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Archive for the ‘Fiction Fanatics’ Category

Vermont’s NE Kingdom Picks Great Books for Summer Days

Posted in Belly Laughs, Fiction Fanatics, Food Lovers, Just the "facts", Kids at Heart, Must Read Memoirs, Sports and other Adventures, Tough GIfts, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2013 | 4 Comments »

On a GORGEOUS spring day last week – yes, spring does eventually reach Vermont – The Book Jam traveled to Vermont’s amazing Northeast Kingdom. We love to visit this region to bike, camp, ski and to simply enjoy the magnificent views.  This time, though, we were there to chat about books, to learn what librarians and booksellers in this more remote part of our state are recommending for summer reading, and to raise some money for Vermont libraries. (We also spent a bit too much in the Whistle Emporium, a superb gift/art/kitchen/just fun stuff store, located next to Claire’s.)  Thank you to the Vermont Community Foundation for making Pages in the Pub in Hardwick possible.

Our presenters to a packed pub at Claire’s Restaurant and Bar in Hardwick, Vermont included:

  • Linda Ramsdell, owner and founder of Galaxy Bookshop since 1988.  Linda considers herself extraordinarily fortunate to have spent half of her life in a place where books, people, ideas and imagination meet.
  • Lisa Sammet, library director of Jeudevine Memorial Library in Hardwick. She’s been a librarian, youth librarian, English teacher, farmer, and a Peace Corps volunteer. She also has been a professional storyteller in schools and libraries for over 30 years.
  • Rachel Hexter Fried, retired attorney and current Chair of the Stannard Selectboard. She supports independent bookstores and loves having the Galaxy in Hardwick. She is a voracious reader.
  • Lisa Christie, co-founder and co-blogger of The Book Jam Blog. Formerly the Executive Director of Everybody Wins! Vermont and USA; currently, a nonprofit consultant and mom who reads whenever she can find time.

We limited their written reviews to six words (those in the audience were able to hear a 2 minute review). So, although the list of books in this post is longer than our usual, we hope the brevity of the reviews helps you think about each, and helps you decide whether they should make your summer 2013 reading list.  Enjoy!

Non-fiction or reference book – For people who like to ponder large tomes during summer vacations

Former People by Douglas Smith. Selected by Rachel Hexter Fried. Bolshevik Revolution’s destruction of aristocratic Russia.

  

Memoirs – For people who enjoy living vicariously through other people’s memories

Elsewhere by Richard Russo. Selected by Rachel Hexter Fried. Russo’s life with his compulsive mother.

Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright. Selected by Lisa Sammet. Remarkable WWII story of courage tragedy.

North of Hope by Shannon Huffman Polson. Selected by Lisa Christie. Bear kills. Daughter grieves, grows, loves.

   

Adult Fiction – For a woman who only has time for the best fiction

John Saturnall’s Feast by Lawrence Norfolk. Selected by Rachel Hexter Fried. Poor boy’s rise to Manor master chef.

Sweet Toothby Ian McEwan.  Selected by Lisa Sammet. Cold war espionage, clever, love and truth.

Juliet in August by Dianne Warren. Selected by Linda Ramsdell. 1 horse, great characters, nothing terrible happens.

Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. Selected by Lisa Christie.  Father Dies. Family Gathers. Gorgeous Prose.

  

Adult fiction – For a man who has enough camping equipment, but not enough good fiction

Canada by Richard Ford. Selected by Rachel Hexter Fried. Exquisitely written story. Parents rob bank.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. Selected by Lisa Sammet. Post-apocalyptic suspense, savage and tender.

Truth in Advertising by John Kenney. Selected by Lisa Christie. ”Ad-man” matures late in life.                                      

                           

 Cookbooks or coffee table books or reference books – For your mom/grad/dad

Vermont Farm Table by Tracey Medeiros. Selected by Linda Ramsdell. Inspired photos, approachable recipes, neighbors, friends.

Saved: How I Quit Worrying about Money and became the Richest Guy in the World by Ben Hewitt. Selected by Linda Ramsdell.  Much to ponder at any point in life.

Picture Books (zero to 7) – books for youngsters to peruse under trees and in tree houses

The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmet. Selected by Lisa Sammet. Fractured fairy tale with wry humor.

Books for summer campers/ young reader (ages 8-12) – books for those beyond tonka trucks and tea parties but not yet ready for teen topics.

Hold Fast by Blue Balliet. Selected by Lisa Christie. Langston’s poems. Homeless Family. Books save.

Books for your favorite High Schooler – “not required” reading for teens to ponder during the long hours of summer vacation

Good Kings Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum. Selected by Linda Ramsdell. Rarely glimpsed window to a world.

Some bonus books mentioned by the presenters during their presentations:

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie. Mentioned by Rachel.

Atonement by Ian McEwan mentioned by Lisa S.

Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon mentioned by Linda

The Danger Box by Blue Balliet mentioned by Lisa C.

At the end of our chats, the four presenters were curious about what audience members were reading.  Some of their current reading includes:

Beautiful Ruins by Jesse Walters; Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand; Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwen; Freeman by Leonard Pitts; Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson; Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, bringing decision-making back home by Susan Clark and Woden Teachout; Seward: Lincoln’s  Indispensible Man, by Walter Stahr; My Beloved World by Sonya Sotomayor; Mysteries by Benjamin Black;  and  Same Ax, Twice by Howard Mansfield.

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Honoring Moms on Mother’s Day 2013

Posted in Armchair Travelers, Fiction Fanatics, Historical Fiction Buffs, Nature Lovers, Tough GIfts, tagged , , , , , , , on April 29, 2013 | 2 Comments »

imgres-3In just a few more turns of the page it will be here:  Sunday, May 12th, 2013, Mother’s Day. This occasion offers an opportunity to honor your own mom and the other special maternal influences in your life.  It is a day for breakfast in bed, a family walk through the springtime landscape, presents, dinner out at the local inn – and if a mother is really, really lucky, some time to curl up quietly with a good book.

For some the stress of finding just the right gift is too much.  For others the pressure of creating the perfect experience for mom brings out cold sweat.

So, may we suggest a hand-made card tucked into one of these special titles, and a the gift of an hour of uninterrupted reading time. And if you are a mother, consider picking out one out  of these for yourself – you deserve it.  (Don’t worry Dads – your turn will come in June, and we promise good books for you too.)imgres

Our 2013 Mother’s Day selection includes:

 The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (2013) – This engrossing, entertaining story follows a group of friends from the moment they meet at summer camp.  It then chronicles their lives as they go to separate colleges, get married – sometimes to each other, try to live on entry-level salaries, find and lose success, become parents, face an assortment of crisis points and well, just live their lives.  Told from the perspective of Jules Jacobson, a girl from the suburbs who infiltrates a group of sophisticated young Manhattanites when sent to their camp on a scholarship, this novel is populated by complex, and well “interesting”  characters who come together and apart as their lives and their interpretations of New York City change.  In fact, “the City” itself is a character changing as mayors come and go, crime increases/decreases, AIDS epidemic enters, finances collapse and twin towers fall.  The Interestings explores friendship, how to make a life, and what to do with your talents and dreams.  Perfect for moms who attended summer camps, lived in the 70s or 80s or 90s, ever had a life-long group of friends, and for anyone - mom or not – looking for a page-turning saga. ~ Lisa Christie

9780316175678The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (2012). I was immediately drawn into to this stark, beautiful novel, a tale set in Alaska in the 1920′s.  Older homesteaders Jack and Mabel have left behind their life in the eastern United States to carve out a farm on the frontier, an existence which has proven starker and more difficult than they had imagined, leaving their finances strained and their spirits dwindling.  One night, during the first snowfall of the winter, they build a snow girl together and by the next morning a real little girl has taken its place – filling Jack and Mabel’s life full of wonder, hope, and uncertainty.  This book introduces the reader to strong characters, weaves in traditional fable and fairy tale, creates a sense of magical realism, all while  drawing a portrait of a very real and particular time and place in America’s history.  It seems an apt choice for a mother’s day post as it tells the story of a couple who have long wished for a family and then parenthood – along with its challenges, love, and learnings – finds them when they least expect it.  Recently named as a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. ~Lisa Cadow

 Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith (2013) – The power of stories, the power of trains to make strangers friends, and the power of love come together in this brief gem of a book.  Four strangers sit next to each other on a train from Edinburgh to London: a female and three males.  Two are young (20s), two older (let’s say past 40).  One man opens up with a story of why they are on the train – a new job, but tied to a girl.  The others follow with their own stories (of their parents’ lives in the Australian Outback, of forbidden love of their youth, of the importance of trust in a relationship).  By the time they part in London, you know something about each from their stories and their reactions to the stories of the others.  You also know a bit more about yourself.  A must-read for any mom in your life who ever traveled by train. This book will help them remember all the people they opened up to for a few hours in a railroad car and may lead to a few new stories, you never know. ~ Lisa Christie (Oops – we just realized that this is not available until June 11th, but we think Moms will like it so much we kept it in this post. This way you can pre-order it today, and extend Mom’s Day into June.)

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Money Money Money

Posted in Fiction Fanatics, Historical Fiction Buffs, Two Peas in a Pod: Similar Themes, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2013 | 1 Comment »

NOTE: This selection of books was supposed to post yesterday.  We feel we can not post without acknowledging yesterday’s events in Boston.  Our thoughts are with the runners, their families, the spectators and the first responders.

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In honor of today’s deadline for paying Federal taxes here in the USA, we tried to think of some interesting and entertaining books with money as a theme.  This, of course, led us to The Great Gatsby, and using that as our example, we have added a few recent releases that have money and its place in one’s life at their core.

Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (1925) – Recently re-read for fun, and now serving as our standard for good literature with money in the theme.  This famous book, as many may remember from English literature classes of our youth, tells the story of wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan, of lifestyles involving lavish parties on Long Island, and of an era - the 1920s.   This novel has exquisite prose that often disguises the brutal realism of the tale.  For a variety of reasons, The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century American literature. If you haven’t yet picked it up, do so.  If you have read it, try it again for a reminder that assigned reading does not necessarily mean bad.  ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

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The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh (2013).  When Frances Irvine’s well-to-do father dies suddenly and leaves her penniless, she is forced to make some quick, hard decisions about her future. It’s 1877 and she must leave her life of wealth and privilege in London either for a life as a nanny with her cruel aunt, or a life in South Africa married to marry a man – a poor, young doctor – whom she does not love.   And so, she boards a steamer bound for the southern hemisphere with nothing but her naiveté and a few belongings suitable for a hot climate to join her fiance.  On board she meets brazen, handsome, well-connected William Westbrook and her moral adventure begins.  This excellent piece of historical fiction takes the reader to Cape Town, into the rugged landscape and farms of the Karoo, into diamond mines, and into the heart of a smallpox epidemic.  This is a book about finding what is more important than wealth and status.  It is a story about finding value in doing what is right. ~Lisa Cadow

 Ghana Must Go by Talye Selasi (2013) – An incredibly memorable modern tale of a family – The Sais.   Their story and this novel, begins in Africa, and follows how their subsequent pursuit of the American dream shapes their lives.   Page one starts with the sudden death of the main character  - Kweku Sai, an incredible surgeon, but failed father and husband.  The story then unfolds backwards and forwards through the eyes and voices of his first wife and their four children.  It all hinges on Kweku’s reaction to a failure endured in his pursuit of his American dream.  His response shatters his family, yet also makes them all uniquely themselves.  This is a truly global tale – enjoy the time this book spends in Boston, Accra, Lagos, London, and New York.  It is also truly beautifully written. So much so that I slowed my reading to make it last a bit longer.  I loved this debut and am looking forward to this writer’s next work. ~ Lisa Christie

A BONUS Pick that really is all about money….

 How Stella Saved the Farm: A tale of making innovation happen by Chris Trimble and Vijay Govindarajan (2013) – Initially self-published, the success of this book in starting conversations about transforming companies caused St. Martin’s Press to publish a new edition.  Although it appears to be a tale that your favorite 3rd grader will enjoy (and some 3rd graders do), it is actually a parable designed to start companies thinking about handling change.  Read it and see why companies as diverse as Simon Pearce, AT&T and the Methodist Church are using this unique business book to change the way they do business / make money. (Disclaimer: one of us is married to one of the authors.) ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

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