I was able to knock out three books this week before getting back to the grind of daily living. I really considered just keeping this windfall a secret and writing up a single review for each of the books and posting them across the next three weeks, but you all know I just can’t do that. Plus, I have the next two weeks of books already selected for my August book club and my work trip to New Orleans, so there you go. And, since that grind is about to start up here real fast, here I go with three reviews that are short and sweet.

Book 29: THE SUPER by Jim Lehrer
Random House | 2010 | 224 pages | List price: $25.00 | Get it for less at Amazon

Career newsman Jim Lehrer, famous for the MACNEIL/LEHER NEWSHOUR and more recently the PBS NEWSHOUR, has another iron in the fire as a novelist. Who knew? I certainly didn’t, but my folks did and this week while I was back in the heartland they recommended I check out Lehrer’s 20th novel, THE SUPER.

THE SUPER takes readers back to 1956, a time when luxury travel was via train, most specifically, Santa Fe Railway’s The Super Chief. Lehrer weaves together actual historical events and individuals with fiction to create an interesting story of what could have been during one 39-hour trip along The Super Chief’s route from Chicago to Los Angeles. The individuals at the forefront are The King of Hollywood, Clark Gable; millionaire Super Chief regular, Otto Wheeler who hopes to die riding the majestic train; fading Hollywood movie producers Darwin Rinehart and Gene Matthews; as well as former President Harry Truman. When a passenger ends up dead just hours into the trip, an all-out investigation ensues.

Reading about a simpler, more luxurious time was certainly enjoyable; yet I felt that Lehrer spent too much time building up the action and it was only after page 100 that I was really engaged. Not a problem if we are talking about a 700 page book, but at 224 pages, that’s almost halfway in before I finally really cared. It was also hard to distinguish between a number of the Hollywood producer types in the alternating chapters of the story. Lastly, the intrigue was not at the level of a MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, which the book jacket references, but a softer mystery.

Overall, I think people interested in train travel and the days when the silver screen ruled over the small boxes in our living rooms will enjoy THE SUPER. Folks looking for a page turning, gut wrenching thriller will need to grab a different book off the shelf.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book 30: EVERYBODY NEEDS A ROCK by Byrd Baylor (Author) and Peter Parnall (Illustrator)
Aladdin | 1985 | 32 pages | List price: $7.99 | Get it for less at Amazon

I adored this book!

I am not going to wait and tell you and that may make the rest of what follows not really matter since I spilled the beans in the first sentence of my review, but I don’t care.

I absolutely adored this book!

When visiting the folks, they save the kiddo and I the trouble of bringing books by swinging by their local library and grabbing a few titles for us. It’s a great way for us to get exposure to stuff we might not normally pick up and it’s even more special when there’s a gem in the mix like EVERYBODY NEEDS A ROCK.

Written in 1985, EVERYBODY NEEDS A ROCK is a delightful children’s book that eschews toys and other material things for the pursuit of nature and the world around us. The narrator, a young Native American girl, walks kids through the rules of navigating the great outdoors to find the perfect rock. Be it smooth or lumpy, shiny or dull, she recommends that it should be small enough to fit in your pocket and that you should select it entirely on your own (not rushed or at the direction of some adult).

Written in a poetic nature, the tone of the book is delightful and what truly makes it special are the exquisite illustrations. I haven’t seen anything like them. Peter Parnall has captured the whimsy and nature and childhood with these gorgeous drawings illustrations which embody the beauty of Native American art.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A ROCK is a rare and wonderful find. I loved it so much I am buying copy for the kiddo and me. Everybody does need a rock, but they need this book too.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Book 31: MARLAND TRAGEDY by Kim Brumley
Tate Publishing | 2010 | 188 pages | List price: $12.99 | Get it for less at Amazon

Part of my time in Oklahoma was in Ponca City, a quiet pocket of gorgeous tree-lined streets that is rich in both history and a smidge of scandal when you mention the name Marland. That’s E. W. Marland, a pioneer of the Oklahoma oil industry.

I have actually spent many a summer in Ponca City just walking distance from the Marland Mansion (and walked the grounds of the property many a time, I have). It seemed only fitting to pick up a book about the highly controversial E.W., and at just under 200 pages, MARLAND TRAGEDY it was.

MARLAND TRAGEDY follows E. W.’s contributions to the oil industry, being one of the first to find and access oil in Oklahoma and creating Marland Oil Company which paved the way for companies like Conoco to enter the scene. Oklahoma native, historian and author Kim Brumley also chronicles Marland’s numerous efforts as a philanthropist to improve the status and surroundings of his fellow Oklahomans. Marland lived, for many years, a life of luxury and opulence before poor business and political decisions would undermine his efforts. And, unfortunately, his legacy is a tainted one due to his marriage to an adopted niece, Lyde.

Yep, you read that right. Marland adopted a niece of his (and her brother) when their parents could no longer care for the children and Marland then annulled the adoption in order to marry Lyde. And this was all after his first wife Virginia died. It was probably for the best she wasn’t alive to see how his life played out.

Now, Lyde was no longer a child when the annulment and subsequent marriage occurred. They weren’t technically related. She was also a willing and consenting participant in the relationship. However, it’s a little Woody Allenish and, for a number of reasons, the act was considered highly scandalous and attracted the attention of city residents, business partners, politicians and peers throughout the country. What followed were years of public scrutiny, bouts of seclusion and disappearing acts, ongoing scandal and rumor, and what was probably the total destruction of Lyde’s human spirit. Tragic, indeed.

While the facts, not all of which are proven, that surround the Marland family are indeed fascinating, MARLAND TRAGEDY is jumpy, a bit repetitive in structure and style and in need of a strong editing hand. Despite that, it’s clear that Brumley has a passion for Oklahoma history and the indelible imprints made by this highly generous, yet equally dysfunctional family. It won’t be the most eloquently written autobiography you pick up, but it reads at an engaging clip.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The week before you go on vacation always seems to be like regular life, just intensified. Less sleep, more work, less ease, more stress… all just to take a few days off. This week was no different. I was about to pack up the boy and head out to the heartland for a week long visit of rest, cooking out, sleeping in, game nights and sun-kissed skin. I needed an easy book this week, the week before my officially easy week. WORLD OF PIES by Karen Stolz fit the bill perfectly.

This slim collection of stories centers around Roxanne Milner, a young girl growing up in small town Annette, Texas in the early 1960s. Each chapter focuses on a time in Roxanne’s life during the critical ages of 12 – 30, something when she’s coming of age and coming into her own. Stolz does a good job creating a picture of Roxanne, her evolving best friendships, awkward first loves and losses all the way into marriage and a family of her own. The town of Annette is charming and a character of its own in the story, with mainstays such as Carl’s Corsets (Roxanne’s father’s lingerie shop and source of embarrassment for her) and Doreen’s (the best place for a burger and malt) which provide the reader a great sense of the community in which Roxanne grew up.

While WORLD OF PIES hearkens back to a seemingly simpler time, Stolz doesn’t shy away from weightier subjects (racism, Vietnam) that are sprinkled throughout the book in a way that remind us where we came from and bring more depth–without overpowering the story–to what could just be retro summer chick lit. But there is a fair amount of chick in this lit and that’s what makes it a perfect summer read. Although desserts play a prominent role in WORLD OF PIES, shockingly pies are the least mentioned! That was my only complaint with the book. With a title like WORLD OF PIES, I expected them to have more of a feature role. Stolz makes up for this by providing the character’s recipes at the end of the book. A sweet additional treat to an already delightful book.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Just hours after Alice Hayward is baptized, she’s found strangled to death in her home. Sitting a few feet away from Alice’s body is her also-dead husband George, his brains blown out against the living room window in what appears to be a murder-suicide. And so starts SECRETS OF EDEN, a really hard-to-put-down and engaging page turner by Chris Bohjalian, the author of MIDWIVES and THE DOUBLE BIND.

SECRETS OF EDEN wastes no time setting up the story and leaving the residents of small town Haverville, Vermont (and the reader) left to try and understand what would cause upstanding community business leader George Hayward to snap so violently and inflict such pain and devastation, all the while leaving behind a 15 year old daughter, Katie. Yet there were a few people who knew what happened behind the closed doors of the Hayward home and it’s Bohjalian who utilizes four of these individuals to tell the story of their tragic ending. First up is Reverend Stephen Drew, a trusted confidante, aware of the pain and strife Alice encountered. Second is Catherine Benincasa, Haverville’s resident attorney called in to investigate the deaths (and already aware of the restraining order Alice had requested just months before her passing). Spiritual self-help author du jour Heather Laurent, herself an orphan due to domestic violence, enters the fray with hopes of supporting Katie. And finally, thoroughly devastated Katie herself.

Employing this multi-narrative strategy to tell the story could have been a mess, but proves otherwise due to Bohjalian’s ability to believably create four wholly unique individuals with different and often conflicting points of view. As each narrator spoke in first person, it established an intimacy that had me feeling like I, too, was a fellow resident or friend listening in and maybe even participating in the gossip that comes with such a scandal. I was also able to see the blind spots and gaps in each of their perspectives, as an effective first-person narrative allows you to do, and slowly piece together what I thought happened between Alice and George.

Now, I won’t tell you if I was successful in determining the conclusion. I will tell you that SECRETS OF EDEN was a quick read, perfect for a lazy summer weekend when you want to shut off the TV and delve into a story rich with character development and full of intrigue.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

On July 27, 1984 brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty brutally murdered their sister-in-law and 15-month old niece. They said it was a directive from God, a “removal revelation.”

In fact, Dan Lafferty’s exact words were, “I was doing God’s will, which is not a crime.”

And so sets the stage for UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN: A STORY OF VIOLENT FAITH by Jon Krakauer, an exhaustive exploration into the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (The Church of Mormon or LDS) and the excommunicated sect, The Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).

I actually sat down with this book in 2003, when I was five months pregnant. While I hadn’t read Krakauer’s previous books, INTO THIN AIR or INTO THE WILD, I knew he was a well-respected non-fiction writer who had received a fair amount of acclaim. After making it through 100 pages, though, I had to put it down. The violence, especially involving the baby was too much to bear while my own baby was growing inside of me and my hormones were all crazy. The historical backstory was especially comprehensive and just too dense for me to really get lost in. Fast-forward six years and one of my fellow book clubbers mandated it for her turn hosting this July and here I am again.

The second time around the violence was still hard to read and the history was again dense and slow moving, much like working your way through a thatchy forest, pushing the bark and leaves out of your way to make it to the clearing. That being said, I think this is an important book, flawed and all.

Why?

It’s important to understand history so we can anticipate and plan for the future. It’s important to learn other’s perspectives and their world views in hopes of understanding them. When things go wrong (horribly, horribly wrong), it’s important to be willing to go back–even to the very beginning–to understand how it could have happened. And, hopefully, to do whatever is needed so it doesn’t happen again. However, this becomes infinitely complicated when the horribly, horribly wrong is done in the name of religious freedom.

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN recounts Ron and Dan Lafferty’s movement into the fundamentalist teachings that sprang from LDS founder Joseph Smith and subsequent self-ordained prophets throughout Mormon history. The FLDS faith is riddled with documented atrocities toward women and girls (including physical, sexual and emotional abuse) placing them outside of an equal role with men, and into one that views them as property. When Ron’s wife Dianna can no longer take his steadily growing controlling nature she leaves him and takes their children across the country. Her departure sets off a downward spiral in Ron, already angry at the world and profoundly narcissistic, who copes through obsessive prayer and requests for revelations from God. Finally, he gets his wish; a direct order to kill his sister-in-law Brenda and her daughter Erica, as well as two other community members, all seen by Ron as having aided in Dianna leaving and disrupting God’s plan for him.

Interestingly though, Ron’s revelation isn’t for him to kill them, but for his brother Dan to do it. He is just the voice, while Dan is the body to carry out the revelation. Ron’s increasing anger and narcissim compounded with Dan’s fervent fundamentalist fanaticism enabled them to “do God’s will” and take lives of two innocent people. Fortunately, they were unable to carry out the other murders due to some circumstances beyond their control.

Horrifying? Yes. Fascinating? Eerily so. Unconscionable? Absolutely. And yet, everything I shared with you was a supporting character to the chapter upon chapter of the starring role: The History of Joseph Smith and the Chuch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is a problem only because the book–on the front cover even–markets itself as a true crime story. I wanted to know so much more about what led up to the murders of Brenda and Erica and just enough history for me to understand the role that violence has played in the FLDS faith. Before closing the book I wanted to know:

When Ron shared his revelation with people of his church, why did no one go to the police?

Why didn’t Brenda’s husband Allen do anything to protect her? Yes, Ron told him too.

Why did no one tell Brenda that they feared for her life?

Why didn’t Krakauer–who had access to both Dan and Ron in prison–have any follow up with Allen?

Why didn’t Erica leave when she had the chance?

I can’t expect all the questions to be answered, most certainly not the last one. These just seem like gaping holes in an account that is so meticulously researched documented. Still, I came away knowing more than when I came in. I came away knowing more clearly the differences between a religious community trying to appeal to the mainstream (LDS) and one that is fervently against the norm (FLDS). I came away knowing that religious fanaticism practiced under a banner of heaven, regardless of the faith being followed, can be horrifically destructive and should not be excused.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

There was not a singular moment that signaled to Amy Dickinson her marriage was over. Not her husband showing up to counseling with a suitcase having just returned from a European vacation with a girlfriend. Not when he told her he no longer loved her. Not when he said that they no longer had anything in common. And not when he reminded her that most of the men in the lives of her family had left, so it was probably something she expected. Nope. It wasn’t until the moving trucks were sitting outside of her door that she registered the finality of their dissolution and was forced to move forward in life as a single mother. THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE: A STORY OF SURPRISING SECOND CHANCES is Dickinson’s account of her survival, and ultimate triumph, with the help of the women who had raised her.

It was my own mother, a single mom herself, who recommended this book to me after hearing about it on NPR or the morning news circuit or some talk show. See, Dickinson is actually a pretty famous person. She’s the Amy of “Ask Amy,” the advice columnist who replaced Ann Landers. She also appears frequently on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me” and “All Things Considered.” And she didn’t start out that way. No, she started in Freeville, NY a small town of fewer than 1,000 people. She started surrounded by strong women who keep on when the keeping on is all you can do. And when Dickinson needed to keep on for her own sake and that of her two year old daughter, it’s where she returned. Repeatedly.

Despite the title, the other women play a more secondary role than I expected. The book focuses on singular moments in Dickinson’s emergence from divorce into self-sufficient, single-mother. Yes, there were a number of times that she returned to Freeville (she even bought a ramshackle house for a mere $56K to serve as a second home and safe landing spot when she needed the comfort and reassurances of home). But the book really focused on Dickinson and her daughter, Emily. That being said, I found the book thoroughly engaging, humorous, poignant and full of resonating moments.

THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE came to me at a perfect time. My own single-motherhood status becomes officially official any day now and with that comes a mixture of emotions. While my situation is very different from Dickinson’s, the loss of a marriage is significant, mourn-worthy and creates some of the most challenging moments going forward and out into the world with a new status. Dickinson’s writing style is familiar and comforting and is probably one of the reasons she’s a successful advice columnist. She’s comfortable in her own skin, thanks to the independence and self-sufficiency gained early on when her own father left the family high and dry. She’s bright and engaging and a bit of a self-proclaimed dork which endeared her to me further.

THE MIGHTY QUEENS OF FREEVILLE certainly has a niche demographic of readers in divorced single mothers, but I actually think it’s a great book for all women struggling, needing support of others, connecting with their own resiliency and surviving because of and in spite of everything they have experienced.

And with gems like these, how could you not want to pick it up?:

On Her Mother (After Her Father Left)

She simply prevailed. Prevailing is underrated. People have the idea that unless they win, they lose. But sometimes surviving is enough. My mother knew this, and I learned it by watching her.

On Dating

The search for connection is the most basic and beautiful impulse I have. I try to enjoy my efforts–even when they are misguided, not reciprocated or doofus in the extreme.

On Advice to Her College-bound Daughter

I told her that the feelings she has when she is young will be the same feelings when she’s old, and that she should try not to be afraid of them. I wanted her to be bold in her choices but careful in her actions. I told her never to be mean to someone who loved her, because regret is the only true casualty of love.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It was a Tuesday like any other. I rose after my normal snooze delay, always thankful for a few more minutes of rest, and got ready for work. My daily routine was uneventful. This morning was different, though. Unlike other weekdays the television remained off, freeing me from the usual background chatter of morning news anchors as I dabbed on some mascara and brushed my teeth. I relished the empty house and the total silence. I got in the car, buckled myself in and made a point not to turn on the radio as I embarked on my 45 minute commute into the the office. A few minutes into the ride my cell phone rang, jolting me out of my quiet fog and into a day that would forever live in infamy.

I can’t tell you much else about that day except that it was Tuesday, September 11, 2001, and after that jarring phone call asking if I knew what was going on, the silence of the day was instantly shattered. I, along with our nation, was glued to the radio while in the car, in front of the computer at work and the television at home. It seemed that time stood still, or rather, needed to be rewound so that we could understand what was happening. We learned that American Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center at 8:42 a.m. Surely it was a pilot error or some kind of horrible mistake. But when 16 minutes later, at 9:02 a.m., United Airlines flight 75 crashed into the South Tower (followed by American Airlines flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. and the crash of United Airlines flight 93 near Shankesville, Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m.) it was clear this was no accident. This was a calculated, premeditated terrorist attack with aims to do severe and everlasting damage.

I am sure that for many of us the events that immediately unfolded became a blur. New York Times writers Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn bring clarity to the day by recounting every single moment of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center starting at 8:42 a.m. when the first jet crashed into Tower 1, until 10:29 a.m. when the second tower fell. 102 MINUTES: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE FIGHT TO SURVIVE INSIDE THE TWIN TOWERS is a significant body of work in capturing heroic and heartbreaking moments within and around the World Trade Center that fateful day.

Through countless interviews with survivors, families, city, state and federal officials, and research and review of phone and e-mail records, Dwyer and Flynn tell the stories of the day from the voices of the people who lived it, and those who ultimately did not. At just under 4oo pages, readers are exposed to the harrowing events of the crashes and the aftermath of challenges facing the World Trade Center’s occupants due to the communication breakdowns between city agencies and the structural issues with the towers themselves.

I was fascinated reading their detailed account of the World Trade Center towers which were massive in their size and reach, yet ill-equipped to sustain the crash of a jumbo jet, despite building plans and agencies that said otherwise. They were built to maximize rentable space over safety, each with only three stairwells for 110 floors, four million square feet of office space and 20,000 occupants (versus the Empire State Building’s nine stairwells for 102 floors, 2.25 million square feet and 15,000 occupants). I was baffled that infighting between NYPD, NYFD, NY Port Authority and other rescue agencies trumped necessary disaster recovery training and processes that clearly had a negative impact on the ability to share information. Rescue teams were unable to communicate which stairwells were clear and free for use, or that helicopters needed to be released to rescue tenants on the roof that couldn’t descend past the floors consumed with wreckage, or even more crucial… when it was clear for folks to go back upstairs and back to work, to stay put and wait for help or when a total evacuation was necessary.

It’s evident there were a number of mistakes attempting to clear out the towers. 102 MINUTES seeks not to point fingers at the failures, but to shed light on opportunities to do differently knowing what we now know. What they uncover through their research is important, vital even. It should be required reading for all of us, but most especially those in positions to impart change in the way we approach disaster and recovery efforts during an attack or high-rise fire.

And despite the harrowing events of September 11, I found myself utterly captivated by this book. My heart swelled reading the stories of humanity and generosity amongst strangers in a window of time–not even two hours!–that was fraught with terror and uncertainty. 2,749 people died in the attacks and 4,400 were injured. Dwyer and Flynn do not claim to have collected all the stories, but they have created an enduring record. As they share in their own words:

No single voice can describe the scenes that unfolded at terrible velocities in so many places. Taken together, though, the words, witnesses, and records provide not only a broad and chilling view of the devastation, but also a singularly revealing window onto acts of grace at a brutal hour.

102 MINUTES encourages us to carry on their legacy–even those we didn’t have the pleasure to meet–and to never forget them.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I have always enjoyed a good mystery. It started with the classic ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN mysteries of my childhood and grew to enjoying the likes of Agatha Christie, Dennis Lehane and Harlan Coben. Now, an expert on the mystery genre, I am not; but I do know when I like something. And I am ready to add Alan Bradley to the list of mystery writers to follow.

A first-time novelist at 70, Bradley has created an engaging heroine in the highly precocious, chemistry loving Flavia de Luce, an 11 year-old super sleuth and the star of THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE. Flavia (Flave) is the youngest of three girls and constantly finds herself at odds with her much older sisters Ophelia (Feely) and Daphne (Daffy). The distance from and desire to terrorize her sisters is a great encouragement for Flave’s love of chemistry, which manifests itself as a passion for poisons. And despite this morbid-sounding affinity, THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE is as delightful as the title and a lovely little read on a hot summer day.

After brief introductions of the de Luce family, the story opens with a mysterious death at Buckshaw, the de Luce’s English estate, and even stranger leave-behind: a dead jack snipe, with a collectible postage stamp impaled on his beak. Flavia’s father is immediately taken into custody and it’s the young girl’s mission to get to the bottom of this mystery, much to the chagrin of all involved.

So much of THE SWEETNESS makes it an engaging story: The all-things-English about the setting and its eccentric cast of characters, the turn of events and the smart-aleck leading lady herself. If I had to mark it down a smidgen, it would be that you really do have to suspend your disbelief to fully appreciate that an 11 year old could really have the knowledge, insight and wherewithal to accomplish what she does. But isn’t that sometimes the joy of a good mystery? The ability to get fully engrossed and let a little of the imagination stretch beyond the realm of logical possibility and wrap up to a satisfying conclusion?

This self-proclaimed realist must have found a little soft spot at the bottom of the pie.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Paul Guest was just twelve years old when a biking accident indelibly changes his life forever. Now twenty-seven, ONE MORE THEORY ABOUT HAPPINESS is Guest’s account of the events that resulted in his broken neck and adjustment to life as a quadriplegic. In a word, this memoir is stunning. In a few more words, it’s more than I expected–even in its mere 208 pages–and one that I think everyone should read.

It’s easy to tell in the first few pages of ONE MORE THEORY ABOUT HAPPINESS that Guest is a bright, mindful and considerate person. Wrapping up his sixth grade year at a barbeque hosted by his teacher, Guest and his best friend take off on a pair of old bikes while the food is still being prepared. The bikes are dilapidated at best and leave Guest wondering if a ride is the best thing to do; but once the tires are filled with air, the two take to the hilly streets of the neighborhood. Guest couldn’t have anticipated that the bike’s brakes were out of commission, nor could he have seen the drainage ditch lying in hiding under overgrown foliage. But when his speed picked up and he hit the ditch, he “was thrown from the bike, over the handlebars, catapulted, tossed like a human dart into the earth.”

What follows, in beautiful and lyrical prose, is Guest’s journey to find himself in this new body and to connect with others in real and meaningful ways. Understandably, he struggled with the forced intimacy that must be shared with a caregiver that sees you at your most vulnerable, when in need of help with basic life skills like eating, bathing and using the bathroom. And yet, I wonder if this exposure helped him create such an intimate account of his life, one that I felt fully welcomed to enter.

Despite what may seem like a grim story, Guest’s eloquence, insightfulness and humor convey a life that is not to be pitied. In fact, I found his story to be a reminder that, while life is fragile, we are all so very capable of greatness… whatever greatness is for us. Guest most certainly could have become embittered and resigned, yet he always worked through his therapies and sought his passion and is now not only a memoirist, but an award winning poet. I kind of wonder if he would have become a writer were it not for his accident. We may never know.

What I do know is that he has immense gifts and significant talent. I know that the words I write here don’t do any justice to the words he placed on the page for us all to experience. I know, or was reminded, that happiness is a choice no matter what your circumstances. I also know that I wanted just a little bit more from this otherwise perfect book. He is still so young with such a promising career that is just beginning to unfold.

To order the book directly from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I think I have an author crush. My first experience with Kent Haruf was a number of years ago when I picked up PLAINSONG, a simple and graceful story of discordant lives colliding and intersecting in the small prairie town of Holt, Colorado. He drew me in with his carefully crafted prose and did it in such a way that made beautiful writing seem effortless.

You should know that when I have a literary crush and a penchant for buying books, it’s all I can do to not scoop up all of the works I can by the object of my affection. Such was the case after reading PLAINSONG. I actually got to meet Mr. Haruf at a local book fair sometime back and picked up his two other novels and got all of them signed, PLAINSONG included. Yes, I was hearts all a flutter.

And while I am loyal to the end in my real life, in my literary world, I kinda play the field. Yeah, I get around. I get all enamored with so many different ones and they all just swirl around and come in and out of my life while so many are relegated to patiently wait in the wings and on the shelves, waiting for a chance with me. For what it’s worth, in my heart of hearts I know I will come back for them.

And this week I did just that with Haruf’s WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED. Let me say, after years of being away, he did not disappoint. Let me also say I am a sucker for a story of art imitating life that seems so real you feel like you are sitting just on the fringes of the action watching the events unfold in front of you.

WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED centers on Jack Burdette, an arrogant, impetuous hometown hero whose frequent missteps are brushed aside. But as he grows up under the microscope of small-town living, his life takes turns with affects that are both far-reaching and impossible to imagine. The book opens with Burdette returning to Holt (the same setting as PLAINSONG) after an eight-year absence. The Holt community is angry, resentful and wanting revenge. As a childhood friend and foil narrates the story, the events that take place after Burdette’s unexpected arrival result in a climax that was both shocking and frustrating… and totally believable.

I don’t want to tell too much of the story or give away any more details than just enough that would encourage someone to pick it up. WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED is very different from PLAINSONG and just as engaging. I loved this somber story and all its mess and complication, much the way real life can be. And I also liked that in the end, it was just a story. One that I could safely tuck back on the shelves, or better yet, pass on to another book lover that can appreciate a perfectly constructed, hauntingly told story.

To order the book from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

So y’all know that I am not big on picking up a book again once I have read it. I am, however, a fan of certain authors and if I love them, I want to read all of their work. Yep, if you’ve wowed me once, I want to be wowed again; and such is the case with David Sedaris. I have read just about everything he’s written and was shocked and awed when I saw him earlier this month and realized that I didn’t have his latest effort, WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES. So, I grabbed a soft cover, got it signed, and tucked it away for a week I wanted to be engulfed in laughter.

WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES is a solid collection of essays, twenty-two in fact, that cover a wide range of adult-themed topics, with the most pervasive theme being death. (Note: That’s the only parental advisory warning I will provide; any future reading and laughing is done at your own risk). For those familiar with Sedaris, there are the definite moments where it’s crucial you set your beverage down while reading or the liquid will spew from your lips (and maybe your nose), but there are more moments of humility, sensitivity and reflection than I have seen in his other works… and it actually works.

I laughed out loud during “What I Learned” when he recounted the story of going to Princeton and studying literature only to have his father say,

“You’re going to study literature and get a job doing what? Literaturizing?”

“Solution to Saturday’s Puzzle” is a hilarious account of a plane ride in which he found himself next to Becky, a woman who becomes engulfed in anger when he won’t trade seats so that her husband can sit by her. Mind you, it’s a 90-minute flight and the hubs is sitting in the bulkhead. When Becky’s beloved quietly mouths, “How come? [he won't change seats],” Becky yells across the plane, “Cause he’s an asshole, that’s why.” At that moment the game is on and, Sedaris takes on his nemesis through the Saturday Times’ crossword puzzle:

An elderly woman in aisle A turned to look at me, and I pulled a Times crossword puzzle from the bag beneath my seat. That always makes you look reasonable, especially on a Saturday, when the words are long and the clues are exceptionally tough. The problem is that you have to concentrate, and all I could think of was this Becky person.

Seventeen across: a fifteen letter word for enlightenment: “I am not an asshole,” I wrote, and it fit.

Five down: six letter Indian tribe: “You are.”

Look at that smart man, breezing through the puzzle, I imagined everyone thinking. He must be a genius. That’s why he wouldn’t swap seats for that poor married woman. He knows something we don’t.

There were cringe-worthy moments, like when he was repeatedly (and rudely) propositioned by a surly truck driver that offered him a ride in “Road Trip” and the realization that his friendship with a neighboring man would have to change when that man was proven to be a child molester in “The Man in the Hut.”

But there were also moments of humility and maturity, such as when reflecting on his mother’s death and father’s mortality, as well as his own efforts to break a decades long smoking habit, that suited Sedaris’s writing style just fine. For those brand new to Sedaris, I would recommend my all-time favorite, NAKED, followed by everyone else’s favorite, ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY, and then hit the holidays with either THE SANTALAND DIARIES or HOLIDAYS ON ICE. But for those looking for a balance of the rollicking good humor and a little kinder, softer Sedaris, WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES is the perfect fit.

To order the book from Amazon for less, CLICK HERE.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars