Children's book review: Adam Gopnik

Young adult fiction is definitely for grownups! But also perfect to share with your grandchildren! No matter how old they get, they will ask you for recommendations! Sales of fiction for 14-20 year olds have increased dramatically in the last few years. The hunger games alone sold 23 million copies and at was before the movie came out. I still find it difficult to recommend because it is children killing children but i read the books because they remain in the top 10 banned books since publication. And i have had great discussions with friends, children, librarians and strangers about those books. More importantly, there were also 10,000 different Y/A books published last year. How to chose is difficult. But it is great fun for most adults to lose themselves in imaginary words and the innocence of childhood all the while finding a great book to share with children. Adam Gopnik's The Steps Across the Water (2010), superbly illustrated by Bruce McCall, is another creative imaginative masterpiece by this fabulous journalist and author. Rose is a young child living in NYC with her adopted parents and brother (Oliver was the subject of an earlier book and another must read!) She knows she has a lovely family but she is lonely and wonders who she really is. She desperately wants a dog and she loves snow globes. One day she sees a crystal staircase arching like a rainbow over the central park lake (no one else believes her of course). But later she discovers another entire world UNork peopled with fascinating, intriguing and some scary characters! Gopnik has a great deal of fun with names in the alternative universe ( times square squared), unique situations (food being shot at you with cannons, just open your mouth) and everyday parental quotes you've said ("If it weren't for the coffee and email. I wouldn't know I was alive" Rose's Dad. Also "...progressive school, which meant they're progressively draining my bank account..."). This book deals with themes of identity and the meaning of home in beautiful language. It is a charming story that will warm your heart and be read many times for generations. Quotes "Medusa Books? You mean your father's never taken you there? Well, that's a long overdue polka on your dance card, Miss Rose." ""Where was it published? Do you remember that?" Alexandra frowned.m"London? Hong Kong? Maybe Mars?" .....as it if would be the most normal thing in the world....to be published on Mars." Rose's favorite thing to do when she was frustrate and confused was to eat something delicious and it was her personal opinion that when you weren't frustrated and confused it was still a good idea to eat something delicious. Rose : "You're only as big as the last brave thing you've done." Thought by another great children's writer: A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in It, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them. Lemony Snicket

Book Review - Scottish Prisoner

Tony Horwitz, Midnight Rising

2011 Reading List

2011 Book List
There were so many books that I thoroughly enjoyed this year; this is that list. Still it is a partial list, as ones I would recommend (I don't include any others that just didn't do it for me). The ones labelled ** are those that I categorise as YOU MUST READ THIS; * are the excellent reads. Those were the ones instantly recalled when I set to write the list (I am always asked for the 10 best, or the 50 best...) I made a New Years Resolution list, which included the statement "I will read no more than 4 books a week." Then someone pointed out "BUT Helen, that is still over 200 books a year!" Well, sleep is for amateurs, or when you are dead, or both. Enjoy
Non Fiction
*Elizabeth Tora Bailey. The sound of the wild snails eating
James Buchan Frozen Desire: meaning of money
Andre Dubus III Townie: A Memoir
Thomas Friedman. That Used to be US
Marjorie B. Garber The use and abuse of literature
Lori Gottlieb Marry him : the case for settling for Mr. Good Enough
**Adam Gopnick Winter: windows on five seasons,
*Adam Gopnick Table comes first (France Family and the meaning of food)
**Andrew Greig. The Loch of the Green Corrie
Simon Loxley The Secret history of Letters
Edward Hoagland Sex and the River Styx
**Tony Horwitz. Midnight Rising: John Brown
Victoria Golden McMains (2000) The Readers’ Choice: 200 bookclub favorites
**David McCullough The greater journey : Americans in Paris
John McPhee Silk parachute
Frank Muir An irreverent and thoroughly incomplete social history of almost everything
Frank Muir Oxford book of humorous prose: from William Caxton to P.G.Wodehouse: a conducted tour
Adam Nicolson Seamanship : a voyage along the wild coasts of the British Isles
Adam Nicolson.God's secretaries: the making of the King James Bible
Adam Nicolson Sea Room: an island life in the Hebrides
Jane and Michael Stern 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: and Best Places to Eat Them
Susan Allen Toth. England for all Seasons
Anna Pavord Plant partners
David L. Ulin.The lost art of reading : why books matter in a distracted time
Simon Winchester The Alice behind Wonderland, Atlantic: Great Sea Battles
Jehanne Wake Sisters of Fortune
*Jonathan Yardley. Second Reading
30 books on the global climate change (McKibben, King, etc)
100 banned books

Fiction-Mysteries
Kate Atkinson Started early, took my dog
Jean M. Auel The Land of Painted Caves: Earth's Children Series, Book 6
Gil Adamson Help me, Jacques Cousteau
Stephanie Barron Jane and the Canterbury Tales
*Simon Becket The Calling of the Grave
*John Connolly The Burning Soul
Laurence Cosse A Novel Bookstore
Sara Donati The endless forest
Nicholas Drayson Confessing a murder
Gerald Elias Danse Macabre
Dick / Felix Francis Gamble
Susan Fraser King Queen Hereafter
Elly Griffiths The Janus stone
Martha Grimes Fadeaway child
**Deborah Harkness A Discovery of Witches
C.S. Harris.Where shadows dance
**Susan Hill The Betrayal of Trust
Claude Izner ; translated by Isabel Reid Murder on the Eiffel Tower .
Claude Izner ; translated by Isabel Reid. The disappearance at Pere-Lachaise : a Victor Legris mystery
Judith Koll Healey The Canterbury Papers (04), Rebel Heiress (09)
*Laurie R King. Touchstone, Mary Russell series (Mrs Sherlock Holmes)
Michael Koryta So cold the river, The ridge
Archer Mayor Tag Man
Sharyn McCrumb The Ballad of Tom Dooley
Larry Millett The Magic Bullett
**Tawni O'Dell. Fragile beasts
Brigid Pasulka A long, long time ago and essentially true
Anne Perry Acceptable Loss, A christmas homecoming
Deanna Raybourn The dead travel fast, Dark Road to Darjeeling
*Mary Doria Russell Doc
C.J. Sansom Heartstone
Alexander Mccall Smith The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party Book 12
*Julia Stuart The tower, the zoo, and the tortoise
Andrew Taylor The Anatomy of Ghosts
**Charles Todd A Lonely Death, Bitter Truth
*Nicola Upson. Angel with two face/Two for Sorrow featuring Josephine Tey
Jill Paton Walsh Attenbury Emeralds
Wendy Webb Tale of Halcyon Crane
**Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs Series!

Literature
Louis Bayard The school of night
**Lauren Belfer A Fierce Radiance
*Vanora Bennett The People’s Queen (Chaucer)
Chris Bojahlan (all)
*Geraldine Brooks Caleb’s Crossing
Eleanor Brown Weird Sisters
**PD James Death comes to Pemberley
Sandor Marai Esther's inheritance; translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes.
Sander Marai Portraits of a Marriage
Steve Martin An Object of Desire
David Mitchell The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
Kamala Nair The Girl in the Garden
*Robin Oliveira My Name is Mary Sutter
Felix Palma Map of Time
**James Robertson And the Land Lay Still
*Mary Doria Russell Doc
*Alexander McCall Smith The Forgotten affairs of Youth
P. G. Wodehouse My Man Jeeves

Biography
Judy Collins Sweet Judy Blue Eyes
Elizabeth Chadwick The Greatest Knight (3 vols)
Amy Krouse Rosenthal Encyclopedia Of An Ordinary Life
A.A. Gill The Angry Island: hunting the English
A.A. Gill Previous Convictions: assignments from here and there; AA Gill is Away
*Gregory Maguire Making mischief : a Maurice Sendak appreciation
**Tony Horwitz: Midnight Rising: John Brown
*Simon Winchester The Alice behind Wonderland

Romance
Diana Gabaldon The Scottish Prisoner
Jayne Ann Krentz Arcane In Too Deep
Amanda Quick Quicksilver
Stephanie Laurens Earl of Glencrae
Christina Dodd Taken by a Prince, Bella Terra
Madelaine Hunter

Childrens
**Alan Bradley – Flavia DeLuce!
*John Connolly The Infernals
*Kate DiCamillo. Magician’s Elephant
Gregory Maguire Three Rotten Eggs (2002)
Gregory Maguire The next queen of heaven
Walter Moers The alchemaster's apprentice : a culinary tale from Zamonia /by Optimus Yarnspinner ; translated from the Zamonian and illustrated by, whose German text was translated into English by John Brownjohn.
*Ransom Riggs Miss Peregrin’s home for peculiar children
**Brian Selznick. Wonderstruck

Science Fiction
Dave Duncan Pock’s Arena, Speak to the Devil
Charlene Harris Sookie Stackhouse
Karen Marie Moning Shadowfever
**George R.R. Martin A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons: Song of Ice and Fire Series, Book 1 - 5
Naomi Novik Tongues of serpents, Crucible of Gold
*Terry Pratchett Snuff

Paula McLain The Paris Wife
One good book leads to another – if you have read Hemingway’s memoir, A Moveable Feast, you have your next book: The Paris Wife. I liked that he finally recognised what he had lost with his divorce, from this comment: “I wish I had died before I loved anyone but her (his first wife, Hadley)." McLain writes primarily in Hadley’s voice providing her version of events. A previous biography (Sokoloff, 1973) is quite good, but this novel portrays the woman who loved him, for himself, and is fascinating! Paula McLain painstakingly researched the biographies, letters, and Hemingway's novels, to accurately detail their lives, including their marriage (1921-1926). She is also a poet, which is evident in her fine language craft and evocative prose which captures the glamour, emotions and trials of the 1920s, Europe and especially Paris.

Hadley (Elizabeth Hadley Richardson 1893-1979) was a 28 year old midwestern girl when she met the 21 year old Hemingway who was already brash and ambitious. You are caught up in their whirlwind courtship and the infinite possibilities that await them in life (even knowing the baggage that came later, you love the current story). Her inheritance enabled them to move to Paris and initially provided Hemingway with the stable environment which promoted his writing and provided him with material/experiences.

The reader is charmed by the warm generosity, beliefs and support of Hadley, delighted by the glittering expatriate world which is littered with well know literary and artistic figures as Gertrude Stein, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Ford Maddox Ford, Jean Rhys, and many others, and heartbroken when their marriage dissolves; Unable to survive the fame, the drinking and womanizing, especially in wake of the birth of their child John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway “Bumby” and her family values.

Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises during this time frame, dedicating it to her (and their son) partly in recognition of her sacrifice to his art. The royalties were hers as well. I will always wonder if she had stood up to him more, what greatness they could have achieved together. He desired her because she was not the independent, modern woman, but forgot she was her own person. She struggled to find her place in his ever changing world. While she embraced his adventures, the outdoors, the bullfights, etc their romance didn’t survive the drinking, jealousy, celebrity, ambition, depression and angst.
McLain is also sympathetic to Hemingway, recognising his early troubles, from his controling mother, the trauma of the great war and his depression. We know the man he became. Hadley married journalist and political writer Paul Mowrer in 1933 (Pulitzer 1929), eventually moving back to Chicago. He was also the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire (1968). Bumby (1923-2000) went on to become an American writer and conservationist (he finished the memoir, A Moveable Feast).

20111 Book List

Non Fiction
Elizabeth Tora Bailey. The sound of the wild snails eating
Andrew Greig. The Loch of the Green Corrie;
David McCullough The greater journey: Americans in Paris
Fiction-Mysteries
Susan Hill The Betrayal of Trust
Tawni O'Dell. Fragile Beasts
Literature
Lauren Belfer A Fierce Radiance
James Robertson And the Land Lay Still
Biography
Tony Horwitz: Midnight Rising: John Brown
Childrens
Brian Selznick. Wonderstruck
Science Fiction
George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire Series

Best Books 2011Non FictionElizabeth Tora Bailey. The sound of the wild snails eating
Thomas Friedman. That Used to be US
Adam Gopnick Winter: windows on five seasons,
Adam Gopnick Table comes first (France, Family and the meaning of food)
Andrew Greig. The Loch of the Green Corrie
Edward Hoagland Sex and the River Styx
Tony Horwitz. Midnight Rising: John Brown
David McCullough The greater journey : Americans in Paris
David L. Ulin.The lost art of reading : why books matter in a distracted time
Simon Winchester The Alice behind Wonderland, Atlantic: Great Sea Battles
Jonathan Yardley. Second Reading
30 books on the global climate change (McKibben, King, etc)
Fiction-Mysteries
Deborah Harkness A Discovery of Witches
Susan Hill The Betrayal of Trust
Laurie R King. Touchstone, Mary Russell series (Mrs Sherlock Holmes)
Tawni O'Dell. Fragile beasts
Anne Perry Acceptable Loss
Charles Todd A Lonely Death, Bitter Truth
Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs Series!
Literature
Lauren Belfer A Fierce Radiance
Vanora Bennett The People’s Queen (Chaucer)
Geraldine Brooks Caleb’s Crossing
PD James Death comes to Pemberley
Robin Oliveira My Name is Mary Sutter
James Robertson And the Land Lay Still
Mary Doria Russell Doc
Biography
A.A. Gill The Angry Island: hunting the English
Tony Horwitz: Midnight Rising: John Brown
Childrens
Alan Bradley – Flavia DeLuce!
John Connolly The Infernals
Ransom Riggs Miss Peregrin’s home for peculiar children
Brian Selznick. Wonderstruck
Science Fiction
George R.R. Martin A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons: Song of Ice and Fire Series, Book 1 - 5
Terry Pratchett Snuff

Second Reading, Jonathan Yardley

Every year my Christmas wish reading list is LONG!

This year it is definitely NOT a short list either: WOW, there are so many wonderful books that have been recently published, and of course I am waiting for a number of TBP (to be published) to go on my TBR (to be read) pile! This book by Jonathan Yardley (Second Reading) is definitely on it, as I need to mark up my own copy, with my agreements, disagreements, further recommendations, and just general comments! This book is a series of book reviews from his column of books that he reread over the course of two years. I understand how difficult it is to find time to read books, let alone reread them, but I do have a handful that I always go back to (e.g. Tolkien has been read about every five years! At the end of each reading I write my comments in a book journal and enjoy the progression of my thoughts.). We are not the same people who read some of these books as a teenager or early (busy) adult. It can be very worthwhile and enjoyable to reread these classics. Second Reading is composed of many books that you have already read, that you really should give another go at reading, re-reading, or just comparing your thoughts to his. I love his columns, second only to Michael Dirda, both superb book reviewers.


I was intrigued by his review of Rebecca by Daphne DuMurier, having also just reread it when I was sorting my bookshelves. It has such a classic opening line. This time, I was certainly much older on rereading it, not relating to the naivity or the acceptable social polish/manners of a different time. BUT then of course I discovered that I hadn't seen the film (well there are several, but it is the Laurence Olivier that everyone raves about). So there I was off to the Library for the dvd (Second Reading is also available at the Library!) Excellent, especially with a cup of Earl Grey tea, on a snowy afternoon. I highly recommend this, especially in the throes of Christmas shopping. And the story isn't over. I also mentioned his thought provoking analysis at one of my book clubs, where we always try to read at least one classic a year. Several people sheepishly revealed they had not read it, and viola! We ordered the BOOK GROUP IN A BOOK BAG from the Library!