The Accidental Bestseller

Several years ago, I met a charming author from the Atlanta area, Wendy Wax, at a writers' conference. We had a nice conversation about libraries, writing, and the publishing industry. I'd received one of her books as a gift, and I remember reading and liking it, but her name sort of fell off my radar until recently, when I came across her 2009 release The Accidental Bestseller.

Kendall Aims is a bottom-of-the-midlist author whose personal and professional lives are both falling apart. Her editor barely acknowledges her existence. She can't complete the last book in her contract. She's just lost out on a big award. She comes home to the news that her husband's leaving her. Her kids are going off to college. Alone and abandoned, Kendall undergoes the Mother of All Meltdowns. Her three best friends, also published authors, band together to help the only way they know how: by collaborating on Kendall's book. The only problem is that each of them puts a little too much of herself into the story, and their act of kindness will create major disruptions in the lives of all four authors.

This was a fun read for me, mainly because a lot of it is a thinly disguised roman à clef of the romance-writing world. Deciphering who's a stand-in for which well-known editor, or which giant publisher is being described under a different name, had a certain appeal for me. The plot structure allows the author to explain how a book goes from idea to finished product, and that was interesting, too. Anybody who wants to learn more about book publishing might enjoy this book, but I'd also recommend it to fans of humor-laced books with a "flawed and feisty heroine," the kind of gal Mary Kay Andrews and Susan Elizabeth Phillips write about.

A little humor and a lot of heart made The Accidental Bestseller a pleasant read. I liked it well enough that I went right ahead and put Wax's 2010 title, Magnolia Wednesdays, on hold. I'll let you know how it turns out.

--Nora

My Name is Memory

Anne Brashares, New York Times Bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, has produced yet another beautifully executed romance filled with intrigue and fantasy. Her new (adult) book, My Name is Memory, blasts us through history and the many lives of Daniel and Lucy (as they are known in their present life). Brashares poses the question of what a person would do if they had spent not just one lifetime, but many lifetimes searching for the same lost love, only to lose them over and over again?

Welcome to the frustrating world of Daniel Grey, a teenager who is old beyond the years of his current body. Daniel has the ability to remember, in excruciating detail, all of his past lives, dating back to the year 541 in North Africa. As Daniel says, "I have fallen in love, and she is the one who endures...I always search for her; I always remember her. I carry the hope that one day she will remember me." To him, Daniel's memory is both a gift and a curse. For you see, despite always loving Lucy (or Sophia, as Daniel prefers to remember her as), he has never grown old with her. Theirs is a painful, haunted history, filled with heartbreak and love torn apart.

The present-day love story is interwoven with details about Daniel and Lucy's previous encounters, and the heartbreak that tore them apart. Central to their heartache is Daniel's older brother from his first life, who is as different from David as two souls can be. Joaquim is spiteful, violent, and unpredictable. What's worse, he too, has the ability to remember his past lives, and will stop at nothing to prevent Daniel and Lucy from being together lifetime after lifetime. Daniel must find a way to stop Joaquim once and for all if he is to have any chance of finally being with the woman he has unequivocally loved for fifteen hundred years.

Though technically classified as a romance, there are elements of mystery, thriller, and fantasy laced into this finely crafted plot. As with The Last Summer (of You & Me), Brashares has mastered the craft of creating characters in a way that most writers can only dream of. The subtle nuances of each character's personality are captured so completely that it's hard to believe they are works of fiction, and not people you have known and loved all of your life. They will stay with you long after you've read the final page.

--Jenn C.

Horribly Good Read

I picked up Dan Wells's debut novel I Am Not A Serial Killer because I thought it looked like an interesting thriller (have I mentioned I'm on a thriller kick lately?), but I ended up getting so much more than I'd bargained for. It's kind of hard to categorize this book - it's part coming-of-age, part thriller, part horror, and all riveting.

Teenager John Wayne Cleaver lives in Clayton, a small city in an unspecified state. He's known for a long time that there's something wrong inside himself: he lacks empathy. He can't connect with other people, not even his family; on top of all that, he's obsessed with serial killers like Bundy, Dahmer, and Gacy. He and his therapist talk about the rules of behavior he's set up for himself, and even though John's fascinated by death and dead things (it doesn't help that the family business is a funeral parlor), he's quite clear that there are lines he dare not cross, for fear of becoming the monster he knows lurks inside.

He's got everything under control - until the day a horribly disfigured body is found behind the laundromat. Then another body shows up, and John recognizes the work of a kindred spirit. At least he thinks he does, until curiosity gets the best of him and he discovers the horrible truth behind the sudden spate of murders. He knows he's the only person in town who can stop the killing, but is it already too late?

Fans of the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay may enjoy this book, for its first-person narrative voice. Like Dexter, John speaks directly to the reader, and also like Dexter he's got a twisted code of right and wrong, and an elaborate set of rules that allow him to blend in with "normal" people. Stephen King fans might like this one too, especially fans of earlier King works like It, where kids confront evil armed only with their wits.

A Moving Childhood Memoir

A couple of Saturdays ago - you know, one of those days when it was too hot to breathe outside, let alone do yard work - I sat down with a pre-publication copy of a book that had been sitting on my table for a long time. I only stopped to fix a sandwich for lunch, and by the time I'd finished the book, it was getting dark outside. Sometimes a book grabs you and won't let you go until you reach the end, and that was my experience with Thomas Buergenthal's tale of growing up under the Nazi regime, A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy.

At first glance, it's hard to allow that the words "lucky" and "Auschwitz" belong in the same sentence. Buergenthal and his parents found themselves imprisoned first in a Polish ghetto, then a work camp, and finally Auschwitz. Through a series of what can only be described as luck, however, the family wasn't separated until they arrived at the death camp, and even then Thomas and his father managed to stay together for several months. Thomas evaded at least two "selections," times when all the other children around him were removed from their parents and killed. He encountered fellow prisoners who helped him survive, and when the war was over he was reunited with the last surviving member of his family.

It's no wonder that his life experiences led the author to work in the field of international human rights; he now serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice in den Haag. The book carries a forward by Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a fellow Auschwitz survivor, and those who are familiar with Wiesel's Night may also find this a worthwhile read. I'd certainly recommend it for high-school students, who are still close enough to their own childhoods to identify at least with the narrator, even though they've not been exposed to the horrors he saw as a young child. It would also make for a terrific book club selection. Stop by the library and check it out for yourself.

--Nora

Fall Releases

The hectic summer days are passing: the kids are back in school, the blistering heat and crushing humidity are finally relenting, and we find ourselves with a little breathing room before the frantic pace of the holidays is upon us. Enjoy your down time with one of these great new books, set to release this fall. Follow the links to reserve your copy today!

September Releases


Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks

The author of The Notebook and Dear John returns with another inspirational romance. When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Katie seems determined to avoid forming friendships, but reluctantly befriends Alex, a widowed store owner.

Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. Even though she is starting to fall in love, Katie still carries a dark secret that haunts her. She realizes that she cannot run from her past forever, and that in order to have love, she must face her demons.


Getting to Happy – Terry McMillan

Fifteen years after Waiting to Exhale, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah is facing single life again-at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her divorce settlement dwindle, and has convinced herself that a few pills will help. Robin’s dream of getting married has gone unrealized. Gloria learns that being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another.


October Releases


The Confession – John Grisham

The master of legal thrillers has produced yet another gripping page turner. What happens when the only person who can save an innocent man from being executed is the man who committed the crime? In 1998, Trais Boyette abducted and strangled a high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Donté Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row.

Nine years later, Donté is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his entire life, he decides to do what’s right and confess. But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they’re about to execute an innocent man?


The Reversal – Michael Connelly

Can’t get enough courtroom drama? Try this new nail-biter from the author of The Scarecrow. After 24 years in prison, convicted child killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Convinced that Jessup is guilty, defense attorney Mickey Haller agrees to prosecute Jessup’s retrial. With LAPD detective Harry Bosch as his investigator, Haller sets off on a case fraught with political and personal danger.

Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years. With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

--Jenn C.

Another Debut Novel, Another Thriller

I don't know what it says about me that I've been reading a lot of thrillers lately, but gosh, do I enjoy them! Continuing the trend from my previous post, The Mullah's Storm by Thomas W. Young is another thriller that's a first novel, too.

Air Force Major Michael Parson serves as navigator on a C-130 and he's flown over the mountains of eastern Afghanistan ferrying high-profile prisoners and detainees plenty of times. But when the plane crashes, he encounters two enemies: the harsh, unforgiving winter climate of the Hindu Kush, and the Taliban forces who are trying to free one of their most important spiritual leaders. The mullah, along with Parson and an Army interrogator, are the only survivors of the crash. The Americans need to get the mullah back to Bagram before the Taliban catches up to them. Between the weather and his pursuers, Parson's not sure which will be more brutal in the end.

Anybody looking to escape a hot, sticky North Carolina afternoon, for a few hours anyway, may enjoy this book. I'd also recommend it for fans of Alex Berenson's The Faithful Spy, and those who like a good thriller in a very contemporary setting.

--Nora

New Soviet-Era Thriller!

Attention fans of Tom Rob Smith's Child 44: be on the lookout for The Holy Thief, William Ryan's debut novel, which hits shelves in September.

The place: Moscow. The year: 1936. Stalin's purges have started, no one's safe from denunciation, and to make matters worse, the city is shocked by a brutal murder. On the face of it, it's merely a gruesome crime, but as Captain Alexei Korolev begins his investigation, he senses there might be more to it than just a random act of violence.

There's intrigue involving the NKVD, the criminal underworld of the Soviet capital, a stolen religious relic, and the question of just how much one can really know of another person in a totalitarian state where every gesture, every word, must be carefully guarded. Reserve your copy today!

--Nora

Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"

I just finished reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett and I wanted to offer an incentive on why it should be read.

To read of a time that everyone knows about and discusses makes this book a 5-star read.
The characters are as distinct as Fannie Flaggs' "Fried Green Tomatoes." The main story line tells from the maid’s point of view what it is like in the mid-60s' in the South. Though fiction, the mention of historical characters keeps the reader eagerly waiting to see if change occurs. Great read.

-Terry S.

Big Read, Part Four

Question # 9
Why can’t Biff Brannon confide in Singer? How does he feel after his wife’s death?
If Singer’s role in the story is confidant, than Biff’s role is that of facilitator/observer. Other than Singer’s room at the boarding house, Biff’s restaurant, “The New York Café”, is the focal point where each of the main characters interacts and it is his good nature that facilitates their interaction. McCullers introduces Biff in chapter two as an observer, “Biff waited stolidly, his elbow resting on the counter and his thumb mashing the tip of his long nose. His eyes were intent. He watched…” (Page 16). Being in the position of observer, Biff believes he knows people; he acts as philanthropist to freaks and is somehow detached from the goings on in the restaurant. “… he watched them. It was a funny thing. The reason—was it in them or in him? He sat very still with his hands in his pockets, and because he did not speak it made him seem superior. What did that fellow think and realize? What did he know?”(Page 161). I believe that although Biff is curious enough about Singer to leave the safety of his restaurant to visit Singer at his room, he cannot bring himself to lower his position to confide to the freaks that he likes to observe. It would be like a Greek god, confiding in a human. He is also detached from his wife Alice, “With her, silence was better. After her sudden death, he heroically takes the responsibility of seeing to the arrangements. He does this methodically and without emotion, adapting and eventually moving on with his routine.

Question #10
What is the role of religion in the novel? How does this affect the actions and beliefs of the characters, especially Jake and Dr. Copeland?
There is an underlying theme of religion throughout the novel. At the end of chapter two Biff Brannon reposes on his bed in the position of Christ on the cross, “Biff stretched both of his arms outward and crossed his naked feet” (Page 39). We are introduced to Mick Kelly on a Sunday morning while her brother Bubber is attending Sunday school (Page 40). Both Jake and Dr. Copeland seem to have lost God somewhere along the way toward becoming educated people. Jake states, “My first belief was Jesus … I was angry and I drove the nail all the way through. My hand was nailed to the table… I began to read… it was like being born a second time” (Page 181). Portia describes her father as having, “…done read more books than any white man in this town. He done read more books and he done worried about more things. He full of books and worrying. He done lost God and turned his back to religion. All his troubles come down just to that” (Page 59). It is Jake and Dr. Copeland, who seem to be weighted down with the troubles of the world. McCullers suggests that their devotion to improving the world stems from becoming educated, and their failure or inaction is due to their having forsaken God.


Question #11
How and to whom does each of the characters in the novel express love?
John Singer demonstrates his love for Antonapoulos through his devotion to him both before they are separated and after.
Mick Kelly loves her father, but more so, John Singer, he is the only person that is in both her inside world and her outside world.
Biff Brannon has devotion for his wife Alice, but I do not believe there was ever really love present in their relationship. Biff loves the people in who come to his restaurant and the idea that he is somehow better than them.
Jake Blount loved John Singer, but not more than anyone can love their confessor. In my opinion Jake’s one true love was himself.
Dr. Copeland loved his family. He expresses it with every shred of disappointment he can muster when he thinks about them. But in the end it is his family that takes care of in spite of all that has transpired.

Question #12
Do you find the ending of the novel disheartening or hopeful?
Without wanting to give away the ending I will only say that it made me angry.

Question #13
In what ways do the themes of the novel resonate with issues of class and race today?
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 and was ten years old when The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was published. Although it is obvious that not all viewpoints stated in the text have merit, I wonder if he was influenced by it in any way. Statements such as the one made by Lancy Davis in his essay, “I want to be like Moses, who led the children of Israel from the land of the oppressors” (Page 219) clearly illustrate the ideals of change that lead to the civil rights movement.

--Larry G.

Big Read, Part Three

Reader’s Guide Question #3
The narrator describes the main characters as both ordinary and heroic. Do you agree?

I will start by agreeing that each of the main characters seem ordinary. That is to say upon first glance that they can all be neatly clumped into a box labeled “Normal People: nothing out of the ordinary”. I would also argue that there is nothing heroic about any of them either.
But the question leads one to start thinking further about the meaning of heroism and what constitutes heroic action. In order to learn more I decided to take a look at the Literature Resource Center database located on the Library’s web site to see if there were any articles written about heroic actions by the main characters. I discovered a few literary criticisms about acts of heroism and will site two of them here just to prove my first impression wrong.
It is argued that “Doctor Copeland, who understands so well the suffering and degradation of the Negroes in the South and has sacrificed his health and happiness to help them, reveals a selfless dedication that is as heroic as it is desperate” (Cook 1975).
McDowell states: “At her best, Mick is heroic in offering to quit high school to support her family by working in the dime store--especially since this decision means she can no longer teach herself to play the piano in the school gym. Her defiant final words, "O.K. Some good!" show that she is still above despair and that she will battle the society that demands of her so unfair a sacrifice...McCullers knew--even when she had completed only Part I and wrote her proposal to her publishers--that Mick, rather than Singer, might seem to some readers the principal character, one of the "heroic, though ordinary" figures to whom McCullers referred in her initial outline of The Mute” (McDowell 1980).
1. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Richard M. Cook. Carson McCullers. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1975. p19-45. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 155. Detroit: Gale, 2005.
2. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940). Margaret B. McDowell. Carson McCullers. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. p31-43. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol. 155. Detroit: Gale, 2005. From Literature Resource Center.

Question 4
What fuels John Singer’s devotion to his companion, Spiros Antonapoulos? How does Singer feel after Antonapoulos is sent to the asylum?
Singer’s devotion to Antonapolous is fueled by love and the understanding of a friend who shares similar circumstances. It is November when Antonapoulos is sent to the asylum, the story’s timeline moves very quickly afterwards. McCullers writes, “The weeks that followed did not seem real at all. All day Singer worked over his bench in the back of the jewelry store, and then at night he returned to the house alone” (page 12). It is during this period that the reader gets a glimpse into Singers youth; that he was orphaned very young and while in school he had learned American Sign Language and the method of Europeans. He also learned to speak but doing so made him uncomfortable. We also find out that he met Antonapoulos when he was twenty-two years old when he came to the south from Chicago. It was after meeting Antonapoulos that he chose to have “never spoken with his mouth again, because with his friend there was no need for this” (page 13). Singer emerges with “a new feeling of energy” (page 14) in the spring and it is at this time that he decides to move from the rooms he shared with his friend. He walks “silently and alone” through rain and cold and finally reaches a point of “deep calm… In his face there came to be a brooding peace that is seen most often in the faces of the very sorrowful or the very wise” (page 15). It is at this point in Singer’s life that he allows himself to become vulnerable to the hearing world, from which he has had little interaction for ten years, since connecting with Antonapoulos.

Question #5
Why would McCullers choose to tell us so little about Singer’s past?
McCullers allows the reader to develop his/her own theory of what life for as an orphaned deaf child in a major city was like. As an orphan, there could have been other relatives who thought it would be too much trouble to raise a deaf child and therefore put him in an institution. As a child he was intelligent, learning sign language before the other students, which perhaps didn’t make him a favorite among the other children. As an independent young man he moved south to take his first job as an engraver, perhaps arranged by the school/institution where he was raised. The lack of information frames the isolation and loneliness he endured as a child and young adult before meeting Antonapoulos and would endure again after being separating.

Questions #6
Mick Kelly has an “inside room” and an “outside room.” What does this mean? Is this true for the other characters as well?
There are two sides to the character Mick Kelly; the pragmatist and the idealist.
With her it was like there was two places--the inside room and the outside room.
School and the family and the things that happened every day were in the outside
room. Foreign countries and plans and music were in the inside room. ... The
inside room was a very private place. She could be in the middle of a house full of
people and still feel like she was locked up by herself. (195)

Rather than just stating that Mick Kelly is an adolescent, one way in which McCullers shows the reader typical adolescent behavior is by describing how she compartmentalizes her daily life from her dreams. The other characters all have inside and outside rooms; i.e., we witness Dr. Copeland entering his inside room every time he dreams of a better society effectuated by his children. McCullers uses the character of Mick Kelly to develop the theme that each character has secrets, or secret desires. Using the character of an adolescent mind developing a necessary coping mechanism that as adults, becomes so natural we don’t even realize we do it.

Question #7
How different is Dr. Copeland’s view of the world from his daughter’s? What does he want for Portia? Why does she reject her father’s ideal?
Copeland’s view of the world is that of oppression. His mother previously a slave and father a preacher; they educated him and sent him North where he became a doctor. Upon completing his education “he knew his mission and came south again… He went from house to house and spoke the mission and the truth. The hopeless suffering of his people made in him a madness, a wild and evil feeling of destruction.” (Page 172). What he wanted from Portia and his sons was a better life, he wanted them to be educated and able to effect change for equality. Potia rejects her father’s ideals first because she views him as being extreme in his determination toward accomplishing his mission, second he does not hold back his disappointment in his children, and third, he lost the opportunity to have the greatest influence on his children because of his madness. In other words, his view of the world has left a bad taste in their mouths.

Question #8
Why does Jake Blount try to find the person who wrote a Bible passage he saw on a wall?
“Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth” (pg191).
Is this passage significant in any way to Blount’s socialist message?
The evening before Jake sees the message on the wall he tells Singer, “All we can do is go around telling the truth. And as soon as enough of the don’t knows have learned this truth then there won’t be any use for fighting” (page 190). It seems to me that in Jake’s mind, the person who wrote the passage “knows” the truth. Knowing the truth is the foundation for Jake’s socialist message. The truth is that democratic society is based on a lie propagated by the powerful and benefiting only the few. In Blount’s mind, the consumption of that power is necessary for reform and therefore directly related to his message.

Let us know your thoughts on the subject!

--Larry G.

More Talk About the Big Read

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: Reader’s Guide Question 2.
Isolation and loneliness are key themes in the novel. How are they different? What are some of the ways the characters seek to alleviate their feelings of isolation and loneliness?
The terms isolation and loneliness are interchangeable in that a person can feel loneliness and therefore isolate themselves from others, or one person can actually be isolated from others and feel loneliness. I don’t believe that any of the characters are isolated in the sense that they are truly alone, but are in varying degrees separated by location and physical or psychological characteristics.
John Singer is a deaf man, who, until he is separated from his friend Antonapoulos is neither lonely nor isolated. Once separated, the two most obvious reasons he becomes isolated are because he has lost is only friend and becomes the only deaf man in town. His isolation is actually quantifiable and as a result he is lonely. He alleviates his feeling of loneliness by filling his days with work and allows himself to be used as a confidant, which he does poorly, admitting to only understanding some of what is said to him and allowing the other characters to shape how he fits into their worlds. He alleviates his isolation by thinking about his friend, and preparing for his visits to him. When he leaves town to visit his friend he does not inform his new found acquaintances about where he has gone, causing there desperation to be exposed.
The other four characters: Mick Kelly, Jake Blount: Benedict Mady Copeland, and Biff Brannon are people who feel lonely and have isolated themselves for various reasons. Mick because of her awkwardness amongst teens her own age, Jake Blount, an opinionated loud mouth drunk living in fear that someone might agree with him, Copeland, a holier than though doctor who thinks his way is the only right path, and Biff, a local philanthropist widower with tendencies to hoard have all attached themselves to John Singer in an attempt to alleviate their feelings of loneliness and at least feel superior to the deaf man.
The irony is that John Singer’s confidant, Antonapoulos, understands even less of what Singer tells him than Singer’s cohorts back in town share with him. In this relationship, Singer is superior.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know! We love your feedback!

-Larry G.

The Big Read: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

So let’s talk about the Big Read Book, The Heart is a lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers. There will be a number of book discussions coming up in the coming weeks and I thought I would get a head start on the discussion questions supplied by the Library’s Big Read Reader’s Guide.

The first question mentions that the title of McCullers’ book is taken from a poem by William Sharp. More clearly stated the title of the poem is "The Lonely Hunter," by William Sharp writing as Fiona MacLeod which can be found in the University of Virginia online library here.

The second part of this question is: “How does this title relate to the novel’s five main Characters? Why might McCullers have changed it from her original title, The Mute?

Many of the essays written about McCuller’s novel speak of five main characters; I believe them all to overlook Singer’s friend Antonapoulos as being the sixth main character, for it is his relationship with Singer, and his absence that is the driving force for all of Singer’s actions. When Singer loses the only friend he has, the only friend with whom he can communicate, albeit ineffectively, he is thrown into the same circumstance as the four characters who share their thoughts with him, being a lonely hunter. But in the eyes of these four characters Singer is something less than they are; where in his relationship with Antonapoulos, Singer is the well spoken visitor that is not fully understood.

An excerpt from Sharp’s poem.
“Deep in the heart of Summer, sweet is life to me still,
But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill.
Green is that hill and lonely, set far in a shadowy place;
White is the hunter's quarry, a lost-loved human face:”

Sharp’s poem is melancholy; and reflects on the loss of a loved one. McCullers transposes the poem to frame each characters hunt to rationalize their existence and make a mark in society. The title speaks more to the story of the five main characters than if the author had focused primarily on John Singer, “the mute” and encompasses the theme of isolation more effectively.


We'd love to hear your thoughts on this book! Post a comment, or drop in on one of our upcoming book discussions:

Tuesday, April 13th at 11am: Bordeaux Branch
Tuesaday, April 13th at 7pm: Methodist University
Wednesday, April 14th at 10:30am: North Regional Branch
Wednesday, April 14th at 10:30am: Cliffdale Regional Branch
Monday, April 19th at 7pm: Cool Springs Tavern
Tuesday, April 20th at 12:30pm: Charles W. Chesnutt Library
Tuesday, April 20th at 7pm: Spring Lake Branch
Wednesday, April 21st at 11am: Hope Mills Branch
Thursday, April 22nd at 4pm: John L. Throckmorton Library

Happy reading!

--Larry G.

March New Releases

Hey, there, Booktown!

There's a lot to be excited about in March as far as new releases go. Some of the big names in fiction, such as James Patterson, Lisa Scottoline, and both Carol and Mary Higgins Clark, have new titles hitting stores, as well as a few favorites of mine (Christopher Moore, David Baldacci, and Ted Dekker, just to name a few). Here's a sneak peek of a few titles coming up that you may not know about:

March 16th: The Girl Who Chased the Moon, by Sarah Addison Allen

The bestselling author of "The Sugar Queen" brings us another heartfelt and moving novel. Emily came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to find out more about her mother's life. Why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? Why did she vow never to return? However, the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren't solved in Mullaby- they're a way of life.

March 23rd: The Creation of Eve, by Lynn Cullen

Fans of historical fiction will love Cullen's tale of royal intrigue and longing. Based on the story of Sofonisba Anguissola, the first renowned female portraitist of the Renaissance, who flees to Italy after a scandal in Michelangelo's workshop. She becomes a lady-in-waiting to King Felipe II's bride. Sofonisba becomes tangled in a love triangle involving the queen, the king, and the king's illegitimate half brother, Don Juan. The Creation of Eve has all the makings of a great novel: scandal, excitement, and history!

March 30th: 31 Bond Street, by Ellen Horan

Horan brings us a high intensity murder mystery set in New York City in the 1850's, when corruption was a way of life. When an errand boy discovers Burdell’s nearly decapitated body in the bedroom of his home at 31 Bond St, there are no witnesses and virtually no clues. With the city up in arms over the vicious killing, District Attorney Abraham Oakey Hall immediately suspects Emma Cunningham, the young widow who has been caring for Burdell’s home in exchange for a marriage proposal. Can Emma prove her innocence and spare herself from the gallows?

Happy reading!!

--Jenn C

Family Affair

I've been a fan of Caprice Crane since her first book, "Stupid and Contagious," hit shelves in 2006. Her follow-up, "Forget About It," placed me firmly in her fan club. What I love about Crane is that her characters are perfectly flawed. They bumble through life, as most of us do, with their share of baggage and neurosis, in a way that is both endearing and entirely relatable. I have a hard time reading a book full of perfect characters, who always say the right thing at the right time, and always know how to react in any given situation. I want my love stories to seem as if they might actually last past the last page of the book.

Crane's new release, "Family Affair," has many of the same elements that endeared me to her first two novels. Layla and Brett Foster have been together since...well, forever. They were high school sweethearts who got married shortly after finishing college. Now almost thirty, Brett is struggling with the marriage, feeling like their relationship has gotten stale. Layla has been a part of his family since her mother died in the tenth grade, but lately Brett is beginning to feel as if Layla is more of a sister than a wife. She spends more time cooking with his mother, playing poker with his father, owning a business with his sister, and serving as a confidant to his brother than she does attending his football games (he's the coach). One night at dinner, while Layla is thinking that Brett is going to announce that he wants children, Brett instead announces that he wants a divorce.

Layla is understandably crushed- how could you not be? However, she is determined not to lose both Brett and his family. Over the years, they have come to see her as a part of the family, and she isn't about to lose everything she has simply because her husband no longer wants to be married. Brett becomes increasingly angry and jealous of Layla, especially when he finds that his family (along with most of his friends) have taken her side in this dispute. He becomes absolutely livid when Layla files for joint custody of his family, and becomes determined to push her away by any means necessary.

The insanity that follows Brett's announcement is, in equal parts, both heartbreaking and hysterical. Both Brett and Layla are perfectly aware of how immature they are being, yet seem incapable of rising above their conflicting emotions in order to be the bigger person. "Family Affair" showcases all of the mistakes people make in dealing with loved ones, and how the power of family can overcome (almost) any obstacle. Within Brett and Layla, one can see the answers to the question of what goes wrong in a relationship.

I will admit that the ending is a bit more abrupt and storybook-ish than what seems reasonable for the amount of damage each party has done to the other (after all, Brett DID bring another woman to Christmas with him, knowing Layla would be there. This isn't something that's likely to be easily forgiven). All in all, however, Crane has produced an incredibly realistic, touching, and entertaining story about marriage, family, and love.

--Jenn C.

Handle With Care

The next four weeks will bring many popular new releases, with highly anticipated titles coming from many of today's top-selling authors. Danielle Steele's "Big Girl" comes out next week, Clive Cussler's "Silent Sea" is set to release March 9th, and Harlan Coben's "Caught" will hit bookshelves on March 23rd. Nonfiction books are also making waves in March, with both Mitt Romney and Karl Rove generating notable buzz about their upcoming memoirs. However, the new book I'm the most excited about is Chelsea Handler's "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang."

Handler is a stand-up comedian and the host of the late-night talk show "Chelsea Lately." Her previous two books, "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" and "My Horizontal Life" were both on the New York Times Bestseller list. Similar to her stand-up act, her books focus on stories from her personal life, which are equally witty, off-kilter, and downright hysterical.

"Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" promises to deliver more of what I have come to expect from Handler: more ridiculous stories told from the odd perspective that can only be Chelsea. Nothing is safe from Handler- from Lean Pockets and Sex and the City to Cabbage Patch Dolls. I'm particularly interested in hearing her story of how she once managed to convince her boyfriend that there were Swiss Army Knives in the soles of her $16,000 shoes (that power of persuasion is something every woman should learn!!)

Fans of Celia Rivenbark (author of "Bless Your Heart, Tramp" and "We're Just Like You, Only Prettier") will love Handler's books. Check out a copy of "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang," set to release March 9th, but beware- this book will likely cause readers to snort unbecomingly from laughter, so you may consider reading alone!

--Jenn C.