I have reread years later, Save Queen of Sheba still has the power to affect me deeply.

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FOOT NOTE: You can buy this slight paperback through Amazon for $999.99 from several sellers or a used copy for $515.92. I am NOT kidding. Click HERE.

(Armchair) Book Expo America 2012

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

I am so excited! I am signed up to participate in BEA this year and I don't even have to leave home!

Last year, for the first time apparently, BEA made provisions for those who couldn't make the trip to New York City for whatever reason. It's billed as a conference for book bloggers from the comfort of their own chair and I think it's a brilliant idea. Over 150 are signed up already and my name's on the list!

You can read more about or sign up for Armchair BEA HERE. The dates are June 4th through the 8th.

BookExpo America (BEA) is the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and industry professionals anywhere in North America. I was lucky enough to attend in person a number of years ago when librarians were first included. Before that the focus was on retail book sellers.

This is where the buzz starts about new books and what we'll all be hearing about during the coming year.

The Brutal Telling (2009)

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There are currently seven books in the Chief Inspector Gamache Canon. The Brutal Telling is number five. (Number eight, The Beautiful Mystery will lay down on August 28, 2012.) This story, in particular, suffers for being read out of order. And unfortunately I can't remember the beginning of the next book and how things got reconciled so that is bothering me.

A body is discovered in the village bistro. He is unknown to everyone except one person, who refuses to tell. When Gamache and his team arrive, the mysteries of the past reveal themselves in fascinating ways.

Like other readers, I want to live in Three Pines. I want to spend time with the people I know so well through Penny's graceful writing. I want to visit all the locations she so lovingly describes. And if there has to be a murder now and then to bring Chief Inspector Gamache to town, well then I'm all right with that.

Although this series falls neatly into the cozy classification, I consider Louise Penny's books to be literate mysteries as well. If you start with Still Life and work your way through, as with Agatha Christie, you will be more than happy with each entry.

Louise Penny; photo by John Mahoney

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Currently Reading - The Icon Thief

My favorite books are those that send me researching. The Icon Thief has done just that. The story concerns a famous work of art by Marcel Duchamp called Etant donnés, 1946–1966, mixed media, Philadelphia Museum of Art. This was posthumously and permanently installed in the museum in 1969.

I thought I did not know Duchamp but as a child attending art classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I was familiar with Marcel Duchamp's  Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912). Oil on canvas. 57 7/8" x 35 1/8". Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Philadelphia Art Museum

 And it was only a couple of years ago that I revisited the museum while on a nostalgia trip to home.

You can go HERE to learn how to pronounce Marcel Duchamp.

Books & Travel

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Maurice Sendak RIP

1928 - 2012

Read the article in the THE NEW YORK TIMES.

Watch People Shop for Books!

This is absolutely awesome. Watch people buy books all over the world. Mesmerizing!

CLICK HERE!

What I'm Reading Now

Life events have conspired to slow my reading progress but I am currently enjoying Louise Penny's The Brutal Telling, which is a title somewhere in the middle of her Chief Inspector Gamache series. When I finish this book, I will be caught up and left with nothing to do but await The Beautiful Mystery (August 28, 2012 release).

Then it will be a decision between reading After Annie by Michael Tucker (library book) or The Icon Thief by Alec Nevala-Lee (my book). Library books tend to win because they have to be returned, but I won The Icon Thief in a contest, which was exciting, and I love thrillers. On the other hand, After Annie is set in the theater world. Stay tuned to see what I finally decide.

Connected with Books on Pinterest

Unknown Source: BOOK WALK

I've been discovering the most amazingly creative pictures connected with books on Pinterest. Check my board out HERE.