Joe Robichaux and His New Orleans Rhythm Boys. Recorded in 1933, this collection of jazz numbers really swings! Selections include “St. Louis Blues”, “Stormy Weather”, “King Kong Stomp” and many others. There are also two vocal number performed by Christina Gray in 1929. If you’re interested in learning more about Joe Robichaux and New Orleans music at the time, there is a 20 page booklet included with the CD. Check it out if you like jazz. Susan.
The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer. When Amy’s son was born, she chose to leave her career to focus on raising him. She had always planned that she would go back to work at some point, but a decade later she is still at home. Amy’s three closest friends have made similar choices, although each has her own reasons, but they marvel at the women they know who seem to be able to do it all. One woman in particular earns Amy’s admiration, but as Amy gets to know her better, she is forced to reexamine her own choices and expectations. A series of crises bring upheaval to the group of friends so that by the end of the story none of them is quite the same. This is an engaging and complex story that would make an interesting book club selection. Sue.
The Eye of Jade : a novel by Diane Wei Liang With interest heightened for China during the Olympics, this mystery novel, set in the late 1990s in Beijing, sheds some light on the inner workings of modern day Chinese society. Mei Wang, is a savvy female detective who must work under the auspicies of an "information gatherer" because of government regulations. While her intellectual parents were persecuted during the time of the Cultural Revolution, Mei's father died in a labor camp. Her mother, however, managed to escape the camp with her two daughters and years later, each family member still appear to have been scarred by this experience. Mei is approached by a family friend to find a valuable antique jade that is rumored to be for sale on the black market. In pursuit of this item, Mei also uncovers more than she imagines about her own family history. This first novel, by a Chinese author now living in the U.S., promises to be the start of a great detective series. Paulette.
Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury. In this debut novel, two friends anticipate a cross-country bicycle trek to celebrate their high school graduation, planning to ride from West Virginia to Seattle. Nearing their final destination, Win (short for Winston), the somewhat spoiled rich kid, suddenly abandons his long-time friend, Chris. Win does not return home from the bike trip, and the novel opens as an FBI agent visits Chris, now at college, trying to get to the bottom of what really happened on a lonely road in Montana. Each chapter shifts from the past to the present, as the author peels away layers of the mystery surrounding the true nature of the relationship between the two boys. As a reader, with each new piece of information, I was constantly revising my guess as to what really happened. This novel is more than just a story of two young men on a journey – it’s about the shifting nature of friendship and self-discovery. Paulette
Bound, by Sally Gunning, is the story of seven-year-old Alice Cole, sold as an indentured servant by her father in colonial Massachusetts. Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary events, she attempts to find dignity and freedom in spite of her legally binding indenturedness. She finds some help from Lyddie Berry, a widow whose story is told in Sally Gunning's earlier book, "Widow's War." Nancy.
The Zookeeper's Wife: a War Story, by Diane Ackerman. Jan and Antonina Zabinski were keepers of the Warsaw Zoo before the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The couple seeks to protect their rare animal collection, treating them almost like family members until the occupying Germans empty the cages. The Zabinski's home becomes a refuge, instead, for Jews seeking to escape arrest and deportation to certain death. Active in the Warsaw underground, they eventually help to save over 300 people. This is a delightfully written, historically accurate story. Nancy.
The Salisbury Manuscript, by Philip Gooden. A young London lawyer is sent to the city of Salisbury to receive an important manuscript. He stumbles upon one murder, learns of another, and finds himself helping to unravel both. Set in 1873, the author creates colorful characters which are just as engaging as the mysteries they solve. Nancy
Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance, by Kenneth Kamler. Physiological constraints confine our bodies to less than one-fifth of the earth's surface. Beyond that fraction lie the extremes. What happens when we go to them? Dr. Kenneth Kamler explores various outdoor extreme environments, including jungle, open sea, desert, underwater, high altitude, and outer space. The book uses first-hand testimony and documented accounts to illustrate what happens in environments where our survival strategies must take over. These stories discuss the complexities of the workings of the human body and also how very fragile. The focus of the book revolves around the quest for the source of our will to survive and the question of why some can, and others cannot, summon the body's awesome and nearly mystical power at their moment of greatest need. Lori.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley. This book is a collection of essays. We join the author on her various adventures as she goes through life. Some of the stories bring back memories of milestones reached in our own lives. Theses stories are told in different ways but always with humor and grit. The humor will make you laugh and the grit will make you think. Enjoy. Amanda.
Joe Robichaux and His New Orleans Rhythm Boys. Recorded in 1933, this collection of jazz numbers really swings! Selections include “St. Louis Blues”, “Stormy Weather”, “King Kong Stomp” and many others. There are also two vocal number performed by Christina Gray in 1929. If you’re interested in learning more about Joe Robichaux and New Orleans music at the time, there is a 20 page booklet included with the CD. Check it out if you like jazz. Susan.
The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer. When Amy’s son was born, she chose to leave her career to focus on raising him. She had always planned that she would go back to work at some point, but a decade later she is still at home. Amy’s three closest friends have made similar choices, although each has her own reasons, but they marvel at the women they know who seem to be able to do it all. One woman in particular earns Amy’s admiration, but as Amy gets to know her better, she is forced to reexamine her own choices and expectations. A series of crises bring upheaval to the group of friends so that by the end of the story none of them is quite the same. This is an engaging and complex story that would make an interesting book club selection. Sue.
The Eye of Jade : a novel by Diane Wei Liang With interest heightened for China during the Olympics, this mystery novel, set in the late 1990s in Beijing, sheds some light on the inner workings of modern day Chinese society. Mei Wang, is a savvy female detective who must work under the auspicies of an "information gatherer" because of government regulations. While her intellectual parents were persecuted during the time of the Cultural Revolution, Mei's father died in a labor camp. Her mother, however, managed to escape the camp with her two daughters and years later, each family member still appear to have been scarred by this experience. Mei is approached by a family friend to find a valuable antique jade that is rumored to be for sale on the black market. In pursuit of this item, Mei also uncovers more than she imagines about her own family history. This first novel, by a Chinese author now living in the U.S., promises to be the start of a great detective series. Paulette.
Shift, by Jennifer Bradbury. In this debut novel, two friends anticipate a cross-country bicycle trek to celebrate their high school graduation, planning to ride from West Virginia to Seattle. Nearing their final destination, Win (short for Winston), the somewhat spoiled rich kid, suddenly abandons his long-time friend, Chris. Win does not return home from the bike trip, and the novel opens as an FBI agent visits Chris, now at college, trying to get to the bottom of what really happened on a lonely road in Montana. Each chapter shifts from the past to the present, as the author peels away layers of the mystery surrounding the true nature of the relationship between the two boys. As a reader, with each new piece of information, I was constantly revising my guess as to what really happened. This novel is more than just a story of two young men on a journey – it’s about the shifting nature of friendship and self-discovery. Paulette
Bound, by Sally Gunning, is the story of seven-year-old Alice Cole, sold as an indentured servant by her father in colonial Massachusetts. Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary events, she attempts to find dignity and freedom in spite of her legally binding indenturedness. She finds some help from Lyddie Berry, a widow whose story is told in Sally Gunning's earlier book, "Widow's War." Nancy.
The Zookeeper's Wife: a War Story, by Diane Ackerman. Jan and Antonina Zabinski were keepers of the Warsaw Zoo before the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The couple seeks to protect their rare animal collection, treating them almost like family members until the occupying Germans empty the cages. The Zabinski's home becomes a refuge, instead, for Jews seeking to escape arrest and deportation to certain death. Active in the Warsaw underground, they eventually help to save over 300 people. This is a delightfully written, historically accurate story. Nancy.
The Salisbury Manuscript, by Philip Gooden. A young London lawyer is sent to the city of Salisbury to receive an important manuscript. He stumbles upon one murder, learns of another, and finds himself helping to unravel both. Set in 1873, the author creates colorful characters which are just as engaging as the mysteries they solve. Nancy
Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance, by Kenneth Kamler. Physiological constraints confine our bodies to less than one-fifth of the earth's surface. Beyond that fraction lie the extremes. What happens when we go to them? Dr. Kenneth Kamler explores various outdoor extreme environments, including jungle, open sea, desert, underwater, high altitude, and outer space. The book uses first-hand testimony and documented accounts to illustrate what happens in environments where our survival strategies must take over. These stories discuss the complexities of the workings of the human body and also how very fragile. The focus of the book revolves around the quest for the source of our will to survive and the question of why some can, and others cannot, summon the body's awesome and nearly mystical power at their moment of greatest need. Lori.
I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley. This book is a collection of essays. We join the author on her various adventures as she goes through life. Some of the stories bring back memories of milestones reached in our own lives. Theses stories are told in different ways but always with humor and grit. The humor will make you laugh and the grit will make you think. Enjoy. Amanda.