Westport Public Library BOOK blogtag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//12009-11-17T13:53:44ZMovable Type Publishing Platform 4.01Death on a traintag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19852009-11-17T13:28:34Z2009-11-17T13:53:44ZThe phenomenal success of the Phryne Fisher series is no doubt due in part to author Kerry Greenwood’s vision of her character: “Phryne is a hero, just like James Bond or the Saint, but with fewer product endorsements and a better class of lovers. I decided to try a female hero and made her as free as a male hero, to see what she would do. Mind you, at that time I only thought there would be two books.”Next Sunday, the 29th, at 2 p.m., the Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be discussing the 3rd book in the series, Murder on the Ballarat Train.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlThe phenomenal success of the Phryne Fisher series is no doubt due in part to author Kerry Greenwood’s vision of her character: “Phryne is a hero, just like James Bond or the Saint, but with fewer product endorsements and a better class of lovers. I decided to try a female hero and made her as free as a male hero, to see what she would do. Mind you, at that time I only thought there would be two books.”
There have been seventeen full-length Phryne Fisher mysteries to date, plus an additional title, A Question of Death, which is an elegantly illustrated treasury of shorts stories interspersed with recipes and other miscellany.
The Honourable Miss Phryne (pronounced fry - née) Fisher, for the uninitiated, is a wealthy aristocrat who lives in Melbourne, Australia in 1928. She is a 28 year old woman detective, who, with the assistance of her maid Dot and several other recurring characters, solves all manner of crimes. She can fly a plane, drives her own car (a red Hispano-Suiza) and wears pants. Shocking! 1928, remember?
When asked what aspects of herself that she sees in Phryne, the witty Greenwood says “The only thing I share with Phryne apart from gender is extreme stubbornness.”
Visit Greenwood’s website to find out more about the sleuth, including her horoscope and directions for making the perfect Old Fashioned, one of Phryne’s favorite cocktails.
Next Sunday, the 29th, at 2 p.m., the Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be discussing the 3rd book in the series, Murder on the Ballarat Train.
Phryne decides to give the Hispano-Suiza a break and travel by train to Ballarat. The first night en route, she wakes up to the smell of chloroform and manages to save her fellow passengers. A head count reveals that someone is missing and a search turns up the body of an old, cantankerous woman at the side of the train tracks. Phryne agrees to investigate the murder for the woman's daughter, and is also determined to solve the mystery of a young girl on board who is suffering from amnesia.
New faces are always welcome. Please join us! I can’t promise cocktails, but we always have a good time.
To reserve a copy of the book, call 291-4821.
]]>
Across Generationstag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19792009-11-13T16:16:54Z2009-11-13T16:43:19ZBook clubs registered at the Westport Public Library have many different formats. Many of our clubs are affiliated with larger organizations, such as the Y or the Westport Women’s Club, but many are small groups of friends that just enjoy a good book and discussion. We have clubs that are solely women, one that is solely males, several that are couples groups, and even one comprised of third graders and their moms. One of our reference librarians was recently asked to suggest some titles for a mother-daughter book club consisting of senior citizens and their daughters. A few of us here at the library put our heads together and came up with the following selections.
SusanMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/bkclubsvcs.htmlBook clubs registered at the Westport Public Library have many different formats. Many of our clubs are affiliated with larger organizations, such as the Y or the Westport Women’s Club, but many are small groups of friends that just enjoy a good book and discussion. We have clubs that are solely women, one that is solely males, several that are couples groups, and even one comprised of third graders and their moms. One of our reference librarians was recently asked to suggest some titles for a mother-daughter book club consisting of senior citizens and their daughters. A few of us here at the library put our heads together and came up with the following selections.
What better choice to start off with than theWestportReadsselection, The Housekeeper and the Professor. This is a book that spans all ages, so we think it would be perfect for the mother-daughter club. Math, baseball and relationships that bind us together are at the heart of this enchanting little book.
Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr was written when the author was in her seventies. Her first novel, it won the National Book Award in 1984. It is the story of an American couple living in Ibarra, Mexico, the Evertons, who learn much about life and its challenges from the villagers there.
Ann Patchett books are always a good choice for book clubs. In Bel Canto, a group of rich and powerful hostages form unexpected bonds. Beautifully written with great characters, this story not only draws you in, but will stay with you long after you have finished it. Patchett’s most recent novel, Run, is about family, love and loss. This compelling story about the Doyles of Boston is also filled with lots of interesting characters.
Alice Munro is known for her award-winning short stories. Her daughter, Sheila, has written a biography of her mother in which she shares what it was like to grow up with such a well known author. In Lives of Mothers & Daughters: Growing Up with Alice Munro, Sheila often refers to real life places and situations that appear in Alice’s work. Why not read this along with one of Munro’s short story collections for an interesting view of how authors find their inspiration?
Our Speaking of Books collection has many great titles available for a mixed generation book club. Book club favorites such as The Glass Castle, Water for Elephants or Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, are all excellent choices for such discussion groups. If you would like more suggestions for your book club or a discussion guide to get you started, ask me or anyone at the reference desk. Do you have any favorites we should add to our list?
]]>
A latter-day Dostoevskytag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19732009-11-09T15:19:04Z2009-11-09T15:31:58ZIf there was a "Life’s Little Ironies" competition, author Ruth Rendell might be the winner. She was fired from her newspaper job after writing an article about the local tennis club's annual dinner which she had not actually attended – and so she “neglected” to mention the untimely death of the after-dinner speaker mid-speech.
False alibis, erroneous statements, sudden deaths … some of the major ingredients of good crime fiction!
Rendell moved on to become one of the most celebrated mystery authors of our time and has won the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars and a Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America, and countless other awards. In addition to over forty psychological crime novels – which she also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine – Rendell has produced twenty two Chief Inspector Wexford police procedurals. The series began in 1964, and the latest book, The Monster in the Box, was recently released.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlIf there was a "Life’s Little Ironies" competition, author Ruth Rendell might be the winner. She was fired from her newspaper job after writing an article about the local tennis club's annual dinner which she had not actually attended – and so she “neglected” to mention the untimely death of the after-dinner speaker mid-speech.
False alibis, erroneous statements, sudden deaths … some of the major ingredients of good crime fiction!
Rendell moved on to become one of the most celebrated mystery authors of our time and has won the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars and a Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America, and countless other awards.
For her literary efforts, she was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1996 and a life peer as Baroness Rendell in 1997. She turned 79 this year.
Many credit Rendell and P. D. James for transforming the entire mystery genre of the whodunit into the whydunit.
Chistopher Ray sums it all up quite nicely in a 1996 New Statesman article: “One rereads Dickens, Chesterton said, because the books are so memorable. One rereads mysteries, on the other hand, because they are so forgettable. But try not remembering Ruth Rendell. The only thing you forget in her company is yourself. If the novel's primary moral function is to help you see the world as others see it, Rendell is a moralist of the first water. Child killers, drugged-out wasters, catwalk models, care assistants, sociopaths, withered actresses, tormented middle-aged GPs – these are just a few of the alien lives this latter-day Dostoevsky has made sense of for those of us who like to think ourselves less troubled. “
In addition to over forty psychological crime novels – which she also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine – Rendell has produced twenty two Chief Inspector Wexford police procedurals. The series began in 1964, and the latest book, The Monster in the Box, was recently released.
Sadly, there are rumors that this will be the last title in one of the best-written detective series in the genre's history. The author has said, "I don't want to do any more Wexfords. I have other interests now." But, fans, take heart – her editor of 27 years says that the series will continue. Stay tuned!
]]>
Mutual admirationtag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19622009-11-01T18:13:26Z2009-11-01T18:50:59Z“Librarians are my favorite people and libraries, my favorite places to be.”
Kind words from one of the finest traditional mystery writers around. The Author's Note from Katherine Hall Page’s latest (and 18th) Faith Fairchild title, The Body in the Sleigh, is her thank-you letter to librarians everywhere. It is so nice to be appreciated.
If you would like to meet Katherine Hall Page, stop by the McManus Room Monday night, November 2nd, at 7:30 when she will speak about the new book. Copies will be available for purchase and signing after the talk.
It has a holiday theme, so this may be the perfect gift for some of the mystery readers on your list.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.html“Librarians are my favorite people and libraries, my favorite places to be.”
Kind words from one of the finest traditional mystery writers around.
The Author's Note from Katherine Hall Page’s latest (and 18th) Faith Fairchild title, The Body in the Sleigh, is her thank-you letter to librarians everywhere. It is so nice to be appreciated.
Page says, “Ultimately librarians are matchmakers. They introduce us to new authors and subjects.”
One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is meeting the Library’s mystery readers and helping them find something new or something different … often by proxy, for a family member or friend who is unable to come in person.
We have a “Book a Librarian” feature here in Westport where you can arrange for a one-on-one meeting with a staff member who can help you in their field of expertise. Being the resident mystery maven, I am available for booking. I’m always happy to meet a fellow mystery fan!
If you would like to meet Katherine Hall Page, stop by the McManus Room Monday night, November 2nd, at 7:30 when she will speak about the new book. Copies will be available for purchase and signing after the talk.
It has a holiday theme, so this may be the perfect gift for some of the mystery readers on your list.
Caterer and clergy wife Faith Fairchild has two cases to keep her busy this Christmas as she looks for a connection between the death of a teenage drug addict whose body was found in an antique sleigh, and the discovery of a newborn baby boy in the manger in spinster Mary Bethany's barn on Christmas Eve.
The award-winning series began in 1990 when, the author says, "I had just finished a doctorate, my son was almost two, and my husband, who is a professor, took a sabbatical in France. And it was the first time that I really had free time -- the gift of time that all writers dream about.”
Recipes for some of Faith’s creations began to appear in the books with the fifth title in the series, The Body in the Cast, in 1993. After four years of Katherine endlessly sending recipes off to inquisitive readers, she decided to just put them in the books.
They are placed in the back so that readers could ignore them if they chose, because, as the author says, "I don't like those books where you have the badly bludgeoned body and then there's a brownie recipe..."
For a list of all of the recipes from the previous books, visit the author’s website.
]]>
Ten Best of 2009tag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19592009-10-29T19:41:48Z2009-10-30T18:05:50ZHere’s a challenge! Select the ten best books of 2009 from more than 50,000 reviews. The editors at Publishers Weekly have come up with the following result: AGE OF WONDER: HOW THE ROMANTIC GENERATION DISCOVERED THE BEAUTY AND TERROR OF SCIENCE by Richard Holmes Focuses on British scientists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who changed the cultural ideal of science to make it an adventure in the transformation of society. AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon Three stories of lost souls seeking their identities in an intricate interweaving of the real and the fake in an elegant...MartaChttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/index.html
Publishers Weekly have come up with the following result:
AGE OF WONDER: HOW THE ROMANTIC GENERATION DISCOVERED THE BEAUTY AND TERROR OF SCIENCE by Richard Holmes
Focuses on British scientists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who changed the cultural ideal of science to make it an adventure in the transformation of society.
AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon
Three stories of lost souls seeking their identities in an intricate interweaving of the real and the fake in an elegant thriller. Chaon was a National Book Award finalist for You Remind Me of Me.BIG MACHINE by Victor Lavalle
Ex-heroin addict gets involved in a secret society investigating the legacy of an escaped slave who claimed to talk with the Voice (God.) Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man meets paranormal thriller. Other Lavalle titles: Slapboxing with Jesus and the new novel Ecstatic.CHEEVER: A LIFE by Blake Bailey
Thoroughly researched overview of Cheever's life including his homosexuality and alcoholism.
This prolific author was a mass of contradictions. A heartfelt biography.
A FIERY PEACE IN A COLD WAR by Neil Sheehan
History of the men who built the intercontinental ballistic missile program in the 1950s and ‘60s. Underdog visionaries struggling to keep the peace and jump-start the space program populate this engrossing read. Sheehan’s Bright Shining Lie won both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award.
IN OTHER ROOMS, OTHER WONDERS by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Rich, interconnected short stories exploring the feudal society of a Lahore landowner.
Pakistani Mueenuddin is a Yale graduate who lives on a farm in his native land.
JEFF IN VENICE, DEATH IN VARANASI by Geoff Dyer
Twin novellas evoking empty lives, asking philosophical questions and making trenchant observations in an atmospheric and stylistic work.
LOST CITY OF Z: A TALE OF DEADLY OBSESSION IN THE AMAZON by David Grann
Classic adventure tale plus character study plus travel story in this look at the ancient Amazonian city that may or may not have existed. Grann grew up in Westport and spoke about his book at the Library. Podcast.SHOP CLASS AS SOULCRAFT: AN INQUIRY INTO THE VALUE OF WORK by Matthew B. Crawford
Philosopher and motorcycle repair shop owner extols the value and rewards of working with one’s hands in a culture dominated by the more abstract standards of information technology. For another take on the loss of craftsmanship, read Cheap:the High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell.
STITCHES by David Small
Graphic autobiography of a small and unhappy boy whose haunting story is told in subtle and powerful drawings. David Small has participated in the Library’s Rabbit Hill Festival of Children’s Literature.
What’s on your ten best list of 2009?
]]>
Scary Stufftag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19542009-10-26T20:03:24Z2009-10-26T12:40:31ZJane Wheel makes half of her living as an antique picker searching high and low at estate sales and antique shops and reselling her finds to other collectors. She makes the other half as a private detective, because she’s just as talented at digging up secrets.
In Scary Stuff, the sixth book of the Jane Wheel series by Sharon Fiffer, Jane returns to her family’s home – just in time for Halloween – to straighten out a mess her brother has gotten himself into. He says he's been verbally attacked three times by men who accused him of swindling them on eBay. It becomes obvious that he has a doppelganger, which fans out into a family drama that takes on Hitchockian airs. Jane finds that besides finding delight in plowing through the accumulations of peoples’ lifetimes, you sometimes uncover secrets that others wish to remain hidden, at all costs.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlCozy fans – or fans of the traditional mystery, as some now prefer to be called – will find a few new Halloween mysteries on the Library shelves.
Jane Wheel makes half of her living as an antique picker searching high and low at estate sales and antique shops and reselling her finds to other collectors. She makes the other half as a private detective, because she’s just as talented at digging up secrets.
In Scary Stuff, the sixth book of the Jane Wheel series by Sharon Fiffer, Jane returns to her family’s home – just in time for Halloween – to straighten out a mess her brother has gotten himself into. He says he's been verbally attacked three times by men who accused him of swindling them on eBay. It becomes obvious that he has a doppelganger, which fans out into a family drama that takes on Hitchockian airs. Jane finds that besides finding delight in plowing through the accumulations of peoples’ lifetimes, you sometimes uncover secrets that others wish to remain hidden, at all costs.
Blackwork is the thirteenth (appropriately enough) title in Monica Ferris’ Needlework Mysteries.
It's Halloween and Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World needlework shop and part-time sleuth, is helping with the preparations for the upcoming Halloween festivities in Excelsior, Minnesota. Leona Cunningham, a Wiccan and proprietor of the local microbrewery pub, is mixing a new brew called “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Ale.” The “potion” is blamed for a series of accidents that start happening around town and Leona becomes the main suspect when the most vocal of her accusers turns up dead without a mark on his body.
Blackwork, by the way, is an intricate reversible form of embroidery. Instructions for a blackwork pattern, “Witchwork,” appear at the end of the book.
Laura Childs’ Tragic Magic, the seventh of her Scrapbooking Mysteries, finds crafty Carmela Bertrand of the Memory Mine scrapbook store in New Orleans helping with some spooky set decorations for “Medusa Manor.” Her best friend Ava Gruiex, owner of Juju Voodoo, is converting an old mansion into an unforgettable haunted house.
When their boss Melody Mayfeldt’s flaming body plummets from the third-floor tower to her death, Melody's husband asks her to look into the death Carmela has to be careful she doesn't end up going down in flames as well.
Scrapbooking tips and recipes, including Mystery Muffins, are included.
In Australian author Kerry Greenwood's fourth Corinna Chapman mystery, Trick or Treat, the witches have converged on Melbourne to celebrate Samhain. Stir in Mistress Dread, proprietor of the local S&M shop, a cache of valuables stolen from Greek Jews during WWII, many cats, and a rash of bad drug reactions. And Corrina already has a lot on her plate dealing with the cut-price franchise bakery that has opened just down the street from her bakery, Earthly Delights.
Visit the Earthly Delights website for a devil’s food cake recipe sinful enough for the devil himself … or your own Halloween revels.
]]>
The Diamond Daggertag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19402009-10-19T12:41:04Z2009-10-19T13:25:00ZAward winning British author Peter Lovesey will be joining us at the Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm, along with master blender of fact and fiction, Connecticut author James R. Benn. They will be interviewed by Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post.
This is a rare opportunity to meet Lovesey, the author Publishers Weekly says “has no peer in presenting a traditional mystery with all the clues hiding in plain sight. Skeleton Hill, his new Peter Diamond novel, is the tenth book in this contemporary series, which is set in Bath. The PW review says “Diamond remains one of the most realistic and human of fictional sleuths.”
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlAward winning British author Peter Lovesey will be joining us at the Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm, along with master blender of fact and fiction, Connecticut author James R. Benn. They will be interviewed by Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post.
This is a rare opportunity to meet Lovesey, the author Publishers Weekly says “has no peer in presenting a traditional mystery with all the clues hiding in plain sight."
Skeleton Hill, his new Peter Diamond novel, is the tenth book in this contemporary series, which is set in Bath. The PW review says “Diamond remains one of the most realistic and human of fictional sleuths.”
During a reenactment of a battle between Roundheads and Cavaliers that took place over 350 years ago, a headless skeleton belonging to a female—only about twenty years old—is found. Then one of the reenactors is found murdered. In the course of his investigation, Diamond butts heads with the Lansdown Society, a secretive preservation group, of which his boss Georgina is a member. Another sticky situation for the detective!
Lovesey's trademark dark humor—which the New York Times Book Review has praised as his "joie de mort”—is evident on every page.
His other detectives include Victorian policeman Sergeant Cribb, Victoria’s son, Bertie, Prince of Wales, and Henrietta “Hen” Mallin, a contemporary police inspector in West Sussex.
Lovesey is one of an elite group of mystery writers awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger and in 2007 he received the Agatha Lifetime Achievement at Malice Domestic.
He won three awards—the Silver Dagger, Barry and Macavity—just for his 1996 Diamond mystery Bloodhounds which was hailed as old style whodunit set inside a thoroughly modern mystery.
His cumulative list of awards and honors is as long as it is varied.
Lovesey is an accomplished screenwriter as well as a crime fiction writer and his stand-alone novel Goldengirl was made into a feature film in 1979. Other productions include the Sergeant Cribb series, which was televised here in the states on PBS.
More recently, we have been treated to Dead Gorgeous, a 2002 TV film based on his book On the Edge. Two ex-WAAFs meet again by chance and agree that peace holds little excitement for them and that their husbands are a dead loss. Then they think up an ingenious way of getting rid of them.
Lovesey was the story consultant for Rosemary & Thyme, a light-hearted 22 episode series about two gardeners turned sleuths.
Fans will be happy to hear that the Diamond mysteries have been optioned for British television by ITV in 2008—and they will undoubtedly make their way here eventually. Who will play our intrepid detective? I don’t know … but if you come to the program we can ask!
Hope to see you on the 25th.
]]>
Great Group Readstag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19312009-10-14T18:15:38Z2009-10-14T18:49:22ZThe leaves are rapidly changing color as we hit the midpoint of October. I think it’s fitting that one of my favorite months of the year also happens to be the month chosen as National Reading Group Month. Sponsored by the Women’s Book Association to ‘celebrate the joy of shared reading’, this month is the perfect time for book clubs to recognize the benefits that being a member of a book club bring. Sharing a good book with friends not only promotes literacy and reading, but the conversation can open a whole new world of ideas and knowledge. This year the National Reading Group committee has chosen nine discussible books for their Great Group Reads. The list has some well known book club choices, and a few of which you may not have heard.SusanMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/bkclubsvcs.htmlThe leaves are rapidly changing color as we hit the midpoint of October. I think it’s fitting that one of my favorite months of the year also happens to be the month chosen as National Reading Group Month. Sponsored by the Women’s Book Association to ‘celebrate the joy of shared reading’, this month is the perfect time for book clubs to recognize the benefits that being a member of a book club bring. Sharing a good book with friends not only promotes literacy and reading, but the conversation can open a whole new world of ideas and knowledge. This year the National Reading Group committee has chosen nine discussible books for their Great Group Reads. The list has some well known book club choices, and a few of which you may not have heard.
Appassionata by Eva Hoffman is a literary novel that combines classical music and world affairs. An American pianist becomes romantically involved with an Eastern European rebel, forcing her to question her own beliefs about politics and art. The Unit, by first time Swedish novelist Ninni Holmqvist, takes place in a futuristic society where some individuals are considered ‘dispensable’. Syrie James, author of the The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, has now followed it with The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. This novel blends fact and fiction to give us the story of author Charlotte Bronte, seemingly told in her own words.
The story of two friends told through the perspective of four different characters, is the basis for The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey. A good plot and great characters make this a perfect book club selection. Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz is the only nonfiction choice on the list. After her husband’s sudden death Ms. Metz discovers his infidelities and sets out to uncover the truth about their marriage and ultimately about herself. Laura Moriarty’s While I’m Falling is a realistic look at a mother – daughter relationship. Good characters, humor and honesty all combine to make it a worthwhile read.
Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian author Per Petterson is already a favorite of book clubs. Beautifully written, this is the story of boyhood friendship, tragedy and loss. Both Time magazine and the NY Times named it one of the best books of 2008. Cost by Roxana Robinson is a family saga that deals with the devastating effects of one family member’s drug addiction. This is a moving and compelling story. Kamila Shamsie, a Pakistani author, has written Burnt Shadows, an epic saga on the impact of war. It begins in Nagasaki, Japan and brings us up to post 9/11 and the conflict in Afghanistan. Fascinating and thought provoking, this will be a good one for discussion.
So celebrate National Reading Group Month and add one of these great books to your club’s list for a lively book club discussion. Let me know if you need a discussion guide or copies of any of these books for your club.
]]>
Movin’ ontag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19262009-10-10T20:55:21Z2009-10-12T12:46:45Z The bad news is that Walter Mosley says that his beloved character Easy Rawlins “has officially moved on.”
The good news is that Easy’s fans can join in next Sunday, October 18th at 2, when the Usual Suspects discuss the first book in the Rawlins series, Devil in a Blue Dress. Published in 1990, it won the Shamus Award, and was followed by ten critically acclaimed titles. The series played out over a twenty year period, from the Jim Crow 1940s to the politically charged 1960s. The author is known for his strong, black male characters and his passionate musings on race, politics and the writing life.
When asked in a CNN interview if he missed Easy Rawlins at all, Mosley replied “No, he's right there on the shelf. All I have to do is reach up and pull him down.”
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlThe bad news is that Walter Mosley says that his beloved character Easy Rawlins “has officially moved on.”
The good news is that Easy’s fans can join in next Sunday, October 18th at 2, when the Usual Suspects discuss the first book in the Rawlins series, Devil in a Blue Dress. Published in 1990, it won the Shamus Award, and was followed by ten critically acclaimed titles. The series played out over a twenty year period, from the Jim Crow 1940s to the politically charged 1960s.
For the uninitiated, Easy Rawlins was a Los Angeles-based WWII veteran who operated as an unlicensed private sleuth.
He gets into the detective business after getting fired from his job on the line at an aircraft plant for his "attitude." In danger of losing his home, he accepts a white man's offer to find a beautiful, mysterious Frenchwoman named Daphne Monet, last seen in the company of a well-known gangster.
A 1995 film based on the book featured Denzel Washington in the Rawlins role.
Mosley recently launched a new mystery series with The Long Fall, which features a modern-day ex-boxer named Leonid McGill, an old-school private investigator in New York City.
He says “Easy Rawlins lived in my father’s world and the world of my father’s, and my own, people. Leonid McGill, however, lives in a world writ large. In Leonid’s America the truth is never only skin deep. “
Two other Mosley series feature ex-convict Socrates Fortlow and bookseller Paris Minton.
The author is known for his strong, black male characters and his passionate musings on race, politics and the writing life.
When asked in a CNN interview if he missed Easy Rawlins at all, Mosley replied “No, he's right there on the shelf. All I have to do is reach up and pull him down.”
New faces are always welcome. To reserve a copy of the book, call 291-4821.
]]>
The Indy Fivetag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19142009-10-05T12:47:55Z2009-10-05T13:23:07ZThe 40th Bouchercon World Mystery Convention will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 15 - 18, 2009. Author Michael Connelly will be the Guest of Honor. The Anthony Awards, named in memory of mystery writer and critic Anthony Boucher, will be given out at a ceremony on Saturday, October 17.
The five Best Novel nominees are Trigger City by Sean Chercover, The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly, Red Knife by William Kent Krueger, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny.
The Cruelest Month has already won this year’s Agatha Award for Best Novel and is nominated for the McAvity and the Barry awards as well as the Anthony.
Louise Penny is an author that I suggest to readers often and they never come back to me disappointed. The New York Times attributes this success to the “elegance and depth” that she brings to her traditional village mysteries.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlThe 40th Bouchercon World Mystery Convention will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 15 - 18, 2009. Author Michael Connelly will be the Guest of Honor.
Mystery author Rex Stout was born in nearby Noblesville, Indiana and there are two popular fictional detectives who call Indy home.
Ronald Tierney’s character Dietrich “Deets” Shanahan is a 70-something former Army intelligence officer and semi-retired private investigator, and Connecticut author David Levien’s Frank Behr is an ex-cop private investigator.
The Anthony Awards, named in memory of mystery writer and critic Anthony Boucher, will be given out at a ceremony on Saturday, October 17.
The five Best Novel nominees are Trigger City by Sean Chercover, The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly, Red Knife by William Kent Krueger, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny.
The Cruelest Month has already won this year’s Agatha Award for Best Novel and is nominated for the McAvity and the Barry awards as well as the Anthony.
Louise Penny is an author that I suggest to readers often and they never come back to me disappointed. The New York Times attributes this success to the “elegance and depth” that she brings to her traditional village mysteries.
Penny’s detective is Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec, in the village of Three Pines, in southern Quebec. The recently released The Brutal Telling is the fifth title in the series which began in 2005 with Still Life, which won numerous Best First Novel Awards, including the Anthony.
This year’s nominees for the Best First Novel Anthony – which is perhaps the most exciting category – include Pushing up Daisies, the first of the Dirty Business mysteries by Connecticut author Rosemary Harris.
Harris’ amateur sleuth Paula Holliday is a 30-ish former TV executive who opens a landscaping-gardening business in fictitious Springfield, Connecticut.
If you would like a chance to meet Rosemary Harris and wish her good luck at Bouchercon, the Usual Suspects discussion group will be sponsoring a get-together with her on Saturday, October 10th at 2 PM at the Lakeside Diner in Stamford, which was the inspiration for Babe’s diner in the series.
There will be coffee and donuts, a free raffle and a good time, for sure. RSVP to me by e-mail or phone at 291-4836.
]]>
Swiftly-sketched & to the point!tag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19132009-10-04T19:25:51Z2009-10-04T19:36:52ZWith origins in oral story-telling and the prose anecdote, short stories usually present a swiftly-sketched situation that quickly comes to its point. Less complex than novels, most short stories focus on only one incident, with a single plot, a single setting, a small number of characters and a short period of time. Less is more when writing short stories and it takes a special talent to distill the details into a complete story. Famous short story writers include Jorge Luis Borges. O.Henry, Flannery O’Connor, John Cheever and Raymond Carver. Novelists who also excelled at short stories were Kurt Vonnegut, Nathaniel...MartaChttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/index.html
The Bigness of the World by Lori Ostlund. Carefully observed people venture into the world with romantic ideals that are not quite strong enough for the adventures that ensue. Satire and gentle disenchantment permeate these stories.
In Call Me Ahab by Anne Finger, legendary outcasts, from Goliath to Vincent Van Gogh are placed in a “normal” setting to see how they fare. Imagine Van Gogh in a 20th-centruy New York City hotel living on food stamps and communicating with God. Consider the relationship between David and Goliath from the Philistine’s point of view. These are the kinds of inventive and intelligent situations created by this author.
In Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet, animals represent nothing but themselves, except as they are used to boost the celebrity of people like Sharon Stone (Komodo dragons), Madonna (pheasant hunting),David Hasselhoff (his dachshund), Jimmy Carter (swamp rabbit)…you get the idea. A lucid look at the foolishness of pop culture and its use of the animal world.
For fans of crime fiction, Peter Robinson’s The Price of Love and Other Stories includes not only several Detective Banks stories, but other insightful journeys into the dark side of human nature. He explores the psychological motives that lead to harm in these suspenseful and thrilling stories.
Short story collections gather stories by various authors into books with a general theme, such as crime, nationality, holidays, gender, or any other subject. At the Library these anthologies are in a separate section near the fiction, science fiction & mystery books. If you find short stories intriguing, take a look at the anthologies, as well as the collected stories by individual authors.
There are many “swiftly-sketched” and “to the point” tales waiting for you.
]]>
Evil for Eviltag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.19032009-09-28T12:16:26Z2009-09-28T12:50:52ZEvil for Evil finds Billy Boyle in late 1943 in Northern Ireland investigating the theft of 50 automatic rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition from a U.S. Army depot. The body of a slain IRA man is found a few miles away and Billy's military superiors fear the stolen weapons will be used in a Nazi engineered IRA uprising. Booklist says "author James R. Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history … A solid series that keeps getting better."
Benn will be joining us at the Westport Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 pm along with Peter Lovesey, the award-winning author of over thirty-five crime novels, including the contemporary Peter Diamond series and the Victorian era Sergeant Cribb mysteries.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlI was recently up in Madison at R.J. Julia’s, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in the state, for a launch party for the fourth Billy Boyle mystery by Connecticut author and master blender of fact and fiction James R. Benn. Worth the ride ... a remarkable place.
Evil for Evil finds Billy in late 1943 in Northern Ireland investigating the theft of 50 automatic rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition from a U.S. Army depot. The body of a slain IRA man is found a few miles away and Billy's military superiors fear the stolen weapons will be used in a Nazi engineered IRA uprising.
Billy, a former Boston cop and a nephew by marriage to General Eisenhower, on whose staff he serves, is part of a proud Irish-American family supportive of the Republican cause.
As Publishers Weekly explains, “Billy struggles to remain impartial as he investigates the various factions on both sides of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Benn offers no easy answers in this rich mix of Irish history and wartime intrigue.”
Booklist says "Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history … A solid series that keeps getting better."
Benn will be joining us at the Westport Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 pm along with Peter Lovesey, the award-winning author of over thirty-five crime novels, including the contemporary Peter Diamond series and the Victorian era Sergeant Cribb mysteries. They will be interviewed by Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post.
Looking for tales of the war on the home front or World War II mysteries from a woman’s POV? Kathryn Miller Haines puts a delightful spin on Rosie the Riveter with her character, Rosie Winter, a desperate out of work actress who grabs a part-time job at a steamy, lowbrow detective agency. Her acting skills come in handy when her boss turns up dead and Rosie carries on alone.
In the third book of the series, the recently released Winter in June, it is 1943, and Rosie joins the USO in the hope of an opportunity to search for Jack, her missing soldier boyfriend, last scene somewhere in the Solomon Islands. Before the USO ship pulls out of San Francisco, the body of a former WAC is found floating in the water and the mystery surrounding the woman’s death follows Rosie all the way to her destination where it is compounded by a second murder, perhaps related to Jack’s disappearance.
Publishers Weekly finds Winter in June "Full of evocative period detail … this entry, for all its humorous and lighthearted moments, builds to a dramatic and sobering conclusion.”
Time to trot out some old Glenn Miller recordings and get into a few good reads!
]]>
A less lethal Dextertag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.18552009-09-15T14:19:26Z2009-09-15T14:32:25ZMatthew Dicks’ debut novel Something Missing introduces Martin Railsback, a professional criminal with OCD tendencies. Booklist’s review asks “A loopier Bernie Rhodenbarr? A less lethal Dexter?” and concludes that “… he could be the next big thing.”
Connecticut author Dicks will be appearing at the Library on Monday evening, September 21st at 7:30, along with Margaret Berwin, another new author. Come learn more about their writing and first-time publishing experiences.
JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlMatthew Dicks’ debut novel Something Missing introduces Martin Railsback, a professional criminal with OCD tendencies. He’s been able to steal from the same people for years on end virtually undetected because he only takes items that will go unnoticed: toilet paper, a half-used bottle of maple syrup, rarely used china.
The system works beautifully until the day Martin drops a client's toothbrush into the toilet and feels compelled to replace it. This simple act of decency changes his perspective entirely, and now he finds himself driven to break into houses to improve the lives of their occupants.
Booklist’s review asks “A loopier Bernie Rhodenbarr? A less lethal Dexter?” and concludes that “… he could be the next big thing.”
Connecticut author Dicks will be appearing at the Library on Monday evening, September 21st at 7:30, along with Margaret Berwin, another new author. Come learn more about their writing and first-time publishing experiences.
And speaking of Dexter, Jeffry P. Lindsay’s latest, Dexter by Design, was recently released.
After his surprisingly glorious honeymoon in Paris, life is almost normal for Dexter Morgan, but once back in Miami -- where his Dark Passenger has been waiting for him -- the discovery of a corpse artfully displayed as a sunbather relaxing on a beach chair catapults Dexter back into action.
The Kirkus review calls it “The best of Dexter's four adventures to date.”
The Season 4 premiere of the television series Dexter, which is based on the novels, airs on September 27th.
]]>
Meanwhile, back at the reservation ...tag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.18492009-09-14T12:27:26Z2009-09-14T12:40:55ZDenver author Margaret Coel returns to the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming in The Silent Spirit, a new mystery featuring John Aloysius O’Malley, a Jesuit missionary, and Vicky Holden, an Arapaho attorney. Father John and Vicky delve into the reservation's past when an Arapaho and his great-grandson are murdered nearly a century apart. JaneMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/mystery/usualsuspects.htmlDenver author Margaret Coel returns to the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming in The Silent Spirit, a new mystery featuring John Aloysius O’Malley, a Jesuit missionary, and Vicky Holden, an Arapaho attorney. Father John and Vicky delve into the reservation's past when an Arapaho and his great-grandson are murdered nearly a century apart.
Kiki Wallowingbull is found dead on the frozen banks of the Little Wind River and the murder appears to be the result of a drug deal gone bad. However, Kiki had recently returned from Hollywood where he was trying to uncover the mystery of his great-grandfather's disappearance while filming a 1923 Western. Many Arapahos and Shoshones went to Hollywood to find work in silent movies but Kiki's great-grandfather never returned to his wife and child. Are the two events somehow connected?
Kirkus gave the book an excellent review, calling it “Another of Coel's engaging blends of history, mystery, sexual tension and present-day life on the reservation.”
Originally an historian by trade, Coel is considered an expert on the Arapaho Indians. You can read about the Reservation, which is a real place -- spanning 2.2 million acres and home to 2,500 Eastern Shoshone and more than 5,000 Northern Arapaho Indians -- and find out a bit of background information about the Arapaho culture on her website.
The author says “The story connects with the audience that loves mystery novels, novels about the West, its history and people, and novels about contemporary Native Americans. The Silent Spirit will also appeal to film buffs, since it moves back and forth between the present and 1920s Hollywood when the Arapahos appeared in many of the silent Westerns.”
She adds “The Silent Spirit is the 14th novel in my New York Times bestselling series, but readers can jump in at any time. They do not have to have read the earlier novels to enjoy the latest.”
For a complete list, visit Stop,You’re Killing Me!
You can see the author in a series of clips on YouTube in an interview with Barbara Peters of Poisoned Pen Press and Bookstore taped last November.
The cover art for The Silent Spirit is magnificent and I, for one, am glad to be back on the Rez with Father John, who was sent off on a sabbatical to Rome at the end of The Girl with Braided Hair, the previous book in the series published back in 2007. Glad they let him come home.
]]>
Best Friends Forevertag:www.westportlibrary.org,2009:/bookblog//1.18472009-09-09T18:03:41Z2009-09-09T18:15:00ZA few weeks ago an old friend who now lives in California was in town for a few days and we got together for a girl’s night out with a group of our friends. Although we hadn’t seen each other in a few years, it seemed like it was just yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the evening, having caught up on all the little things we miss talking about on a daily basis. Over the years we’ve shared a lot together –both the good times and the bad. Good friends have always played an important part in women’s lives. Women’s friendships have also figured prominently in many of our favorite books.
SusanMhttp://www.westportlibrary.org/newrecommend/bkclubsvcs.htmlA few weeks ago an old friend who now lives in California was in town for a few days and we got together for a girl’s night out with a group of our friends. Although we hadn’t seen each other in a few years, it seemed like it was just yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the evening, having caught up on all the little things we miss talking about on a daily basis. Over the years we’ve shared a lot together –both the good times and the bad. Good friends have always played an important part in women’s lives. Women’s friendships have also figured prominently in many of our favorite books.
Songs Without Words by Ann Packer is the story of a lifelong friendship between two women. Beautifully written, Ms. Packer shows how life events can challenge and strain the bonds of friendship. In Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett delves into the true story of her relationship with fellow author Lucy Grealy. They met in college and shared their writing experiences as well as Grealy’s struggle with drugs and addiction. Patchett’s devotion and love for her friend will resonate with many who have tried to help a friend through troubled times.
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton follows the lives of five women who are going through many personal changes as the world around them is also undergoing change. Set in 1968 at the beginning of the women’s movement, they form a weekly writing group sharing their lives, hopes and dreams through their writing. In Commencement, by J. Courtney Sullivan, four college friends struggle to find their place in the world after graduating from a woman’s college where the ideals of feminism have been strongly embraced. Set in 2007, they have many opportunities available to them, but the choices they make are not always easy. The strength of their friendship is a source of comfort as they each follow their own path to adulthood.
The enduring nature of female friendships is the subject of The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow. This true story follows eleven childhood friends from Ames, Iowa and the bonds that still connect them forty years later. Over the years they have been a support system for each other and a source of strength in times of need.
Do you have a close friend that you may have lost touch with recently? Technology has made it pretty easy for us to keep in touch if we are willing to make the effort. Perhaps one of these books will inspire you to reconnect with some of those friends. You may find that there’s something very special about those relationships that you don’t want to lose.
]]>
The phenomenal success of the Phryne Fisher series is no doubt due in part to author Kerry Greenwood’s vision of her character: “Phryne is a hero, just like James Bond or the Saint, but with fewer product endorsements and a better class of lovers. I decided to try a female hero and made her as free as a male hero, to see what she would do. Mind you, at that time I only thought there would be two books.”
There have been seventeen full-length Phryne Fisher mysteries to date, plus an additional title, A Question of Death, which is an elegantly illustrated treasury of shorts stories interspersed with recipes and other miscellany.
The Honourable Miss Phryne (pronounced fry - née) Fisher, for the uninitiated, is a wealthy aristocrat who lives in Melbourne, Australia in 1928. She is a 28 year old woman detective, who, with the assistance of her maid Dot and several other recurring characters, solves all manner of crimes. She can fly a plane, drives her own car (a red Hispano-Suiza) and wears pants. Shocking! 1928, remember?
When asked what aspects of herself that she sees in Phryne, the witty Greenwood says “The only thing I share with Phryne apart from gender is extreme stubbornness.”
Visit Greenwood’s website to find out more about the sleuth, including her horoscope and directions for making the perfect Old Fashioned, one of Phryne’s favorite cocktails.
Next Sunday, the 29th, at 2 p.m., the Usual Suspects Mystery Reading Group will be discussing the 3rd book in the series, Murder on the Ballarat Train.
Phryne decides to give the Hispano-Suiza a break and travel by train to Ballarat. The first night en route, she wakes up to the smell of chloroform and manages to save her fellow passengers. A head count reveals that someone is missing and a search turns up the body of an old, cantankerous woman at the side of the train tracks. Phryne agrees to investigate the murder for the woman's daughter, and is also determined to solve the mystery of a young girl on board who is suffering from amnesia.
New faces are always welcome. Please join us! I can’t promise cocktails, but we always have a good time.
To reserve a copy of the book, call 291-4821.
]]>
Book clubs registered at the Westport Public Library have many different formats. Many of our clubs are affiliated with larger organizations, such as the Y or the Westport Women’s Club, but many are small groups of friends that just enjoy a good book and discussion. We have clubs that are solely women, one that is solely males, several that are couples groups, and even one comprised of third graders and their moms. One of our reference librarians was recently asked to suggest some titles for a mother-daughter book club consisting of senior citizens and their daughters. A few of us here at the library put our heads together and came up with the following selections.
What better choice to start off with than the WestportReads selection, The Housekeeper and the Professor. This is a book that spans all ages, so we think it would be perfect for the mother-daughter club. Math, baseball and relationships that bind us together are at the heart of this enchanting little book.
Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr was written when the author was in her seventies. Her first novel, it won the National Book Award in 1984. It is the story of an American couple living in Ibarra, Mexico, the Evertons, who learn much about life and its challenges from the villagers there.
Ann Patchett books are always a good choice for book clubs. In Bel Canto, a group of rich and powerful hostages form unexpected bonds. Beautifully written with great characters, this story not only draws you in, but will stay with you long after you have finished it. Patchett’s most recent novel, Run, is about family, love and loss. This compelling story about the Doyles of Boston is also filled with lots of interesting characters.
Alice Munro is known for her award-winning short stories. Her daughter, Sheila, has written a biography of her mother in which she shares what it was like to grow up with such a well known author. In Lives of Mothers & Daughters: Growing Up with Alice Munro, Sheila often refers to real life places and situations that appear in Alice’s work. Why not read this along with one of Munro’s short story collections for an interesting view of how authors find their inspiration?
Our Speaking of Books collection has many great titles available for a mixed generation book club. Book club favorites such as The Glass Castle, Water for Elephants or Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, are all excellent choices for such discussion groups. If you would like more suggestions for your book club or a discussion guide to get you started, ask me or anyone at the reference desk. Do you have any favorites we should add to our list?
]]>
If there was a "Life’s Little Ironies" competition, author Ruth Rendell might be the winner. She was fired from her newspaper job after writing an article about the local tennis club's annual dinner which she had not actually attended – and so she “neglected” to mention the untimely death of the after-dinner speaker mid-speech.
False alibis, erroneous statements, sudden deaths … some of the major ingredients of good crime fiction!
Rendell moved on to become one of the most celebrated mystery authors of our time and has won the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars and a Grand Master from the Mystery Writers of America, and countless other awards.
For her literary efforts, she was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1996 and a life peer as Baroness Rendell in 1997. She turned 79 this year.
Many credit Rendell and P. D. James for transforming the entire mystery genre of the whodunit into the whydunit.
Chistopher Ray sums it all up quite nicely in a 1996 New Statesman article: “One rereads Dickens, Chesterton said, because the books are so memorable. One rereads mysteries, on the other hand, because they are so forgettable. But try not remembering Ruth Rendell. The only thing you forget in her company is yourself. If the novel's primary moral function is to help you see the world as others see it, Rendell is a moralist of the first water. Child killers, drugged-out wasters, catwalk models, care assistants, sociopaths, withered actresses, tormented middle-aged GPs – these are just a few of the alien lives this latter-day Dostoevsky has made sense of for those of us who like to think ourselves less troubled. “
“Librarians are my favorite people and libraries, my favorite places to be.”
Kind words from one of the finest traditional mystery writers around.
The Author's Note from Katherine Hall Page’s latest (and 18th) Faith Fairchild title, The Body in the Sleigh, is her thank-you letter to librarians everywhere. It is so nice to be appreciated.
Page says, “Ultimately librarians are matchmakers. They introduce us to new authors and subjects.”
One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is meeting the Library’s mystery readers and helping them find something new or something different … often by proxy, for a family member or friend who is unable to come in person.
We have a “Book a Librarian” feature here in Westport where you can arrange for a one-on-one meeting with a staff member who can help you in their field of expertise. Being the resident mystery maven, I am available for booking. I’m always happy to meet a fellow mystery fan!
If you would like to meet Katherine Hall Page, stop by the McManus Room Monday night, November 2nd, at 7:30 when she will speak about the new book. Copies will be available for purchase and signing after the talk.
It has a holiday theme, so this may be the perfect gift for some of the mystery readers on your list.
Caterer and clergy wife Faith Fairchild has two cases to keep her busy this Christmas as she looks for a connection between the death of a teenage drug addict whose body was found in an antique sleigh, and the discovery of a newborn baby boy in the manger in spinster Mary Bethany's barn on Christmas Eve.
The award-winning series began in 1990 when, the author says, "I had just finished a doctorate, my son was almost two, and my husband, who is a professor, took a sabbatical in France. And it was the first time that I really had free time -- the gift of time that all writers dream about.”
Recipes for some of Faith’s creations began to appear in the books with the fifth title in the series, The Body in the Cast, in 1993. After four years of Katherine endlessly sending recipes off to inquisitive readers, she decided to just put them in the books.
They are placed in the back so that readers could ignore them if they chose, because, as the author says, "I don't like those books where you have the badly bludgeoned body and then there's a brownie recipe..."
For a list of all of the recipes from the previous books, visit the author’s website.
]]>
Cozy fans – or fans of the traditional mystery, as some now prefer to be called – will find a few new Halloween mysteries on the Library shelves.
Jane Wheel makes half of her living as an antique picker searching high and low at estate sales and antique shops and reselling her finds to other collectors. She makes the other half as a private detective, because she’s just as talented at digging up secrets.
In Scary Stuff, the sixth book of the Jane Wheel series by Sharon Fiffer, Jane returns to her family’s home – just in time for Halloween – to straighten out a mess her brother has gotten himself into. He says he's been verbally attacked three times by men who accused him of swindling them on eBay. It becomes obvious that he has a doppelganger, which fans out into a family drama that takes on Hitchockian airs. Jane finds that besides finding delight in plowing through the accumulations of peoples’ lifetimes, you sometimes uncover secrets that others wish to remain hidden, at all costs.
Award winning British author Peter Lovesey will be joining us at the Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm, along with master blender of fact and fiction, Connecticut author James R. Benn. They will be interviewed by Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post.
This is a rare opportunity to meet Lovesey, the author Publishers Weekly says “has no peer in presenting a traditional mystery with all the clues hiding in plain sight."
Skeleton Hill, his new Peter Diamond novel, is the tenth book in this contemporary series, which is set in Bath. The PW review says “Diamond remains one of the most realistic and human of fictional sleuths.”
The leaves are rapidly changing color as we hit the midpoint of October. I think it’s fitting that one of my favorite months of the year also happens to be the month chosen as National Reading Group Month. Sponsored by the Women’s Book Association to ‘celebrate the joy of shared reading’, this month is the perfect time for book clubs to recognize the benefits that being a member of a book club bring. Sharing a good book with friends not only promotes literacy and reading, but the conversation can open a whole new world of ideas and knowledge. This year the National Reading Group committee has chosen nine discussible books for their Great Group Reads. The list has some well known book club choices, and a few of which you may not have heard.
Appassionata by Eva Hoffman is a literary novel that combines classical music and world affairs. An American pianist becomes romantically involved with an Eastern European rebel, forcing her to question her own beliefs about politics and art. The Unit, by first time Swedish novelist Ninni Holmqvist, takes place in a futuristic society where some individuals are considered ‘dispensable’. Syrie James, author of the The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, has now followed it with The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte. This novel blends fact and fiction to give us the story of author Charlotte Bronte, seemingly told in her own words.
The story of two friends told through the perspective of four different characters, is the basis for The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey. A good plot and great characters make this a perfect book club selection. Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz is the only nonfiction choice on the list. After her husband’s sudden death Ms. Metz discovers his infidelities and sets out to uncover the truth about their marriage and ultimately about herself. Laura Moriarty’s While I’m Falling is a realistic look at a mother – daughter relationship. Good characters, humor and honesty all combine to make it a worthwhile read.
Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian author Per Petterson is already a favorite of book clubs. Beautifully written, this is the story of boyhood friendship, tragedy and loss. Both Time magazine and the NY Times named it one of the best books of 2008. Cost by Roxana Robinson is a family saga that deals with the devastating effects of one family member’s drug addiction. This is a moving and compelling story. Kamila Shamsie, a Pakistani author, has written Burnt Shadows, an epic saga on the impact of war. It begins in Nagasaki, Japan and brings us up to post 9/11 and the conflict in Afghanistan. Fascinating and thought provoking, this will be a good one for discussion.
So celebrate National Reading Group Month and add one of these great books to your club’s list for a lively book club discussion. Let me know if you need a discussion guide or copies of any of these books for your club.
]]>
The bad news is that Walter Mosley says that his beloved character Easy Rawlins “has officially moved on.”
The good news is that Easy’s fans can join in next Sunday, October 18th at 2, when the Usual Suspects discuss the first book in the Rawlins series, Devil in a Blue Dress. Published in 1990, it won the Shamus Award, and was followed by ten critically acclaimed titles. The series played out over a twenty year period, from the Jim Crow 1940s to the politically charged 1960s.
The 40th Bouchercon World Mystery Convention will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 15 - 18, 2009. Author Michael Connelly will be the Guest of Honor.
Mystery author Rex Stout was born in nearby Noblesville, Indiana and there are two popular fictional detectives who call Indy home.
Ronald Tierney’s character Dietrich “Deets” Shanahan is a 70-something former Army intelligence officer and semi-retired private investigator, and Connecticut author David Levien’s Frank Behr is an ex-cop private investigator.
I was recently up in Madison at R.J. Julia’s, one of the few remaining independent bookstores in the state, for a launch party for the fourth Billy Boyle mystery by Connecticut author and master blender of fact and fiction James R. Benn. Worth the ride ... a remarkable place.
Evil for Evil finds Billy in late 1943 in Northern Ireland investigating the theft of 50 automatic rifles and 200,000 rounds of ammunition from a U.S. Army depot. The body of a slain IRA man is found a few miles away and Billy's military superiors fear the stolen weapons will be used in a Nazi engineered IRA uprising.
Billy, a former Boston cop and a nephew by marriage to General Eisenhower, on whose staff he serves, is part of a proud Irish-American family supportive of the Republican cause.
As Publishers Weekly explains, “Billy struggles to remain impartial as he investigates the various factions on both sides of the Catholic-Protestant divide. Benn offers no easy answers in this rich mix of Irish history and wartime intrigue.”
Booklist says "Benn continues to create fascinating behind-the-scenes mysteries from little-known facets of World War II history … A solid series that keeps getting better."
Benn will be joining us at the Westport Library on Sunday, October 25 at 2:00 pm along with Peter Lovesey, the award-winning author of over thirty-five crime novels, including the contemporary Peter Diamond series and the Victorian era Sergeant Cribb mysteries. They will be interviewed by Joe Meyers of the Connecticut Post.
Looking for tales of the war on the home front or World War II mysteries from a woman’s POV? Kathryn Miller Haines puts a delightful spin on Rosie the Riveter with her character, Rosie Winter, a desperate out of work actress who grabs a part-time job at a steamy, lowbrow detective agency. Her acting skills come in handy when her boss turns up dead and Rosie carries on alone.
Matthew Dicks’ debut novel Something Missing introduces Martin Railsback, a professional criminal with OCD tendencies. He’s been able to steal from the same people for years on end virtually undetected because he only takes items that will go unnoticed: toilet paper, a half-used bottle of maple syrup, rarely used china.
The system works beautifully until the day Martin drops a client's toothbrush into the toilet and feels compelled to replace it. This simple act of decency changes his perspective entirely, and now he finds himself driven to break into houses to improve the lives of their occupants.
Booklist’s review asks “A loopier Bernie Rhodenbarr? A less lethal Dexter?” and concludes that “… he could be the next big thing.”
Connecticut author Dicks will be appearing at the Library on Monday evening, September 21st at 7:30, along with Margaret Berwin, another new author. Come learn more about their writing and first-time publishing experiences.
Denver author Margaret Coel returns to the Wind River Reservation of Wyoming in The Silent Spirit, a new mystery featuring John Aloysius O’Malley, a Jesuit missionary, and Vicky Holden, an Arapaho attorney. Father John and Vicky delve into the reservation's past when an Arapaho and his great-grandson are murdered nearly a century apart.
Kiki Wallowingbull is found dead on the frozen banks of the Little Wind River and the murder appears to be the result of a drug deal gone bad. However, Kiki had recently returned from Hollywood where he was trying to uncover the mystery of his great-grandfather's disappearance while filming a 1923 Western. Many Arapahos and Shoshones went to Hollywood to find work in silent movies but Kiki's great-grandfather never returned to his wife and child. Are the two events somehow connected?
Kirkus gave the book an excellent review, calling it “Another of Coel's engaging blends of history, mystery, sexual tension and present-day life on the reservation.”
A few weeks ago an old friend who now lives in California was in town for a few days and we got together for a girl’s night out with a group of our friends. Although we hadn’t seen each other in a few years, it seemed like it was just yesterday. It was hard to say goodbye at the end of the evening, having caught up on all the little things we miss talking about on a daily basis. Over the years we’ve shared a lot together –both the good times and the bad. Good friends have always played an important part in women’s lives. Women’s friendships have also figured prominently in many of our favorite books.
Songs Without Words by Ann Packer is the story of a lifelong friendship between two women. Beautifully written, Ms. Packer shows how life events can challenge and strain the bonds of friendship. In Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett delves into the true story of her relationship with fellow author Lucy Grealy. They met in college and shared their writing experiences as well as Grealy’s struggle with drugs and addiction. Patchett’s devotion and love for her friend will resonate with many who have tried to help a friend through troubled times.
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton follows the lives of five women who are going through many personal changes as the world around them is also undergoing change. Set in 1968 at the beginning of the women’s movement, they form a weekly writing group sharing their lives, hopes and dreams through their writing. In Commencement, by J. Courtney Sullivan, four college friends struggle to find their place in the world after graduating from a woman’s college where the ideals of feminism have been strongly embraced. Set in 2007, they have many opportunities available to them, but the choices they make are not always easy. The strength of their friendship is a source of comfort as they each follow their own path to adulthood.
The enduring nature of female friendships is the subject of The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow. This true story follows eleven childhood friends from Ames, Iowa and the bonds that still connect them forty years later. Over the years they have been a support system for each other and a source of strength in times of need.
Do you have a close friend that you may have lost touch with recently? Technology has made it pretty easy for us to keep in touch if we are willing to make the effort. Perhaps one of these books will inspire you to reconnect with some of those friends. You may find that there’s something very special about those relationships that you don’t want to lose.
]]>