Books to Read

The Kings English just sent me their latest newsletter. That means that I have a new list of books to get from the library. I've lifted these descriptions straight from the newsletter - so it's probably a copyright violation.


A Dirty Job, Christopher Moore, Morrow, $24.95
There are alpha males and beta males, and Charlie Asher is definitely a beta male—a beta male who is suddenly called upon to be a Death Merchant, a collector of soul vessels pursued by three Morrigans who hiss and ooze from the storm grates of San Francisco. Mix in some squirrel people, hell hounds, a daughter who can cause people to drop dead by shouting "kitty" and, viola!, we have the latest Christopher Moore. The man is brilliantly bent. –BH

The Accidental, Ali Smith, Pantheon, $22.95
Teenage Magnus is upstairs in the bathroom tying his shirt to a beam in order to hang himself. His 12-year-old sister Astrid is busy filming everything she sees, while Astrid’s mother Eve is locked in her office pretending to write a novel, and Eve’s second husband Michael is in his office at the University banging away on his desk with one of his female students. Then, Amber walks into the household, appearing in time to prevent the suicide of the brother and becoming—or refusing to become—what each wants her to be. Inventive in terms of style, serious in terms of theme, often funny, Smith’s new novel is irresistible. –BB

The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean, William Morrow, $23.95
In 1941, the Hermitage Museum had been stripped of its contents in order to preserve its art from German bombs. The empty frames serve as surreal reminders of the paintings that once bedecked its walls and Marina, a museum guide, begins to build a memory palace, recreating in her mind’s eye each masterpiece. In contemporary America, Marina’s daughter Helen, an artist herself, is trying to come to terms with a mother whose memory is failing rapidly and completely. As Marina’s memory of the recent past erodes, that of the distant past, of the art that she had painstakingly committed to the walls of her memory place, comes to vivid life. This is a breath-taking book, at once graceful and resonant. Don’t miss it. –BB

A Perfect Union, Catherine Allgor, Henry Holt, $30
Dolley Madison was not the first First Lady, but she set the standard that has endured to this day. She is perhaps best known as the President's wife who, when the British were invading, refused to leave the White House without the portrait of George Washington. Mythology being what it is, the painting wasn't the original Gilbert Stuart, and, wasn't even valuable, but this episode was rife with symbolism, as Dolley was very aware. Allgor's biography explores Dolley's life within the context of her times, portraying her as a woman not only cognizant of the problems facing the young republic, but also of the way in which the wife of the President could influence that republic's direction A sweeping and readable look at an interesting life. – BH

A Death in Belmont, Sebastian Junger, Norton, $23.95
A strange juxtaposition of fate brought Albert DeSalvo, who later confessed to being the Boston Strangler, into the Junger home as a carpenter's helper during the 1960s. Even stranger was the murder of a housewife not two miles from the Junger home on a day when DeSalvo was working for Sebastian's family. Stranger still was the conviction of a black Mississippian for this murder and his continued incarceration years after DeSalvo had confessed to similar crimes. Junger brings his razor insight to the confluence of lives and crimes in a story that is frighteningly close to home. –BH

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, Random, $16.95
Book lovers, young and old, will be thrilled with Zusak's newest book. Death is the narrator and tells the story of Liesel, and her meager, frightening existence in a German village during WWII. She discovers that one thing can make her life tolerable, and that is books. She steals books, reads books, shares books. In a time and place where starving is the norm, books become her lifeline, her food. This novel is getting a lot of well deserved attention. Read it! High school and up due to language and theme. -MBN
Limited Signed copies available after April 4!

The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debbie Fine

Yes, she brings up the pun. Most of us are terrified of public speaking and that is understandable but many of us are also afraid of walking into a reception room or a conference where we don’t know anyone. In that situation, many of us are trapped by the mental tapes of our youth but we can break those. Human nature is such that if you walk up to a stranger and give them information, they will respond in kind. Such as “Hi, I’m Stasha, I’m a lifestyle coach here for the hardanger class. What’s your name?” Most people will respond with their name, occupation and reason for being there. From that point, you can ask a question that can get them talking comfortably. My problem is that someone will ask me a question to get me talking and I monopolize the conversation or interrupt others while they’re talking because they remind me of something I want to say. Hopefully, I’ll do better in new conversations if I can remember what to avoid and what to do.

Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Crea

You have to love a book that says “Hold Me” when you take off the dust jacket. The introduction by Lemony Snicket is just as good as the collection of short stories. I didn’t do the crossword at the back of the book.

By the way, since the full title won't fit in the Title spot, its:

Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents who Disappear in Peru, a Man Named Lars Farf, and One other Story we Couldn’t Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out.

Stories by Nick Hornsby, Neil Galman, Jon Scieszka, Jonathan Safran Foer and more with an Introduction and almost half a story by Lemony Snicket.