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The Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and
Annie Barrows
Virginia's book of the month is The Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and
Annie Barrows. Though it deals with a dark period in history,
this first novel is an essentially sunny work. London, 1946:
writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a
founding member of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie
Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of Guernsey during
the German occupation, and about a society as extraordinary
as its name. Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters,
Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends,
and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. Born as a spur-of-the-moment
alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by
the Germans occupying their island, boasts a charming, funny,
deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists,
literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence
with the society's members, learning about their island, their
taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation
has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets
sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this
novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises,
and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
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The Room
by Emma Donoghue
Julie and Jacqueline''s book of the month is
The Room by Emma Donoghue. Room earns a place of honor that
distinguishes itself with a gripping subject that never sinks
into gloom, but always floats on a current, which is Donoghue's
signature creativity. At the start of Donoghue's powerful
new novel, narrator Jack and his mother, who was kidnapped
7 years earlier when she was a 19-year-old college student,
celebrate his fifth birthday. They live in a tiny, 11-foot-square
soundproofed cell in a converted shed in the kidnapper's yard.
Talented, versatile Donoghue relates a searing tale of survival
and recovery, in the voice of a 5-year-old boy--wrenching,
as befits the grim subject matter, but also tender, touching,
and at times unexpectedly funny.
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The Madonnas
of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse
Sue's book of the month is The Madonnas of
Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse. "We slipped into this country
like thieves, onto the land that once was ours." With these
words, spoken by an illegal Mexican day laborer, The Madonnas
of Echo Park takes us into the unseen world of Los Angeles,
following the men and women who cook the meals, clean the
homes, and struggle to lose their ethnic identity in the pursuit
of the American dream. Skyhorse writes with great compassion
and wit (and a touch of magic) about the lives of people who
are often treated as if they are invisible. The stories that
make up this novel weave together to create a complex and
vivid portrait of a Los Angeles we seldom see in literature
or film.
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NO book this month, but a heartfelt
thank you to our friend Michele Lonergan, who for years has
contributed her recommendations to this newsletter. She owned
and operated Treehouse Books in Holland for the last 7 years,
a small independent bookstore, and with great sadness she
closed her doors last week. In her own words, "The bookstore
has been a gathering place for all ages, where people came
to discuss books, meet authors, and share their love of the
written word." When we meet a friend for coffee or at a party,
we talk about what we are reading, and we connect in ways
that are not like any other, whether it is meaningful and
insightful, or just humorous. Many thanks to Michele, your
store will be missed, but may the next path you take be an
adventure that shines the light wherever you tread (and read).
In closing, we ask that you support your independently-owned
bookstore, the place where the owners can get to know you
and can recommend some great reads to you, your family, and
your friends. Our local indie is the Singapore Bank Bookstore
in Saugatuck (269-857-3785). They have a fine selection of
books, and they can also order anything your heart desires.
Also, to find an indie bookstore in your neighborhood, check
out the link provided and enter your zip code at http://www.indiebound.org/indie-store-finder.
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When You
Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Virginia's Book of the Month is When You Are Engulfed in
Flames by David Sedaris. I read the entire book yesterday
afternoon and I could not stop laughing. His descriptions,
dialogue, and demented details are uniquely Sedaris. Older,
wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris defies the odds once again
by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an
absurd life. He has a deft touch, moving between sarcasm and
sadness or, in this collection, between redneck babysitters
and quitting smoking. This book did not disappoint.
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A group
of renowned editors to give us their best summer reading recommendations
Last month, more than 5,000 librarians from around the country
gathered in Portland, Oregon, for the Public Library Association
Convention.
At the convention, internationally known literature expert
and librarian Nancy Pearl convened a group of renowned editors
to give us their best summer reading recommendations. We've
listed the authors alphabetically (we only have room through
the letter C):
Bender, Aimee; The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
(A girl tastes her mother's emotions through cake)
Blake, Sarah; The Postmistress
(What havoc can ensue if a postmistress keeps a letter instead
of delivering it?)
Brown, Harriet; Brave Girl Eating: A Family's Struggle with
Anorexia
(A mother struggles to save her daughter from anorexia)
Bronsky, Alina; Broken Glass Park
(A young Russian immigrant in Berlin)
Caldwell, Gail; Let's Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of
Friendship
(Friendship formed over a dog walk sustains two women through
life and death of one of them)
Cameron, W. Bruce; A Dog's Purpose
(What happens when a dog has unfinished business and can't
get to heaven?
Castillo, Linda; Pray for Silence: A Thriller
(In Ohio, Amish country Police Chief Kate Burkholder comes
face to face with pure evil)
Coonts, Deborah; Wanna Get Lucky?
(Set in Las Vegas with a protagonist named Lucky)
Cousteau, Jean-Michael and Daniel Paisner; My Father, the
Captain: My Life With Jacques Cousteau
(Just what it sounds like - a tribute to a father and his
life's work by his son)
Cronin, Justin; The Passage
(An apocalyptic novel)
The rest of the list can be found at http://heightslibrary.org/wordpress/director/?p=26
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The Lakeshore
Limited by Sue Miller
Sue's book of the month is The Lakeshore Limited
by Sue Miller. Four multilayered characters--Leslie, Billy,
Rafe, and Sam --come to life in the pages of this devastating
and elegant novel set in 2007. They intersect in the repercussions
of the memory of Gus, who died on September 11, 2001, when
the plane on which he was a passenger slammed into the World
Trade Center. Miller wades into the realm of post-9/11 grieving
complications. A central theme is the question: "How does
one properly grieve the loss of someone with whom the relationship
was falling apart when death intervened? What are the rules
that govern such a situation?" In a broader context, Miller
seems to be asking the questions: "What does it mean for the
four main characters in this novel--and all of humanity, by
extension--to play by the rules or to choose to break the
rules? What are the consequences of those choices to obey
or to flaunt or to make up new rules?".
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At Least
Someone in the City would hear me Scream by Wade Rouse
Mary's book of the month is At Least Someone
in the City would hear me Scream by Wade Rouse. Finally fed
up with the frenzy of city life, Wade Rouse decided to make
either the bravest decision of his life or the worst mistake
since a botched Ogilvy home perm: uproot his life and try,
as Thoreau did some 160 years earlier, to survive...living
a plain, simple life in radically reduced conditions. At Least
in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream is what happens when
a self-obsessed gay man with a penchant for bronzer and he-capri's
leaves the lattes behind and wanders into the wild to dwell
in a knotty-pine cottage and live up to the tenets set forth
in Walden. Battling bloodthirsty critters, enduring nosy neighbors
with night-vision goggles, and inhaling the distinct whiff
of boredom no firewood-scented Henri Bendel candle can hide,
Rouse's spirit, sanity, relationships, and Kenneth Cole pointy-toe
boots are sorely tested. But he ultimately discovers something
in the woods outside Saugatuck, Michigan, that he always dreamed
of but never thought he'd find--happiness and a home.
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Let the
Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Sue's book of the month is Let the Great World
Spin by Colum McCann. McCann chooses to describe one day in
the life of New York City, the day in 1974 that the aerialist
walked between the not-quite-finished Twin Towers. The chasm
between rich and poor, the joy of connection, and the inevitability
of our mortality are told through the lives of six different
New Yorkers, including that incredible man dancing on that
thin wire who epitomizes joy and triumph, there is Corrigan,
a radical young Irish monk who struggles with his own demons
as he lives among the prostitutes in the middle of the burning
Bronx. There is a group of mothers who gather in a Park Avenue
apartment to mourn their sons who died in Vietnam, only to
discover just how much divides them even in grief. A young
artist finds herself at the scene of a hit-and-run that sends
her own life careening sideways. Tillie, a 38-year-old grandmother,
turns tricks alongside her teenage daughter, determined not
only to take care of her family but also to prove her own
worth. Elegantly weaving together these and other seemingly
disparate lives, McCann's powerful allegory comes alive in
the unforgettable voices of the city's people, unexpectedly
drawn together by hope, beauty, and the artistic crime of
the century.
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The Girl
Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Melissa and Michele's book of the month is
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. In his second
novel, the seething heroine, Lisbeth Salander, once again
finds herself paired with journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the
trail of a sinister criminal enterprise. Only this time, Lisbeth
must return to the darkness of her own past (more specifically,
an event coldly known as "All the Evil") if she is to stay
one step ahead--and alive. The Girl Who Played with Fire is
a break-out-in-a-cold-sweat thriller that crackles with stunning
twists and dismisses any talk of a sophomore slump. Fans of
Larsson's prior work will find even more to love here, and
readers who do not find their hearts racing within the first
five pages may want to confirm they still have a pulse. Expect
healthy doses of murder, betrayal, and deceit. An amazing
sequel to an amazing first book.
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Perfume
Dreams by Andrew Lam
Micheles Book of the Month is Perfume Dreams,
a brilliant first collection of the work of frequent NPR contributor,
journalist, and Pacific News Service Editor Andrew Lam. He
uses his work over the last two decades to explore his life
as an American and to return to his Vietnamese heritage. His
struggle and that of a million other Vietnamese expatriates
is much the same as many others who belong to two countries.
His insights point out the unique situation of today and what
it is like to go home. Andrew Lam writes with such great passion
and sensitivity that one becomes totally absorbed in his essays
that are in his award winning book Perfume Dreams. Truly a
gifted effort that delivers a literary image of what it feels
like to be a Vietnamese-American immigrant.
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Please support your local and independent bookstore.
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