Good Reads & Views

When the Killing’s Done by T. Coraghessan Boyle
FIC Boyle, T. Coraghessan

Boyle, a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California, depicts a suspenseful conflict between the National Park Service’s need to kill invasive species of animals that destroy native flora and fauna on the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara and animal rights activists who strongly believe that it is wrong to kill any animals at all.  Alma Boyd Takesue is a biologist in charge of the Park Service’s successful campaign to eliminate non-native rats on one island and the following campaign to kill feral pigs on another island so that native foxes and birds whose eggs were devastated by the pigs can be reintroduced.  Local businessman Dave LaJoy leads a fictional offshoot of PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in daily demonstations, lawsuits, and even illegal efforts to circumvent the NPS.

Art of Nature: Three Centuries of Natural History Art from Around the World By Judith Magee
704.943

Published by the Natural History Museum in London, Manager of the Art Collections Judith Magee has selected hundreds of fascinating full-color illustrations from the museum’s collection of rare books showing flowers, birds, animals, insects, fish, and native peoples depicted by artists accompanying European expeditions, trading posts, and colonies in the Americas, Australasia, Asia, and Africa from the 1530s to the 1830s.  Each section includes an overview followed by full-page depictions with informative captions.  See also The Art and Science of William Bartram by Magee.

A New Song by Jan Karon
CD Book Karon, Jan 

Book five of the Mitford series by Jan Karon continues the story of Father Timothy Kavanaugh and his wife Cynthia and the little town of Mitford.  With a little help from the Lord and their friends in Mitford Father Tim manages to act as interim minister for the tiny parish of Whitecap in North Carolina’s Outer Banks all the while keeping up with the lovely people of Mitford.  This one is full of the same wonderful characters and few new quirky ones.  The Mitford series on audio continues to please its readers with the wonderful narration of John McDonough.     

Gatsby’s Girl by Caroline Preston
FIC Preston, Caroline

F. Scott Fitzgerald had a great first love who dumped him to marry someone else. This is the fictionalized account of Ginevra, a Lake Forest socialite who gets into a bit of trouble and is sent to a St. Paul boarding school where she meets Fitzgerald. She soon grows tired of him and ends up marrying an aviator from her social circle. Ginevra ends up reading all of Fitzgeralds books and finds herself reflected in many of his female characters and also wondering what might have been. Imaginative, moving, and well written.

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar
153.83 IYE

An award-winning book that explores the choices we make, why we make them, how different cultures go about making them, and how we feel about them. Is choice always liberating and does it always make us feel more in control? Or can not having a choice make us feel more secure and relaxed? Do we really make choices based on what we think we want, or are there other influences at play? Iyengar uses many studies, some her own, to demonstrate why having a lot of choices isn’t necessarily the road to contentment and satisfaction.

Among the Departed by Vicki Delaney
FIC Delaney, Vicki

A 5 year old boy is reported missing from his family campsite and Constable Molly Smith accompanies her boyfriend Adam of the RCMP and his rescue dog in looking for the child. When they find the child they also uncover some human remains. Fifteen years ago the father of Molly’s then best friend disappeared without a trace and the bones are soon identified as those of the missing father.  Molly begins an investigation of the cold case and when old questions get asked again and overlooked stones are turned over, it leads to unexpected answers as to why the victim disappeared and turned up dead. Multiple subplots make this a delightful and cozy mystery.

Snow Angels by James Thompson
FIC Thompson, James

The debut of a new series featuring Inspector Kari Vaara and set in remote Lapland, Finland. A beautiful Somali film actress is found naked and gruesomely mutilated in a snowfield just before Christmas. It is a murder with both sexual and racial overtones. Kari quickly identifies the prime suspect who happens to be the man for whom his ex-wife left him years ago. Other facts emerge and he has more suspects, several theories, and no conclusions. Tangled small town relationships and the Finnish culture and religion make for a fascinating plot and a riveting read.

The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
CD Audiobook Parkhurst, Carolyn

While visiting New York to deliver her latest book manuscript to her publisher, Octavia Frost sees a news flash that her estranged son Milo, a rock star, has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. The manuscript, which consists of alternate endings to her previous novels, is abandoned as she flies to San Francisco to be near her son. Their reconciliation takes place even as Milo confesses to his mother that he may have committed the murder. Their story is interspersed with fragments of Octavia’s books—both their original and revised endings—which provide fascinating insight into her life and her family. The audiobook is wonderfully read by Kimberly Farr.