Don and Kari were invited to review some of the books appearing on the Best of 2011 book lists:
Marable, Manning Malcolm X: a life of reinvention
Murakami, Haruki. 1Q84
Lai, Thanhha. Inside out and back again
Hitchens, Christopher. Arguably
Bell, Alden The reapers are the angels
Hart, John The last child
Rothfuss, Patrick The name of the wind
Celebrating Jane Austen’s birthday, Ginny talked about her six books sharing the ‘back story’ for each novel. She then extended the discussion to include all of the Jane Austen take-offs. Some are appropriate young adults, some a bit ‘steamy’, some are mystery novels with an Austen cast and some are contemporized. Here’s her list:
Books for Jane Austen Lovers
*Notes book available through the Sitka Library Network
Original Novels
Sense and Sensibility (1811)*
Pride and Prejudice (1813) *
Mansfield Park (1814)*
Emma (1814)*
Northanger Abbey (1818)*
Persuasion (1818)*
Series Appropriate for All Ages
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries by Carrie Bebris
Deception at Lyme
Intrigue at Highbury*
Maters at Mansfield*
North by Northanger*
Price and Prescience*
Suspense and sensibility*
Jane Austen in 21st Century by Rosie Rushton
Dashwood Sisters’ Secret of Love*
Echoes of Love
Love, Lies and Lizze
Secret Schemes and Daring Dreams
Summer of Secrets
Jane Austen Series by Debra White Smith
Amanda
Central Park
First Impressions
Northpointe Chalet
Possibilities
Reason and Romance
Jane Austen Detective Mysteries
Jane and the Braque of Fragility
Jane and the Canterbury Tale
Jane and the Genius of the Place
Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
Jane and the Lordship’s Legacy
Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron
Jane and the Man Of The Cloth
Jane and the Stillroom Maid
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
Jane and the Wandering Eye
Jane and the Wool House
YA Novels
Austenland by Shannon Hale*
Cassandra’s Sister by Veronica Bennett*
Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman*
First Impressions by Marilyn Sachs
I was Jane Austen’s Best Friend by Cora Harrison*
Pies & Prejudice (Mother Daughter Book Club) by Heather Vogel Frederick
Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg*
Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland*
Novels for Adults
Accidental Bride by Janice Harayda
Confessions of a Jan Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Fowler*
Jane Austen in Boca by Paula Marantz Cohen
Jane Austen in Scarsdale: or love death and the SATs by Paula Marantz Cohen
Letters to Alice on first reading Jane Austen by Fay Wledon
Morning Light by Abigail Reynolds
Pemberly by the Sea by Abigail Reynolds
Pemberly Ranch by Jack Caldwell*
Persuading Annie by Melissa Nathan
Pride, Prejudice and jasmine Field by Melissa Nathan
Rude Awakening of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
Such a Girl by Karen V. Siplin
The Family Fortune by Laurie Horowitz
The Trails of the Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini
Vanity and Vexation by Kate Fenton
Graphic Novels
Emma by Nancy Butler and Janet Lee
Gothic Classics Volume Fourteen *
Pride and Prejudice by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus
Sense & Sensibility by Nancy Butler and Sonny Lewis
Card, Orson Scott. Pathfinder. Another winner from Orson Scott Card, author of anotherof Berett’s favorites, Enders Game. The protagonist, Rigg, in this book has the power to see the paths of peoples past. Then he discovers he has the power to change those paths. This ends up with two opposing factions on a collision coarse-the one who wants him crowned and the other who want him dead.
Egan, Jennifer A visit from the goon squad. This book has been heralded as one of the most brilliant novels of the year. Set in the world of rock music, characters weave in and around the two main characters, a former rock star, now music producer, Bennie Salazar and his much younger assistant, Sasha. The novel does a far bit of time hopping as it explores the issues of how influence corrupts, what happens to rebellion as the person ages and how habit can turn into addictions.
Other favorites but for younger readers-
Levine, Gail Carson Ella Enchanted. and Jan Brett’s Christmas Trolls.
Having just completed a visit to the Channel Islands off the coast of France, Sarah recommends you watch
Island at War- a BBC program about the Nazi occupation of Guernsey Island
Shaffer, Mary Ann. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A wonderful novel about a young reporter looking for a special angle for a WWII story. Different membes of the above mentioned society tell their stories about the Nazi occupation and their formation of a supposed literary society to cover their subterfuge. Shaffer actually spent a great deal of time doing research for this novel, so the epistolary novel is an entertaining way to learn about this little known event.
Ginny wanted to talk about books that make wonderful gifts:
Starting with the very young, there are many boardbooks, but several recent ones caught her eye. Because she is a great Jane Austen fan a 1-2-3 board book for Pride and Prejudice looked like great fun. There was also one for Romeo and Juliet and severl other classics.
The all time classic infant book is Pat the Bunny. It is the perfect book for sitting with the child and interacting with a book
Shulman, Polly Grimm legacy and enthusiam.
Kelly, Jacqueline. Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
George, Jean Julie of the wolves
Hobbs, Will-Leaving Protection and Wild Man Island.
Yaghulanaas, Michael. Red a Haida Manga
Van Allsburg, Chris. Anythinng at all by Chris is wonderful. Polar Express, Jumanji
Lewis, Paul Owen Storm Boy and Frog girl
Pierce, Tamora. Terrier
Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan
Edwardson, Debbie Dahl My name is not easy
Alaskana for adults-Ginny likes to send books about Alaska to her relatives “Down South” to help them understand what living in Alaska is like.
Fields, Leslie Leyland Surviving the island of Grace
Hammond, Jay Bush Rat Covernor
Smelcer, John The Trap andGreat Death
Morgan, Lael Good time girls
Doig, Ivan Sea runners
Winik, Marion. Rules for the unruly: living an unconventional life
Chabon, Michael Manhood for amateurs: the pleasures and regrets of husband, father and son
Hamilton, Gabrielle. Bloods, bones and butter.
Be honest and other advice from students across the country
Alexander, William 52 loaves:one man’s relentless pursuit of truth, meaning and a perfect crust
Roxann shared more of the reading she has been doing for her Master program about the U.S. Constitution.
Bowen, Catherine Miracle at Philadelphia
The Federalist Papers. Everybody has read about the Federalist Papers, but few people have actually read them. They are actually letters to the editor explaining the thinking behind the authoring of the US Constitution. Hamilton, Madison and John Jay are said to be the authors.
The Anti-Federalist Papers. It is thought Patrick Henry was one of the writers
Maier, Pauline. American Scripture: the Making of the Declaration of Independence. Maier has written numerous books about American History.
Fisher, David Hackett-another prolific history writer. Washington’s Crossing, Paul Revere’s Ride and Albio’s Seed.
Jamal enjoys horror fiction, so Jamal was the perfect pre-Halloween guest. He started out talking about three favorites by Christopher Moore, who he describes as a very adult writer. While some of his subjects are dark, he handles them with deft irony and occasional humor. The titles he recommends:
You suck: a love story. What else could it be, but a vampire tale.
Bloodsucking fiends. Described as horror, farce and fantasy all rolled into one.
Stupidest angel: a heartwarming tale of Christmas terror.
Zombies have really taken center stage away from the vampires and werewolves of Stephanie Meyers Twilight books.
Grahame-smith, Seth and Jane Austen. Pride, prejudice and zombies . this is kind of a zombie mashup with a classic book. Lots of murder and mayhem integrated into the Austen’s classic work.
Browe, S.G. Breathers: a zombies lament. An interesting mixture of 21st century sensibilities, heavy-hitting violence, and a sweet love-story all rolled into one.
Jamal’s all time classic horror favorite is Stephen King’s Shining.
I wnat to mention what I consider to be a very tragic, but humorous audiobook I just finished.
Shteyngart, Gary. Super sad true love story. Shteyngart takes some of the most pathetic attributes of the 21st century-heightened, superficial sex, the adulation of youthfulness, rampant consumerism, and soul-sucking obsessively networked society(smartphoness)then multiplies them to produce a not too distant future in New York city. After the ‘Rupture’ occurs and the city begins to fall apart, Lenny Abramov, a middle-aged Jewish man of embarassingly low Male Hotness score develops an almost sweet love affair with a young Korean American woman. It’s funny, but makes you twitch a little when you realize that we live in a time pretty close to Shteyngart’s reality.
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa. The language of flowers. “The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.”
Stevens, Taylor The informationist. Stephanie really enjoyed this novel because the main character was kind of a tough cookie. She made her living gathering information on developing countries for companies planning to locate there. She gets caught up in trying to locate the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The daughter disappeared 4 years prior while vacationing in west central Africa.
Nesbo, Jo. Snowman. For fans of Stief Larsson, Jo Nesbo will be the next logical choice. This Norwegian writer has crafted a thriller about a child who wakes up to find his mother has disappeared and a mysterious snowman has been built-one of the signs left by a serial killer.
Brown, Eleanor. Weird sisters. Three sisters, raised by a father who only spoke in Shakespeare’s tongue, had been such bookworms that they’d never really gotten to know each other. With the news of their mother’s cancer, they all return home, and the challenges of reuniting such a disparate trio ensue.
Watson, S.J. Before I Go to Sleep. Christine wakes up every morning with no memory of who she is or what happened in the past. Her doctor encourages her to keep a journal to help refresh her memory. One day she wakes up to a note that say’s “Don’t trust Ben (her husband)” Now she wonders whether to believe what Ben has told her-What caused the accident, who can she trust, why is Ben lying to her? Great thriller
Morrison, Tony. Song of Solomon. A poetically written novel about 4 generations of a black family, beginning with Macon Dead. Fantastical and mythical elements are deftly woven into this multigenerational story of a family struggling to find security and identity. Every page is a pleasure to read.
Franklin, Arianna Mistress of the Art of Death. The bodies of 4 children, hideously killed, are found in the city of Cambridge during the reign of King Henry II. Local citizens are beginning to blame the Jews with all kinds of fantastical claims. Dependent upon the revenue collected from the Jewish community, King Henry II brings Dr. Adelia Aguilar, a medieval coroner, from Salerno, Italy to crack the case. For anyone who enjoys Brother Cadfael mysteries, they’ll be in good company with Dr. Aguilar.
Joel Curtis is a meteorologist for the state of Alaska. He enjoys reading fiction about wartime, having flown jets during the Vietnam war. We barely touched is list, so I included all of the books he intended to talk about.
Drury, Bob and Tom Clavin Halsey’s typhoon:true story of a fighting Admiral, an epic sotrm and an untold rescue. This is one of those exciting accounts against which fiction seems pretty tame.
He then mentioned his favorite Civil War author of all time, Bruce Catton. Anything is good particularly Mr. Lincoln’s Army of the Potomac series and the American Civil War trilogy which includes The Coming Fury, Terrible Swift Sword and Never Call Retreat
Bobrick, Benson Master of War :the life of George M. Thomas.
MacDonald, Charles Brown A time for trumpets :the untold story of the B attle of the Bulge.
General John Buford-a military biography
Gallager, Gary The Union War
Jonathan is working on his thesis for Yale, focusing on Alaskan issues so he decided to talk about some of the Alaskana he is enjoying.
Steller, Georg. De Bestis Marinis or Beast of the Sea. Published in Latin in 1751, these are essentially Stellers scientific notes of the North Pacific and Bering Sea. He wrote them while on Vitus Bering’s second voyage. In it he described the gentle 30 ft. sea cow, driven to extinction by 1768. He also wrote about the fur seal, “sea bear” and what is now call the Steller sea lion.
Krakauer, Jon Into the wild. This is a true account of a young man, Christopher McCandless, who decided to take a camper bus to Alaska. Sadly, he ended up somewhat lost and perished from hunger.
Satterfield, Archie The Alaska Airlines story. Pilots in Alaska have always been considered the somewhat harebrained cowboys of Alaska, and the Alaska Airlines story is no exception.
Kantner, Seth Ordinary Wolves. One of the more beautifully written novels to come out of Alaska, ordinary wolves is the story of a white boy growing up in the bush with a father and sister. The boy simply wants to be an Eskimo like the old hunters who stop in for a cup of coffee and sometimes end up staying days. However, the native kids in the village nearby taunt and tease this poor white kid mercilessly.
Kizzia, Tom. Wake of the unseen object. Jonathan feels this is one of the best collections of essays about rural Alaska.
