Nevermore: Finding Me, Hidden White House, Legends & Lies, Make Me, Blackout

Reported by Ambrea

This week, our readers first looked at Finding Me:  A Decade in Darkness, A Life Reclaimed by Michelle Knight.  Knight, after being kidnapped by Ariel Castro, spent over a decade in captivity.  She was subjected to unimaginable abuse, enduring years of violent physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her captor.  Michelle, who had become estranged from her family and lost her son in a custody battle, was believed to have simply run away and, after her disappearance, she was eventually scratched from missing persons lists.  On May 6, 2013, she—along with Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus—escaped from Castro’s home.  Her story was heart-wrenching, according to our Nevermore reader, and absolutely incredible.  She highly recommended it, saying it was amazing to see what one individual can ensure—that someone can come out on the other side.

Next, our Nevermore readers looked at The Hidden White House:  Harry Truman and the Reconstruction of America’s Most Famous Residence by Robert Klara.  In 1948, after Truman reported nearly plunging through the ceiling of the Blue Room from the second floor, a group of architects discovered that the White House was in imminent danger of collapsing.  Built on a marshy foundation and damaged by a fire during the War of 1812, the White House was literally falling apart with the First Family in it—and, as the cover attests, “[what] followed would be the most historically significant and politically complex home-improvement job in American history.”  According to our reader, Klara’s investigation into the reconstruction of America’s most iconic home was fantastic and especially vivid with its pictures.  “It was a lively description of what happened and what was done [to repair the White House],” he said.

Legends and Lies:  The Real West by Bill O’Reilly and David Fisher followed, providing an even deeper look into the history of America.  Focusing on the American frontier and some of its most iconic gunslingers, cowboys, robbers and lawmen, Legends and Lies provided a lot of interesting information.  Although our readers questioned how accurate certain facts were within the book, our readers seemed to like it pretty well.  One reader found the chapter on “Black Bart” fascinating—because, although Bart was a criminal, he never fired a gun and he only ever robbed Wells Fargo stagecoaches (he had a thirst for vengeance, our Nevermore reader admitted).

Additionally, our readers looked at Make Me by Lee Child.  Continuing the adventures (or, more accurately, misadventures) of Jack Reacher, Make Me begins in a little town called “Mother’s Rest.”  In Mother’s Rest, Reacher meets Michelle Chang, who accidentally mistakes him for her missing partner.  With nowhere to go and no one to meet, Reacher becomes embroiled in Michelle’s investigation—and discovers that things are more nightmarish than he ever imagined.  Our reader liked Child’s novel quite a bit, but she found there was a lot of “back and forth,” which left her feeling more than a little confused.  She said she could never really decide what they were after.

Last but not least, our readers explored Blackout by Connie Willis.  Set in the distant future of 2060, Blackout follows Michael Davies, Merope Ward, and Polly Churchill, time-traveling historians who are sent back to 1940.  But when time assignments are changed and, in some cases, cancelled altogether, Michael, Merope, and Polly are faced with the very will possibility that time travel isn’t an infallible science—and they may be stuck in a past that has been forever altered by the interference of the future.  Our reader said Blackout was an enjoyable science-fiction novel, full of adventure and intrigue; however, after completing Willis’ novel, our reader said she had the dispiriting realization that Blackout was only the first half of the book.   (All Clear finishes the story.)

Nevermore: Maya's Notebook, Wilson, Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, and More!

  The last Nevermore Book Club meeting of 2013 featured its usual mix of genres and topics.  The first book up was Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende, a novel about a young woman whose life takes some drastic turns after the death of her beloved grandfather.  She becomes involved with drugs and petty crimes, but soon finds herself in way over her head, caught between law enforcement and organized crime.  Sent away to an island off the coast of Chile, Maya is given a notebook in which to write her story, which then forms the book.  The book drew strong opinions:  one reader loved it and the other one hated it.  Part of the discussion centered on the way the book was structured, with the narration moving back and forth in time as Maya recalls her past.  One reader dislikes books using that structure, and while the other reader was no fan of the technique, she felt the characters and story more than made up for it.  (It’s interesting to note that professional reviewers were also strongly divided over the book.)

Wilson by A. Scott Berg is an in-depth look at the 28th president of the United States.  Woodrow Wilson’s presidency seemed an unlikely prospect and probably wouldn’t have happened had not Teddy Roosevelt decided to form an independent party to run against his former friend, William Howard Taft.  A Virginian, Wilson was the first Southerner to be president since Andrew Johnson.  Berg had access to some personal papers not previously available, and used those to help craft an entertaining, enlightening, and personal view of Wilson.  Our reviewer said she thought Wilson was a man who wanted to be in love, and was almost more in love with the idea of love than with an actual person.  He was an avid and ardent letter writer as well.  He was also a bit of a hypochondriac. After his stroke, his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt, acted as a gatekeeper and allowed very little access to President Wilson; in fact, her control was such that some have suggested she actually acted as president.  Our reviewer recommended the book as informative and enjoyable.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch is the true story of how a couple moved into this region and decided to start a used bookstore. Welch and her Scottish husband, Jack Beck, were seen as outsiders when they first moved to Big Stone Gap, but they managed to win over most of the town simply by proving they were staying and wanted to be a part of the community. The book was applauded as being warm, funny, and thoughtful, pointing out the local characters and customs without being condescending.  It comes highly recommended by several Nevermore members.

Other books mentioned during this meeting included the final Tom Clancy novel, Command Authority, in which Jack Ryan holds the key to the mystery surrounding the rise of a Russian politician.  Clancy passed away in October 2013, before the book was published.  This book was praised as a page turner and drew a comparison with a classic British thriller writer, Evelyn Anthony. Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly was brought up as well, described as being a good introduction to historical events while refraining from religious commentary.

The next Nevermore meeting will be Tuesday, January 7, at 11:00 AM.  Join us for doughnuts from Blackbird Bakery, coffee, and books!

Nevermore, May 1st: Saving Cee, Killing Lincoln & Monday Mornings

Nevermore was its usual eclectic self this week, albeit with a tad more popular fiction:

Monday Mornings, the new novel by Sanjay Gupta, takes its title from the routine Morbidity and Mortality conferences held at the hospital each week, in which doctors discuss medical errors.  The idea is for the physicians to learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of colleagues, in order to better treat patients.  The novel follows a group of neurosurgeons in an exciting, behind the scenes look at life among the top doctors.  Personal dramas as well as medical ones unfold.  This one is recommended for anyone who likes a good medical novel with a dash of soap opera. Gupta is himself a neurosurgeon and author of several nonfiction books on medicine.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by   Beth Hoffman was highly recommended by one of the Nevermore readers.  Twelve year old Cecelia (“CeeCee”) knows that there is something wrong with her mama, but this is the 1960s and mental illness isn’t discussed except in whispers.  Her father travels a great deal and seems to have little or no interest in CeeCee when he’s home.  When Mama is run over by an ice cream truck, Great Aunt Tootie comes to Ohio to take CeeCee back to Savannah with her.  This is a warm and ultimately hopeful story with memorable characters, and a treat for those who like authors like Fannie Flagg or Ann B. Ross.

Another member was reading and enjoying Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln:  The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever.  O’Reilly tells the story as if it were a thriller, which makes the book more of a pager-turner than a scholarly book on the subject. It has earned praise for being an entertaining way to learn about a pivotal moment in American history; several reviewers on Amazon commented that it read like a novel but that there should have been a bit more fact-checking and proofreading before it hit print. It has been very popular here at BPL, making the list of most reserved books for several months.

And speaking of the Civil War, the Bristol Public Library will be hosting Dave Goetz, a  Civil War researcher who is co-authoring a book on John Singleton Mosby.  Mosby was a highly successful guerilla leader for the Confederacy whose post-war support of Ulysses S. Grant was seen by Southerners as a betrayal.  The presentation will be on Saturday, May 19, at 1:00 pm.