Currently Reading

Reading: My Two Polish Grandfathers, by Witold Rybczynski.
Listening to: Blasphemy, by Douglas Preston.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Review: Life After Genius


Life After Genius, by M. Ann Jacoby. (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2008)

Mead Fegley is the kind of kid that other kids love to pick on. He's smaller than average, he lacks social graces, and he's a math genius. He heads off to college after graduating from high school at age 15, hoping that his life will change and that his fellow students will appreciate him for his intellectual talents. He continues to excel academically, but his youth and his awkward ways prevent him from developing real friendships.

This book works very well as a coming-of-age story. Mead is self-centered and introspective, in the way that most children and adolescents are, but his outsize intelligence exaggerates these qualities. He is bright and engaging and even likable in his internal musings, but becomes sarcastic and supercilious when he tries to relate to others. The author capably illustrates the difficulties faced by a child who stands out in a small town. Townspeople invariably categorize him as "the young Fegley genius."

Where the book falters is in Jacoby's treatment of Mead's life as a college student. He works hard and is singled out for academic honors, but he appears to suffer from some delusional episodes. In his relationship with Herman, his academic rival and social superior, the reader is hard pressed to distinguish between what is real and what is not.

I'm a sucker for a great title, but Life After Genius promises more than it delivers. The story is told mostly in flashbacks, after Mead inexplicably leaves college for his hometown a few days before graduation, but the reader never really learns whether or how Mead will conduct his life outside his carefully constructed world of mathematical genius.

While the book is interesting and, in some parts, quite compelling, overall, it suffers from inconsistencies and, perhaps, too ambitious a storyline. Jacoby could have saved some of the plot twists for other books and made this one simpler and more enjoyable. Nonetheless, I recommend it to readers of general fiction.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Brief Review: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle


The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. (New York: Ecco, 2008)

This Oprah selection is showing up on all the Best of 2008 lists. Both Stephen King and Richard Russo, two very different kinds of writers, wrote recommendations for the back cover of the book, and that's what made me decide to read it. I'm a little more than halfway through, so this may be a premature post, but I'm finding it to be an engaging story with remarkable characters.

Edgar is born without the ability to speak, although he is normal in every other way. A precocious child, he reads early and learns sign language to communicate with his parents. His parents, by the way, are the second generation breeders of an unusual kind of dog, one whose pedigree is based on character and personality, rather than thoroughbred lines.

Oprah's recommendation will be enough to encourage book clubs everywhere to take on this novel. Read this even if you're the kind of reader who stays away from the popular stuff. There's a lot to appreciate -- imagery, character development, story line -- in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Review: The 19th Wife


The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff. (New York: Random House, c2008.)

Ebershoff explores the impact of polygamy on women and children in this complex novel of interwoven narratives. He tells the story of Ann Eliza Young, apostate ex-wife of Brigham Young, alongside the story of Jordan Scott, an excommunicated member of the "Firsts," a modern-day offshoot of the Latter Day Saints whose adherents continue to practice plural marriage.

Ann Eliza's story is historical fiction, finding its basis in her actual lectures and writings from the late 1800's. At that time, the Saints had settled in Salt Lake City and, under the leadership of Prophet Brigham Young, had developed a thriving, if insulated, society. Women were instructed, according to the vision of First Prophet Joseph Smith, that polygamy, or "celestial marriage," was a divine requirement for their salvation.

The author effectively portrays the contrast between the official picture of Mormon "sister wives," contentedly sharing housework and raising their children together, and Ann Eliza's experience of plural marriage, which she finds to be degrading to women, as well as to their children. Her lectures in theaters and auditoriums across the country, and her testimony before Congress, helped lead to legislation outlawing polygamy. Ironically, her very public apostasy may also have helped the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints survive into the present, owing to their denunciation of plural marriage at the end of the 19th century.

The author weaves a separate contemporary story into the historical one. In this story, a gay teenager, Jordan Scott, is expelled from the polygamist group known as "The Firsts." The Firsts live in Mesadale in the Utah desert, far from the scrutiny of the federal government. (Ironically, Jordan is expelled not for being gay, but for holding hands with a teenaged girl.)

This part of the story begins when Jordan's father is shot to death, and his mother, the 19th wife of his father, is jailed for the murder. Jordan, who had been abandoned by his mother by order of the Prophet, returns to Mesadale to help her win her freedom from prison.

This book is very well written and it works beautifully as a novel, but it also provides a fascinating account of the practice and politics of polygamy. Highly recommended.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Review: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Audio)


All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, by Janelle Brown. (Spiegel & Grau, 2008. ISBN: 0385524013)

On the surface, Janice’s life is great. She has the beautiful home, the successful husband, two smart and lovely daughters. Although she paints a beautiful picture of her family when she talks to her friends, she’s never really satisfied.

Her husband, who stands to make billions from the launch of an IPO for his pharmaceutical company, is never home. Her older daughter, Margaret – incredibly smart, an Ivy League grad – ran off to LA with an actor, no less, and started up a weird feminist magazine. Her younger daughter, Lizzie, her miracle baby, born after several miscarriages, is a sweet, but rather plump, 14-year-old. Janice knows that Lizzie would be much happier and more popular, if only she’d drop a few pounds.

On the day of the IPO, everything falls apart. Over the course of a summer, Janice and her daughters find themselves dealing with issues they’d never dreamed of discovering in their own lives: drug addiction, debt collectors, infidelity, teen pregnancy, and divorce papers.

The author’s satirical look at the good life in California is sometimes funny, often bitter, and always apt. She does a good job of distinguishing her characters with unique and believable voices.

I listened to this book on OverDrive’s downloadable audio from the Lackawanna County Library System’s digital collection. Recommended for book clubs.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Michael Beschloss



Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss paid a visit to Scranton this week, as a speaker in the Lackawanna County Library Lecture Series. He spoke for the better part of an hour, telling stories of the presidents he has written about in his books. He was charming, intelligent, and funny. If you ever have a chance to attend one of his lectures, be sure to go!

It was his first visit to what he called "the epicenter" of the 2008 presidential campaign, and he spent some time trading jokes with former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors about whether Scranton or Chicago had the worse reputation for political shenanigans. (In my opinion, Mayor Connors got off the best line, when he described someone who wants to be buried in Scranton when he dies, so he can remain active in politics.)

In the meantime, you may want to read his newest book, Presidential Courage, in which he describes moments in the lives of nine American Presidents when they had to choose between the right thing to do and the possibility of losing reelection. The vignettes are necessarily brief, but they provide insight into such events as Theodore Roosevelt's antitrust attack on the Northern Securities Company, Harry Truman's actions in the creation of the nation of Israel, and John F. Kennedy's support for the Civil Rights Act.

Monday, October 20, 2008

National Book Awards Finalists

The National Book Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2008 National Book Awards. The fiction list is:

Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (Riverhead)
Rachel Kushner, Telex from Cuba (Scribner)
Peter Matthiessen, Shadow Country (Modern Library)
Marilynne Robinson, Home (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Salvatore Scibona, The End (Graywolf Press)

To see the nominees in Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature, go to the 2008 Awards page.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Man Booker Prize Winner Announced

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga, has won the 2oo8 Man Booker Prize. For more information, see the announcement on the official website.

Review: Home


Home, by Marilynne Robinson. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. ISBN: 0374299102)


Too much is left unsaid in this beautifully written book. Two of Reverend Boughton's eight adult children -- Jack, the black sheep, and Glory, the youngest -- have returned to the family homestead, due to difficult circumstances in their lives. They are all very careful of one another's privacy, and they tiptoe around discussing the events that have brought them home to Gilead.

Ultimately, caution and taciturnity become frustrating, both for the characters and for the reader. The stingy hints that Jack and Glory share about their lives initially provide some dramatic tension, but the habits of concealment become almost annoying in the end. The book closes with some elucidation of the reasons for Jack's angst, but we never really learn much about the details of Glory's troubles.

Nonetheless, it is a pleasure to read the words that Pulitzer Prize winner Robinson puts together to deliver this somewhat unsatisfying story. Her sentences are simple, but they are crammed with thought and analytical insights. She is not just a great writer; she is also a great thinker.

If you enjoyed Gilead, the author's previous work, you will recognize the Boughton family. In this story, it is Reverend Ames and his family who are the secondary characters. Enjoy this book for its writing, but don't expect too much from the story.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Review: A Voyage Long and Strange (Audio)


A Voyage Long and Strange, by Tony Horwitz. (Digital Audiobook read by John H. Mayer)

Horwitz challenges traditional American teaching on the discovery of America and America’s first European settlements. Using a combination of primary research (e. g., the writings of Columbus) and interviews with modern-day descendants of European settlers and Native Americans, he pokes holes in what we think we know about such touchstones as Plymouth Rock and the first Thanksgiving.

Realizing that he, like most Americans, had little understanding of what happened between Columbus’s “discovery” of America in 1492 and the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth in 1620, he sets out to fill in the blanks. Along the way, he travels from Newfoundland and the early Viking settlements of A.D. 1000; to the earliest (1565) permanent European settlement in the continental U.S. (St. Augustine, Florida); and he follows the trails of the Spanish conquistadors through the American Southwest. He spends a good bit of time focusing on John Smith and the Jamestown settlement, which predates Plymouth and the Pilgrims.

While Horwitz’s writing is wry and filled with amusing stories about the odd characters he meets in his travels, his history of early U.S. settlement is filled with violence, devastating illnesses, disasters, and greed. Horwitz concludes that the inaccurate and whitewashed version of American settlement that we learn about in school is more myth than history, but that we can expect the myths to prevail.

I listened to this title using the downloadable audio service powered by OverDrive, available online at my library, Lackawanna County Library System.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Review: When We Were Romans

When We Were Romans, by Matthew Kneale.
(Nan A. Talese, Doubleday, 2008. ISBN: 0385526253)

I love the title! Nine-year-old narrator Lawrence, his single mother, and his three-year-old sister Jemima become Romans to get away from their stalker dad who lives in Scotland, but who has been harassing them in their London home.

Lawrence has a very tight bond with his mother, and he works hard to keep things on an even keel. He constantly monitors her moods and tries to help her remain positive and happy. She, in turn, confides in him about the scary things his father is capable of, and the two of them grow even closer as they endeavor to keep their secrets from young Jemima.

As the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the family problem may be mom’s, not dad’s, but Lawrence is loyal to the mother he loves, and he believes her whenever she announces that they are in danger from his father.

Lawrence is a bright kid, interested in astronomy and history. He reads a series of “Horrid Histories” that feature “Calamitous Caesars” and “Petrifying Popes.” I can’t confirm that such a series actually exists, but I hope it does! Nine-year-olds everywhere would love it. (Update! A series called "Horrible Histories" does exist. It's published in England. Check out the series website.)

The author does an amazing job of maintaining the perspective of a young boy. The text is filled with misspellings that a child of that age might employ, working more from words he has heard than from words he has read. For example, his mother always refers to her children as “les enfants,” which, in Lawrence’s transcription, becomes “lesonfons.

When the family returns to Scotland to deal once and for all with Lawrence’s father, the reader becomes aware of just what a child is capable of doing to protect his mother and sister. The book takes us on a journey, not just to Rome, but to the edge of sanity. When We Were Romans is filled with issues, relationships, and personalities that will provide book clubs with plenty to discuss.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

White House Chef

White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen, by Walter Scheib and Andrew Friedman. (John Wiley & Sons, c2007. ISBN: 0471798428)

Walter Scheib served as the White House Chef during both terms of the Clinton administration and the first term of the Bush administration. His book is filled with inside stories of dinners, both formal and family. It's an informative and interesting look at the White House from an unusual point of view.

With so much negative campaigning going on right now, it's a pleasure to hear from someone who is awed by his opportunity to work in the White House. His accounts of First Families, state dinners, and foreign leaders are always respectful. His passion for his mission -- serving restaurant quality meals that feature the best of American cuisine -- is always apparent.

The author and his staff regularly created dinners, buffets, and picnics for hundreds -- even thousands -- of people on a daily basis. It was almost exhausting just to read about the Millenial New Year's Eve events, in which he oversaw a formal dinner, a buffet dinner, a reception, and a breakfast buffet, feeding about 1,600 people over the course of less than 12 hours.

At-home chefs will be pleased to know that there are recipes throughout the book, taken from menus served during Scheib's tenure at the White House.

Lecture Alert! Chef Scheib speaks on Thursday, October 2, at 7 p.m. in the Scranton Cultural Center as part of the Lackawanna County Library Lecture Series. Tickets are free with a library card! Tickets are available at all Lackawanna County libraries and at the Scranton Cultural Center Box Office.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Awards: Man Booker Prize Nominees

The Man Booker Prize nominees for 2008 have been announced. Here's the list:

The White Tiger
, by Aravind Adiga
The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry
Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh
The Clothes on Their Backs, by Linda Grant
The Northern Clemency, by Philip Hensher
A F
raction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz

Looks like I have a lot of reading to do; I haven't read any of these yet!

The Man Booker Prize is awarded to a book written in English by an author from Great Britain, the Commonwealth, or the Republic of Ireland. The Prize is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year.


Sunday, August 24, 2008

Review: Persepolis

Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.
(Pantheo
n Books, 2003. ISBN: 0375422307)

One of the most powerful books I've read this year. Presented in a black and white comic strip format, this memoir tells the story of the recent turbulent history of Iran from the perspective of a young girl.

As Marji grows from child to adolescent, the Shah is deposed, the Islamic revolution takes place, and war begins with Iraq. Through it all, the author maintains her connection with her younger self's perspective. A particularly moving sequence juxtaposes the horror of young men becoming "martyrs" as they are killed in devastating numbers with Marji's excitement at being allowed to attend her first party.

Marji's parents are very modern, rather liberal Iranians, living what we might consider to be a lifestyle much like that of a middle class American family. As they react to the restrictions imposed by the new extremist government, to the brutal treatment of friends and family, and to the terror of bombs landing in their street, I was struck by how a life we take for granted can change suddenly and horribly. There but for the grace of God ...

If you haven't read a graphic novel yet, this is a good one to begin with. It is, by turns, gripping, amusing, touching, and horrifying.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Audio Book Briefs

I’m a huge fan of downloadable audio, available through my public library. I download titles to my MP3 player and listen in my car or when I walk.

Although I prefer reading to listening, audio books give me an opportunity to listen to things I might not otherwise read – sometimes light and popular titles, sometimes nonfiction I might not take the time to read, and sometimes classics that I might never get around to rereading. My regular commute keeps me on the road quite a bit, so I work my way through a couple of audio books each month.

Here are some books I’ve listened to this summer:

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout

Olive, a retired high school math teacher, is not a very sympathetic character. She is often rough in her interactions with others, and she appears especially unpleasant in contrast to her husband, loved by everyone in their Maine town. Particularly heartbreaking is her inability to communicate her powerful love for her grown son, as they grow more and more estranged. We learn about Olive through the eyes of her husband and son, her neighbors, and her students, as the author tells stories about their lives. Read by Sandra Burr.

T Is for Trespass, by Sue Grafton

The latest in the alphabetical series about Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone, this book takes on identity theft as its central premise. Even though the plot is rather predictable, Grafton’s main character is always fun to spend some time with. Judy Kaye is the narrator.

Rage, by Jonathan Kellerman

Kellerman’s books are definitely not for the faint of heart. The crimes are always gruesome, and the dialogue between Dr. Alex Delaware and Lt. Milo Sturges can be pretty graphic. John Rubinstein does an excellent job of narration, bringing the two main characters to life.


Middlemarch, by George Eliot

An extraordinary book, beautifully written, funny, and filled with insights about people and relationships, is brought to auditory life by the fine narrator Kate Reading. It takes more than 31 hours to listen to this classic, but it is time enjoyably spent.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Choosing Books

I'm always interested in learning how people go about selecting books, especially people outside my field. We librarians have infinite resources that alert us to titles new and old. Sometimes, though, having such access can discourage me from reading a book I might actually enjoy. For instance, if I see a less than enthusiastic review of a book that initially appeared to be interesting, I usually pass it by and look for something else. Is it wise, though, to rely so heavily on the opinion of one reviewer? After all, if you look hard enough, you can find both good and bad reviews of the very same titles.

Summertime brings out the browser in me. When I'm heading out on vacation, my selections are heavily influenced by reviewer quotes that say something like, "I couldn't put it down." I love the idea of being swallowed up by the writer's world when my own life takes a quiet and lazy turn. One of my vacation books this summer was The Sister, by Poppy Adams, a modern Gothic with odd characters, a creepy old house, and plenty of twists in the storyline.

Come fall, though, I begin to look for the nominees for literary prizes. I print out the lists and use them as the basis for my library reserves for months to come. The National Book Awards, the Pulitzers, PEN/Faulkner, and the genre awards provide hours and hours of great reading. Early in the year, the professional library journals post their lists of notable titles, and they carry me right through the spring!

Saturday, August 2, 2008


Review: The Wednesday Sisters

The Wednesday Sisters, by Meg Waite Clayton.
(Ballantine Books, 2008. ISBN:
0345502825)

A group of young mothers meet in a park in Palo Alto in 1968. Over the next few years, they share personal triumphs and tragedies, all while working together to develop their writing skills. Their catalog of woes ranges from infidelity and infertility to cancer.

The characters observe and sometimes participate in the many events that changed the country during those disruptive years. What makes this story different from so many others that focus on that time period is the perspective from which it is told. The young women are wives and mothers, engaged in the traditional roles of supporting their upwardly-mobile husbands and raising their children. Most novels set in the late 1960’s feature characters that are more directly and actively engaged in the political and social upheaval of the time.

A light read with a rather predictable story line, The Wednesday Sisters is nonetheless notable for its reflections on the many changes in the roles of women in society over the last few decades. Younger readers may be surprised to learn about the demonstrations outside the Miss America Pageant and to read about women athletes who were barred from competing in the Boston Marathon.

Women's book discussion books may want to consider this title.



Friday, July 18, 2008

Review: Swim to Me

Swim to Me, by Betsy Carter.
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007, ISBN: 1565124928)

Once upon a time, before Disney World and Universal Studios became defining destinations, visitors to Florida found unusual attractions down every road. One of them was (and still is) Weeki Wachee Springs, featuring a "city of live mermaids." The author's story is an invention that fits snugly into the real history of the site and its performers.

Delores is a girl from the Bronx who loves to swim and who dreams of becoming a Weeki Wachee mermaid. She finds more success than she ever imagined, becoming a weather girl for a local TV station (forecasting from a bathtub in her mermaid tail) and, ultimately, the star of a combination circus/aquatic show. The fairy tale quality of the book is balanced by the back story of her unhappy family life and the breakup of her parents' marriage.

The novel takes place around 1970, and it is full of product and song placements that will make readers of a certain age smile with recollection.

Disney World has just opened as the story comes to its climax, and Walker chooses to focus on the success that Weeki Wachee Springs achieves in putting on a fabulous new show that produces jealousy in Walt Disney himself. Left unspoken is what every reader knows: that Disney's creation will come to dwarf attractions like the one in the book.

An excellent choice for book clubs.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Review: This Must Be the Place


This Must Be the Place, by Anna Winger
(Riverhead Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1-59448-997-6)

The main characters in this "coming of middle age" novel are Walter, once a German TV heartthrob, now the German voice of Tom Cruise, and Hope, an American living not very happily in Berlin with her traveling businessman husband. A third character is the city itself, where past and present live side by side -- modern structures alongside bombed-out lots and once-glamorous buildings.

Walter, at nearly forty, is still trying to reconcile the pieces of his life: an American mother, whom he later learns was Jewish; his German father; his estranged grandparents; his early success on German television; and his failed attempt to make it in Hollywood.

Hope has followed her husband to Berlin after the events of September 11. The novel examines her growing dissatisfaction with her marriage and the loss that has her sleepwalking through her life. Her friendship with Walter grows, as her husband leaves her alone for weeks at a time, while he pursues his business dealings in Poland.

First novelist Winger has a great sense of humor. Hope's husband congratulates himself for building up the economy of Poland by sponsoring late night pay-per-view naked wrestling matches, featuring former Polish prostitutes, on German television. Walter's courtship of Hope is filled with scenes both comic and touching. My favorite quote: "[Walter] felt pleased with himself; he had never dated a woman old enough to remember REO Speedwagon, let alone dislike them."

The book I read was a prepub version. According to the back cover, the novel is due out in August.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Vacation Reading

Tomorrow is my last day at work before two weeks of vacation. I've been storing up books for a while now, and I'm really looking forward to having time to read for hours and hours. I picked up Swim to Me, by Betsy Carter, at the library today to add to the pile. Pre-vacation, I'm still reading This Must Be the Place, by Anna Winger, with an aging German actor who dubs Tom Cruise's lines, and I'm listening to Rage, an Alex Delaware novel, by Jonathan Kellerman. I'll share the vacation stash with you in a future post.