Westport Public Library BOOK blog

Are you looking for the perfect holiday gift? How about a book?

10. You can read it before you give it.
9. It never goes out of style.
8. It’s a convenient re-gift item.
7. You get to browse at the bookstore.
6. You may look like an intellectual.
5. It’s easy to gift wrap.
4. You are helping out the publishing industry.
3. It’s personal, but not too personal.
2. It may precipitate interesting conversation.
1. It is a gift of immeasurable value.

Some suggestions. Have you selected the perfect gift book ? What is it?

PS: Check out the bargain (and pristine) books at the Library sale on December 6 & 7.

Have you ever daydreamed about “the good old days?” Do you think about the innovations of the 20th century and how much life has changed? In See You in a Hundred Years: Four Seasons in Forgotten America, Logan Ward details his family’s escape from city life as they take a trip back in time. For a year, they lived as 1900 dirt farmers in rural Virginia. (No twentieth century technology allowed!) The challenges and rewards are recorded in this fascinating book.

Hear Logan Ward tell his story on Wednesday December 3 at 7:30 pm at the Library.

For more on the return to a simpler life:
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: a Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
Another family- on- a- farm, this one focused on local food, healthy eating & the environment
• Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills
DIY- from house to food to power to home economics
• Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich
New skills include gardening & bee-keeping, as a city girl becomes a self-reliant Idaho farmer
• In Deep: Country Essays by Maxine Kumin
The Pulitzer Prize winning poet casts a luminous glow on her New Hampshire farm and its inspiring natural order of things
• The Face of Appalachia: Portraits from the Mountain Farm by Tim Barnwell
For the armchair time-traveler

Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer is back in town after a twelve-year hiatus and caught up in his biggest – and most dangerous – case ever.

The Goliath Bone pits Hammer against Al-Qaeda, Homeland Security, the FBI, Mossad, an Israeli vigilante group and a megalomaniac theatrical impresario, who are all scrabbling for a priceless artifact – a thigh bone whose owner stood over ten feet tall, recently unearthed in the Valley of Elah.

There is a great tribute to Spillane – dubbed “a master in compelling you to always turn to the next page” by the New York Times – on the Thrilling Detective website which includes not only biographical information, but a complete bibliography and filmography of his works as well.

He passed away July 17, 2006 at his home in South Carolina, “leaving behind a wife, a couple of ex-wives, four children, possibly as many as 200 million copies of his books in print and plenty of satisfied customers.”

Road to Perdition author Max Allan Collins was entrusted with a nearly finished manuscript by Spillane a week before the author’s death.

And Sam Spade – “the blonde Satan” – will return in February, 2009, in Joe Gores’s Spade and Archer, the authorized prequel to Dashiell Hammett’s classic, The Maltese Falcon.

In 1921, Spade sets up his own agency in San Francisco and takes on a partner, one Miles Archer. According to the publisher’s website, “The next seven years see him dealing with booze runners, banking swindlers, gold smugglers, bumbling cops, and the illegitimate daughter of Sun Yat-sen …”

You can find a list of Spade’s many celluloid incarnations on the Thrilling Detective site.

Check the Classic Film Pages website for some interesting background on the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon.

Surprisingly, Bogart was not the first choice to play the legendary Sam Spade. The role was initially offered to George Raft, who turned it down because he didn’t want to work with an inexperienced director – John Huston.

*Of particular interest to Westporters is Summers with Lincoln: Looking for the Man in the Monuments by James A. Percoco. A history teacher and a Lincoln buff, Percoco visited many monuments (there are over 200) and choose seven of them for his book He chronicles the history of each, focusing on the artistic, social, political and cultural origins of each. What does this have to do with Westport?

In 1930, Lincoln the Mystic was unveiled in Jersey City, Jersey. It was created by noted sculptor James Earle Fraser of Westport CT. The chapter on this sculpture begins with the annual placing of the wreath at the beloved statue on February 12, 2006. While exploring the origins of the monument, Percoco describes the Frasers’ Westport life:
“Laura would drive her husband each and every morning from the Coleytown section north of Westport’s center, chugging along the ‘dusty road to the rude, little railroad depot …The couple and their automobile caused quite a stir in the community of 3500 residents in 1914.” (Learn more about the Frasers in the Library history file.)
In this season of multiple books to celebrate Lincoln’s 200th birthday, Summers with Lincoln adds a unique perspective to our fascination with the 16th president.

*Another unique approach is employed by Doris Lessing in Alfred and Emily. The book starts as novella, as the author “re-imagines” the lives of her parents prior to her own birth; then, the memoir continues with vivid descriptions of her childhood in Africa, including her rocky relationship with her mother. Lessing, known for the detailed settings and nuanced characters of her many novels, does not disappoint in her autobiography.

*Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners by Laura Claridge reveals how a Baltimore society girl became the arbiter of manners for generations of middle class Americans. A scandalous divorce launched her career in her middle age as a novelist and as an authority on social behavior with the publication of Etiquette in 1922. The book has never gone out of print and the Emily Post standards still have influence.

*In Searching for Schindler, Thomas Keneally writes about creating a novel out of decades-old remembrances and the toll this took on him and his family. He describes his international research and his intention to emulate Truman Capote by writing “faction” or non-fiction fiction. His collaboration with Spielberg and anecdotes about the actors who starred in the movie version of his book are included. This is really a biography of a book…and a movie, as well as a memoir by the author.

*Golden Boy, actor, drug addict, failed husband, painter, Tony Curtis tells it all in his autobiography American Prince: a Memoir. Forthright and fascinating, he reveals all the ups and downs of celebrity life among the famous.

In a cozy mystery, the tone is light and the characters rely on their instincts and wits rather than professional training.

Some authors in this genre prefer the term "traditional" mysteries.

Cozies feature amateur detectives, generally accompanied by cats, knitting gear, pots of tea, and other domestic accoutrement, living in suburban or country settings, althought there is a sub-genre, the "edgy" cozy that often has an urban setting and a greater element of suspense because the protagonist's safety is in jeopardy.

According to Cozy-Mystery.com, the best website devoted to the genre, “Cozies don't usually involve a lot of gory details or explicit ‘adult situations’ either.”

Amatuer detectives generally have an occupation that allows for a flexible schedule, such as academia or journalism, and an “in” with the police either through their job or a personal relationship, sometimes marriage.

Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldie Bear is as much of a challenge to her long suffering police husband as Lucy Ricardo was to Ricky.

Agatha Christie’s Jane Marple, a keen observer of human nature, was connected to “The Yard” through her nephew.

On Saturday, November 22 at 2:00 pm the Library will host a Women of Mystery program featuring a panel discussion with three accomplished writers of cozy mysteries.

Rosemary Harris's Pushing up Daisies is the first in a series of mysteries featuring master gardener Paula Holliday.

Jane K. Cleland is the author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, which have been referred to as an “Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans.”

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s book Prime Time was this year’s Agatha winner for Best First Novel.

This will probably be your last chance to take some time to relax and enjoy yourself for an afternoon before the “holidaze” kicks in, so mark your calendar now!

Books will be available for purchase and signing. The perfect kick-off for your holiday shopping.

It’s hard to believe the presidential election is finally over. The longest presidential campaign in history has been the focus of our attention for months but as my title suggests – change has come. We are in the middle of an historic moment as the first African-American gets set to recite the oath of office and take his place among the leaders of the world. As the new administration is being formed, this is an opportune time for book clubs to learn more about our president-elect.

Barack Obama has given us the opportunity to know his life story and learn what his political philosophy is with the two books he has already written. Dreams from My Father is the memoir he wrote after the sudden death of his father. Obama traces his own roots back to the heartland of America and to Kenya in Africa, searching for the meaning of his identity. This is a compelling memoir that book clubs should find both inspiring and thought provoking. In The Audacity of Hope President-elect Obama sets forth his vision for America. He understands the complex problems we face as a nation and how difficult it can be to change. His thoughts and ideas for the future of our country compliment the story of his life. It’s clear that many Americans have already embraced his message. Book clubs will find both books well written with lots to discuss.

During his term in the White House, President-elect Obama may get the opportunity to appoint one or more Supreme Court justices. One of the most popular book club choices this fall has been The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer at The New Yorker. Toobin’s book is based on exclusive interviews with the nine justices of the court. More often than you might imagine personalities come into play as much as constitutional law when many Supreme Court decisions are handed down. This is a fascinating book by an excellent storyteller. Your book group will enjoy this one.

Politics and government often form the basis for some of the best fiction books. If your club prefers fiction, America America by Ethan Canin would make a great book club choice. This is the story of a young man who gets involved in the rise and fall of a national politician. Canin has intertwined his characters with the real events of the sixties and seventies. Many of the issues during that time period are similar to what we are facing today.

So before the new administration begins, add one of these political reads to your booklist. Be informed and be prepared as the next chapter, perhaps one of the most important chapters, in American history begins.

The Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be exploring the role of woman as detective in a two-book discussion series, “An Unsuitable Job for a Woman?”

The first book, being discussed next Sunday at 2 p.m., is The Friend of Madame Maigret by Georges Simenon.

Maigret attempts to prove that a murder has actually been committed without a corpse and he begins to suspect that his wife’s earlier strange encounter with a woman and her baby may hold the key.

Although Maigret is a police professional and Madame Maigret is a stay-at-home wife they often work together as a team.

According to the official Maigret website, “Mme Maigret provides the calm balance to Maigret's hectic working life … Her female insights are invaluable to Maigret and her wise answers to his apparently innocuous questions often help him with his cases.”

Simenon was one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century and about 550 million copies of his works have been printed.

He is best known, however, for his 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Maigret. The first novel in the series, The Strange Case of Peter the Lett, appeared in 1931, and the last one, Maigret and Monsieur Charles, was published in 1972. The Maigret novels were translated into many languages and several of them were turned into films, radio plays and television series.

On December 21st, the Usual Suspects will discuss The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. The first book in this beloved series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who uses her small inheritance to set up shop, drawn to her profession to “help people with problems in their lives.”

African bush tea will be served and we will hold our second annual mystery book swap at the conclusion of the discussion.

Hope you can join us. New faces are always welcome. To reserve a copy of either book, call 291-4821.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, by the way, was the title of a classic 1972 detective novel by P. D. James, which features a young detective in her early twenties named Cordelia Gray who inherits a detective agency. The responsibility of running such a business single-handedly might have persuaded most young women to sell it off and pursue a more "female" line of work, but Cordelia eagerly accepts the challenge, knowing full well that her youth and inexperience -- not to mention her gender -- might discourage prospective clients.

There have always been a host of canine and feline mysteries to keep animal-loving readers occupied.

There are two new zookeeper detectives of note.

In Betty Webb’s forthcoming Anteater of Death, Lucy, a pregnant giant anteater from Belize, is blamed for killing the man found dead in her pen. California zookeeper Teddy Bentley must find the real culprit before Lucy is shipped to another zoo. Teddy's search puts her at odds with her boss, a lecherous zoo administrator, and many of the local residents resent her “nosing” around. Teddy, of course – not Lucy.

PW remarked “Webb deftly weaves zoological lore into the fast-moving plot.”

In Marilyn Victor and Michael Allan Mallory’s Death Roll, zookeeper Lavender "Snake" Jones and her husband Jeff – an Australian herpetologist who bears a striking resemblance to the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin – investigate when the director of the Minnesota Valley Zoo ends up as a crocodile snack. Kirkus called this one “A competent debut with engaging characters and an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at zoo life.”

And there are two new veterinarian detectives as well.

David Waltner-Toews’s debut, Fear of Landing, introduces Canadian vet Abner Dueck, who must unravel the mysterious deaths of both cattle and people in 1980s Indonesia – where asking questions is a dangerous pursuit.

Waltner-Toews is a Canadian epidemiologist and veterinarian – a specialist in the epidemiology of food and waterborne diseases – so his descriptions, especially of the animal autopsies, are quite detailed. A compelling read, but not your usual animal cozy.

If you prefer something a little lighter and closer to home, try The Case of the Ill-Gotten Goat by Claudia Bishop. Set in the New York Finger Lakes region, veterinarian Austin McKenzie and his wife, Madeline, investigate when a randy milk inspector turns up dead in a 400 gallon milk vat. There is a veritable herd of suspects, including the dead man’s jealous wife, several vengeful husbands, and the ancient owner of a goat cheese dairy who wields a mean cane.

Long Island veterinarian-turned-amateur sleuth Jessica Popper and her animal menagerie also entertain in a fun and frisky paperback series from Cynthia Baxter.

Rita Mae Brown fans take note – the legendary Mrs. Murphy will be putting in her 17th appearance shortly in Santa Clawed.

Some of us just can’t get enough of that merry menagerie!