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.

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.)

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

The 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.)

=====

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

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

Our local shelter for abused women  – WISE (Women’s Information Service) - recently designed an educational program involving the use of fiction and non-fiction books in discussion groups sponsored by local libraries and bookstores. It is their hope that these specially selected titles will serve as a platform for safe discussions, and will  support their mission of reducing the number of sexual assaults in our community. This groundbreaking  program launches today, the first day of Sexual Violence Awareness Month, and specific outcomes remain unknown.  We are certain, however, that good literature can lead to very positive outcomes; so we at The Book Jam are hopeful.

Below are some of the books being used in this important program that we can recommend as excellent reading.

And, we truly hope that this program leads to action and the  reduction in the number of crimes against women.

 Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (2006). Years after reading this award-winning young adult novel, I still remember reading it and being completely taken by the narrator, Melinda, and her story.  The novel opens in autumn with Melinda in High School and outcast because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the police.  Nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. In turn, she stops talking altogether.  An art project allows her to finally able to face what really happened at that party: she was raped. And unfortunately, the rapist attends her high school.  As the year progresses, she has another violent encounter with him.  In this moving novel, this heroine bursts open many of the hypocritical aspects of high school.  In doing so, Melinda illustrates the importance of learning to speak up for oneself (and I would argue to speak up for those who can not speak for themselves), and opens a window into the horrors of rape. Speak is a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature. ~ Lisa Christie

Lucky: A Memoir by Alice Sebold (2002). In this memoir, which we read years ago but remember for its honesty and extreme candor, Ms. Sebold shows how her life was utterly transformed when, as a college freshman, she was brutally raped and beaten in a park near her campus. Through her prose, she shows her profound struggles for understanding, how her friends and family can’t quite help – even though they desperately try and truly want to do something useful, and finally how she ”recovers”.  She also manages to help the police and prosecutors in her rapist’s arrest and conviction along the way. With this book, Ms. Sebold provides a strong voice for trauma victims (even if she herself is only one individual case) and ultimately states that,  ”You save yourself or you remain unsaved.” ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

Other titles suggested by this WISE program, that we have not yet read (and thus can not review), include:

• Aftermath: Violence and Remaking of a Self by Susan Brison (2003). WISE lists this as a non-fiction academic treatment of assualt.
• The Lolita Effect by Meenakshi Gigi Durham (2009). WISE describes this non-fiction book as good for skill building for parents and adults invested in youth.
• Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the rise of raunch culture by Ariel Levy (2006).  WISE says this non-fiction read offers an investigative work on media culture that is appropriate for adults and older teens.
• Our Guys by Bernard Lefkowitz (1998). Unfortunately, this appears to be out of print, so we can not provide a link to it.  However, your local bookstore or library can track it down for you.  WISE describes this as a non-fiction, investigative work on the secrets of sexual assault that is appropriate for adults and older teens.

If you have questions about WISE or this program, please contact Edith Walsh at 603-448-5922 x118, or edith.walsh@wiseoftheuppervalley.org.

We are excited to welcome author and friend Lizi Boyd, and her latest work , an enchanting picture book called Inside Outside. Ms. Boyd has written and illustrated many children’s books but her talent doesn’t stop there. She also creates other works of delight such as papers and stationery. She also notes that her dogs, Olive and Zuli, assisted in the making of Inside Outside.  Other reviewers agree with us that Inside Outside is lovely and inspired.  Publishers Weekly says, “The story’s greatest charm is in its portrait of a boy who lives alone and is constantly (yet tranquilly) busy.”  We are proud to note that she lives in our hometown of Norwich, Vermont.

 1. What three books have helped shape you into the author you are today, and why?

I loved books by EB White; Mistress Masham’s Repose, by TH White,  JRR Tolkein and the little books by Edward Gorey and Maurice Sendack.  I was given a collection of poems by ee cummings when I was twelve; short verse and small images were strong influences.  Our house was filled with art books and artists and at 13 I was given a modern Danish desk. The top drawer was filled with small, spiral bound sketchbooks and I’ve been filling little books since then.

2.What author (living or dead) would you most like to have a cup of coffee with and why?  I’d like to have tea with Ursula Nordstrom.  She was the director of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls.  There is a wonderful book of her letters, Dear Genius, filled with her encouragement to many: Sendak, Gorey, C. Hurd, Margaret Wise Brown, EB White and on and on. You can hear Nordstrom’s wonderful voice so it’s as intimate as sharing tea.

3. What books are currently on your bedside table?

I have stacks of books by my bed, so plenty of choices. Winter reading is varied – warming the room, filling it and quieting it too. Diving Belles by Lucy Wood; Crusoe’s Daughter by Jane Gardham; The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny; Winter World by Bernard d Heinrich; The Best of It by Kay Ryan; The Diaries of Paul Klee; Edora Welty.

Many of Book Jam readers and many of our friends are suffering from Downton Abbey withdrawal pains.  While unfortunately we can’t write and film any new installments for you, what we can do is to suggest Edwardian tales to tide people over until the cast of this popular BBC series returns. We have looked high and low and started many books that were well… just bad.  Then, we thought of a few gems.   Ta Ta and Tally ho! Keep Calm and Carry On. Or perhaps in this instance we should say Keep Calm and Read On!  (And, yes historians among you, some of the tales we selected do not cleanly fit in the definition of Edwardian - ”covering the reign of King Edward the VII, 1901 to 1910″ - but we hope you will allow us some poetic license, so to speak.)

 The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys (2002) – My search for a good British Edwardian novel meant the other Lisa of this blog and our town’s superb children’s librarian both put this book in my hands.  While I sometimes disagree with their individual recommendations, when they both say “you must read this book”, I trust that wholeheartedly.  And they were right – I love this book.  You would think authors would have run out of ways to tell WWI and WWII stories by now; and then, a book like this proves you wrong.  Its slimness masks profound musings on writing, love and life.  Pick it up and enjoy your time in the gardens of a British estate just as it has been repurposed as a garden for the war effort.  You will meet the young British women/girls sent there to tend the estate, and a group of Canadians soldiers truly just hanging around waiting to be sent to battle. ~ Lisa Christie   

Now, a few more words about The Lost Garden from Lisa Cadow, as she has more to say:  Humphrey’s other job as a poet really shows in this small masterpiece about World War II. For those going through Downton Abbey withdrawal, this might be the perfect book for you. It’s set at an English country estate that has been given over to the war effort. And, its main character, horticulturist Gwen, is there to help the Women’s Land Army  plant potatoes for the people of England. Her time there becomes about much more than potatoes, and the reader is led to hidden gardens, into the world of the great British manor in its heyday, through an encyclopedia of roses, and on a journey of self-discovery.

The House at Tyneford  by Natasha Solomons (2011). I read this book several years back but still remember the strong impressions it left me of life in an English Manor House on the eve of World War II. The hustle and bustle of preparing for weekend guests, silver polishing, and the daily setting of the table is really brought to life, as are the politics and complexity of the relationships, both “upstairs and downstairs”, in the house. The House at Tyneford also examines the effect back-to-back world wars had on both the British economy and psyche.  This is the story of nineteen year old Elise Landau who is forced to leave Vienna and her beloved family to escape the persecution of Jews at the outset of the second World War. Though she is educated and her parents are well-to-do, she has no other choice but to relocate as a parlor maid in the English countryside. Thus begins a tale of change, challenge, heartbreak as the reader watches Elise tap into inner strengths and resiliency she never knew she had.  A wonderful read.   Note: We reviewed another one of Solomon’s excellent books on the Book Jam, Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English which also examines British class issues but many decades later. ~Lisa Cadow

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear (2003 to 2012) – We have posted about Maisie before And, while we both feel the last book was a bit overwrought, overall this series is satisfying and delivers unique looks at WWI England. The main character, Maisie is a former front line nurse attempting to support herself as an unmarried woman after the war ends. As a former “downstairs” maid to a wealthy family she is determined not to return to serving a house and finds unique work as a detective of sorts.  To find our earlier reviews of Ms. Winspear’s work, put “Maisie Dobbs” in the search block of The Book Jam Blog (located in the upper right hand side). ~ Lisa Cadow and Lisa Christie

In Vermont, the beginning of March means town meeting day, and because we live near Dartmouth College it also heralds the birthday of one of the college’s most famous students and benefactors, Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss).  But in addition to our valley community, millions of people across the country also celebrate his books and birthday in early March as part of the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day.

To honor the child in all of us, the ever-growing world of picture books, and as a shout out to one of the fathers of the genre on his special day, we’ve selected a few of our favorites from the crop of new picture books to share with you.  (Thank you Susan Voake, retired children’s librarian extraordinaire for getting us started in our selection.) Even if you don’t have kids – or if  you do and they are beyond picture books – you may have nieces and nephews in this age set, christenings to attend, or perhaps you just might want to make a spontaneous gift to your local public library, children’s hospital, and/or homeless shelter.

And because we couldn’t resist sharing something for our always hungry adult readers, a new book, an international best seller The Dinner by Herman Koch, is also reviewed below.

A Hen for Izzy Pippik by Aubrey Davis and Marie LaFrance (March 2012)- An old-fashioned fable, based upon Jewish and Islamic folklore.  We interpreted this story as a tale about being rewarded for doing the right thing even when the world is pressuring you to act differently.  You may have other interpretations.  Since the setting is a village facing hard economic times, many of the villagers’ arguments and situations might ring true for many readers.

Squeak, Rumble, Whomp !Whomp! Whomp!: A Sonic Adventure by Wynton Marsalis and Paul Rogers (Oct. 2012) – The music of everyday items truly sings on every page in this funly (Yes, we are also making up words in honor of Dr. Seuss with this post.) illustrated book.

Oliver by Birgitta Sit (Oct. 2012) – This almost sparsely illustrated book shows you a boy who is a little bit different and slightly lonely.  Along the way you see his adventures, and his discovery that he is pretty OK.  And then, you smile as he embarks on the greatest adventure of all – friendship.

Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein (Sept. 2012) – A gorgeously illustrated book shows the power of a smile to charm.  It also demonstrates in a silly manner how interconnected the world is today.

Grumpy Goat by Brett Helquist (Jan. 2013) - Yes, this goat is cranky, he’s hungry, and he’s never had a friend.  But, humorous illustrations show the power of positive thinking when growing something and making friends.

Now one pick for grown-ups.  At first, this may seem a bizarre fit in a post crafted as a tribute to a man who wrote books for children. However, we believe Geisel, who created biting cartoons for Dartmouth’s humor magazine Jack-O-Lantern and during his early career, would have appreciated the darkly satirical writing in this riveting book.

 The Dinner by Herman Koch (2012) – This page-turner kept me up all night as I raced to finish it.  Now, it will probably keep me up for many nights going forward as I think about the very disturbing traits and situations this plot unearths.  Amidst the dark, dark satire are very uncomfortable truths; it is these and to be honest – the entire premise  – that left me slightly reeling when I finished. (Of course I could be reeling from the lack of sleep reading this caused.)  The book’s plot poses the question – how far would you go for your family?, as it eavesdrops on a dinner between two couples in a trendy Amsterdam restaurant.  As their conversations turn from the mundane – what to order, to the ultimate situation that brought them together, you really do feel like a fly on a wall watching a disaster in the making.  I can’t say any more because revealing any plot items would be unfair to any future readers.  But note, this would be a GREAT book club book because you are going to need to talk with someone about it.  Plus, it is a very quick read – a bonus when cramming for book club discussions. ~ Lisa Christie

And one last thing, happy first day in her new job to Lisa Cadow.  She is turning her many talents to coaching people in an exciting new health care model.  Don’t worry, she will still review books and be the co-blogger for the Book Jam, she has just added a new aspect to her professional career starting today. So, please join me in wishing her well in her new endeavor. This new job seems especially appropriate in a post honoring a literary “Dr.”  ~ Lisa Christie

The settings in these books often seem far away from the clapboard farm houses and New England style church steeples we pass each day. Europa whisks us far away from home (kind of the book equivalent of Calgon!) with their amazing array of stories and authors.  This unique publisher can be depended upon for unique stories that take place the whole world over and teach readers something about other countries —  and about themselves.  (Yes, they probably have published a novel we would not recommend, but we have not yet found it.)  If you are what you read, you might want to consume – imbibe, devour!- a Europa title and feel expanded, a bit more empathetic, and perhaps more aware of what is being enjoyed by other bibliophiles worldwide.

Below you’ll find reviews for some Europa books we’ve recently savored and can recommend.

Pure by Andrew Miller (2012).  This book is incredibly effective at creating and transmitting to the reader the feeling, sounds, sights, and even smells of Paris in 1785 — and it is not all freshly baked baguettes and roses!  Newly minted engineer Jean-Baptise Baratte has been hired by the royal court to perform a rather unseemly job: to excavate and move the overflowing cemetery of  “Les Innocents” to the outskirts of Paris.  A little known piece of this city’s rich history comes to life in this wonderful novel as the reader walks the city with Baptiste to the Palais Royal, visiting suit-makers, markets, restaurants, even Versailles as he himself becomes acclimated to this most sensory of places.  Pure tells the story of a most unusual year foreshadowing the fall of the monarchy,  detailing a most gruesome project, but also of a character’s inner growth and capacity for love. ~Lisa Cadow

 The Threads of the Heart by Carole Martinez (2012). Fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez rejoice, Ms. Martinez has created characters that will charm you, and their stories that will seem believable even when you know there is no way they are real.  While this novel skips the jungles of Garcia Marquez’s Colombia for Spain and northern Africa, it creates magical tales that will linger long after you turn the last page.  In this novel, the daughters of Frasquita are haunted by their family’s inheritance — a box that bestows unique things upon each daughter as they come of age.  For Frasquita, it bestowed the ability to create gorgeous gowns and fabrics from rags; gowns and fabrics that mysteriously that hide flaws and pregnancies and then disintegrate once no longer necessary.  Unfortunately, her gowns incite jealousy and misunderstanding in her small hometown and Frasquita flees Spain for the north coast of Africa where her daughters must come to terms with their own special gifts (e.g., for one, the power to shine like the sun, another a gift of song). Pick this up and enjoy some magical tales, characters and time in far off lands. ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

A Winter’s Night by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (2012).  As we enter the final days of February with snow blanketing the fields and nights still longer than the day, the title of this novel naturally caught my attention.  But truly, this book knows no one season, time of day, or year.  It spans winters and summers, half a century, two wars, and the evolution of the Bruni family who farm  a small plot of land in the Italian countryside.  For generations, they have opened up their barn to wayward strangers and the community to gather, tell stories, and keep warm on a winter’s night. But the world moves quickly around them and their barn, and their seven sons and two daughters as they mature into a rapidly evolving century.  This book has been described aptly as “expansive”  (though it is less than 400 pages) and is full of folklore, farming, fascism, legend, and history.  It offers readers a strong sense of history and how our life and landscape has changed profoundly in the last one hundred years. ~Lisa Cadow

AH February, once the groundhog has left his/her lair and seen/not seen a shadow, everyone’s thoughts turn to love.  However, we don’t want to be the kind of book bloggers who when Valentine’s Day rolls around recommend predictable, saccharine love stories, those that could be described as glasses of Rhine wine too sugary to swallow.  Our own experiences of February 14th haven’t always been red, rosy and filled with heady, oaky Chardonnay. And, we’re guessing this is probably the case for some reading this post as well.  So, in the spirit of that understanding, we’d like to suggest three titles that are more attuned with 2013 cocktails poured full of modern love  -  those with shake-ups, stir-ups, trips over thin ice (in Antarctica no less!), but with the occasional sweet, unusual, happy ending, too.

Affairs of the heart know no boundaries of course.  All three picks also take the reader on wild geographical adventurers: Where’d You Go, Bernadette, starts out in Seattle but has scenes set at the ends of the earth in a place most writers don’t dare to tackle – Antarctica. The whimsical My Berlin Kitchen looks at issues of identity and belonging; and, we move with the author around the America and Europe in search of a kitchen she can call home. Truth in Advertising is set closer to the center of “civilization” in the ad world of modern New York, but moves the reader from coast to coast and beyond. Upon turning the last page of any of these three selected stories about modern love, readers will not only feel well-traveled, but also that their own hearts have stretched and grown in unexpected ways.  Each offers an alternative love story – each will make you laugh and leave you with a smile. Sip slowly, though, they will come to an end all too quickly.

Cheers, book lovers. And, Happy Valentine’s Day, too.

 Truth in Advertising by John Kenney (Jan 2013) – Funny, observant, wry, thoughtful, insightful, unswervingly full of modern truths and questions, not at all preachy — we should have expected nothing less than being able to use these adjectives to describe a book by a New Yorker contributor.  That said, this book was just what we needed – a funny, unique coming of age story about a 40-year-old man (yes, it took him awhile) making a living, but not a life, as a NYC ad man.  Mad Men fans might appreciate a chance to look at advertising in the current century. New Yorkers will love the chance to see Manhattan in all its glory.  Anyone in need of some humor and a well written tale (with an echo of a Catcher in the Rye sensibility) will surely enjoy this book.  P.S. This is a perfect read for right after the Super Bowl as it features main character Finbar Dolan working under the wire to create the perfect ad for a demanding client to show to the nation during the Super Bowl.  ~ Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

 Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple (2013).  In this unique send up of all things pretentious, internet-oriented and well basically, all things about modern life that are enjoyed by those people who can afford it (e.g., private schools, Starbucks, exotic travel, personal assistants), a mother mysteriously goes missing and her child investigates.  The cause of her disappearance?  Possibly a workaholic husband, difficulty competing with local stay-at-home moms, an aversion to rain (it takes place in Seattle), a home being invaded by blackberries, an overwhelming aversion to people, a mysterious past, and a few well-plotted surprises.  We loved the plot twists and the unexpected quirkiness of this witty send up of modern life, modern love, modern parenting, and the exploration of  what it means to find a place (no matter what age you are) for one’s talents in this ever evolving world. ~Lisa Christie and Lisa Cadow

My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss (2012). This is  lovely, gentle read by an author many may recognize as the creator of the popular food blog, “The Wednesday Chef” which was inspired by none other than Julie Powell’s Julie by Julia blogging adventures. In this food memoir, Weiss explores what it means to belong. Born in Berlin to an Italian mother and an American father who soon divorce, she spends much of her childhood schooling and summering in different countries and on different continents. Her interest always lay in the kitchen and with books which ground her through her peripatetic, international and fascinating upbringing. Each chapter tells a piece of her story with recipes inspired by time spent in places such as Sardinia, Berlin, and Brookline, Mass (a highlight: the description her uncle making pizza in a little cottage in the Italian countryside with stringy mozzarella and puffy, soft dough). Part of Weiss’ quest for belonging involves not only finding the perfect kitchen in which to cook but also the person with whom her heart feels most at home. A very nice addition to the food lover’s library – recipe box?- of titles. ~Lisa Cadow