Everything but the Coffee by Bryant Simon

"Learning about America from Starbucks" - Simon, a professor at Temple University, analyzes the meteoric rise and rapid decline of Starbucks, what it says about the American consumer and culture, and the reality behind the corporate myths created and promoted by the company. Although I never was a regular customer of Starbucks, I did consider it a treat to buy a skinny mocha latte on occasion. After reading this book, I will think twice before spending the money (and consuming the calories) on products that we have been led to believe help make the world a better place by saving the environment and supporting independent farmers in third-world countries. Starbucks means well but it is all about corporate profit, not about helping anyone but the owners or stockholders. Interesting read, a little too academic at times but certainly worth the time.

FYI, I didn't say I would NEVER buy another Starbucks beverage (I am rather fond of their chocolate banana vivanno) but I will be a better informed consumer and may opt to purchase from a locally-owned company (CC's Coffee House) instead.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

I just finished reading the latest book by the author of The Girl With One Pearl Earring (one of my favorite books even though NOTHING happens!). Remarkable Creatures is about Mary Anning, the woman who discovered the first dinosaur fossil in England in the early 1800s, creating a major impact in the areas of science and religion. Because she is a woman and a member of the working class she is not initially given recognition for her discovery. Lord Henley, the local gentry who buys Mary's "crocodile", actually says, "Mary Anning is a worker...a female. She is a spare part." when confronted about taking credit for her discovery. Hard for us to understand today, but at that time women truly were treated as second-class citizens.
One of the things that I really liked about this book, was the different "voices" that Chevalier uses for the two women, Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpott. Because she uses different conversational styles and word choices based on their social and educational backgrounds, the reader never has any difficulty knowing which of the women is telling each part of the story.
Chevalier is a master of creating stories around historical information (see also The Lady and the Unicorn, another great book). She brings her characters to life and, at the same time, shares information that you didn't learn in school.

Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen

This is the first book Anna Quindlen (author of Blessings) wrote. It's about an Irish Italian family and is set in a suburb of New York City in the 1960's. The story is told from the perspective of several family members, but primarily Maggie Scanlan. The story takes place the summer Maggie is 12 and is about the year, actually the summer, everything changed. Chief among those changes is that her grandfather John Scanlan, who rules the entire Scanlan clan through manipulation and sheer force of will has a stroke. Maggie's father, Tommy, is the only one of John Scanlan's children to openly defy his father by marrying an Italian woman and living in a home he chose and pays for himself, unlike his siblings who live in homes selected (and sometimes paid for) by their father.

Over the course of the summer, a series of events cause Maggie and her lifelong best friend Debbie to drift apart. Maggie's mother, Connie, discovers that she's pregnant with her fifth child! Connie reconnects with an old high school friend, Joey, who is overseeing construction of a new subdivision in the area. When he discovers she can't drive, Joey offers to teach her. Meanwhile John Scanlan hands Tommy the key to the new home he's bought for Tommy and his family.

Quindlen does a good job of depicting the 60's, including the social standards of the time, and the cultural setting of the strong Irish Catholic family. The one thing I find a bit irritating about her writing style is that she'll be in a particular scene, then she segues into a reminscence by one of the characters about something that happened to the point that when she goes back to the original scene, you've forgotten when and where you were. (This was her first book, so perhaps she got better at this over time.)

Overall this was an enjoyable read with fairly satisfying resolutions for most of the characters, sometimes surprising in the case of Maggie's grandmother Scanlan, sometimes comeuppance for her bitchy cousin Monica.

I'm Back!

Hello all,

It appears that I took a four month hiatus from the blog I was so excited about last year and that my amazing family has kept the torch going in my absence. I don't really know why I stopped making entries - I think it was an obvious result of being busy but also, I started being very uninspired by any books... I don't know if just didn't have as much time to read or if I was just bored with my general selections. Never-the-less, I did read some, but most slowly and all without conviction, easily distracted by TV, hubs or the crossword puzzles I got obsessed with for a time. For now, I choose to blame Diana Gabaldon for my sojourn into the doldrums but I feel as though I am being born again and I will attribute my literary salvation to my ever present hero, John Irving.

I am currently reading "Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel," by John Irving and as with all of his books, I border on horrified and fascinated by his characters. They are all so unnervingly odd but so easily relatable as well - he really is an amazing writer. I know a lot of people do NOT like John Irving, mostly for his off-kilter writing, but that is always what I have loved most about him, much like my affinity for Pat Conroy - it appears I have a thing for really disturbed people.

The book so far has focused on Dominic and his son Danny. They are Italian-Americans who through a series of events, ended up living in logging territory in northern New Hampshire in the early part of the 20th century. Dominic (the single-dad who is a phenomenal cook) is having an affair with his native american dishwasher woman. One night Danny (the 12 year old son) unexpectedly walks in on his dad having sex with the woman and assumes the woman is a bear who is devouring his dad and kills her with the frying pan his dad has in his bedroom for protection (referenced from previous family history when a bear did come in to the house and was killed with a frying pan). To save his son from either juvenile detention or a life in foster care, the dad flees with his son to his native Boston where the city is heavily divided by Italian and Irish. This is where I am now and I'm not even a third of the way into the book.

One other characteristic of Irving's books that is also present in this one is his fixation on certain details. He almost seems to take on a challenge to bring the reader back to a tiny detail over and over again that most would see on the first read as esoteric. I don't always understand why he fixates on what he does, but I do like to mull over it.

As a quick catch up to my time away, below please see the books that have graced my Kindle and my brief thoughts on them:

• Faking It, Elisa Lorella -- cute, quick beach read; actually pretty quirky and fun writing
• A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick -- such a weird book but sweet in an odd way; took a bit for me to get into
• The Complete Adventures of Alice, Lewis Carrol -- he was so obviously on some type of drug, I can't believe they made this into a child's movie
• The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection, Frank L. Baum -- the movie did a better job of staying true to the book but Dorthey was just as annoying in both versions
• In The Company of a Courtesan, Sarah Dunant -- The first 100 pages I was convinced I had already read this book but I never could remember anything about the end so I guess I hadn't. Actually really did enjoy this one - its about a dwarf and the courtesan he works for when Rome is sacked and they flee to Venice. I'd recommend this as a good one to pick up
• The Crossroads Cafe, Deborah Smith -- Okay, I did really love this one. I could guess the whole story from page 2 but it was so sweet and just made me very happy all throughout
• New York: The Novel, Edward Rutherford -- Loooong book but VERY interesting. Started with families who landed in the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam and followed their descendants to present day, ending of course with the Twin Towers.
• Imperium, A Novel of Ancient Rome, Robert Harris -- Liked this one a lot too but thought it should have been broken up into two books. The book climaxed half way in but then where was a whole new story to tell, I thought that was odd
• A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens -- I don't think I had ever read the original, it was very good and fun to read around Christmas; it take quiet as long as I had expected
• Pompeii: A Novel, Robert Harris -- Did not like this one very much; it was about the few days prior to the explosion of Vesuvius told from an engineer's point of view (might have been the issue there). I thought it was a cool idea because I've been there but found the story itself to be dry

If you can believe it, there are a few more but I honestly can't remember if what I thought of them so I'll spare you the time reading :) I'm happy to discuss any of the above in more detail if anyone has any questions!

Durable Goods & Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

In Durable Goods we meet Katie who is 12 years old and lives on an Army base in Texas. While the year is never specified, from references to clothing, hairstyles, etc., it seems to be the early 1960's. The books are written from Katie's viewpoint and that is what makes them so enjoyable. While at the basic level the books are about what it's like to be a young girl growing up, Katie's voice (Berg's really) and perspective are what take them beyond the ordinary. Her outlook one life is often hilarious and frequently very wise.

Katie lives with her father, a colonel, and her older sister Diane. Her mother died sometime in the recent past. Katie misses her mother greatly and spends a lot of time fantasizing conversations with her mother. Her father is distant and, at times, abusive. Katie and Diane have each developed their own ways of dealing with this. One of Katie's is to hide under her bed. At 14, Katie's best friend and next door neighbor, Cherylanne, is a couple of years older and wiser. Something she never lets Katie forget. Cherylanne spends all her time reading magazines that advise her on the best techniques for attracting boys. She generously shares all her makeup, wardrobe, and general behavior tips with Katie. While the books are dated in the era in which they take place, they are timeless in many ways as what it's like to be a pre-teen girl on the verge of adolescence transcends time.

Towards the end of Durable Goods, Katie's father informs them that they're being transferred to a base in Missouri. While the family has moved many times, this will be the first move since the death of Katie's mother which makes it more difficult. Joy School picks up a few months after Katie and her father have moved. Her sister Diane is no longer living at home. Now in addition to missing her mother, Katie also misses Diane. Katie is having difficultly adjusting to her new environment and has not made friends at her new school. She meets a priest at the local Catholic church and frequently stops by for chats with him. (Don't worry, he's not that kind of priest!) Her first friend is Cynthia, an odd girl with an even stranger mother. Katie likes Cynthia's Italian grandmother best of all.

Katie's second friend is an older man (23), Jimmy, who she meets when she falls through the ice while ice skating on the pond behind the gas station he manages. She quickly develops a crush on him, and fueled by long distance advice from Cherylanne (the 14 year old relationship expert), begins planning their future together. Soon another new girl, the worldly Taylor who is a fashion model, chooses Katie as a friend. It is interesting to watch Katie navigate these new and challenging relationships and very amusing to listen to her thoughts.

At about 200 pages each, the books are quick, light reads. I plan to look for more of Elizabeth Berg's books. (She's written a number of books.) I really like her writing style and voice.

A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz

I am a great fan of Tony Horwitz (loved Confederates in the Attic, Blue Latitudes, and Baghdad Without a Map) so I was excited when I heard that he had a new book on the market. This one is about early explorers in North/Central America (prior to the Pilgrim's arrival in 1620). I happened to read the book shortly after the Haitian earthquake while on a cruise to the Panama Canal (with stops in Cartagena, Columbia; Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico) so it was interesting to read about Columbus, Coronado, etc. Like he did in his other books, Horwitz debunks local legends through research and presents this information in an entertaining way. Good book for anyone interested in history (the stuff you didn't learn in school).

Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos

I really enjoyed her first book (Broken For You) and this one is every bit as good. Kallos has a talent for creating unusual characters dealing with unique circumstances. In this book, she introduces the reader to the adult children of a woman who "went up" in a tornado and never came down - Larken, a college art professor who gorges herself on junk food; Galen, a TV weatherman who is obsessed with body-building and Arnold Schwarznegger; and Bonnie, the child who survived the tornado and spends her life looking for remnants of their mother. The story also tells about life and the people in a small Nebraska town, their customs and relationships. The reader also becomes acquainted with Hope, their mother, through her diary, an interesting look into the past. "With breathtaking lyricism, wisdom, and humor, Stephanie Kallos offers up a magnificent tapestry of lives connected and undone by loss, lives poised--unbeknownst to the characters themselves--for redepmtion." This is one of those books that is hard to put down once you start reading!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This is one of the best books I've ever read...and that's saying a lot! It should be required reading for everyone! The book is set in Jackson, Mississippi. It begins in August 1962. It alternates between the viewpoints of three women. Skeeter is a young white woman who recently returned home after finishing college. She begins to question all the things she's taken for granted all her life, including the fact that "colored" people are treated as inferior individuals. The other two women are two of the colored maids in town whom Skeeter gets to know over a period of time.

I was born around the time the book took place, so don't have a first hand memory of all the situations that are referenced, such as segregated facilities for blacks and whites, but I've certainly heard a lot over the years. This book really brought things into focus. Apparently Jackson, MS (where the author grew up) was one of the worst places in the South when it came to treatment of blacks at the time.

Throughout history humans have displayed the need to establish often arbitrary distinctions between two groups of people that make one party better or worse than the other. One of the issues that is central to the book was that many white employers had separate, often outdoor, bathrooms (I think we call them outhouses!) for the colored help so they wouldn't "contaminate" the toilets used by the household. Attitudes such as this, that the color of your skin makes you less intelligent and a carrier of diseases, simply boggle my mind.

According to the notes from Stockett at the end of the book, many of the situations that the different characters experience were based on her own upbringing. She does an exceptional job of allowing the reader to understand the dynamics of the changing times. The book is extremely thought-provoking. There are many scenes that are very poignant, many more that enraged me, but she also manages to weave in some truly funny and ironic moments as well. Amazingly, this is her first book. I look forward to more books by her.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Daniel is 10 years old when his father takes him to "The Cemetery of Forgotten Books" in the summer of 1945 in Barcelona. His father tells him "Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it...Every book you see here has been somebody's best friend."

The first time someone visits The Cemetery of Forgotten Books "he must choose a book, whichever he wants, and adopt it, making sure that it will never disappear, that it will always stay alive." Daniel selects "The Shadow of the Wind" by Julian Carax. He is captivated by the book and Carax's writing. When he attempts to find more books by Carax and to learn more about the author himself, Daniel discovers that little is known about Carax and that someone is systematically destroying every copy of every book he wrote. The copy he possesses may be the only book by Carax in existence.

Daniel sets out to solve the mystery of Julian Carax's life and the mysterious man who wishes to destroy his work. Every answer he finds leads to more questions. The book spans a period of ten years in Daniel's life. It goes back and forth in time as he traces Julian Carax and those who knew him. At times Daniel's life seems to be eerily similar to Carax's own life.

I enjoyed this book. It moves at a fairly slow pace with many unexpected twists and turns. It's long, at nearly 500 pages, but overall I would recommend it.