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The holiday season is not only a good time for a festival of lights, but also a good time to feast on enlightenment. These new books—which offer exciting perspectives on subjects ranging from birds to the brain—would make excellent gifts for nature lovers or scientifically minded readers.

Science through the ages
A one-volume reference simply entitled Science may sound like a children’s book—grownup books are usually about something a bit more specific—but this 512-page tome is no lightweight: it really is about science, as in the whole history of the subject from prehistory to the present. Science: The Definitive Visual Guide, edited by Adam Hart-Davis, presents the grand sweep of scientific discovery era by era, beginning each section with an introduction and timeline and pulling out key concepts, Eureka moments, important people, applications and consequences. The “visual” part of the title is achieved in typical DK style, which means stunning photos, illustrations, charts, tables and the like in great quantity and quality. Especially handy are the before-and-after sections on particular subjects; for example, the section on steam power is flanked by marginalia outlining power sources in use before the invention of the steam engine and power sources that succeeded it, like internal combustion and electricity. After the chronological survey comes a practical reference section with quick facts about astronomy and space, earth sciences, biology, chemistry, physics and math.

When nature calls
Even the most casual birdwatcher would be tickled to receive Laura Erickson’s Bird Watching Answer Book: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond. The author has fielded many a question through her birding blog, her public radio program (“For the Birds”) and her previous book (101 Ways to Help Birds), and if this wasn’t street cred enough, she’s also enlisted the aid of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Although the guide is organized by categories like feeding, vocalization, bird problems (when starlings move in, for example), nesting, migration and the concisely titled “how birds work,” it is still surprisingly fun to ignore the subject headings and start reading at a random page. Should you heat a birdbath in winter? How often should you clean your feeder? What should you do when you find an injured bird? Can birds sleep during flight? Is there anything good about pigeons? This friendly and practical book answers a wide range of the most common (and compelling) questions.

Another bird expert, David Allen Sibley, author of the best-selling reference The Sibley Guide to Birds, has branched out into a different subject with The Sibley Guide to Trees. Although the new direction may surprise some fans, Sibley has been working on the book for seven years, having long ago learned to appreciate the intimate link between bird and tree. The introduction is an admirable crash course in the basics of tree identification, taxonomy and types of leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs, buds and bark. It also includes notable advice to those just getting started, such as the invitation to employ pattern-recognition skills and to “practice observing,” two simple yet rather profound methods that can make recognizing species easier and more “natural.” The tree identification section is, of course, the heartwood of the guide, and this is where Sibley’s characteristically precise artwork shines. Details are rendered far clearer in his paintings than in photographic field guides, and the types of variations—in leaf, color, fruit, habit, etc.—are more apparent. Over 600 trees are presented in taxonomical groups with all related species together, a system which he believes to be key in developing a “deeper understanding” of trees and the landscape around us.

Billions and billions
At a time when some schools are considering adding Creationism to their curricula, it may be an opportune moment to take stock of the genuine miracle of the living universe without the intrusion of either theology or ideology. Evolution: The Story of Life, by Douglas Palmer, illustrated by Peter Barrett, gives readers just such a reference. The book’s main contribution is its timeline: 3.5 billion years of life on Earth presented in 100 pictorial “site reconstructions.” The consistent double-page layouts make it easier for readers to compare and contrast different eras, while smaller boxes below the main frame give concise summaries and identifications. At first the illustrations may seem a bit old-fashioned and “textbook,” but then again, having meticulous hand-painted panoramas in this digital age is a treat. Evolution was published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species.

Mind games
Not often are we able to read a book that shows how we are able to read a book in the first place, but The Human Brain Book shows exactly that and so much more. Rita Carver, author of the popular Mapping the Mind and Consciousness, makes the latest developments in neuroscience accessible to the average curious reader, despite the overwhelming amount and scope of material presented. This is due in part to DK’s visual format—thousands of illustrations, photographs and specially commissioned brain scans—and the presiding influence of Carter’s ability to communicate complex information with the finesse of a TV broadcaster (her former occupation). After a pictorial timeline of brain exploration and a quick journey through the brain itself, chapters cover brain anatomy, the senses, movement, emotions, language, memory, thinking, consciousness, development, disorders and more. Answers large and small are everywhere: why it isn’t safe to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time, what consciousness is, how memory works (or doesn’t), what constitutes intelligence, what happens when we dream, how autism spectrum disorders “look” on brain scans and, on a much lighter note, what might be the six worst smells in the world. The book includes an interactive DVD of brain areas and processes. The Human Brain Book promises to be a stellar family reference.

Icy wonders
This enthralling new book of oversized photographs is for all of us who can’t seem to keep straight the North Pole from the South—and which animals belong to each. But Paul Nicklen’s Polar Obsession actually has far higher aspirations: the photojournalist author hopes his stunner of a book wakes us all to the endangered Antarctic and Arctic ecosystems. Polar ice is melting faster than scientific models ever predicted and may, in fact, be entirely gone within five to 20 years. Nicklen’s photographs of this threatened land- and seascape are utterly amazing. He exposes a world none of us ever sees: we are face to face with a bowhead whale, a newborn walrus pup, the very pupil of the eye of a macaroni penguin. Text is spare, informative and thrilling: his adventures in the below-freezing waters are as fascinating to read as they are to view. Not to be missed are the close-ups of an enormous leopard seal that tries (unsuccessfully) to feed the photographer a penguin underwater. A more gorgeous and compelling invitation to conservation efforts is difficult to imagine.

Christmas cheer

Feature by Eliza Borné

by Eliza Borné

We all know the feeling. As the holidays approach, gifts must be bought, parties planned, food prepared, the house decorated. With the bustle of getting ready for Christmas, it’s easy to miss out on the best part of the season: the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Stress takes over, and the holidays become more of a chore than a time for celebration.

In new Christmas novels by Ann Pearlman and Richard Paul Evans, we’re encouraged to put that stress away and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. The authors aren’t subtle in pushing their messages. The back cover of Pearlman’s The Christmas Cookie Club sums it up nicely: at Christmastime, “The most important ingredient is love . . .”

Pearlman’s debut novel is based, in part, on a true story; the author herself has participated in a Christmas cookie club since 2000. The prologue to The Christmas Cookie Club lists the strict rules of the fictional version. On the first Monday of December, 12 women will get together and exchange cookies. Each must bring 13 dozen cookies to the party—the extra dozen to donate to a charity. No chocolate chip cookies are allowed, and every participant must share their recipes. (Lucky for us, Pearlman lists the recipes at the beginning of each chapter. The chocolate-almond bonbons look especially tasty.) Every year, the women use the club as a way to catch up, share joys and losses and get in the holiday spirit.

Each chapter of The Christmas Cookie Club is devoted to one of the 12 members. Marnie, the club founder and “head cookie bitch,” narrates the intertwining stories. The women span age and experience; they range from their thirties to their sixties. Throughout the book, we learn each woman’s story: one has lost a son and another has recently adopted a baby. One woman is involved in an affair, and another is happily in a relationship with a man half her age.

Readers with large groups of friends will love this story of women who support each other through tough times. They will agree with Marnie’s comment at the end of the novel: “And maybe love is, ultimately, the best we get. It doesn’t solve everything, but in spite of it all, it’s the most significant thing we have.”

Pearlman joins the likes of Wally Lamb, Garrison Keillor and Gregory Maguire as a newcomer to the holiday genre. A psychotherapist, the author is best known for her memoir from 2000, Infidelity. Depicting the effects of marital betrayal on her grandmother, her mother and herself, Infidelity was nominated for both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. In 2004, the memoir was turned into a Lifetime movie. CBS Films has already bought the rights to The Christmas Cookie Club.

A second chance
Richard Paul Evans is no stranger to Christmas fiction. His first novel, The Christmas Box, has become a holiday classic with more than 8 million copies in print. Taking the inspirational message of his story to heart, Evans is the board chairman of The Christmas Box International, a charity that funds shelters for abused or neglected children. Although he initially resisted being pegged as a “Christmas writer,” Evans now embraces the genre. To explain this choice, he says, “I love Christmas and its true gifts; the ones of family and friends and giving of ourselves, as well as its deeper messages of God’s love.”

The Christmas List is Evans’ 14th novel. This retelling of A Christmas Carol stars real estate mogul James Kier as a modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge. Instead of receiving visits from ghosts of the past, though, Kier embarks on his personal transformation after seeing his own premature obituary. The newspaper mistakenly pronounced him dead when another James Kier dies. After the obituary is printed, Kier has the unusual opportunity to see what others think of his legacy. Business associates and “friends” post about him on the newspaper’s online message board. The verdict is not good. Kier is called “the Grinch, Scrooge, and the Bergermeister rolled into one.”

In an attempt to redeem himself before it’s too late, Kier seeks out five of the people he has caused the most harm. He asks each person on his “Christmas list” for forgiveness and tries to make amends—not always with success. At the end of the novel, Kier makes a simple—but to him, revelatory—proclamation: “If you have someone to love, you are lucky. If they love you back, you’re blessed. And if you waste the time you have to love them, you’re a fool.”

Both Pearlman and Evans deliver heartwarming, inspirational stories about withstanding loss and the power of love. These messages are not new, but they are worth remembering in the season of giving.

Drawing a lesson from an unwanted gift
Just one year after its publication, Glenn Beck’s novel, The Christmas Sweater, has become something of a Christmas classic. Published in the fall of 2008, the book went on to become a #1 New York Times bestseller. If you haven’t yet read Beck’s first foray into fiction, the season is right to read (or give) this sad but inspiring tale.

Beck tells the story of 12-year-old Eddie, a boy who is ungrateful when his mother gives him “a stupid, handmade, ugly sweater” instead of a bicycle. When Eddie’s mother dies a few days after Christmas, the boy learns a painful lesson about faith, love and family as he finds his way after this terrible loss. Beck has said that the novel is more fact than fiction, since his own mother died when he was 13.

This month, Beck will stage a Broadway-style show, “The Christmas Sweater—A Return To Redemption,” which will be simulcast to select movie theaters nationwide. In this inspirational performance, the radio and TV personality will share the real-life events that inspired the novel and chronicle how the message of The Christmas Sweater has impacted others. Younger readers will also enjoy the newly released picture book adaptation of the novel, a perfect holiday treat.

Music

Music

Hitting the high notes

Feature by Ron Wynn

by Ron Wynn

Music lovers have always welcomed the chance to read about their favorite musicians and the sounds they create. Though newspaper and magazine coverage of music has declined, those outlets are now augmented by a seemingly endless array of websites and blogs devoted to music reviews, critiques, commentary, gossip and profiles. For more in-depth appraisals, readers turn to books, and the six in this sampling represent various approaches to writing about music. Some lean toward technical appraisal, while others represent fond appreciations or reflective treatises, but they’re all informative, valuable and enjoyable treats for music lovers.

A fresh look at famous men
Current Wall Street Journal drama critic and former jazz musician Terry Teachout’s superb biography Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong mixes sociological observation, analytical examination and psychological portrait, while correcting inaccuracies and offering new, often stunning information about the man considered by many critics the greatest jazz soloist of all time. Teachout rejects that claim, instead labeling Armstrong the greatest “influence” in jazz history, citing him as the figure numerous other players, regardless of instrument, credited with championing the value of artistry, developing a personalized sound and being both innovative and entertaining.

Indeed, his showmanship frequently led to vicious criticism of Armstrong by more militant blacks, who felt his mugging and clowning on stage were a throwback to the Jim Crow and minstrel eras. Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material, including letters, private recordings and backstage conversations and accounts, Teachout shows that Armstrong was a driven, sophisticated performer with a quick-trigger temper and penchant for denouncing conduct by both blacks and whites as counterproductive.

Teachout also brings more perspective to events only briefly or incorrectly covered in previous biographies. These range from Armstrong’s longtime love of marijuana (something that got him arrested in 1930) to the simmering quarrel with President Dwight Eisenhower that encompassed more than just his anger at Eisenhower’s reluctance to protect the rights of black students trying to integrate Central High School in Arkansas. The book contains so many new bits of information—such as the revelation that his embouchure (the way he held his lips to the trumpet) was incorrect—that even the most ardent fan might be surprised. Teachout has crafted a definitive work that dissects the personality and motivations of a genius.

Journalist and filmmaker Antonino D’Ambrosio’s exhaustive A Heartbeat and a Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears is equally thorough, though it mainly sticks to one subject. Widely considered exclusively a country musician, Johnny Cash had a range, thematic impact and sound that were much broader. He was politically farther to the left than many industry comrades, and one subject close to his heart was the nation’s history and treatment of Native Americans. Cash joined forces with folk artist Peter LaFarge in 1964 to create the striking, unforgettable album Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian.

As D’Ambrosio’s work shows, the eight-song LP brought Cash some of the fiercest attacks and criticism he’d ever received. When the controversial album was released squarely in the middle of a turbulent era, Cash was called “unpatriotic” in some circles and the Ku Klux Klan even burned a cross on his lawn. But he stood resolute against the pressure, even as Columbia pulled its advertising for the album and retail stores quietly and quickly took it off their shelves. D’Ambrosio adds numerous interviews with Cash’s bandmates, associates and friends while telling a story of corporate cowardice and artistic integrity that remains remarkable 45 years later.

Bob Dylan Revisited isn’t nearly so encyclopedic or socially powerful, though it still proves compelling. A much shorter book than the others described here, it contains 13 graphic interpretations of vintage Bob Dylan tunes, among them “Blowin’ In The Wind,” “Positively 4th Street,” “Desolation Row” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” Each song’s lyrics are matched with a graphic artist who creates a visually provocative viewpoint to embellish the text. Personal favorites include Thierry Murat’s interpretation of “Blowin’ In The Wind,” Benjamin Flo’s colorful treatment of “Blind Willie McTell” and Francois Avril’s dashing illustrations for “Girl Of The North Country,” but all are delightful. This is a book with special appeal for hardcore Dylan fans.

Capturing a moment
Sam Stephenson’s The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965 covers an art form whose greatest stars were unknown to most music fans. Even within the notoriously insular jazz universe, the style known as “loft jazz” never had a wide following. The music was made by instrumentalists coming to New York from many places, including the West Coast, as well as some city residents. They found artistic solace and living space in previously abandoned buildings like the one at 821 Sixth Avenue, which was the home of photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. Stephenson’s book focuses on the exhaustive materials Smith amassed between 1957 and 1965.
Musicians well-known (Thelonius Monk) and obscure (David X. Young, Hall Overton) recorded there, while Smith took their pictures in all manner of situations. Some accounts are funny, others sad or odd, but all are intriguing and memorable. Part of an ongoing research project conducted by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University (there’s also a radio series and photographic exhibition), the book spotlights a valuable collection of vignettes and snapshots that chronicle an underreported, vital part of jazz and cultural history.

There’s not exactly a wealth of unknown material or lack of familiar faces in our final pair of books. Indeed, top photographer Jim Marshall proclaims in the introduction to Gail Buckland’s Who Shot Rock and Roll: A Photographic History 1955-Present that “too much [expletive] is written about photographs and music.” While the accounts of great people manning the camera are often quite entertaining, it’s famous shots like Johnny Cash flipping the bird at San Quentin in 1969 (taken by Jim Marshall) or David Gahr’s picture of Janis Joplin leaning off to the side in 1968 that make Who Shot Rock and Roll far more than simply another photo book.

Rather than a collection of pictures by a multitude of photographers, Elvis 1956 is a showcase for the dazzling, frequently surprising photos of Alfred Wertheimer, whose majestic work is also featured in the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition “Elvis at 21.” Rather than just gathering concert footage (though the book contains incredible on-stage shots of Presley, Scotty Moore and company doing acrobatics and charismatic maneuvers), Wertheimer sought places and situations that conveyed the attraction of Presley and his magnetism off the bandstand. These great scenes include one of an elderly black woman poised right behind Presley at a Southern restaurant at a time when segregation was a fact of life. Her presence, and Presley’s easy, nonchalant manner sitting a few feet away, speaks volumes about the simmering racial explosion on the horizon. Likewise, shots of him with Steve Allen or sequences showing waves of girls fighting to touch him at shows convey the enormous sex appeal of the youthful Elvis.

While no book will ever be a worthy substitute for the thrill of hearing great music or the sense of achievement felt by those who play it, these volumes effectively communicate the sense of community among music lovers and the importance it holds in our lives.

Ron Wynn writes for the Nashville City Paper and other publications.

Art, Arts & Culture, Photography

Photography Arts & Culture Art

Through an artist’s eyes

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

by Linda M. Castellitto

Though pointing, clicking and sharing by people of all ages and skill levels has never been easier or quicker, thanks to the digital technology available these days, it’s still a wonderful thing to experience works by an accomplished artist, to page through a large-format book featuring images by someone who has made it their vocation to convey an emotion or capture something new or unexpected, beautiful or thought-provoking—whether in paint or on film. This quartet of coffee-table books offers the opportunity to take just that sort of foray into the world of visual art.

Photorealism, revisited
Norman Rockwell’s paintings—vibrant slice-of-life creations—are essential to any study of American pop culture. But while Rockwell’s illustrative talents are well-known, an important aspect of his process is perhaps less so: any paintings done from 1930 on were first photographs.

Ron Schick’s Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is filled with images of the people and places that served as inspiration (and models) for the artist’s work. Many of those models were friends and neighbors; it’s fun to spot Rockwell himself mugging for the camera here and there, too. Thoughtful, detailed text by Schick provides fascinating, often humorous behind-the-scenes tidbits about each photo-turned-painting, plus information about everything from his advertising clients to lighting techniques. For example, when creating “Maternity Waiting Room, 1946,” Rockwell couldn’t find sufficiently stressed-out models, so he visited a Manhattan ad agency, where he found plenty of anxiety-ridden men to photograph.

Paging through Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera is a smile-inciting, nostalgia-inducing experience that surely will inspire renewed admiration for Rockwell’s skill: the finished works are all the more realistic when viewed in concert with their photo counterparts.

An anglophile’s delight
Mary Miers, a writer who specializes in architecture and formerly worked in the field of architectural conservation, puts her experience and expertise to excellent use in The English Country House: From the Archives of Country Life. The book is a feast of photos, and a tribute to the fine homes that have been featured in Country Life, a U.K.-based magazine that’s been published since 1897. The 400-plus images of 62 homes ranging from medieval castles to modern mansions frequently offer close-up shots of sumptuous details. For example, the Claydon House in Buckinghamshire is a Rococo delight, complete with carved chimney-pieces and colorful friezes. East Barsham Manor, in Norfolk, is a castle of molded brick, complete with gatehouse and three-story tower. And then there’s Baggy House in Devon, a cliff-top villa that’s thoroughly modern. Essays by British architectural historians provide additional detail and help to make this book a fine reading and viewing experience for aficionados of design, architecture, history, the U.K., the art of photography or some combination of the above. The English Country House is a gorgeous tour that’s sure to inspire craving for a hot cuppa.

An extraordinary museum tour
In celebration of the reopening of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Medieval and Renaissance Galleries, Medieval and Renaissance Art: People and Possessions, by V&A curators Glyn Davies and Kirstin Kennedy, takes readers on a personal tour of the museum’s objects and role in European art and history. The book’s chapters include Makers and Markets (about the working and trading conditions for artists in medieval and Renaissance Europe), Devotion and Display (religious objects and rituals) and People and Possessions (weaponry, music, “self-expression through ownership”). There are colorful photos on nearly every page, many of them close-ups; the ones in the Ornaments section are particularly fascinating in terms of opulence and detail.

Those who have visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will surely find this a worthy souvenir of a visually thrilling trip through art and history; those who haven’t will get a rare opportunity to live with the museum’s pieces and scrutinize them to their hearts’ content.

A portrait of the maritime artist
John Singer Sargent, a painter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is best known for his portraits, but as Richard Ormond explains in the introduction to Sargent and the Sea, written with Sarah Cash, his marine-life and seascape paintings have until recently been just a “forgotten episode of Sargent’s art.” When he was in his late teens and early 20s, the artist produced a number of works—in oil, charcoal and watercolor—depicting the sea, ships and other maritime topics: “scenes from the seashore and rustic subjects from the countryside.” Sargent and the Sea was conceived and created in concert with a Corcoran Gallery of Art exhibit that will travel to Houston and London in 2010. Paging through this handsome volume gives readers the opportunity to observe and experience Sargent’s evolution as an artist and a person, to read and marvel as his detailed charcoal renderings of ships give way to lushly colorful paintings of children at the beach and languorous nudes—a fascinating preview of the style and subjects to come.

Linda M. Castellitto takes (amateur) photos in North Carolina.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sense of wonder: New additions to the human race

Feature by Sean Melican

by Sean Melican

It’s only fitting that our selections at year’s end showcase the very best writing that fantasy and science fiction has to offer. All three of this month’s novels invoke traditional genre concepts, but these outstanding works build their narrative drive and emotional power from exceptionally well-drawn characters.

Returning home after the apparent suicide of a childhood friend with whom he hasn’t spoken to in years, Paxton Martin discovers the tiny town of Switchcreek, Tennessee, isn’t the same place he left. Oh, sure, the three new species of people which hyper-evolved through Transcription Divergence Syndrome (TDS)—the Goliath-like argos, the parthenogenic betas and the super-muscular charlies—are still very much alive (though largely forgotten by the outside world once TDS was determined to be non-transmissible). But the older charlies, including Pax’s father, a former preacher, are excreting a strange, hallucinogenic substance; a cult and a schism are brewing in the beta community; and the argos cannot bear children. Pax’s best friend Deke is an argo and the de facto Chief, and Aunt Rhonda is a corrupt, scheming mayor (and a Charlie). Paxton does his best to come to terms with his father, with Deke, with his abandonment of family and friends and with his friend Jo Lynn’s death, which brought him home in the first place in Daryl Gregory’s The Devil’s Alphabet. More subtle than some SF novels, The Devil’s Alphabet is an absolutely stunning, intoxicating blend of vintage mystery, science fiction and intergenerational saga which artfully questions the meaning of what it is to be ‘human.’ Despite the strange occurrence of three new branches of our family tree, the heart of this novel is the deeply human, deeply important meaning of love.

Family secrets
Pure, old-fashioned science fiction is perfectly blended with human frailties in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s recursive Diving Into the Wreck. The first of three stories (two of which were previously published in Asimov’s) introduces us to Boss, a deep-space wreck diver and amateur historian who has found a ship containing lost stealth technology. Boss hires a team to dive it, chart it and claim the prize, but the technology is predictably fatal. Nobody is quite who they appear, particularly Squishy, who abruptly quits the team and loses her partner over an ethical issue. The second story dives into Boss’ past—the loss of her mother to the artifact known as the Room of Lost Souls, her father’s military efforts and Boss’ own genetics. The third story returns to the story of Squishy and the devastating effects of stealth technology. Though slender, the volume contains an emotional depth rarely found in SF. It focuses on the lives, deaths and moral quandaries of the characters rather than the technology—particularly the father-son team whose tragedy is brilliantly understated and emotional, and through Squishy who returns home to atone for her sins. Diving Into the Wreck is highly recommended not only for the inveterate science fiction fan, but for any reader looking for an excellent character study.

Fantasy pick of the month
Total Oblivion, More or Less is Alan DeNiro’s excellent debut novel, and an inversion and analysis of genre tropes. Instead of transporting our heroes and heroines to a fantastic world, the fantastic world is brought to our present day. The Scythians (nomadic horseman from the Middle East) and their antagonists, the Empire, appear and quickly dispatch modern nations, politics, economies and militaries. The Palmer family from Minnesota travels downriver to escape, only to discover that escape is impossible, and other choices limited. Macy Palmer is an deliberately naïve teenage girl who loves her father, a displaced astronomy professor; her sister Sophia (shades of Red Sonya) pursues freedom and love only to discover slavery and abuse; her brother, Ciaran, carries The Children’s Book of Heroes and seeks to be a child-hero like Peter Pevensie, Harry Potter, or Sir Abel but finds that fantasy is not reality. Throughout, the novel seems acutely aware of itself as a narrative. Macy identifies characters she is sure she will share many adventures with; young former World of Warfare gamers discover how very different fantasy worlds are from this world; and villains admit to being involved in crime only for the money. Then there is Em, the wooden submarine captain about whom three contradictory stories are told—none of which completely satisfy the characters or the reader. But this is brilliantly deliberate, informing the reader that this narrative is somehow self-aware of the narrative confines, and (like its teenage non-heroes) it is unwilling to do the expected. This is the very rare novel that satisfies on a multiple of levels.

In alphabetical order, Sean Melican is a chemist, father, husband and writer.

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

Holiday cheer from Jan Brett

Feature by BookPage staff

by BookPage staff

What marks the start of the holiday season for you?
The first Christmas or Hanukkah card that comes in the mail—usually around December 1st. My favorites are from artists I admire and the photo portraits of families—animals and all.

Does your family have one very special holiday tradition?
We trim the tree sipping homemade eggnog made from my chickens' fresh eggs, listening to the recording, "Calypso Christmas," which has been in the family for 50 years, and holiday recordings of my husband Joe's uncles and grandfather singing.

What are you most looking forward to during the holiday season?
The smell of wood smoke and evergreens—more delightful than the most expensive fragrance.

Why do books make the best gifts?
They have the stamp of the giver. It's the one gift I always think very hard about matching with the receiver.

What books are you planning to give to friends and family?
For my outdoorsy nieces, nephews and son, Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. For my running coach and all my wildlife loving friends, Grayson by Lynne Cox. For my daughter, son-in-law and Marine friends, Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton. For my chicken friends, The Fairest Fowl by Tamara Staples and Extraordinary Chickens by Stephen Green-Armytage. The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling for my grandsons. For my yet-to-be-born granddaughter, Tomie DePaola's Mother Goose, plus my 20th Anniversary Edition of The Mitten and my Snowy Treasury.

What was the best book you read this year?
The Wild Trees by Richard Preston

What’s your number one resolution for 2010?
Answer my email, return phone calls, and catch up on thank you notes. Also write and illustrate my best book ever—Home for Christmas, about a wayward troll.

Does your…

Paging Santa Claus: this book’s at the top of my holiday list

Feature by Tom Robinson

by Tom Robinson

In this feature exclusive to BookPage.com, each month, four authors are asked a question about the craft of writing to give readers an insight into how their favorite writers think and work. For December's author forum, BookPage brought together Robert Gregory Browne, Holly Jacobs, River Jordan and Lisa Unger to ask: What book would you like to receive as a holiday gift?

ROBERT GREGORY BROWNE
The book I'd really like to receive as a holiday gift would have to be a signed, pristine copy of Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake. Anyone who reads crime fiction knows who Westlake is, but for those who don't, let's just say he was a master crime fiction writer, so good that he could change his voice depending on the particular subgenre he chose to write and did them all equally well. His Westlake books are laugh-out-loud funny; his Richard Stark books are lean, mean and ruthless; and his Tucker Coe books are great murder mysteries featuring a flawed hero whose guilt threatens to consume him.

I first came across Somebody Owes Me Money when I was 13 years old. The woman who lived next door to us had a subscription to Playboy magazine, and when she was done doing whatever it was she did with them, she'd pass them along to me and, believe it or not, I read the articles, including the fiction. The Westlake novel was serialized over a couple of issues and the moment I started reading it I not only fell in love with Westlake, but I knew that this was what I wanted to do for a living. Make up stories. I promptly went out to the library and checked-out every Westlake book I could get my hands on.

But Somebody Owes Me Money was the first and will always be a favorite. It's the story of a Chet Conway, a cab driver who goes to collect on a bet he won, only to find that his bookie has been murdered. Things go downhill from there. If I could get a first edition signed by Westlake, I'd be a happy man. Better yet, I wish Mr. Westlake could come back to life and deliver it personally. I always wanted to meet him but never got the chance. I was thrilled, however, to recently meet one of his good friends, sometime collaborator, and an amazing writer himself, Brian Garfield (Death Wish, Hopscotch), who told me that Westlake was ever funnier in person than he was on the page.

Robert Gregory Browne is the author of Whisper in the Dark and other thrillers. His next release, Down Among the Dead Men, is scheduled for release in 2010.

HOLLY JACOBS
Just one book? Okay, so maybe not a specific title, but if I was asking for just one book for Christmas, I’d ask for something old. Something with a beautiful binding, with illustrations.

I love old books. There’s an air of permanence about them. Books that have been here more than a century, that people have owned and treasured. They were made to last. Receiving a gift like this means someone knew me well enough to know that old books delight me, and that they went to effort to find one. This isn’t the kind of gift you can buy in the mall. It’s a gift that requires effort and thought.

So, if I only received one book this year for Christmas, that’s what I’d ask for.

Romance novelist Holly Jacobs is the author of Everything But a Christmas Eve (Avalon). She lives with her husband and four children on the shores of Lake Erie.

RIVER JORDAN
The perfect holiday book gift would be a complete surprise. Here’s why. What I envision is not the most recent bestseller (although those can certainly find their way under my tree) but something unusual. Something that speaks a bit of a treasure hunt. A rare package with a book unknown to me, yet perfectly suited to my all-over-the-bookstore taste. The greatest gift would be for a book that would thrill, engage, enlighten. Something precious to the giver, perhaps a favorite of their own, and therefore precious to me. Or perhaps a book that simply whispers my name when they touch it: ‘River must read this!’ Books are more than mere inanimate objects but instead are bridges to the past, portals to secret worlds, mirrors of other lives and visions of the distant future. During all my travels, in the strangest and wildest places, monasteries or friends’ libraries, there has always been one unknown title that finds its way into my hands at precisely the right hour. This is the gift I crave. A delicious, amazing, unexpected little volume of poetry. A rare leather-bound classic. A newly discovered tale of a mysterious life well lived. All I ask is for the blessing of a book for Christmas—whatever the giver’s wild, beautiful selection.

River Jordan writes Southern fiction from her home in Tennessee. Her latest release is Saints in Limbo (WaterBrook).

LISA UNGER
Since I’m a serious book buyer, I can’t imagine waiting to be gifted a book. I buy hardcovers, mass market, trade paperbacks—fiction, nonfiction, poetry. I buy from independents and chains alike. No electronic readers for me, though; I need the jacket, the smell of paper, the heft of a real book in my hands. So, if I don’t have something I want, it probably hasn’t been written yet.

In 1984, New Zealand author Keri Hulme published a stunning, beautiful novel entitled The Bone People. The winner of The Booker Prize, this is one most gorgeously written, character-rich novels I have read. Decades later, I still think about it. Since then, I have been waiting for another work by this author. Anything. If someone finds her shopping list in the trash, I’ll read that. The rumor is that her next book is slated for 2015. I’m patiently waiting, Santa.

Lisa Unger made her thriller debut with Beautlful Lies. Her latest release is Die for You (Shaye Areheart).

—

Tom Robinson is an author publicist and media consultant working with authors across the country. Visit his website.

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Stick with your resolutions for a happier, healthier you in 2010

Feature by BookPage contributors

by BookPage contributors

Have you decided on your New Year’s resolutions yet? You know, the ones you follow with zeal in January, limp along with through February and abandon sheepishly sometime before the first crocuses bloom? If you’ve ever found it tough to stick with your well-intentioned efforts to change, these books will offer a fresh take on what it means to be happy and healthy and how to really transform your life—for good.

LIFE SKILLS
Growing up as a “fortunate son” in New York (his father was the storied New Yorker writer Brendan Gill), Michael Gates Gill expected the world and, for the most part, he got it: a charmed childhood, a Yale education, a high-powered career. His best-selling memoir, How Starbucks Saved My Life, detailed how in one year, Gill lost his job as an advertising executive, got divorced, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and took a job as a Starbucks barista. In this poignant follow-up, How to Save Your Own Life, Gill—who still serves coffee at a New York Starbucks—examines what exactly he learned during that year. His 15 truisms on how to savor ordinary moments are simple yet powerful reminders to respect one another, learn from those around you and really listen. One of his lessons, “Lose your watch (and cell phone and PDA),” is particularly noteworthy in our tech-obsessed world. “You can’t return a call or take a photo without seeing precisely what time it is,” writes Gill. “In many ways we have become mental and emotional slaves to the constant, finite calculations and it is hard to resist such an anxious focus on every ticking second.”

Whether or not you agree with his less-is-more premise, it’s hard not to be drawn to Gill and his message—he writes plainly and gracefully, and is filled with a grateful, almost childlike wonder at how much he loves his simpler life.
—AMY SCRIBNER

HAPPINESS
Sitting in traffic one afternoon, author Ariel Gore heard a report that the most popular class at Harvard is Positive Psychology: essentially, Happiness 101. Inspired, Gore downloaded the syllabus. Imagine her dismay when she dove into the research on women and happiness—only to find that it pointed to traditional values and marriage as keys to lasting fulfillment.

These findings didn’t match up very well with Gore herself or the women she knew. So she embarked on her own investigation into what makes women happy. In Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness, she interviews 100 women about their happiness, retraces her own unusual life choices (single mom at 20, second child nearly two decades later) and calls on the words of Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Harriet Beecher Stowe, among other famously strong women.

Gore posits that women try to trick themselves into “lives we don’t really want. Still, there are plenty of doctors, psychologists, acquaintances, and relatives who are more than eager to help us deny our truths and do what’s expected of us—to stay with the husband and have the baby, to take the fancy job in the cold city, to never touch pen, brush or pencil as long as we live. We are told what will make us happy as if we were all the same woman, as if we all share a single heart.”

Bold and whip-smart, Bluebird offers a striking, often defiant take on how modern women find joy.
—AMY SCRIBNER

NUTRITION
Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual offers a “choral voice of popular food wisdom.” The author of the New York Times bestsellers In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan consulted a wide range of experts—including doctors, anthropologists and “large numbers of mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers”—to arrive at this collection of 64 straightforward and simple “personal policies” for eating.

Whether it’s a practical reminder to “Eat slowly,” a common-sense adage like “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead,” or a whimsically spot-on observation such as “Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk,” these guidelines are all centered around the most basic of advice: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

With Food Rules, Pollan hopes to make “everyday decision-making easier and swifter.” As he wryly notes, “It is entirely possible to eat healthily without knowing what an antioxidant is.”
—LACEY GALBRAITH

HEALTHY COOKING
Bethenny Frankel offers down-to-earth eating advice in The Skinnygirl Dish: Easy Recipes for Your Naturally Thin Life, telling readers, “Listen to your inner chef.” A proponent of “fast, practical and economical” recipes, Frankel (who is one of the reality stars of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City”) specializes in making meals that are both healthy and delicious.

Following on the success of her previous book, Naturally Thin, Frankel aims to ease the anxiety over “what and how to eat when you have to cook for yourself and your family.” Though she provides a range of recipes—everything from breakfast, lunch and dinner to simple snacks, cocktails and “desserts to die for”—Frankel doesn’t believe in telling her readers what to eat. For her, cooking is about improvisation and using what’s already on hand in the pantry. “I want to give you the tools to cook fearlessly for yourself,” she says, “taking risks, being creative, thinking for yourself and never stressing out again about how to make dinner.”
—LACEY GALBRAITH

MIND & BODY
The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You explores how physical and emotional health can be improved by fooling the change-resistant brain to take one small step at a time. Starting with the usual topics of sound nutrition, fitness, de-stressing and weight loss, the book hits its stride as it presents its central thesis: that lifestyle behavior accounts for 50 percent of a person’s health, and that changing thinking is central to changing habits. Co-written by Kelly Traver, M.D., global medical director for Google, Worldwide, and Betty Kelly Sargent, the book’s 12-week program helps you to utilize brain power rather than willpower to develop the important building blocks to better health while conquering addictions, aging gracefully and avoiding the most prevalent diseases afflicting Americans. The system starts with basic nutrition and fitness information, including developing a personal eating and exercise plan, then moves into more specific advice designed to help avoid or handle heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and to solve challenges including obesity and lack of sleep. Combining fitness, food and holistic health advice in one neat package, this clear, breezy and informative book makes a terrific starter title for those looking to make global changes to their health outlook.
—DEANNA LARSON

PERSONAL GROWTH
Got a minute? Use it to lose weight, lower your blood pressure, improve your mood and memory, be happier, help your children stay healthy and have the career you’ve always wanted. No, it’s not the latest infomercial product but the power of the “rapid change” strategies in 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot. Psychologist and author Richard Wiseman (The Luck Factor, Quirkology) isn’t content with spouting simplistic self-help methods for improving your life—in fact, he believes that self-improvement advice often has the opposite effect. Digging deep into psychological and scientific studies, Wiseman debunks behavioral myths and presents counterintuitive but effective methods for solving persistent problems that plague many people in areas as diverse as happiness, motivation, creativity, attraction, relationships, decision-making and parenting.

Want to forget a traumatic experience? Don’t talk about it—studies show that writing feelings down is more effective than sharing out loud in coping with negative emotional experiences. Want to feel happier? Sit up straight in your desk chair, swing your arms as you walk or force your lips into a smile for 15-20 seconds (try it). Sidebars, charts, quizzes, worksheets and tips on how to use these findings in your own life complete each section, and extensive citation notes are also included. There isn’t a person on the planet who couldn’t learn something new about themselves with this book, making it a must for any resolution list.
—DEANNA LARSON

FITNESS
Denise Austin has been helping Americans get (and stay) fit for almost 30 years, most recently on two Lifetime TV shows, “Denise Austin’s Daily Workout” and “Fit & Lite.” In Denise’s Daily Dozen, she reveals her short and sweet secrets for a more active lifestyle. What counts, she says, is “quality not quantity,” and a mere 12 minutes of exercise a day is the answer. There’s no need for pricy equipment; all that’s required are “two sets of weights . . . a pair of supportive sneakers, and a mat or towel to do floor work on.” And forget the costly gym membership: “Turn idle time into toning time,” she says. Exercise anywhere—in the kitchen, on the living room couch, even while on the phone.

Austin’s enthusiasm is infectious, and the Daily Dozen is her latest offering of simple yet well-balanced exercise plans, practical recipes and endless encouragement.
—LACEY GALBRAITH

EATING NATURALLY
In Rod Rotondi’s Raw Food for Real People, the founder of Leaf Organics—Los Angeles’ first certified organic restaurant—proves that eating healthy doesn’t have to mean carrot sticks and veggie burgers alone. “The whole idea of the raw-food movement is getting back to a simple and natural diet,” he says. It’s about “rediscovering the natural way for humans to eat.” For him, this means very berry fruit smoothies, “rawsagna” and really raw apple pie. Fans of gluten-free and vegan-friendly recipes will be especially happy with these wonderful recipes, but Rotondi hopes to show that everyone can find something to love—and learn from—in Raw Food for Real People. The best way to approach the raw-food lifestyle, he says, is to think “in terms of what you do eat, as opposed to what you don’t.” Rotondi’s best advice, however, is as simple as his delightful and delicious recipes: “Love your food, love your world, love yourself.”
—LACEY GALBRAITH

QUITTING SMOKING
After his well-received appearance on “Oprah” in 2008, Dr. Daniel Seidman decided to write Smoke-Free in 30 Days to share the wisdom he has gained from 20 years of research and work with smoking-cessation clinics. His advice is clear and easy to understand, and he is careful to discuss a wide range of smoking habits, triggers, withdrawal symptoms and coping mechanisms. Seidman is a proponent of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and his advice tends to lean heavily on this particular tool; those who don’t want to use NRT may find this book of limited use. However, for those who decide to follow Seidman’s program, his 30-day schedule for quitting smoking—which comprises the second half of the book—will provide them with specific and manageable step-by-step tasks and strategies to help them accomplish the goal of going permanently smoke-free.
—KATE PRITCHARD

Business & Finance

Business & Finance

How to control your own purse strings

Feature by Stephanie Swilley

by Stephanie Swilley

Women may be the great communicators, but given the state of the economy, it’s no surprise that ladies aren’t clamoring to talk about personal finances. And January may top the list of the worst months to come out of the cave of denial as the post-holiday bills start pouring in.

To face your financial statement with less fear, we’ve found three books that mix self-help, financial how-to and a big dose of female sensibility. Each of these accessible books recommends opening up about money, and they give you the advice you need to make the conversations a little easier—whether it’s with your spouse, financial advisor or debt collector.

To get you inspired to take charge of your wealth (start with positive thinking!) in 2010, pick up Live It, Love It, Earn It: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Freedom. Marianna Olszewski, a popular money and lifestyle coach with years of Wall Street experience, writes in an engaging style that educates without being overwhelming.

Olszewski focuses first on maximizing your potential to achieve financial independence by finding balance in all areas of life (diet, sleep, exercise) and adding more fun to the everyday. It feels a bit like you’ve wandered into a “best life” episode of “Oprah,” but it succeeds in energizing and opening your mind to new possibilities. Part two then gets into the financial practicalities of dealing with debt, cleaning up credit and saving for retirement. However, Olszewski goes beyond the basics by coaching the reader on uncovering why and how their individual money histories got them where they are today. She includes activities and questions to defuse emotions around money and even suggests that it’s OK to love money. The personalized “fun spending plan” reframes the money perspective to make it less boring than following a basic budget.

The final strategies focus on action, and the interactive approach helps you make the most of the advice. Whether you do it on your own, inspired by the personal stories from powerful women in the book, or start a group to work on the exercises together, Live It, Love It, Earn It will energize how you think about—and act on—money.

While you’re still feeling empowered, tackle Get Financially Naked: How to Talk Money with Your Honey. This succinct guide teaches women in committed relationships how to talk successfully about money with their mate—without fighting. It’s no surprise that many gals simply avoid this tough conversation, since 85 percent of all couples say money causes tension in their marriage (according to Money magazine). But, while the conversation may not be appropriate for a first date, authors Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar say it’s a must to discuss what you own, what you owe, your income and your credit scores before moving in together or getting married. No problem, right?

Start by baring all and getting naked with yourself first, then warm up to doing it with your partner. Helpful “foreplay” questions get the ball rolling, and the financial compatibility quiz is revealing and eye-opening. The authors are refreshingly honest, reassuring the reader that you don’t have to love—or even like—dealing with money to be successful. Their best advice is that personal finance should be simple. Focus on the big stuff: house, car, kids, retirement and family. And the common sense, straightforward advice on these five key lifetime expenses makes it truly seem easy. It’s having the courage to have the “get naked” talk before saying “I do” that is really powerful. The roadmap developed by Thakor and Kedar helps readers navigate these landmine conversations and get to happily ever after.

Another distinctive female perspective on financial independence is A Purse of Your Own. It’s based on a metaphor we can all relate to: an impulsive splurge on a designer bag to fool everyone into thinking we have it all put together. This is what author and wealth coach Deborah Owens calls a “counterfeit purse.”

With 20 years of financial industry experience, Owens turns the purse metaphor into a wealth philosophy and provides tips, action steps and “purseonality profiles” for her seven must-have wealthy habits. It starts with cleaning out that purse to cultivate a Wealthy Outlook that allows you to dream big again. The remaining habits teach the basics of investing, with a heavy focus on owning stocks.

Some of the best advice comes at the end as Owens details how to start your own Purse Club and covers nine “pursessentials. ” The no-nonsense tips on hiring a financial planner, speaking the financial lingo and establishing your daughter’s purse allow you to start putting your new wealth habits into practice with confidence.

Pick up any of these valuable books to start your purse makeover in 2010.

Stephanie Gerber writes from Kentucky, where her purse has turned into a diaper bag.

Business & Finance

Business & Finance

Getting and giving

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

by Linda M. Castellitto

For those of you who’ve put “Get my finances under control” at the top of your New Year’s resolutions, we’ve compiled a reading list to make it happen. Whether you need a step-by-step approach to getting a handle on your money, advice for recovering from the market plunge or ways to work philanthropy into your budget, the advisors below have a plan to help. These six volumes vary in terms of voice, length and philosophy, but they all work toward the same goal: helping readers better manage their money so they can do good and enjoy life, worry-free. And what could be better than that?

Big book of personal finance
First published in 1991, Making the Most of Your Money Now has grown by more than 200 pages and has been significantly revised to include advice for readers struggling to achieve balance in a still-unstable economy. Jane Bryant Quinn, a longtime financial journalist, shares her own financial missteps (there were more than a few) as a lead-in to advising readers on what she has learned, from “keep all your insurance plans simple” to “tune your BS detector to high.” This lengthy tome includes worksheets (in the appendices and throughout), filing-system strategies, a primer on CDs, advice on paying for college, retirement-planning tips and a lot more. While some of the information may seem rudimentary, the book’s structure makes it easy to flip to pertinent sections, and it provides plenty of information and ideas for undertaking a soup-to-nuts personal-finance improvement plan.

Do the math
Saving for retirement can seem daunting or mysterious: we know we should do it, but aren’t sure how—or how much to save. In Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security, Charles Farrell, an investment advisor and CBS Moneywatch columnist, has devised a set of tools aimed at helping readers be more aware and in control of their financial present and future. For starters, he writes, “All decisions you make should help you move from being a laborer to being a capitalist.” With that in mind, he describes key ratios (e.g., capital to income, mortgage to income) and offers formulas that will help readers determine how much they should be saving each year in order to retire at a particular age or income level. In addition to straight dollar-figure calculations, he explores and advises on investment vehicles, insurance and real estate. Your Money Ratios is a no-nonsense, comprehensive resource for those ready to grab the reins of personal finance once and for all.

Financial recovery, Cramer-style
From his CNBC show “Mad Money” to the website he founded, TheStreet.com, to his numerous books on money and investing, Jim Cramer has spent a long time educating consumers about investing. In his latest book, Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even: Your Personal Economic Recovery Plan, he and co-writer/nephew Cliff Mason, who’s head writer for “Mad Money,” dive right in to his advice for recovering from the 2008 stock-market crash and the continuing fallout: Chapter 1 is entitled “Don’t Give Up!” Cramer notes that he’s had personal experience with getting back to even—after his hedge fund was down $91 million in October 1998, he finished that year at a two percent profit. Of course, many readers may not be dealing in millions, so Cramer is careful to offer advice for new and experienced, wealthy and not-so-wealthy investors alike. Highlights include 25 rules for “post-apocalyptic investing” and details on five regional banks that earn high returns and also serve as templates for how to analyze and buy bank stocks. Throughout, Cramer mixes encouragement with signature exclamations, plus to-the-point exhortations like “Empathy is great, but it won’t make you money. You need concrete solutions, and this book is filled with them.”

A powerful plan for giving
From working at a refugee camp in the former Yugoslavia to conducting fundraising and generosity training at U.S. corporations to founding Raising Change (a fundraising group that works in America and abroad), Kathy LeMay has been actively involved in working to improve the lives of people around the globe. In The Generosity Plan, she advocates for an incremental approach to effecting positive change, noting that if you’re generous in your daily life, you “will develop a habit of giving that will transform you and expand philanthropy to its fullest potential.” She recommends reflecting on your past giving—was it through money? Time? What sorts of activities?—and identifying the causes that are most meaningful to you. A “giving formula” will determine how much money can comfortably be shared, especially in uncertain financial times, and giving goals can be set. An appendix offers further food for thought with questions and points to ponder—information that would be useful for passing along the philosophy of generosity and philanthropy to family, friends or colleagues. It’s a strong finish to a thoughtful, comprehensive resource.

Small donations, big impact
While media stories about über-rich philanthropists—from Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey and the like—may give the impression that only large donations can lead to positive changes in the world, Wendy Smith begs to differ. In Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World, she makes a strong argument for casting aside all-or-nothing thinking in favor of making small donations. Among other statistics, she cites a study by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy that found “most of the giving to the tsunami relief efforts came from gifts of less than $50 made by millions of Americans . . . similar to the charitable response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and what we believe occurred after Hurricane Katrina.” Armed with this information, and the knowledge that small contributions have a ripple effect, Smith profiles groups that address hunger, health, poverty, education and access to tools, information and infrastructure. She includes anecdotes about people and places that have benefited from small contributions, plus appendices with contact information and methods for assessing various organizations. Give a Little makes a compelling case for the value of including a “donations” line in our personal budgets—no matter how small the amount may be.

Linda M. Castellitto wrangles her finances in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sense of Wonder: A case study in morality

Feature by Sean Melican

by Sean Melican

With two mysteries-cum-morality tales featured in this month’s science fiction and fantasy selections, the themes for our New Year’s picks are clear—even though the characters and their actions may be questionable.

Mike Resnick’s Starship series has taken Captain Wilson Cole and his crew from mutineers to a navy capable of fighting the Republic’s multi-million-ship Navy. Throughout, Resnick has kept the story narrowly focused on the behavior and morality of the crew: the level of weapons are described only by numbers, the power of starships by letters. The previous novel in the series considerably raised the consequences and the seriousness of Resnick’s plot as the captain’s best friend was tortured to death. Now, in Starship: Flagship, Resnick directly confronts the issue of whether torture is ever morally acceptable and concludes that indeed it is (provided that the victim is not seriously physically harmed), psychological damage be damned. While the novels are enjoyable and Resnick should be lauded for bringing cold logic to a genre that sometimes emphasizes force over diplomacy, this last novel suffers slightly from a lack of perspective (Wilson Cole is clearly a mouthpiece). However, the series and this novel are highly recommended, developing a hero that is the antithesis of most heroes and a Republic that is in stark contrast to most utopian federations, and confronting a moral issue in a manner that should nonetheless generate a serious, thoughtful response worthy of Wilson Cole’s hard logic.

The weaknesses of man
Many fantasy novels portray magic as an unquestioned fact of life for the characters, but Carol Berg’s The Spirit Lens builds a medieval world where magic is indeed real, even as natural science and its practitioners successfully argue that magic is nothing more than, well, smoke and mirrors. The king is a proponent of natural science, but the queen, who has lost a child, employs sorcerers to explore the possibility of bridging the gap between her world and the afterworld. When a murder is committed that potentially involves blood magic and implicates the queen, the king employs failed magician Portier de Savin-Duplais to solve the crime and exonerate his wife, failing to realize that unmasking the murder may unleash an even greater evil. Aiding Portier are a Shakespearean fop and a brilliant but unsophisticated sorcerer. In an ever-shifting landscape of alliances and betrayals, half-truths, lies, violence, cruelty and evil magic, Berg builds a unique world of science, magic and divinity, cumulating in a disturbing conspiracy. This is a unique world in the fantasy genre, an excellent story and a morality play that bases the threat to order not on the embodiment of evil, but on the familiar weaknesses of women and men.

Science fiction pick of the month
In the fourth installment of Timothy Zahn’s detective series, Frank Compton and his partner Bayta are aboard a galactic train, the Quadrail, continuing their search for the mind-controlling alien known as the Modhri. They are sidetracked when, despite the supposed impossibility of bringing weapons or poisons aboard, passengers are inexplicably turning up dead. The Domino Pattern is a pitch-perfect blend of mystery and technology that owes as much to Agatha Christie as Larry Niven. Borrowing from the English mystery genre, the novel is populated with numerous fully developed characters harboring believable secrets. Full of red herrings, false leads and dead ends, the complex novel is driven by terse dialogue. While the set-piece climax is a little too long and elaborate, Zahn redeems himself with an ending that uses the carefully drawn backstory to propel his characters into the next novel—all the while raising the stakes from the relatively slow Modhri to a much more immediate and inhuman danger. This is an exceptionally enjoyable series that will appeal to both science fiction and mystery fans.

In alphabetical order, Sean Melican is a chemist, father, husband and writer.

Mike Resnick’s Starship series has taken Captain Wilson Cole and his crew from mutineers to…

Business & Finance

Business & Finance

Slouching toward geezerdom

Feature by Edward Morris

by Edward Morris

Want to savor your retirement years? Then dream big, eat wisely and develop the financial acumen of Ben Bernanke. That’s the distilled advice from three new “geezer guides” for all those Baby Boomers now shuffling along the path to the Abyss.

Living the dream
Robert and Patricia Gussin’s What’s Next . . . for You? is more how-we-did-it than how-you-can-do-it. In realizing their ongoing dreams, money never seems to be a problem for the Gussins. Both are physicians who retired in 2000 from well-paying executive posts at subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson. He was 62, she “a few years younger.” With money in the bank, their kids gone and homes on Long Island and Longboat Key, Florida, the Gussins could have spent their twilight years in a supine position. Instead, both took up writing—she thrillers, he humor. This led, indirectly, to them forming their own fully staffed book publishing company. In 2002, they once again demonstrated their boundless interests by buying a working vineyard in New Zealand—and the villa that went along with it. Apart from overseeing these two thriving new businesses, the Gussins also volunteer as health providers for low-income seniors. Their stamina is simply epic. While most retirees are less wealthy, less connected, less educated and less energetic than this couple, their experiences nonetheless demonstrate that retirement doesn’t have to lead to a mental or an emotional fadeout.

Super foods for super health
Dr. William Sears’ Prime-Time Health, co-written with Martha Sears, is billed as “a scientifically proven plan for feeling young and living longer.” At the heart of Sears’ life-extending regimen is the wise consumption of 16 “super foods”: seafood (especially salmon), berries (especially blueberries), spinach, nuts, olive oil, broccoli, oatmeal, flaxseed meal, avocados, pomegranate juice, tomatoes, tofu, yogurt, red onions, garlic and beans and lentils. He explains how each food improves the functioning of specific organs and how to maintain a dietary balance. There are also tips on exercise and a colossally unimaginative chapter on how to have “better (and more) sex.” Sears could have done more to address the concerns of aging vegetarians who have qualms about eating fish. Still, his science is convincing and his tone reassuring.

Thinking ahead
The Bogleheads’ Guide To Retirement Planning, compiled and edited by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, Richard A. Ferri and Laura F. Dogu, takes its title from—and bases its investment strategies on—the teachings of John C. Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group. Consequently, there is no one-size-fits-all schematic. Instead, there are discussions of major financial instruments, from savings accounts and IRAs to Social Security, and how each applies to people of differing ages, incomes and retirement aspirations. The most accessible part of the book is the “Pearls of Wisdom” segment that offers such all-purpose economic maxims as “It’s what you keep, not what you earn” and “Don’t invest in things you don’t understand.”

Given the time it takes to digest and adapt other people’s solutions, perhaps the best strategy is just to keep on working.

Edward Morris, unretired and unrepentant, reviews from Nashville.

Living the dream
Robert and…

BookPage Best of 2009 lists

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Best of 2009: Fiction
A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein (Algonquin)
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert (Scribner)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn/Putnam)
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper)
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Random House)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Holt)
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (Scribner)
Lark and Termite by Jayne Ann Phillips (Knopf
The City & The City by China Mieville (Ballantine)
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson (Knopf)

Best of 2009: Nonfiction
Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press)
Lit by Mary Karr (Harper)
Louisa May Alcott by Harriet Reisen (Holt)
Stitches by David Small (Norton)
Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder (Random House)
Googled by Ken Auletta (Penguin Press)
Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins)
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes (Pantheon)
Home Game by Michael Lewis (Norton)
The Secret Lives of Buildings by Edward Hollis (Holt/Metropolitan)

Best of 2009: Teen reads
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman (Holt)
Gateway by Sharon Shinn (Viking)
Fire by Kristin Cashore (Dial/Penguin)
Going Bovine by Libba Bray (Random House)
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Dutton)
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Simon & Schuster)
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (Houghton Mifflin)
This Full House by Virginia Euwer Wolff (HarperTeen)
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking)

Best of 2009: Middle-grade books
The Doll Shop Downstairs by Yona Zeldis McDonough (Viking)
Everything for a Dog by Ann M. Martin (Feiwel & Friends)
The Evolution of Capurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Holt)
Fortune's Folly by Deva Fagan (Holt)
Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells (Candlewick)
Lincoln Shot by Barry Denenberg (Feiwel & Friends)
The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (HarperCollins)
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (Dial/Penguin)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb/Random House)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Little, Brown)

Best of 2009: Picture books
All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane/Atheneum)
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated Tom Lichtenheld (Chronicle)
John Brown by John Hendrix (Abrams)
One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Mike Wimmer (Philomel)
Pouch by David Ezra Stein (Putnam)
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas (Beach Lane/Atheneum)
Skippyjon Jones: Lost in Spice by Judith Byron Schachner (Dutton)
The Lion & The Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown)
Trouble Gum by Matthew Cordell (Feiwel & Friends)
Willoughby & The Lion by Greg Foley (HarperCollins)

Best of 2009: Cookbooks
Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller (Artisan)
Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman (Simon & Schuster)
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child (Knopf)
Rustic Fruit Desserts by Cory Schreiber (Ten Speed)
Ten: All the Food We Love by Sheila Lukins (Workman)

Best of 2009: Audio Books
Fiction
Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster Audio)
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (Random House Audio)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Penguin Audio)
The Shawl and Rosa by Cynthia Ozick (HighBridge Audio)
The Women by T.C. Boyle (Blackstone Audio)

Nonfiction
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (Random House)
David Sedaris: Live for Your Listening Pleasure by David Sedaris (Hachette Audio)
Fool’s Gold by Gillian Tett (Tantor)
Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley (Hachette Audio)
Panic by Michael Lewis (Simon & Schuster Audio)

All Features

Exploring the wonders of the natural world

Christmas cheer

Hitting the high notes

Through an artist’s eyes

Sense of wonder: New additions to the human race

Holiday cheer from Jan Brett

Paging Santa Claus: this book’s at the top of my holiday list

Stick with your resolutions for a happier, healthier you in 2010

How to control your own purse strings

Getting and giving

Sense of Wonder: A case study in morality

Slouching toward geezerdom

BookPage Best of 2009 lists

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