Prose and Cons by Wendy Corsi Staub

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Bella Jordan’s beloved husband Sam died, he left behind a grieving widow and their young son Max. Financial problems meant they had to leave their home to go live with Sam’s mother, a prospect that filled Bella with despair. It turned out that fate (or should that be Fate?) had other plans. Instead Bella and Max found themselves in Lily Dale, a very small town dedicated to the Spiritualist movement with a cat who seems to have, well, just appeared.  Practical Bella is a bit flummoxed at first, finding herself surrounded by people who believe that they can talk to the dead but she comes to love the strong sense of community and the friendships she forms.  She even lands a job she wasn’t looking for, that of managing Valley View, a boarding house for those visiting the town.

That’s just the way things happen in Lily Dale.

As might be imagined, there are any number of quirky characters about—some easier to take than others.  One of those “others” is Pandora, who once lived in Valley View before a divorce forced her out.  Trouble is, she sometimes seems to have trouble remembering she no longer owns the house and tends to make herself at home. This time around, she announces that her dear Aunt Eudora and her beau Nigel are coming to stay and as auntie is elderly and fragile, Pandora doesn’t want her to know that she no longer owns the house.  Instead, she proposes not only that auntie and friend stay, but that she, Pandora, will move in to keep up the pretense.  Bella reluctantly agrees, being too kind for her own good.

The guests arrive, but somehow something seems—off.  It’s not just that they are so demanding, though they are that. It’s something else.  Something dark.  Something that could be dangerous.

While there is an entertaining mystery, I’m more drawn to the emotional side of the plot.  Bella is struggling to move ahead with her life without Sam. She would love to believe that he’s out there, somewhere, and that she could make contact but she remains a skeptic. She needs proof. She’s also struggling with her attraction to veterinarian Drew, feeling she’s being disloyal to Sam. Most of all, she’s trying to navigate her way through grief while trying to raise a son and make a living.

I also appreciate the interesting Lily Dale residents who definitely march to the beat of a different drum.  Some are funny and charming, some a bit too self-centered (cough, Pandora, cough), but most are down to earth and kind. One part of the story is told from Pandora’s point of view which makes her more sympathetic if not less annoying. Max and his friend Jiffy are delightful; they seem more like real kids than most literary children, and the rest of the ensemble add to the tale.  The psychic elements are appropriately murky. There’s a bit of an information dump near the end, but because I had so many other elements to interest me, I didn’t mind.

I’ll also note that the mystery is more cold-blooded than might be expected.

I’ve enjoyed this series.  The psychic elements are definitely there and easy to believe in, but I like that Bella is yet to be convinced. After reading the first in this series, I read a non-fiction book by a reporter who came to Lily Dale and who let readers draw their own conclusions.  By the end, there were some things that weren’t easily explained but the writer didn’t wholly embrace all the claims. This fiction series tries to tread the same line and does fairly well at it.

I’m definitely going to read the next in the series. I’m intrigued by both the real place and its fictional counterpart. These can be read as standalones, but I’m glad I did read them in order.

Nine Lives

Something Buried, Something Blue

Dead of Winter

Prose and Cons

The Stranger Vanishes

The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang

 

Reviewed by Ben

 

I just finished The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Chang was a Chinese-American writer for whom this book represented a personal quest to bring the story of the Japanese Imperial Army's war crimes to more modern-day Americans. The book was published in 1997. WARNING: this book is a disturbing read.

 

This book tells the story of what the Japanese army did to the population of China's then capitol city, Nanking-or Nanjing-, during the Sino-Japanese War of the late 1930s, part of the larger conflict of World War II. After defeating Chinese forces and capturing the city, occupying soldiers from Japan subjected locals to brutality that is arguably unsurpassed by any other war crimes carried out during the Second World War. The victors executed Chinese soldiers and civilians alike-men and women, children and the elderly-at times using their helpless victims for bayonet practice, training the more green Japanese troops to kill without remorse. The Japanese media even kept the public up to date on a killing contest between two officers. The first to kill 100 Chinese people with his sword would win. The total was later upped to 150 after both contestants unknowingly surpassed 100, without tracking who did so first. The war crimes didn't stop at killing. The Imperial Army carried out rapes on a massive scale, brazenly dragging women from their homes and refugee camps, frequently torturing and killing them in the process.

 

To tell this story, Chang wove together Japanese and Chinese history far preceding World War II, survivors' accounts, contemporary media reports, and diary entries from westerners who lived in Nanking at the time and maintained a neutral zone to protect the local civilians. The source material gives valuable insight into how the Japanese army got to the point of mindless brutality and how the reader can get past modern Japanese denials of the Nanking massacre. One thing that stuck with me was that two Nazi party members who resided in Nanking were shocked at the war crimes committed against the Chinese civilians. They played a key role in efforts to protect locals from the occupiers.

 

As indicated by the title, the Nanking massacre is one of the lesser-known episodes from the Second World War. Political developments meant Japan was not compelled to publicly apologize for its actions in the Asian theater, including what its soldiers did in Nanking. I had not heard of this event until my mid-twenties. However I was not aware of exactly how bad things were until I read this book. After reading the chapter that went into the most detail regarding the atrocities of the Nanking occupation, I actually had a nightmare! I never thought I would be shocked by WWII war crimes after learning about The Holocaust in the sixth grade.

 

I recommend this book for readers who have a strong stomach and an incomplete understanding of what people in the Asian theater faced under Japanese occupation. I come away from this experience with a better understanding of the political and historical baggage between China and Japan.

 

 

Nevermore: Gilded Mountain, Marjorie Post, Lady Sherlock, Simplicity Parenting

 

Reported by Garry 

Gilded Mountain by Kate Manning. Set in Moonstone, Colorado at the turn of the 20^th century, the story is told through the eyes of Sylvie Pelletier, a worker in the manor house owned by the Padgetts, the wealthy owners of the local marble mine. The Padgetts use harsh labor practices to enrich themselves while treating their employees as replaceable slaves. Sylvie becomes involved with the local newspaper and when tragedy strikes in the middle of a difficult winter, she must face the choice of keeping silent or extracting revenge.  NH

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki. This historical novel highlights the life and times of Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereal fortune. Post was an incredibly astute and successful businesswoman, in a time when they were a rarity. In fact, she was a multi-millionaire before she was 30 years old, and was once the richest woman in America. Post’s father was C. W. Post, who essentially invented the food we know today as breakfast cereals. Marjorie inherited the company from C.W. and turned it into General Foods, the international powerhouse that we know today. Married four times, once to the Ambassador to Russia, Marjorie’s world was one of glamor, philanthropy, and politics. She amassed so many jewels and diamonds from all over the world that she once quipped that she had better jewels than the British royal family. Our reader grew up in Washington, DC just a few blocks from the Post’s house which figures prominently in this book, and was amazed to learn the deeper history of its famous owner.  MH

The Lady Sherlock historical mysteries by Sherry Thomas is a series of (soon to be seven) books in which Charlotte Holmes, a brilliant, driven, rule-breaking young lady poses as Sherlock Holmes. Quite happy to use the fact that women are considered inferior in Victorian society to her full advantage, Charlotte uses her “invisibility” and “frailty” to work her way into situations that would be much more dangerous and difficult if she were a man, and in doing so accesses critical information about the cases that she is investigating. Our reader tackled books five and six in the series: Murder on Cold Street, and Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, and thoroughly enjoyed this gender-flipped take on the classic Sherlock Holmes stories.  SC 

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne. Here’s a genre we don’t usually have at Nevermore:  Parenting! This book, aimed at the parents of toddlers up to teenagers, encourages parents to reduce the number of sensory distractions in their children’s lives – remove TVs, pare down the number of toys, have reliable daily rhythms (meals at the same time every day is one example), encourage open-ended and child-driven play over the use of mass manufactured toys, etc. Our reader (who has small children) found that there was a lot of very useful information in this book, and that it was presented in an accessible, logical and supportive fashion.  HM 

 

Also mentioned:

Emily’s House by Amy Belding Brown

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

Walking to Wijiji by Bunny Medeiros

At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

James Acaster’s Classic Scrapes by James Acaster

Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and other Diversions by Steve Martin

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Polar Exposure: An All-Women’s Expedition to the North Pole by Felicity Aston

Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers by Emma Smith

The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family by Kerri K. Greenidge

The Forever Witness: How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder by Edward Humes

Christmas at the Cat Café by Melissa Daley

Shattered by James Patterson and James O. Born

The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch

 

Reviewed by Christy

            It's December 1999, and Frankie and Ezra are headed back to their old stomping grounds to celebrate the wedding of two college friends. But not together. They will actually be delighted if they can avoid each other for the entirety of the festivities. Ever since their messy, messy breakup on graduation day ten years prior, they each desperately try not to think of the other. When they wake up the morning of New Year's Eve in bed together and wearing wedding rings, they realize their mission to ignore each other has failed spectacularly. The clock is ticking down to ceremony time (and the new millennium!), and they would really like to figure out just exactly what went down.

            This premise sounded so fun but I have to admit the first half really dragged for me. Two people I don't know all that well (and don't particularly like) constantly sniping at each other? Not enjoyable. I debated dropping it all together, but the second half did pick up when more of their backstory was slowly revealed. Unfortunately, that couldn't save it for me. The writing was just fine but I never could get over the initial hurdle of disliking them. There’s a thin line between witty banter and sniping, and most of their interactions fell in the latter category. The bitterness made more sense as I learned more about them as a young couple but by then I literally had 11% left in the book. (Thank you, Kindle, for letting me know this!) If the book was front-loaded with this information, I might've been more understanding and empathetic to their situation from the start. As it was, there were brief glimpses of emotions I could connect to, and for those I was appreciative. But maybe the format of periodic flashbacks does this story a disservice. I think there is a better book in here somewhere, one where the readers care about the characters early on, and not when the book is almost over. But even then, I had a hard time figuring out what these people saw in each other.

            If you like the Second Chance Romance trope and a little 90s nostalgia, this may be worth checking out for you. But I think you can find more likable versions elsewhere.

 

**I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Natalie Walker is carrying a lot of guilt from the last time that she saw her family. Fifteen years ago, her older siblings Jake and Lynn threw a wild, drug-filled party in their historic Santa Cruz home. Someone died, and Natalie was the one who called the police. Jake and Lynn ended up in prison for contributing to their friend’s death. Natalie left for college in Boston, and her mother did not encourage her to come home for visits.

Now Natalie has built her own life on the other side of the country. She works for an architectural firm researching historic houses, and quietly sketching. She has a best friend/roommate, is dating her friend’s brother who is also her co-worker, and is hoping for a big promotion at work.

On the same day that her boyfriend ends up getting the job she wanted, she also finds out that her mother died over two months ago. She, Jake, and Lynn are set to inherit their family home, as long as they all show up at the house in California in short order to fulfill the terms of the will.

Now that might be a little awkward.

Lynn, now working at a mortuary in New York City, arrives at the house with teenage son Kit in tow. (Surprise, Natalie, you have a nephew!) Lynn is not thrilled to see Natalie, but she agrees to all of them staying at the house as they look for their brother. Jake, Natalie discovers, worked hard through his stint in prison and now has a doctoral degree in ornithology, and has a research lab at the local college. His name is on the door, but Jake is nowhere to be found. His colleagues guard his privacy, although they understand Natalie’s desire to find her brother.

This is a debut novel from an author with more journalistic and technical writing experience than fiction. In some places this shows, as the pacing is a little rough. Natalie drives all the way from Boston to Santa Cruz, even though her employer expects her to have all the business of her mother’s death wrapped up within a couple of weeks. (Spoiler alert: she does not.) She finds her sister and nephew at the family home, moons around her brother’s hot colleague, wanders out to the beach to see if Jake is out surfing, and more, all without a sense of urgency. There is a deadline on their inheritance, and Natalie and Lynn’s actions do not seem to be hurried. Of course, Natalie and Lynn do have a lot going on in their personal lives, so I did have to give them some leniency here.

Penguin the cat wanders in and out of sight, warming my heart as I can tell that the author and the character are fellow cat lovers. He is a good traveler all the way across the country, and adapts to his new, if temporary, abode well enough. Natalie worries about him when he makes himself scarce for a few days. (Spoiler alert #2: The cat is fine. Animal lovers need not despair nor avoid this book.)

No huge plot twists or unreliable narrators here. The characters are very likeable, even cranky sister Lynn. Jake is unseen for most of the book, but eventually readers get a chance to understand his motivations for removing himself from the situation. All in all the storylines are tied up convincingly, even if a bit too pat for real life. The antagonists play their parts, stir up some tension, and are dealt with in the manner that they deserve. Very typical family? Maybe. But possibly one that could benefit from some therapy.

Nevermore: Christmas at the Cat Cafe, The Other Mrs., That Night

 

Reported by Garry

Christmas at the Cat Café by Melissa Daley is a follow-up to Molly and the Cat Café, and picks up a few months after Debbie has settled into her café and into a cozy relationship with her boyfriend. Molly, Debbie’s cat and the narrator of the series, has a new litter of rambunctious kittens to deal with, and into this idyllic setting comes the whirlwind of Linda, Debbie’s heartbroken, shopaholic sister who is dealing with an out-of-the-blue divorce. Unfortunately for Molly, Linda comes with Beau – a yippy little dog who hates cats. Our reader was all smiles reviewing this delightful, lightweight book that is as cozy as a cat purring on your lap.  MS

                                                           

The Other Mrs. is a mystery thriller by best-selling author Mary Kubica. Sadie and Will Foust are a couple of Chicago professionals who are in need of a reset, and when they inherit Will’s sister’s home (and her creepy, violent, 16-year-old daughter), they encamp to a seemingly sleepy village on an island off the coast of Maine. Things quickly go downhill when Morgan, their next-door neighbor, is murdered, and Sadie becomes the prime suspect. Kubica brings her trademark twists and turns to this nail-biter that kept our reader’s enthusiastic attention.  AH

 

That Night by Alice McDermott. “What a magnificent piece of literature!” was the summary from our reader. This novel was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. Set on Long Island in the 1950s, the story surrounds Sheryl and Rick, a teenaged couple deeply in love, and also expecting a baby. Sheryl’s mother forbids her from seeing Rick, which sets off a chain of violent events that echoes down through the lives of not only the three main characters, but their entire community.  DC

 

Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston by Gerrick Kennedy is the candid, in-depth biography of one of the biggest pop stars of the last century: Whitney Houston. Too black for some, not black enough for others, too pop for some, not pop enough for others, Houston was always trying to live a life that was not her own and be the embodiment of an image that was projected onto her by those around her both personally and professionally. Kennedy peels back the layers of the forces that ultimately drove Houston to addiction and death, and argues that if she had existed in today’s society, her life-trajectory would have been considerably different. Our reader remarked not only on the meticulous research by the author, but also on his sensitive handling of the tragic life and legacy of Whitney.  KM

 

Also mentioned: 

 

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

On The Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott

How It Went by Wendell Berry

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

The Shining by Stephen King

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The American Women’s Almanac by Deborah Felder

The Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey

Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary by Shaun Bythell

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

Mulch Ado About Nothing by Jill Churchill

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

A Fatal Glow by Valerie Wilson Wesley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Odessa Jones, recently widowed, works in a real estate office, hoping to earn commissions but to supplement her income, she has returned to catering.  It was a lot easier when her husband was alive and she could count on him to take some of the chores; but Dessa is a determined lady. When she lands a lucrative job catering a party at a wealthy businessman’s home, it looks as if her luck might be turning—except for that bit of glimmer she sees, a sign that something unfortunate is about to happen.  Dessa has been blessed or cursed with the ability to see glimmers around people that give her some indication of what they are feeling, and if they are lying. Hoping that the glimmer means something else, Dessa takes the job, only to have her employer die at the gathering.  The death seems suspicious, so the police want to question Dessa and the co-workers she enlisted to help out—and they seem to be looking for a motive.

This is the second in the series but you needn’t have read the first to enjoy this one.  I liked the first one well enough to want to read the second, and this one is even better.  Wesley does a very good job with her characters.  I like that Odessa is an adult, unlike so many cozy mystery heroines who are chronologically grown-ups but whose behavior signals immaturity.  She is level-headed, kind, and willing to deal with her problems. She cares about other people, including her co-workers and the now fatherless businessman’s young son, but she isn’t intrusive. She doesn’t try to pry into everyone’s lives any more than she would want someone to pry into hers. She is perceptive but for the most part non-judgmental.

Dessa has a maturity and understanding of human nature that I find appealing. The hint of supernatural abilities are interesting but don’t operate as a deus ex machina—Dessa figures things out on her own.  There’s a realistic feel to this story that is lacking in some other cozy series I read.  It makes for a pleasant change.

And why, yes, there is a cat! His name is Juniper.

 The mystery was a good one and, even if some aspects were left as speculation, I was well satisfied.

The first book in the series is A Glimmer of Death. The third book, A Shimmer of Red, is due out summer 2023.

New in January!

Winter may bring on the blues, but things are starting to look up. Not only are we starting to gain about a minute of daylight per day, but there are new books to start the new year.  Here are some of the titles people are looking forward to with anticipation:

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

Benedict is known for her fiction about women who may not have gotten their due, including chemist Rosalind Franklin (Her Hidden Genius), physicist Mileva Einstein, wife of Albert, (The Other Einstein), and Hedy Lamar, the beautiful actress who was also a scientist (The Only Woman in the Room). In January she takes on the Mitford sisters in The Mitford Affair. Stylish, charming, and well-connected, the sisters became entangled in the politics of the 1930s with sometimes devastating consequences. The Mitfords have continued to fascinate for decades. They’ve even been used as fictional detectives. 

The Mitford Secret by Jessica Fellowes

This is the sixth and final book in the mystery series that uses the six Mitford sisters as characters. The series starts in the 1920s with The Mitford Murders, set in the Golden Age of mysteries.  Fellowes is the niece of Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey, and knows the time period well.

Code 6 by James Grippando

Well known for his page turning thrillers, Grippando’s newest book features Kate Gamble, daughter of the owner of Buck Technologies. Her father’s work includes data integration that is used by the CIA and other counter-terrorism agencies. When someone Kate cares about is kidnapped, the ransom demand is for some of her father’s most secret technology.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Hendrix is one of the hot names in horror, with best-selling books like The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires and The Final Girl Support Group. The advance reviews on this one indicate that he breathes new life (pun intended, alas!) into the haunted house trope.

 

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

Lifelong friends Emily and Chess decide a girls vacation in Italy is just the thing for them to relax and reconnect.  They’re staying at a luxury villa with a somewhat checkered past: it was where a great horror novel was written, a best-selling record album created, and the site of a brutal murder—all in the same year. Hawkins is also the author of The Wife Upstairs and Reckless Girls.

Other books coming out in January:

Hunter, Stephen  The Bullet Garden (Earl Swagger)

Koontz, Dean The House at the End of the World

Krentz, Jayne Ann Sleep No More

Kubica, Mary  Just the Nicest Couple

Patterson, James  Countdown

Patterson, James House of Wolves

Perry, Thomas  Murder Book

Preston & Child, The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex  Spare

Steel, Danielle  Without a Trace

Taylor, Brad  The Devil’s Ransom (Pike Logan)

Nevermore: Black Like Me, An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, Oona Out of Order

 Reported by Garry

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is a groundbreaking 1961 non-fiction book recounting the author’s journey through the Deep South of America during segregation.  Griffin, who was a white Texan, underwent medical treatment to darken his skin so he could pass as Black.  He then travelled through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia, documenting his experiences.  According to our reader, Griffin was treated better in New Orleans than elsewhere in the South, but event that is a relative term, as he was still routinely at the receiving end of “hate stares” from white people, and was not able to use restrooms, public transportation or be seated at restaurants.  Our reader was saddened and shocked by the lack of progress that our society has made since Griffin undertook his journey in 1959, but very highly recommends this book for its historical perspective.  CD

An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good by Helene Tursten is the first in her Elderly Lady series.  Maud is an 88 year old grump with no family, few friends, and even fewer qualms about offing those she deems need it.  Maud lives by herself (which is the way she likes it) in her family’s apartment in Gothenburg, spending her time traveling the world and surfing the net, and dabbling in murder, which she not only easily justifies, but gets away with – after all, who would suspect a little old lady of being a cold-blooded murderer?  Our reader loves this book for its quirky irascible leading lady, and her darkly humorous, matter-of-fact ways of deciding who should live and who should be disposed of.  SC

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore.  New Year’s Eve, 1982 - Oona Lockhart will turn 19 at the stroke of midnight, and embark on her adult life.  As the clock counts down, Oona faints and wakes up 32 years in the future, in a now 51 year old body, in a house she is told that she owns, and to the news that every year on the strike of New Year she will jump at random to another time in her body.  Where in her life will she jump to next and who will she be?  Our reader really loved this book and noted that even though Oona may be “old” on the outside, she is still 19 in her mind, a state that many of the Nevermores echoed is the case for them right now.  MH

Other books mentioned:

Southwest Saga:  The Way It Really Was by William C. McGaw

The Lake Wobegon Virus by Garrison Keillor

Emily’s House by Amy Belding Brown

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Marmee by Sarah Miller

Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck by William Souder

Three Visitors to Early Plymouth by Emmanuel Altham

They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent by Sarah Kendzior

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Theft of an Idol by Dana Stabenow

How it Went by Wendell Berry

Deliberate Cruelty:  Truman Capote, the Millionaire’s Wife, and the Murder of the Century by Roseanne Montillo

Defending Alice:  A Novel of Love and Race in the Roaring Twenties by Richard Stratton

War by Sebastian Junger

War by Sebastian Junger

 

Reviewed by Ben

 

War by Sebastian Junger is a true story of an American journalist who embeds himself in Battle Company, a US Army infantry division that fought for control of the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. Published in 2010, the events described in the book take place during the early years of President Obama's first term. While collecting notes for the book, Junger and cameraman Tim Hetherington captured video footage that would be used to make the documentary "Restrepo." War was written with plain-yet artful-language describing the company's tour in the Afghan mountains. Junger is never pretentious. He levels with the reader regarding what happens during war and how it changes people. The narrative hits the reader with a thud.

 

The overriding themes of the book are how combat forges bonds and--sometimes--sucks people in. Some of the fiercest fighting of the war in Afghanistan took place in the Korengal Valley, a short, narrow strip of land in the mountains. If you search for this location in Google, you will see a lot of sources calling this one of the most dangerous places on Earth during the war and the US occupation. The valley presented a harsh environment that conferred an advantage to local insurgents who were accustomed to climbing the steep, rocky hillsides and less laden with heavy loads of equipment. Battle Company could come under fire anywhere, at any time. The Americans thus depended on each other for protection and became very close to each other. Deaths and casualties hit the group hard.

 

Even though combat presented the dangers of potential death, dismemberment, and psychological trauma, some of the members of Battle Company enjoyed combat. When winter brought a lull in insurgent activity, the men openly wished for firefights. One member of Battle Company who featured the most prominently in the book, O'Byrne, had a hard time conceiving of life back home as his tour drew to a close. He weighed signing a new contract with the Army and returning to the remote Korengal outpost, where mysterious men would resume trying to kill him.

 

War is a book I highly recommend. The narrative of the true events is exciting. The author's reflection on combat and what it does to men is compelling. Hearing the stories of enlisted men who long for gunfights is fascinating. All of this comes in a package that eschews the partisan political takes that we all heard years ago. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Reviewed by Jeanne

Okay, with a title like that, how could I resist this fabulous collection of cartoons?  I was already familiar with some of Gaud’s work from social media.  He has a very distinctive style of drawing, so I always paused my scrolling when I caught sight of it.  Even better, most of the ones I had seen had a connection to books or literature.

I had high hopes for this collection and I most certainly was not disappointed.  Cartoons poke intelligent fun at authors, books, librarians, etc. but it’s obvious that Gauld loves his subjects.  From authors trying to write to librarians who want to organize the world according to Dewey to raving beasts in possession of fine libraries, Gauld makes us laugh or smile in recognition.  I especially love the ones in which he differentiates between types of writers: a fall day has a poet thinking about writing a poem on the melancholy of autumn, while a mystery author ponders the same day as having a body buried under leaves. He even comes up with words to describe various book situations:  buchendschmerz, the sadness at nearing the end of a very good book or (my favorite) buchverlusterleichterung—relief at losing a copy of a book you weren’t really enjoying.

Gauld plays with the classics, has fun with genres, and pokes a bit of fun at editors.  It’s obvious that book people are the target audience here in all our glory. It’s wonderful.  There are so many cartoons that I want to visit again and again.  The humor is never spiteful or nasty; it’s gently funny and makes the reader feel as if we are all in on the joke.

The book itself is beautifully done, complete with a date due card in the front.  (At the bottom of the date due card it says, "Late returns will incur fines and, more importantly, the displeasure of the librarian.  Believe me: you do NOT want to make an enemy of the librarian.") The endpapers are festooned with books, and the pages have a lovely thick feel.  I am so very tempted to buy a copy to give as a gift to a fellow bibliophile.  I only hesitate because I know the guilt I’ll feel when I give her a box of notecards and keep this book for myself.

Very highly recommended!

Nevermore: Where the Red Fern Grows, Galatea, Plain Truth

 

Reported by Garry

Get out the tissues for Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Set during the Great Depression in the Ozarks and based on the author’s own childhood, this multi-award winning classic story of a boy and his dogs has wrenched hearts since it was first published in 1961.  Billy Coleman is a 10 year old boy who dreams of owning a pair of hounds for coon hunting, and works for two years to save up enough to buy a pair.  He and the dogs become Ozarks famous for coon hunting, but tragedy seems to stalk them through forested hollows of the mountains.  Nearly everyone in the Nevermore group had read this book and all praised its powerful, evocative writing and compelling storyline.  CD

 

Galatea:  A Short Story by Madeline Miller is a re-telling of the Pygmalion myth, set in ancient Greece.  Pygmalion is a talented sculptor who creates a statue of the most beautiful woman possible.  He falls in love with the statue, and in response to his prayers, the goddess Aphrodite brings Galatea to life.  Pygmalion wants (and expects) his devotion to be returned by Galatea, but she has her own mind and ideas.  This short story (62 pages long) is told from Galatea’s perspective, and explores themes such as patriarchy, misogyny, feminine desire and autonomy, and much more.  Our reader was very taken with this brief story and highly recommends it.  MS

 

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult is a murder mystery set in an Amish community.  A dead baby is discovered in a barn, and Katie Fisher, an 18 year old Amish girl is the presumed mother and murderer– but she claims she was never pregnant.  Ellie Hathaway is a Philadelphia defense lawyer who impulsively takes on Katie’s case, only to discover that her modern life-style is at odds with the Plain life lived by the Amish – no electricity, work is valued over leisure, church rules override legal rules, etc.  As with other Picoult books, the research that went into this book shows on every page as it delves deeply into the lifestyle and belief system of the Amish people.  Our reader says that this book is extremely well-written with not only a great murder mystery, but an insightful examination of the social issues that arise from a society that is at odds with the “typical” society.  NH

 Other titles mentioned:

John Vance Journal by John Vance

Southwest Saga:  The Way It Really Was by William C. McGaw

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

The Need to Be Whole by Wendell Berry

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

JD Vance is A Fake Hillbilly by Frank Kilgore

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

Rise and Shine Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick

Letters from Home by Kristina McMorris

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

The 12 Hour Art Expert:  Everything You Need to Know about Art in a Dozen Masterpieces by Noah Charney

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper

Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin

Ted Kennedy – A Life by John Farrell

Sissy:  A Coming of Gender Story by Jacob Tobia

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue