Jamrach's Menagerie

I think one of the reason’s Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch is such a compelling story is that it is so close to being a true story.  All the components are at once fantastic and based on fact.  The opening scene, in which a small boy is almost consumed by a tiger, but lives to tell the tale, is based on a recorded incident.  The story that follows of a group of adventurers out in search of real live dragon, could just as easily be true if you allow yourself to imagine what it would be like to live in a time when no one in your part of the part of the world had ever seen a Komodo dragon and all you knew were the stories.  

Terrible things happen in the course of this novel, but what I was left with was a sense of wonder and possibility.  

~EM, Reference desk

Behind the Scenes at the Museum

It takes a certain amount of pluck to be both a first person and an omniscient narrator.  Kate Atkinson’s novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum starts with Ruby Lennox describing the moment of her conception in 1950’s England. In the rest of book she moves both forward and backwards in time to describe not only her own story but that of her parents, grandparents, and extended family.   Her family is not privileged and many die prematurely either by accident or warfare.  But the wit and spunk expressed through the telling keeps the story engaging.   

Winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year for 1997. 

~EM, Reference Desk.

Death's Door

The centennial of the Copper Miners’ Strike of 1913 has been observed this past year in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This labor strike lasted from July 1913 to April 1914, and to a large extent shut down or drastically curtailed copper mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. One of the most notable events of the strike was the Italian Hall Tragedy where 73 people, the majority of them children, lost their lives on Christmas Eve.
        The events of that fateful day are chronicled in an expanded edition of Death’s Door by Steve Lehto. No stranger to Copper Country, Lehto first explored this disaster in the original version of the book which was named a Michigan Notable Book in 2006. Since that time, he has collected new material and photos and doubled the size of the book. He has also served as an expert for two film documentaries about the strike and Italian Hall Tragedy.
        Lehto has also written Shortcut-the Seeberville Murders and the Dark Side of the American Dream. This book details the tragic events surrounding mine security harassment of immigrant miners near Seeberville. When the harassment escalates, two innocent people are left dead.
        Film makers Louis Galdieri and Ken Ross were introduced to the Copper Miners’ Strike by the Woody Guthrie ballad "1913 Massacre." The two spent almost ten years filming and researching background for the film by the same name. What was created is a film that looks at the impact of the Italian Hall tragedy on Calumet and the Keweenaw Peninsula using personal interviews of several of the event’s survivors and local residents. The song, sung by Arlo Guthrie, provides a haunting backdrop to the film.


~Pam Christensen

Poetry

Michigan has a rich cache of poets, many from the Upper Peninsula. Read your way into these two collections of contemporary poems by local favorites.

Poetry in Michigan/Michigan in Poetry is a beautiful new release from Western Michigan University’s New Issues Poetry & Prose. Edited by William Olsen and Jack Ridl, this book anthologizes about 90 contemporary Michigan poets and 30 artists. The subjects of their poems concern Michigan’s landscapes, waterways, cities, and the emotions and experiences of its people. The settings range from the U.P. to Detroit. U.P. poets include Elinor Benedict (Rapid River); Matthew Gavin Frank and Austin Hummell (NMU); Ander Monson (originally from Houghton); Ron Riekki (originally from Marquette) and Russ Thorburn, the U.P.’s Poet Laureate (Marquette). The stunning art work is worthy of its own show.


The Way North: Collected Upper Peninsula New Works, edited by Ron Riekki, was published this past spring by Wayne State University Press. The poems and stories offered here present an intimate look at life in the U.P. They capture its humor and sorrow, fear and joy, people and topography. I have sometimes wondered how pastors are able to endure so much death and grief and discovered an answer in Emily Van Kley’s poem “My Father’s Datebook” in which she writes, “First in are … days of canoes & cranberry bogs & forest service cabins—by which he means to endure … the church members dying….” The poems and stories collected in this anthology help, too. ~Cathy

Detroit: An American Autopsy

Many Best or Notable Books of the Year lists are made available to enthusiastic readers in December. It is always fun to find out which titles are chosen and which appear on more than one list.

One of my favorite books this year is Charlie LeDuff’s Detroit: An American Autopsy. After a twenty year absence, LeDuff, a New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, returns home to report for the Detroit News. He chronicles the abandoned homes, neighborhoods and factories of his broken city. He demonstrates the incompetence and corruption of City Hall and describes the outrageous actions of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Council Woman Monica Conyers. He follows the trail of the auto industry from manufacturing and labor leadership to bailouts and incompetent, clueless executives. LeDuff also portrays the courage and dedication of the Fire Fighters who respond to Detroit’s systemic arson driving wrecks of fire trucks and wearing protective clothing so coated with chemicals they are a fire hazard themselves. Even the brass poles of the firehouses have been sold for scrap! LeDuff parallels the story of Detroit with that of his family, writing of their hard work, failures, tragedies and endurance. LeDuff’s fierce passion for his city and his family give readers hope for Detroit’s salvation.

~Cathy

Red Sky in Morning

 

Here's Red Sky in Morning, a novel of 275 pages that you won't be able to put down, so it feels right.  It comes in under 300 pages--just the right length of a winter read, with a glass of brandy at your side and a cat purring. It got a favorable review from Alan Cheuse on NPR, but for me it was the first paragraph that nailed it to the barn door--no, not paragraph--first sentence:  "Night sky was black and then there was blood, morning crack of light on the edge of the earth."

 

Right away, I knew I was in Seamus Heaney territory, with an Irish author named Paul Lynch who cared about every single utterance and probably read each one aloud--and I found out he did, in an interview, and that he composed, if you could call writing this shivery prose in long, breathless sentences composing, while listening to jazz.

 

But the plot, it was tight with rage (if I can steal one of his phrases). Set first in Donegal, 1832,bad things happen to a poor Irishman with family, but mostly to Coll's brother who's quickly caught by an evil bossman for a crime his Coll committed. Coll Coyle.  Even his name feels tight.  Like everything else that happens here, which I won't reveal.

 

Paul Lynch is a comer, splendid with his leafy prose scattering in every direction but always holding you to the page.

 

Read it.

 

--Russell Thorburn, Poet Laureate of the Upper Peninsula

A Street Cat Named Bob

I started out as a dog person, getting my first dog when I was around eight years old. It wasn't until the late 1990's that we adopted our first cat. Since then it has been only cats in our house. I enjoy all animals, but especially dogs and cats because they have brought such joy to my life. I'd like to share one of the best cat books I have read, and I hope, as you read it, you enjoy it as much as I have.

A Street Cat Named Bob, and How He Saved My Life by James Bowen is the story of the author, a street musician struggling to make ends meet. Bob is a stray cat looking for somewhere warm to sleep. When James and Bob meet, they forge a never-to-be-forgotten friendship that has been charming readers from Thailand to Turkey. A Street Cat named Bob is an international sensation, landing on the bestseller list in England for fifty-two consecutive weeks and selling in twenty-six countries around the world. Now, James and Bob are ready to share their true story with readers in the United States.

When Bowen found an injured cat curled up in the hallway of his apartment building, he had no idea how much his life was about to change.Bowen  was living hand to mouth on the streets of London, barely making enough money to feed himself, and the last thing he needed was a pet. Yet Bowen couldn't resist helping the strikingly intelligent, but very sick animal, whom he named Bob. He slowly nursed Bob back to health and then sent the cat on his way, imagining that he would never see him again. But Bob had other ideas. This is a tale unlike any you've ever read, and Bob is a cat who possesses some kind of magic.

~Arlette

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

After arriving in New York City 1977 we meet Reno, a young and ambitious artist determined to turn her fascination with motorcycles and danger into art. Reno’s trial-by-fire story alternates provocatively with the gripping tale of Valera, an Italian who serves in a motorcycle battalion in WWI, manufactures motorcycles including the coveted Moto Valera, and makes a fortune in the rubber industry by oppressing Indian tappers in Brazil. These worlds collide when Reno moves in with Sandro Valera, a sculptor estranged from his wealthy family, and tries to make art by racing a Moto Valera on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Ultimately, Reno ends up in Italy, where militant workers protest against the Valeras. Embracing the worlds of motorcycle racing, art and radical politics, The Flamethrowers sweeps us into the swirl of life amid a memorable group of characters to reveal what it's like to live on the edge or aspire to do so.

~Dominic

Peter Panzerfaust

I love reading; however, there are times when I crave a different kind of storytelling, one which melds text and pictures to create a lush world. This combination of words and drawings brings a new layer to the reading experience, opening up avenues for subtext, side plots, and story lines which are not be possible with traditional, linear storytelling. Books are often read because of their authors, the same is true for comic books.  I’d like to share with you one of my favorite comic book artists available at the Peter White Public Library. Canadian team Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tyler Jenkins breathes fresh air into J.M. Barrie’s classic Peter Pan in their two-volume comic book Peter Panzerfaust. Self-proclaimed history buffs, Wiebe and Jenkins transport the Peter Pan story to Nazi occupied France where, along with a band of French orphans and the Darling children, teenaged Peter and the gang must work together to survive the darkest days of World War II. Jenkins’ art is subtle yet unique, the dark tones embrace the reader and remind them of how terrible the war was, yet never strays too far from the adventurous tone of the original story. The character’s expressions range from the sorrow of losing friends and family to the joy of a peaceful picnic.  The art from Panzerfaust has been transformed to a new media, the motion comic, which has been released in the UK through the BBC. where the original artwork is animated and the characters are voiced by Elijah Wood, Summer Glau, and Ron Pearlman. Collection librarians at Peter White will be keeping on eye on availability in this country for our DVD collection. In the meantime, Panzerfaust is a must read for those who love history and the original Peter Pan story. ~Tracy

Temple Grandin

One of the most interesting books I've read this year can be found in the Juvenile Nonfiction section of the library. It's titled, Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery (2012) 148 pages.

Who hasn't found it hard to fit in with a crowd, been the target of bullies, or thought no one shared their interests? Add hypersensitivity to sound and touch and the inability to read emotions on faces, and you have Temple Grandin's particular challenges on the spectrum of autism. She had a father who didn't understand her and a mother who wouldn't give up on her. Her mother found a suitable boarding school that recognized Temple's abilities and encouraged her to build on her strengths. Temple's lifelong ability to relate to animals more easily than people eventually led her to become an expert in the humane treatment of cows. Since cows are usually raised to become part of the human food chain, her work concentrated on their living conditions and handling practices. Temple Grandin's amazing journey from a confusing childhood to becoming a university professor is chronicled with photos and sidebars of information on brain research and the farming industry.
~Lynette

City of Dark Magic

I've probably read some books in the last couple of years that are more literary or more more meaningful, but I'm not that I've read a book in that last five years that is more fun than the City of Dark Magic.  I am a middle-aged woman with a young child; I go to bed early.  I was up past 1 am one night just that eager to see what would happen next.  When I finished the story, I was digging around the Internet to see when the next book would be out. 

The author listed on the cover, Magnus Flyte, is the pen name of writing duo Meg Howrey ( a novelist) and Christina Lynch (a television writer).

The bulk of the story is set in modern day and not so modern day Prague.  Time becomes fluid in this story.  There are, as the title suggests, elements of dark magic.  The protagonist is a smart young doctoral student of musicology.  I learned a few things about Beethoven.  That's enough.  Read the book, have fun. 

Stardust

I chose this audio book based on the cover and based on Neil Gaiman's reputation.  I loved his Newberry Award winning children's novel, The Graveyard Book.  I liked Stardust even better.

Gaiman is what I would call a master storyteller.  He takes a format that readers are already comfortable with, in this case the quest story or fairy tale, and makes it fresh and alive. 

Stardust is set in an English town called wall, for the stone wall that separates the town from Faerie.  For the most part, the one opening in the wall is well watched, keeping the two populations separate, but every seven years the Faerie folk hold a festival just beyond the wall and the mortals and magical mingle. 

The author reads the story for audio version, and at first I thought his reading a bit formal, but that impression lasted all of about three minutes.  Soon I was swept in by his voice and adjusted to his British accent. 

I looked up the story later to learn that the book is also available as a graphic novel and the story has been made into a movie with Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro.  I watched it last night, not expecting much as I new the plot details had been changed, but was pleased that the spirit of the story was for the most part intact.  The special effects and scenery were awesome.

The novel, audiobook and movie are all available at Peter White Public Library.  The graphic novel is available through interlibrary loan. 

EM--Reference Desk

Love in a Nutshell

Janet Evanovich joined author Dorien Kelly to co-write a funny and romantic comedy entitled Love in a Nutshell.  The story begins when Kate Appleton arrives in Keene's Harbor, MI, to reclaim her family’s summer lake house and transform it into a modern bed-and-breakfast business. Kate loves the old family home and takes refuge there after a double whammy--her marriage ends in divorce and she’s fired from her job as magazine editor.

Shortly after she arrives in Keene’s Harbor, it becomes apparent that she must find a job if she is going to keep a roof over her head and update her home to create her bed-and-breakfast. Broke, Kate needs a job. She finally hears about one at the microbrewery. Owner Matt Culhane, who suspects an employee is sabotaging his brewery, hires Kate as a spy to infiltrate his employees and find the culprit.  She also wants to earn the special “finder’s” bonus of $20,000 to renovate her house.

But several problems present themselves. Kate despises beer. No one seems to trust her. And she is falling hard for her boss. Can these two find the saboteur, save Kate's family home, and keep a killer from closing in? And resist their growing attraction to one another?

Evanovich and Kelly worked well together to create a book filled with humor and appealing characters.  Love in a Nutshell is delicious fun to read or listen to.

The Sandcastle Girls

“How do 1.5 million people die and no one hears about it?”  This is the question that puzzles Laura Petrosian, the modern day character in Chris Bohjalian’s book The Sandcastle Girls.  Inspired by his grandparent’s background, Bohjalian tackles the Armenian genocide that occurred as the Ottoman Empire crumbles at the start of World War I. 

This fascinating tale travels between Bronxville, New York in 2012 to Aleppo, Syria in 1915.  In this novel, a fictional American woman missionary, Elizabeth, comes to the aid of the people and falls in love with an Armenian man, Armen, whose family was part of the death marches out of Turkey into Syria.   Years later, her American granddaughter, Laura Petrosian, researches her family history and crafts a moving story which is a tribute to all those who have died. 

Elizabeth comes to Aleppo and joins in with her father in serving the people that are arriving there.  She stays pretty much confined to the American compound but does venture out to help in the hospital and in the orphanage.  The Armenians that arrive are just about dead on their feet.  The people are malnourished and in need of clothing.  In the city the orphanage for children is overrun by the stronger who prey on the weaker.  Officials say that they are going to help.  Robberies are commonplace.  No one can be trusted. 

In this situation, Elizabeth comes of age.  She falls in love with Armen, an Armenian engineer.  She puts herself into primitive conditions in the hospital and orphanage.  Her maternal instincts come out as she has one Armenian woman and one Armenian child stay with her in the American compound. 

Bohjalian brings forth a world that may seem daunting.  There is violence and struggles but the authors brings forth hope and goodness and the idea that love prevails in the telling of this amazing story.  Even when tragedy strikes there is always that hope that love will come again.  That is the beauty of the story.  Bohjalian tells this rich story with a sensitivity that respects the Armenian experieince.  Thus, I highly recommend  this novel, not necessary as a summer beach read but as a great read to better understand this topic.

A.B.--Technical Services

The Witness by Nora Roberts

The inside front flap and its accounting of the events first drew me to this Nora Roberts’ book.  In The Witness, Ms. Roberts begins the story of Elizabeth, a 16-year old young woman, who has excelled

academically, but is behind in interpersonal skills for teenagers.  Following a string of defiant acts, Elizabeth witnesses a double murder.  Murders that involve illicit activity and the Russian mafia. She runs to

the police who get her into the federal witness protection program.  As her eye-witness story proves unbreakable, the safe house is compromised. Two more murders at the hands of the Russian mafia and Elizabeth runs again.  This time she runs for her life; this time she disappears and goes into

hiding.

Her hiding lasts for twelve years and undergoes numerous moves and identity changes. Just as she finds a place where she feels safe and loved, Abigail (aka Elizabeth) must make the BIG decision: does she come

out of hiding to aid the FBI in prosecuting this mafia group, does she continue her latest, new life and bring her new loved ones into danger, or does she run yet another time?

The novel was compelling and difficult to put down.  Ms. Roberts drew me into the story.  At times, I felt that I was there experiencing exactly what Elizabeth/Abigail was going through.

VM – Reference Desk

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

I was attracted to this novel because I am attracted to stained glass.  What surprised me was that the parts of the novel that take place outside the Tiffany studio were often my favorite.  In Clara nd Mr. Tiffany, author Susan Vreeland explores the relationship between previously little known designer Clara Driscoll and Louis Tiffany.  Under his employ, she designed most of the famous lamps commonly attributed to him.  While not at work, Clara spends her time with an eclectric group of creative individuals who live in the same bording house.  The events of the novel take place early in the twentieth century, enableing this group witnesses changing gender roles, the birth of sky scraper, bicycles, the first subway line and changing social expectations.

A Mountain of Crumbs

When the children were hungry during the Russian Revolution, Elena Gorokhova's grandmother would break their bread into a mountina of crumbs to make a little seem like plenty.  In preschool Gorokhova learned about vranyo, a mutual understanding that everyone is pretending.  Vranyo seems to be the glue that holds her whole world together.

A Mountain of Crumbs is Gorokhova's memoir of growing up in the Leningrad during the cold war.  Beautifully written, this book takes us through familiar coming of age territory but is a setting where none of the stuff of childhood and adolesence (shoes, toys, bluejeans or books) is taken for granted. 

A Mountain of Crumbs is the Fall 2012 One Book One Community Read selection for Marquette. 

A Smile as Big as the Moon

A Smile as Big as the Moon is the first person account of high school special education teacher Mike Kersjes's amazing journey with his students from an isolated classroom in Grand Rapids to Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The strength of this book is the story, not the style.  Kersjes idea, that his class of special needs kids would benefit from participating in Space Camp with the brightest and most advantaged kids in the country, was not supported by his school principal or even the special education superintendent.  But he persisted and proved that given a chance, these kids could be successful. 
The events in this book took place in 1988-1989.  The book was orignally published in 2002.  It came to my attention about a couple of weeks ago when a patron told me about the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie based on this story.   I wanted to read the book first so I would know which parts of the movie were true.  As it turns out, the movie is mostly true to the book.  One of the neatest things about the movie is the casting of the kids in Kersjes's class.  Many actually had the same challenges as the characters they were portraying. 

E.M. -- Reference Desk

Best of 2011

(The following Best of 2011 list was orginally published in the Marquette Mining Journal.)

Goodbye 2011, hello 2012! The New Year is already upon us, so this is an excellent time to look back at the best new books I have personally read in the last year. Working at the Peter White Public Library provides a great opportunity to see all the new and interesting books that come in, and I’m always on the lookout for something good to read. Here is my Top 5 from 2011, and just for fun let’s make it a countdown.

5. Mission of Honor by David Weber – This is the twelfth book in the acclaimed military science fiction series, and it may have been the best one yet. For those who don’t know, The Honor Harrington series is basically Horatio Hornblower in space. If you are looking for a new series to read for 2012, you may want to take a look at this series. It should appeal to all military and science fiction fans.

4. The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It by Scott Patterson – This book provides an incredible inside look at the enigmatic world of the top hedge fund managers on Wall Street.  This is certainly one of the more interesting books of 2011, and if you have ever seen a Wall Street executive on C-SPAN being grilled in front of Congress and wondered how he got where he is today, The Quants is the book for you.

3. Life Itself by Roger Ebert – Ebert is one of the greatest newspaper writers of all time, not just one of the greatest film critics. This memoir tells his entire story, from when he was a small boy growing up in Urbana, Illinois all the way to his much publicized fight with thyroid cancer and beyond.  Ebert also writes about his favorite actors and directors and his decades long battle with alcoholism.

2. Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN  by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales – If you are like me and have been watching ESPN for years then this is a must read. Did you know that ESPN stand for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network? Were you aware of the rampant allegations of sexual harassment in the early days of the company? There are a lot of things you would never have guessed about one of the most successful cable companies of all time, and if you want to know more then you need to definitely give this a try.

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – When I pulled this book out of the bin one Saturday morning did I know this would be the best book I would read all year? No, but after reading the inside cover I knew it would be one of the most interesting. The story takes place in the year 2044, and the real world is falling apart, so everyone is logged into a virtual reality network called OASIS which has supplanted reality in every aspect. People go to school, have jobs and spend the majority of their lives on OASIS. When the billionaire creator dies and leaves his fortune to one lucky individual who can solve an in-game quest, it sparks a worldwide hunt that has real world implications. This book will appeal to any science fiction fan, or anyone interested in the future. It is jammed full of sci-fi and 80’s references. If you read this you will not be disappointed.

B. S. – Circulation Department

Something different

I thought I'd share a neat story forwarded to me by a cousin in Georgia about some libraries in Scotland.  I think this story gets at part of why we love to read:  to expand our world and to connect with other minds. 

This blog from Scotland traces the mysterious appearance of ten paper sculptures in libraries and museums in Edinburgh.

E.M.--Reference Desk

That used to be us : how America fell behind in the world it invented and how we can come back

In That Used to Be Us, Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum speak out and say the things Americans need to hear.  They identify four challenges --globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and our pattern of excessive energy consumption--and spell out what needs to done to sustain America's position as a world leader. Although I don’t agree with every point they make, I admire their candor.  The points they make about education are especially on-target. 

DM—Reference Desk

Possession

A.S. Byatt's Booker Prize winning novel is one of my favorites.  I sometimes hesitate to recommend it as it might be a bit too "English Major" for some as the characters are for the most part Victorian poets or contemporary scholars.  People like me love all the literary references.  When I read this book aloud to my husband on a long car trip, it was wonderful characters--some pure of heart, others villanous--and the deft story telling that won him over.  The research of the scholars becomes like great detective work, the clever unfolding of the plot will make any reader want to stay up late turning pages. 

EM--Reference desk

Global Girlfriends: How one mom made it her business to help women in poverty worldwide

This book tells the story of Stacey Edgar, a Colorado mom, who invested her $2,000 income tax refund to begin a program that would help poor women around the world.  She founded Global Girlfriends to help create a fair trade market that would specialize in handmade clothing, jewelry, baskets and other items.  As you read this book, you can follow the steps of growth of the project and meet some of the women in distant places in Africa, Asia and South America.  Her organization is now affiliated with Greater Good (another fair trade group) and the Whole Foods markets.  Her products are also available through the website http://www.globalgirlfriend.com/  The book includes links to other groups that are helping women worldwide. If you are interested in fair trade products, I would urge you to explore this book and website.

--Marquette Township Patron 

The Sandalwood Tree

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark tells two stories that take place in the same bungalow in India, almost 100 years apart.  The more contemporary story takes place just as the British are preparing to leave, and the other takes place during an uprising that took place in 1857.  The 1947 story revolves around an American couple that has travel on one of the first Fullbright fellowships.  The historian husband is emotionally wounded from World War II, and his wife is struggling to keep their marriage together.  The Victorian occupants, two young women, are struggling to dodge their parent's plans to marry them off.  The stories are skillfully entertwined and engaging.  Fans of historical fiction and novels about the meetings of different cultures will enjoy this novel.

--EM Reference Desk

The Lazarus Project

Billiantly written and set in both 1908 Chicago and contemporary Chicago and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Aleksandar Hemon's book The Lazarus Project links the murder of Lazarus Averbuch, an Eastern European immigrant, by Chicago's Chief of Police in 1908, with a contemporary fictional trip to Eastern Europe. The trip's purpose is to trace Lazarus's early life and journey to America but it also provides the narrator, a recent immigrant from Bosnia, a chance to visit his homeland which has been destroyed by the recent war. Hemon builds an awesome parallel structure between the two stories filled with irony and dark humor. He links attitudes and actions of his characters and history to current American attitudes and biases.  It's a very complex book and can be frustrating--not every question finds an answer-- but it is a very impressive work of literature.

Cathy Sullivan Seblonka, Youth services

South of Superior

I just finished reading South of Superior this weekend and now I miss it.  If you haven't already heard, it is the first novel from Ellen Airgood who runs the West Bay Diner with her husband in Grand Marais.  Not only is this story set in the U.P., it's the kind of story that is likely to have wide appeal.  I'm already creating a list of friends and relatives who live in far away places to whom I could give a copy for Christmas. 

The story revolves around two elderly sisters who have lived their entire lives in a small U.P. community, quite similar to Grand Marais.  One sister has had some serious health complications so the sisters have hired a younger, thirty-something woman from Chicago as a live-in caretaker.  This third woman has family ties to the area but has never before been to the U.P.  Though the novel stays closest to this younger woman's point of view, it is in many ways as much a story of the entire community as it is about her. 

One of the strengths is the sense of balance in this book.  The characters are all flawed, all make grievous mistakes.  Almost all have something likeable about them as well.  The pacing of events is just right.  The descriptions-- beautifully written.  The balance of story and character and setting--dead-on.

EM - Reference desk

Three multicultural titles

If you are interested in multicultural books, I would recommend the following books:

Little Princes: One man's promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal by Conor Grennan  

A young American begins by volunteering in an orphanage and returns to reunite Nepalese children with their families after long separations due to war and child-trafficking.

I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish

This is a memoir of a Palestinian doctor whose three daughters were killed by the Israeli shelling of Gaza.  He is working for peace and reconciliation by encouraging dialog between all the people of the area.  It is his hope that the deaths of his daughters will be the "last sacrifice on the road to peace between Palestinians and Israelis."

The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji

This fictional account of a young American woman who discovers her roots in Pakistan covers a wide range of geography and history reaching from present day Iraq and Pakistan back to returning veterans of the Vietnam War.  Her family history helps us to learn about Muslim traditions and how family members can come together and heal.

Marquette Township Patron

Could it be B12? : an epidemic of misdiagnoses by Sally M. Pacholok

When loved ones get ill and questions arise as to what is wrong, sometimes the library is a good place to find answers. A new PWPL book did just that for me recently; it answered questions. Large doses of B-12 were given to my father after a recent fall and mild concussion because a B-12 deficiency was discovered during the array of tests. As I read this book, I saw many of his symptoms come alive right before my eyes. As I got deeper into the book, more of his symptoms showed up. I wouldn’t use a library book to diagnose myself, but after reading this book, I’m glad they have my dad on doses of B-12 and wish they were still giving him the mega-doses.

vjm, Reference Desk Staff

Knowing your value : women, money, and getting what you're worth by Mika Brzezinski

As fans of MSNBC’s Morning Jo already know, Mika Brzezinski has a knack for keeping a balance to any political argument.  In knowing your worth, Brzezinski uses her talent for seeing issues from all sides to look at the age old salary gap problem.  She interviews both successful men and women (such as Susie Essman and Joy Behar) to examine why women have so much difficulty getting the compensation they deserve. 

D.M. – Reference desk. 

God Bless You Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut

Eliot Rosewater is heir to a large fortune. In the mean time, he runs the family's charitable organization. Though it was originally intended as a tax shelter, he takes the job to heart.

God Bless includes biting social commentary and depicts the troubles of post-industrialism in a way that is still relevant today. Written in 1965, it is less complicated than Vonnegut's later work.

BAM-- Circulation Department