Reported by Laura
Nevermore featured another amazing assortment of book this week, and a surprise at the end!
Desert
Solitaire is an autobiography by Edward Abbey. It was written while he
was working as a ranger at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah. Our
reviewer said it had beautiful descriptions and was absolutely fabulous. One
anecdote included in the book tells of bringing in nonpoisonous snakes to eat
the rats in order to keep the poisonous ones at bay. A marvelous book that is
highly recommended, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. It was first published in 1968, but don't let that deter you.
A Long Fatal Love Chase is a Gothic thriller written by Louisa May Alcott. It was written in 1866, but left
unpublished until 1995. It was believed to be too sensational for the times and
put aside until the manuscript was bought and published many years after her
death. The story centers on 18 year-old Rosamund who lives with her grandfather
and is feeling distinctly trapped by her existence. In the opening line, she
states, “I’d gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom.”
Unfortunately, she basically does just that. She falls in love with a seemingly
charming 35 year-old man, who is in fact quite the opposite, and vows to never
let her go. This book was recommended.
The next offering is the 2nd
in the Emile Cinq-Mars series by John Farrow. Ice Lake is set in Canada
and the reviewer felt it was written in such a way that you could feel the cold
and slickness of the landscape. She found it to be a captivating thriller
concerning a pharmaceutical company that, during the time of the AIDS crisis,
hired men and women and essentially used them as lab rats.
The Visitor by Amanda Stevens
is part of the Graveyard Queen mystery series. Amelia Gray was born with the
gift (or curse) to see ghosts. The estate of a wealthy family is selling the
property where an old graveyard reserved for suicide victims is located. As one
might expect, this graveyard is one that even animals avoid--no birds, no
squirrels, no wildlife of any kind--and Amelia is hired to do the renovations.
The reviewer said it was a fun read and that Ms. Stevens is a good writer, but
she felt that the book got bogged down with a love interest and side issues,
rather than the meat of the story.
Our next book was a nonfiction
offering, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Retelling by Mo Rocca. It is a
beautifully written, and often funny, book by a compassionate author. There is
a great deal of background for each entry which covers a wide variety of
people, one of which is Billy Carter. He was interviewed after he was sober and
reflected on his behavior during his brother’s presidential years. Definitely a
must read!
The Whistler by John Grisham
covers the investigation of a corrupt judge who works to see an Indian Casino
opened on a reservation and then proceeds to make millions from undeclared
winnings. An indicted lawyer operating under an assumed name is representing
the whistle blower who has the proof of the judge’s dishonest dealings. Due to
FL law, they stand to receive a large percentage of those winnings by recovering
the illegally acquired assets. But first they must convince Lacy Stotlz, a judicial
investigator, to take on a corrupt judge whose associates think nothing of
murdering those who get in their way. Grisham is always a good recommendation.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a
juvenile novel about an amazing little boy who is born with a condition that
causes his face to appear inhuman. Rather than be defeated by his lot in life,
he becomes an inspiration to all those around him. This book inspired a movie
and launched the BE KIND movement. The reviewer reports that it is a short book
that is sad, but also extremely uplifting!
The Physick Book of Deliverance
Dane by Katherine Howe has an element of real witchcraft in it. Connie
Goodwin is an academic whose mother makes a living reading other people’s auras.
While cleaning out her grandmother’s cottage near Salem, she finds parchment
with the name Deliverance Dane on it. As she delves further, she unearths the
existence of Deliverance’s spell book, the Physick Book. Unfortunately, there
are other interested parties who want to find the artifact at any cost. The
reviewer really enjoyed the story and felt like there were a lot of interesting
things in the book.
Our last review of the day was Read
My Pins by Madeleine Albright. This a fabulous book with beautiful pictures
that tells the story of how Ms. Albright used the pins she wore to say
something “without saying it”. Others began to realize what she was doing and
people began to give her pins to wear when she visited other countries. There
is a story to tell for each pin and the book comes complete with a detailed
index in the back. Our reviewer loved this book so much it inspired her to
bring in her own pin collection to share that was the highlight of the meeting!
No comments:
Post a Comment