Book Keeping

Advice to Writers (And Readers)

2012-02-16T12:16:00.001-05:00

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."

~ Stephen King, Best Selling Author

A Rule Against Murder (2008)

2012-02-06T12:24:00.000-05:00

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since first discovering Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead, I have become addicted to her Chief Inspector Gamache series. Although they can be read out of order, I love the forward progression and recurring characters she has created. It is always a delight to visit in Three Pines. It feels like going home to a place you know even though you know something bad (and exciting) is going to happen.

A Rule Against Murder is book number four in a brief list of seven titles ending with last year's Trick of the Light. Even though Penny has amassed a rightfully earned number of awards for all her books, it appears her craftsmanship has gotten better and better.

The setting in A Rule Against Murder follows Gamache and his wife to an isolated, luxurious resort just over the mountains from Three Pines. They are celebrating their anniversary where they spent their honeymoon years earlier. Unfortunately a wealthy and entitled family has occupied much of the lodge. That combined with a storm that leaves behind a dead body eventually reveals an intricate past and unexpected connections.

Her eighth book, The Beautiful Mystery will be available in both the U.S. and Canada on August 28th. Needless to say, there are a continually growing devoted group of readers who can't wait. One of them is me!

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Blurb Rules: A guide to the art and artifice of writing blurbs for books.

2012-02-06T11:37:00.000-05:00

Thrilling, pertinent, and insightful comments on how to write book blurbs. Too bad I didn't know about these rules sooner. Thank you to the Barnes and Noble Review for Blurb Rules by Daniel Menaker.

Bad Things Happen (2010)

2012-01-23T19:30:00.002-05:00

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was immediately caught in the web woven by author Harry Dolan and his mysterious character David Loogan. The writing and the storytelling are both deceptive in their simplicity. For literate mystery readers everywhere, discovering this new series is a delight.

Set in the college town of Ann Arbor, it was fun to recognize landmarks and locations used in the book. But that is only secondary to the characters, descriptions, and twists and turns in the plot that kept me up past my bedtime. Sophisticated and witty, I can't wait to read Very Bad Men.

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Wish I Could Write Reviews Like This

2012-01-23T16:04:00.001-05:00

New Death Threats Against Salman Rushdie

2012-01-20T14:06:00.001-05:00

I've never read the Satanic Verses, but apparently there are some very passionate people in the world who object to the words he put to paper. A quarter of a century after publication, militant Muslims have once again threatened Salman Rushdie's life. Read the CNN article HERE.

2012-01-19T14:18:00.004-05:00

Check out the Edgar Nominees if you are so inclined. The winners of the 2012 Edgars, given by the Mystery Writers of America, will be announced on April 26th. Individual categories include: Novel, First Novel, Paperback Original, Fact Crime, Juvenile, Young Adult, Play, TV Story, and more. Grand Master this year is Martha Grimes! Check out the intro to her website. It's quite interesting!

Three Michigan Independent Bookstores

2012-01-17T16:12:00.002-05:00

Before there are no bookstores left, you and I might want to check out these three independents that were written up briefly in the January/February 2012 AAA Magazine.

Ann Arbor - Aunt Agathas

I have heard of Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor for years but never visited. It's on my list of things to do this spring when I am ready to browse "used and new mystery, detective and true crime books".

St. Joseph - Forever Books

St. Joe's is a little more of a trip, but Forever Books' staff are "experts on Michigan authors and can recommend great reads for any local interest".

Grand Rapids - Literary Life Bookstore & More

How can you ignore a book store that has a "glowing fireplace"? Housed in a renovated bank building, Literary Life Bookstore & More "stocks a little bit of everything."

When shall we go? If you get there before me, let me know what you think. And if you know of other wonderful bookstores within a day's drive, tell me about them. I would love an excuse to visit!

Bad Things Happen (2010)

2012-01-13T14:21:00.002-05:00

This is the book I am currently reading thanks to Kathryn Krentz's recommendation and my local library's reserve system.

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN (2011)

2012-01-12T20:56:00.004-05:00

After devouring Erik Larson's earlier book The Devil in the White City, it was natural to follow up with Thunderstruck and now his latest In the Garden of Beasts.

He consistently manages to make absolute page turners out of history, surprising the reader with unknown details every few pages. It's the kind of book with which you annoy everyone around you by insisting they 'listen to this'!

His story sketches the life and times of William E. Dodd, America's Ambassador during Hitler's rise to power, and his family in Germany during the 1930s. There are pages of citations and references but you don't need to use them to get through this fascinating tale.

Here's a quote that particularly caught my attention:

"In conclusion," he said, "one may safely say that it would be no sin if statesmen learned enough of history to realize that no system which implies control of society by privilege seekers has ever ended in any other way than collapse."

Want to Break the Amazon Habit and Support Your Independent Bookstore?

2012-01-11T17:14:00.002-05:00

(Credit: iStockphoto/PaulaConnelly/mbortolino)

It's too late for Jackson, Michigan since our last bricks and mortar 'new' bookstore is gone, but you could search for an independent bookstore elsewhere to support. Read this article from Salon that a friend posted on Facebook to see if these suggestions would work for you.

Books Make a Home

2012-01-11T16:56:00.003-05:00

A friend just posted this book on Facebook and another friend commented, "There seems to be an awakening to the design potential of books!" (It's currently temporarily out of stock at Amazon if that conveys interest in the title.)

There's one very helpful customer review at Amazon, which explains that the book has suggestions for books room-by-room as well as "useful tips on caring for and cleaning books, how to store old and valuable books, and different methods of organizing books".

I recently arranged my books in the living room in a way more pleasing to the eye. Rather than have them all standing up like a library, I stacked some on their side, which also serves as a book end. On the other hand, it really annoys me to see books used exclusively as decoration. My books get read and they aren't all pretty with expensive bindings. It really is what's inside that counts.

On the other hand, my local library has a copy on order so I put in my request for it when it arrives!

"There's Nothing Like a Real Book"

2012-01-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

A short stop-action animation called The Joy of Books created by Toronto's Type Books

Discovered on Boing Boing.

And Now For Something Completely Different. . .

2012-01-09T22:00:00.003-05:00

Who needs a Kindle when you have a device like this!

Experience a Beautiful Bookstore in Portugal

2012-01-03T21:05:00.001-05:00

Book Barn in West Chester, Pennsylvania

2012-01-03T18:01:00.001-05:00

A friend mentioned recently that her father, who I met years ago, works at the Book Barn so I looked it up. And what a surprise! I am sure that my parents took me here as a child. I grew up in Philadelphia and a favorite weekend outing took us on back roads all around the area, stopping at interesting places to explore.

The next time I am in the area, the Book Barn will definitely be a destination!

2012-01-01T22:20:00.000-05:00

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just re-read this book for the millionth time and still cried at the end. It is one of my favorite books of all time and I didn't discover it until I was an adult.

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2011-12-31T21:10:00.003-05:00

Brian Dettmer's Book Carving

2011-12-28T15:09:00.001-05:00

Artist: Brian Dettmer

A friend posted a link to Twisted Sifter online and I had to check it out just because of the wonderful name. The link took me to the Top 25 Art Projects of 2011 with the first listed being Brian Dettmer's book carving pieces. There are a total of 30 works as well as his bio and artist statement. One statement especially struck me:

"History is lost as formats change from physical stability to digital distress." Worth contemplating, I think.

Here are two that I find particularly interesting. One because of the shell-like shape and the other because of the way he achieved color.

Artist: Brian Dettmer

A Booklover's Christmas Tree

2011-12-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

You can see where this was found by clicking through to Photoblip!

News about Denise Mina

2011-12-13T13:25:00.001-05:00

Denise Mina (Facebook)

I can't seem to escape the need to read Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy starting with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And now with the announcement that Glaswegian Denise Mina, one of my very favorite crime novelists, has been chosen to adapt the series in graphic novel form, I can't stand the thought that I would be on the outside looking in. Read the article from the Guardian UK HERE for more details.

A Visit to the Book Sale

2011-12-10T14:05:00.002-05:00

I succumbed to being on a committee committed to resurrecting the library at the Middle School at Parkside (Jackson Public Schools). The building was originally a high school so there is rather a nice space that was the library. Yesterday and today there was a book and bake sale held to raise a little money and a lot of awareness.

Although I donated a few rather nice things (newish books as well as DVD's), I planned to delight in that added shelf space. Alas!

I thought I would stop by yesterday and see what was being offered. There was actually a ton of attractive stuff unfortunately for me. Even though I managed to avoid many things, I ended up with the following for a variety of reasons: The Lion in Winter script (because we are doing a staged reading in January); Ruth Rendell's The Rottweiler; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (because I felt I needed to refresh my memory); Then She Found Me (because I adore Elinor Lipman and don't think I read this early novel marked as a teen read); Linda Fairstein's The Kills; and Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire (I haven't read the first book yet but at least I won't have to go to the library for this second title). Why? I don't need anything else to read. I didn't quite fill the shelf space back up.

My name is Ann and I am a book addict.

DATE A GIRL WHO READS - Truth on the Internet or Why We Still Need Librarians

2011-12-08T11:52:00.003-05:00

On Facebook today a friend posted the following quote and attributed it to Hollywood Twilight star Robert Pattinson. From a cursory check through Google it appears that the quote comes from a longer blog post written by Rosemarie Urquico, who is said to be a writer from the Philippines. Rest assured that Pattinson did not write this. The column has been re-blogged many times but I haven't been able to find an original source. Here's one place the whole piece is shared.

So much for truth on the Internet. This is why we need librarians. In the past they have always evaluated resources for accuracy while not censoring information.

Robert Pattinson Quote : "If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are. Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Upon doing a bit more searching I found the following information:

Rosemarie no longer has an active blog, but she can be found on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=585211028

To see the post about how she was found, please go here. Thanks to Jonathan for searching!

The Outsiders (1967)

2011-12-06T14:00:00.008-05:00

The Outsiders by Christopher Sergel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having never read the book nor seen the movie, I finally got a copy of the play version since our local theatre group, Center Stage Jackson, will be performing it in February 2012. Of course, as a librarian, I'd heard about The Outsiders and S.E. Hinton's incredible personal story for years.(Susan Eloise Hinton wrote this amazing tale at the age of sixteen because she couldn't find things she wanted to read!)

The adaptation is excellent and the play is powerful. Now I understand why this story has meant so much to young people over the years since it was first published in 1967. It also parallels the gang clashes that were portrayed in the musical West Side Story. In The Outsiders the warring groups are the "Greasers" and the "Socs".

"This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless, about latent decency in the midst of struggle, about not losing touch with the residual slivers of gold within us all."

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School Library Journal Posts Best Books for Kids 2011

2011-12-05T11:32:00.001-05:00

Thanks to a friend, I was directed to the list of 65 books School Library Journal has chosen as the best of 2011. Categories begin with picture books and continue with fiction, non-fiction, and adult books for teens. If you are looking for holiday presents or just titles to encourage your child to love reading, check out this list, which includes Michigan author Shutta Crum's picture book!

You'll also find books I've recommended here on the list for teens.

CRUM, Shutta. Mine! illus. by Patrice Barton. Knopf/Borzoi. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86711-8.
PreS-Gr 2–As an intrepid toddler struggles to take possession of a passel of playthings, he is keenly observed by a frolicsome pup and a winsome infant who is preparing to make her move. The characters’ spot-on body language and facial expressions create a virtuoso visual portrayal of nascent social skills. (June)

The Cruelest Month (2007)

2011-12-04T20:18:00.001-05:00

The Cruelest Month: A Three Pines Mystery by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like any series, the entries may vary in their appeal, but with Louise Penny, once you are hooked, it doesn't matter. I feel like the quirky people in the village of Three Pines are friends and I desperately wish that Inspector Gamache was a real person.

The Cruelest Month is the third in the series. Unfortunately I began with book 6, which is one of the best and has won a ton of awards. Then Trick of the Light #7 was released last year and I had to read that. Finally I started at the beginning. Now I just have A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling before I start fretting about when a new title will be released.

This is a series that I recommend be read in order for the greatest enjoyment.

In The Cruelest Month some of the villagers decide to celebrate Easter with a seance at the old Hadley house, the scene of other unhappy events, and one of them dies apparently of fright. But something isn't right.

An interesting feature of these books is that the poems ascribed to Penny's character Ruth are actually the work of Margaret Atwood

I was hanged for living alone,
for having blue eyes and a sunburned skin,
tattered skirts, few buttons,
a weedy farm in my own name,
and a surefire cure for warts.

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Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop (2010)

2011-12-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

Last summer a best friend gave me a copy of Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop edited by Otto Penzler to read during this holiday season. I pulled it off the shelf the other day and read the explanation about how those particular mysteries came to be gathered together.

There actually IS an independent bookstore named The Mysterious Bookshop run by Otto Penzler. I had heard of it for years but never got to visit even on the few trips I made to New York City.

Here's how Otto Penzler explains the collection:

"As a way of thanking our customers for their support, I have commissioned an original story from some of the finest mystery writers in America each Christmas season for the past 17 years. These stories are then published in handsome booklets and given to my customers as a Christmas present. The only criteria for the authors to follow were that the stories should be set during the Christmas season, involve a mystery, and have at least some of the action take place at The Mysterious Bookshop."

Each year only 1,000 copies of each story were printed. Now all seventeen have been published for the rest of us to read and enjoy. And the stories are as much fun as the idea behind them! The authors include Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Ed McBain, Anne Perry, S.J. Rozan, and Donald Westlake.

A favorite quote in the story Murder for Dummies by Ron Goulart is "Windward was a small town that sat on the Connecticut side of the Long Island Sound. Its homes were a mix of heavy Victorian, 1930s modern and an occasional gross misunderstanding of the basic theories of Frank Lloyd Wright."

Could this clever anthology be a possible present for your favorite mystery reader?

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

2011-12-02T09:35:00.002-05:00

$55

Did you know that one of the most beloved Christmas movies was based on a short story called The Greatest Gift?

Philip Van Doren Stern couldn't find a publisher so in 1943 he gave 200 copies to family and friends as a Christmas card. In 1946 Frank Capra filmed the movie version It's a Wonderful Life. It was considered a box office flop and although nominated for five Oscars it didn't win a single one.

The film is now "recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 best American films ever made, and placed number one on their list of the most inspirational American films of all time." (Wikepedia)

$149

Copies of the book are pricey editions ($55) available from Amazon reprinted in 2011 as well as an earlier edition ($149) if you are looking for a very special gift for a very special person. There are also used copies and other editions if you hunt around a bit.

Update on #OWS Library Trashed

2011-11-17T17:26:00.000-05:00

At first the story was the library was trashed. Then the story was it wasn't trashed. Now the truth is it WAS pretty much trashed. Hard to keep up? Read the details HERE and consider donating to the rebuilding of the resource.

You can donate to the library by posting books to:
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
Attn: The People’s Library
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038

#OWS Library Trashed by NYPD

2011-11-16T13:55:00.000-05:00

Were you aware that a library of over 5,000 books was trashed by police clearing out the Occupy Wall Street protestors?

In response, an emergency online library was set up. You can read about it HERE.

But a more recent article says the books are available to be picked up although there is no mention of the more permanent structure that was provided by Patti Smith.

The End of Libraries and the Future of Books?

2011-11-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

Not exactly. But this article (from the Huffington Post 11/16/11) shows how library funding continues to be under fire across the country bringing many to the brink of extinction. The most interesting comments are those that indicate that people don't see what is happening until it is too late. Is it because we are distracted in our daily lives that we don't pay attention to what our leaders are doing until they make an unpopular decision? Or is it because there is no way for us to be engaged in ongoing dialogues about how our community and country is run?

The End of Borders and the Future of Books (Businessweek)

2011-11-13T15:32:00.002-05:00

"In November 2010, a 30,000-square-foot outlet of a bookstore chain called Davis-Kidd Booksellers, in business in the city for 30 years, had closed as well. With the shuttering of the Brentwood Borders, there wasn’t a store within 22 miles of Nashville that specialized in new books." (Businessweek November 10, 2011)

Interestingly enough the conclusion of the article is that the bookstores in Nashville didn't fail because they weren't profitable, they were "undone not by the collapse of the local market but by the bankruptcy of the parent company".

Towards the end of the article the prediction is made that the bookstore concept has come full circle. That it is likely that smaller bookstores of 2,500 square feet will fill the void left by the implosion of the big book stores. I hope writer Ben Austin is right.

Read the whole article HERE.

The Most Dangerous Thing (2011)

2011-11-02T21:56:00.000-04:00

The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In The Most Dangerous Thing author Laura Lippman describes a childhood that resembled mine. Seemingly carefree days of playing with friends in the woods unencumbered by the safety concerns and over-scheduled days kids encounter today.

Lippman's writing is graceful, as always, but the structure of the novel was disorienting. Five friends went into the woods in 1979 and a terrible thing happened. What is the truth of the secret that so many have kept close for so many years? When one of the five friends dies, more questions arise. Was it an accident or suicide? Circling closer and closer to the truth through the voices of those remaining, the truth is ultimately revealed.

Although this is a stand alone story, Tess Monaghan, Lippman's reporter turned PI from her very popular series makes a cameo appearance.

View all my reviews

Houzz.com

2011-11-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

I have discovered Houzz. Visit the site to see fabulous home libraries. This one made me want to curl up in that cozy spot and read. What's your favorite? Look HERE!

traditional family room design by los angeles interior designer Susan Jay Design

Read Your Bookcase

2011-10-29T21:50:00.002-04:00

Creative Collection from Andrew Keir

Is this really a less than useful design as one of the blog commenters writes? You be the judge.

You can check out more pictures by clicking HERE.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-29T21:30:00.000-04:00

Have a Happy Halloween!

Watch Tonight!: NBC News Segment on “Our Bodies, Ourselves” | Our Bodies Our Blog

2011-10-25T13:53:00.000-04:00

I remember when I was first introduced to Our Bodies, Ourselves in a college level class at the University of Michigan in the mid-1970s. It was surprising and rather embarrassing how little I knew and I was already married with children!

This book was a revelation, a clarifier, an assurance, and an eye-opener. It changed many of my perceptions about what was 'normal'.

A 40th Anniversary Edition has just been released. If you're not familiar with it, maybe now's the time to get a hold of a copy. (Jackson District Library has it on order. They have older editions as well.) Check to see if your local library has a copy. If they don't, recommend they purchase it!

(Thanks to my friend Jennifer for bringing this to my attention!)

Public Bookshelves - A Novel Idea

2011-10-14T19:28:00.001-04:00

Germany has discovered the concept of public bookshelves according to an article in The Christian Science Monitor. Public libraries in this country have been doing similar things for years. My branch library has a paperback and magazine exchange that I frequent. It's totally unmonitored and housed in the entry way. (The librarians straighten the table top if things get too messy.)

Germany has taken the concept a step further and the idea is spreading. Donations and volunteers support the effort. Read the whole article HERE. (Thanks to K. Krentz for pointing out this article.)

The Lantern (2011)

2011-10-12T13:49:00.001-04:00

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

References to Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca are made when writing about The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. That is a powerful hook. And this is a lovely book. The writing is charming and the author captures the sights, sounds, and fragrances of Provence.

"Do photographs and memories complement each other, or do photographs inevitably prove more dominant, ultimately taking the place of the true memory?" Such are the kind of thoughts our narrator ponders as she seeks to learn the truth behind her husband's first wife, the talented and beautiful Rachel.

The past and present of the abandoned house where Eve and Dom settle are woven together in short chapters with the thoughts of a previous tenant Benedicte. The author also comments on her blog that in addition to being an homage to DuMaurier "Along the way it became a novel about perfume and blindness and the past life of houses, and also about books, reading and the imagination."

Unfortunately I had to drag myself through this book. I'm not sure why. Maybe I've read too many books recently that jump back and forth from past to present. There were things that led me to expect a slightly different resolution at the end. More mysterious and gothic. It was not to be.

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small is the new big (2006)

2011-10-12T13:24:00.003-04:00

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I follow Seth Godin's blog, I impulsively picked up his 2006 collection of earlier blog posts the last time I was in the library. Have I mentioned I love Seth? He rants about the same things I rant about and there is nothing more endearing than knowing someone else thinks as you do.

Like all his work, he sparks your creativity. You are free to pick and choose and see what makes sense in your own world.

Loosely alphabeticalized, you can read this book in small or larger (would that be appropriate?) chunks over a period of time.

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Thinking about my tag line on this blog. . .

2011-10-01T11:17:00.000-04:00

Just taking the second part, about how what you are reading affects who you will become (if you aren't already now), I should be a mysterious, dramatic, gothic romantic. (Just kidding.)

Reading Your Own Work in Front of an Audience

2011-10-01T10:11:00.002-04:00

Sisters in Crime, an organization that was formed to promote women mystery writers, had an interesting post yesterday. It deals with the 'performance author'. You know, the one who gets asked to read from their book at an event. Author's can be very shy about doing a reading in front of an audience and Ramona DeFelice Long offer four tips to make that process easier. Click HERE to read what she had to say.

Bookstore Fail

2011-09-29T19:31:00.001-04:00

And Speaking of Shelving . . .

2011-09-28T16:14:00.002-04:00

People often bemoan the way libraries discard old books - throwing them in a dumpster to make space for new materials. Not-Tom, a U.K. "design studio based in London specializing in exhibition and furniture design". Found another solution. A book book shelf.

Not Tom Photograph

2011-09-26T11:02:00.000-04:00

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Being aware that professional reviewers are not as enthralled with Vanessa Diffenbaugh's debut novel The Language of Flowers as readers are, I had to see what the fuss was about. And it is not a perfect book. More allegorical than gritty reality, we meet Victoria as she is being emancipated from the unattractive world of foster care. She makes terrible choices and is terrified that she is not worthy of love. But she was taught about flowers and their meanings and that provides the enchantment that will ultimately free her.

Victoria's story is told in alternating chapters describing her relationship with Elizabeth, who taught her about flowers, and her current life as she tries to make her way in the world.

The back of the book includes a dictionary of the meanings of flowers and that whole concept brought back from Victorian times is absolutely enchanting. And apparently the author is publishing a second volume that is simply about 'floriography'.

It is frustrating later in the book, when Victoria continues to make 'bad' decisions which seem unnecessary. And there is some repetition the author felt would create a frantic need for those decisions but I didn't always buy it and sometimes found Victoria very annoying. There's also a bit of 'then a miracle' happened feel, which is why I use the term allegorical. Some have said 'fairy tale' and that works too.

Read it anyway. The professional reviewers are probably right in whatever it is they are saying, but Vanessa Diffenbaugh has struck a cord with her readers and brings us a story we haven't heard before.

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Awesome News from the Library

2011-09-24T20:16:00.001-04:00

Carnegie Branch, Jackson, Michigan

The Jackson District Library just announced that they and approximately 11,000 libraries have joined with Amazon to allow users to check out books using their Kindle device, which will include JDL's eBook Collection.

A library card, Amazon account and a device with the free Kindle application is necessary to use the service. If you live in Jackson County and don't have a library card, you can apply for one at any of 13 branch locations.

In addition to free downloadable eBooks, the library provides audiobooks and music to Mac and PCs, as well as mobile devices such as a SmartPhone or MP3 player.

The library offers one-on-one question-and-answer sessions with its eBook experts. For more information, visit www.myjdl.com, or call 788-4087, ext. 234 or call Joyce Betz at 788-4099, ext. 260.

On Wendy Wasserstein

2011-09-20T16:24:00.001-04:00

I was reading the September 12, 2011 issue of The New Yorker when I came across a piece about a new book about playwright Wendy Wasserstein. The writer called the book Wendy and the Lost Boys by Julie Salamon 'excellent' and 'heart-wrenching'. But what really struck me was his introduction.

Wendy Wasserstein was the kind of woman many women didn't feel comfortable befriending, especially since she was what they feared being themselves: overweight, single, and a fag hag.

That really brought me up short. When I had a MySpace page, I listed Wendy as the person I would most like to meet even though she passed away of cancer in 2006. Guess that let's me know my place in the world!

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005)

2011-09-13T18:17:00.002-04:00

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Several months ago I was privileged to see a young man perform a cutting from this book for a Forensic competition and I was deeply moved. Curious, I decided to get the book from the library and read it as my way of participating in the memorials for the ten year anniversary of 9/11.

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell, a precocious amateur physicist, is trying to uncover clues about his father's death on September 11.

Emotionally, I found it incredibly difficult to read. This is a book you experience. You truly must enter the world created by the author. On reflection I wonder how it could possibly be recorded since so much of the extra material in the book is visual. But there it is in Amazon available on CD and issued by Recorded Books, who I have trusted in the past. Still I think this book has to be read.

One thing I loved was the scattering of the phrases 'extremely loud' and 'incredibly close' throughout the story.

There were moments that touched me. There were moments of love. There were moments of confusion. There were moments of depression. There were moments of horror. And there were moments of hope and humanity. More than anything there is a reminder that perhaps we put too much faith in a future that can disappear in an instant.

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Diffenbaugh Gets a Big Bouquet

2011-09-13T14:03:00.001-04:00

More news on The Language of Flowers today. Now there's a movie planned! Click on the link to read more
Diffenbaugh Gets a Big Bouquet

And Now For Something Completely Different. . .

2011-09-12T16:55:00.000-04:00

"An anonymous sculptor has been leaving gorgeous carved-book sculptures in Scotland's libraries, along with little notes of encouragement. Some are left out in the open; others are hidden away and may have sat a long time before being discovered." Read more HERE.

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS (2011)

2011-09-12T14:17:00.003-04:00

The critics may not be excited but the readers must be. Articles and mentions of Vanessa Diffenbaugh's debut novel The Language of Flowers are sprouting up everywhere. So I requested it from my friendly local library and it is sitting in a short stack next to my reading chair.

As it turns out, the language of flowers, which is also sometimes referred to as 'floriography' was quite important during the Victorian era. Messages could be sent expressing feelings without words. Diffenbaugh's novel weaves past and present to tell the story of a young woman forgotten in the foster care system trying to make her way forward in a difficult world. I must say I am looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.

Hunger Games News 9/12/11

2011-09-12T12:03:00.000-04:00

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss

It's a wrap for Hunger Games, which just finished filming in the Asheville, North Carolina area. Now comes hours of editing to create the final product for all the fans waiting with baited breath to see if the vision of the movie matches their experience of the book closely enough. Already it has been said that there ARE changes but a reporter who has been tweeting from the set said that folks will probably like them. We shall see.

Louise Penny and Stephanie Pintoff (September 10, 2011)

2011-09-11T18:00:00.000-04:00


Schuler's Bookstore in Okemos

I promise to have more to say about this later.

20 Cool Home Library Design Ideas

2011-09-04T21:41:00.004-04:00

20 Cool Home Library Design Ideas

I love these designs! No Kindles or Nooks need apply.

Jacobson's: I Miss it So!

2011-09-04T14:54:00.005-04:00

For all of you who loved and shopped Jacobson's, here is good news. Jacobson's: I Miss It So!: The Story of a Michigan Fashion Institution is due out September 23, 2011. Author Bruce Allen Kopytek interviewed many staff who remember when there was no place better to be.

"Join department store historian Bruce Allen Kopytek in this return to the elegance of Jacobson's, a beloved Michigan institution for well over one hundred years. Reenter the marvelous stores and meet the personalities who transformed Jacobson's from its humble Reed City origins to a staple of sophistication throughout the region and in Florida. The brainchild of a retail genius, this deluxe specialty store gave customers a peerless social, shopping and dining destination. Experience anew the refined beauty of its Williamsburg-style Grosse Pointe store, the chic designer world of its Birmingham ensemble or the charm and allure of its original Florida branch in Sarasota revealing along the way, secrets that made Jake's the dazzling store it was and why it remains so profoundly missed by anyone who entered through its solid wooden doors."

An Interesting Quote

2011-09-03T10:42:00.000-04:00

David Tennant regards ‘Yorick’ in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet

"Anyway, the fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are far more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words, if everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn't because there aren't enough skulls!" (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer)

2011-08-31T15:10:00.003-04:00

Late Christopher Bean, The by Sydney Howard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From a review in Variety of the recent Broadway revival of The Late Christopher Bean by Sidney Howard, which hasn't been seen there since the original production closed in the early 1930s:

A forgotten member of the Eugene O'Neill-Robert Sherwood-Maxwell Anderson set of American playwrights, Howard was the first person to win both the Pulitzer (for "They Knew What They Wanted") and the Oscar (for "Gone With the Wind"). The latter was the first Oscar awarded posthumously; the 48-year-old gentleman farmer was crushed by a tractor in a freak accident in 1939.

I remember seeing the play in Philadelphia when I was growing up; and when I read that a new production had been mounted, I thought about it for a staged reading series I put together.

A New England country doctor and his family had at one time taken in the indigent Chris Bean. When he died, his paintings were cast aside. Now some years later, the art community has declared him a genius and the misunderstandings and greed take center stage. Only the housekeeper, Abby, seems to have genuinely appreciated Bean. The play is funny and pointed and contains many still held beliefs about art. Not perfect but a good play.

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More Changes in the Book World

2011-08-31T11:06:00.001-04:00

Author Erica Spindler from a random ALA Conference in my past

Reading one of my favorite writer book blogs today, I came across an article about changes in the way book tours are structured. Actually the article, which you can read HERE, was about a website that assisted with putting book tours together, closing shop.

Publishers have drastically cut the budgets for sending authors to book stores (are there still bookstores out there?) just to sell and sign a very few books. Instead events like the Kerrytown Book Fest with dozens of authors are taking the place of book tours.

This makes me interested in seeing what author Louise Penny will be doing when she visits Schuler's Bookstore in Okemos on Saturday, September 10 versus her appearance at the Ann Arbor Festival the following day.

T is for Trespass (2007)

2011-08-30T16:54:00.000-04:00

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually have been enjoying my step away from heavy tomes. Thrillers and mysteries are just the comfort reading I have needed.

Set in the small southern California town of Santa Teresa, Sue Grafton's Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone and her friends always assure an engrossing story. This one is particularly disturbing.

"T is for Trespass, dealing with issues of identity theft, elder abuse, betrayal of trust, and the breakdown in the institutions charged with caring for the weak and the dependent, could not be more timely." (from the fly leaf)

In the twentieth book in the series, has Kinsey met her match finally? I turned pages until way past my bedtime to find out. Now I have to get a copy of U is for Undertow and catch up since V is for Vengeance comes out in November!

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Oblivion (2005)

2011-08-23T16:25:00.000-04:00

Oblivion by Peter Abrahams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a ride! This is everything I want in a thriller and well written and plotted to boot. Naturally it wasn't on my list of what I'm supposed to be reading this year. This is the third book by Peter Abrahams I've devoured in the last couple of years. Oblivion is actually from earlier (2005). Heck if I can remember who recommended it. Doesn't matter.

Shortly after Nick Petrov takes on a missing person case, he wakes up in a hospital bed with his memory of the last two weeks gone. There's a strong 'memento' feel about the book and watching Nick as he struggles to find answers turns this into a real page turner.

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The Accident (2011)

2011-08-21T13:00:00.001-04:00

The Accident by Linwood Barclay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Linwood Barclay has been referred to as the King of the 'suburban thriller'. His stories have hooks that are irresistible. No Time for Goodbye deals with a girl who wakes up to find her entire family has disappeared without a word. Never Look Away, which is my favorite so far, deals with a young father who loses his wife and young child at an amusement park causing his world to unravel.

In The Accident Glen Garber's wife is killed in an accident under circumstances he can't believe. Through his grief and an incident that occurs involving his eight year old daughter, he begins to suspect that the placid surface of his neighborhood hides terrible secrets.

All three of these books are highly recommended thrillers, perfect confections for a beach read or a treat anytime. Even though terrible things happen, and pain is inflicted, Barclay goes easy on the gritty details and good ultimately triumphs over evil. He also writes about people living in the same economic depression that the reader is experiencing.

If I haven't convinced you yet, watch the short video HERE.

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2011-08-18T11:35:00.002-04:00

The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream by Suze Orman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Whether we speak about it or not, we are grappling with the frightening possibility, the fear, that we no longer live in a land where effort applied to opportunity produces a better life." - Suze Orman, The Money Class

Suze Orman takes the current financial environment and explains how to best handle your money so you can retire someday. Her advice steers us away from making destructive and impulsive decisions that can have massive negative effects in the future. She asks us to take responsibility for how we deal with money when we are being urged on all sides to spend.

The biggest lessons I took away are that it is important 'to stand in your truth' and "Live below your means but within your needs." Her new advice for families suggests your goals should be that:

You do not have credit card debt.
You have an eight-month emergency savings fund.
You have a term life insurance policy.
You are saving for retirement; aiming to set aside 15% of your gross salary.

The Money Class also has specific chapters for 20-30; 40-50; and those in retirement. There is also an on-line classroom with tools to help make financial decisions.

Even though I am retired, I read the whole book. You should too.

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The Lion in Winter: A Play (1966)

2011-08-14T20:07:00.000-04:00

The Lion in Winter: A Play by James Goldman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm putting together a third season of staged readings and have just gotten started on reading the plays that will be part of the project.

The Lion in Winter may be set in 1183 but the struggles and intrigues will be familiar to today's audiences.

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Another One Bites the Dust

2011-08-13T11:38:00.003-04:00

It couldn't have been a month ago when Jackson discovered it would lose it's last NEW bookstore. At that point, the newspaper pointed out that the Christian bookstore Agape would order books. Now they have announced they are closing too. As it turns out, the Book Exchange, our extensive used book store, can order books too. But that isn't the problem. People can 'order' books from lots of places. The problem is that we don't have a general bookstore with current material, a place we can browse, be inspired, and maybe exchange a few words about what we are reading. On the other hand, where is the profit to be made in that exchange? A word of advice to Jackson: Love your library and use and support it lest it too be gone.

You can read the article in today's Jackson Citizen Patriot HERE.

2011-08-11T10:40:00.000-04:00

Long Drive Home: A Novel by Will Allison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This will sound odd but I was reminded of Scott Smith's A Simple Plan while reading this slim volume. In that book stolen money is found but there is no safe way to take it without being caught. Both are cautionary tales.

In Long Drive Home there was the same sense of dread from "a small unworthy" act that turned into a web that was ultimately inescapable.

The conceit in this story is that the narrator is writing to his daughter to explain his actions and finally tell the truth after a young man is killed in a car accident they witnessed. Our lives are governed by choices we make and choices made based upon untruths can unravel our world.

Will Allison writes a compelling story. This is his second book following What You Have Left (2007). What I was surprised by is that the beginning of that book is included with this one. Considering that it won several awards, I am guessing that the publishers think it could have a further life and I agree. I remember being impressed when I read it.

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Forgiveness

2011-08-09T14:32:00.000-04:00

I have to ask for forgiveness. I just ordered two more books from Amazon.

In my defense, they weren't books I would be likely to find in my local library; and when I finally have them, I may not want to return them.

One caught my eye because it deals with cruelty and violence in the arts. I've already written about it. The other was the result of stumbling on a blog cataloging all the wonderful department stores that once existed. Jackson, where I live, was once home to both L. H. Fields and Jacobson's Department stores. One of my daughters worked at both having been 'shopped' away to Jakes.

My grandparents both worked for Wannamaker's in Philadelphia and it was where I found a job for two summers after high school. My Mother's family is loosely connected to McCurdy's Department Store, which began its life in Philadelphia and moved to Rochester, New York before fading away.

If you remember a special department store, check out The Department Store Museum.

S is for Silence (2005)

2011-08-09T11:36:00.000-04:00

S is for Silence by Sue Grafton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sue Grafton writes a solid mystery. How could anyone not enjoy time spent with private detective Kinsey Millhone? I haven't read one of Grafton's books for a long while and I did have a bit of trouble keeping all the male characters straight although that could reveal my lack of attention to details. I also suspect that this is the only book I have EVER read that used the word 'cattywumpus' in a sentence. That alone makes it special.

Still on my book shelf is T is for Trespass. Since V is for Vengeance comes out November 14, 2011, I probably should pick up a copy of U is for Undertow. I may not have read ALL the books in the series but I know I am close. Since A is for Alibi appeared in 1983, Grafton has produced a new title in the alphabet series at the pace of about one a year, something for which her readers, no doubt, are thankful!

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The Bostons (2001)

2011-08-02T20:16:00.000-04:00

The Bostons by Carolyn Cooke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I always forget how much I actually enjoy reading short stories. That said, I wish I could have been more comfortable with these.

Literate short stories demand more of a reader. Words have to be more carefully chosen because the author tells the story in just a few pages. Carolyn Cooke's sketches of people are poignant, depressing, touching, and insightful. I found them, on the whole, truthfully disturbing. If you prefer a story with a middle, beginning, and end, these stories will baffle you.

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Dismantling the Library of Michigan

2011-07-31T16:47:00.002-04:00

Library of Michigan, Lansing, MI

I was thrilled to be part of the incredible staff at the Library of Michigan in Lansing years ago. At first the beautiful new building showcased the library in one wing and the historical museum in the other. Eventually other departments moved in and the library was slowly squeezed. Now many of the books are being auctioned off in huge lots. You can read more HERE in Dome.

"Rare book dealers who follow these things believe that the sale is the largest number of books to be sold at one time in Michigan. The sale includes what is called the “Dewey” collection and another estimated 7,500 books deemed superfluous and culled from Library collections."

I spoke to a rare book dealer in Lansing and he said the huge lots being offered made it almost impossible to bid on lots. One would need a truck to pick them up and someplace to store them so you could sort through for 'gems'.

At one point there were proposals to get rid of "the state’s premier genealogy collection" but that ultimately did not happen. "That collection was ultimately saved, to the delight of thousand of “genies” who fought hard to preserve the collection. However, that collection will no longer be expanded by purchases or gifts."

I hate to see our important cultural assets diminished or destroyed because of funding declines when we all know there is plenty of money out there. It is just going to other priorities.

2011-07-29T15:16:00.002-04:00

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While reading Bury Your Dead, I immediately fell in love with Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache. When I discovered that A Trick of the Light was scheduled to be released the end of August, I found a way to get my hands on a ARC copy!

I have been doing a lot of reading this summer and most of it felt like work in retrospect. But with Louise Penny you just slip into the world she creates and time dissolves.

I particularly enjoyed Trick of Light because of the connection to the art world in Toronto. All the regular characters are show up and the mystery in some ways is secondary to being able to live in Three Pines for a couple of days.

Luckily, I have two earlier books to occupy my time until Ms. Penny gets her next book to her readers.

On the morning of Clara's art show at the prestigious Musee in Montreal, a woman's body is found among the bleeding hearts of Clara's garden in Three Pines. When Chief Inspector Gamache is called in to investigate, he finds the art world gathered - a world of shading and light - where nothing is as it seems. And when facts are exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache if he's found the truth, or simply a trick of the light. (From the author's website)

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Portland Maine Building Installation

2011-07-28T21:31:00.000-04:00

Check out more pictures of this installation at Wary Meyers - The Basement Stacks. The building was once the public library.

CNN Poll

2011-07-22T10:08:00.000-04:00

Just because it was not what I expected, I thought I should share today's CNN current poll results.

"Where do you typically purchase books?

Bookstore 38%
Online 37%
I don't 19%
Other 6%

Jackson, Michigan Will Lose It's Last Bookstore

2011-07-18T19:33:00.001-04:00

With the coming liquidation of Border's, which includes Waldenbooks, Jackson will no longer have a bookstore that sells new books. Sure Target, Meijer's, Pamida, and others sell a selection of books but I won't be going there when I am looking for something to read. Luckily we have a great used bookstore and a library to take up some of the slack, but it looks like it is down to Amazon and other online providers. This is a sad day indeed.

Tonoharu: Part I (2008)

2011-07-15T20:39:00.000-04:00

I bought this book by Lars Martinson and set it aside. After watching this engaging video, it has moved up my list!

Why is Contemporary Art Addicted to Violence?

2011-07-15T14:26:00.003-04:00

This is the title of a review by Laura Kipnis for The New York Times: Books Update (July 14, 2011). She is writing about The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning by Maggie Nelson. It is a question that has been on my mind recently along with the greater use and acceptance of profanity.

After reading the review, which claims that complaints about violence in the media are almost always aimed at low-brow fare while giving 'cultural' events a pass, the reviewer noted that Maggie Nelson avoids that accusation aiming "at the fine arts, literature, theater — even poetry".

I'm adding this title to my reading list. You can read the whole review HERE.

Before I Go to Sleep (2011)

2011-07-14T11:15:00.000-04:00

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine waking up every morning with no memory of the day before? Or not knowing that the man sleeping next to you is your husband? That is the dilemma facing Christine in Before I Go to Sleep. At her doctor's urging she begins keeping a diary but has to reread it everyday.

This is a cleverly imagined and compelling first novel once you have suspended disbelief and buy into the story. Bit by bit the reader learns of conflicting and disturbing information along with the narrator. But what will putting the pieces together reveal and which can be relied upon?

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Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011)

2011-07-09T21:26:00.000-04:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The physical book is handsome with beautiful end papers and illustrated throughout with vintage photographs, which inspired the story to the author, Ransom Riggs. (You certainly don't want to read this on a Kindle, if in fact you want to read it at all.) The story is a bit contrived and it seems obvious there will be a series. Other reviews reveal a lot of enthusiasm for this story of a teen who learns that his grandfather's fairy tales may actually be real. In his search for answers, terrible things happen.

And I think that is a major problem: on one hand the story is charming and whimsical while on the other, it is dark and extremely violent.

But I loved the following quote at the end of the book:

"I used to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was."

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The Swan Thieves versus 13 Reasons Why

2011-07-07T14:00:00.001-04:00

And the winner is 13 Reasons Why. It might not seem like a fair match-up since The Swan Thieves is a very long, obsessive love story that weaves the past and the present together. 13 Reasons Why is a clever format for exploring teenage suicide readable in a day or two.

Neither book was outstanding.

I preferred Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, which gathered together castle ruins, old letters, and vampire lore to create a wonderful, if uneven, read. She used the old letter technique with less success in The Swan Thieves. Often the flashbacks seemed an interruption of the story rather than moving it along. After pages and pages the ending seemed rushed and less than hoped for. I was fascinated by the inclusion of information on how painters work and the historical information about the Impressionists. The author's website is extensive with information and lists of additional resources.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a young adult title that has been around since 2007. The author uses the device of intertwining dialogue: a voice on tape in italics and the reactions in the mind of the listener. The story is accessible (even to reluctant readers) and probably more accurate in its portrayal of teen angst that can lead to suicide than many other attempts to deal with this difficult subject. Another helpful and interesting website is provided as well as a presence on Facebook.

It took me forever to plod through The Swan Thieves. I devoured 13 Reasons Why in two days filled with other activities.

Congratulations Ann!

2011-07-07T12:10:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love winning contests? I usually don't win but recently I have scored four ARCs (advanced reading copies) and that makes me very, very happy.

On the one hand, because they are mine and don't have to be returned to the library, I have only read two of them. Perhaps you'll be distressed to learn that Louise Penny's mystery Trick of Light and Anders Roslund's thriller Three Seconds have languished? Of course the second title mentioned was released in January of this year, while the first comes out the end of August. I really should read them so that I will seem relevant and 'happening'.

I HAVE finished Mary Kay Andrews' beach read Summer Rental (and loved it). The fourth title, which I have also read, hasn't arrived yet. I clicked to win this book at Goodreads because I like it when I read it and never win anything. Maybe my luck has changed. Here's the message I got.

"You are one of our First Reads lucky winners! You will soon receive a free copy of The Lake Shore Limited (Vintage Contemporaries) in the mail. Please allow a few weeks for shipping.

Don't forget to add the book to your Goodreads currently-reading shelf, and we encourage you to also add it to a "first-reads" shelf when you are done reading. Posting a review is optional, but please keep in mind that reviewing the book is in the spirit of First Reads. Publishers provide free copies to Goodreads in hopes of getting early feedback about the book. First Readers who post reviews are also more likely to win free books in the future!"

Maybe I'll have to read Sue Miller's book again. My earlier short review last year ended with, "It's not a great book but it is a good read." I'm assuming this new round of ARCs are leftovers since the hardback was released in 2010 and the trade paperback came out May 31, 2011. Never mind. A contest is a contest. And being a winner is a great feeling!

17th Century Chinese Traveling Bookcase

2011-07-03T13:49:00.000-04:00

Boing Boing had a item on this beautiful item that was being put up for auction at Christie's. It is reminiscent of the Michigan Lighthouse Bookcase mentioned awhile back.

Some Books are Just Too Long

2011-07-03T13:40:00.001-04:00

What makes a compelling read for you? If you like a book, do you then read all other titles by that author?

I am currently reading Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves and feeling like it is a chore. Don't get me wrong. I want to know what is going to happen and I want to finish reading it, but I think this is exactly the size and weight of what is referred to as a 'tome'. Her first novel, The Historian, was also quite long but I found it fascinating especially the descriptions of the foreign locations that the author seems to know well.

This caused me to reflect on my response to certain books and authors I have been reading of late. I couldn't put Mary Kay Andrews chic-lit Summer Rental down. In contrast Eric Larson's In the Garden of Beasts is just as compelling as his Devil in the White City. Both are non-fiction. With so many titles waiting for me, perhaps I need to learn to stop reading when I realize a book isn't going to transport me.

From Entertainment Weekly July 1, 2011

2011-06-24T13:24:00.002-04:00

It shouldn't surprise anyone that, when I get my new issue of Entertainment Weekly, I go directly to the 'book' section. And today had a couple of interesting surprises. Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, which I just read and liked, has debuted at #7 on the Publishers Weekly, week of June 15-21, 2011, Fiction Top Ten list.

The next item to attract my attention was Mark Adams' Turn Right at Machu Picchu, about the ancient city built high in the Peruvian Andes. It turns out that this is the 100th anniversary of its 'discovery' by the Yale professor who became the prototype for Indiana Jones. EW gave the book a B+ but as a kid who seriously considered archeology as a career and was the 5th grade expert on the Incas, I am definitely reading this.

Finally I was fascinated by the featured review of Once Upon a River by Michigan author Bonnie Jo Campbell. A resident of Kalamazoo, she tells the story of a young woman's journey in such a unique way that the reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, ""Fact is Campbell is a bard, a full-throated singer whose melodies are odes to farms and water and livestock and fishing rods and rifles, and to hardworking folks who know the value of life as well as the randomness of life's troubles."

Summer Rental (2011)

2011-06-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I suspected that Summer Rental would be a great 'beach read' and it was. It's not great literature but it delivers. You don't want this book to end. You feel like you know the thirty-something Ellis, Julia, and Dorie, friends since Catholic grade school.

Having decided to rent a house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend some real time together, it turns out each friend is at a turning point. Add the mysterious Ty Bazemore, who lives over the garage, and the elusive Maryn, who is on the run but won't say why and you've got more than enough intrigue to keep your attention.

Mary Kay Andrews writes well. I don't usually read or appreciate 'chic lit' but this is an exceptions. Her characters are appealing and her descriptions are fine. I predict that everyone who reads this book will be dreaming of the chance to visit the beach with friends!

A little bit mystery, a little bit romance, and a lot about friendship, Summer Rental is a worthy read.

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Decisions, Decisions

2011-06-18T18:17:00.000-04:00

I've had to make a very difficult decision. I finally got Erik Larson's In the Garden of the Beasts from my local library but wasn't able to start reading it until today. Because it is due in just a couple of days, I tried to renew it but that didn't work since it has other readers waiting. And on top of that, my ARC (advanced reading copy) of Louise Penny's new Inspector Gamache book arrived in the mail today. Then there's Elizabeth Kostovo's The Swan Thieves sitting by my reading chair as well. There was no other solution but to plan to return In the Garden of the Beasts on time and request it again.

And Speaking of Shelving . . .

2011-06-16T21:55:00.000-04:00

Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio designed this bookshelf-lined house in Osaka for a collector of books on Islamic history, designing a structure where books could line every surface. Read more by clicking HERE.

What in the world are Book Wraps?

2011-06-16T21:51:00.000-04:00

Check out more information on this interesting design for keeping your books upright! Click HERE.

Choosing the Next Book

2011-06-08T13:10:00.003-04:00

Guilt often seems to figure into my next choice of book. By that standard, however, I should have finished Pops long ago. Pops is a great book. There's just so much else I've promised myself I would read. And now the last book added to my list jumps to first place.

It's a long, sordid story, but I managed to snag an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) - but not the one I was angling for. I wanted Louise Penny's new mystery Trick of Light (not due out until the end of August), instead I got Mary Kay Andrew's Summer Rental went on sale yesterday. I think the publisher was trying to get rid of a few ARCs still on hand or I probably wouldn't have qualified. I haven't read any of the author's other works but just a couple of pages into the story, I am happy.

Three friends since grade school and now in their thirties take a beach house in North Carolina for a month to see where the future may lead them. Definitely a beach read for the summer!

Quiet Strength (2007)

2011-06-08T11:54:00.000-04:00

Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life by Tony Dungy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tony Dungy is from Jackson, Michigan where I live. The Dungy family name is well known and respected in the community. So when the book came out I added it to my reading list and forgot about it. Then a couple of weeks ago, I spotted a copy on the used book table at the library and bought it.

When I discovered that his strength comes from his strong religious beliefs, I decided that perhaps I wouldn't bother to read it. But then, I thought, I'll just read a little bit. It only took me a couple of days to finish the whole book. I do not come from the same place as Tony Dungy, but I was moved to tears several times but his enormous faith and his true adherence to it. This is a man of incredible stature and constancy. A role model for us all in the way he conducts his life.

Although football is what Tony Dungy does, it is not who he is. Along the way, I gained some insight not only into how his guidance could apply to my life but how much more interesting football is as a sport when you know a little about it. I plan to share the book with my daughter who lives in a family of New York Giant fans.

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Started Early, Took My Dog

2011-06-05T12:18:00.001-04:00

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book by Kate Atkinson featuring Jackson Brodie is always a treat. The writing is clever but not forced. Here's an excerpt that caught my fancy:

"He considered, and rejected, the idea of playing a mindless game on his phone and was eventually driven to look for a Gideon Bible in the bedside drawers, but when he found one he realized he wasn't that desperate yet. A yellow Post-it note fluttered out of the Bible. In pencil, someone had written, "The Treasure here is you." Jackson stuck the Post-it note on his forehead and died of boredom."

There are lots of characters to follow in this intricately plotted story with the narrative jumping from present to past and back again (but then that's typical Atkinson). If you pay attention, you'll have a sense of what's happening. And I suppose you could read these titles out of sequence but I get great delight from recognizing allusions to earlier characters and situations.

If you find the title unusual, like I did, you are probably not as familiar with Emily Dickinson's poetry as you thought. Check the whole poem out HERE. If that illuminates the story for you, please share your insights with me.

And there are strands that are not answered at the end. I can only deduce that this foreshadows a future book. But isn't that like life?

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Fatal Grace (2007)

2011-05-29T10:52:00.000-04:00

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everybody wants to live in the charming 'snow-globe' village of Three Pines - even the cruel CC de Poitiers. Having purchased the old Hadley House, she continues to spread her poison during the lovely Christmas season distressing everyone around her.

A particularly complicated murder brings Chief Inspector Gamache back to work his magic.

Often authors don't meet the expectations of their first book but that is not the case with Canadian author Louise Penny. My introduction to her works was through Bury the Dead, which is book #6 in the series and has won a number of awards this year including the American Library Association designation of Best Mystery Book of 2010. Now I am working my way through earlier titles so I will be caught up when her new book is released this summer.

Visit the author's site to find a list of her other books and news about #7 Trick of the Light, scheduled to be released in simultaneously in Canada and the United States on August 30, 2011.

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Say Her Name (2011)

2011-05-24T16:37:00.001-04:00

Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the true, fictionalized, love story of Francisco Goldman and his wife Aura Estrada, who was half his age. Married less than two years, her life was cut tragically short in a swimming accident. What the author has done is brought his wife back to life in the only way he knew how.

Sometimes I didn't like Francisco. His fascination with younger women annoyed me and I could relate to some of the anger Aura's Mother must have felt at having this older man anchor her daughter's life. Aura was an ethereal, intelligent, talented, free spirit and an aspiring writer herself.

On the other hand, Francisco loved Aura obsessively and much of the book is self-indulgent in an uncomfortable way. The fact that he made himself so vulnerable by sharing such private grieving is brave. And he loved Aura with all his being. This is a difficult, painful book to read. You know right from the start that Aura has died and the facts of her death are carefully and exquisitely woven throughout the story to create the fabric of their lives together.

Aura and Francisco's Wedding 2007

"You were desperate for something that was yours alone. I was yours alone, but that isn't what you meant." SAY HER NAME by Francisco Goldman

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New Michael Crichton Book Out November 22, 2011

2011-05-24T15:06:00.000-04:00

Author Michael Crichton

This will be the second title published since the author's death in 2008. Flipping channels a couple of days ago, I came across Jurassic Park. As much as I love the movie, the book was better. It left you with an eerie feeling and sense of dread about the future.

Crichton finished about one third of Micro and Richard Preston, who wrote The Hot Zone, completed this tale in the same high-concept thriller vein as Jurassic Park. You can read more HERE at EarlyWord.

Valley libraries flip a page in the digital age

2011-05-17T15:02:00.006-04:00

Here's another take on the usefulness of libraries in our digital age. This time from Arizona. Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Valley libraries flip a page in the digital age

Seth Godin's Blog: The Future of the Library

2011-05-16T20:20:00.001-04:00

Jackson District Library - One of a handful of remaining Carnegie Libraries
"Librarians that are arguing and lobbying for clever ebook lending solutions are completely missing the point. They are defending library as warehouse as opposed to fighting for the future, which is librarian as producer, concierge, connector, teacher and impresario. "

In a short by concise handful of paragraphs, Seth Godin explains how books, libraries, and librarians evolved and where the process could go in the future. Read the whole blog post HERE.

Running the Books (2010)

2011-05-11T16:03:00.000-04:00

Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading a review of this book a number of months back, I requested that our library get a copy and they did! I was pleasantly surprised to receive notice that it was waiting for me at my local branch. It appealed to me because I was also 'an accidental prison librarian' briefly at the State Prison of Southern Michigan back in the late 80s and I wanted to see if this author 'got it'. He absolutely did.

A few years after graduating from Harvard, Avi Steinberg looked around and noticed that his friends and classmates were 'advancing' in the world. He had nothing to show for his efforts and took the job as a prison librarian to gain some stability in his life.

Avi Steinberg's book is more than just a litany of the things that happen in a prison library. He manages to show the human aspect and the complexity of trying to survive in that environment whether you are a prisoner or a civilian. All the while he is trying to find his purpose in the world. Although our experiences varied, I relived many of the days I spent inside the walls through his eyes. It angers me whenever someone talks about inmates being coddled in prison. And I can still remember the day I cried. Everyone cries in prison.

I didn't know any people who were murdered until I worked at the prison. For several years after I left, I would see names of people I recognized in the paper, who had been killed at the prison. It is a disconcerting world and difficult to escape. In this I could relate on a much smaller scale to the losses Avi experiences - the loss of possibilities.

And I don't want to forget to mention the cover of the book. It is a portrait of Avi composed of date due stamps in a rainbow of colors. Clever and appropriate, it adds a light touch to what is truly a difficult two years in prison. If you choose to read this book, you will emerge with a different mind set and a changed view of the place of prisons in our society.

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Hunger Games News

2011-05-10T20:19:00.000-04:00

"In a move bound to delight even the most wary of Hunger Games fans, Lionsgate announced today that Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) will play smooth-talking interviewer Caesar Flickerman in the film adaptation."

Ray Marshall's Paper Blossoms.

2011-05-10T17:45:00.008-04:00

Spring Bouquet

One of my clever and talented daughters (I have two!) often sends me flowers. The last live bunch came along with her husband who stayed with us while on a business trip to the area not too long ago. It became a joke because the flowers lasted a very long time including the two weeks we were traveling out West. Since their longevity delighted me, my daughter found a way to prolong a gift of flowers almost indefinitely. She discovered Ray Marshall's Paper Blossoms.

Currently the Spring arrangement is displayed on the coffee table in the living room but at a moment's notice, a new or more appropriate selection can be made. Thank goodness I don't have to water them!

Ray does more than create Paper Blossoms so you really should check out his website, which tells about his work and even includes several simple but lovely patterns for making your own cards. (Did I mention the part about the Pirates?)

Addendum: The other clever and talented daughter sent me Philadelphia Tastykakes absolutely confirming that both my children love their Mother and know how to make her HAPPY!

The Lake of Dreams (2011)

2011-05-09T12:26:00.000-04:00

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very hard review to get around to writing and even now I'm not sure what to say.

Kim Edward's first book was the word-of-mouth bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter. When the DVD appeared on my library's shelves, I decided to check it out and was surprised how moving it was. So when I saw the author had a new book, The Lake of Dreams, I requested it.

There were lots of things to like. It starts out in Japan. It has elements of Gothic romance, history (suffragettes), dreams, stained glass, politics, family relationships, genealogical research, and more. I can't say I didn't enjoy my time reading the book, but there was always a nagging feeling in the background that something was missing. Maybe the problem wasn't that something was missing but that there was too much included? I don't think it was the writing style. I enjoyed the characters although there was a 'stock' feeling about them. The storytelling was all right.

Lucy Jarrett is living with her boyfriend Yoshi in an area of Japan experiencing a disconcerting series of earthquakes. When her Mother suffers a minor injury, it spurs Lucy to return home to upper New York State and begin to explore her future through her family's past.

Apparently, from reading other reviews, you will either love or hate this book, or like me find yourself somewhere in the middle.

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BURY YOUR DEAD Wins Agatha

2011-05-03T11:47:00.020-04:00

I knew I was on to something special when I read Bury Your Dead, but it is reassuring to know one's instincts align with other's opionions. In this case, Louise Penny actually won her fourth Agatha!

"The Agatha Awards, given to books that best exemplify the Agatha Christie tradition, (i.e., no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence) were announced this weekend. Canadian author Louise Penny picked up her fourth for Bury Your Dead, giving her Armand Gamache the most Agatha’s ever for books in a single series." (from EarlyWord)

Sarah Paretsky Will Be in Jackson on May 13 & 14

2011-05-01T12:49:00.001-04:00

"On Thursday, April 28, Mystery Writers of America presented its Grand Master Award to Sisters in Crime founding sister Sara Paretsky at the annual Edgar Awards banquet."

On May 13 & 14 the author, who created the popular V.I. Warshawski mystery series, will be in Jackson for the annual Word Wise Weekend.

If you haven't signed up yet, visit the Jackson District Library website HERE.

Book Keeping

Advice to Writers (And Readers)

A Rule Against Murder (2008)

Blurb Rules: A guide to the art and artifice of writing blurbs for books.

Bad Things Happen (2010)

Wish I Could Write Reviews Like This

New Death Threats Against Salman Rushdie

Three Michigan Independent Bookstores

Bad Things Happen (2010)

IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS: LOVE, TERROR, AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY IN HITLER'S BERLIN (2011)

Want to Break the Amazon Habit and Support Your Independent Bookstore?

Books Make a Home

"There's Nothing Like a Real Book"

And Now For Something Completely Different. . .

Experience a Beautiful Bookstore in Portugal

Book Barn in West Chester, Pennsylvania

Brian Dettmer's Book Carving

A Booklover's Christmas Tree

News about Denise Mina

A Visit to the Book Sale

DATE A GIRL WHO READS - Truth on the Internet or Why We Still Need Librarians

So much for truth on the Internet. This is why we need librarians. In the past they have always evaluated resources for accuracy while not censoring information.

Upon doing a bit more searching I found the following information: Rosemarie no longer has an active blog, but she can be found on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=585211028To see the post about how she was found, please go here. Thanks to Jonathan for searching!

The Outsiders (1967)

School Library Journal Posts Best Books for Kids 2011

The Cruelest Month (2007)

Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop (2010)

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Update on #OWS Library Trashed

#OWS Library Trashed by NYPD

The End of Libraries and the Future of Books?

The End of Borders and the Future of Books (Businessweek)

The Most Dangerous Thing (2011)

Houzz.com

Read Your Bookcase

Happy Halloween

Watch Tonight!: NBC News Segment on “Our Bodies, Ourselves” | Our Bodies Our Blog

Public Bookshelves - A Novel Idea

The Lantern (2011)

small is the new big (2006)

Thinking about my tag line on this blog. . .

Reading Your Own Work in Front of an Audience

Bookstore Fail

And Speaking of Shelving . . .

Awesome News from the Library

On Wendy Wasserstein

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 2005)

Diffenbaugh Gets a Big Bouquet

And Now For Something Completely Different. . .

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS (2011)

Hunger Games News 9/12/11

Louise Penny and Stephanie Pintoff (September 10, 2011)

20 Cool Home Library Design Ideas

Jacobson's: I Miss it So!

For all of you who loved and shopped Jacobson's, here is good news. Jacobson's: I Miss It So!: The Story of a Michigan Fashion Institution is due out September 23, 2011. Author Bruce Allen Kopytek interviewed many staff who remember when there was no place better to be.

An Interesting Quote

More Changes in the Book World

T is for Trespass (2007)

Oblivion (2005)

The Accident (2011)

The Lion in Winter: A Play (1966)

Another One Bites the Dust

Forgiveness

S is for Silence (2005)

The Bostons (2001)

Dismantling the Library of Michigan

Portland Maine Building Installation

CNN Poll

Jackson, Michigan Will Lose It's Last Bookstore

Tonoharu: Part I (2008)

Why is Contemporary Art Addicted to Violence?

Before I Go to Sleep (2011)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011)

The Swan Thieves versus 13 Reasons Why

Congratulations Ann!

17th Century Chinese Traveling Bookcase

Some Books are Just Too Long

From Entertainment Weekly July 1, 2011

Summer Rental (2011)

Decisions, Decisions

Upon doing a bit more searching I found the following information:

Rosemarie no longer has an active blog, but she can be found on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=585211028

To see the post about how she was found, please go here. Thanks to Jonathan for searching!