This month’s review is by Catherine Adde The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson In the 1990s, my father-in-law would faithfully clip out and post to us a column from the Daily Mail (UK) written by Bill Bryson. An American living in England, Mr. Bryson gently poked fun at all things …
This month’s review is by Lois Heileman Destroyer Angel by Nevada Barr Killer Physique by G.A. McKevett Destroyer Angel is the latest of Barr’s Anna Pigeon novels. Anna, a park ranger, is on a vacation in the Iron Range of Minnesota with two women friends and their teenage daughters when the friends and girls are …
12 Years a Slave: A True Story of Betrayal, Kidnap and Slavery by Solomon Northup Upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in 1862, Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!” There’s no suggestion that Lincoln ever read …
Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan Do you have your fun summertime reading lined up yet? Here’s one for readers who: like to laugh; enjoy stories set locally (Pasadena and Ashland, Oregon); who appreciate witty, almost snarky, clever writing – and would enjoy a little Shakespeare thrown in the mix. If you liked the …
The Blood Sugar Solution, by Mark Hyman What CAN one eat and maintain good health? There seems to be so many conflicting reports today about this being good for you and then – no wait! – that’s not good for you anymore. It’s just plain confusing. What I liked about this book, however, are the …
Nilsson, The Life of a Singer-Songwriter The Library’s New Books shelf can be a source of unexpected pleasures. This first full-length biography of Harry Nilsson explores his entire recorded legacy, not just his two biggest hits—“Everybody’s Talkin’” (the theme song from the movie “The Midnight Cowboy”) and “Without You”—in the context of his often turbulent …
Marmee & Louisa, The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother In Marmee & Louisa, LaPlante has given us a rich but compact description of many elements of 19th century America: family life and relations, the abolitionist movement, the surge for women’s rights, religious and Utopian movements, and the attempts at educational and …
Simple Dreams, A Musical Memoir If you’re looking for a kiss and tell, gossipy read, this is not it. Instead, Linda Ronstadt’s beautifully written story is about growing up in the hot desert of Tucson, Arizona, spending an idyllic childhood on horseback, singing songs around campfires with her family and her Mexican adopted family members …
Moby Dick “Call me Ishmael.” It may be the most quoted opening line in fiction, deployed by literary dilettantes to impress their friends. But how many have actually read the book? It took me forty years of procrastination to get around to it. Ishmael turns out to be a very leisurely narrator. His story moves …
The Silent Wife The Silent Wife kept me turning pages all night. But this thriller is a cut above the usual escapist fiction. Not only are the characters people I could actually identify with, but the plot develops from their own flawed actions, rather than improbable situations they somehow find themselves drawn into. Jodi is …
