She Is Too Fond Of Books …

Requiem, Mass.: A Novel by John Dufresne
Paperback: 330 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (July 6, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0393334869

Back-of-the-book blurb: John Dufresne takes us to Requiem, Massachusetts, where Johnny’s mom, Frances, is driving in the breakdown lane once again.  Dad, truck driver and pathalogical liar, is down South somewhere living his secret life.  And little sister Audrey, when she’s not walking her cat Deluxe in a baby stroller, spends her time locked in a closet.  Johnny, meanwhile, is hell-bent on saving the family from itself.

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Requiem, Mass. had me from the start.  There’s the title, of course; a Requieum Mass is part of a funeral service in which the congregation prays for the peace of the soul of the deceased.  In Dufresne’s novel, Requiem may stand in for the author’s hometown of Worcester; it’s also wonderfully emblematic of the “death” of young Johnny’s family, and his attempts to resuscitate it.  Think of it, there could be an entire series of these:  High, Mass., Low, Mass., Nuptial, Mass., Votive, Mass.; each faux city or town could be populated with Dufresne’s quirky characters and so-extraordinary-it-could-be-true situations.

If the title alone isn’t enough to convince you to pick it up, take a look at the cover photo.  Not only is Prozac symbolically nestled among the kitchen canisters of sugar, flour, and coffee, it also gets the largest container.  Between the double-entrendre title and the clever cover picture, you know this is not going to be a “one big happy family” kind of story.

Johnny narrates the tale, looking back from the present day; or, rather, from three years ahead of the present day.  We find that Johnny is an unreliable narrator, and that is part of his charm.

Not much is as it appears to be in Johnny’s family in Requiem; least of all, the very definition of family.  As his mother, Frances, descends deeper and deeper into a manic state, she claims that Johnny and Audrey are impostors and wonders where her real children are.  Since their father is often on the road and unable to help them, the two children concoct a ruse of staying with friends, and create an entire storyline for this fictional family.  True neighbors, in the apartment below (colorful characters named Red, Violet, Blackie, and Garnet), run interference on behalf of Johnny and Audrey (p 36):

When Audrey and I needed to be out of the house, like when Mom would shake Audrey and scream in her face, the phone would ring, and I’d answer it, tell Mom that Sandilands needed us pronto – they’d decided on the spur of the moment to go dancing at the Club Trocodero.  They’d be out late and we’d need to sleep over. … Earl Sandiland was a captain of industry.  He owned Sandiland Manufacturing, the world’s largest maker of quality dental equipment.  Everyone who knew him called him Captain, including his wife, and he called her his First Mate.

Going to the Sandilands’ usually meant sneaking upstairs to Caeli’s apartment … If Caeli was entertaining a gentleman caller, we stayed downstairs with the Morriseys, Red, Violet, and Blackie.  Red was a retired meter reader for the city water department.  He had a goiter on his neck the size of a cantaloupe and liked to sit out on the front steps listening to the Red Sox broadcast.  In winter, he spent his days ice fishing. …

Dufresne neatly balances the darkness of Frances’ illness with moments of levity.  Neither emotion runs to extremes; I wasn’t sobbing with sorrow or laughing hysterically, simply appreciating a creatively told story.  Sometimes the telling meanders into unexplored alleys or briefly visits characters that we meet only the one time.  I liked that Dufresne wove these seemingly disparate scenes into the overall fabric of Requiem, Mass., these embellishments added to Johnny’s personality and helped the reader to understand what shaped him.

Is Johnny the author, John Dufresne?  Is Requiem really the city of Worcester, Massachusetts?  Dufresne addresses these questions in a note in the Reading Group Guide at the back of the Norton paperback:

I wanted to write a story about two chidren trying to survive their difficult childhoods, and I wanted to play with the forms of fiction and memoir.  Fiction is telling the truth; memoir is telling the facts, and facts are subject to interpretation. … So I hit on the idea of letting Johnny, the narrator, a fiction writer himself, and my alter ego, I suppose, … write a memoir, and I let him know that he could appropriate any of my memories as his own, and no one would be any the wiser.  Johnny writes about how he came to save his family, only to lose them again, and I write about Johnny coming to understand his past and in so doing come to understand my own.  At least a little bit.

About the author:  John Dufresne is the author of several previous novels, including Louisiana Power & Light, Love Warps the Mind a Little, and Deep in the Shades of Paradise.  He is the author of the non-fiction The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction and the upcoming Is Life Like This?: A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months (February 2010).  I was quite taken by John Dufresne (and Johnny), and plan to read more of his work.

FTC Disclosure: book was available to subscribers of the publisher’s Reading Group Recommendations newsletter

Tags: book review, John Dufresne, Requiem Mass.

Brooks Sigler, author of Five Finger Fiction, brings this week’s Spotlight on Bookstores.  When Brooks isn’t attending an author event, or Buying Local at RiverRun Bookstore, you may find her writing (she’s currently working on a sequel to Five Finger Fiction and other writing projects) or on Twitter. I hope you enjoy her post about being part of the “shift mob” in Portsmouth; do click on RiverRun’s website to view more photos of the store – including an adorable baby in the famous RiverRun canvas bag!

Among the many charming and wonderful things about RiverRun Bookstore in downtown Portsmouth, NH, is how owner Tom Holbrook and his staff live the BUY INDIE message. Tom is one of the founders of Seacoast Local, which has many goals, none the least of which is encouraging people to support local businesses and artists, so the Seacoast retains its character. The first week of December 2009, Seacoast Local sponsored “Buy Local Week,” and I was part of a Seacoast Local “shift mob.”

No, I did not rush the streets with fellow writers and demand more respect for the SHIFT key. I did, however, attend RiverRun Bookstore’s “Buy Local Week” event on December 2, 2009, where Gesine Bullock-Prado fed the “shift mob” to-die-for baked goods and read from and answered questions about her memoir, Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman’s Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker. “Shift mobs,” potentially “shifting” their shopping from national chains to local stores, descended on a range of local businesses throughout the week, to show their support and keep money and jobs in the community.

Perhaps it was the confections Bullock-Prado offered. Perhaps it was the lighting in the room. Perhaps it was the delight with which Michele Filgate, bookseller and Event Coordinator, met her duties. Though I had already purchased one copy of Confections, something compelled me to buy another. Let it be known, I have yet to leave RiverRun without buying a book.

As an author I acquired a Twitter account. (RiverRun uses a variety of technologies to reach its readers.) Through my interactions with several staff members via Twitter, my bond with RiverRun has grown. I was drawn to events, other authors, friendships, and new books. I refuse to look at the bottom of my RiverRun cloth bag (owning and using one provides a 10% discount) and count all the totals on the receipts I have accumulated since the summer. I would estimate I have spent at least a mortgage payment there. Each of the booksellers has spectacular recommendations, but I never go wrong if I look for Michele or Liberty’s recommendations. We seem to be on the same page. Well, no one could be on the same page as Liberty because she reads as many pages as I eat calories per day.

What mortal woman could resist a fresh-smelling, crisp-paged book? Never mind a signed book! I have attended several signings at the bookstore including those of Alice Hoffman, Katherine B. Howe, and Emily St. John Mandel. Michele Filgate, quite frankly, could probably book Stumpy the Wonder Slug for a reading, and people would fill RiverRun to the lees, but I have yet to attend an event where the crowd did not impress me. RiverRun Bookstore has an intangible quality, which mingles with the location, the staff, the events, and the selection to draw people in from the cobblestone streets.

Tags: Brooks Sigler, Five Finger Fiction, Portsmouth, RiverRun, RiverRun Bookstore, Spotlight on Bookstores

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page; you can look over at her site to find links to other readers’ mailboxes.

I’ve had four books come into my hands this week, and none of those were via the mailbox

Three of these were all added to my library on Wednesday of last week, which was a busy and fun bookish day for me.

I met with Stona Fitch, founder of the Concord Free Press, the publisher that is inspiring charitable donations by giving away their books.  I wrote a bit about the Concord Free Press when I attended the launch event for their latest release, Gregory Maguire’s The Next Queen of Heaven.  I understood what they are doing, but wanted to know more about how they came to be … and where they hope to go.  I’ll share Stona’s thoughts in an upcoming post; in the meantime, he shared the Concord Free Press’ debut novel with me, his Give + Take.  His generosity means I’ll have another give away after I’ve read and reviewed it.

I took full advantage of the fact that I had a babysitter for the afternoon and evening!  From my meeting with Stona I took the T into Harvard Square and spent about an hour shopping before meeting up with Marie, aka the Boston Bibliophile.

Marie is exactly how I imagined the person behind the Boston Bibliophile to be (and if you’re not yet reading her blog, hop on over – great literary fiction reviews, graphic novels, and Jewish-interest fiction; honest commentary).  We had a nice dinner of Vietnamese noodle soup.  I had never eaten this type of food before, and was a little unsure of the “rare beef” described in the menu.  Marie told me not to worry, by the time it sits in the hot broth for a while it’s fully cooked – she was right!  The soup was tasty, warm, and filling; the perfect recipe for a cold and rainy evening.

From Le’s we walked around a bit, then went to the Harvard Bookstore for their December Winedown.  Each month the store has a relaxing event where the buyers and booksellers share their favorite books with patrons.  November featured cookbooks, and one of the booksellers made eclairs; I can’t speak for Marie, but you can bet I won’t be missing the next cooking demo!

The December Winedown invited us to the store as “Harvard Book Store General Manager Carole Horne, Head Buyer Megan Sullivan, Backlist Buyer Churchill Pitts, and Children’s Buyer Kari Patch highlight the best and most beautiful books of the year.” Also on tap was an assortment of cookies and wine – a tasty after dinner treat.  Everyone who pre-registered received a gift bag with a list of the books that were highlighted by the store’s buyers, a Harvard Books magnet, and a book!  That’s right, the store shared their books – I got an Advanced Reading Copy of Chang-Rae Lee’s The Surrendered!  Coming in March from Riverhead Books, it’s a story of love and war, spanning thirty years.

Each buyer spoke for about ten minutes about the books they wanted to draw our attention to (and when I say “our” attention, I mean the 100+ people who attended the event).  They had conveniently stocked a table with the books they were highlighting, and were available for Q&A and further discussion after the event.  I purchased Carmen Agra Deedy’s children’s picture book 14 Cows for America (available now from Peachtree Publishers).  This is the story of people in a Kenyan village, who, heartsick over the 9/11 attacks in America, offer “sacred, healing cows [which] can never be slaughtered.”  I’ve read fantastic reviews of this across the blogosphere, and will now add my praise of this heartwarming story.

Lastly, I purchased a cookbook to support Gaining Ground, a local organization that farms on the Thoreau Birthplace in Concord and donates all produce to food pantries and hunger relief programs.  The cookbook is beautiful, and is organized according to New England’s seasonal produce calendar.  I love these community cookbooks, they always seem to have the best tried-and-true recipes.  The Gaining Ground cookbook, of gift-giving quality, is available to order.

What’s new on your bookcase this week?

Tags: Boston Bibliophile, Concord Free Press, Give + Take, Harvard Books, Mailbox Monday

We got our Christmas tree yesterday, and spent the afternoon putting up decorations – ornaments on the tree, candles in the windows, wreaths on the doors, and kids’ holiday artwork all around.

Now I’m left with lots of empty boxes and scattered tissue paper to pick up and pack away.  I lost my little helpers when one of them opened a box and called, “Yay, Mom!  It’s the Christmas books!”  You see, we pack away our seasonal books and get an early gift when we open them each year.

Here’s a partial list of what we found:

• The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (a favorite with games and notes inside)
• A Christmas Treasury (Sesame Street)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury by Alice Low and Marc Brown
• Religious Christmas Stories for Children (Ideals Publishing Co.  This one has been with me since I was a kid; a hardcover with a $1.50 price tag from 1966)
• Christmas Eve (an over-sized board book with clever cut outs and simple text)
• Christmas Magic by Michael Garland
• The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry (I had this when I was young, and was so happy to find that it has been reissued!  A scratch-and-sniff with peppermint, hot chocolate, pine, gingerbread, etc.)
• My Very Own Christmas Prayer Book by Arden W. Mead (this has an advent prayer for every letter of the alphabet.  A lot of text, but reaches the reader with connections – Underwear is Useful, not fun, kind of like gold frankincense and myrrh would have been useful, not something to play with)
• Santa Mouse by Michael Brown
• Dear Santa by Alan Benjamin (a cute little board book with a rhyming list.  I especially like the last page which asks for “something nice for Mommy and Daddy” and shows them on the deck of a cruise ship named Snowflake)
• Do You See What I See? by Arden Mead and David Mead (an “I Spy” type book for advent)
• O Little Town of Bethlehem (an over-sized board book with lights and music!)
• Angelina’s Christmas by Katharine Holabird (who doesn’t love Angelina Ballerina!?)
• My Christmas Stocking by Nancy Parent (another interactive board book; this one says “Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” when you press a button)
• Where’s My Christmas Stocking? by Noelle Carter (a lift the flap book with textures)
• The Pudgy Merry Christmas Book illustrated by Mary Morgan (a pudgy board book about a cute mouse village)
• O Christmas Tree (a pop-up book illustrating the carol)
• The Best Thing About Christmas! by Christine Harder Tangvald (a sweet hardcover picture book that talks about our activities of the season, then gently reminds the reader of the reason for season)
• Peef the Christmas Bear by Tom Hegg (a special teddy bear made of scraps from the elves’ toy shop)

That’s a whole lotta Christmas book, isn’t it?!  I’m sure there are more misplaced on our shelves, and I know you have some (many?) that aren’t listed here.  And, yes, the quality of the books vary – my favorites aren’t necessarily the same as my kids’ favorites, and there are some that I’m ready to pass along (but the kids want to keep).

Here’s one more, the book in the title of this post, and the picture at the top.  It’s The Littlest Angel, written by Charles Tazewell, illustrated by Sergio Leone.  This cover is the version currently available from Ideals Books. A little further down I’ve posted the board book version of The Littlest Angel.

I’ve always loved this story, though perhaps you’d think it would make me sad – the main character is a four-and-a-half year old boy who is an angel in heaven.  Maybe I connected with him – his halo was forever slipping off, he was late to choir practice, and he was always skipping and running while the other angels were able to fly and glide.

One day, the Understanding Angel took the Littlest Angel under his wing (really, I saw it in the picture, I’m not just making a bad pun!), and they talked about all the things from earth that the Littlest Angel missed.  The Understanding Angel sent a Heavenly Messenger back to earth to get a small wooden box out from under the Littlest Angel’s bed.  The box contained the Angel’s earthly treasures – a bird’s egg, small white stones, a dog collar worn by a beloved pet, dried butterfly wings.

One day it became known in heaven that a miracle was about to occur; all the angels hurried about gathering gifts for the Child of God who would soon be born.  The Littlest Angel placed his simple box among all the treasures that had been collected for this special baby.  As soon as he saw the shabby wooden box next to the glittering gifts, the Littlest Angel’s pride turned to shame – his gift looked worthless, why had he thought it would be appropriate?

Then, the hand of God came pulled that wooden box from the stacks of bright shiny gifts,

And the Voice of God spoke, saying, “Of all the gifts of all the angels, I find that this small box pleases Me most.  Its contents are of the Earth and of men, and My Son is born to be King of both.  These are the things my Son, too, will know and love and cherish and then, regretful, will leave behind Him when His task s done.  I accept this gift in the name of the Child, Jesus, born of Mary this night in Bethlehem.”

The box began to glow, brighter and brighter; it rose in the sky and became the shining star of Bethlehem.

I just loved this story as a kid, and, ahem, many years later it still resonates.  The message of simple things having significance as meaningful treasure is powerful; maybe that’s why I’ve held on to The Littlest Angel all these years; it’s one of my simple treasures.

What are your favorite holiday books?

FTC Disclosure:  My copy of The Littlest Angel is copyright 1962 by Grosset and Dunlap, and pre-dates me.  It has travelled with me on moves to four different states, and is stored in the off-season in labelled Christmas tote in our basement.  A priceless and irreplaceable memory.

Tags: book review, Charles Tazewell, Christmas, Sergio Leone, The Littlest Angel

What Can I Bring? Cookbook by Anne Byrn
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company (November 10, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-076114392

Back-of-the-book blurb: Potlucks and picnics, dinner parties and church socials, fundraisers, toasts to the teacher, reunions, cookouts—it’s the busy age of shared meals, which means with every invitation comes the question: ” What can I bring?” Anne Byrn, an inspired cook, problem solver, and bestselling author of The Cake Mix Doctor cookbook, knows exactly how to answer the question. Cutting through menu block, here are over 200 delicious suggestions for crowd-pleasing food that’s designed to travel.

She is Too Fond of Books‘ review: My first FTC-compliant post was a demo/review of Marie’s White Bean and Basil Spread from this cookbook.  At the time, I promised a full review of the book would be posted “in the next week or so.”  Well, time flies when you’re having fun; here’s the review, “in the next month or so.”

Anne Byrn, The Cake Mix Doctor herself, has built a brand around her talent for improving convenience food with tweaks to the recipes and ideas for wow-worthy presentation.  What Can I Bring doesn’t offer recipes for doctoring up mixes and convenience foods; the recipes are, for the most part, “from scratch.”  There are some recipes that include “a can of diced tomatoes,” but every dish doesn’t require the cook to open a can or box.

The thick paperback cookbook includes recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides, and desserts.  I didn’t try anything from the final chapter of the book, but I’m very curious about “It’s a Gift!”.  This section contains wonderful suggestions for hostess gifts from your kitchen, such as Marinated Olives, Glazed Nuts, and Cranberry and Apple Chutney.

Each recipe includes a small sidebar of “tote notes.”  My Sweet and Sour Broccoli Salad suggests:

Transfer the salad to a serving bowl, but don’t garnish it with the bacon.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until you’re ready to leave.  Carry the bacon separately in a small plastic bag and scatter it over the salad just before serving.

Another sidebar includes prompts to note made for, prep notes, don’t forget, special touches, and bring again?.  I write in my cookbooks, and appreciate the dedicated space for these notes.

In addition to Marie’s White Bean and Basil Spread, we tested Beth’s Manicotti.  This is a pasta casserole, intended to serve 6-8 as a main course, or more people as one of several dishes at a potluck dinner.  Our family of two adults and four children devoured the delicious pasta meal, which we ate with crusty bread and a simple green salad.

I liked the recipes we tried, and will make other dishes from this book.  However, even more than the recipes, I enjoyed reading the tips and ideas on planning, transportation (if bringing the dish to someone else’s home), and presentation.  Byrn has checklists for both a potluck host (set a card at the serving table, indicating where food for each course should be placed) and guest (bring appropriate serving utensils for the dish you’re sharing; and label them with your name).

If you like a color photo of each finished recipe, you won’t find it in What Can I Bring?.  As I noted in my review, The Cake Mix Doctor Returns has small photos of each cake at the front of the book, but What Can I Bring? is missing those thumbnails.  I didn’t mind the omission; I’m learning to be a more confident cook (and these recipes are all fairly straight-forward), so I actually enjoy not having that yardstick of a food-styled picture to live up to.

See what else is happening in the kitchens of the blogosphere this weekend.  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking to find links to other food-related posts.  There may be book reviews, recipes, kitchen gadget tips and tricks …

Tags: Anne Byrn, book review, What Can I Bring? Cookbook

This article is for anyone interested in human rights, especially those who are concerned about how women and girls are treated in developing nations.  It’s a bit long, but there’s a lot to say … (please stick around, I have an invitation for you at the bottom of this post).

A few months ago I received an email from a favorite local bookstore, outlining their upcoming events.  One author appearance highlighted was a visit by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the first husband and wife team to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.  Their book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, shares personal stories of women from developing nations, and actively encourages readers to get involved to combat hunger, poverty, and opression.  It sounded like a wonderful program, and I would have loved to have attended, but, it sold out before I registered (note to self: the early bird really does get the worm … Just Do It!)

Recently I was sent information about the ways Half the Sky has inspired action; read on to learn about the collective power of book clubs:

In an interesting new take on engaging readers and encouraging activism, one organization is enlisting book clubs to help fight global hunger and poverty. The relief and development agency Mercy Corps is challenging readers and book clubs across the country to read Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn.  Readers are encouraged to learn, share and take action. The book club challenge is part of a broader campaign called One Table, which raises awareness of how investing in women can successfully combat world hunger and poverty.

In September, Pulitzer Prize winning writers Kristof and WuDunn released the book Half the Sky, which through the moving stories of women from around the globe, sheds light on the causes and effects of hunger, poverty and oppression in developing communities. Kristof and WuDunn’s compelling stories reveal how investing in women is one of the most effective ways to significantly bring about change in today’s world.

Through One Table, book clubs are encouraged to take action in this “fight” by reading Half the Sky, discussing it with friends and hosting fundraisers to help women around the world struggling with poverty and hunger.  The challenge posed: the book club that compiles the most impressive record of activism by June 15, 2010 will receive a visit and discussion session with Kristof and WuDunn. In creating One Table, Mercy Corps is making it simple for people to get involved and forge relationships with others that share in their interest to fight global oppression.

Book clubs from across the country have eagerly responded to this challenge, excited to help women like the ones they have read about. Here is what a few inspired women had to say about their experience reading the book:

• “Half the Sky illustrates more than these global ills; it shows us how vital females and the female role in everyday society are. While one could focus on the tragic stories in this book, and the stories of slavery that can overwhelm us in the media, there is also great hope to be found. The very fact that we are hearing these voices indicates that there is survival and a light after the pain. These voices call us to action and give us support.” – Nadja Griffis, Ocala, FL
• “I plan on giving Half the Sky to many friends and hope it will inspire them to take action. I am especially interested in the Teach the World program mentioned in chapter eight. I plan to research it and contribute to it.”- Judy Saunders, Houston, TX
• “After hearing the stories of these incredibly brave girls and women, I can’t help but feel inclined to do whatever is in my means to try and make a difference. I plan to start with the steps outlined in the “what you can do” chapter and see where it takes me. I don’t have a lot to give, but the book showed that sometimes the small things can help make a big impact.”- Katie Bookey, Portland, OR
• “After reading Half the Sky, I cannot say that I see the world differently but I can assure you the reality in which I live has taken on new meaning. I was not born wealthy but after reading this book, I realize I have what is necessary to make a difference in my life as well as in the lives of women throughout the world.” - Kimberly Blackman, Orlando, FL
• “My family will absolutely move forward on the four steps outlined at the end of the book. And we are most excited about sponsoring a girl though Plan International. It will be wonderful for our children to be involved first-hand and play a role in communication.” – Michelle Truelson, Portland, OR
• “I’m inspired because I’m angry! Over and over as I was reading, I felt shocked, awed and frustrated–not only by the scale of the injustice against girls and women worldwide, but by the world’s indifference. We tend to think of crimes against humanity happening in a specific place or culture, but what is truly jaw-dropping in this case is the pervasiveness of the attitudes that allow these crimes occur and go unpunished, across cultures, classes and geography. Education has to be part of the solution. The first thing I am going to do is make sure everyone I know reads this book! The plight of women and girls in the developing world has been ignored too long already.” – Kate Rothen, Brooklyn, NY

For more information:

• On Half the Sky
• To read Half the Sky and enter Mercy Corps’ book club challenge

Half the Sky was published by Knopf on September 8, 2009.  Back-of-the-book blurb:  From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.

With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope.

They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS.

Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.

Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational, Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.

Note from the authors:

“We wrote a book devoted to women in the developing world because if you want to fight poverty and extremism, you need to educate and empower women and bring them into the economy. A country can’t grow and be stable if half the population is marginalized. Mercy Corps is helping spread this message through their One Table campaign. And you can help advance the cause by registering your book club on this site. You’ll receive a moderator’s kit to help guide the discussion and guidelines on how to host a fundraising event to support Mercy Corps’ work with women and families. Please join the conversation, because we all have a role to play.

“Thank you.”

—Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Here’s your invitation, open to all:  The ideas within Half the Sky and One Table dovetail nicely with the focus of the Women Unbound Reading Challenge.  I’d like to create a mini-challenge for it … maybe you’d like to bring something to the table?

Tags: Half the Sky, Mercy Corps, Nicholas Kristof, One Table, Sheryl WuDunn

… as chosen by a dozen book bloggers.

Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations asked us to chose our pick for the Best Book Club Selection of 2009.  What makes a “best” discussion group book?  In my opinion, it has to be well-written, highly discussable (which may include controversy), and one that is fairly new on the bookstore shelves (so that it’s a first read for most of the group).

My pick was Masha Hamilton’s 31 Hours (my review).  Click here to see why I selected it, and to read the rest of the list.

There are over 330 book lists at Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations – from preschool favorites to retirement fantasies – pop over and browse a bit.

How many of the dozen Best Book Club Selections of 2009 have you read?

How does your book group choose its books?

Tags: 31 Hours, Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations, Masha Hamilton

Delia Cabe, author of today’s Spotlight on Bookstores tells me she has “a typical freelance writer’s life, writing to earn a living–with two cats supervising my work–while trying to find time for writing projects that are closest to my heart, i.e., a book project. “  Her blog Girls Sent Away, consists of  bits and pieces of a memoir in progress, about growing up in the sixties as the daughter of a single mother in Manhattan and being sent to boarding school at age 6.  In addition to Girls Sent Away, Delia maintains two other blogs:  Vine Designs, a gallery of fun wine labels, and Cafe Delia, which is more eclectic.  She also teaches magazine writing at a college, and writes for national magazines about health and fitness, most recently for Self and Prevention. Also write on other topics

Read on for her Spotlight piece, which she has titled “A Sad Farewell.”  It is  a eulogy to a beloved local bookstore, set to close after the New Year.

I learned of Charlesbanks Books impending closing from two little girls standing outside the store. One of them handed me a flyer they had made: “Save our bookstore one person at a time” was written in their neatest handwriting. They had taken their Saturday morning to enlist others to prevent the bookstore from shutting its doors. “I love books,” one of the girls told me. “All kinds of books.”

I do too. I’ve had a lifetime relationship with books. I’ve lived here for 20 years and was so pleased that my little town had a bookstore. But this news broke my heart. My town would have a big hole. I joined the Facebook group, “Save the Belmont Center Book Store” and scanned its members, many of whom are high school students. Posted on the wall:

“oh noooo, now where am i supposed to go to get my books the night before i need them? ”

“THEY CAN’T DO THIS.”

“They” is Barnes & Noble, owner of the shop after a series of sales, mergers and acquisitions. The bookstore was never a Barnes & Noble mega-store, and that’s its appeal.  The store is like a neighborhood bookstore because it began as one.  When I moved to Belmont, the store was occupied by Reading International, a general bookstore, which back then also had a store on the corner of Church and Brattle in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass.  The owner, Sheldon Cohen, was behind the iconic Out of Town News kiosk at the entrance of the Harvard Square subway stop as well.  In the 1990s, I noticed that the inventory at Reading International was getting thinner.  Fewer books were available to the town’s avid readers.  I often wondered why the store didn’t do more to attract shoppers.  Soon, there was no reason to buy books there.  The end was obviously near.

Along came Charlesbank Books, another area indie bookseller, and rescued the store.  I was thrilled.  The place was reinvigorated.  It felt like a bookstore—helpful sales clerks, tables of the latest novels, thrillers, bios, shelves of classics, the latest magazines and a wonderful children’s section.  The place bustled.  Toddlers would scamper in, head straight to the back of the store and flop on the floor with picture books.  Adults scoured the aisles, occasionally sitting in a chair to test-run a book.  The clerks wandered the store, chatting with customers, arranging books and ringing up sales at the front.  The store was never a destination for author tours, but that was fine with me.

Around 1994, the national chain B. Dalton took over, and a few years later, the store was absorbed by Barnes & Noble, when it acquired B. Dalton.  I had worried about what a large chain would do to my neighborhood indie, and the answer was, “not too much.”  Sure, there was the logo, the club membership, and the B&N tchotchkes.  And sure, there was a slight change in the breadth and scope of books available: best sellers and fewer classics.  But I could live with that, as long as I had my bookstore.  It fit perfectly with the town center’s easy-going feel.

As word spread, town residents were upset enough to ask their State Representative, Will Brownsberger, to see if he could convince Barnes & Noble to take this beloved bookstore off its list of closures.  He spoke with Mitchell Clipper, the chain’s chief operating officer, to no avail.  The decision is firm.  The store was losing money, Clipper said, but did not reveal to Brownsberger how much.  “It’s over,” Clipper said.  (Here’s the text of Brownsberger’s piece)

Our town has been home to several well known authors.  Among them Sebastian Junger, who grew up here, Frances Moore Lappe, who moved here in 2004, and Leah Hager Cohen.  Novelist Tom Perrotta, also a resident, told me in an e-mail: “I live within walking distance of Belmont Center, and have loved having the bookstore there.  It always seems to be like one of the absolute minimum requirements for a good town center.  You need a coffee shop, a good pizzeria, and a bookstore.  Pretty soon Belmont will be missing one leg of the tripod.”

On January 16, Charlesbank Books will close its doors.  Before Thanksgiving, signs were posted all over the store. Everything is now 20 percent off.  The staff may be offered transfers to much larger Barnes & Noble stores in the area.  Customers stop by to purchase some books and express their condolences to the clerks.  I keep hoping some other local indie could step in.  That would make a wonderful beginning to the New Year.

Tags: Charlesbank Books, Delia Cabe, Girls Sent Away, Spotlight on Bookstores

TEASER TUESDAYS is hosted by MizB at Should be Reading; I’ve modified this version to allow more than two sentences from anywhere on the page:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us one or two “teaser” sentences” from that page.  Please share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Here are my two teaser sentences:

Turns out that Monroe’s Santa Claus wore a camouflage suit, combat boots, and a green beret, and he parachuted into the parking lot of Howard Brothers Department Store on Louisville.  You could see that he was aiming for the bed of a Ford pickup, but a gust of wind carried him into the Nativity scene, where he knocked over and decapitated a Wise Man.

This is from John Dufresne’s Requiem, Mass., a sharply written novel in which the very unreliable narrator is a novelist telling the reader about his unusual childhood.  Requiem, Mass. has been my ‘in the car’ book for the past week or so; I’d read it in bits and pieces while waiting to pick up the kids, or standing in line at the Post Office.  Yesterday I decided that I had to bring it out of the car and into the house, and plan to spend some time finishing it today.

Can you share a few sentences from the book you’re reading today?

Tags: John Dufresne, Requiem Mass., Teaser Tuesdays

When She Flew by Jennie Shortridge
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade (November 3, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0451227980

Back-of-the-book blurb: Police officer Jessica Villareal has always played by the book and tried to do the right thing. But now, she finds herself approaching midlife divorced, estranged from her daughter, alone, and unhappy. And she’s wondering if she ever made a right choice in her life.

But then Jess discovers a girl and her Iraq-vet father living off the radar in the Oregon woods, avoiding the comforts-and curses-of modern life. Her colleagues on the force are determined to uproot and separate them, but Jess knows the damage of losing those you love. She recognizes her chance to make a difference by doing something she’s never dared. Because even though she’s used to playing by the rules, there are times when they need to be broken…

She is Too Fond of Books’ review: Jennie Shortridge’s newest novel, When She Flew, is inspired by a true-life event involving a Vietnam War veteran who lives in conservation woods in the Pacific Northwest with his minor daughter.  Like the news event, the characters in When She Flew are found, and their life is changed by the police and social services.  Shortridge takes the news story as a starting place, fictionalizes the known details, and creates intricate backgrounds for the vet (Ray), his daughter (Lindy), and the major players in their discovery and the next few days.

The focus on Shortridge’s novel is on the development of two characters, the police officer Jess Villareal, who has a strained relationship with her own adult daughter (Nina), and Lindy, the teenage girl who seems wise beyond her years.  The format is a very effective way to tell the story.  Shortridge alternates between Jess’ point of view, told in the third person, and Lindy’s POV, told in the first person.

Shortridge draws a parallel between the issues in Jess’ personal life and the struggles that Lindy and Ray will have integrating into the confines of society as dictated by the human services guidelines.  Jess attempts to do for Lindy what she was unable to do for her own daughter.

I loved how Shortridge showed Jess’ growing attachment to Lindy, and the way she compares and contrasts these three female characters.  From Jess’ point of view, when emotional trauma occurred, Jess “had stuffed her emotions … Nina practically vomited them.” (p 75).  She also shows the seeming similarities between Nina and Lindy; according to Jess, Lindy “looked at her the same way Nina had whenever she’d been hurt, or experienced a disappointment, or didn’t understand how the world could be so awful.” (p 95)  Once Jess and the team go in the woods to investigate the sighting, they’re there for almost another 75 pages.  As she seeks Lindy, thoughts of Nina continue to run through Jess’ mind.  She juggles doubts and self-assurance: “Why didn’t I just make it happen? … Why didn’t I do more to make her stay? … I am not the worst parent in the world.”

As clear as Jess’ storyline was, the first person narrative in Lindy’s chapters made the young girl even closer and more immediate for me.  We learn Ray’s war experience, his reason for going “off the radar,” and how he has been able to provide for his daughter.  We learn that Lindy loves and trusts him, and that she wants to protect him as fiercely as the government want to protect her.

The language in the novel is beautiful; there are many subtle word pictures and metaphors about flying and freedom, which caused me to pause in my reading (p 199):

A flock of starlings whirled and careened in front of the car just as we turned off the main road, and I watched them as long as I could out the side and then back windows.  How do they know to turn and swoop together like that?  It’s like God is painting across the sky, big black swirls and strokes disappearing as quickly as they appear.

Shortridge’s novel explores many themes: the parent-child relationship, what happens when that bond is strained or broken, society and the government’s involvement in family matters.   This is a lot to take on, and a lot of fodder for book group discussions.  It’s got me curious about the true case that got her train of thought moving; we see so many sensational news stories, Shortridge’s talent in telling this tale has me slowing down to think about the wider implications of many current events I’ve read about in the past week or so.

About the author: Jenny Shortridge is the author of three previously published novels: Riding with the Queen, Eating Heaven and Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe (my review; I LOVED this book!).  Visit the author’s website to hear her read the prologue of When She Flew.  Jenny Shortridge is very book group friendly, and, if her schedule allows, will call in to your book group to discuss her novel.  She also lists tips for book groups – which is your favorite?

FTC disclosure:  review copy provided by the author.

Tags: book review, Jennie Shortridge, When She Flew