90 Miles to Havana, by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Roaring Book Press, 2010.

When Castro takes power in Cuba in a violent uprising, and rebels begin taking over the homes and possessions of families, 9-year old Julio's parents decide to send him and his two older brothers to a refugee camp in Miami for safety. They expect to be reunited in a few weeks. In camp, they are met by a different reality than the one promised: bullies, gangs, poverty and lies. Through Angelita, a family friend, Julio becomes involved in an illicit and daring plan to rebuild an abandoned boat and rescue his parents.

Flores-Galbis was a child refugee from Cuba and this children's novel is based directly on his own experiences with "Operation Pedro Pan." It is a story that picks up momentum with each chapter, and gives voice to a part of American history that is seldom taught.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. Amazon Crossing, 2010. (Kindle Ed.)
A young lady asked me for this book last week, and it was available neither in our collection nor in the larger Link+ collection. She said it had been recommended independently to her by three friends in the same week and she thought she should seek it out. Curious myself by then, I bought a Kindle edition and read it on the iPad.

Having so recently read Brooks's Year of Wonders, I found this novel to be a perfect counterpoint. Told in a male voice and set in the same century, this is the story of the hangman in a small German town and his impact on its citizens, businesses, politics, and commerce. There is the suspicion of witchcraft when brutally murdered orphan children are discovered to have the same mysterious mark on their shoulders, and also a blossoming romance between the hangman's daughter and the doctor's son.

The descriptions are graphic, particularly of the tools and methods of the hangman's trade, but they only add to the tension as the tale becomes ever more tangled. I found it to be a very satisfying read, and plan to recommend the library purchase a copy.

Update: The library now owns copies of this title.

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See. Random House, 2009.

Pearl and May, teenage daughters of a business man in Shanghai in the 1930s, are modern and liberated. They model for advertisements, wear western clothing, and speak English. In public. At home, they are still bound by traditional Chinese family customs, and are stunned to learn their father has sold them to be wives of the American Chinese sons of their father's debtor in payment of his gambling debt. Their world is shattered upon discovering their father has lied to cover up his gambling losses, and the lengths he is willing to go to to save himself and his wife.

Thus begins an exploration of the atrocities of the war with Japan, the harsh and impersonal treatment of immigrants to the United States, and the struggle to reconcile the stories of the riches that will be theirs in Hollywood with the realities of poverty, hard work, and deep prejudice.

As with the author's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", Lisa See tells the story with vivid and lyrical language. Her intimate understanding of the Chinese and American cultures, and deep knowledge of the historical setting allows the characters of Pearl, May, their parents, their in-laws and their husbands to sharpen and develop through the interplay of relationships, and the effects of secrets, war and segregation on their ambitions and dreams. And then, there's Joy, the daughter around whom May and Pearl build their new lives.

I felt the first half of the book set the stage; in the middle, the drama of the tale build quickly and grabbed me, and from then on it was a page-turner that kept me up till the wee hours.

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool. Delacourte Press, 2010.

In the late 1930s, 12-year-old Abilene Tucker has spent much of her life riding the rails with her drifter dad. But suddenly, he decides to send her to live with a friend in Manifest, KS, where he grew up. She is disappointed that the town doesn't live up to her dad's descriptions, but she soon becomes involved with two classmates in solving the mystery of the spy, The Rattler. She also discovers a cigar box under the floorboards of her bedroom. It is full of mementos and clues which lead to the discovery of snippets of her dad's earlier life.

I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Abilene's more worldly point of view and the more insular viewpoints of her Manifest friends. The characters of Pastor and bootlegger Shady Howard, "Reporter About Town" Hattie Mae Harper, and diviner "Miss Sadie" are quirky enough to be believable as small-town characters. And through Hattie's newspaper and the mementos in the box, we uncover the story of the influence of World War I on the development of the people and the town.

This year's Newbery Medal winner will appeal to all ages.

Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague, by Geraldine Brooks. Viking, 2001.

Anna, an 18-year old widow with two small children, unwittingly introduces the bubonic plague into her village when she takes in a lodger from London in 1665. The rest of the story is predictable, save for one thing: it's based on events that happened in the real English village of Eyam, which imposed a voluntary quarantine upon itself in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease to other towns. At the end of the year, by the time the spread of the disease had stopped, two thirds of the villagers had died.

Brooks's story includes just about every element that could possibly be squeezed into the village boundaries: fear, blasphemy, women's education, herbalism, witchcraft, sex, opportunistism, flagellation, religious tolerance and intolerance - and squeezed them all into a single year. The language and descriptions are powerful and evocative, though I thought the ending was a bit weak - as if she had just got too tired and wanted to be done with it.

What I loved about the book was the use of colorful and contemporary words, that placed the story squat in the middle of its culture and time: handfasted, boose, beastings pie, overweening, oatcake and brawn, unruly tup. Mostly, an approximate inference is possible, but I ended up looking up many words in the OED.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press, 2008.

North America in the future is no longer 50 states, but 12 Districts governed by the Capitol, located somewhere west of the Rockies. To remind the Districts of their defeat, annual Hunger Games test the mettle of two representatives ("tributes") from each district, who compete in an event that is strongly reminiscent of today's "survival" TV shows - there will be only one survivor.

Collins successfully explores the effects of war on young people as they struggle to live in a poor and repressive envronment, and on the emotional impact on the tributes and their families as they deal with murder and the responsibilities of being a victor. She personalizes the message vividly as she follows Katniss and Peeta, the two tributes from District 12 (somewhere near Appalachia), and the repercussions from their first-ever dual win in the Hunger Games.

I've read successful post-holocaust novels before, some written for teens and some for adults (like Hoban's Riddley Walker), but this one grabbed my heart, and I purchased the second title in the series, Catching Fire, as soon as I read the last words.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. Ballantine Books, c2009

The American poet, John Greenleaf Whitter, wrote, “For of all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'.”

The Panama Hotel is the vehicle that ties the two ends of this novel together. Although the characters are fictional, the hotel and its history are very real. Henry, son of a Chinese immigrant family, befrends Keiko, daughter of a Japanese family, when they are assigned to cafeteria duty in an otherwise all-white middle school in Seattle. Henry's family in particular is very much opposed to the friendship. In fact, his father spends all his free time monitoring news stories about the Sino-Japanese war and later, the Second World War.

In the late 40s, all the Japanese families were sent to internment camps. Keiko's family is uprooted from Nihonmachi, the Japantown of Seattle. Although Henry tries to keep in touch with her, the letters cease coming after a couple of years, and he reluctantly accepts that he needs to move on with his life.

In the 1980s, we re-join Henry, now a widower, as he and his son Marty experience the discovery of belongings from nearly 40 families preserved in the basement of the Panama Hotel.

The story of the complex relationships between Henry and his parents, between Henry and Keiko, between Marty and Henry, and between Henry and his late wife bring a shameful period of American history to vibrant life. I couldn't put it down.

The Pirate's Daughter, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson. Unbridled Books, 2007

This is the story of Ida, a fictional Jamaican girl, her relationship with Erroll Flynn and their illigitimate daughter, May. It is set in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where Flynn lived in the '50s while trying to rebuild his reputation as an actor. I picked it up because the author is Jamaican, and because I have visited many of the places where the book's action takes place.

Critics have faulted Cezair-Thompson for changing the viewpoint of the book in the middle from that of Ida, the mother, to that of May, the daughter, saying it interrupted the energy and potential power of the narrative. And certainly Ida is a very strong and vibrant character in the first half, who becomes just a part of the background noise in the second half.

I freely admit I wasn't reading this book for the story, but instead, for the local details and history. About 3 years ago, I revisited Port Antonio with my Jamaican cousin and re-learned some of the history of the area. The details of place and person were delightful; the Jamaican dialect brought back memories of the two summers my family spent there as kids; and the vicarious view into the life of Flynn and his impact on the economy of Port Antonio made me want to learn more about both. So, for me, the novel was a success.

The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan. Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.

This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and it has fired the imaginations of teens for the last year or more! It's been called "the next Harry Potter", and there are still dozens of holds in the queue. I read it shortly after Gaiman's American Gods, which has a similar premise: that ancient gods and Olympians are alive and unrecognized in America except by special individuals. And they still fight and cause trouble.

Percy, age 12, has been expelled from six schools in six years for causing serious trouble. In desperation, his mother has finally decided to enroll him in a summer camp for exceptional children. She's been putting it off in order to keep him close to her for a little longer. On the way, their car explodes and his mother is killed by a monster who has been following them. Percy barely manages to hike the rest of the way into camp.

He learns that all the campers including himself - are sons and daughters of one or another of the Olympians and a human parent. He also learns that Zeus's master thunderbolt has been stolen, and a war is brewing between the Olympian factions. Because his father is implicated, Percy is sent on a quest to find and restore the thunderbolt.

Foreshadowing and hints liberally placed throughout the text, while maybe a little obvious to an adult reader, make the younger reader feel pretty smart for figuring out the allusions and guessing plot twists. The prose is spare, descriptive, and contemporary. I can understand why readers are still lining up to read the rest of the series.

Carter Beats the Devil, by Glen David Gold. Hyperion, 2001

Part biography, part fantasy, this novel invites readers to suspend belief for a few hours as Carter's story unfolds. From his childhood, he's been interested in magic, and works hard on the carnival circuit to become a master magician, ultimately winning enough recognition to mount his own shows. He has challengers, notably the mysterious Mysterioso, and there are a couple of romantic interests. Gold liberally spreads references to contemporary magicians, including Houdini, and detailed accounts of historical events throughout the novel. Like the best magicians, who depend on misdirection for the success of their illusions, the author skillfully "directs" the reader's attention in ways that continually surprise, right up to the suspenseful climax and conclusion.

Future Savvy : identifying trends to make better decisions, manage uncertainty, and profit from change, by Adam Gordon. American Management Association, 2009.

Illuminating study of forecasts and how individuals and organizations spin them for their own benefit. Most interesting to me were the chapters on instigating changes vs. adapting to changes. Instigators spin the forecast to influence others to create or adopt the change; adapters take the forecast and create several alternate plans so they can be in the best possible position, whichever scenario unfolds. The work ends with a condensed list of questions to ask of any forecast, and a reference to the web site: http://futuresavvy.net/.

Virtually Dead by Peter May. Poisoned Pen, 2010

Taking place both in Second Life (SL) and Real Life (RL), a series of brutal murders of real people and their SL avatars creates a mystery on several levels.

Michael Kapinsky has been grieving the death of his wife for too long, and has recently returned to work as a forensic crime photographer. His therapist invites him to participate in group therapy sessions in Second Life. He joins and creates his avatar, Chas Chesnokov, a Brad Pitt look-alike. Although the learning curve is steep, he makes some SL friends and immediately and involuntarily becomes involved with the Twist of Fate Detective Agency. A series of bizarre murders puzzles everyone: an SL avatar is killed by three shots to the chest, and the RL "owner" of the avatar is killed at the same time, in the same way - all people Michael knows. Who can it be? And how did all traces of the "dead" avatars' existence on the Linden Lab servers get removed, and their SL money get deposited to other accounts?

The writing is unremarkable and the plot is predictable; however the venue is novel.

The big switch : rewiring the world, from Edison to Google , by Nicholas Carr. W. W. Norton & Co., c2008.

My brother recommended I read this, saying it might apply to what I do at work. It's a comparison of the development of the Internet and World Wide Web with the development of the electric grid, from individual water wheels and generators to electricity plants that provide power for everyone. When presented that way, social networking, cloud computing and Google's stated plans for the future sure look like they're moving in that direction! Instead of every business and individual having their own servers, they will rent server space from computing utilities, who can provide it cheaply using the economy of scale. The Internet will be the server, and we will all tap into the World Wide Computer with thin clients. (Come to think of it, I was thinking of this very thing when I bought the Dell Mini 9 - of using Slideshare and Google Docs instead of the hard drive.)

Can't wait to get to heaven : a novel by Fannie Flagg. Random House, 2006.

I'd been reading a number of dark books recently, and decided it was time to read something lighter. This was the "lightest" on the list from which we chose our next book club discussion title.

Aunt Elner, of indeterminate age because the family Bible had gone missing, but certainly in her late 80s, has decided to make fig jam, and climbs a ladder into her fig tree. She is attacked by a swarm of wasps, falls from the ladder and dies.

Then we watch as small-town politics, families, and communication channels all gear up to handle this unexpected occurrance, from niece to trucker, from hospital attorney to neighbor, from radio station to newspaper. Through their eyes, we see Aunt Elner's life and the positive effects she's had on pretty much everyone in her town. Neighbors clean her house, take care of her cat, wash her laundry - and discover a loaded pistol in the bottom of her laundry hamper!

As it turns out the doctors were wrong - Aunt Elner is, in fact, alive, despite being sent to the hospital's morgue, and returns home after a stay in the Intensive Care Unit. This gives everyone a "second chance" to examine their lives and their relationships with each other. What was billed as "pathos," "side-splitting," and "serio-comic" turns out to be a parable, forcing not only the characters, but also readers to ask, "Why are we here? Are we living our lives in the best way we can for others and for ourselves? What is heaven?"

As for the mystery of the gun, ...

The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder. Perennial Library, 1986, c1927

I decided to re-read this slim, Pulitzer-winning volume after spotting it on a re-shelve truck at the library. (I've been finding quite a few good books that way, recently!) I opened it to a random page, read a paragraph, and was captured by the lyrical, descriptive language. I read this book when I was in the 8th grade - a little while ago - and wondered if I would find more depth and meaning now that I am older.

The story involves the failure of a bridge over a Peruvian river, plunging five people to their deaths. Brother Juniper, on his way to cross the bridge himself, witnesses the accident and wonders - not questioning the Higher Authority who allowed it to happen - why those people fell, and why at that particular time in their lives. He then embarks on a quest to find out what was happening in each person's life in the time before their deaths. After years of research, his notes, compiled into several volumes, are declared heretical and they and Brother Juniper are burned to death.

Many of Wilder's works incorporate the theme of the Day of Judgment, though not in a pedantic way. On the day the bridge fell, each victim had reached a crossroad, and made a decision. My take-away from this re-reading: it is always possible to refocus the direction of one's life, no matter how difficult it may seem to do. It involves putting the old "scripts" behind and writing new ones. It requires faith. And love. The bridge is love.

"The Double Bind", by Christopher A. Bohjalian. Shaye Areheart Books, c2007.

Wow! Had no clue, when I selected this book, that it would be a two-fer. The jacket blurb said it draws strongly from Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", which I had not read, so I read it first. Good thing! Bohjalian seamlessly integrates the Gatsby characters and setting into his novel, and then delivers a double-whammy at the end that caught me flat-footed.

Laurel works in a homeless shelter, and because of her interest in photography, she is given a box of old photos and negatives when one of the shelter's clients dies. The mandate was to perhaps mount an exhibit that could become a fund-raiser. However, among the photos is one that triggers flashbacks recalling an incident in which she was attacked and very nearly raped while riding her bike on a mountain trail, and she becomes obsessed with finding out more about the man who took the picture.

Bohjalian presents the delusional world of mental illness so cleverly and convincingly, that the novel's end caught me completely unprepared. I had to go back and re-read whole sections to see how I could possibly have misread all the clues! And of course, upon re-reading after learning the outcome, the layers of the back story were clearly apparent. On the whole, a sobering read that illustrates the power of the mind when dealing with trauma.

The Book of Night Women, by Marlon James. Riverhead Books, 2009.

At the turn of the 18th Century in Jamaica, Lilith is born to a teen slave-child, black as black, but with startling green eyes. Her young mother does not survive the birth, and Lilith is placed with a retired slave woman to be raised. But those green eyes prove she is a member of a select sisterhood with a destiny far beyond the daily labors of a "field nigger." At a time when slave rebellions are happening frequently, Lilith is educated about the ways and facts of servitude on a sugar plantation, and is She is also taught to read, a skill taught in the dark, at night, for fear of being discovered. Ultimately, when she is old enough, she is invited to attend the monthly meetings of the "night women." At a time far removed from today's texting, tweeting and live television coverage, when slaves were not permitted to ride horses nor to leave the plantation unaccompanied, the word is still able to get around ...

The author, who is himself Jamaican, uses strong, graphic language to capture the humor, pathos, grit, and cruelty of the plantation and its people. And because I have family in Jamaica, I know the Jamaican cadence of his characters' voices is completely authentic. After reading this book, I understand a little more about the attitudes of my family, and you will understand why slavery needed to be abolished.

The soloist [electronic resource] : a lost dream, an unlikely friendship, and the redemptive power of music, by Steve Lopez. Blackstone Audio, 2008.

This is Sacramento's "One Book" title for 2009, and the library, in partnership with other local agencies, is planning a series of programs in the next month around it, including an author talk on September 24.

Musical talent runs in my family. My grandfather formed and outfitted the Waianae Plantation band, purchasing the instruments in San Francisco and teaching the members to play them. He was also an in-demand pianist, violinist, and zither player, as reported in the society pages of the local newspapers. His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are also musical, and became professional and amateur musicians. I learned to read music before I could read words. We also have a disabled musician in our family. I think that's why this story resonated with me.

The soloist, Nathaniel Ayers, is a former student at Juilliard who dropped out of school and society when he became incapacitated by schizophrenia. He fetched up on Skid Row in Los Angeles, where a reporter, author Steve Lopez, hearing the music he was making on a broken-down, 2-stringed violin, saw a story worth telling. Over the next year, he befriended Mr. Ayers and persuaded him to move into a shelter and take up music again. The frustrations of dealing with the homeless mentally ill are clearly expressed, making the small gains Mr. Ayers has achieved even more precious. Overall, the transformations that affect all the characters are emotional and durable, and readers are not exempt!

The Heretic's Daughter, by Kathleen Kent. Little, Brown and Co., 2008.

Ten-year old Sarah Carrier is both an observer and participant in the events leading to the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, and the story reveals itself from her point of view - fuzzy on the politics and implications of the historical period described, but full of details about the daily life and hardships of the families making new lives in the New World. And as the tension mounts towards the end of the novel and Sarah's mother is hanged as a witch, you have to piece things together carefully to figure out who the real "heretic" is.

Whitethorn Woods, by Maeve Binchy. A.A. Knopf, 2007.

Seemingly unrelated vignettes of men, women and children, all with ties to St. Ann's Well in the village of Rossmore in Ireland, are woven together in this novel. From whores to spinsters, from brilliant to "soft", from honorable to base - each is affected by the myths surrounding the well and the plan to obliterate it with the imminent building of a new road right through Whitethorn Woods. Unlikely pairings prove that St. Ann may still be working her miracles, especially when the final plot twist is revealed in the last paragraphs.

My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor. Viking, 2008, c2006

My sister-in-law read this book after my mom had a series of mini-strokes, and recommended strongly that I should read it, too. It's been hard to find, and also popular! There are still holds on it, two years later.

The author is a neuroanatomist specializing in brain anatomy and function. She suffered a rare form of stroke at the age of 37 and chronicles the progress of her disability and complete recovery over the next eight years. In a very readable and accessible style, she divides her story into three parts: required knowledge to understand the stroke, the story of her stroke and immediate post-stroke care, and insights about her experience and recommendations for readers.

The part that affected me most was her description of the differences between the right-brain and left-brain, and of how she uses her new-found knowledge of how they work separately and together to control her physical and emotional responses to life. It's so similar to what I was taught in school about the eternity of one's soul and the effects of prayer.

A single shard [electronic resource], by Linda Sue Park. Listening Library, 2007.

I downloaded this Newbery Medal winner a long time ago, and only just now listened to it when I began walking again.

Set in the medieval Korean village of Ch'ulp'o, where potters make the celebrated celadon ware, Tree Ear, an orphan lives under a bridge with Crane Man, who is homeless because an injured leg prevents him from working. He scavenges for food in junk-heaps to feed them both, and Crane Man provides wisdom and stories. One day, while rummaging through the potter Min's junk heap, Tree Ear happens to see Min throwing a vase on a wheel and becomes fascinated with the potter's craft. He steals into Min's house and accidentally breaks a greenware box. Min exacts nine days work from him in payment, and thus begins Tree Ear's - and the reader's - education in the production of celadon pottery and the society that supported it. Here is an image of the prunus vase mentioned in the last paragraphs of the book.

Although this is a children's book, the audio version, at least, is also appealing to adults. It would be a good discussion book because of the descriptions of the pottery processes and of Korean medieval society.

Chasing Shakespeares, by Sarah Smith. Atria Books, 2003.

This is another title I rescued from the re-shelve trucks. This time, it was the author's name that caught my eye, because I actually know a Sarah Smith, though she is not the author of this book. I showed it to "my" Sarah Smith, and she admitted to reading other works by the author, finding them pretty good.

A relatively minor American university receives a Shakespeare collection as a bequest. It seems most of the items in it are forgeries, except one letter ... and the grad student cataloging the collection takes it to London to show it to an expert. What starts as a research project turns into something far different, as research and relationships begin taking on a life of their own.

The interesting part, for me, was the travelogue and the biographies of the players and places in Shakespeare's life. A major theme was the conflicting evidence that Shakespeare was - or was not - the author of the works published under his name, and if not, who the real author might be. I usually avoid history, but I was drawn into the discussions and proofs, and feel like I got a literature lesson along with the entertaining read.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. HarperSanFrancisco, c1995.

The subtitle, "A fable about following your dream," tells only some of it. The boy, a shepherd in Spain, has a recurring dream about finding a treasure near the Pyramids in Egypt. He encounters an old man claiming to be a king, who encourages him to follow his dream and gives him two divining stones: Urim and Thummim. The boy sells his flock and embarks on a journey to find the Pyramids of Egypt. Along the way, he meets people like thieves, a crystal merchant, a camel driver, and others who teach him to listen to his heart and to come to know the Soul of the World.

An alchemist, we know, is someone who is searching for - or who has found - the essence of creation. Commonly, he is thought to be able to transform lead (baseness) into gold (something of rare value.) Coelho, in this fable, expands the idea of alchemy far beyond magick or religion and applies it to your life, opening up an avenue for identifying your individual destiny and actually achieving your highest dream.

The Holy, by Daniel Quinn. Context Books, c2002.

I picked this book off a truck of returned-books because the single-word title intrigued me. Holy what? The jacket blurb amplified the intrigue and I immediately got sucked into the novel.

Within the setting of a private investigation, the author explores the question of what it is that made Baal and Ashtaroth and Moloch and all the rest of the ancient gods so much more attractive to the Israelites than the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Aaron asks, "What happened to them afterward? In scriptures, they are called "false gods", not figments. Did they die, or are they still somewhere in the world?" Howard is incredulous, but agrees to accept a retainer and work for a month. If he feels the question is not answerable, he will return the money.

Thus begins a chain of events that tests the credulity of readers. It encompasses altered reality, impossible coincidences, death, and the breakup of a family after the husband incomprehensibly goes walkabout. Howard no longer seems to be in control of the investigation, nor of the people he meets during its course. This could have been a great "Twilight Zone" episode!

Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell. Simon & Schuster, 2005

This irreverent and sassy catalog of facts and stories about presidential asassinations will illustrate more than you ever thought you wanted to know about the presidents, their assassins, the places they lived, and the people they knew. The author's research has turned up some truly surprising and eerie connections between seemingly unrelated people and events. And it's only a little gruesome!

Here Comes Everybody: the power of organizing without organizations, by Clay Shirky. Penguin Press, 2008.

This book should be required reading for all adults. Kids already know this stuff.

Beginning with an elaborate re-telling of a saga involving a lost cell phone, Shirky illustrates how people connected by cell phone, twitter, and other social networking tools form ad hoc groups that can have an influence far beyond the power of even well-organized and estblished groups.

On-the-scene reporting of news events (like the recent plane crash in the Hudson river) puts a new face on journalism. Invitations to be part of a flash mob give people a way to organize meetings in touchy circumstances below the news and police radars.

I believe one of the strong messages we should bring from this book is that, in order to maintain dignity and power, organizations NEED to know about these on-the-fly ways of organizing and devise ways to use them, too, in pursuit of their own goals.

"Tenderness: a novel" by Robert Cormier. Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1998, c1997.

Told in two voices, Cormier's psychological thriller for teens explores the convergence of two young lives, that of Eric, a teenaged serial killer about to be released from prison, and Lori, a street-smart, yet naive runaway, who met Eric once when she was twelve. She has heard he is to be released and runs away to meet him.

Eric seeks 'tenderness' from his victims; Lori has learned to use her sexuality to get her way in her search for true affection. In chapters told from their alternating viewpoints, their paths converge in an ever more suspenseful - maybe even inevitable - dance.

It was hard for me to read this book, because of the realism Cormier carefully injects. Each character has good and imperfect qualities, which makes it hard to draw black and white conclusions. This is a great discussion book.

"Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow. Tor Teen, 2008.

This book should be required reading for every teen and adult. Just as Orwell's "1984" explored Russian society gone wrong, so this book does the same for the United States and the western world. It might just make you turn in your FasTrak card and make purchases with cash instead of your debit card.

Marcus, aka W1n5tOn, and several friends, all seniors in high school, have ducked out of classes to play a computer game that is like a scavenger hunt. While they are looking for clues, someone blows up the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Marcus and his friends are "detained", interrogated and tortured for several days. When released, Marcus finds the social climate of the city completely transformed to a police state by the Department of Homeland Security in their search for the terrorists. Determined to set things right, he takes on the DHS using his knowledge of networking and security hacks.

All of the technology Marcus uses is currently and freely available today, and is accessible and hackable by anyone with a little knowledge and experience. Experts Doctorow consulted in writing the novel contributed additional essays at the end of the book. There is also an annotated bibliography of books, articles and web sites that lends a great deal of credibility to the ideas proffered in the story.

Cory Doctorow is a digital rights activist and works with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He blogs at Craphound.com.

"Are You Somebody? : the Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman" by Nuala O'Faolin. Henry Holt & Co., 1998, c1996.

This was a hot title when it was first published. It started ordinarily enough, and ended fairly well. The middle, however, should probably not have been made public knowledge. Miss O'Faolin was a prominent newscaster and producer - the voyeuristic exposition of her family's troubles seems like a betrayal. It was interesting to see how attitudes have changed over the years, pre- and post-femlib, and also to see how, in modern times, the Irish are still looked down on in England. Probably her experience as a newscaster and reporter led her to "report' the circumstances of her life with the idea of making it a "case" representative of her times that could be studied as well as a vehicle for laying her demons to rest. This was a disturbing read.

"The Next Thing On My List", by Jill Smolinski. New York : Shaye Areheart Books, 2007.

It was an accident. A dresser fell off a truck on the freeway. In swerving to avoid it, June crashed her car, killing her passenger. After attending the funeral, she discovered her passenger's list of "20 things to do before my 25th birthday." Ridden by guilt, she resolves to complete all remaining tasks by Marissa's birthday, the first having already been achieved: lose 100 lbs. The others are not so easy: change someone's life, kiss a stranger, run a 5k race, make Buddy Fitch pay ...

June is witty, sympathetic, charming, and very real - we become ever more invested in rooting for the success of this woman, who, in completing Marissa's list, actually learns more about herself. The other characters grow throughout the book from two- to three-dimensional people I'd like to know, because the author manages to avoid creating the stereotypical characters that are often associated with humorous works.

I finished the novel with an urge to re-evaluate my life and create my own list.

"Listen Up! Podcasting for Schools and Libraries", by Linda W. Braun. Information Today, Inc., 2007.

Can't remember how I found this book. I borrowed it through the Link+ partnership we have with other libraries in California and Nevada. I did enjoy reading it - so much so, that [I'm buying] have bought a copy for Sacramento Public Library.

The author is currently the Vice President/President-Elect of YALSA, a division of the American Library Association. She has written a basic "what is it?" and "how do I do it" guide to creating simple podcasts in school and library settings. It's particularly good at describing the benefits of the technology for boosting the currency of the organizations' relationships with their users, and also for providing some innovative ideas for using podcasts (audio as well as video) for programming, tutorials, marketing, and staff training. The language is readable, non-intimidating, and leaves the reader with the feeling that, "I can actually do this!"

"Color of the Sea", by John Hamamura. New York : Anchor Books, 2007.

In Hawaii and California in the years bracketing the Second World War, Isamu "Sam" Hamada struggles with issues facing Nisei agricultural workers - the prejudice, the hopes and dreams, the broken promises, and the stigma of being "Japs" in America after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and of being sent to internment camp.

Hamamura vividly draws pictures of life during those years, and and skillfully evokes the essence of the time: the feelings, the settings, the loyalties and conflicts experienced by Japanese Americans before and during the war. This is an engaging and readable novel that challenges the reader to acknowledge an alternative viewpoint. It is made more poignant because it parallels the author's own life.

This video interview with Hamamura will bring an added dimension to the reader's understanding of the work. (Click on "03 - American Identity")

"Three Cups of Tea: one man's mission to promote peace-- one school at a time", by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Penguin Books, 2007.

The One Book Sacramento title for this year has been described as "the astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones." Mortensen, having failed in 1993to "summit" Pakistan's K2, the second highest mountain in the world, takes a wrong turn and arrives at one of the most remote villages in the Karakoram mountains. This starts a chain of events that results in the establishment of a succession of schools in that and other remote villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Both Mortensen and Relin will be speaking in Sacramento this Fall at One Book programs.

"Cathy's Book : if found call (650)266-8233" by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. Running Press, 2006.

Cathy, a senior in high school, journals about events that happen to her after she starts dating Victor. He suddenly dumps her, and Cathy and her best friend, Emma, do their detective thing to find out why. They become involved in a dangerous hunt for who he really is, murder, kidnapping, and laboratories, with a twisted, surprise ending.

The jacket blurb indicates that the authors are PC Game creators (MechWarrior, I Love Bees), and invites readers to "Read. Explore. Investigate. Examine the Clues. Call the phone numbers. Access the websites. And when you're done, you'll know that the teen novel will never be the same again."

I didn't explore, investigate, or call the phone numbers, but if anyone does, I invite you to post what you find out in a comment.

(Cross Posted at grandCENTRAL)

"Hot Wired in Brooklyn" by Douglas DiNunzio. iPublish.com, 2001.

It's interesting that more librarians are not authors, working day in and day out with books - all kinds - as they do.

The story is actually the second in a series, though the first has not yet been published. Eddie Lombardi, private investigator is persuaded to prove the innocence of a kid who, up to now, has been nothing but trouble. Along the way, we meet Eddie's "goombahs", Charlotte, a sinister and troubled - but beautiful - young woman, and other colorful characters.

This title was written by a now-retired librarian, who worked at Sacramento Public Library. My book club read it this month, and then, instead of a book discussion, we invited the author to our meeting and learned all about what it takes to develop characters, a plot, and a market. He described the research done for the books, his own method of picking up the narrative after a break, and how he is compelled to remain consistent with what the characters would or whould not do if they were real people. Knowing this "back story" gave me a new take on the book, its plot, and especially its characters.

"Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking", by Malcolm Gladwell. (Time Warner Audio Books, 2005)

This is a good example of a book that worked better for me in audio. The author's reading made complex ideas that I might have skipped over in the text both understandable and interesting.

Gladwell examines several examples of situations where you "know" something instantly (in the blink of an eye) but can't explain how or why you know it. How a counselor knows whether a marriage is in trouble; how you know when someone is lying, or about to do you harm; who can, in a blind taste test, can tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke - and why; whether someone is management material. Based on work done by experts in various fields, he scrutinizes the way our brains use "thin slices" - almost subliminal clues - to make decisions and judgments, and why some are very good at it and others stumble.

"The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. Crown Publishers, 2003.
Sick fascination - this meticulously documented narrative of the creation of the "White City" for Chicago's Columbian expo in the early 1890s is told in tandem with the gruesome story of H. Holmes, a serial killer that managed to dispatch as many as 20 women and children in the span of a couple of years within a few blocks of the fair without detection! He cremated them, then hired someone to clean the bones and reassemble the skeletons, which he sold to medical schools. Not until years later, when a distraught mom hired the Pinkerton detective agency to find her missing children, did the full story emerge and become sensationalized in the press.

The story of the fair and the depraved sociopath is so compellingly told that I couldn't put the book down until I reached the very last words. The parallel stories progress relentlessly and with graphic description. We come to know the major players, both good and evil, perpetrators and victims, as if they were alive today. No forensic TV series could have told it any better!

An unexpected side entertainment was discovering the luminaries associated with the fair: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, Thomas Edison, Pullman and others; as well as the number of products still available today that debuted then: shredded wheat, the Ferris wheel, neoclassical public buildings, electric lighting.

"Back on Blossom Street" by Debbie Macomber. Mira, 2007.
I found this book completely by accident. I was looking for new knitting books, and this novel popped up in the list of results. I decided to give it a go, and was charmed. Macomber has a talent for creating likeable, believable characters, and presenting the small - and large - dramas in their lives in a way that makes you want to get to know them.

In this, the third in a series about Blossom Street, the characters have joined a knitting class offered by the owner of A Good Yarn, a yarn shop. The project is a prayer shawl, and for each of the participants the shawl will be a gift for someone who helps her overcome a personal challenge. The stories of the women in the class are told with quiet compassion, almost like a reflection. The conclusion is entirely satisfying.

I have heard of prayer shawls, but assumed they are intended to be worn while praying. Instead, I learned they are created as gifts, conveying in tangible form your prayers, love and good wishes for the recipient. The author includes instructions for the shawls mentioned in the story - so it turned out to be a knitting book after all: knitting stories as well as shawls. Macomber provides instructions and photos on her web site.

"Signed, Mata Hari" by Yannick Murphy. Little, Brown and Co., 2007.

In prison, accused of spying, and awaiting execution, Mata Hari tells stories to her French captors, buying time. They are stories from her early life in Holland, her schooling, marriage to a Dutch army officer, their deployment to Java, and the death of their son by poisoning. The family returned to Holland and the marriage fell apart; she tells of her life as a circus rider, artist's model, exotic dancer; of her liaisons with French, German, and Russian military personnel, and her subsequent arrest. But The Big Question is still unanswered: was she a spy?

What struck me most was the way the author seemed to be "channeling" Mata Hari's life, describing it in a way that made it seem like an alternate reality. An early experience in Hari's life was walking across the sand to an island at low tide. There was a real danger of being swept away by the incoming tide, but she returned safely. This experience was a transforming one, making her feel invincible, and it recurs throughout the novel at several of her life's turning points. As a result, she was so distanced from the life of her husband as to become "foreign" both in her lifestyle and in her way of thinking about her life's events.

This book is so new, Sacramento Public doesn't have any copies yet. The author, however, is represented in the collection by other titles.

Addendum 6/8/09: Sacramento Public now has copies.

"He She and It", by Marge Piercy. Graphics Arts Center Pub. Co., c1997

In the future world of the 21st century, global warming has reduced Earth to mostly deserts and the cities on the east coast of the United States are underwater. Ozone depletion has caused solar radiation to be a life-threatening hazard for unprotected individuals who leave their domes to venture into the "Raw." Information and "The Net" are commodities valued by individuals and multinational corporations to the extent that information pirates are infiltrating and killing programmers. Against this background, two parallel stories are told.

Avram has spent his life creating robots. Although there are rules against creating humanoid cyborgs, he has broken them to create Yod, who's job will be to defend the independent city of Tikva against the information pirates. Shira and her grandmother Malkah, who are artificial intelligence experts, have been working - also illegally - to program Yod to be as humanlike as possible, and to socialize him so he fits in with other humans. As part of this socialization, Malkah recounts to him the story of a golem, created in similarly dangerous times during the 1600s in Prague.

This book was recommended to me by a librarian classmate as a prescient example of how the boundaries between the real world and virtual worlds have become blurred, as more and more people join social networking communities and virtual worlds like Second Life.

"Go Tell It On the Mountain" by James Baldwin. Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2000, c1953

This novel, unabashedly autobiographical, explores Black life in Harlem during the early part of the 20th century. In particular, Baldwin probes the influence of autocratic religious beliefs on family relationships, daily life and the hopes and fears for a better life in the future. It was an interesting window into the pre-civil-rights era, and at the same time, spotlighted those elements that have still not changed, even today.

John, the 14-year-old protagonist, is the son of a preacher. He, unlike his brother Roy, is a good boy, but is apparently despised by his father and beaten often. He is expected to become a preacher, though he expresses a deep hatred of his family and a wish to escape. Much of the novel deals with the tension caused by this hatred and the need to accept family members as they have become, whether by personality or circumstance.

This is not an easy book to read, because it does not follow the traditional "floor plan" of a novel. It reads so much like a social case-study or a biography, it is difficult to NOT get involved in the justice - and injustice - of the characters' lives.

"The Whistling Season, a Novel", by Ivan Doig. Harcourt, 2006.

This was another in the list of adult titles of interest to teens. It starts slowly, as a reminiscence, but gradually the reader is drawn in to a year in the Minnesota dry land farm life of the early 20th century.

There's something mysterious about Rose, who comes to be the housekeeper after the death of the narrator's mother, and her brother Morrie, who fills in as teacher in the one-room schoolhouse when the incumbent marries and moved away. There's drama when Toby's foot is crushed by a workhorse, and when the Inspector comes to evaluate the school; there's a bit of history woven into lessons with the advent of Halley's Comet; there's the foreshadowing of the future as the narrator steps in with musings from his present as Superintendent of Schools, charged with abolishing rural one-room schoolhouses. And there's a heart-sinking, gut-wrenching revelation at the end, as Rose and the narrator's father prepare for marriage.

Without apparent effort, the author creates such a real world, it's hard not to treat it as a biography. I was sad to see it end.

"The Reluctant Fundamentalist", by Mohsin Hamid. Harcourt, 2007
Although the only voice we hear is the narrator's, a device maintained meticulously throughout the novel, we are treated to the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of both the evening street scene in Lahore and the vivid memories of the narrator's education and work in America. Even the responses of his listener are implied, as the story winds up to its increasingly tight, unexpected and scary end. This book would make an excellent classroom or book club discussion title.

"The Suspect" by John T. Lescroart. New York, Dutton 2007.

The entire story takes place between the time Stuart leaves Lake Tahoe and returns to his home in the Bay Area, only to discover his wife has drowned in their hot tub, and the grand jury hearing at which he is accused of her murder. With exquisite detail, Lescroart draws a bead on first one character then another, as the attorneys battle it out before the judge.

I was not totally enamoured of his writing; however, this is the "One Book" title that will be discussed in October as part of the Sacramento Public Library's sesquicentennial celebration this year. Because I fell in love after the fact with a previous One Book title, "Epitaph for a Peach," and regretted missing the author talks, I thought I'd get a head start on this year's book.

"The List of Seven" by Mark Frost. W. Morrow, 1993.
This is an implausible novel built around the outline of Arthur Conan Doyle's life before Sherlock Holmes. In it, Doyle has written a book partially lifted from the writings of Madame Blavatsky and submitted it to a publisher. Unfortunately for Doyle, the plot mimics a real plot involving the publisher, zombies, spiritualism, and a tantalizing link to Nazism. Thinking Doyle is on the verge of exposing the plot, an elaborate trap is laid: he is invited to a seance where a murder takes place, and he is launched into a chain of sinister events which threaten his life and the succession of the British monarchy.

"Fruit of the Lemon" by Andrea Levy. Picador, 2007.

Because I enjoyed Levy's first book, Small Island, so much, I snapped this one up off the new books truck as soon as I saw it.

Although Faith and her older brother were both born in London, their parents had emigrated from Jamaica, and, now that their children are grown are thinking of returning "home." This is very upsetting to Faith, because for all those years, neither her mother nor father seemed willing to talk about their early lives and families. At the same time, her increasing awareness of racial prejudice and violence causes her to withdraw from work and her circle of friends. Concerned for her health, her parents decide she needs a vacation and send her to visit Aunt Coral in Jamaica for two weeks. There, by way of colorful stories and visits to the places where the families had lived, Aunt Coral paints in the lives of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. Slowly, Faith realizes that Jamaica is in fact a place where she can "belong", and comes to appreciate her place in the family. An interesting visual effect is the filling-in of the family tree as the stories are told, and in the last chapter, it looks just like a lemon!

Levy's Jamaican voice is very well conveyed, and I can vividly hear my mother speaking in the turns of phrase and expressions: I ask you! And the stories mother told about some family members who were "light" and hated to acknowledge they were part black is reflected in the sentiments and life choices of the characters in this story.

I'm looking forward to her next book!

Ghost at the table, by Suzanne Berne. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006.
Against her better judgment, Cynnie allows herself to be persuaded to travel to her sister's house for Thanksgiving weekend. She expected to accomplish three things over the weekend: help settle her father into a care facility, visit Mark Twain's home, and share Thanksgiving dinner with her sister's family. Nothing goes as expected: there's no room at the care home, strangers have been invited to dinner, and old and unresolved emotional "baggage"colors all the relationships. What was most unsettling to me was that the author never actually resolved the central question: how did their mother really die, so many years ago? There are four equally plausible suspects.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead Books, 2004, c.2003.

Amir has been struggling his whole life long with the knowledge that his father despised him for what he perceived as character flaws. In addition, his father seemed to show more interest in Amir's best friend, Hassan, the son of his servant, than in his own son. In an attempt to catch and hold his father's attention, Amir betrayed Hassan, resulting in the estrangement of the two families after a 40-year friendship. Now, after many years and a flight to America ahead of the Taliban, he still feels guilt and loss, and castigates himself on his lack of character and lack of courage.

After his father's death, Amir receives a cryptic phone call from a family friend in Afghanistan, urgently requesting him to "Come. There is a way to be good again." He decides, now that he is married, to accept the offer in the hope that the truth can finally be told, the guilt assuaged, and the weight of hidden secrets can be lifted from his relationships. And so, he returns to Afghanistan to meet Rahim Khan, a journey that becomes an epiphany.

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. Atria Books, 2006.

Nearly reclusive Margaret, who writes biographies of dead authors, is summoned to write the life story of a living author of many popular books. Reluctantly, she allows herself to be persuaded, and is drawn into a bizarre story of madness, incest, twin-talk, and research.

Vida Winter, a self-described storyteller, has provided at least 20 different accounts of her life to journalists. Now nearing death, she is oddly haunted by the earlier request of a brown-suited journalist to "tell the truth". It is up to Margaret to determine whether, this time, the story is fact or fiction.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die , by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. Random House, 2007.

Using famous and not-famous examples, the authors analyze common elements of real and (urban) mythical ideas that "stuck." The six principles they arrived at are: the ideas are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and tell a story. Having read the book, I can see applications in all areas of life - anywhere you have a message to convey. By applying the six principles, anyone should be able to craft a message that will be immediately clear, to the point, and "sticky." (Footnote: I have trouble remembering the correct title of the book - even though the safety-orange cover and simulated duct tape across the front is vividly in my mind.)

The secret life of The lonely doll : the search for Dare Wright, by Jean Nathan. New York : H. Holt, c2004.

An image of the cover of a children's book "The Lonely Doll," originally published in the 1950s, resurfaces unbidden in Jean Nathan's memory, and she embarks on a quest to discover more about its author, Dare Wright. The book itself proves elusive to find, and biographical information about its author equally so. Eventually, the story she is able to piece together is both profoundly illuminating and profoundly disturbing.

Although I would not have chosen this biography to read on my own, I found I was fascinated by Dare's story. Confined to a world of make-believe by a strong mother who couldn't let go, Dare's personality is subsumed so completely into that of her mother, she herself almost completely ceases to exist as an individual. It was like watching a spider create its web and entrap its victims; yet, even knowing what the ultimate end would be, I was unable to stop reading.

Misquoting Jesus, by Bart D. Ehrman. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.

Believing the Gospels to be the true word of God, the author is disconcerted to discover that there are provable discrepancies in copies made at different places and times - some unintentional and others intentional - which have changed the meaning or interpretation of the message. He concludes there is currently no way to really know what happened and what Jesus actually said, because so many changes were made to support the positions of different factions within the early and medieval Church. The history and research are interesting and well documented - almost tediously so - but ultimately Ehrman fails to convincingly state how his findings affected his belief in the veracity of todays editions of the Gospels. Disillusionment is evident, but a corresponding re-affirmation of his faith is not very strong or convincing. I was left with the impression that the Gospels were, and still are, used as a teaching tool to support the beliefs of Christianity, and that they can, and probably will, be changed again as new discoveries are made and new research is published.

"True History of the Kelly Gang" by Peter Carey. Alfred Knopf, 2000.

Is he a folk hero or a murderer? Ned Kelly, who lived in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century, has polarized the country. Imprisoned and sentenced to death for his crimes after eluding police for 20 years, he tells his story in a "letter" to his as-yet unborn daughter. He describes in eloquent detail the living conditions, the corruption, and the desperation of the people around himself, hoping to prove to his daughter that his intentions were honorable, but circumstances beyond his control made judicious choices impossible.

Carey chose to tell the story from Kelly's point of view, mimicking the style of Kelly's own writings, as preserved in the Jerilderie Letter, for example. Once you get past the unusual and colloquial language, the images he draws of life in those times are riveting and appalling. Considered from today's vantage of civil rights and social welfare programs, Kelly's life was hard and hopeless. Was his death karma or martyrdom? That's still being debated in Australia. He won't, however, be forgotten.

"Something Remains" by Inge Barth-Grozinger. Translated from the German by Anthea Bell.Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.

Although Sacramento Public Library does not own this novel, I thought it was worth including. Originally published in 2004 in Germany, it answers the question of how the Holocaust could have happened. Told from the viewpoint of Erich Levi, son of a Jewish merchant in the small German town of Ellwangen, the erosion of the rights of Jews is chronicled over a period of about 3 years. The belief that the sanctions were unfair and temporary is a strong thread throughout the story. It is not until the end of the book that the reader finds out that this is the story of a real family! This would be a good companion to Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl."

"Twelve Sharp" by Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's Press, 2006.

The latest in this wonderfully trashy mystery series involving bounty hunter Stephanie Plum involves fewer car burnings and gallant rescues, and shows a new dimension in the character of Ranger. In this episode, Ranger's twelve year old daughter has been kidnapped from her foster parents by a lunatic who has adopted Ranger's persona, and who is just smart enough and experienced enough to elude all attempts to apprehend him.

I was a little disappointed, actually, because it seems like the twisted, exotic characters are becoming more "normal" and therefore less interesting. However, both Marty and I finished the book in record time: within 48 hours it was back at the library, ready to go to the next on the 150-person waiting list. Can't wait for number thirteen!

"Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. Pocket Books, 2000.
The theft of a secret and highly dangerous sample of antimatter from a research center in Switzerland leads to a race against the clock, literally. The Illuminati, a secret society long presumed to be defunct, claims responsibility and leads researchers and experts to Vatican City where, against the backdrop of a papal election, three cardinals are kidnapped from the conclave and murdered. Will the experts solve the clues and recover the antimatter before Vatican City is destroyed?

BibliOdyssey
Although this blog is intended to be a log of books I have read, I came across the web site BibliOdyssey via another blog and thought it was worth sharing here: it is a collection of art from old books - quirky, beautiful, mysterious, eclectic.

"The Shadow of the Wind," by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Penguin Press, 2004.
This novel is set in Barcelona during and after the Spanish civil war. On his 10th birthday, Daniel's father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where "last copies" go for safekeeping forever, or until they can be adopted by someone else. Daniel selects the book, "Shadow of the Wind," which captures his imagination so completely that he wants to find out more about the author and read his other works. During the course of his search over the next 10 years or so, he finds it unusual that there seems to be no information about the author, and that someone is methodically tracking down every copy of the author's works and burning them. There is danger, romance, humor, drama, and philosophy in the pages of this novel, and the author is successful in preserving the punchline until near the end of the story.

"The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilization," by Eugene Linden. Simon and Schuster, 2006.

Linden has spent the last thirty years studying and writing about nature and the environment. In this book, he assembles his own and others' research into a timeline of global climate change cycles. He compares historical events like the disappearances of the Norse settlement in Greenland, the Akkadian community in North Africa, and the Maya in Central America with the climatological record recovered from icecap and ocean floor core samples. He claims there is strong evidence for a model of sudden catastrophic climate changes, rather than for the older model of gradual change over a long time.

Because this is a relatively new field of study, the evidence is still anecdotal. Linden shows that, although global warming is increasing at an unprecedented rate, the United States and other nations are refusing to acknowledge this or to take seriously the potentially disastrous consequenses. The compelling correlations he draws between historical events and global climate change, however, will soon lead you to agree with his conclusion that a major climate change is imminent - and has already begun.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time," by Mark Haddon. Doubleday, 2003.

Told from the viewpoint of 15 yr. old Christopher, who has a form of autism, the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog morphs into another mystery altogether. In systematically "detecting" the circumstances of the dog's death, Christopher actually tells two stories: the story of his struggle to cope in a "normal" world, and the story of the break-up of his parents' marriage.

This book seems to have a big impact on each person who reads it. It is tragic, funny, pathetic, and insightful. I couldn't put it down.

"Small Island " by Andrea Levy, Picador, c.2005.
Hortense and Gilbert Joseph, black Jamaican immigrants living in London immediately post-World War II, try to build their lives together as members of the British Empire, only to find that Mother England is less than tolerant of her colored children.

Queenie and Bernard, white and English, have issues of their own to deal with. Bernard, presumed dead, turns up at his front door two years after the war has ended, to find his wife has taken in black lodgers to support herself.

I had the eerie feeling that I was actually hearing the voices in this novel. The author has somehow managed to commit to paper the cadences of the Jamaican patois and British and American wartime slang. Through chapters told alternately from the point of view of one or another character, the personalities and histories of the four major players and several others come to life with humor, pathos, drama, and compassion. Certainly the characters are overdrawn, but as representatives of the events of their day, they effectively drive home the difficulties faced by servicemen after the war, as well as those faced by immigrants. This would make a good book for a discussion group.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. MacAdam/Cage Pub., c2003.

It's impossible to know where to begin in describing this book. Clare and Henry meet, marry, and ultimately have a daughter. Clare is an artist; Henry is a librarian with a peculiar genetic disorder that causes him to abruptly and unexpectedly transport back and forth in time within his life. This causes disconcerting disconnects between himself, his wife, his job, and the everyday normalcy one expects. There is an indication that a cure or control may be possible, but not in the immediate future.

I gave up trying to keep track of dates and ages as Clare ages and Henry time-travels, and just enjoyed the story. However, the ending introduced some new implications and became somehow very disturbing. I would read it again just to see if I could comprehend the potential impacts on the lives of the characters.

"Epitaph For a Peach" by David Mas Masumoto. New York : HarperCollins, 1995.
This book was chosen by a planning committee for the second "One Book Sacramento" program in summer of 2005. I declined to read it then, but thought, as a library employee, I ought to at least give it the once-over. I was surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying Masumoto's account of a year on his peach and grape farm. I found his writing lyrical and introspective, full of richly evocative images of his trees, house, and family, past and present. I enjoyed his comparisions and following his thoughts as he arrived at his plan for the next year. It is certainly about farming, but encompases so much more: philosophy, wonder, humor, rue, fear, anger, submission. Astute observations of other farmers and the migrant farm workers he hires are sprinkled throughout like salt, to savor this blend. I wish I had read it during the program, so I could have attended the author's talks. I would love to meet him! One reviewer captured it perfectly: "a beautifully wrought tale about food that ultimately nourishes the soul."

"Code Orange" by Caroline B. Cooney. New York : Delacorte Press, 2005.
Mitty, who never exerts himself in school any more than absolutely necessary, becomes intensely and personally interested in his "infectious diseseases" writing assignment. Challenged to find titles about smallpox for his bibliography, he investigates some old books his mother has purchased from a doctor's estate - and discovers an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs. After handling them and accidentally breathing in some of the old dust, he becomes convinced he has infected himself and all of New York City.

"The Prosecutors [A Year In The Life Of A District Attorney's Office]" by Gary Delsohn. Roseland, NJ : Listen & Live Audio, p2003.

Author-reader Delsohn follows the progress of six high-profile crimes prosecuted by the Sacramento County District Attorney's office in a recent year.

This is only the second audiobook I've "read", but I learned that true crime in audio is not for me. I was living in Sacramento when the crimes occurred or were tried, and I found it too much like listening to the news. During our book club discussion, though, some folks said they found it interesting to see the prep work required to bring the criminals to trial, and also were surprised at how much politicking and dealing went on in the DA's office in the interests of getting a conviction.

"Winning every time : how to use the skills of a lawyer in the trials of your life" by Lis Wiehl. New York, Balantine Books, 2004

Wiehl is a trial lawyer, commentator and legal analyst. She illustrates the steps anyone can follow to build a solid "case", argue it rationally, defend it, and win in all the arenas of life: home, work, and school. Each step is explained in its own chapter and brought to life with vivid examples.

"The Map That Changed the World : William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology" by Simon Winchester. New York, HarperCollins, 2001

William Smith, while working as a coal miner in the early 19th century in England, learned from other experienced miners that the earth was arranged in predictable layers. Later while surveying routes for coal-barge-carrying canals, he remarked that those layers occurred in the same order all over England; moreover, they could be identified by the fossils they contained. Armed with this discovery, he then made it his life’s work to create the world’s first map of England’s rock layers, thus founding the science of geology.

"The Adventure of English : the biography of a language" by Melvyn Bragg, Arcade Publishing, 2003
From its birth as a minority tribal language, Bragg chronicles the development of English through Roman, Norse, and French conquests, its exportation to America and other colonies, and finally to its current state. His premise is that the English language is a sponge, freely adopting and adapting words from other languages until it has created a unique ability to name and describe things better than any other language in the world. Because of this, English has become a powerful world language that is still growing, still naming new things. Despite regional accents and localisms, English is understood in virtually every country in the world. It is now not only adopting new words, but loaning English words to other countries, and continuing to name new things - weblogs and podcasts being among the latest.

"The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith. New York, Anchor Books, 2002.
This collection of episodes from the caseload of fictional private detective Precious Ramotswe is uncanny in its unmasking of human foibles of the sorts that span generations and cultures. The author was born in Botswana, where his stories are set, and he has perfectly captured the cadence, the pace, and the imagery of life in 20th century Africa.

Mma Ramotswe has used her inheritance to buy a storefront and set up a detective agency so she can "help people with the problems in their lives." The problems range from a lost dog to a kidnapped child, from a defiant daughter to embezzlement to medical malpractice. Each case is solved by Precious Ramotswe using guidelines from "'The Principles of Private Investigation' by Clovis Andersen," which she uses as her manual. The solutions are witty and almost Solomon-like in their carriage of justice.

"The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. HarperFlamingo, 1998
Rev. Price, his wife and four daughters fly to the Congo in the late 1950s and take over an abandoned mission. The experience of trying to come to grips with the reality of life in Africa is related in turn by each member of the family, including the 5 year old and a brain-damaged teen twin. Against the background of Congo's struggle for independence, we see how the individual views of events and ways of coping provide us with a complex and very rich composite picture of the personal, political, and economic issues of the time and place.

"Hetty: the genius and madness of America's first female tycoon" by Charles Slack Harper Collins, 2004
Having learned about business and finance at her father's and grandfather's knees, Hetty Robinson used her knowledge to become this country's richest woman in the 1860s. Both before and after her marriage to Edward Green, she rigorously guarded her fortune, tying it up in trusts to prevent it from being dispersed outside her family. This account of Hetty's life, unfashionable and eccentric by her choice, illustrates the disconnect between her Quaker upbringing and the effects of her fabulous wealth on her immediate and distant family.

"The Sinister Pig" by Tony Hillerman Harper Collins, 2003
The Washington office of the FBI has snatched a murder case away from the local authorities that would normally handle it, raising questions and arousing the suspicions of the Navajo Tribal Police and the Border Patrol. Hillerman reprises his cast of characters, including Jim Chee, Bernie Manuelito, and the now retired Legendary Joe Leaphorn in another intricate mystery set in the Four Corners area of the American southwest. The author's web site is at http://www.tonyhillerman.com