Lisa Lutz

Looking for something light, humorous, and a little mysterious? Try author Lisa Lutz. Her mystery series, starting with The Spellman Files, features 28-year-old Izzy Spellman, unlucky in love and working for the family detective agency. Izzy wants to strike out on her own, but first must solve a fifteen-year-old cold case. She also must avoid the surveillance from her offbeat and sometimes snoopy family. Fast-paced and zany, these books are just the thing to help lift your mood.

The Spellman Files

Curse of the Spellmans

Revenge of the Spellmans

The Spellmans Strike Again

Trail of the Spellmans

The Last Word: A Spellman Novel

April Showers Bring May Flowers and Darkness Brings Light!

When I hear this old cliche, I think of beauty and light emerging from gloom and darkness. Then I reflect on flowers and books and the idea that out of tragic circumstances, an unexpected brightness can appear. Characters often struggle, triumph over adversity and eventually find unexpected happiness. Very often, books about growing up in the foster care system end with the hope of second chances. I've listed some of my favorite satisfying reads that embody this theme.

The Language of Flowers by Vanesssa Diffenbaugh 
This is a story of a woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own past.

A Good Year for the Roses by Gil McNeil
Recently divorced and struggling to support her three boys, Molly is stunned when she inherits her aunt's manor house, a house that includes her eccentric old uncle, an ailing bed-and-breakfast, and a beautiful rose garden.

White Oleander by Janet Finch
At the age of 12, Astrid has her world blown away when her mother is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her lover. Sharpened by harsh foster home environments, Astrid remakes herself as a survivor, and ultimately, an artist.

Like Family by Paula McLain
An account of growing up as a foster child describes how the author and her two sisters were abandoned by their parents, her next fourteen years in a series of temporary homes, and the impact of her unrooted life.

Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
Having suffered abuse and misfortune for much of her life, a young child searches for a better life and finally gets a break in the home of a loving woman with several foster children.

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
A successful divorce lawyer, Paula’s carefully constructed life starts to fracture when family secrets come to light, forcing her to try to come to terms with the power of her story to hurt and heal, and a growing need for family connections.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Close to aging out of the foster care system, Molly Ayer takes a position helping an elderly woman named Vivian and discovers that they are more alike than different as she helps Vivian solve a mystery from her past.

While You're Waiting for "The Nest" by Cynthia D'aprix Sweeney...

The Nest by Cynthia D'aprix Sweeney is currently one of the hottest titles at the library. Not only is it a New York Times bestseller, but many book clubs seem to be choosing this title for their discussions.

The Nest is the story of the spectacularly dysfunctional Plumb family. Suddenly faced with the dismantling of a long-awaited trust fund (“The Nest”), Leo, Melody, Jack, and Beatrice must grapple with years of old resentments and present-day truths as they come together to try and untangle the messes they have made in their lives.

For more books that deal with the interaction of families under pressure, you might try one of the following fiction titles:

Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian

After a decade of spending a delightful summer week at their country house in New Hampshire, the members of the extended Seton family are confronted by a terrible accident, testing the values and relationships that hold them together.

The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer

When their younger sibling returns, the three oldest Blair children find their lives disrupted in ways they could have never imagined as they each tell their story that is interwoven with portraits of their family at crucial points in their history.

The Vacationers  by Emma Staub

Celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary and their daughter's high-school graduation during a two-week vacation in Mallorca, Franny and Jim Post confront old secrets, hurts, and rivalries that reveal sides of themselves they try to conceal.

The Red House by Mark Haddon

Eight members of a family gather in the English countryside where fading dreams, rising hopes and tightly guarded secrets are all brought to light.

A Summer House, A Family Life

If you have ever been to a summer cottage or cabin, you know the feeling of getting away and escaping life.  Family summer homes are places that bring out the best and worst in families.  Reading The Big House by George Howe Colt felt like I was reading a chapter from my own life.  Having spent many summers in my in-laws run-down, mouse-infested cottage in Northern Michigan, I immediately fell more in love with it than any place in the world.  I enjoyed weeks of summer fun with my kids up there as they learned to swim and play tennis, we walked in the rain, picked and jammed raspberries and spent hours playing board games.  We had lots of summers in Michigan but it was always the cottage that made me feel like I was home and had found my soul.

     When I say it was run-down, I really mean it.  It was neglected for years.  It languished during the winters, and each summer there would be a new problem with the structure. As we slept at night, mice would run through the house and take up residence in the fireplace wood, in the rafters or a corner that hadn't been noticed in awhile. Once during the winter a determined mouse burrowed into our mattress and died in there.  First order of business that summer was to buy a new mattress.  The smell of the place was so distinct that the musty order stayed in my clothes long after we returned to suburbia and the hectic pace of our everyday lives.  It was a smell that I adored, so I didn't wash my clothes right away after returning home.

     When storms would come rolling in off Lake Michigan, we would sit on the porch and watch as the trees would bend from the force of the wind, the thunder would deafen us, and pools of water would gather at the end of the road.  The sound of rain pounding on the roof was extraordinary because there was no ceiling of insulation to mute the sound.  It was wonderful to lay in bed at night and listen to nature come down around us.  And every couple of years a hoot owl would take up residence in a nearby 100-foot tree and call out in the dark of the night, "Who, Whoo, Who-Who."

     I know my children have fond memories of their summer life in the family cottage.  My kids are 5th generation in the cottage that was named Tynneycoed by their great-grandparents. Their grandmother grew up in it, and always maintained she hated the place, which was something we couldn't fathom (and didn't really believe).  My kids were very fortunate to be able to spend so much time having care-free fun summers -- summers without electronics, returning us to the "good 'ole days" when we sat at the dinner table eating summer cuisine and talked.  One summer we watched a caterpillar turn into a chrysalis right in front of our eyes as we ate our tuna noodle casserole.  About 10 days later that chrysalis burst forth into the world as a Monarch butterfly as we ate grilled cheese sandwiches.  It was the love and kindness of my in-laws that gave us that gift each summer -- a sacrifice that was not lost on us, and that we were so grateful to receive.

     As the years have gone on, and the cottage was falling in around itself, we used to dream of fixing it up, enlarging it and creating a summer home where the whole family could come together to enjoy each other's company.  There are five siblings in the family, so the dreams we had were grand, but that was our dream, not necessarily the rest of the family's. 

     Of course the question of what to do with a cottage that has been in the family for 5 generations when it is time to pass it on is a sticky issue.  As George Howe Colt so eloquently writes, "It's a very complex issue because there is so much emotion and family history involved.  What one member of the family wants, some other family member doesn't.  Where one person has a terrible memory of the place, someone else has wonderful memories."  That was so true for our cottage and family.

     So what to do with a family cottage when the current generation doesn't want it or can't afford to keep it?  What to do when the family dynamics change, marriages end, and children grow up?
     The family cottage I spent 20 years raising my children in is no longer readily available to me because I divorced my husband.  My kids now visit the cottage as adults; my older son now shares the cottage with his wife.  Every couple of years my ex extends me a generous kindness and lets me go back up with my youngest son.  In the meantime my friends in Michigan tell me the cottage looks sad and forlorn because we are not in it.  Where the lights in the cottage at night brought the cottage to life in the deep woods, now it sits dark and empty most of the summer.  

     As timeless as The Big House is, it was the summer of 2005 when I read it.  I was sitting on the screened-in porch of the cottage, listening to the sounds of the night -- critters rustling in the leaves as they passed by, people talking far away, the occasional owl hoot -- and I instinctively knew that my summers there were going to come to an end.  I felt the same heaviness in my heart that Colt felt in his heart when he decided to sell his summer home.   It truly is like mourning a family member when you say goodbye to a house that you love;  you're left with the feeling that you will miss her immensely, but you're grateful for every moment you spent together.   The memories of our family cottage will live on in my heart, even when the time comes that I never see her again.

If You Liked Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

Are you looking forward to seeing Me Before You by JoJo Moyes on the big screen this June?  Looking for books that might give you that feel-good tingle?  Check out these great reads!

Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman



Two women from Lighthouse Bay, Australia, separated by one hundred years of history, learn that letting go of the past is the best way to move forward.


The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah


Reunited when the elder's husband is sent to fight in World War II, French sisters Vianne and Isabelle find their bond as well as their respective beliefs tested by a world that changes in horrific ways.

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio




Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, good night and reluctantly leaves for work. She hates the night shift, but it's the only way she can earn enough to keep destitution at bay. In the morning--even though it's the second of May--a heavy snow is falling. Vera rushes to wake Daniel, but his bed is empty. His teddy bear lies outside in the snow. Seattle, present day. On the second of May, Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge awakens to another late-season snowstorm.

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman


During the last moments of calm in prewar Prague, Lenka, a young art student, and Josef, who is studying medicine, fall in love. With the promise of a better future, they marry--only to have their dreams shattered by the imminent Nazi invasion. Like so many others, they are torn apart by the currents of war.


See Me by Nicholas Sparks




A young man with a dark, destructive past has his plans to remain single challenged by a hardworking lawyer. 

Spring Flings

Smell the flowers of Spring with these dynamic titles!


Summer Secrets by Jane Green


Years after hard partying and the discovery of the father she never knew ends her only friendships, Cat Coombs achieves sobriety and resolves to make amends to those she has hurt. 

The Daylight Marriage by Heidi Pitlor



After his wife disappears following an argument, a climate scientist analyzes his marriage to an upper-class beauty, as he tries to piece together what happened to his wife.

See Me by Nicholas Sparks


A young man with a dark, destructive past has his plans to remain single challenged by a hardworking lawyer. 

Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum



Meet the Slepys: Dick, the stern doctor, the naèive husband, a man devoted to both facts and faith; Seena, the storyteller, the restless wife, a mother of four, a lover of myth. And their children, the Marys: Mary Grace, the devastating beauty; Mary Tessa, the insistent inquisitor; Mary Catherine, the saintly, lost soul; and finally, Amaryllis, Seena's unspoken favorite, born with the mystifying ability to sense the future, touch the past, and distinguish the truth tellers from the most convincing liar of all. 

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson



Ursula Todd is born on a cold snowy night in 1910 -- twice. As she grows up during the first half of the twentieth century in Britain Ursula dies and is brought back to life again and again. 

To Have and To Hold: Weddings Can Be Murder

Weddings. A celebration. Families gathering together. Lots of tension. And in mysteries there can be lots of murders. Is it the bride or groom who is lost? A guest at the wedding? Or is it shady Uncle Lou who always had some dicey business connections? As I gathered together titles for the To Have and To Hold: Weddings Can Be Murder book discussion for our book group Much Ado About Mysteries, I did not realize how many wedding mysteries there were. Almost every author seems to have written one.

Some books feature the sleuths themselves getting married. Other sleuths are merely attendees at the event, or are working the event. And in other stories, the murder seems as if it is just a random but tragic accident.

Weddings are a major life event for most people, and I think that is why there are so many stories about the occasion. If you want to join the discussion - come join our book group Much Ado About Mysteries on Thursday June 18th at 7:00 pm. We will be discussing our wedding mysteries and sharing tales of nuptial disasters. Come to the Reader Services desk to grab a bibliography for a list of titles to read or try out the ones below.

Murder With Peacocks  by Donna Andrews - Meg Lanslow, maid of honor for three impending weddings, returns to her Virginia small-town home for the summer in order to arrange the details. Amidst the near disasters, truculent brides-to-be, screwball relatives, and minutiae-filled days, someone kills the rudely annoying sister of her mother's fiance. Meg's divorced but amicable father, an insatiable busybody and doctor, begins investigating--with assistance from Meg.

The Wedding Shawl by Sally Goldenbaum - When Izzy Chambers' wedding plans begin to unravel after her wedding party's stylist is found dead, the Seaside Knitters must not only find some answers, but complete the wedding shawl they made for the bride.

A Curious Indian Cadaver by Shamini Flint - Inspector Singh is sick of sick leave, so when Mrs Singh suggests they attend a family wedding in Mumbai, he grudgingly agrees - hoping that the spicy Indian curries will make up for extended exposure to his wife's relatives. Unfortunately, the beautiful bride-to-be disappears on the eve of her wedding - did she run away to avoid an arranged marriage, or is there something more sinister afoot? When a corpse is found, the fat inspector is soon dragged into a curious murder investigation with very firm instructions from Mrs Singh to exonerate her family. But as he uncovers layer upon layer of deceit, he knows it isn't going to be that easy.

It’s Complicated – Fragile Families for Teens

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around - fast. When Grandpa E. Rucker Blakeslee announces one July morning in 1906 that he's aiming to marry the young and freckledy milliner, Miss Love Simpson - a bare three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward - the news is served up all over town with that afternoon's dinner. And young Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a major scandal.

Donorboy by Brendan Helprin. Rosalind had two mommies. Now, thanks to a tragic accident involving foodstuffs, she has none. And Sean, the sperm donor responsible for half her DNA (and nothing else), is taking custody. Rosalind finds herself adjusting to a new life that seems both hateful and surreal-she's an orphan with a new father, surrounded by friends she is beginning to despise and well-meaning adults who succeed only in annoying her.

More Than This by Patrick Ness. A boy named Seth drowns, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust, and completely abandoned. What's going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world.

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman. Fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy and cannot function, relates his perceptions of his life, his family, and his condition, especially as he believes his father is planning to kill him.

-KF

Family Movie Night

My family loves the idea of family movie night, however finding a movie that all of us can agree on can be nearly impossible.  Here is a short list of movies that have a wide appeal and should make the whole family happy. Some are PG or PG-13. So make some popcorn, sit back and enjoy.

Life of Pi

We Bought a Zoo

42 The Jackie Robinson Story

The Blind Side

The Way Way Back

Flipped

The Monuments Men

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

Family Drama-Rama -- It's National Family Story Month

Just in the nick of time, you can still celebrate November’s National Family Drama Month by reading a book about someone else’s family! They say life is stranger than fiction, and sometimes it’s more fun to delve into the lives other families and experience their trials and tribulations, their joys and sorrows, and the crazy situations that families find themselves navigating. If you like to read stories about families, take a look at these gripping family sagas – and don’t let the early publication dates scare you away. Families were just as dysfunctional back “in the day” as they are today! Be sure to check out the various formats these books come in.



Fiction:

Eden Close by Anita Shreve (1998, c1989) - A "measured and haunting" modern gothic tale of one man's attempt to uncover the obsessions that killed a neighbor and blinded a beautiful girl seventeen years earlier. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler (1995) – Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, who feels like a tiny gnat buzzing around her family's edges, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

And the Mountains Echoed by Kahled Hosseini (2013) - A novel about how people love, how they take care of each other, and how choices made today can resonate through future generations. Author Khaled Hosseini gives listeners a multi-generational family story revolving around siblings and how they love, betray, hurt, honor, and would do anything for one another. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998) - The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it-from garden seeds to Scripture-is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

The Shell Seekers by Rosamude Pilcher (1987) - Set in London and Cornwall from World War II to present, The Shell Seekers tells the story of the Keeling family, and of the passions and heartbreak that have held them together for three generations. The family centers around Penelope, and it is her love, courage, and sense of values that determine the course of all their lives. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

Non-Fiction:

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (2011) - The incredible true account of Kamila Sidiqi who, when her father and brother were forced to flee Kabul, became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own and held her family together. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap by Stephanie Coontz - The Way We Never Were examines two centuries of American family life and shatters a series of myths and half-truths that burden modern families. Placing current family dilemmas in the context of far-reaching economic, political, and demographic changes, Coontz sheds new light on such contemporary concerns as parenting, privacy, love, the division of labor along gender lines, the black family, feminism, and sexual practice. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

Downloadable Audio Book: 

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (2009) - Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister Savannah, and their struggle to triumph over the dark and tragic legacy of the extraordinary family into which they were born. (excerpt from Bibliocommons)

KF

Funny Father Fiction for June

"Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope"
-Bill Cosby

While fatherhood is serious business, it helps to remember that we are all human and there is a funny side to how fathers relate to their children.  It's almost Father's Day, so in honor of this auspicious occasion, I thought I'd list novels that explore the humorous side of being a Dad.

FATHER/DAUGHTER:

Donorboy by Brendan Halpin
After the deaths of her mother and her lesbian lover in an accident, Rosalind, a troubled teen, finds herself living with Sean, the sperm-donor father she has never met, who takes on the task of caring for a grieving teenager.

Perfect Skin by Nick Earls
When life throws him an unexpected curve, thirty-something laser surgeon and single father Jon Marshall must enter the world of dating in a post-Duran Duran world where he has many misadventures.

Hollywood Dodo by Geoff Nicholson
Accompanying his starry-eyed daughter to Hollywood, self-appointed "moral bodyguard" Dr. Henry Cadwallader watches her ambitions flourish in unexpected ways, a situation that is complicated by a young man's determination to resurrect an extinct bird.

Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis
Taking a break from her career when her mother is diagnosed with a highly treatable form of cancer, lawyer Emily is disillusioned by her mother's dramatic attention-seeking behaviors and takes an unobtrusive job in her father's law firm.

FATHER/SON:

Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Hilarious, energetic, and profoundly touching, a debut novel follows a young writer as he travels to the farmlands of eastern Europe, where he embarks on a quest to find Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis, and, guided by his young Ukrainian translator, he discovers an unexpected past that will resonate far into the future.

Rich Part of Life by Jim Kokoris
Teddy and his brothers find their lives thrown into turmoil by the death of their mother and, soon afterwards, a winning lottery ticket that leaves the family with more money than they ever imagined.

Man and Boy by Tony Parsons
Harry Silver has everything that money can buy, and everything it can't. He's a successful TV producer, with a beautiful wife and an adorable young son. Yet something is niggling Harry. He's about to turn 30, and the end of his youth seems to be looming.

Book Against God by James Wood
His marriage and academic career falling apart, philosophy doctoral student and chronic liar Thomas Bunting secretly writes an atheistic manuscript he hope will be his opus and returns to the side of his ailing parish priest father.

Meely LaBauve by Ken Wells
Fifteen-year-old Meely LaBauve comes of age in the Catahoula Bayou, where he struggles to have a relationship with his father, a drunk and an alligator hunter, and survive in a tough neighborhood.

Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Raleigh Hayes has barely finished lunch when he receives news that his eccentric father, Earley Hayes, has checked himself out of the hospital, drained his bank accounts, and left town in a yellow Cadillac convertible in the company of a mysterious, young black woman who, rumor has it, the elder Hayes intends to marry.

So there you have a walk on the lighter side.  Hope you have a Happy Father's Day full of fun and memories with your fathers!

Six Favorites from 2011

As the 2011 publication year draws to a close, I thought I'd use this opportunity to champion a few titles from the past year that I particularly enjoyed.

Blood, Bones & Butter:The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef  by Gabrielle Hamilton

I was extremely impressed with this book by Gabrielle Hamilton, the owner/chef of Prune, a critically-acclaimed restaurant in NYC. Hamilton has written an exceedingly honest, heartfelt memoir about growing up too fast and too alone, about her circuitous path through higher education, about her hard work learning, observing, and surviving in restaurant kitchens. She writes of the grueling life of a restaurant chef and the seemingly impossible job of running a restaurant, raising a family and trying to sustain a marriage. The writing is excellent.

The audio version of this book is wonderfully read by the author. It feels right for memoir writers to read their own stories. The listener has the opportunity for an even more intimate “reading” experience with the added quality of the author's voice.

The Call  by Yannick Murphy

A large animal veterinarian narrates this unique novel set in rural Vermont. The structure of this story takes the form of a vet's call log. The logged calls provide the format and forward movement for the book, but the "log" is much more than a look at veterinarian's routine day. Through the log the narrator reveals his innermost thoughts and keen observations, which become particularly affecting when a hunting accident leaves the vet's twelve-year-old son in a coma. Joy, stress, anger, worry, and love of family are at the heart of this original novel.

The Buddha in the Attic  by Julie Otsuka

Using spare, poetic prose, Otsuka chooses to tell this beautifully written immigrant story in the first person plural, which gives this novel a very unusual voice. The story begins on a ship in the early 20th century as Japanese mail-order brides make their way from their homeland to America. They carry photos of handsome men and the hopes of a better life. On arrival, they discover men who look nothing like their pictures and confront the reality that their lives will, in most cases, be filled with backbreaking labor and hardship. The story follows these women’s lives until their removal to relocation centers just prior to WWII. Amazingly, this story is told in just 129 pages. After finishing this book, I immediately picked up Otsuka’s When the Emperor Was Divine (2002), another poignant story about the experience of Japanese-Americans--this novel focusing on their internment during World War II.

Sister  by Rosamund Lupton

Twenty-one-year-old Tess is found dead in an abandoned park building, her death officially pronounced a suicide. Beatrice, Tess's older sister, doesn't buy the suicide verdict. Her knowledge of her sister runs so deep that Beatrice is absolutely certain her sister was murdered. Guilt and love push Beatrice to try and uncover her sister's killer.

Beatrice tells this story as one long letter...a love letter, really...to her sister, which reveals the series of events that led to Tess's death. This suspenseful, fast-paced, psychological thriller has a big surprise ending.

Domestic Violets  by Matthew Norman

A witty, fast-paced, humorous, yet thoughtful debut novel. Thirty-five-year-old Tom Violet feels stuck in his copywriter job with a corporation that seems to have no real purpose in the world. He really wants to be a novelist, but that's a particularly tough road for him to follow--his famous father has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The passion seems to have disappeared from his marriage, which worries Tom, as does the fact that he's far too distracted by the twenty-three-year-old copywriter who works with him. How Tom handles these mid-life crises is both funny and touching.

This book reminded me of Richard Russo's writing as I was reading it. Interestingly, in the back matter of "Domestic Violets", the author reveals that one of his influences was Russo's "Straight Man"--one of my all-time favorite novels.

Vaclav & Lena  by Haley Tanner

Vaclav and Lena meet as five-year-olds in an English as a Second Language class. Both are children of Russian immigrant families living in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach neighborhood. The two quickly become fast friends, their daily lives intertwined. The outgoing Vaclav is intent on becoming a famous magician, with shy Lena as his beautiful assistant. By the time the two children are ten, however, Lena’s unacceptable home situation forces Vaclav's mother to intervene…and Lena disappears from young Vaclav’s life. No magic can make her reappear. Vaclav is devastated, but he never forgets about Lena, nor she about him. On Lena’s seventeenth birthday, she vows to find Vaclav and the many missing parts of her life. Heartbreaking at times, this moving adult novel about love and loss may also find a strong audience among high schoolers.

This is a debut novel for Haley Tanner, whose own personal story is also heartbreaking and touching.

Mama Does Time - A Humorous Southern Mystery

Florida native, Deborah Sharp does her home state proud with her book Mama Does Time. Mama's home town of Himmarshee is not necessary the touristy part of the state, but she makes news when a body is discovered in the back of her car when she is at the Dairy Queen. When Mace, her middle daughter gets her Mama's phone call, she tries to spring into action, even though she had just settled down to "wanting to see if she could spot any of her ex-boyfriends on Cops."

Now Mama is southern damsel in distress - what is she going to do in jail (besides making friends with her purple haired cellmate)? With the help of her cousin, the lawyer, Mace gets Mama out and shows the new detective in town (the one from Miami) what chaos really is. Mace and her sisters try to get Mama out of her mess and manage to involve most of the town, including Mama's latest fiance (a Northerner!) who is wanting to be spouse number five!

Filled with southern humor, quirky characters, and goofy family dynamics, Sharpe takes us along for a roller coaster ride of fun. And there is a pretty good mystery too! I'm looking forward to the sequels! A fun and frothy read at its finest.

The Love Goddess' Cooking School

When Holly's Grandmother Camilla dies, she inherits her business - a cooking school, and her house, but does she inherit her 'second sight'? In The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate, that is the question her small Maine town neighbors want to know. But Holly has had problems in her own life, and can't make a marinara sauce. She's not too sure that continuing the cooking school is such a good idea after all. But when she has four students sign up for classes, she decides to give it a try.

Senate does a great job at creating a small town community where everyone knows about everyone else's business. And Holly discovers that her grandmother's life was not all joy and roses. Filled with great characters and greater descriptions of food (you will be craving Italian after this one - trust me), the reader will enjoy reading about Holly's struggles in the kitchen, glimpses of Camilla's strength, and their cooking students growth, both in the kitchen and in their personal lives.

Makes one want to take an Italian cooking class if they are going to be that cool! A fun summer read.

MF

Room by Emma Donoghue

Have you ever been reading a book that you didn’t want to end? And then, after you’ve finished it, you can’t get it out of your mind? That’s what happened to me when I read Room by Emma Donoghue.

In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and a mysterious nighttime visitor known as Old Nick.  For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma it is a prison in which she tries to create a normal life for her son. When their world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are moving and extraordinary. Despite its distressing premise, this unique novel is full of moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate of circumstances. A stunning and original novel, readers who enter Room will leave changed, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time.

Once you’ve finished this novel, you may want to go to http://www.roomthebook.com/ to have an interactive look at Room itself.

kb

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers ~ Jose Narosky

What do these items have in common? An apolitical view of the war and the sacrifice these soldiers and their family’s make everyday so this country may remain free.

This movie, The Messenger, earned Woody Harrelson a well deserved best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his betrayal of Capt. Tony Stone, an Army causality notification officer. In his final three months of service Officer Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has just come home from Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty notification service to work together with Capt. Tony Stone. When he is first introduced to Capt. Stone, Harrelson’s character is given a strict set of rules to follow when making one of his house calls. He should knock rather then ring the door bell. He should never talk to anyone but the next-of-kin. Most importantly he should never touch the next-of-kin.

Even if Officer Montgomery (Foster) is a combat veteran and as if he wasn’t carrying scars from his time in Iraq both physical and mental, it would be a difficult assignment. He knows he is a solider and he does what he is told, so he sucks it up and does his best to be all he can be.
What he doesn’t expect is to be touched by the wife and young son of a fallen solider.

The Messenger is a tremendously moving drama filled with heartbreak, humor and more importantly, humanity. These incredible performances provide an apolitical insight into the mental plight of U.S. service members returning from combat.



Another must see film that is worth a viewing is Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon. This is another war movie with virtually no war action. Kevin Bacon plays Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a career military man who early in the Iraq war is analyzing numbers in an office. Lt. Col. Michael Strobl in April of 2004 sees the name of a young Marine from his Colorado hometown, Private First Class Chance Phelps’, on a casualty list. Both men have never met; never the less Strobl asks if he can escort the body home?

This is the story of a real life trip from Dover, Del., where Phelps’ body is prepared, to the small Wyoming town where he will be buried. Although there is much controversy and people widely differ on their beliefs of his trip he finds everyone from the pilot, cargo handlers and teenage girl texting next to him on the plane, to the long haired hearse driver. They all understand and respect his mission to provide the last full measure of honor and dignity to someone who has lost their life in war. The film isn’t anti-war or pro-war, that is not the point. Its point is that on the most fundamental matters, Americans and by extension, all people share a common sense of decency and concern. When Lt. Col. Michael Strobl finishes his escort detail for the late Pfc. Phelps, he is surprised to find how much of the experience has stayed with him. Kevin Bacon’s performance is outstanding. Given little dialogue, he has to convey the story with expression, gestures and body language, and he does it masterfully.


Bestselling author Sebastian Junger (of the Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont ) has released a new book. Sebastian Junger is a world class war correspondent and a brilliant writer who can paint a frighteningly real picture of an Army outpost in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, where Junger spent 5 months over the course of a year and a half with a platoon of young soldiers, fighting a war that we’ve all read about, but that few of us can imagine.

The book War is broken down into three sections: “Fear”, “Killing”, and “Love”. All three sections describe combat, but each section is loosely structured around its theme. In “Fear”, Junger analyzes why soldiers may or may not be afraid to fight; in “Killing” we learn why soldiers kill, how they feel about ending the life of an enemy combatant, and how they feel when one of their own receives that fate; in “Love”, Junger makes an attempt to learn why soldiers would die in combat for their comrades. I found this section talks about bravery probably more then the first section. Getting the men to talk about fear was very hard. The biggest worry seemed to be failing the other men in the platoon. If someone was killed, a common reaction was to search their own actions for blame. They did not want to believe that a good man could die for no reason; someone had to be at fault. Many of the soldiers had anxiety that they would fail to do their job and someone else would get killed. The men profiled in this book did not necessarily join the Army to die for their country, although some do. Above all, it’s the strong personal bonds between young men who have been through challenging training and hardship, drive much of what takes place in war, courage, bravery, a willingness to die for your fellow solider. The book has an extensive bibliography that includes up to date literature on killing and combat. Junger spends some time philosophizing about fighting, killing and cognitive processes during battle, and he backs up his writing with multiple studies.

The award winning documentary Restrepo, based upon Junger’s book will open in Chicago on July 2nd.

Fiction for Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, check out some of GPL's reads which portray relationships between fathers and their children.


For father and daughter fiction, try one of these:

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

A farm novel where Smiley creates an idyllic world of family life that grimly unravels after the father abruptly decides to turn the farm over to his two eldest daughters and their husband. Smiley raises questions about human conduct and moral responsibility within the frame of family relationships.


The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahon

An involving moving tale for historical fiction lovers who will find themselves engulfed in the tale of a young woman whose learning is at odds with her heart in eighteenth-century England after being raised by her reserved, brilliant father. An absorbing character-driven novel.


My Father Had a Daughter: Judith Shakespeare's Tale by Grace Tiffany

The daughter of England's greatest dramatist, angered over her father's callousness regarding a family tragedy, heads for London intent on sabotaging his new play. This astute young woman presents a fascinating view of the life and psyche of the playwright.


Father Melancholy's Daughter by Gail Godwin

Daughter Margaret's childhood ended when she was six, the day on which her mother walked out without an explanation, leaving her and her father, a kindly but moody Anglican priest, to fend for themselves. A conflict between duty and freedom, conformity and independence ensues. The book is marked by vivid detail and superb characterization.

Donorboy by Brendan Halpin

After the death of her mother and her lesbian lover, Rosalind, a troubled teen, finds herself living with Sean, the sperm-donor father she has never met, who cares for the grieving teenager. Sean and Rosalind forge an uneasy relationship that allows them to co-exist and finally respect each other. A compassionate and engrossing story.


The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard

Wendy loses her mother in the September 11th attack and moved in with her father and meets his girlfriend as well as a sad bookstore owner while missing her half-brother back in New York.

This is a sincere, heartfelt, affirmative fast-paced novel where, in the aftermath of 9/11, the usual rules don't apply.



For father and son fiction, try one of these:


About a Boy by Nick Hornby

This is a moving story about a friendless twelve-year-old boy grown in a single-parent family as well as a thirty-six-year old emotionally undeveloped bachelor who comes to find meaning in his life. The novel accurately portrays the thoughts and feelings of a twelve-year-old boy who feels displaced and lonely. A thoroughly engaging and funny expose of the problems of modern culture.


Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: a Novel by Mark Haddon

Christopher is a math-gifted, autistic fifteen year old. Despite his anxiety about interacting with people, he decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog. In the process, he uncovers secrets about his mother. It is a wonderful, easy and moving story told in a fresh and inventive way.


Diamond Dogs: a Novel by Alan Watt

Seventeen-year-old Neil accidentally commits a horrifying crime. His abusive father who is also the local sheriff covers up for him until the FBI get involved and father and son get in a confrontation that could tear them apart. This is a psychological fiction story with a powerful conclusion.


The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A tale of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy Afghan youth and a servant's son from the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy through the atrocities of the present day. It is a gripping story of personal redemption.


The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This novel follows an unnamed father and son journeying together over a period of several months across a grim, post-apocalyptic landscape, years after an unexplained cataclysm has destroyed civilization and almost all life on earth. It is pessimistic, disturbing and unsettling, yet portrays a faith in the face of no hope whatsoever.


Big Fish: a Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace

When William's attempts to get to know his dying father fail, he re-creates his life as a series of exuberant tall tales. It's a modern version of the American genre of the tall tale - as a well as an imaginative and moving record of a son's love for a charming, unknowable father.




Hope you choose and enjoy one of these titles on your special holiday!

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

By Chelsea Handler

Star of Chelsea Lately on E! Television network has another New York Times bestseller on her list of accomplishments. The Comedienne and host can tell a story. Whether letting us in on her fathers Jamaican girlfriends aka (housekeepers), or being a used car salesman or growing up in New Jersey, she’s terrific at giving us a glimpse of her early childhood and relationships with her siblings no one in her family is exempt from her practical jokes and sarcasm.

We read about many of the familiar characters like Brad Wollack, comedian and part of her panel on many of her shows to her CEO boyfriend Ted Harbert, 20 years her senior and head of the network who owns her TV show. Recently broke up after the release of her book and my favorite side kick, her little nugget Chuy.

She is brilliant, clever and a hilarious writer. Many times I found myself laughing out loud, as long as you don’t mind her candor and at times her filthy mouth. She tells it as she sees it. If you watch her show you can hear her voice in your head which makes it all the more funny.

Her humor probably would be considered raunchy to some, but as in her first two books My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night and Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. This current book is a continuation of her stories from childhood to most recently a few of the pranks she played on just about everyone.

The Time of My Life

The Time of My Life
By Patrick Swayze

I have always been a big fan of Patrick Swayze. Who doesn’t remember Dirty Dancing and Ghost? In his career spanning over 30 years he shows us his versatility from the stage to the screen and onto television, he has become one of our most beloved actors.

I found the book simple and honest and his relationship with his wife Lisa Niemi shows great insight to how much he truly loved her, which is reflected throughout the book. Their simple principles, their love for each other and their bond together throughout there years in Hollywood is an inspiration for every married couple.

Patrick describes his early years with his Texas upbringing, his relationship with his mother, a choreographer, and very critical of Patrick and his siblings. He felt he could never measure up to her expectations and he also talks about how he use to get beat up because he wanted to become a ballet dancer, his breakthrough in North and South and also his acting experiences with Dirty Dancing and Ghost. He talks about his father’s death at 57 from a heart attack and his sister’s suicide which started his struggles with alcohol.

In February of 2008, Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He refused to let the disease bring him to his knees. Instead he chose to be a fighter where we saw his bravery which has inspired fans and cancer patients everywhere.

Although written in the final months of his life, the book does not concentrate on his illness, but portrays a man who looks back on his life with appreciation, admiration for his loving wife and the legacy he had become and soon left behind.