Nevermore: Pres. Garfield, Atticus Finch, photography, introverts, and presidental elections

Reported by Ambrea

In a recent Nevermore meeting, our readers broached a variety of subjects—James A. Garfield, introverts, photography, and presidential campaigns—and even investigated some new fiction with Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

First, our readers jumped back into Gone Girl.  After Amy Dunne disappears from her home in North Carthage, Missouri, her husband, Nick, is put under close scrutiny as the media and the police start to dig into his life to find out whether he really is a killer.  Filled with suspense and mystery—and, more importantly, sociopaths (a favorite subject for our Nevermore readers)—Gone Girl was definitely a treat for our latest reader.  According to her it was “wonderful, a great book.”

Next, our readers looked at Into the Kill Zone:  A Cop’s Eye View of Deadly Force by David Klinger.  As a former police officer and a university professor, Klinger has interviewed dozens of officers who have used deadly force in criminal encounters.  He presents an in-depth look at the way officers are trained, the conditions they face and the violence they experience on the job, and the effects of deadly force in the lives of American police officers.  For our Nevermore reader, who has friends working on the police force, Into the Kill Zone was an excellent depiction of on-the-job hazards that police officers face every single day.

Our reader also discussed Destiny of the Republic:  A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Miller.  James Garfield was born into poverty, but he became a scholar, a Civil War hero, a renowned congressman, and a presidential candidate; however, after four months in office, an assassination attempt and botched medical treatment resulted in his death.  Our Nevermore reader said Destiny of a Republic was “a fabulous book”—and what made the novel even more fascinating were the interviews with the author on CSPAN.  Miller explores all the different facets of Garfield’s presidency and demise:  his administration, his assassin, and his doctors.

Continuing the exploration of the American presidency, one of our readers discussed Believer:  My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod.  Axelrod, a journalist and political strategist, has spent years in politics and cultivated a twenty-year friendship with President Barack Obama, even contributing to his elections in 2008 and 2012.  His memoir provides an in-depth look at politics and presidential campaigns.  Although our Nevermore reader had only read two-thirds of the memoir so far, she thought it was an intriguing book.  “It’s fascinating to realize what goes into a presidential campaign, [specifically] Obama’s first presidential campaign,” she said.

Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain followed.  Cain, a corporate lawyer, explores the qualities of introverts and extroverts throughout the world, exploring the repression of introversion in the United States—how extroverts are rewarded more readily in society and the workplace—and nature versus nurture in the development of introverts.  Cain makes a very careful, very accurate depiction of information and possesses a textbook-like depth, presenting facts with clarity and accumulating knowledge which our Nevermore reader found absolutely fascinating.

Additionally, our readers looked at a brand new book to the library:  Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee.  Continuing from Lee’s original classic, Go Set a Watchman follows the return of Jean Louise Finch (Scout) to Maycomb County from New York and chronicles her emotional turmoil as she’s confronted by changes in her hometown that changes how she sees everything and everyone—including her father, Atticus.  For our Nevermore readers, Lee’s new novel seemed typical of any book done in the south during this time; however, it was definitely a shock to see Atticus in a brand new light, because, like Scout, our readers were given a new perspective on Atticus Finch, “[he] was letting you reduce him to the status of a human being.”

Nevermore: Mystery, History, and More!

 Reported by Ambrea

At Nevermore this week, our readers encountered a variety of books—including some audiobooks—and revisited some familiar titles, such as Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain and Believer:  My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod.

To start off, one of our readers looked at a pair of audiobooks:  The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer and The 11^th Hour by James Patterson.  In The Last Surgeon, Nick Garrity, a veteran suffering from PTSD who spends his time working at a clinic in Baltimore to help the homeless, and Jillian Coates, a psychiatric nurse, are pitted against a dangerously efficient killer, an assassin who goes by the name of Franz Koller—a man who will stop at nothing to catch and kill his intended victims.  In The 11^th Hour, Patterson returns with his Women’s Murder Club and another terrifying series of murders, beginning first with the death of a millionaire and ending with the discovery of bodies in a famous actor’s garden!  According to our Nevermore reader, both audiobooks were excellent.  Although this was her third time reading 11^th Hour, our reader enjoyed it immensely and highly recommended the Women’s Murder Club novels.

Next, our readers dived into history with Across the Plains in 1844 by Catherine Sager Pringle.  Sager’s narrative recounts her family’s harrowing journey from Ohio to Washington, enduring harsh conditions and great tragedies of the Oregon Trail.  Considered one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration, Sager’s memoir chronicles an extraordinary passage of time in which all 8 of the Sager children were orphaned, rescued and adopted by Narcissa and Marcus Whitman, and endured an attack by the local Cayuse tribe in Washington.  Our Nevermore reader thought Across the Plains was absolutely fascinating, saying, “It’s just so amazing to me that people end up doing [things like this]…that people survived.”

Another reader picked a Scandinavian mystery:  When the Devil Holds the Candle by Karin Fossum.  Inspector Konrad Sejer and his colleague Jacob Skarre are confronted with dark possibilities in their town, confronting the death of an infant and the disappearance of a delinquent youth—and all the terrible connections they will find.  Our reader, who is attempting to read all of Fossum’s work, enjoyed the fourth installment of Fossum’s Inspector Sejer series.  Although she said it doesn’t have a happy ending, she was glad that all the “bad people get their due.”

Next, our readers looked at a satire of historical proportions in Look Who’s Back by Timur Vermes (translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch).  Vermes novel opens with Adolf Hitler—in 2011.  After waking from 66 years of sleep, Hitler discovers a Germany that’s entire changed:  social media spreads new ideas and fuels celebrity obsession; cities are multicultural, meshing together races, ethnicities, religions, and more into one common community; Germany is led by a woman.  And Hitler is suddenly jettisoned into popularity for the public believes he’s an impersonator of incredible skill—until he begins his own political party.  Full of references to events in World War II and brimming with a darkly comical humor, Look Who’s Back was a fascinating novel that was “very, very well done,” according to our Nevermore reader.

Two of our readers also revisited Quiet and Believer, rounding out our meeting with new impressions of the same material.  For our reader, Quiet, which examined the differences between and stressed the importance of extroverts and introverts of society, was a fascinating piece of work.  Although it read almost like a textbook, providing interesting little nuggets about introverts and extroverts (such as how introverts prefer meeting people in a friendly, noncompetitive context, and extroverts prefer meeting others in a competitive context), our Nevermore reader enjoyed Susan Cain’s study.

Believer, on the other hand, produced a divided opinion at the meeting this time.  One reader confirmed her original opinion of Axelrod’s work, saying she still enjoyed it as she drew to the final few pages; however, another reader disagreed, saying she wouldn’t finish it.  It “confirmed my opinion of people who are good, [reinforced my opinion] who I liked,” she said.  Showing the clash between idealism and reality, Axelrod showed the meaning of compromise—and, in some cases, showed how many politicians begin as good people and manage to compromise their values in the pursuit of political power—which turned our reader away from finishing

Ending on a lighter note, our Nevermore readers rounded out our meeting with The Public Library:  A Photographic Essay by Robert Dawson.  Filled with more than 150 photos of libraries spread across the country, The Public Library explores the importance and, in some cases, decay of one of America’s most important institutions.  Our Nevermore reader said it was interesting to see the history of libraries, to read short commentaries by writers such as E.B. White, Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Dr. Seuss and others, and to get a visual exploration of some of America’s most memorable libraries.

Nevermore: Unknown Americans, Goldfinch, Believer, and More!

Nevermore opened with a glowing review for Cristina Henriquez’s novel, The Book of Unknown Americans.  The story centers on the Rivera family who have left a good life in Mexico to come to the United States because of their daughter’s traumatic brain injury.  Maribel needs to go to a special school, but life in America is difficult for them.  It’s also difficult for their neighbors, who hail from a variety of Latin American countries.  Our reviewer said that it’s a wonderful book that combines romance with Hispanic culture.  It’s thought provoking and compassionate.  She also said that she’ll look at mushrooms differently now, knowing how they are raised and the toll the work extracts.

Another highly recommended book was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Our reviewer said she knows some people didn’t like the book, but she felt it gave her a new way of looking at life. Theo, the narrator, is thirteen when his mother is killed in an act of terrorism at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His father has abandoned him, so he is taken in by friends.  He has one treasured possession:  a painting of a bird done by a Dutch Master.  Our reader said this book is Harry Potter and a Russian novel rolled up into one, with a dash of Virginia Woolf thrown in for good measure.

The first non-fiction title of the day was Believer:  My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod.  It too had an enthusiastic review as an insider’s look at politics.  Our reader said for her the fun was in learning the backstory to events and learning about the relationships between the various players.  She also said that Axelrod’s account was devoid of malice, and that she felt he treated everyone fairly. When asked about the title, she said it referred to his belief in the democratic process.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba is the autobiographical story of how a teenager in drought-stricken Malawi was inspired to build a windmill to generate electricity.  Kamkwamba had a long time affinity for electronics and machinery.  A library book sparked his interest in building a windmill, which he constructed out of scrap metal, wire, part of a clothesline, and other salvaged material.  Our reader said that learning about the country and its culture was quite an eye-opener: it was like stepping back in time.  He was also impressed with the ingenuity of the young man, who went on to attend Dartmouth College.  

Next up was the novel I See You by Patricia MacDonald.  It’s a psychological thriller which asks the question, “How well do you know those around you?” Hannah, Adam, and Sydney Wickes are living a quiet life until an incident brings media attention to the family. It turns out that they have been hiding from a secret in their past, a secret which now may be about to catch up with them.  Our reviewer thought the book was worth reading, and was especially interested in it because there was a sociopathic character.

Finally, there was a recommendation for Flesh and Bone, the second in the “Body Farm” mystery series by Jefferson Bass.  The books are written by Jon Jefferson, a journalist, in concert with Dr. William Bass, who taught anthropology at the University of Tennessee.  Dr. Bass has been a pioneer in the field of forensic science.  Our reader was quite taken with the book, in part because of good use of the Knoxville and Chattanooga setting. There are references to real people, such as Knoxvillian Art Bohanan who is known for his work with fingerprints.  It’s a good mystery with wonderful local color. 

The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 am at the Bristol Public Library.  We have coffee and doughnuts courtesy of The Blackbird Bakery.  Bring a book and join in the fun!