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What We're Reading NowMarch 2015
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The greatest knight : the remarkable life of William Marshal, the power behind five English thrones
by Thomas S Asbridge
This remarkable biography offers a window into the exciting and triumphant life of the most successful knight in European history. This story exhibits an incredibly rare example of a landless second son reaching the highest levels of power, essentially ruling England as regent by the end of his career. Also, the reader learns so much of the intricacies of medieval power struggles as well as this interesting time in England's history when it was truly a continental power, ruling the western half of France as the Angevin dynasty.
A very entertaining writing style and helpful focus on comparing medieval society to modern day equivalents make this a fun and educational read.
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The strange library
by Haruki Murakami
A strange story indeed, this short tale takes the reader on a dream-like journey, with unsettling pictures to accompany very starkly laid our text. A seemingly teenage boy (although it's hard to tell, no age is given) goes to the library and quickly becomes the victim of a very strange and gruesome librarian. As he worries about what his mother will think, and meets fellow prisoners, a mystical quality and beauty builds with each page, culminating in an extremely powerful yet quiet ending.
It isn't easy to say what this book is about, what it's ultimate meaning might be, but it is a moving, emotion-filled story nevertheless.
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The troop
by Nick Cutter
Dr. Edgerton has found the perfect weight loss regimen. It requires two pills. The first one releases tapeworms who help you lose that weight. Once you shed those stubborn, unwanted pounds, the second pill removes the tapeworms--no exercise or calorie counting required. However, the first pill has unexpected side effects: itchy eyes, thirst, boils, extreme hunger, madness, and death.
The only human subject to try this, “Tapeworm Tom”, has escaped from Dr. Edgerton’s lab and landed on an island off the Canadian coast that is normally deserted, except for this one weekend, when some Boy Scouts are hiking there. And Tom, and the things that now live and feed inside him, are highly contagious. A wonderfully frightening book.
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Doesn't she look natural?
by Angela Elwell Hunt
Jennifer Graham, recently divorced with two children and with illusions of getting back with her ex-husband, inherits a run-down funeral home in another state.
Because of financial circumstances, the family (including her mother) is forced to live above the mortuary. Of course, things do not run smoothly. Not everyone is pleased with living with dead people in the house.
Love and caring do prevail----eventually.
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The old blue line : a Joanna Brady novella
by Judith A Jance
This mystery novella takes us back to a time before Sherriff Joanna Brady met her future husband, Butch. He is being framed for the murder of his ex-wife.
Not knowing what to do, Butch calls upon an elderly friend who was a member of The Thin Blue Line (the police department.) Thus, the word spreads amongst the retired police, attorneys, and judges, and favors are called in.
Just because one is retired does not mean the knowledge and years of experience no longer exist.
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The Children's Crusade
by Ann Packer
A returning Korean War veteran, young Doctor Blair desperately seeks guarantee of a hope-filled future. Pediatrics—the specialization in which patients are least likely to die—offers that assurance. The purchase of California property surrounding a stately tree, marriage to a woman he believes harbors similar yearnings: these decisions begin to shape his future.
Decades later, the land—now in Silicon Valley—is worth a fortune, and the four adult Blair children each assess how and when the family’s unity began to depreciate. Ideal for fans of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, book clubbers who enjoy spirited arguments (worst parenting decision? Inevitability of societal expectations and the times?), and anyone seeking a wonderfully perceptive contemporary family story. When their troubled youngest sibling returns, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, finds their lives disrupted in ways they could have never imagined as they each tell their story that is interwoven with portraits of their family at crucial points in their history.
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Midnight's furies : the deadly legacy of India's partition
by Nisid Hajari
Available June 9, 2015 The August 1947 granting of independence to India and the creation of Pakistan was not supposed to be a bloodbath. However, somewhere between 200,000 and one million Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were ethnically cleansed in the violence that followed.
Nisid Hajari adeptly and even-handedly chronicles these occurrences in a fast-paced narrative that lays the blame on the ineffective leadership of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru.
Recommended for all readers of history, politics, and current affairs.
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Life after life : a novel
by Kate Atkinson
Snow; the sensation of falling; chance encounters that look like rescues but signal dire consequences—these motifs convey life as experienced by Ursula, born to a middle-class English family in 1910. As a child, Ursula sometimes finds herself compelled to commit acts that resemble mischief—or worse—when actually she is driven by her unique knowledge of events that will follow if she doesn’t intervene.
Historical fiction fans will relish Atkinson’s portrayal of daily life in England in the first half of the 20th century through two wars. But the question of destiny and foreknowledge is what makes this compelling story a standout.
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Elvis and Ginger : Elvis Presley's Fiancee and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story
by Ginger Alden
Ginger was Elvis's fiancee at the time of his death. She describes his generous side as well as his zero tolerance when she tried to help him with his health problems and as a result he would get very agitated with her when he did not get his way.
This book is a very informative story for any real Elvis fan. You are left with the feeling of knowing Elvis's private life more then any other book written about him. I highly recommend this book.Breaking her more-than-30-year silence, the former fiancée to Elvis Presley tells the unique story of her whirlwind romance with the King and what it was like being in Graceland when 50,000 mourners arrived to pay their respects.
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Sarah style
by Sarah Richardson
If you are a fan of Richardson’s multiple television series on HGTV, this is a must-see (and if you’re not familiar with Richardson’s on-screen style, this is a great introduction.
The photographs are beautiful—and some of them even appear attainable.
What I appreciate most about this volume is Richardson’s layperson-friendly advice: principles that make sense to those who aren’t decorators and those who can’t afford to hire one—which is practically everyone.
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Cavendon Hall
by Barbara Taylor Bradford
A stately manor surrounded by breathtakingly lovely parkland; an ancient family; four pretty daughters: but—unlike the situation in Downton Abbey—there are brothers in the picture; inheritance is not a pressing worry.
The Ingham family, owners of the estate, rely upon the wisdom and support of the Swann family, retainers whose alliance with the Inghams dates back many decades. The Swanns’ absolute loyalty proves a valuable asset indeed as the Inghams’ reputation hangs in the balance and World War I looms.
Not Bradford’s best work, but her fans and DA followers will find much to like at Cavendon.
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Early warning : a novel
by Jane Smiley
The second installment of Smiley’s “ Last Hundred Years” trilogy, this novel will be published April 28, 2015.
So readers have time to read catch up with the prerequisite first installment: Some Luck. Each chapter represents one year in the life of the Langdon clan of rural Iowa, with the trilogy eventually chronicling a century of life in this evolving and relatable extended family.
Early Warning spans 1953-1986; the Vietnam war, especially, leaves its mark on the clan, and the rise and decline of generations creates intimate drama. This superlative trilogy is highly recommended for literary and historical fiction readers.
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Mr. Mac and Me
by Esther Freud
Before opening this book, place your laptop or mobile device nearby: you’ll soon be searching for the Glasgow School of Art and Design, Willow Tea Room, Mary MacDonald Mackintosh’s panels, and other examples of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs.
This charming novel, especially recommended for historical fiction readers, Mackintosh fans, and those who appreciate stories with artistic and architectural interest, imagines a friendship between teenaged Thomas Maggs, son of a publican in an English seaside village, and then-controversial artist and architect Mackintosh and his wife in 1914.
Superbly written, rewarding.
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The Scarlett letters : the making of the film Gone with the wind
by Margaret Mitchell
Presents a collection of letters by Margaret Mitchell about the making of the Selected by one of the foremost collectors of Gone with the Wind memorabilia, this collation of Margaret Mitchell’s correspondence from 936-1949 will delight those who enjoyed the Harry Ransom Center’s recent “Making of GWTW” exhibit—and help to console those who for whatever reason missed that event.
Providing back story that ranges from scholarly investigations to business transactions to gossipy insider exchanges, Mitchell’s letters reveal both intriguing facets of the novel-into-movie process and her own remarkable personality.based on her classic novel, covering the cast and crew, production, and success
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The deep
by Nick Cutter
A horrible disease has blighted mankind. The ‘Gets causes its sufferers to forget—names, places, dates—then how to chew, how to swallow, until the mind is completely blank, until finally, automatic functions like respiration and heartbeat forget their function and then, death.
Eight miles below the Pacific Ocean, a possible cure may have been found, not only for the ‘Gets, but for all the diseases and ills that plague mankind. But something else is down at the bottom of the ocean--something (someone) ancient, unspeakably evil, whose hunger for revenge is matched only by their millennia-long patience. For decades, they have manipulated two brothers, finally drawing them down to a research station at the end of the earth. Now their plan for revenge can rise from the murky depths.
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We were liars
by E. Lockhart
A compelling, dark and romantic mystery with strong characters.
Cady and her cousins visit their family island every summer. One summer an accident happens, Cady hits her head and loses the memories. She hasn't been back to the island for two years but now she is back for another summer with her family and all those lost memories come back as the summer unfolds.
A must read for Young Adult and Adult.
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I'll give you the sun
by Jandy Nelson
Young Adult novel about the lives and struggles of teenage twins Noah and Jude, their family conflicts, and secrets that are interwoven to create a powerful novel.
Beautifully written with rich language and complex characters that come alive as the story progresses. Told in Noah and Jude’s alternating voices.
This book is suitable for both Young Adult and Adult and is sure to become a classic; one that I will revisit. A must read for Young Adult and Adult.
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Life as we knew it
by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Told in journal entries this book is the story of the catastrophe that happens when a meteor knocks the moon closer to the earth. Tides become erratic, causing deadly tidal waves. The Earth's crust cracks, causing earthquakes worldwide, even in places where no earthquakes had ever occurred before.
The result is power outages, food shortages, summer becomes an unbearably bitter Arctic winter and there is loss of human contact.
This is the story of Miranda and her family’s survival, hauntingly told to make this feel like something that could happen in our world. Suitable for Young Adult and Adult
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Anna and the French kiss
by Stephanie Perkins
Contemporary Young Adult book about Anna’s adventures in Paris when her father decides she needs more culture, and sends her to boarding school for a year.
Paris comes alive in this feel-good romance that has a bit of everything you want; humor, a likeable protagonist and a swoon-worthy guy, Etienne St. Clair. Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After follow the stories of other characters , and accompany this gem of a book nicely.
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Code talker : a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two
by Joseph Bruchac
When his grandchildren ask him about his military medal, Ned Begay shares his story of being a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. He begins his story when he was 6 years old and sent to boarding school to learn English and the white man’s ways. After spending 10 years being punished if he was caught speaking Navajo, he joins the Marines and is trained as a Code Talker using the Navajo language. When training is complete, he spends the remainder of the war in the Pacific theater relaying messages vital to the Allied forces during battles at places like Guam and Iwo Jima. It wasn’t until 1968 when the Code Talker mission was declassified that the country learned of their contribution. This is a well written historical fiction novel that would appeal to fans of WWII stories. Written for young adults, but adults will find it appealing as well.
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360 Degrees Longitude : One Family's Journey Around the World
by John Higham
I was attracted to this book, because it has always been a dream of mine to take a year off and travel the world. My admiration for not only an individual, but a family with young children is only intensified as I read this book.
It is my opinion that travel changes a person and since I have had the opportunity to travel, I can testify to the truth in this. It would be my dream to show my girls the world the way the Higham family does. Their children will grow up seeing life so differently than those kids who are only immersed with social media.
Their adventures were not always easy, but the honesty in which they tell their adventures is so refreshing. This book would appeal to anyone with wanderlust! If you don’t have the luxury of taking off a year of work, you can at least see the world thru the eyes of this family.
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Z : a novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
by Therese Fowler
The Great Gatsby is one of those novels that you were forced to read in high school/college or you’ve heard about it, you know the characters or you’ve seen the ‘over the top’ Baz Luhrmann film in 2013 or the 1974 edition.
A book full of character, wealth, and intrigue could only be written by a someone who is equally full of character and intrigue. Z delves into F. Scott’s wife Zelda, her southern upbringing, what lead her to F. Scott and her journey. A historical fiction based on true facts, this book gave marvelous narratives of life in the 1930’s through Europe and around the world. Wealth was something the Fitzgerald’s had and lost and had again and shows money can’t buy happiness. Zelda’s wealth, fame and talent was a blessing and a curse for herself and her family.
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Fairest : Levana's story
by Marissa Meyer
The fourth book of the Young Adult series Lunar Chronicles tells Queen Levana's story.
"Fairest" answers questions such as why Levana never appears without her "glamour" and how she became so emotionally wounded that she can justify the things she has done.
Fans of the Lunar Chronicles will enjoy this book-- both teens and adults. If you enjoy science fiction with a fairy tale twist, check out all the books in the series.
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The shootist
by Glendon Swarthout
It is always interesting to compare the book with the movie. As with the movie, the book deals with how a gunslinger deals with his upcoming death by cancer---acceptance with severe pain and loss of dignity or a way to die in accordance with his life style.
In this instance, the book is definitely more brutal and has graphic descriptions of the destruction a discharged bullet does to a human.
Of special interest is the lengthy introduction. It delves into the making of the movie and of the changes made from the book and why. John Wayne fans will value some of the tidbits.
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First frost
by Sarah Addison Allen
Allen’s fans—especially those who loved Garden Spells—will embrace the author’s latest mix of magical caprice and relatable family drama.
Claire and Sydney Waverley are back—ten years later—with auspiciously expanded families, some new issues, and some ongoing ones. In quirky Bascom, North Carolina, the Waverley clan has a reputation for strangeness (not to mention magical powers), and the family of Sydney’s high school flame is still wary of her motives. But now Sydney has a teenaged daughter. And a stranger in town has disquieting evidence about Claire’s parentage.
Light, entertaining, upbeat.
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