Sally: The Older Woman's Illustrated Guide to Self-Improvement
Judy Laddon, Illustrated by Sally Pierone
Sombrero Press
P.O. Box 31166, Spolane, WA 99223
9781934738597 $24.95 www.SallytheBook.com
Cassandra Langer
Reviewer
I am among a good number of Americans who don't buy into the brave new world lotus land happiness project that tends to dominate our current political and social landscape. I am highly skeptical of the Obma collective along with all of the other unmet promises that a clogging the media airwaves. I admit to being suspicious of the overemphasis on the "just be happy," philosophy in vogue. I tend to think behind the bland smiling happy face is a fear of risk, of exploring and experiencing the disturbing realities that are a part of everyday living. This is why when Judy Laddon's book Sally, the story of a now 86 years young woman who is "Living proof that it's never too late to start again," fell through my mail slot and I opened the press package I did so with a certain sense of trepidation. Oh, oh, I thought, here comes another one of those dismal self-help books. What a refreshing surprise award winning author Judy Laddon's book turned out to be.
Sally is a well written, fascinating, funny and moving book that traces the saga of Sally Pierone's very colorful life. It does a lot more than chronicle the life of "one lovable, flawed, real-life character who captured her hard-won life lessons with her paintbrush." No, rather it is a life primer for any gender of how to learn to live passionately and make the greatest adventure (with all its highs and lows)--LIFE really meaningful. sally's journey is sometimes unbearably agonizing as she moves from a dysfunctional family into an exciting youth spent in Paris working as director of shall Plan and then returned home to an oppressive marriage to a dismissive control freak that resulted in becoming an unhappy wife and mother. Turning to psychotherapy in a desperate effort to turn her life around, Sally finally was able to reinvent herself. She spent two months studying with a gifted therapist, Virginia Satir. "After, Virginia, Sally used the f-word at the dinner table." Bob, who was used to "telling her what to wear, when to leave the party, when to speak," said, "Don't ever use that word in this house." Sally stood up, went over to him and said, in his face, "Spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon, spoon." Eventually she got the strength and courage to walk out It took a divorce and a change of career to start her on the path to finding her one true self.
She had already found God at the birth of the first of her three sons but even as a Born-Again Christian, she was still having problems. So she joined Unity Church, began to meditate and learned a lot. She became a counselor. Nevertheless, she still felt something was missing. At 60 she still felt like a little girl and she had a yearning inside that she couldn't seem to push away. One day writing in her journal Sally had a vision. A beautiful wisdom figure appeared to her. It was Sophia, the Jewish female representative of the Holy Spirit. She said, "I'm coming to live with you, be with you and change your life. We're going to have fun!" So at the age of 73, Sally learned how to rediscover her artist self and how to really have fun. She shed her old burdens of fear, guilt and remorse.
As she approached the age of 80, she felt tired and contemplated dying. Instead she took a workshop with the Frenchwoman Michele Cassou. Cassou's method of teaching painting is to pull images from one's own unconscious. The result was a surge of creativity and fresh images that allowed Sally to say goodbye to old sorrows and renew herself through her art. Her fascination with psychology and art came together in a surprising series of figures which are illustrated in this book. Sally is a delightful graphic artist in depictions like "Buyer's Remorse" a bride is seen struggling with second thoughts on her wedding day. "Bottom Feeders, embodies Sally's feelings about trying to go on vacation. She is on a rubber raft, but a lot of little orange umbilical cords are connected to the raft." The painting is about all the nagging guilt that keeps her from enjoying herself. In "Soul Mates" Sally meditated on relationships. "I thought I'd be plugging into somebody in a relationship, but I realized that a lot of men I've gone around with have been plugging into me."
Sally is a gratifying read, it is about the ability to separate one self from others and setting realistic boundaries that allow for a rebirth of oneself and one's creativity. This is more than a biography, more than a memoire. It is a book about life. The lesson it teaches is that life is not one-sided. A person has to struggle through all the discomforts, dissatisfactions, decision making and more as part of the challenge of living fully. That if you live passionately you reward for relishing life--all that it has to give--it's up and down moments--its sweetness--All of its actualities and potentialities. Then and only then will you truly be free. Life, as Sally's story tells us, is the greatest adventure and the most ecstatic.
June 2508
James Bhumi
Outskirts Press, Inc.
10940 South Parker Road, #515, Parker, CO 80134
9781432700454 $14.95 www.June2508.com www.outskirtspress.com 1-888-672-6657
Chuck Gregory
Reviewer
It is not uncommon for authors to share their vision of the future using a novel as their platform. It is somewhat less common for that vision to be carefully projected, based on the writer's understanding of science and/or politics. It is far less common - in fact quite rare - for such a vision to resonate with the ring of truth. Such a vision has James Bhumi created.
The scientific developments in this book feel possible. They seem to be logical if frequently surprising results of research that is being performed today. Certainly it is difficult to predict with any accuracy what direction may be taken as gifted students and scientists study new concepts; just look at what's happened in the last 500 years to get an idea of what might change. Yet despite a number of paradigm shifts over that time our science today at least has its roots in the science of 1508. A look at history can be one of the best ways of understanding our current situation, be we looking at politics, military capability, environmental issues, or virtually any other topic.
Beyond the hard science, James Bhumi has looked at politics and especially economics, particularly as they are affected by an intriguing breakthrough in biology. He posits the abandonment of research into longevity, because of certain inherent problems. Not least of these is the increase in an older and more complacent population that serves as a drain on humanity rather than pushing it to new levels with the sometimes foolish but always energetic fervor of youth. This is on the surface radically different from the view frequently expressed in science fiction that long life brings wealth and innovation, as well as heartbreak as generations of loved ones fade into the past. Proponents of that view are many, including the esteemed Poul Anderson who was always one of my favorites. However Bhumi makes his case forcefully and logically, and most important of all he has fun - and so does the reader. And there is something else that he's proposed as an alternative direction for research, i.e. as a direction that was taken by visionary scientists in what to us is still the future.
I can tell you that his radical concept is not based on artificial intelligence; in fact he, or his alter ego who is the protagonist in the novel, believes that will never happen, that it cannot in fact happen. He does expect the continued development of computers and robotics to produce incredibly competent servants capable of independent action that oftentimes appears to be intelligence; but he does not anticipate a sudden (or for that matter protracted, like David Weber's Dahak) 'wakening' of machine intelligence. No, his 'valets' are tools that handle many of the tasks we today must perform ourselves, not intelligent beings in their own right.
Some of the developments in Bhumi's future landscape are exciting and wonderful, while others are depressing. All are presented with humor and a true appreciation of humanity with all its quirks. Most of the story takes place during a one-month period 500 years in the future, at which time Raemon Teeler has traveled to Mars to visit and perhaps join the thriving colony there. Teeler's lectures at the University serve as one of the mechanisms for Bhumi to let the reader know what's happened over that 500 year span between June 2008 and June 2508. Another method for presenting that information is the inclusion of an old friend who trades intuitive and intellectual insights with Teeler, who is himself extremely intelligent and at the same time practical - two abilities that unfortunately do not always go together.
There are some fascinating females too. I think I fell in love with at least two of them! The discussion of asymmetrical ways of thinking between women and men was as amusing as it was enlightening. I may not agree with it, entirely, but then I am just a man.
Bhumi has some interesting insights into the continuing polarization in the distribution of wealth. Where many of us are concerned and angry about the erosion of the middle class and the increasing power enjoyed by the super-rich, he posits that the mechanism is economically necessary to spur change. He feels that any society which has melded its citizens into one 'class' has lost its incentive for change, that such a society will inevitably stagnate. Further, if every member of a society is rich, then every one of them will begin to feel poor!
Despite turning many of our favorite notions on their heads, Bhumi makes sense. His book is carefully structured, with a bit of mystery to go with the science and romance. He calls it 'prospective fiction' because it is so strongly based on what can happen. It's a good term for it.
This is an exciting and funny book. I'm actually reading it a second time and I rarely do that; I want to see how much I missed. Not to mention that I want to find clues that would have led me to be less surprised at certain events! I know the clues are there because I know the author prides himself on consistency and on being fair to readers. But like Agatha Christie he enjoys hiding the clues and making us work to see where the story may go.
June 2508 is a fascinating work of fiction. I highly recommend it.
Dream Lives of Butterflies: Stories
Jaimee Wriston Colbert
BkMk Press
University of Missouri - Kansas City
5101 Rockhill Road, Kansas City Missouri 64110
9781886157590 $16.95
Richard J. Curtis II
Reviewer
The Beauty within the Chaos
Death and taxes are said to be the two most certain aspects of human existence. However, there exists a third human experience that also remains constant. This third force is the driving power behind Jamie Wriston Colbert's latest book Dream Lives of Butterflies. Through twenty-one short stories and a colorful inventory of unique characters, Colbert skillfully demonstrates how the chaos of life can either destroy the human spirit or give birth to a butterfly-like state of spiritual existence.
The concept of the butterfly is the dominant theme throughout the book's settings and characters. In fact, the first story sets the tone for the rest of the book. Colbert introduces us to Lucy, a young girl whose father has fled his family and moved to St. Louis. As time goes on and Lucy loses her best friend, she seems hopelessly lost. By the end of her story, she takes her friend Nalani's paint and covers a wall with a giant letter C. While the C stands for her nickname Creamy, it could no doubt also refer to caterpillar, the first stage of a butterfly's life. In fact, this theme of the caterpillar appears throughout the novel's many stories, revealing itself through imagery. In the next short story, Marybeth is snaking her way through the ground to sneak to her ex-husband's house (apparently because Jesus told her go to there), and she is "crawling on my belly practically," similar to a caterpillar. The fact that she is sneaking into a town called Shady Tree is certainly no coincidence, either.
Truly, there is enough Americana symbolism in this collection to make Nathaniel Hawthorne proud. Some of it is subtle, such as casually referring to St. Louis, where most of the novel takes place, as "the middle of the country." The apartment complex in St. Louis where most of the characters reside acts as a cocoon of sorts, where these human caterpillars can take their time to grow into something greater. Likewise, it's no coincidence that the manager keeps a prairie garden at the apartment complex, as it is one of the butterflies' natural habitats. And of course, one of the most obvious signs of the butterfly is the young Cassandra, hanging upside down from a tree like a butterfly in a cocoon. Even the name Cassandra, the daughter of the character Sandra, sounds like a combination of the words Sandra and caterpillar combined into one. The real fun, however, is seeking the deeper and more subtle connections. For example, keep an eye out at the end when Troy is metaphorically taking flight on an airplane to Hawaii, or when Caroline and Julia, constantly referred to as butterflies themselves, come alive again when they enter a butterfly house, an artificial environment created to allow the species to survive and thrive, even though every aspect is controlled. The shared similarities between the butterflies and their lives with their domineering husband/father make an appropriate parallel. The final scene in particular exudes surreal butterfly imagery involving an unlikely Corvette as a source of flight. Nevertheless, the blend of surreal description and concrete detail works well for Colbert's style. It is never too abstract or too flowery.
Unfortunately, not every story in this book blends in well with the overall mix. For example, "Fly Me to the Moon" feels out of place, with characters that are easily forgettable. Likewise, "Girl Dreaming" is also an incredibly awkward fit. Cindra and her adopted mother-in-law Neecie are both irritating are nowhere near as interesting as some of the other characters presented. Why pay attention to a lesbian and a selfish mother-in-law when Colbert offers us more intriguing characters, such as a young woman named Lucy with a strange multiple personality issue, a fortune teller who never sets foot outside, a teenage girl dealing with both a love-starved adolescent and pregnancy, an elderly woman who randomly goes outside to pee in a public field, and a grandmother who hears the voice of Jesus? If anything, Colbert proves with these characters that she is truly a master of characterization. They are perfectly imperfect; their flaws and quirks are part of what makes the story so great. Stories about lesbians and touchy-feely situations in a plane could have better been spent developing other characters, such as both daughter Lucy and roommate Lucy.
Of course, no story would be complete without conflict, and here also is where Colbert demonstrates her skill. In the midst of her keystone short story that shares the same name as her novel, Colbert writes about the butterfly effect, the concept that an event of China could have serious repercussions in another part in the world due to a chain reaction. This is amazingly demonstrated in the character Marybeth and the suffering she endures throughout the entire book. Although there are many main characters, this is the only character who is forced to withstand the loss of every child she has ever had, including her own grandchild. Her whole life demonstrates how seemingly minor events that occur in the back of a truck can lead to entire generations of heartache. It's no wonder that this woman's only comfort is in imaginary visions of Christ. Who else can show her how to survive a life full of death other than the master of resurrection himself?
In the end, Dream Lives of Butterflies is a superb demonstration of how humanity continues to plod on in the face of unrelenting time. Despite the setbacks that these characters deal with, and indeed there are many, each one carries on against the world, even if it means stealing a corvette, offering shelter to a homeless masked woman, or becoming a motherly breast for a young lost boy. And despite the pain and chaos of life, in the end, we are shown that these characters, no matter how absurd or crazy, have their own beauty, just like the very butterflies they are.
Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar
Alan Morinis
Trumpeter Books, Boston & London
9781590303689 $24.95
Fred Reiss, Ed.D.
Reviewer
New Year's resolutions about self-improvement may come and go, but the need for positive growth continues all year. Everyday Holiness: The Jewish Spiritual Path of Mussar, by Alan Morinis, offers us a path to personal improvement based on the teachings of the Mussar movement. Mussar, also known as the Jewish Moralist Movement, gets its name from a Hebrew word found in the Book of Proverbs meaning discipline or conduct.
Mussar took hold in the late nineteenth century in Eastern European non-Hasidic, Orthodox Jewish communities, particularly in Lithuania. Rabbi Israel Salanter, inspired by the moral, ethical, and simple lifestyle of Zundel Salant, is often cited as the movement's founder. However, credit for institutionalizing the movement into the Orthodox community falls on one of Salanter's disciples, Rabbi Simcha Ziv. Others attribute the seeds of Mussar to the last century in the writings of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. Still others, like the author, argue that its roots go back to the tenth century in the Book of Beliefs and Opinions written by Sa'adia Gaon.
Eastern European Jewish communities, during the late nineteenth century, were affected by the Enlightenment, and its corresponding Jewish interpretation, known as Haskalah. The freedoms associated with the Enlightenment, along with acts of anti-Semitism, oppression by the Czar, the ideas of communism and socialism, even the Zionist movement and the pervasive poverty in this region, caused many Jews to become disenchanted with the religion and abandon Judaism or convert. Yet, some of those who maintained the faith noticed the decline in the observance even among professed Jews of traditional Jewish law and custom, as well as the loss of the emotional connection to Judaism's moral and ethical core. The Mussar movement offered a solution.
The first part of the book gives an overview of Mussar's core beliefs. The author, as the voice of the Mussar Movement, affirms that each person has a central task in life, which he calls "our individual curriculum," and each of us is responsible for understanding and accomplishing that curriculum. Just as each person's fingerprints are unique, so according to Mussar, each soul is unique. Rabbi Salanter wrote that, "We see the affairs of man constantly vary, each person clinging to different transgressions…. No person is like another when it comes to transgression." Many things hinder us from completing our life's assignment, especially our own shortcomings. Yet, our negative habits can be transformed though personal introspection and by employing the body of practices presented by Mussar.
The second part contains eighteen chapters. Each chapter examines one of Mussar's inner soul traits (there are many more than eighteen, but he only spotlights eighteen) and suggests methods for individual enhancement of each trait. The definitions that we associate with Mussar's soul traits, which include such things as humility, gratitude, order, honor, enthusiasm, generosity, etc, are not necessarily the way Mussar defines them. However, according the Mussar Movement, understanding and applying these soul traits in our daily lives are so important, that they are, in fact, the keys to satisfying our curriculum.
According to Morinis, "unbalanced soul-traits act as 'veils' that block the inner light." An overuse of anger, per se, is not the obstruction to fulfilling our individual curriculum because anger is required in the face of injustice, but anger becomes an obstruction when the person lacks anger's balance. More importantly, the desire to improve is not necessarily sufficient because of our inner enemy, the internal voice that subconsciously subverts our good intentions. Morinis pictures the soul as the battleground for two armies. Territory behind one line belongs to that army and territory behind the other line belongs to the second army. As the inner struggle ensues, new territory comes under the control of one side or the other. For each of us, the battle lasts our entire lives and to beat that inner voice, Mussar suggests finding a mentor.
To help us with the inner struggle, Mussar offers practical suggestions to inculcate the soul traits and obtain a balanced life. Consider the soul trait 'Patience'. There are times when impatience is a virtue, such as the speed needed to save someone's life. However, for the most part impatience does not speed things up, but rather causes grief. "It's like an inner blaze that burns us up without giving off any heat." To help us become more patient, Morinis reminds us that God is patient and long suffering and he asks us to remember how the eons of time in earth's history demonstrate that progress is made in small increments, like the creep of glaciers. To gain patience, Mussar wants us, in a sense, to open the space between the match and the fuse. "It only takes a split second for [impatience] to ignite into flames that course through us… Impatience snuffs out conscientious." We react without thinking: leaning on the horn, yelling at the child, cursing the stranger. Mussar teaches that in these situations, we can choose to have patience.
One means of self-enhancement is by the practice of "witnessing and naming." Here it means sensing the first sparks of impatience and saying, "I am feeling impatient" or "There goes impatience." Once impatience is identified, Morinis wants us to shift the focus. In the game of life no one is the prime actor or victim. When we understand that we have so little control over anything, we can keep the wasteful energy of impatience in check. The Hebrew word for patience can also mean tolerance; to learn patience is to learn to tolerate.
The third part provides the exercises to help the reader internalize the soul traits. Mussar offers guided practice in three forms: daily, weekly, and yearly. The daily reminder is a personal phrase said from the moment one wakes up that alerts each person to the soul trait that needs improvement. Another is individual meditation through chanting and visualizations of those things that lead us toward self-improvement. A third daily activity he calls, "bedtime practice," which is writing about and reviewing the day's activities that show positive development in the desired soul trait. There are also weekly practice exercises, such as text study, where the individual reads a portion of a book by a Mussar author. Another is based on the idea that "we are what we receive." A diet of violent movies, Morinis assures us, leads one to violence. Mussar responds that we perform a weekly checkup to confirm that we are receiving the messages that support growth in the soul trait on which we are concentrating. Finally, there is the annual cycle, where we review our progress toward the improvement of the soul traits by reviewing all that we have written. Morinis emphasizes time and again that Mussar is not a quick fix to personal growth, but rather is the slow and steady use of guided study and practice to enhance one soul trait at a time.
In recent times, some Jews have looked eastward to find life's meaning in Asian religions and by relying on gurus and swamis. Others have looked for charismatic leaders of faith in America. Morinis shows that seekers of self-fulfillment need only to look at the ethical and morals within Judaism, as adapted by the Mussar Movement, to satisfy that need.
Anti-Christ: A Satirical End of Days
Matthew Moses
Booklocker
PO Box 2399, Bangor, ME 04402-2399
9781601451101 $17.95
Hank Baum
Reviewer
As told in "Anti Christ: A Satirical End of Days", the world is in chaos - proving reality infuses fiction. Russia is eliminating democracy, returning to an authoritarian government. The US is fighting government corruption charges as a possible war between Pakistan and India formulates. Now China wants to rule Taiwan…the global issues never end.
On a civilian scale, Matthew Ford is an average college guy, suffering the usual issues. After waiting three hours, his internet date is a no show, the bookstore refuses to refund a book he just bought, and then his car gets a flat tire as it begins to snow. Arriving home, Matt's horrendous day ends peacefully once he throws out the ghost, haunting him for the last time. Okay, so this act is not usual however, it garners the attention of Heaven now commercialized and a power hungry Hell, both warring against the other to gain Earth peoples' majority support. As for his awareness of the previously mentioned world issues, Matt was busy watching professional wrestling; his priorities are quite clear.
Mr. Moses composes an engaging, humorous parody, drawing from timeless world events and American life. The U.S. President Lucas is a ditz, believing that Kashmir - in India - is a sweater company, and cannot understand why Pakistan wants that particular cloth. It's not material they want, it's all about the land. Russia's President Romanov wants to return his country into greatness. He dissolves the Duma, their legislative body, assuming sole leadership. After President Lucas' lengthy warning that the U.S. will defend democracy, Romanov, a taciturn man, replies with a barbed curse, "F--- America". Now that is honest communication.
The true witticism shines as Matt begins an enlightened journey first to Heaven, followed by Hell, then to the mystic Buddhist temples, and then back again to Heaven. Instigating this trek are two cherubs who abduct Matt, claiming the "Boss" wants to meet. Once in Zion (Heaven), the cherubs loose Matt, who wanders into a place called "Gabriel's". God's Archangels now congregate in a local tavern since Heaven and Hell signed a peace treaty two thousand years ago, outlawing wars. They drown their sorrows in unending chalices of holy water or engage in wrestling smack downs in the tavern's backroom; releasing pent up hostilities. The crowning moment is when Matt finally meets Jesus demanding that he take back the ghost he threw out; Heaven is overcrowded since Christ took over management.
The slapstick continues with attacks on big business, worker's unions, fad diets, immigration, military assistance in foreign countries, reincarnation…not even the Pope is exempt from this fast paced, captivating farce. Still, when Satan entices Matt into becoming the world's elite guru of wisdom, the amusing dialog turns gloomy. They attend congressional sessions discussing stem cell research and lecture overweight people simply to stop eating; naming only a few topics that some readers may not find amusing, in any form.
Yet, "Anti Christ" is a satire, "a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule" (definition from Dictionary.com) … hmmm, Mr. Moses has done his job well. His characters are well formed, genuine, aptly supporting this cabaret of imaginative intrigue. Even the typo, right at the beginning, "CwHyAPTER 1" only adds to this wacky novel. And yes, I roared with laughter throughout this distinctive book.
The Boxer And The Poet Something Of A Romance
James Thayer
Black Lyon Publishing
9780979325298 $17.95, $8.00 ebook
Kasey's View
Reviewer
I give it five stars *****
..... a fantastic and fast paced adventure filled with so many interesting and fascinating characters. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, wondering what will happen next. The chemistry between the weary battle scared boxer Dennis and the beautiful socialite Isobel is mesmerizing. If you've enjoyed James Thayer's books in the past then this one, his first but hopefully not his last attempt at a romance will delight you. I found this book almost impossible to put down and James Thayer has a brand new fan in me.
Locked in a desk for decades, a lost poem destined to bring together the unlikeliest of partners...
He'd been wrecked but good this time. At thirty-four, down-and-out boxer Dennis Jones is loveless, motherless, penniless and directionless. When he opens his eyes after a particularly brutal fight, he sees a raven-haired, blue-eyed demon in the guise of an angel. What she wants to do to his life is laughable, insane... Yet what does he have to lose?
New Orleans Garden District socialite and poetry professor Isobel Autry needs a fighter. One who will do what she wants with no questions asked. Someone who can cut through the obstacles between her and Edgar Allen Poe's last, undiscovered great work.
Weaving through ancient secret society rites, boxing rings, the New Orleans underbelly and right back to high society, Dennis and Isobel embark on a quest to revamp his life, find the poem and possibly discover each other. If they make it- it'll be close.
GoGoogle: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools
Greg Holden
AMACOM, American Management Association
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
9780814480595, $19.95
Mark Nash
Reviewer
Most Internet users think of Google for search functions. But, this mighty powerhouse offers a menu of additional services and applications that sole-proprietors and small businesses can utilize to grow revenues. Mr. Holden, a seasoned Internet author of thirty books and an owner of a online-based business. Written in a non-techy style that lays out the applications with grey-tone tip call-out boxes and screen prints to help you fast-track your learning curve.
Chapter titles are: Learning from Google: A 21st-Century Model for Success, Searching and Finding: Getting Started with Google, Goals for Google-izing Your Business. Improving Google Search Results, Improving Your Visibility with AdWords, Collaborating with Google Apps, Working with Docs & Spreadsheets, Working with Google Calendar, Gmail for Your Office, Google Talk, Publishing with Google Page Creator, Boosting Your Bottom Line with AdSense, Blogging to Improve Marketing and Customer Relations, Gathering Business Data: News, Gadgets, and More, Buying and Selling on Goggle Base, Improving Catalog Sales, Improving Web Site Performance with Google Analytics, Organizing Your Business Files, Organizing Your Images with Picasa and Moving Forward: Google Apps Premium, Pack, and More. Additional features include three Appendix's and an index.
I especially enjoyed the chapter on Google Base. A destination where small businesses can sell goods to consumers. And, Google intends Base to be the place where poetry, recipes, letters, sketches, paintings information booklets can be published online. But, Base isn't limited to the above mentioned uses, it also has a widely popular Vacation rental listing service, who knew? If you are looking for cliff notes on all the things Google is, check out this excellent new book.
Sad, Mad and Bad: Women and the Mind-Doctors from 1800
Lisa Appignanesi
McArthur & Company
0393066630 $34.95
Phyllis Chesler
Reviewer
This book is beautifully written and carefully, even lovingly, researched. The author prides herself on the fact that she is primarily a writer and is neither a patient nor a mind-doctor.
Thus, Lisa Appignanesi, who is also a respected novelist, views the literary arts as almost interchangeable with, or superior to, the psychoanalytic arts. In her view, "sad, mad, bad" women may be best analyzed, not psychoanalytically, but in a literary way.
Literary analysts may have compelling, even brilliant intellectual and historical insights but they do not view themselves as obligated to comfort, help or save a particular sorely afflicted soul. Indeed, Appignanesi views herself as an "outsider" who has "faith" in the writer's point of view.
The power struggle that may be at the heart of this book reveals itself in Appignanesi's description of Virginia Woolf as adamant that "the turf of the inner life and the imagination rightly belongs to novelists and artists and needs protecting from the reductionist inanities of ... psychological interlopers."
Permit me a brief psychoanalytic interpretation. To compensate for Woolf's view, which Appignanesi may share, the author tells us far too much about far too many mind-doctors, theories, asylums, cases, patients. Her textbook-like reach is sometimes overwhelming. Perhaps unconsciously guilty about her own bias, and in an effort to be "fair," she feels honour-bound to present a very long, if nevertheless informative, account of the history of female patients and their mind-doctors.
Appignanesi does not take sides; she has the luxury of understanding each approach without having to "do" anything. Therefore, she does not choose one school of thought over another, she simply presents them all. I wanted her to make a judgment about what helps: psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, political liberation movements, trauma theory, divorce, bed rest, cold showers - but she does not do so. Literature - and the long view - are redemptive solutions for Appignanesi.
I would, however, recommend this book for every abnormal psychology class in the world, since Appignanesi has really mastered the territory. She provides a sophisticated and nuanced history of how madness has been viewed and treated. She delves not just into the atrocities of confinement and of so-called treatment, but also the respite, safety and "tenderness" some asylums, keepers and mind-doctors have provided.
Historically, in Appignanesi's view, how we conceived of madness actually changed from male to female. She writes: "In 1815 the two writhing, brutish and chained male personifications of madness in front of Bedlam were replaced by figures of women - a youthful, beautiful, female insanity. Madness, at least in representation, it would seem, was becoming feminized and tamed, no longer wild, raving and dangerous, but pathetic."
Appignanesi does not deny that madness exists, nor does she romanticize it. She understands that madness was more acceptable in European society before the condition became medicalized, that madness may not be permanent, and that "cures are rarely absolute or forever."
She condemns asylum abuse, beginning with the practice of chaining, brutally force-feeding, blood-letting and straitjacketing those who are already in torment. Of the many examples of psychiatric abuse she offers, let me share one especially chilling account. The American psychiatric system tortured one poor woman for 54 years before she mercifully died. Martha Hurwitz lived in New Jersey in the 20th century. Superintendent Henry Cotton of the Trenton State Asylum "carried out an obscene campaign of surgery on the tonsils, stomach, colon, and uterus of (female psychiatric) patients alongside removal of teeth. In the process he maimed and killed thousands" - including Martha Hurwitz, whom he also diabolically, perhaps psychotically, overmedicated and in whom he induced more than 50 insulin comas.
Appignanesi is as much at home in European salon society as she is in Bedlam, Paris's Salpêtrière or in Freud's office. Reading this book was a way to learn new things about some old friends: Freud's Anna O (Bertha Pappenheim), the orthodox Jewish woman who co-invented the "talking cure" and who became a major feminist leader; Jung's Sabina Spielrein, a patient with whom he had a love affair during treatment - and who went on to become the first woman psychoanalyst; Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the writer and feminist, for whom S. Mitchell Weir prescribed bed rest and a domestic routine; Zelda Fitzgerald, the talented writer envied by her writer-husband Scott; the great Virginia Woolf, whose husband Leonard adored and protected her; the sublime but haunted Sylvia Plath, whose husband, Ted Hughes, left her. I also met some people here for the first time.
Appignanesi is at her best when she slows down and spends time with a woman, a doctor, a "case." Thus, her more extensive discussions of Mary Lamb, Theroigne de Mericourt, Celia Branden, Alice James, Virginia Woolf, Sabina Spielrein, Zelda Fitzgerald, Sylvia Plath and Marilyn Monroe are excellent.
Sad, Mad and Bad also provides us with literary gossip at a high level. In a sense, this book is a social history of madness among intellectuals, poets and revolutionaries. Thus, we learn about Mary Lamb, who, in a fit of madness, killed her mother and who was, thereafter, both periodically confined and at liberty. This is the same Mary Lamb who, together with her brother, Charles, wrote Tales From Shakespeare and was a social intimate of Coleridge and Wordsworth. According to Appignanesi, William Hazlitt described Mary Lamb as "the only truly sensible woman I've ever met." Mary Lamb's alcoholic brother depended upon her totally and they lived together as adults.
We learn about George Cheyne, who himself had a "breakdown," but who went on to become a popular holistic healer whom Samuel Johnson praised.
Asylum reformer Phillipe Pinel (1745-1826), sometimes considered the father of psychiatry, was a member of a salon run by Madame Helvetius, who admired Stendhal; this was same Pinel who ran the asylum where the Marquis de Sade was imprisoned. Theroigne de Mericourt was rescued by none other than the revolutionary Marat; an all-female mob had stripped her naked and was publicly flogging her. William Makepeace Thackeray's wife broke down after childbirth and tried to drown her newborn and kill herself. Jung's former patient and lover, Sabina Spielrein, was Jean Piaget's analyst.
Alice James, the sister of William and Henry, once checked into an asylum that "treated nervous people who are not insane." James Joyce's daughter Lucia saw one of Zelda Fitzgerald's mind-doctors and consulted with Jung, who, as it happened, "hated Joyce's Ulysses."
There are many more such anecdotes and asides that will delight any student or teacher of literature.
Because Appignanesi is so comprehensive, I am surprised that she does not cite the excellent work of Dr. Paula Caplan about the psychiatric pathologizing of women - or that of author and therapist Kim Chernin, who has written a great deal about women's eating disorders. (Appignanesi is exceptionally eloquent about anorexia and characterizes those who suffer from it as "hunger artists" and "suicide bombers inside the bourgeois family.")
Early on, Appignanesi theorizes that her "interest in madness" is a "form of survival" since her family "fled the Holocaust." I do not entirely understand what she is saying here, but to the extent to which madness or evil may be narcissistically appeased, Appignanesi has "survived" in very high style indeed.
A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction
Elizabeth Lyon
The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, NY NY 10014
9780399528675 $13.95
Rocky Reichman, Reviewer
www.LiteraryMagic.com
Packed with well-researched information, this book is critical to any writer's success. Whether you're a freelance writer trying to sell an article, or an author who needs help organizing information into a book, Lyon's A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction is a certain fit for you.
The author includes sections not only on writing nonfiction, but also on how to market nonfiction. How to sell nonfiction. She also covers all the major types of nonfiction pieces, explaining what content types like profiles, columns and product review are--and how to write them.
The only criticism for this book is that it is weak in some places. For example, when talking about selling one's writing, the author only gives basic instruction in how to do so. And while there's plenty of space for determining who the audience for one's book is, the author only dedicates a few pages to how to actually organize your information and content into a completed book.
Despite any lacking this book may have, it is still an indispensable guide to writing nonfiction.
The Lonely Hearts Club
Radclyffe
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
430 Herrington Rd., Johnsonville, NY 12094
9781602820050 $15.95
Cheri Rosenberg
Reviewer
Think Friends, Sex in the City, and The L-Word, with Radclyffe's signature touches, for an engaging, uplifting and truly sexy character-driven emotional adventure. The Lonely Hearts Club explores the hearts and minds of six professional women, all different, all sexy, and all complicated, and all searching for true love, even if they think they're better off single. Whether a playgirl, a person who prefers her fantasies, or a practical and loyal woman embarking on motherhood, everyone needs companionship, love, trust, and lust. Radclyffe succeeds in showing how different our sexuality can be - and how valid despite those differences.
Liz Ramsey is a thirty-five-year-old mal-practice attorney on top of her game when life altering changes throws her for a loop. Her best friends, Marilyn Monroe-esque Candace Lory, a commodities trader who gets around and Brenda Beal, a thirty-year-old quietly sensitive care-taker, who enjoys the fantasy of love perhaps more than the reality, remain the constant by which she lives her life. "For nine years [Liz, Candace and Bren had] shared secrets, heartbreaks, the joy of new beginnings and the pain of breaking up. They had forged something that went beyond friendship and created a family in a far more intimate way than anything Liz shared with most of her blood relatives" (page 19). But even a 'family of choice' can have secrets and still maintain a healthy, loving, nurturing, and protective relationship.
Add Dr. Reilly Danvers, an orthopedic surgeon, who is "melt-in-your-mouth hot," and feeds off the tension of her profession so that she's too tired to worry about her life outside the hospital, Parker Playgirl Jones, a sexy corporate attorney and Julia, Liz's ex among other surprise guests, and you have an ensemble of compelling characters, intriguing complications amidst soul-searching, tying up loose ends, and making way for fulfilling futures. Gay or straight, most women would agree that these are the key ingredients to a happier life.
Readers who aren't afraid to explore their sensual and sexual side and think about their needs and desires will want to read The Lonely Hearts Club because there's always something to learn. Between the witty and often funny, charming and meaningful dialogue, cliff-hanger scene endings, the hints of deep dark secrets along the way, and characters you'll love, it is no surprise that The Lonely Hearts Club will leave you lonely no more. Every gesture, look, sigh, and thought moves the plot along with just enough hints to maintain suspense. Each character has a unique descriptor. How Radclyffe keeps track of all these women is a wonder. Radclyffe empowers woman and being a lesbian is not a pre-requisite for reading her work. Happily married and single straight women who enjoy romance, exploring sexual desire, living vicariously through characters who etch themselves in your heart and mind, and who long for stimulating circumstances between multi-faceted characters, will not want to miss The Lonely Hearts Club.
Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet
Ted Nield
Harvard University Press
9780674026599 $29.95
Jim Sullivan
Reviewer
The heart of this tome is the Continental Drift Theory, proposed by German geophysicist Alfred L. Wegener, and how his idea came to be accepted. The various insightful scientists and those that weren't particularly helpful in the pursuit of Wegener's concept take up most of the pages.
Along with all that, the author elaborates on the single supercontinents: such as Pangaea and Rodinia, for which there is some evidence of; and how they broke up, shifted away, and moved around the globe as they have, to become smaller continents and islands.
Discussed also is the real possibility that there were numerous supercontinents before the two mentioned. Moreover, that still others could possibly come about millions or more years from now. Hence the "ten billion'' years reference in the subtitle.
Included in the early portion of the book are a plethora of mythological stories about other landmasses, possibly real, others merely imagined, such as Atlantis.
Nield writes in his Forward: "The drifting continents of the Earth are heading for collision. Two hundred and fifty million years from now, all landmasses will come together in a single, gigantic supercontinent. It already has a name (in fact, it has three): [Novopangaea, Amasia, or Pangea Ultima] even though human eyes will, in all probability, never see it.
"That future supercontinent will not be the first to have formed on Earth, nor will it be the last. The continents we know today--Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Antarctic--are fragments of the previous supercontinent Pangaea, which gave birth to dinosaurs, and whose break-up was first understood barely a century ago, in 1912. Yet 750 million years before Pangaea formed, yet another one broke up; and before that another, and so on and on, back into the almost indecipherable past. The Earth's landmasses are locked in a stately quadrille that geologists call the Supercontinent Cycle, the grandest of all patterns in nature."
The author, Ted Nield, edits GEOSCIENTIST magazine. Additionally, he serves as Scientist and Communications Officer for the Geological Society of London.
Recommended, despite the volume's seemingly rambling beginning.
Comstock Rose
Catherine MacDonald
JADA Press
1403 Shadowood Pkwy., SE, Atlanta, GA 30339
9780980062915 $12.95
Dr. Tami Brady
Reviewer
I have a new favorite fiction writer. I recently read Divine Diva by Catherine MacDonald and absolutely loved this empowering Chit Lit story. So when I came across another novel from Ms. MacDonald, Comstock Rose, I was eager to see how the author would do with historical fiction. I was not disappointed!
Comstock Rose is the story of Rose O'Conner. Rose was raised in a wealthy family who disowned her when she got pregnant by (and married) Ian O'Conner. Unfortunately, life with Ian was even worse than the scenario that Rose's mother had told the young girl. Ian was an abusive drunk who gambled most of their money away.
Due to Ian's loud mouth, gambling debts, and get rich quick schemes, the pair moved around a lot. This is how they came to Virginia City, a rough mining town. It was here that Rose's life would take a very strange turn. A mining accident took Ian's life. Deep in debt, with the worst kind of men, Rose needed to find a job in a town where the only positions for women were as ladies of the evening. As they say, where there's a will there's a way and Rose is a very strong woman.
Bethany's Bookshelf
From Japan With Love
Mary A. 'Kiddie' Ruggieri
Portsmouth Publishing
Courthouse Square, 1000 Fourth Street, Suite 785, San Rafael, CA 94901
9780979875717, $24.95 www.portsmouthpublishing.com
Offering a fascinating, informative, personal, and unique perspective of live in post-war Japan through excerpts from the letters, journals and photographs of Mary A. Ruggieri, an American college girl stationed in Japan from 1946 to 1948 as a member of Women's Army Corps as part of the American military post-war occupation , "From Japan With Love" takes the reader from an army hut encampment to some of Japan's most memorable shrines and august temples. Ruggieri writes eloquently of the Japanese people and culture, her falling in love with Japan, as well as meeting the American soldier who would become her husband. Remarkable for her articulate eyewitness account which is peppered throughout with her black-and-white photography, "From Japan With Love" is as engaging as it is informed, making it very highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the post-war Japan reformation, mid-twentieth century Japanese culture, and the transition of Japan from a defeated nation to its nescient emergence as a western style democracy..
Mix 'n' Match Meals In Minutes For People With Diabetes
Linda Gassenheimer
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311
9781580402897, $16.95 www.diabetes.org 1-800-342-2383
Being diagnosed with diabetes does not mean being condemned to a lifetime of bland foods and tasteless menus. Now in an expanded and updated second edition, "Mix 'n' Match Meals In Minutes For People With Diabetes" by Linda Gassenheimer (a syndicated journalist, food expert, and the author of twelve cookbooks) has compiled a selection of quick and easy dishes appropriate for breakfast, lunch or dinner and which can be switched around in a 'mix and match' strategy for menu planning and fine dining. Each recipes is provided with a 'Shopping List' of ingredients required, cooking instructions, and 'Helpful Hints'. This new edition features a section of 'speed meals' that can be prepared quickly, easily, and still produce healthy, hearty, tasty dishes that will please any palate, satisfy any appetite, and conform to the dietary requirement of diabetics. The sample menus provided offer dishes that range from Grilled Turkey Sausage with Mustard and Sweet Pickle Relish; Spicy Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich with Oatmeal; and Chinese Chicken with Cashew Nuts; to Italian Roast Pork; Sauteed Scallops with Saffron Vegetable Pilaf and Mocha Froth; and a Ham, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza with Spinach Salad. Thoroughly kitchen cook friendly, "Mix 'n' Match Meals In Minutes For People With Diabetes" is an absolute must for the kitchen cookbook collection of anyone having to prepare meals with respect to diabetic diners that will appeal to all the other members sitting down to eat as well.
Free Mind, Free Body
D. R. Boisse
Virtualbookworm.com Publishing
PO Box 9949, College Station, TX 77842
www.FreeMindFreeBody.com www.Bosse.org
9781602640344, $14.95 www.virtualbookworm.com 1-877-376-4955
A very quick and informative read, the 168-pages that comprise "Free Mind, Free Body: How to Use your Mind To Achieve More Than Ever Before!" offers a proactive plan that anyone can assimilate and utilize to create healthier lifestyles for them selves and their loved ones. Inspiring, motivating, practical, organized, and effective, "Free Mind, Free Body" focuses the reader's attention on understanding and emphasizing those functions of the human mind that recognize and promote the positive aspects of life, enable us to identify and learn from weaknesses, and achieve liberation from the domination of negative thoughts and emotions. Thoroughly 'user friendly', "Free Mind, Free Body" is a welcome and recommended addition to personal self-help, self-improvement reading lists and reference collections.
Intentional Healing
Jeanne Achterberg
Sounds True Audio
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
AF01235D, $69.95 www.soundstrue.com 1-800-333-9185
"Intentional Healing Consciousness And Connections For health And Well-Being" by scientist and transpersonal psychologist Jeanne Achterberg is a six-CD program of instruction that teachers the listener how to focus thoughts in the form of 'positive thinking' as a dynamic element in a process of personal healing and recovery from both physical and emotional trauma and illness. A cutting edge presentation of specific and practical guided techniques enabling men and women to harness the power of their minds to achieve and maintain optimal health and well-being, and even prevent the onset of disease through the positive impact of the mind and body dynamic, prevent the very occurrence of an illness. "Intentional Healing" offers the five core elements of intentional healing along with practical application advice; teaches the use of guided imagery in the healing process; reveals the basic elements of transpersonal imagery and the steps for practicing distance healing; covers leveraging the power of prayer in the process of healing; surveys the different levels of healing relationships; introduces advanced modalities with respect to the use of energy healing and the healing touch; emphasizes the importance of family and personal rituals; and even addresses basic shamanistic practices with respect to personal healing. Flawlessly recorded and superbly presented, "Intentional Healing" is an articulate program of instruction that is especially recommended as a core addition to personal, academic, and community library Alternate Medicine reference collections.
Susan Bethany
Reviewer
Betty's Bookshelf
Dragonhaven
Robin McKinley
G. P. Putnam's Sons
345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014
9780399246753 $17.99 www.penguin.com/youngreaders
As a longtime Robin McKinley fan, I am always excited to discover that she's published a new book. She has a way with words and characters that allows readers to enter a completely different world and stay there for the duration of the book without having to suspend belief in order to enjoy the story. When you're in a McKinley world, it becomes, for a time, your own.
Dragonhaven lived up to my expectations, but it also surprised me. All of McKinley's books to date have had a voice appropriate to the story, but overall, you can tell a McKinley book when you read one. Dragonhaven, told in first person by Jake, who starts out as a teenager and ends the book as a young married man, sounds totally different. If I'd read it without being told who wrote it, I would not have been able to tell. Quite a feat!
Jake is an ordinary teenaged boy with an extraordinary lifestyle: he's lived at Smokehill, home of the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies, ever since he can remember, with his mom and dad and a small handful of other people, and he never leaves. Ever.
That's OK with him, though. Smokehill is the home of all the remaining dragons (wings, fire, scales and all) in the US, and all Jakes life, all he's ever wanted is to follow in his parents' footsteps and spend his life studying dragons (even though, up to now, he's never even seen one and knows no one who has).
Even as a child, Jake's favorite book had not been one of the usual childhood favorites. Instead, he'd asked to have the memoirs of Pete Makepeace, the son of the founder of the institute, read to him, over and over, until he got old enough to read them himself. His first solo overnight camping trip, as soon as he turned twelve, would be his first step to his future.
But then his mother, on a sabbatical visit to another dragon compound, disappears and later turns up dead of a broken neck (ostensibly from a fall) and life as Jake knows it stops. As the book opens, fourteen-year- old Jake's grief (compounded by his dog's death and his dad's overprotectiveness) threatens to overwhelm him, and the news his dad is finally going to allow him to solo comes as a lifeline.
A strange drive pushes him to hike into the wilderness further than anyone else has ever gone alone, where he finds a dying female dragon, a poacher killed by the dragon in self-defense, and a litter of dead dragonlets. This is a crisis of major proportions: Smokehill's hi tech fences are supposed to keep unwanted visitors out (and the dragons in), and the dead poacher will certainly stir up world opinion against the dragons.
Then, he looks into the dying mother's eyes. He knows that the and can't just walk away. When he discovers one of the dragonlets is still alive, he becomes her foster "mother", despite knowing that it is a federal offense to try to save a dragon's life. , but Jake's spent his life helping the institute rangers to save orphaned animals of all types and he can't just let this little one die. Little does he know that trying to save her life may end up costing him his own.
Hattie, Get a Haircut
Jenna Glatzer. Monica Kendall
Moo Press, Inc.
PO Box 54, Warwick, NY 10990
9780972485302 $19.95 www.moopress.com
What a great book to read to a child whose hair is long enough to cut and donate to Locks of Love*! Long-haired Hattie refuses to let her mom take her to the beauty shop to get her hair cut, insisting, "I will never, no way, not at all, let someone cut my hair!"
Then, she dreams about it growing and growing, tripping her, getting entangled in things, being used as a jump rope and as knitting material, and causing no end of trouble. When she wakes up, she begs her mother to take her to the shop to get it cut.
Once there, the stylist suggests that Hattie should donate her hair to L.O.L., to be made into a wig for a child without any hair, and Hattie eagerly agrees. The last two pictures show Hattie dropping a package addressed to L.O.L. into the mailbox and then dreaming of another little girl who is admiring herself in the mirror as she wears a wig made from Hattie's hair.
Many children's books written in poetry are a nightmare to read out loud, due to awkward rhymes and limping rhythm, and a lot of them nowadays have drawings that look as if a five year old (or an illustrator badly in need of therapy) drew them. However, Glatzer's verses flow off the tongue with scarcely a hitch and Kendall's expressive pencil & watercolor illustrations are nicely drawn and cute. Good job, you two!
*the organization alluded to in this adorable picture book and mentioned in the front-of-the-book small print
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, MN, 55438
9780764203886 $13.99 www.bethanyhouse.com
Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen and published in 1813, has obviously been around for a long time, during which it has inspired many writers, moviemakers, and script jockeys, as well as several generations of fond readers. In the nearly two hundred years it has been in print (quite a feat in the profit-driven world of publishing), it has appeared in a variety of editions.
This one, Bethany House's Insight Edition, may be the one I've been waiting for since high school (which was I-won't-tell-you-how-many years ago). Reading it, with its fan club "trivia, notes, and inspiration to amplify this beloved classic", isn't at all like reading a book that many of us were assigned to read in school. Instead, it's a bit like reading it with a good friend, trading comments and information and amusing if acerbic asides.
When Mr. Darcy tells Miss Bingley that he won't walk with her, since he can admire her and Elizabeth better as he sits by the fire, and the fan club cuts in with "If Mr. Darcy sat there and admired our figures as we walked… well, we'd be walking a lot," you can't help but laugh and nod in agreement. When Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth by telling her of her unworthiness and the club says wryly, "Romance tip: Try not to insult and/or anger your intended with your proposal," you want to say, "Well, duh, you'd think he'd be smarter than that!"
Reading Jane Austen in a book club would probably be a hoot (and I hope that's what the upcoming fall 2008 movie, The Jane Austen Book Club, inspires), but until I have time for that, this edition of P&P will suffice. Romance tips, historical information, spiritual asides, Austen family parallels, movie/TV trivia, and just plain giggles, alongside one of the greatest romances ever written, all in one neat package. What are you waiting for?
Just Jane: A Novel of Jane Austen's Life
Nancy Moser
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, MN, 55438
9780764203565 $13.99 www.bethanyhouse.com
Although Jane Austen was not a huge success in her lifetime, her upbringing in a nineteenth century English clergyman's household gave her the best seat in the house when it came to the quirks and foibles of the human race. Her books were peopled with interesting characters, her dialogue was spot on, and her stories were driven, not by plot devices, but by human nature.
The result? Austen's books are not only still in print (a feat in today's bottom-line publishing business) but are still being discovered by new readers. And it isn't just high school and college English students, reading Austen under duress, either. Young girls exiting the theater, dazzled by big screen productions of Pride and Prejudice and Emma, are picking her up for the first time. Middle-aged women are rediscovering her in attic boxes from their school days. Male readers are bravely checking her out in spite of possible deriding (chick lit? maybe, but it's also good reading…)
Austen's stories have even made the silver screen, from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice miniseries to Alicia Silverstone's modern take on Emma in Clueless, with more to come (Becoming Jane and The Jane Austen Book Club, both due out in the fall of 2008).
With the current popularity of all things Jane, it's no surprise that Christy Award winner Nancy Moser decided to write Just Jane, a novel about Jane Austen's life. Thoroughly researched and based on actual Austen family letters and historical writings, Just Jane takes readers into Austen's life as she struggles to come to terms with the world she lives in and the people who surround her.
Following Austen through Moser's eyes as she seeks romance, deals with her beloved family, and finally finds purpose for her life and her talents, readers will come to understand Jane Austen in a new way. They will also gain insight into Austen's era and the issues and characters included in her stories. For Austen fans, romance readers, and history buffs alike, this is a do-not-miss book.
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale
Trinka Hakes Noble
Robert Papp
Sleeping Bear Press
310 North Main Street, Suite 300, Chelsea, MI 48118
9781585362530 $17.95 http://www.sleepingbearpress.com
A common nickname for the American Civil War is the Boys' War, since so many of the soldiers, especially the drummers and buglers were so young, sometimes as young as ten. Gabe, the hero of The Last Brother, is an eleven-year-old bugler for the Union Army, with one main mission - to make sure his remaining brother, Davy, gets home alive. He's already lost two big brothers. He's not going to lose this one.
Then, Gabe sneaks away during a lull in the fighting, to practice battle calls, and meets Orlee, the young bugler from the Confederate Army, who's using his free time to fish. The boys play dueling battle calls for a few minutes, then sit down together to talk and fish and forget, for a little while, where they are.
Later, Orlee sneaks up on Gabe to warn him the Confederates are heading his way. In exchange for this kindness, Gabe imitates Orlee's retreat call in the heat of battle. Davy is injured, but due to Gabe's honor and compassion, their little stretch of battlefield is the only one with no casualties.
Included in the book is a note by Trinka Hakes Noble about her family's Civil War history and the authenticity of the story's background. You can tell a lot of research and thought went into both the words and the illustrations: on the title page, Sleeping Bear Press thanks Sue Boardman, Licensed Battlefield Guide, for reading and reviewing the book's manuscript, while Robert Papp thanks the McClellan Rangers Reenactment Association for research assistance.
This book does an excellent job of introducing not only the Civil War, but also the personal conflicts that raged at that time between duty to country and duty to family and friends. The illustrations are lovely and accurate, the language authentic, and the overall feel gritty, but not gruesome.
Betty Winslow
Reviewer
Bob's Bookshelf
Outdoor Navigation With GPS
Stephen W. Hinch
Wilderness Press
1200 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710-1306
9780899974453 $16.95 www.wildernesspress.com 1-800-443-7227
If you recently received or purchased a GPS receiver and plan to use it for outdoor activities, you'll definitely want to get a copy of this updated, new edition of "Outdoor Navigation With GPS" by Stephen Hinch.
With more than 100 helpful diagrams and illustrations, this helpful guide will explain how to get the most out of your receiver. Written expressly for the outdoor navigator, Hinch shows how to handle both simple and complex routes without getting lost. He also explains how to use your GPS receiver in conjunction with those other two venerable tools of wilderness navigation, the map and compass.
The focus here is on practical applications, not technical theory. The theory covered in this guide is limited to what you need to know to achieve success on a backpacking, hunting, kayaking, snowshoeing or mountain biking journey.
If you don't already own a receiver, it might be wise to read the book now so you know what to look for when you go to purchase one. Part One provides the background behind what GPS is and how it is used. You'll learn what to look for in a receiver and how to do basic things like marking and going to waypoints and following compass bearings.
Part Two introduces the concepts of latitude and longitude and how to use them to find a place you have never been to before. The next section describes the critical wilderness navigation skills you should know if your GPS fails in the backcountry.
Part Four looks at such topics as geocaching, GPS games, trail mapping, and highway navigation. You'll also discover the latest in equipment offerings from major manufacturers.
Just as you wouldn't think of leaving home without your trusty GPS receiver, you also may not want to leave the house until you have fully digested the information in this important guide!
A Pale Horse
Charles Todd
William Morrow
9780061233562 $23.95
10 East 53rd Street, New York, New York 10022
A body found in the ruins of an ancient abbey sends Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge off to find a killer in this atmospheric mystery.
Set in 1920, the case takes a quirky turn when Rutledge realizes he is dealing with a murder that apparently some very important people don't want solved.
Wearing a hooded cloak and a gas mask, the nameless victim was found with an alchemy text next to him and no other clues.
The identity of the corpse, why he was dressed this way, and what he was doing at Yorkshire's Fountains Abbey in the first place are just part of the puzzle. Is this bizarre situation sosmehow linked to the British government's poison gas program or is it a macabre act of revenge?
The investigation takes Rutledge to Berkshire where he must deal with the inhabitants of cottages that stand in the shadow of a great white horse cut into the chalk hillside. Hiding from their own pasts, these folks don't intend to willingly give up their secrets.
Separating the truth from falsehood will be just part of the challenge Rutledge faces as he struggles to shed some light on a very challenging puzzle.
Last Call
James Grippando
HarperCollins
9780060831165 $24.95 www.harpercolins.com
A new legal suspense story by James Grippando, "Last Call" features Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck. This seventh adventure featuring the indomitable protagonist opens with his best friend, Theo Knight, waking Jack at three in the morning seeking his advice.
An escaped con from Theo's old neighborhood wants him to provide shelter and money in return for some shattering information. Year ago Theo's mother was murdered when he was just a boy and now he is being offered the name of the killer.
The identity of the purported murderer is a total shock and sets Jack and Theo off on a dangerous trail looking for hard evidence that will bring a member of the city's elite to justice.
Miami's "Little Harlem" and its Jazz roots are in the spotlight as James Grippando creates another solidly paced thriller that will delight his many fans.
Building Doors & Drawers
Andy Rae
The Taunton Press
63 South Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470
9781561588688 $24.95 www.taunton.com 1-800-477-8727
"Building Doors & Drawers" by Andy Rae is a must read for anyone with the woodshop equipment and desire to upgrade kitchen cabinets, redo some household doors, or create some freestanding furniture.
This illustrated design and construction guide focuses on how to construct dovetailed, utility, cabinet and full-size doors. Rae takes you through the design steps, the actual building and fitting of the drawers/doors and the installation of the hardware.
Even if you don't plan to rush out to your woodshop and put the ideas in this book to immediate use, you'll find browsing through Doors & Drawers will provide information that you can use when planning home built-ins. Refer to the pictures here to show your cabinetmaker what you would like the project to look like.
Trellis & Arbors
Steve Cory
Sunset Books
80 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
9780376017970 $16.95 www.sunset.com 1-800-643-8030
"Trellises & Arbors" by Steve Cory is chock full of plans for creating some eye-catching trellis and arbors that can make a yard or garden even more attractive.
Whether it's a simple freestanding or wall trellis to hold up climbing plants or something more imposing, such as a tunnel arbor or garden portal, the ins-and-outs of construction are detailed here with plenty of illustrations on how to complete the job.
There's also some helpful information on selecting the right building materials, setting posts correctly, and finding the perfect climbing plants to add texture and color to your yard.
Bob Walch
Reviewer
Buhle's Bookshelf
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Volume 16
CLAMP, authors
William Flannigan, translator
Del Rey
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780345501486, $10.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
The sixteenth graphic novel collection of CLAMP's manga series Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle climaxes in a stunning twist in the group dynamic that has been present since the very beginning. Syaoran's search to collect and return the scattered feathers containing Sakura's memory takes a dark turn when the powerful seal on his right eye is released, freeing his ruthless alter ego personality - just as another, nearly identical Syaoran wearing the livery of the group's deadliest enemy appears! An earthshaking betrayal unfolds, with the unfortunate Sakura caught in the middle. Action-packed and drawn with stunningly beautiful art, Tsubasa Volume 16 is an absolute must-have for fans of the series.
A Walk for Sunshine
Jeff Alt
Dreams Shared Publications
PO Box 18188, Cincinnati, OH 45218
9780967948225, $15.95
Now in a newly revised and updated second edition, A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160 Mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail is the award-winning memoir and travelogue of author Jeff Alt, who embarked on an extended hike while taking part of an annual fundraiser for the disabled home where his brother with cerebral palsy lived. Jeff's journey is the stuff of real-life adventure, featuring encounters with wild animals, stunningly beautiful scenery, struggle against inclement weather, and much more. A treat for armchair travelers, or anyone interested in the next best thing to hiking through the Appalachian outdoors in person. "To combat the gnats torpedoing my ears, I picked up a trick from a section hiker. My handkerchief was draped over my head, secured in place by my ball cap. The handkerchief hung over my ears and prevented the little pests from entering the ear canal. From a distance, I looked like I was wearing a French foreign-legion hat, but it worked."
Teen People of the Bible
Daniel Darling
New Hope Publishers
100 Missionary Ridge, Birmingham, AL 35242-5235
9781596690882, $13.99 www.newhopepublishers.com
Teen People of the Bible: Celebrity Profiles of Real Faith and Tragic Failure is an eye-opening biblical study guide especially for young adults, focusing on the stories of teens confronted with incredible situations. From Leah and Rachel's conflict over the love of a man, to Solomon who allowed himself to be led astray, to Josiah who refuted his family's harmful choices and led his country back to God, Teen People of the Bible reminds the reader that one's age does not prevent one from making a positive difference - or causing great harm. Divided into one hundred entries, each with a brief reference to a biblical passage retold in contemporary language, a "just like you" passage discussing modern-day issues from internet predators , a daily prayer, and a journal question with blank lines for the reader to write down his or her response. One of the suggested prayers is "God, help me to make a difference in my family, my school, my church, and my community. I'm only one person, but I know You can empower me to do things that seem impossible." An excellent, faith-reaffirming resource for young Christians.
300 Ways To Ask The Four Questions
Murray Spiegel & Rickey Stein
Spiegel-Stein Publishing
48 Roosevelt Street, Roseland, NJ 07068
9780615150635, $39.95
Co-authored by Murray Spiegel and Rickey Stein, and featuring an informative foreword by Theodore Bikel, "300 Ways To Ask The Four Questions" provides a fascinating , colorfully illustrated, 368-page examination and presentation of the Sedar (including both the Jewish holiday meal and service) from the perspective of a variety of languages and cultures. This massive reference work is the result of some twenty-five years of research in the collection of translation of the Four Questions that form the basis of the Sedar celebration. Contributions were provided by Jews from Uganda to Uzbekistan, the languages range from Abkhaz to Zulu, and even includes sign language. Of special note are the contributions by experts of ancient languages -- including Egyptian from the time of the Exodus. Substantially enhanced with both a CD and a DVD with language and speaker highlights, "300 Ways To Ask The Four Questions" also features a variety of fun games, puzzles, and parodies., making it a unique and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, family, synagogue, academic, and community library Judaic Studies reference collections.
Willis M. Buhle
Reviewer
Burroughs' Bookshelf
Sex Offending
Jill D. Stinson, et al.
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
9780979212529, $69.95 www.apa.org/books 1-800-368-5777
The collaborative work of Jill D. Stinson (Clinical Psychologist and Researcher at Fulton State Hospital -- a maximum-security forensic institution in Missouri), Bruce D. Sales (Professor Psychology, Sociology, Psychiatry, and Law, University of Arizona), and Judith V. Becker (Professor of Psychology and psychiatry, University of Arizona - and former President of both the International Academy of Sex Research and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers), "Sex Offending: Causal Theories To Inform Research, Prevention, And Treatment" is a comprehensive, articulate, effectively organized and superbly presented combination of review and critique of current theories (along with supporting literature) on the reasons adolescent and adult males commit sex offenses that range from child molestation and rape, to voyeurism and indecent exposure, along with other types of violent offenses against children and adults. "Sex Offending" provides an informed and informative survey of theories that include biological, cognitive, behavioral, social learning, personality-psychodynamic, and evolution concepts, as well as combinations of these factors. "Sex Offending" then presents the authors own and original integrative theory of sex offending, how it may influence future research, as well as prevention and treatment efforts with sex offenders. A work of academic excellence from beginning to end, "Sex Offending" is an invaluable, seminal, and strongly recommended addition to professional and academic library Psychology & Psychiatry reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Middle Eastern Terrorism
Mark Ensalaco
University of Pennsylvania Press
3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4112
9780812240467, $39.95 www.upenn.edu/pennpress 1-800-537-5487
In one sense, terrorism has been employed as a weapon of both civil and international warfare since the earliest recorded events of human conflicts from the fertile crescent of Ur and Babylonia, to the kingdoms of ancient Egypt. The current expression of terrorism arising in and stemming from the middle east is largely focused on an internecine conflict between competing branches of Islam (principally between the Sunni and the Shia), and the conflict between a fundamentalist Islam and the Western cultural and political influences from the democracies of North American and the former colonial powers of Europe. The terrorism-based warfare that began against the United States and its allies (in both Europe and the Middle East) in the 1970s and evolved into the war against fundamentalist Islamic forces such as those that have attacked Americans at home and abroad directly is the subject and focus of "Middle Eastern Terrorism: From Black September to September 11" by academician and historian Mark Ensalaco (holder of the Raymond A Roesch Chair in the Social Sciences, University of Dayton) and is a vital contribution of the history of the violence that has ensued between hostile Islamic forces against the West, including its origins in American support for dictatorial suppressive governments of Middle Eastern countries as part of the Cold War confrontation between American and the Soviet Union, the Palestinian/Israel conflict, and the American/European corporate exploitation of Middle Eastern resources. Professor Ensalaco offers cogent insights and a coherent history that is as timely as it is necessary in light of the continuing and expanding terrorist-based violence seen today on the international stage. Also very highly recommended for both academic and community library collections from the University of Pennsylvania Press is "Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks In The Twenty-First Century" (9780812240658) by forensic psychiatrist and government counter-terrorism consultant Marc Sageman.
The Tigress in the Snow
Laura Benedetti
University of Toronto Press
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4Y 2W8
9780802097446, $40.00 www.utppublishing.com 1-800-565-9523
Laura Benedetti (Associate Professor in Contemporary Italian Culture, Georgetown University) presents The Tigress in the Snow: Motherhood and Literature in Twentieth-Century Italy, an analysis of how literature was influenced by and helped to frame concepts of motherhood in Italy during the late twentieth century. Touching upon subjects such as religious iconography, the Fascist government's attempts to raise Italy's birthrate, and even relatively modern feminist views of traditional gender roles, The Tigress in the Snow offers a fascinating glimpse of cultural transition, even revealing how literature can envision new models for the present and future. "In her pamphlet 'Le idee di una donna' (1903), Neera repeated over and over again that motherhood was to be women's only mission. Apart from mocking women who harbored other ambitions, she tried to ignore the socioeconomic factors that made marriage and motherhood impossible for many. Only in her last chapter did she acknowledge the fact that some women may never become mothers, in spite of their heartfelt desires. Turning to them, she envisioned for a moment the possibility of separating motherhood from its biological component." A thoughtfully written treatise, and a welcome addition to Italian literary criticism shelves.
Croatia Through History
Branka Magas
Saqi
825 Page Street, Suite 203, Berkeley, California 94710
9780863567759, $60.00 www.saqibooks.com
Consultant and scholar Branka Magas presents the culmination of her intense research in Croatia Through History: The Making of a European State, an in-depth scrutiny of Croatia's history and development from its origin in the early Middle Ages to the modern day. The evolution of Croatia's institutions, ideology, social customs, and political strategies are all examined in turn. Croatia's rich and complex past includes eras when it was territorially and/or administratively divided between various states, and even times when the threat of extinction loomed. Croatia's long struggle for survival has produced a spectrum of national ideologies, some advocating independent statehood while others reach for the benefits of becoming part of an Austrian, Yugoslav or European federation. An even-handed history that pays close attention to the many plural ethnic, cultural, and national influences upon the region, illustrated with a handful of black-and-white and color images. Highly recommended especially for public or college library history shelves.
John Burroughs
Reviewer
Cheri's Bookshelf
A Tendering in the Storm
Jane Kirkpatrick
WaterBrook Press a division of Random House
12265 Oracle Boulevard Suite 200 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921
9781578657355 $13.99 www.randomhouse.com/waterbrook
German Emma Giesy was independent and strong, determined, married to Christian five short years with a love that both thought would last forever, with two small children Andy and Kate. The struggle of everyday life consisted of always doing what the will of the community leader Herr Kiel dictated, but independent Emma was always trying to get Christian to leave the community but Christian felt they needed the community but did agree to stay in Willapa instead of going on to Aurora Mills as Herr Kiel wanted.
Than one day Christian doing what he did best helping others, drowned helping an old man save his belongings as he tried desperately to cross a river during a raging storm. Forced to carry on alone, not wanting the help of Christian's family or the community Emma sets out to raise her family on her own and run the homestead. A few days after Christian's death Emma finds herself pregnant with their third child and names him Christian, giving birth to him alone at the homestead. Emma is still determined to take care of her own children but Christian's family will not let her be. The worst telling her what she should and should not do in raising her sons but ignoring her daughter as though she is not important
Because of Christian's death Emma has even turned her back on God determined she doesn't need Him either. The final straw seemed to be while Emma was ill and Andy was staying with her in-laws they took him to Aurora Mills without even asking or telling her. She felt she had to do something for fear her in-laws would take her sons from her.
During her grieving time only one man proposed marriage to pick up where Christian left off and that was the strange Jack Giesy. She avoided his advances for a time than felt she had no choice thinking Herr Kiel and her in-laws were her enemies. Finally determined to protect her children she proposes a business proposition of marriage to Jack. Jack would have none of that wanting her as a wife in every sense. Fearing she had no choice agreed. From that point on her life turns from struggle to nightmare dealing with Jack's moods and outbursts of violence until she fears Andy will kill Jack. Emma knows she has to take the children and leave but where will she go?
Based on a true story this awesome story shows the ups and downs of the German community way of life during the mid to late 1800's under the rule of Herr Kiel and the life of Emma Giesy. You may find yourself just as I did routing for Emma in this page turner but humbled as she was to learn life's hard lessons and to depend upon the kindness of the very ones she considered her enemies. Multiple lessons for us all are woven within the pages of this novel, the biggest being the lesson of giving and receiving which we all must learn. The second book in the series author Jane Kirkpatrick has done an awesome job of bringing history alive. I truly like the extras included especially the interview with the author that explains so much more of the background. I highly recommend placing this one on your must read list!
The Voice
Bill Myers
Faith Words a division of Hachette Book Group USA
1271 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020
9780446697996 $13.99 www.faithwords.com
Jazmin's parents have created a program that allows them to hear the Voice of God, a program that they have been kidnapped for. Jaz is only thirteen years old, a very grownup thirteen year old and has ran to the one place her parents always told her to go if there was trouble, to her Uncle Charlie.
Charlie Madison a former special operations specialist. A man who has cut himself off from his family, a man who is angry at the world, himself and God because of the deaths of his wife and daughter and he feels his commitment to God was all fake. The last person who wants to see a thirteen year old girl come crashing into his music store and claiming to be his niece and shouting that someone is out to kill her. Quickly Charlie is out of retirement and Jaz with Lisa Harman who happened to be in his store at the time (who unknown to Charlie is an FBI agent and was investigating him as a threat!) are on the run for their lives starting an adventure that takes them around the world to find Jaz's parents and the program. Religious groups and governments want the program even if Charlie and Lisa don't quite believe until they experience for themselves the Voice of God!
But one thing is for certain they must find the program because who knows what could happen in the wrong hands it could be turned into a weapon or could possible be manipulated to fit one group's agenda!
What an awesome read! Perfect for teens and adults read as the very rocks cry out! Author Bill Myers has done an amazing job with this tale of suspense and intrigue. It will have you on the edge of your seat with all the twists and turns you can't even imagine what will happen next! This novel will make a believer out of you---no you don't need a program just listen for the voice of God! Myers is the writer of over eighty books not bad for someone who didn't like to read nor wanted to be a writer. But an amazing writer he is! This is this reviewer's introduction to Bill Myers and I think it is awesome as he takes the very mysteries of God and brings them alive in ways you won't believe possible. It will have you questioning is this real and is this possible and at the same time bring you closer to your own walk with God!
You Had Me At Goodbye
Tracey Bateman
FaithWords a division of Hachette Book Group USA
237 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017
9780446698948 $13.99 www.faithwords.com
Dancy Ames has your typical up and down life. Separated parents her father is an alcoholic and her mother is rather controlling, really the reason why her parents are separated. She is working her dream job at Lane Publishing with her eyes set on the Senior Editor Position and living in an apartment with her two best friends Tabby and Laini. She helps out at the local coffee shop for the owner Nick who she thinks is part of the mafia with his rough exterior but can't help thinking of him as the father figure she so desperately needs.
Than all of a sudden everything changes Jack Quinn her brother Kale's best friend from college a gorgeous man from Britain swoops in and steals the position she's had her eye on and of all people it has to be someone she knows and can't help falling for but that can't be possible he stole her job! Out of the blue her parents decide to get back together and are giving their condo, her childhood home to her brother Kale and his fiance and they are moving to Florida. Dancy wonders what else could possible go wrong.
Clearing out her things from her Mom's condo she comes across her Granny's Bible upon reading it she comes across the verse "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not onto thine own understanding. In all of thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5 and 6, recommitting her life to the Lord and taking this verse as her own she sets out to allow God to control her life. Next thing she knows she's forced to take a month's vacation after she laughs at an author for getting upset over changes to her manuscript which leads to later being fired but even after she leaves Lane Publishing everywhere she turns it seems Jack Quinn is there. Than she finds out she has a sixteen year old brother from an affair her father had with her favorite nanny and he's moving in with her parents. So just what is God's plan for her life? Will she finish her novel, find another job, romance with Jack only time and God will tell……..
You will not want to miss this book two of the Drama Queens series the best chick-lit or God-lit series this reviewer has ever read! The author Tracey Bateman has a unique way of teaching God's word while keeping you guessing what will happen next and have you in stitches with her amazing sense of humor so much so that you won't be able to put this book down! The characters really come alive. Author of over 16 books with more to come God's talent is definitely on Tracey Bateman so stay tune for more!
Cheri Clay
Reviewer
Christy's Bookshelf
Dance on His Grave
Sylvia Dickey Smith
L&L Dreamspell
9781603180061 $16.95
Sidra Smart is 51 years old and recently divorced from her preacher husband. When her brother dies in a motor vehicle accident, Sid, inherits his investigative firm, The Third Eye, in Orange, Texas. Sid has no experience as an investigator and initially intends to sell the business but is intrigued by a young woman named Jewell, who claims her father murdered a woman 30 years before. Although Jewell was three when it happened, her memories are so intense, Sid can't help but wonder if they're real. She questions Jewell's sister, Emma, who corroborates much of what Jewell remembers. Emma and Jewell confide in Sid their father's cruelty, and both, along with their mother, are suffering mentally and emotionally as a result of his abuse. Sid contacts the sheriff of Orange, Texas with the information Jewell has provided, and shortly thereafter, her life is threatened. This makes Sid more determined than ever to bring justice upon the man who has severely damaged so many lives. But someone is intent on stopping her.
Dance on his Grave is a strong start to the Third Eye series and is sure to develop a large reader base. Sid Smart is a compelling character; a woman who lived a sheltered life until she decided she wanted out of a controlling relationship and is now determined to start her life anew, despite antagonistic actions from members of her husband's parsonage. A female baby-boomer as a private eye is a fresh addition to the mystery genre, even more appealing, one with intelligence and maturity. Sid's Aunt Annie is a likeable, albeit quirky, character and Sid's mentor George Leger lends a colorful Cajun ambience to the story. This well-written mystery falls under the category of page-turner and will keep the reader entertained throughout.
Flesh and Bone
Jefferson Bass
Harper Collins/William Morrow
9780060759834 $24.95
Chattanooga medical examiner Jess Carter has been acting ME for Knoxville since the suspension of Dr. Garland Hamilton based on testimony by Dr. Bill Brockton, forensic anthropologist and founder of the Body Farm. When Brockton is asked by Carter to help investigate the death of a transvestite mutilated and bound to a tree in a state park, he recreates the crime scene at the Body Farm using a cadaver similar in appearance and body. As Carter and Brockton proceed through their investigation, they acknowledge their attraction for one another and tentatively begin a relationship. But very quickly, Brockton discovers Carter's nude body tied to the surrogate corpse at the Body Farm, and all clues point to Brockton as the murderer. Brockton is banned from his offices at the University of Tennessee and his house has been taken over by the Knoxville Police Department as they build their case against him. With the aid of friend and renowned criminalist Arthur Bohanan, Brockton begins a frenzied investigation into the murder of Dr. Carter, which puts his own life in peril.
Jefferson Bass is the pseudonym for the writing team of journalist Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass, the actual founder of the Body Farm. The two have once more created a good whodunit while providing an edifying look into the fascinating world of forensic anthropology. Although the book tackles an issue some may find offensive, this does not detract from an overall good read.
Pegasus Descending
James Lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
9780743277723 $26.00
Years ago, Dave Robicheaux witnessed a good friend's brutal death during a bank robbery at a time when Robicheaux was too drunk to intervene or help. This memory has followed him through sobriety and into his job as a detective with the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Department. Robicheaux is unsettled when Trish Klein, his dead friend's daughter, shows up in his hometown, even more so that the men he thinks responsible for his friend's death are now living there. Robicheaux suspects Trish has vengeance on her mind and grows concerned when he learns Clete Purcel, his former partner and best friend, is involved with Trish. Even more discomfiting to Robicheaux is his investigation into the apparent suicide of a young college student that leads back to the men who killed his friend years earlier.
Dave Robicheaux is a complex character, an alcoholic haunted by demons from his tour of duty in Vietnam. Married to a former nun, Robicheaux desperately tries to lead a good life and seeks redemption through her, but cannot shake the past nor his more primitive nature. James Lee Burke writes with a love and admiration for southern Louisiana, delivered with a Cajunesque lilt. The plot is twisty enough to keep the reader guessing, the characterization intriguing.
The Marathon Murders
Chester D. Campbell
Night Shadows Press
9780979916717 $14.95
When Colonel Warren Jarvis asks Greg and Jill McKenzie, owners of McKenzie Investigations, to take on the case of his good friend Kelli Kane, they readily agree. Jarvis was instrumental in one of their former cases and the McKenzies feel indebted to him. Kelli needs the McKenzies' help in clearing the name of her great-great-grandfather Sydney Liggett, accused of embezzling funds from Marathon Motor Works in 1914. Kelli's grandfather recently received a phone call from Pierce Bradley, a construction supervisor at the former Marathon Motors building, who found papers belonging to Sydney Liggett which would have exonerated Liggett had he not disappeared before he could turn them over to the DA. And now Bradley is nowhere to be found. The McKenzies have barely begun their investigation when Bradley's body is discovered submerged in a lake, but the papers he claimed to have come across are missing. The McKenzies hope to recover the papers, but nothing seems to jell and, to make matters worse, people connected to the investigation are ending up dead. The only clue: a Russian cigarette stub found at each crime scene.
This fourth installment of the Greg McKenzie Mysteries is proof positive the series remains strong and fresh and is a major contender in the mystery venue. Greg and Jill McKenzie are a nice pairing, an amiable blend against the shady backdrop of murder and deceit. This well-plotted cozy is sure to please its fans and lure even more into its fold, the not-so-easily-guessed mystery one readers will enjoy trying to solve.
The Scent of Money
Cherri Galbiati
L&L Dreampsell
9781603180368 $16.95
Matt and Becca McAllen live in the small town of Spike Texas, where Matt is Chief of Police. When their town's bank president and his wife are murdered, the only witness is their red German shepherd Tasha. Becca rescues the dog from a woman who is abusing her and becomes her caretaker. Tasha reminds Becca of a beloved dog she recently lost and Becca is determined to keep her, despite the fact that the bank president's wife's brother may stand to inherit her. Matt senses that Tasha can lead them to the murderer, but the murderer quickly targets Becca and Tasha, and Matt is beside himself trying to keep them safe while tracking the killer.
This is an intriguing mystery, filled with twists and turns that will keep the reader guessing throughout. Galbiati's small-town descriptive draws the reader into the story with a sense of actually being there. Becca has a feisty nature and is a delightful character, a woman who has no problem standing up for herself and who loves her husband very much. The relationship between Matt and Becca is at the center of the story and offers a sweet touch against the dark premise of murder. Tasha, the German shepherd, is an added bonus among a cast of lovable characters. The Scent of Money easily meets the criteria for a guaranteed good read: engaging characters, realistic dialogue, a galvanizing plot, and action-packed suspense.
Christy Tillery French
Reviewer
Daniel's Bookshelf
Plenty of Blame To Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg
Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi
Savas Beatie Publishing LLC
P.O. Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
9781932714203 $32.95 www.savasbeatie.com 1-916-941-9896
I became familiar with Eric Wittenberg through his articles he submitted to North and South Magazine, and some of his earlier books on cavalry. My discipline into Civil War history expanded due to his expertise and this did add one more topic for me. He collaborated with another author J. David Petruzzi who happened to be an author who has written many articles on the Eastern Theater Cavalry. He conducts tours of cavalry sites of the Gettysburg Campaign. J. David Petruzzi also is the author and editor of the popular "Bufford Boys" website.
Both authors enhanced this book by giving it a new spin on Jeb Stuart's fateful ride during the 1863 Pennsylvania Campaign. Their book reflects massive work using many primary sources bearing on Stuart's activities. It is a well detailed history, that no matter what side one might view the ride, it would be a fair objective account. This is a well vividly well-researched book on all points clearly and cleverly argued. One could say it's as good an account of the ride, as one could expect.
I enjoyed another fine example of a definitive comprehensive book on this fascinating subject. This probably was displayed by the objectivity of the role Stuart's horsemen played in this disastrous campaign. As the title implies one portion of the blame, that contributed to the South's lack of success in this battle.
Rush's Lancers: The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War
Eric Wittenberg
Westholme Publishing
Eight Harvey Avenue, Yardley, PA 19067
9781594160325 $29.95 www.westholmepublishing.com 1-800-621-2736
I have an interest in the Civil War Cavalry, and I was fascinated by a special superb regiment, that was noted for intelligence, bravery, and stalwart service. They had used lancers in their unit and although an antiquated weapon stood for a symbol of an elite outfit in the truest sense.
Eric J. Wittenberg draws from his interest in this Sixth Pennsylvania unit to write an engrossing account of these young men. He uses letters, diaries, memoirs, service and pension files, contemporary newspaper coverage, official records, and other primary resources. The complete regimental roster of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry is available on the Westholme Web site.
The Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry earned a reputation for their being a highly trained and reliable unit. They left their mark on major battlefields including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Hanove Court House, Chancellorville, Gettysburg, Brandy Station, (where they conducted the most famous charge of the war) and Appomattox.
Eric J. Wittenberg writes noted articles in North and South Magazine with his well-researched cavalry topics. He proves his being a distinguished military historian status with this book. This cavalry unit was a completely volunteer unit tracing their history from being George Washington's personal bodyguard during the Revolutionary War.
Daniel Allen
Reviewer
Debra's Bookshelf
Memoirs of a Mangy Lover
Groucho Marx
Da Capo Press
0306811049 $15.95
Groucho Marx's Memoirs of a Mangy Lover, originally published in 1963, is a collection of more than 25 essays loosely themed around the subject of love or, more accurately, the pursuit of sex. Groucho writes about unfaithful husbands of his acquaintance and the perks of polygamy, about a potentially amorous evening spoiled by pigeons, about an act of martyrdom that involved his courtship of the homely daughter of a Mexican cook. But there are also stories about his brothers cheating someone at cards, for example, and about the impositions of unwelcome dinner guests.
Groucho doesn't open up much in these essays. We're not given a sense of the man behind the moustache. But to the extent that the author is humanized in the stories it is, well, a little strange: Groucho is such an iconic figure that I've never imagined him as flesh-and-blood human. It is surprising to think of him doing anything so banal as driving a car. The essays are interesting for this reason and because they are the product of a world that, some fifty years on, seems very foreign. Much of the book is arguably sexist, and it contains some racial references that wouldn't escape an editor's pen nowadays. More surprising are the author's casual references to trips with his brothers to brothels, as if such a thing were completely unremarkable, or his account of essentially ordering up a woman from an old acquaintance while in town:
"What I was looking for was a companion--a dazzling, pulchritudinous wench who would hang on my every word and eventually obey my every command."
The essays are interesting as social history, then, but I'm afraid they're not very funny. I did laugh once, when Groucho described getting lost in Bel Air with Clare Boothe Luce, then U.S. Ambassador to Italy. A producer at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, out walking his dog in the middle of the night, happened upon the pair while they were standing in the bushes on a street corner trying to read a street sign:
"He surveyed us for a moment, unwilling to believe his eyes, then turned and addressed his dog. 'Spyros,' he said, 'up to now I thought I'd seen everything, but if someone had told me I would ever see the United States Ambassador to Italy and Grouch Marx standing in a bush in Bel Air at two in the morning, I just wouldn't have believed it.'"
But in that case the humor lay in the situation. When Groucho tries to be funny the jokes are corny, forced, dated:
"Millions of years ago, love ran wild on this daffy globe of ours. Men were slimy creatures resembling a louse or the fellow your wife almost married. They were called amoeba--until they got money and changed their name to The First National Bank."
Did our forbears in the sixties indeed laugh at this sort of thing? I have to believe they did: this is Groucho Marx we're talking about, after all. And maybe if Groucho were on screen delivering the same lines they would be funny. But don't expect to guffaw your way through this one. Read it for the sexism and antiquated social mores instead!
Pinkerton's Secret
Eric Lerner
Henry Holt
9780805082784 $25.00
Eric Lerner's Pinkerton's Secret purports to be the memoir of Allan Pinkerton, who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago in 1855. The Pinkerton Agency grew to become the first national police force. Pinkerton and his agents policed the nation's railroads, for example, and they infiltrated the Confederate forces during the Civil War to smuggle information to the Union. Lerner's Pinkerton, writing in the mid-1880s, describes some of his cases and his role during the War as well as his involvement in the Abolitionist movement: Pinkerton was an acolyte of John Brown--a relationship which, at least as Lerner's novel has it, proved fatal to Pinkerton's marriage--and his house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Atop this historical scaffolding, Lerner has written a romance: Pinkerton begins his account in 1856, when he hired his first female operative, Kate Warne, an eminently competent woman with whom he would eventually have an affair.
My copy of Lerner's book does not include a note about the story's historicity. (It's possible that other editions will include one; if not, they should.) As such it is difficult to know from the book itself how much of Lerner's story is based on historical evidence. A bit of Googling and a gander at Lerner's own (nicely designed) site suggest that the story is firmly rooted in the evidence, though he has of course taken liberties with what is known of the relationship between Pinkerton and Kate Warne.
Pinkerton's Secret is not an edge-of-your-seat read, although some of the material Lerner had to work with (e.g., espionage within the Confederate ranks) would have lent itself to such a treatment. And Lerner's characters do not grip our emotions. But the book is a decent read and a pleasant enough way to swallow some history.
Death of a Gentle Lady
M.C. Beaton
Grand Central Publishing
c/o Hachette Book Group
9780446582605 $23.99
M.C. Beaton has written more than twenty Hamish Macbeth mysteries, the first published in 1985, and the books inspired a series that aired on the BBC. I haven't seen the program, and Beaton's latest installment, Death of a Gentle Lady, is the first in the series that I've read. Hamish Macbeth is a constable in the village of Lochdubh in the Scottish Highlands. He lives in the police station with a dog and a near-feral cat. He's unmarried but pines intermittently throughout this book, at least, for two women with whom he apparently has long histories. He is clever enough that he might have moved up and out of Lochdubh based on his job performance, but he aspires only to remain in his beloved village, and he is forever battling to keep its small police station in operation.
In this outing Macbeth becomes acquainted with a certain Mrs. Margaret Gentle, an elderly widow who has recently bought a mock, cliffside castle in Macbeth's jurisdiction. She puts on a sweet-old- lady act that's won the rest of the villagers over, but Macbeth sees through it at once to recognize the bitty within. A double homicide later and Macbeth finds that he's the killer's next target, and the most likely suspect is among the Gentle woman's heirs. Meanwhile, the good folks of Lochdubh are staging an amateur production of Shakespeare's Macbeth; Hamish Macbeth's nemesis on the police force is harboring a grudge; and a Putin-esque Russian policewoman, visiting from Moscow, is hovering around the Gentle investigation-- and giving Macbeth the willies.
Death of a Gentle Lady is a readable cozy with a likable sleuth, firmly bound with its Highland setting. The plot is interesting, though its twist occurred to me long before Macbeth caught on. The details of the crime are revealed in a stock let-me-tell-you-how-I- did-it-before-I-kill-you-type information dump, which is perhaps a bit sloppy. But I enjoyed the book and will likely be reading more in the series.
The Geography of Bliss
Eric Weiner
Twelve
c/o Hachette Book Group
9780446580267 $25.99
In The Geography of Bliss Eric Weiner (who was a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio for a decade) visits ten different countries, interviewing locals and considering each country's cultural eccentricities with a view to identifying the factors that contribute to each population's happiness--or lack thereof. Weiner's itinerary is set to a large extent by data collected by the World Database of Happiness: yes, there is such a place, and it's housed in a nondescript building on the campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Weiner's first stop on his grand tour. The author's quest leads him also to Switzerland, Bhutan, Qatar, Iceland, Moldova, Thailand, Great Britain, and the United States. Not all of these places can boast a happy populace. If you play Which of These Countries Doesn't Belong with the above list, the most obvious odd man out is Moldova, a miserable country that Weiner visited more or less to cleanse his palate after too much sweetness and light. But this visit too is instructive, as he is able to come to some conclusions about why Moldovans are on the whole so wretched.
What's fascinating about Weiner's book is how different the cultures he writes about are, and how different some of the things that make them happy are. Sure, everybody's better off if they've got enough money to support themselves (though beyond "enough," money doesn't matter all that much), and having familial and community support is always a plus. But there do seem to be cultural differences once you get beyond these basics. A humorless interlocutor in Switzerland identified clean public restrooms as a source of Swiss happiness, for example, while the Moldovans Weiner spoke with named as their sole source of joy their country's fresh fruits and vegetables. In Thailand as a rule people eschew excessive thought--a light- heartedness that breeds contentment, while in India people revel in unpredictability.
Weiner's conclusions about the sources of happiness won't knock anyone off their chair, but that's not really the point: it's the journey, stupid! This armchair jaunt through ten disparate cultures is a great read, funny and interesting and well-written. Just the sort of book I like.
The Serial Killers Club
Jeff Povey
Warner Books
9780446616645 $6.99
The plot of Jeff Povey's The Serial Killers Club is ridiculous. Our protagonist, targeted as the next victim of serial killer "Grandfather-of-Barney," winds up killing the murderer himself in self defense. Then, rather than calling the police like any normal person would do, he gets rid of the body and, posing as the killer, answers an invitation he finds in GOB's wallet to join an exclusive club--for serial killers only, because even mass murderers need to relax with their peers now and then. The club's members, who adopt the names of old film stars, meet in a public restaurant and tell funny stories about their recent slayings over dinner. (As luck would have it, their regular waitress--who apparently never needs the night off--is deaf.) Our faux killer, who adopts the name Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., finds that he likes the club so much that, yes, he'd kill to keep his membership.
It gets even stranger when an FBI agent forces Dougie to take part in an unusual undercover operation. The body count is high. The gross- out factor is high. There are misunderstandings among the principals of the I Didn't Kill Him, I Thought You Did! variety. What's clever is that Dougie, who narrates the story, is so clueless: he may be able to beat the serial killers at their own game, but he's too self- deluded to realize that they don't like his company as much as he supposes. He's also not as smooth with the ladies as he'd like to think.
Part thriller, part romance, this black comedy is one weird book.
Waiting for White Horses
Jorgenson, Nathan
Flat Rock Publishing
PO Box 166, Fairmont, MN 56301
9780974637006 $23.95
Grant Thorson and his friend Will love duck hunting and fishing. They enjoy each other's company; they share a tin coffee cup on early morning outings, waiting for the flare of incoming ducks. They are neighbors on the south shore of a lake in northern Minnesota. And Grant has begun to find a love to replace that of his recently dead wife.
In a short period of 18 months Grant loses his wife, then his father and his very best friend dies in a hunting accident. He turns inward when he believes he will never risk the pain of losing another vibrant person from his life. He begins to isolate himself from his daughter and commits an even more heinous crime …he pushes a new love (Susan) out of his life.
White Horses is a float down the 'river' of life and explores the shoals and boulders that become obstacles in Grant Thorson's life. The author captures the trauma of loss (through death) and the mellow pleasure we experience with our true friends. Of Note: White Horses received the Benjamin Franklin Award for New Fiction from the Independent Publisher's Association.
The Mulligan
Jorgenson, Nathan
Flat Rock Publishing.
PO Box 166, Fairmont, MN 56301
9780974637020 $16.95
Joe Mix has money and the status of a successful dentist. He has lived the life that met the expectations of his father and his community. After thirty years of marriage, Joe realizes that he has wasted these years meetings the expectations of other people, including that of his socially prominent wife. Joe rebels and walks away, intent on finding what life has to offer. He becomes a cowboy; he enjoys the hard work and camaraderie of the ranch hands but his life is empty.
His old truck and new puppy lead him to a new career as a guide on a trout river where he finds his love of the quiet, bubbling streams and begins to find the love of a good woman. Joe Mix (and his readers) know that we each have a destiny to fulfill; we each must cast our lines upon the waters and reel in happiness.
Marty Duncan
Reviewer
Franci's Bookshelf
Dumped by Popular Demand
P. G. Kain
Aladdin MIX
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020
9781416935193 $5.99 www.simonsayskids.com
The clever intrigues of High School girls does not, usually, interest me. The opening line in this novel, by P. G. Kain, caught me and carried me well in to the story, laughing all the way.
"I firmly believe that one day the world will understand the unspoken cruelty of alphabetized seating charts."
Dorie Dilts is about to move from California to New Jersey, and instead of seeing this as the worst thing to happen in her 13 years, Dorie sees this as a great opportunity--an opportunity to reinvent herself as one of the popular crowd. Her approach is one of a scientist. When she arrives at her new school, she immediately sets out to determine which girls are most popular and why, scientifically. She deduces the one thing that connects them is their shared experience of having gone out with and been dumped by the arrogant Grant Braddish. Once she determines this, Dorie is quickly on her way with a plan to win the heart of, and then get dumped by, Grant.
Sound simple? Righhht. This is a book you will enjoy.
The Nexus Ring series Veil of Magic: Book 1
Maureen Bush
Coteau Books for Kids
2517 Victoria Ave., Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4P OT2
9781550503623 $6.95 www.coteaubooks.com
Josh and his sister Maddy are on vacation in Canada, when they find a ring which proves to be magic. Little do they know, the ring opens the door to a parallel world, but closes the door back to their own. The scenic backdrop is the Canadian Rockies through areas I have visited and are readily recognizable. This story is filled with adventure, evil beautiful women and ogres, and will appeal to fantasy readers of a young age.
Franci McMahon
Reviewer
Gary's Bookshelf
Reuben on Wry the Memoirs of Dave Madden
Dave Madden
Book Surge
North Charleston South Carolina
9781419681950 $13.99 www.booksurge.com www.reubenkincaidbook.com
Finally there is a book by the actor who played Reuben Kincaid from the TV show "The Partridge Family" He goes behind the scenes and tells how the show began, his relationship with other cast members and he explains why the show that was a number one hit got the ax. The book is more than just the story of that series. Madden tells about his one season on the mega hit "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In" the forerunner to "Saturday Night Live," the show "Camp Runamuck" and his seven years on "Alice" Oddly enough he points out that "Partridge" was the only show that he has maintained friendships with other cast members. Unlike other autobiographies by stars, this one is always very positive and the reader is struck with how many friends Madden has made over his 50 year career, that he is still in contact with. REUBEN ON WRY is the most perfect title that will have readers laughing out loud by the many jokes and stories Madden masterfully tells.
7th Heaven
James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Little Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group USA
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9780316017701 $27.95 www.HatchetteBookGroupUSA.com
Patterson and Paetro have written the best novel of their collaboration of the Women's Murder Club. There are two complex storylines here that move the story along to its final surprising ending. Readers will have a great time trying to figure it out. The clues are all here in a tale that races along with page turning excitement. I love this series that has gotten better with each book.
Stranger in Paradise
Robert B. Parker
Putnam
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780399154607 $25.95 www.penguin.com
Jesse Stone is back in a new thriller that has the Parker trademark of snappy dialogue and a fast paced story that has readers turning pages. This time out Stone has a complicated case with a hired killer who comes back to Paradise and won't let anyone know why he is there. It has something to do with a woman who ran away from her intolerant father who lives in Miami, Florida. Also Stone's life with his ex wife is even more complex than ever before. Parker is a master of the mystery genre.
The Book I'm Doing the Best I Can
Sirena Press an imprint of
Murmaid Publishing
13799 Park Blvd # 162, Seminole, Fl 33776
9780976063469 $12.95 www.LisaRHein.com
For so long books about parenting have been written by professionals in the psychological field of medicine who usually do not have children of their own. Those books have put out so much bogus information it's no wonder we have the society we have today. Thankfully author Hein gives solid time proven ways for parents to raise offspring. Some of the things she talks about are that fathers and mothers have to establish rules and perimeters for youngsters to follow, say what they mean especially in the case of punishment, let them know when they have done something bad and deal with it with sensible penalties. She also shows that parents must be more involved in the education of their kids. Other things she talks about are that parents should have meetings with teachers, be more supportive of the school, and get involved in the kid's studies at home.
Abner the Clown
Jeffrey Breslauer, Illustrations by Linda Campbell
Wandering Sage Bookstore & More, LLC
810 Liberty Village Dr, Florissant, MO 63031
www.wanderingsagebooks.com
1933300221 $19.95
The message of this kid's book is be happy with who you are. At the beginning of the book Abner is not so happy with his name and wants to change it to something else. What he finds is that his is a special one and each is unique. Breslauer tells his story well and the boldly colored artwork by artist Linda Campbell adds another dimension to the delightful kids book that is not just for young readers. The author will be an attendee at the huge comic book convention in Orlando named Mega Con this month.
Exploring Idioms
Valeri R. Helterbran
Maupin House
2416 NW 71 Place, Gainesville, Florida 32653
9781934338148 $19.95 www.maupinhouse.com 1-800-5240-634
We've all heard of them but how many of us really know what they are? Author Helterbran defines what idioms are, shows us where different ones came from, and related ones we all know. This is a very educational book for any age to read and enjoy.
Scary Godmother the Boo Flu
Jill Thompson
Sirius Entertainment
PO Box 834, Dover NJ 07802
1579890385 $19.95
Halloween may not happen this year because the Scary Godmother is laid up sick in her bed. Someone has to take over and get the holiday started. Hannah Marie finds out it's not all that she thought. The author, who is also the artist, has written and drawn a very fun story for all ages to enjoy. The artwork is lavish and adds a lot to the telling of the story. This is the first of a series.
Stop Procrastinating Now
Kerul Kassel
New Leaf Publishing
PO Box 701379, St Cloud, FL 34770
9781978688509 $16.95
We've all at one time or another procrastinated. The target audience is those who do it too much. Kassel teaches many different ways that can be easily learned to stop putting off things that need to get done now. The writing is light hearted and is very simple to follow to change bad habits.
Tales from a Thornbush
George Arthur Davis
The Peppertree Press LLC
Attention Publisher 4017 Swift Road, Sarasota, Florida 34231
9781934246573 $9.95 www.peppertreepublishing.com
I'm not a big one for symbolism but to me the words thorn bush in the title represents characters lives that are either bitter or sweet. The stories are filled with strange wonderful people who march to a different beat. Some readers will be offended by some of the individuals in the tales for any number of reasons. That's too bad because the author has produced a very interesting collection of short pieces that are very different from mainstream anthologies.
Lady Killer
Lisa Scottoline
Harper Collins
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
9780060833206 $25.95 www.harpercollins.com
Mary DiNunzio is back in a new tense thriller. It begins on a light hearted note when her father and a couple of his friends want her to settle a dispute they are having with a senior woman who has said that Dean Martin was a drunk and that Frank Sinatra had it all. They have said something bad about Sinatra in retaliation for her comments. DiNunzio then confronts a former high school friend Trish Gambone who wants to know what she should do about her mobster boyfriend. Shortly after the meeting Trish and the boyfriend disappear. Later the boyfriend is found, but dead. He was shot in the head. Now the search is on for his killer and Trish, who is presumed dead as well. Scottoline has always written a great thrilling court novel but this one explodes and is fast paced read excitement. Part of the fun with this one was finding out who the killer was. Scottoline has a winner with this one.
Gary Roen
Reviewer
Gloria's Bookshelf
The Fault Tree
Louise Ure
St. Martin's Minotaur
175 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10010
9780312375850 $23.95 www.minotaurbooks.com 646-307-5560 212-674-5151
The title of Louise Ure's wonderful new book derives from a quote from a NASA publication: "A Fault Tree analysis is touted as one of the best methods of identifying and graphically displaying the many ways something can go wrong." No one knows of the many ways
