Good Reads & Views

Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman  
Fiction  

Bernice G!, a well known talk show host who is very flamboyant and a compulsive liar, now 50 something, decides to locate the daughter she gave up for adoption at birth. Bernice’s now 36-year-old daughter, April Epner, is a high school Latin teacher who lives a quiet, boring life, spending her weekends in her pajamas. The relationship between April Epner and her newly discovered mother, the celebrity, is often strained and filled with misunderstandings, but it is ultimately a warm and positive experience for both. This humorous and upbeat story will keep you laughing or smiling to the very end.

Americus by M. K. Reed
Young Adult Fiction

Americus is the name of the town in Oklahoma where Neil and Danny live. The two have been eagerly awaiting the release of the latest book in the Chronicles of Apathea Ravenchilde series. Danny gets the book out first, but when his religious mom catches him reading a book about witches, she insists that the book be withdrawn from the public library. When Danny sticks up for the book and then announces he’s gay, his mom sends him to military school.

Neil then has to enter high school alone, but he makes some friends and grows up along the way, eventually sticking up for his favorite book series as well as for himself. I liked how Apathea’s story wove in with Neil’s, and I cared about the characters and rooted for them. For another graphic novel about growing up, try Smile by Raina Telgemeier. For coming-of-age fiction that includes cartoons, try The Accidental Genius of Weasel High by Rick Detorie or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Fiction

Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel, set in Jackson, MS in the early 1960s, is a great book and highly recommended on audio.  Skeeter Phelan, raised by a black maid, returns from college and reconnects with her childhood girlfriends Elizabeth and Hilly.  She receives a rejection letter from Harper & Roe publishing for a job in New York City and is advised to get more experience and begin writing stories of her own.  While writing the Miss Myrna column for the Jackson Journal Skeeter begins to pay attention to the interaction between her friends and their maids and decides to get the maids to tell their stories which she will submit to Harper & Roe.  The book is funny but gives a lot of insight into the lives of the black maids in the south during a very turbulent time in history. 

Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick
Fiction    

This historical fiction novel set in 1896 is about a Norwegian American woman named Helga Estby who accepts a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months in an effort to earn $10,000. Walking with her was her reluctant nineteen year-old daughter Clara.  The two make their way by following the railroad tracks but they arrive just short of their expected time frame.  The book explores Clara’s life after the walk and how the journey with her mother affected the rest of her life.  Narrated by Kimberly Farr.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
Fiction  

Maine is the story of the Kellehers and the 3 generations of women.  Maine is the place where the family descends every summer to spend time at the cottage built by the family on the property that was won in a barroom bet after World War II.  Maggie, Ann Marie, Kathleen and Alice are four women who while they may have nothing in common, like it or not, are family and the author takes us into their lives, into their secrets and hardships.  This book is wonderfully narrated by Ann Marie Lee.  This is the second book by J. Courtney Sullivan.

Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
Fiction

It is 1348 and the plague is making its rounds in Great Britain amidst an atmosphere of superstition, fear and religious persecution. Nine strangers are brought together by chance, zigzagging the country in a feeble attempt to outrun the “pestilence” in the mistaken belief that it surely affects only those living on the coast who have had contact with the “foreigners” responsible for the scourge. Each member of the group has a story to tell, and each one has a secret and may not be what they appear to be. How did Camelot the peddler come by those horrible scars? What is Zophiel the magician hiding in his wagon? What is the real story with the painter and his pregnant wife?  And who or what is Narigorm, the white-haired child who reads runes? The questions start accumulating. Then one of the motley crew dies, then another, and another and a wolf keeps howling…..

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
Nonfiction

This highly readable and enjoyable 2011 National Book Award winner tells the story of the development of modernity, by way of apostolic secretary Poggio Bracciolini. A humanist who turned avid book collector, Poggio scoured monasteries for ancient Latin texts and, in 1417, discovered De rerum natura, or “On the Nature of Things” by Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher who was born in 99 BCE. Lucretius was a follower of Epicurus and his verse seeks the pursuit of happiness as the highest goal in a life void of superstitions and religious dogma and the accompanying threats of punishment in the afterlife. The discovery of this book fueled the Renaissance, inspiring personalities such as Botticelli, Galileo, Darwin, Montaigne, and Shakespeare, among others.

Monument to Murder: a Capital Crimes Murder by Margaret Truman
Fiction

The latest and probably last installment in Truman’s popular series (she died in 2008).  Robert Brixton, a Savannah, Georgia P.I. is hired to investigate a 20 year old mystery involving the murder of a young African American woman released from prison after serving time for manslaughter. Brixton’s investigation takes him into the heart of Washington, D.C and a cover-up that reaches to the highest levels of government. Longtime series regulars Mackenzie and Annabel Lee Smith make a cameo appearance as Brixton encounters politicians and their families who seem to think nothing of committing crimes to save face and their good names. A sordid tale of blackmail and murder.

Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson
Fiction

This is a heartwarming story of two women who meet as neighbors in a small Swedish village. Elderly Astrid is a recluse with a reputation as the “village witch.” Thirty year old Veronika is a writer trying to finish a novel and come to terms with a recent tragedy. They are two completely different people but as their friendship deepens the women find they are each other’s inspiration, sharing their life stories, pains and successes. A penetrating insight into the ways people need each other to flourish.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Fiction

The wittiest, grimmest Western of the year. Also, a Western for those who don’t read Westerns. Eli Sisters narrates the story in his own particular wry tone, and his narration makes this book sing. Eli and his brother Charlie are hired guns, and they’re not nice guys. It’s the 1850s, and they’ve set out to the west to commit yet another murder-for-hire. Eli decides this will be his final job with his brother before he retires to a kinder, gentler life. Naturally, his old job doesn’t let him loose without a fight. If you enjoyed True Grit, give this book a whirl.