Frazz by Jef Mallet

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

It’s well-known that I am a fan of comic strips.  From the classics such as Blondie and Peanuts to newer offerings like Breaking Cat News and Strange Planet, I’m a fan.  (Not to mention Calvin and Hobbes, Arlo and Janice, Rose is Rose, Mutts, Red and Rover, The Far Side…. This could go on for a very long time.)

So when a patron asked about Frazz, I hesitated for just a moment. I knew I’d seen a strip or two, but it wasn’t one I followed.  Since the library didn’t have any collections, I ordered a couple and, after the original requester had returned them, I was intrigued enough to give them a try.

It didn’t take long for me to see the appeal. This is a thoughtful and delightful strip set in an elementary school. The title character is a young man who works as a janitor at the school.  He’s smart, an athlete, and a musician, but he loves working with kids because of their energy and excitement. He can also see right through some of their ruses, especially the plans cooked up by Caulfield, an extremely bright student who likes to push boundaries.

The humor is wonderful, sometimes a bit philosophical, but always clever. It reminds me a bit of Calvin and Hobbes, and I’m not the only one to think so.  There were once rumors that Bill Watterson was the real artist behind the strip, but no, this is all Jef Mallet though he does cite Watterson among his influences. (There are also a few Watterson references in the strip.)  I get some echoes of Peanuts as well, because the kids are so perceptive.

For me, there’s a lot to love about this strip.  I get a kick out of the literary and cultural references (Caulfield reads Kafka behind his school book and dresses up as Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea for a school play) and I enjoy some of the thoughtful responses.  The characters are all treated with respect, even the ones we may not find as amiable. It’s a sweet strip without being saccharine.  The only drawback I’ve found is that the humor can’t be boiled down to a short sentence. It’s more nuanced and complex than that, which is very appealing to me.  It just makes the strip hard to explain!

So if you’re in the market for a comic that’s more than a one-liner and art that isn’t cookie-cutter, you may want to give Frazz a try. I think I may have found a new strip to follow!

Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories by Lee Child

 

Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories by Lee Child

Reviewed by Jeanne

Back a few years ago, Otto Penzler managed to talk his friend Lee Child into allowing Penzler to publish special limited editions of the Reacher books.  As an added attraction, Child would write a preface to each book, describing a bit about how it came to be written. Fortunately for Reacher fans without deep pockets, these prefaces have now been gathered into a single volume so that those without the good fortune (or deep pockets) can read them as well.

To be honest, I think I expected it to be a collection of real life true crime incidents that shaped the narratives, an adrenaline-fueled, action packed adventure. Instead, it’s more a thoughtful, insightful, and sometimes gently humorous collection about how Child came to write each book.

The impetus for writing the first Reacher novel was Child’s impending unemployment; it was as good a time as any to investigate a new income stream.  The first book sold, but with much re-writing; and a second book was under contract. The books sold, but weren’t topping the charts.  Fortunately, the mystery community (including Otto Penzler) championed those early books or else the series might have faded into obscurity.  They generated enough interest for the publisher to contract for two more books, and the rest is history.

This book is not just a peek into Child’s personal life and his mindset as he wrote each book; in many ways it’s a look back at a world that no longer exists.  He wrote the first Reacher novel out in longhand, later borrowing his daughter’s computer to type it up. Child didn’t have an email address, a cell phone, or a fax machine.  Manuscripts were delivered by courier. Word of mouth was critical to a book’s success, back in the days before Facebook or TikTok.

There are some interesting insights along the way, such as the fact that Child did not (and still doesn’t) like the title The Killing Floor for the first novel.  It wasn’t until his fifth book, Echo Burning, that Child was able to use a title he chose. That was also the first book he wrote entirely while living in the U.S.

For me, these short, informative, and entertaining introductions have a lot of charm. Child comes across as a guy-next-door sort, never bragging, but always looking for the next tale to tell.

At this point, I should probably admit that I have never read a Reacher novel and yet I thoroughly enjoyed all the insights and stories.  I can only imagine how much a real fan will react.

And by the way—there’s a brand new Reacher story included, “A Better Place.”

Nevermore: Buckeye, Call of the Wild, How the World Ran Out of Everything, The Women, Molly and the Cat Cafe

 

12-30-25

 

Our first reader picked up Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, which has been generating a lot of interest as a Read with Jenna book club pick. Set in small town Ohio during and following World War II, this is a story of love and secrets in middle America. Highly recommended!

 

One of our young readers who attends Nevermore with a parent during school breaks read The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Buck, the canine main character, reminded our reader of their dog Millie. Next up by the same author: To Build a Fire.

 

A non-fiction title that our book club member summarized as “greed is ruining the world” was How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain by Peter S. Goodman. The author describes how companies will do absolutely anything to get results and to make profit, regardless of the fallout.

 

Another reader picked up The Women by Kristin Hannah. This reader noted that the second part of the book, when Frances “Frankie” McGrath returns to the United States, felt like an entirely different book from her Vietnam combat nursing experience.

 

Two books by Melissa Daley, Molly and the Cat Café and Christmas at the Cat Café were called light, fun reads, appropriate to the holiday season. (We can’t argue, as we like cat books around here.)

 

Also mentioned:

 

Hastings (Battles That Changed the World) by Samuel Willard Crompton

 

The Quiet Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott

  

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

  

The Engine House by Rhys Dylan

 

The Truth about the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline

  

Read Your Mind: Proven Habits for Success from the World's Greatest Mentalist by Oz Pearlman

 

Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm by Charlie Mackesy

Ossman and Steel’s Classic Household Guide to Appalachian Folk Healing

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

The subtitle is A Collection of Old-Time Remedies, Charms, and Spells which comes closer to describing the contents.  Jake Richards, author of Doctoring the Devil and Backwoods Witchcraft, says that he wanted to reprint this compendium as part of his desire to preserve Appalachian folkways.  He also provides some commentary on some selections. An uncredited note in the front of the book is a disclaimer about using some of the suggested remedies; not only could some of herbs prove harmful, but an accurate diagnosis is crucial. Readers are advised to consult a doctor or other medical professional.

That said, the cures in the first section are more like prayers or charms, and often call on Jesus.  For example, the first few entries in the book are protections against evil, be it against bad luck on a trip, firearms, or enemies.  There are several charms to make thieves return stolen items and others to repel witches and witchcraft.

Physical ailments are also addressed.  For a cold or inflammation, the recommendation is:

‘Speak the following:

“Inflammation lose thy color, like Judas lost his color when he betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.”’

The instructions go on to say that these words are to be repeated three times while touching the sick person’s bare skin, and then blowing your breath over the patient three times.

Other remedies do employ ingredients such as lard, wine, or herbs.  There are salve-making instructions and cough syrups.

The “Household” part includes stain removers, hair-curling lotions, and how to make a cement to mend glass or china.

I remember hearing older people talk about going to faith healers in the community who would murmur words to cure the affliction but I had never heard of a book which detailed these remedies.  It’s possible that the cost of the book was out of reach for most, who relied instead on oral histories to obtain such knowledge.

This is an interesting little book; while some ingredients may not be readily obtainable now (laudanum, for instance) or instructions a bit—um—unpleasant (urinating into your shoe and then pouring the urine into a horse’s ear to cure it of “wind colic”) it did make me appreciate modern drug stores.

A Child in the Forest by Winifred Foley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Winifred Foley, called Poll, was born in 1914 to a miner and his wife, the fourth of eight children. They lived in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, a small, hardscrabble but close-knit community. Foley tells the story with deep affection and love, but doesn’t shy away from some of the hard realities of life.  The children are often hungry, though the parents provide as best they can. Some of her fondest memories seem to revolve around unexpected food treats, such as an extra slice of bread with butter.

While her mam is practical but loving, it’s her dad who brings a love of reading and a sense of fun.  Mam keeps the family on course, but even she can be counted on to occasionally splurge on a sweet while on a shopping trip.   

The story is told with both the wonder and acceptance of a child.  The family doesn’t have a lot of material goods, but they make do with help from neighbors, most of whom are in the same straits.  The children do attend school, but only until they are old enough to work. For girls, that means when they turn fourteen, they will be going away to work as servants in more affluent and often urban households.

The book actually came about as a result of a request on the BBC for memoirs of working class people.  Foley sent in her manuscript, which was turned into a radio serial starting in 1973.  The book followed in 1974, beautifully illustrated by Tricia Newell. I have to admit, it was the illustrations that caught my eye; they capture the beauty of the natural world and give the book a sweeter feel. The artwork is enchanting.

One thing I loved is that in the latter part of the book when Poll goes into service, she's never cowed by her employers.  She is eager and a hard worker, but she will stand up for herself if need be. At one point, she changes jobs in part because her new employer will allow her to come in by the front door instead of always having to go to the servants' entrance. 

While the word “authentic” gets tossed about a lot these days, I really can’t think of a better word to describe this book.  I think that all comes down to Foley herself, who gave us such an honest account. The characters are vividly portrayed; so much so that I found myself wanting to know what happened to them after the book ends.

Fortunately, Foley went on to write several more books, including some novels.  She passed away in 2009, leaving behind quite a literary legacy for her readers.

Nevermore: Two Old Women and Middlesex

 

Reported by Rita

Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

An uplifting story. I really liked it. - AH 5 stars

 

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of a teenage girl. In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond classmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all. The explanation for this shocking state of affairs takes us out of suburbia- back before the Detroit race riots of 1967, before the rise of the Motor City and Prohibition, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie's grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set in motion the metamorphosis that will turn Callie into a being both mythical and perfectly a hermaphrodite. Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire.

The writing is really good. It is interesting and full of teenage angst. I recommend it. - MH 5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned:

Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Civil War Infantry Tactics: Training, Combat, and Small-Unit Effectiveness by Earl J. Hess

The Truth about the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline

 

 

New Books:

Corn From A Jar by Daniel S. Pierce

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama

Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada

New February Fiction!

 

Adams, Taylor  Her Last Breath

Armstrong, Kelley  First Sign of Danger (Haven’s Rock)

Beaton, M.C.  Death of a Groom (Hamish)

Berry, Steve  The Devil’s Bible (Cotton Malone)

Box, C.J.  The Crossroads (Joe Pickett)

Burke, James Lee The Hadacol Boogie (Dave Robicheaux)

Coulter, Catherine The Heir of Whitestone

Farnsworth, Christopher Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot (Jesse Stone)

Fawcett, Heather  Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

French, Nicci  What Happened That Night (Maud O’Connor)

Greaney, Mark  The Hard Line  (Gray Man)

Goodman, Allegra  This Is Not About Us

Hurwitz, Gregg Antihero (Orphan X)

Johnson, Sadeqa  Keeper of Lost Children

Kellerman, Jonathan  Jigsaw (Alex Delaware)

Kubica, Mary  It’s Not Her

Lawson, Mike The Asset (Joe DeMarco)

Marshall, Kate Alice The Girls Before

McAllister, Gillian  Caller Unknown

Nesbo, Jo  Wolf Hour

O’Connor, Carlene  Murder at an Irish Session (Irish Village Mystery)

Page, Libby  This Book Made Me Think of You

Paris, B.A.  When I Kill You

Parks, Brad  The Flack

Patterson, James  Cross and Sampson

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth  And the Crowd Went Wild (Chicago Stars)

Quindlen, Anna  More Than Enough

Quinn, Kate  The Astral Library

Robb, J.D.  Stolen in Death

Rollins, James  Trust No One

Sanderson, Brandon  Isles of the Emberdark (Cosmere)

Shimeno, Nagi  Messenger Cat Café

Sundin, Sarah  Mists Over the Channel Islands: A Novel of World War II

Thor, Brad  Cold Zero

Ward, J.R.  Crown of War and Shadow

Woods, Evie  The Violin Maker’s Secret

Zhang, Jenny Tinghui  Superfan