Nevermore: Little Bookstore, Quiver, Keeper of Lost Causes, Ann Bancroft, and More!

Reported by Kristin

Nevermore loves a good mystery, and Nordic noir often tops the list.  The Keeper of Lost Causes is the first in the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen.  Carl Mørck is working through cold cases in the Copenhagen police files when he finds a missing politician who is presumed dead, may not be dead after all.  Our reader found that the series is fun with some humor, and considers the English version a very good translation.

This cold weather has Nevermore thinking of even colder places, such as the Arctic Circle.  One reader discussed a piece of non-fiction for young readers, Ann Bancroft: On Top of the World by Dorothy Wenzel.  In 1986, this Arctic explorer was the first woman to travel to the North Pole by dogsled.  Our reader also noted that this was Ann without an E, not the Anne Bancroft who took off her stockings in front of Dustin Hoffman.

When Through Deep Waters by Rachelle Dekker proved to be entertaining.  Alicen McCaffrey is a mother who endures a terrible tragedy and then retreats to a mountain sanctuary with an old friend in an attempt to recover.  Even in the solitude of nature, Alicen’s guilt and sorrow make her question her own reality.  Our reader said that this book seemed to go on forever, but was well worth reading.

An East Tennessee fiction book made an appearance with Quiver by Julia Watts.  Set in rural Tennessee (our reader noted that it seemed to be near Johnson City,) two teen girls become unlikely friends.  Libby is the oldest in a strict fundamentalist Christian family with five (soon to be six) younger siblings.  Zo is a new neighbor, the only child of a far more liberal family.  The girls find an instant connection although the clash of familial cultures has outcomes much more serious than either would have thought.

Traveling just an hour or so northward, our next reader picked up The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book by Wendy Welch.  Wendy and her husband Jack were two outsiders who moved into a Southwestern Virginia small town and over time became a valued part of the community with their used bookstore.  Our reader exclaimed that she absolutely loved the book.

Finally, another reader picked up Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham.  This novel by the actress best known for her role as Lorelai Gilmore in the Gilmore Girls is a somewhat autobiographical retelling of her own early working life.  Franny Banks is just about to give up on her grand three-year plan of living and working in New York when her dreams finally seem to be coming true.  Our reader found this a rather light book, but endearing.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch

Reviewed by Jeanne

As many times as this book has been mentioned in the Nevermore Book Club, I was surprised to realize that we’ve never done a full review of it.  Possibly this is because it took me such a long time to get to read it in full:  I began reading it several times, but then a patron would ask about the book and I’d surrender it.

Wendy Welch and her Scottish husband, Jack Beck, followed a job opportunity to southwest Virginia.  Both had daydreamed about owning a little bookstore in an old house, where they could interact with other readers, introducing people to their favorite books and finding new ones, and be a part of a community.  When the job turned out to be more of a nightmare than a dream, they began to contemplate making a change.  That’s when they fell into the trap:  they saw the Edwardian style house in Big Stone Gap for sale.  It was the physical manifestation of that bookstore they’d built in their imagination.  All it needed was the courage to make the leap and turn it into a bookstore.

Well, courage, along with a large number of repairs, books for people to buy, learning how to run a bookstore, and living expenses  while they got this venture off the ground—if they could get it off the ground.

There was also the little problem of being outsiders in a small rural town and opening, of all things, a bookstore in a place where no bookstore had ever been. They were regarded with more than a little suspicion, and even those who applauded their idea of a bookstore were privately taking bets how long it would take Jack and Wendy to pack up and leave town.

The townsfolk hadn’t reckoned with two very determined people.  This is the story of how they learned their trade, survived their mistakes, and became an integral part of the town.  As with most books, it’s the characters that make the story, from Jack and Wendy themselves to the bookstore cats.  There are stories I’ll carry with me from the book, such as the story of Wee Willie, the older gentleman who always bought Westerns and who talked non-stop, and the saga of the missing kitty, Chunky Monkey.  (Spoiler alert: he is found.)

It’s warm, amusing, insightful, thoughtful, and just a fun book to read.  It also makes one want to plan a trip to Big Stone Gap to meet Wendy, Jack, and the other denizens of the Tales of the Lonesome Pine Bookstore.

(Note:  The large print version of the book features the one and only Val-Kyttie on the cover, the bookstore cat who doesn't suffer fools --or anyone else, for that matter--gladly.  It's no surprise which cover I'd choose for this review!  To be fair, I'm including the more usual cover below.)

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: Mormons, Leonardo, Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap & The Black Count

The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman was described as a very good book about the history of the Mormon religion. The book starts with Joseph Smith and ends with the present day and the rise of Mormon influence in today’s culture, including Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and the recent Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. The book was described as informative and readable.

Another reader was enjoying Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. The book concentrates on the creation of what is arguably da Vinci’s most famous work. It was completed in an amazingly short time, especially for Leonardo who was notorious for more projects begun than completed, and while Italy was at war with France. King has the knack for bringing historical persons and situations to life, making for a lively story.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch was recommended as a book that extols both the value of books and reading as well as the value of a place for readers to meet. Wendy and her husband Jack had dreamed of opening a bookstore one day. That day came rather unexpectedly, after Wendy’s job ended and they found a wonderful old house that would be perfect for both living quarters and a shop. One of our reviewers commented that in spite of its small size, Big Stone Gap seems to produce good authors.

Last but not least, Jud was very enthusiastic about The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. It’s a biography of Alexandre Dumas—General Dumas, the father of the man who wrote The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. General Dumas was born in Haiti to a French father and a slave mother, but moved to Paris where he became a soldier and then a general in Napoleon’s army. Jud says that this is a swashbuckling tale to rival any fictional novel and he highly recommends it as an amazing tale of an amazing man.

Nevermore: Digital Vertigo, Little Bookstore & The End of Your Life Book Club

Nevermore featured a lot of non-fiction this week, but not all of it was well-received.  First up was Digital Vertigo:  How Today’s Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us by Andrew Keen, in which the author blames various social media for stripping people of the right to privacy and solitude.  While Jud felt Keen had some justifiable concerns, the author also seemed to make a number of questionable assertions.  When Jud reached the chapter on the horrors of social reading, which Keen considers “the end of the world,” Jud gave up on the book entirely.  We all agreed that readers have always liked to share and compare when it comes to books, and that a good deal of civilization and culture is based on the idea of shared reading. After all, Nevermore itself IS a book club for people who want to talk about books and ideas.


Two recommended books were the polar opposite of Digital Vertigo when it came to reading.  Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap by Wendy Welch is the story of two “outsiders” who came to a little town in Southwest Virginia and decided to open a small used book store.  Wendy and her husband Jack Beck were greeted with some skepticism on behalf of the locals, but they persevered: they both knew that small towns take some time to get to know newcomers, especially so when aforementioned newcomers want to do something as radical as open a bookstore where one has never been before.  Today the bookstore is a thriving concern and a real part of the community, a place for readers to share a love of books. This also led to a discussion on “new” books and the consensus that any book, no matter its publication date, is new to someone who hasn’t read the book.  Some older books retain their power for centuries.

 The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe has a wonderful quotation:  “Reading isn’t the opposite of doing.  It’s the opposite of dying.”  When his mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, mother and son began to spend a lot of time together in cancer treatment waiting rooms.  They both loved to read, so as a way of passing the time they selected books which they read and discussed together.  The book is not only a lovely tribute to human spirit, but to the power of books to bring people together in meaningful ways and to allow discussions that otherwise wouldn’t take place.  Schwalbe allows readers to be privy to some of the discussions in this moving and inspiring book.  This is shared reading at its finest, which allowed a mother and son to discuss topics that would have been too painful to talk about outside of a fictional framework.  It gave them both insights into each other.  Most of all, it made a very painful time less painful.