Visions of Sugarplums...

  The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila.
                                                            Clarkson Potter, 2012. (Adult nonfiction)

I'm not sure if holiday baking got me started on this book or not, but you'll be inspired, too, in just looking at the photographs! The author is a young mother who wants to make healthier foods for her family. The real beauty is that she makes readers care about wholesome food without spending a lot of time in the kitchen or grocery store. The pages describing the processes, inspiration, and family moments are just plain delightful and fun to read. She tells about how works and what didn't work. Flip the page and you often find a gorgeous photo and recipe. Chernila includes "tense moments" to guide the novice cook through the steps of preparation. She defines terms, includes an index, gives descriptions of useful tools, and really just covers the bases well. Essays on canning, for example, give extra information. I can't decide if I love the essays more or the photographs or the practical information and recipes. Let's just say it all combines into one of my favorite cookbooks ever!

Fall is here!

  Children's Book-A-Day Almanac by Anita Silvey

                                      Roaring Brook Press, 2012.

Great for ANY day of the year is Anita Silvey's Children's Book-A-Day Almanac. Silvey's online presence has been great fun for the book world as well as students and libarians for several years. Having the print version in my hands is like greeting an old friend. A side bar lists several people each day who share that particular birthdate. The real beauty of the book is a clever tie-in to a particular book. For example, December 8th is the birthday of French film maker Georges Melies so Silvey looks closely at The Invention of Hugo Cabret by the ever talented Brian Selznick. Silvey's "columns" are upbeat, honest, and will point readers, both old and young, to old favorites and new treasures to read.

 

 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple. Little, Brown (Hachette), 2012. (Adult and YA fiction).

A quirky family saga with computer genius Elgin Branch, his wife Bernadette, and their daughter Bee who live in Seattle will give readers pause. Part humor, part mystery, all social commentary, the novel is an interesting take on contemporary life.

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn. HarperCollins, 2012. (Adult fiction).

What do you do when you are the Queen of England and you get a little depressed? In this delightful novel, she takes a little trip to visit her old favorite royal yacht. The only problem is that she doesn't tell anyone. When her lady-in-waiting, horsemaster, cheese seller, and equerry collaborate to find her and bring her back before the press learns she is missing, the fun begins. Followers of the Royal Family will appreciate the little details that make the story ring true and will enjoy the fanciful aspects, too.

Summer 2012 Reads: The Art Forger, Beautiful Ruins, The Meryl Streep Movie Club, Liar and Spy, Because Amelia Smiled, The Age of Miracles

Summer 2012 Reads                                                  

Lots of great book buzz at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association in June! I'll post as I finish reading, but will put books into existing categories, if possible. Like under Art Theft is a new book, The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, which was not out until October, 2012, but that posting is dated March, 2012. It was my very favorite book of Summer 2012! Just search around and have fun finding ideas for books to read.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. HarperCollins, 2012.
                            (Adult Fiction)

Alternating between modern film personnel and 1962 Italy, the story of lost love, beautiful seaside settings, and a fictional Richard Burton. Definitely summer reading!


The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March. Gallery Books
                            (a division of Simon & Schuster, 2012. (Adult fiction)

Debut novel about three women relatives who come together after many years apart. Home is an inn on the coast of Maine. Can their diverse lives and talents mesh at last? The discussions of Meryl Streep movies after their usual Friday night movie fests are enlightening. Pop some popcorn and enjoy!

 Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead. Random House.
                             August, 2012. (Children's fiction)

Got a galley of this children's novel by the Newbery Award winning author and couldn't wait to read it! It did not disappoint! Georges' family moves into an apartment building where Safer lives with his family. The two boys form an unlikely friendship and go through the typical childhood angsts amidst secrets on both sides. Stead writes smoothly and provides some surprises for readers. Part mystery, all realistic fiction for 5th-7th graders.

  Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein.
                              Candlewick, 2012. (Children's picture book)

Sweet story of a little girl whose smile starts a chain reaction of goodwill aroung the whole world. Mentions of Mexico, Israel, Paris, and Positano will send young readers seaching for a world map! Bright, colorful pencil, crayon and watercolor illustrations enhance the simple text. Try this one on the dreariest day and turn gloomies into smiles!

  The Age of Miracles by Karen T. Walker.
                            Random House, June, 2012.(Adult fiction, but ok for YA, too.)
 

The slowing of the earth by a few minutes seems minor, but the phenomenon continues and the results are dramatic. At the beginning, 12 year old Julia is undergoing her own typical coming-of-age angsts, too, and narrates this smooth story until she is 23. Her perspective is honest, believable, and poignant, too. Don't wait for the gold nugget to become kryptonite or for SuperMan to fly in and save the world though...that would be too easy a fix!

Chicago Dreaming

Some of the best American Library Association meetings have been in the Windy City. The place is full of such history that few authors can resist documenting or imagining more in Chicago. Check your library for these!






City of Scoundrels:  The Twelve Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago  by Gary Krist. Crown (Random House), 2012.
                             
This book begins July 21,1919 with a blimp exploded over the city and crashed into a bank downtown. It ends with an epilogue in May, 1920. Before 1919, the city was expanding and full of optimism and ambitions. The disaster really made government officials and everyday residents think about their own futures. The case of a missing young girl followed, and then race unrest caused old prejudices to flare into new confrontations. Historical people like Ida Barnett-Wells and Jane Addams make appearances. The baseball scandal and other negative things that happen later are linked to this time period. Much of the book follows the politics swirling around the mayor and the governor, but the parts that focus on the human element captivate.

 The Devil in the White City:  Murder, Magic, and Madness 
                        at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson.
                        Random House, 2003. (Adult Nonfiction).

Much more gripping is this tale of Chicago in the times surrounding the 1893 World's Fair. Alternating with the story of the planning, construction, and hosting of the great exposition, is the story of a murderous doctor who has his own plans for some of the unsuspecting visitors to the city. This book won several awards for its accurate and riveting writing.


Fair Weather by Richard Peck. Penguin, 2003.
                        (Children's Fiction),

And, no mention of the Chicago World's Fair is complete without this treasure about a thirteen-year-old girl and her siblings who get to visit their aunt and go see the sights. While their "country" mother and their "city" aunt are not close, the children learn about their family and appreciate both. Grandpa almost steals the show though! Richard Peck uses historical details about life at the turn of this century and introduces some of the key figures of the time.

Houses

  The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe.
                               Hyperion, VOICE (2012).  Adult Fiction.

Beginning with the April, 1912 Titanic voyage of Eulah Allston and her mother, this is really the story of the older sister, Sibyl, who stayed in Boston. Sibyl, her father, and her brother and their world are interesting enough to carry their own stories. From opium dens to seances to war, their experiences blend and merge into rich portraits of time gone by. Fans of Downton Abbey might enjoy this novel.

  The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons.Penguin, 2011.
                               Adult Fiction

In 1938 Vienna, Elise Landau has led a life of privilege with her Jewish family. But, times are changing and Elise signs on with an English country house to become a servant and escape to a safer land. Mr. Rivers and his handsome son, Kit, will change her life forever.

This will appeal to fans of Downton Abbey with life in the big house details, but is a satisfying read about WWII, too. The reference to Rebecca will not be lost on astute readers! The haunting quality of the writing and the young heroine's search for her family pull readers forward toward the conclusion.


  The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay. St. Martin's Press, 2012.
                               (Adult fiction).

De Rosnay is the author of Sarah's Key, the wildly popular adult fiction that combines a modern and a WW II era tale into a readable, haunting novel. Her second novel was A Secret Kept about a brother, a sister, and a family secret. This third novel is full of secrets, too. Set in Paris in the 1860's, it is the story of Rose, an older woman who has outlived her beloved husband and lives in their home on a street that is about to be demolished for new, wider boulevards. Alexandrine, the lovely younger woman who runs the local flower shop befriends Rose and their futures are linked in the city's renovations. While the city looks to the future, Rose remembers the past.

A map on the endpapers and an included photo of the real neighborhood give the fictional story a very real setting. A nod must go to the book's designer for the gorgeous full-color cover which manages to evoke the feeling of the novel and its characters. The chapters alternate with letters from Rose to Armand, from Rose to her daughter Violette, and others.  As in her other books, the secrets come out slowly and the action is not fast-paced, but leisurely.  In all her books, De Rosnay excels at invoking the atmosphere of Paris and French life. If you're having a staycation this year and longing for Paris, check out her books.
  Keeping the House by Ellen Baker. Random House, 2008. Adult Fiction.

Set in 1950's Wisconsin, this is the story of Dolly, a newlywed and new to the town of Pine Rapids. Dolly wants to be a good wife and to "keep house", but she becomes lonely. The ladies of the local quilting group provide tidbits of history about the big, empty house on the hill and the elusive Mickelson family who own it.  As Dolly learns more, her present and future collide with their past as both Dolly and her marriage are put to new tests. An interesting look at wives and housekeeping in the 1950's!

   The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. Simon & Schuster        
                               Touchstone, 2010.  Adult Fiction.

Seven-year-old Lavinia is an Irish indentured servant who arrives at a Virginia plantation in 1791. Lavinia is placed with the other servants in the slave quarters. Her voice alternates with that of Belle, the daughter of the master and a slave. Full of quarrels, violence, and an opium-addicted mistress, the big house holds its own lures for Lavinia as she grows to womanhood. As an adult, Lavinia must make choices that affect her own life and the lives of those with whom she has built a family. Not the usual time period for a slavery novel, not the usual master/slave story, but an unusual perspective well-told.

   The Red House by Mark Haddon. Knopf Doubleday, 2012.
                                                                                       Adult Fiction.

Wealthy doctor Richard invites his estranged sister Angela's family to vacation with his new wife and her daughter in the English countrside. The whole dysfunctional family situation is taken to new heights through the alternating voices of the eight family members. Teenagers and adults have baggage, prior experiences, and the recent loss of the mother/grandmother adding to the angst.

The characters become real as the narrative proceeds and if the reader keeps the characters straight. No one ends up a stereotype! Haddon is a master at making the ordinary seem extraordinary and helping readers to appreciate the daily little things in our own lives.

If you like this, try Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Texas Reading

  Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham  (Adult fiction)
                               Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Book Group, June, 2012

     Sometimes you find an author who connects with her territory and none is better at nailing the quirky Texas accents and regionalisms of speech than Leila Meacham. I have never met the retired San Antonio teacher, but look forward to more of her writing.

     In her first novel, Roses, the author takes on a fictitious East Texas area that has to be the Tyler rose area. The book was a long, winding story of friendship, love, and families. Its debut heralded a "Texas Gone with the Wind".

     But, in Tumbleweeds, Ms. Meacham is really beginning to strut her stuff! Set in the Texas Panhandle, Tumbleweeds takes on Texas football itself. This story of three friends has a tighter plotting than Roses, and fewer meandering paths to explore. Rather than stopping to smell the roses, the reader is swept up in the direct path of a tumbleweed in a windstorm! The regionalisms of speech are spot-on with such comparisons as a car "going a mite fast" and a woman's pale face to Sheetrock. Native Texans will hear themselves in this book. The complications are tied up rather quickly in the very last chapters, but they are all resolved.

     Need a vacation book? Pack this one!

Mysteries and Food, Two of My Favorite Things!

 The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page, William Morrow,
                                an imprint of HarperCollins, 2012.

A few days at Texas Library Association 2012 and one of my favorite picks is a copy of the brand new Faith Fairchild mystery, the 20th in the series!  Loyal readers have followed Faith's marriage to a minister, life in New England, her child rearing, her neighbors and friends, and her wonderful catering business. This novel is a flashback to the 1990's and fills in some of the "how Faith met Tom" and their wedding details. Page always puts in little details which both date her books and make them extremely current. For example, traveling to Italy in the first chapter, Faith notices the e-readers other passengers are using. The mysteries revolve around murders, but are not gruesome. Most fun of all, Page includes recipes. In fact, these have been so popular that she put recipes from previous books together in a cookbook called Have Faith in the Kitchen. Looking for a fun read? Try this one, but be ready to head to your own kitchen!

For another fun mystery and food series, check out Diane Mott Davidson's novels about
Goldy Schulz, a Colorado caterer who is married to a policeman. Good recipes, here, too, and a mom with quirky friends and a knack for finding dead bodies. Sixteen in the series and do read them in order.

Art Theft

  Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists by Anthony M. Amore and Tom Mashberg. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Adult nonfiction.

Amore has been the head of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston since 2005. Mashberg, a journalist by trade, has investigated the 1990 art theft at the Gardner for many years. Two of the paintings stolen were by Rembrandt. In this interesting nonfiction book, they look at the works by the famous artist and discuss the thefts and recovery of many of his works over the years.

For more about the Gardner:
         




  The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill,
                            a division of Workman Publishing. Adult fiction.
                            (October, 2012 publication date)

About as improbable as reading on a rainy July Sunday afternoon in Houston, I actually commented to my husband that I was reading one of my favorite books ever. Now that I have finished this well-wrought mystery, bit of historical fiction, and, yet, a thoroughly contemporary espionage thriller, I stand by that assessment. I got the galley at ALA in Anaheim, but watch for this one's publication in October, 2012.

B. A. Shapiro writes so smoothly that readers will swear they could go the window and see Boston. From Sam beer to the fictional Beverly Arms to the descriptions of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, the authentic touches ring true. Handsome art dealer Aiden Markel and artist Claire Roth find themselves wrapped in a plot with twists, turns, and lots of paintings. Especially fun are the descriptions of two older women, Beatrice Cormier and Sandra Stoneham, who deffy the stereotypes of the elderly and femininely weak. An example of the seamlessness of Shapiro's writing is the last scene on page 217 which foreshadows Claire's problems yet to come.

Written in the first person, the narrative switches back and forth from the present to three years ago when Claire had some difficulties with another love and colleague. Gradually, readers discover what happened and how very much all that affected Claire and her work. Interspersed are (fictional) letters from Isabel Stewart Gardner herself, information on modern forgers and their mediums and aging techniques, history about the Gardner art thefts, and Gardner family lore. Keen-eyed historians will spot a few cracks in the veneer, but Shapiro includes notes on the research which set all aright in the end.

Degas, Gardner, an intriguing modern artist, mystery, love...what more could anyone wish on a summer afternoon?  Well, other than  perhaps a visit to the Isabel Stewart Gardner Museum itself...

Ken Follett's Historical Fiction

    Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

This novel of cathedral building, lords and serfs, and medieval life is a surprise if you only know the author's spy/suspense thrillers. The characters are well developed and the plot has twists and turns that keep you reading. A mini-series has been made so read the book first and get your popcorn ready!

   World Without End by Ken Follett

Another massive historical fiction with descendants of some of the characters in the first book, this one gets well into the 1350's with church hierarchy, guild vs. priory feuds, and intricate plotting. I especially appreciate the details like how much a bag of wool weighed (Remember Baa Baa Black Sheep?) and how madder was ground to make dye. The end is a long time coming, but you'll enjoy every detail.

  Fall of Giants by Ken Follett


Billed as #1 in The Century Trilogy, this novel focuses on World War I era.  If you are having Downton Abbey withdrawal, it may just be the book for you! Lord Fitzherbert is married to Russian Princess Bea. His sister, Lady Maud, falls in love with Walter, a German. Ethel the maid's family works in the Welsh coal mines. American Gus Dewar is an aide in the Wilson White House. Russian brothers Lev and Grigorio long to escape peasant life and come to America. All of their stories mesh with the war. The end sets readers up for Volume 2, but get ready to wait for publication!