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Children's & YAPicture Book

Get set for a super school year

Feature by Julie Hale

Put away the swimsuits and break out the backpacks—the first day of school is right around the corner! Read on for three totally terrific classroom tales that will help students shift gears and focus on fall. Prepare to have a straight-A school season!

BEFRIENDING THE BULLIES
Tammi Sauer’s Ginny Louise and the School Showdown is a rip-roarin’ classroom adventure that readers will love any time of the year. Chaos reigns at Truman Elementary thanks to a bad bunch of bullies. There’s Cap’n Catastrophe, a porcupine pirate; Destructo Dude, a mischievous pig; and Make-My-Day May, an outlaw raccoon. This “scowly, growly crowd” is perpetually disturbing the peace, kicking their classmates out of the sandbox and overturning bookshelves. But things change with the arrival of a new student named Ginny Louise. A happy-go-lucky hedgehog with a personality impervious to bullying, she extends friendship to the threesome and eventually wins them over. A spirit of camaraderie soon rules the school, and that calls for a celebration—a classroom hoedown, for which Ginny Louise breaks out her fiddle. Yee-haw! Lynn Munsinger’s irresistible illustrations of the Truman Elementary menagerie make this tale feel timeless. The takeaway here: Be kind to everyone—even (and especially) bullies.

END-OF-SUMMER ADJUSTMENT
Mike Wohnoutka turns the tables on the traditional back-to-school story with his fun all-ages picture book, Dad’s First Day. The summer weeks skip by for Oliver and his pop. They read books, play ball and generally pal around. On the first day of class, Oliver’s eager to go, but Dad’s dragging. He isn’t feeling well. He hides behind the couch and ducks into the closet. Oliver coaxes him out, and they drive to school at a snail’s pace. Whose first day is it, anyway? When Dad sees the fun that Oliver has in class, his anxiety ends, and he’s able to breathe easy again. As Wohnoutka demonstrates, no one is immune to first-day nerves! Providing loads of appeal, his gouache illustrations are filled with bold lines and bright colors. His playful tale is a reminder that the beginning of school is a period of adjustment for parents and pupils alike.

COURAGE IN THE CLASSROOM
A small student-to-be takes a large leap into the unknown—the classroom, of course—in Birdie’s First Day of School by Sujean Rim. First-day fears keep Birdie awake all night. She’s heard that school is “all work and no play,” with a teacher who’s “half werewolf.” When the big day arrives, she consults her dog, Monster, on important questions (what to pack in her bag, which outfit to wear) and—with encouragement from her mother—joins the other kids. She soon discovers that class is actually awesome, with new friends, fun lessons and a mind-expanding instructor (who, beyond a beard, bears no resemblance to a werewolf). That night, Birdie can’t sleep, but this time it’s because she’s too excited about school! The latest entry in Rim’s irresistible Birdie series is a visual delight, with collage-like illustrations composed of delicate watercolor washes, colored-pencil details and crayon scribblings. Class with Birdie is a blast.

Put away the swimsuits and break out the backpacks—the first day of school is right around the corner! Read on for three totally terrific classroom tales that will help students shift gears and focus on fall. Prepare to have a straight-A school season!

Mystery

Mysteries wrapped in enigmas

Feature by Tom Corcoran

The best mysteries, these days, go beyond mind puzzles and character studies to remote, unique locales and to a spectrum of lifestyles. This month we visit Hawaii, Alaska, England, and Southern California. Nowhere do we find plain settings or run-of-the-mill personalities.

Dana Stabenow's ninth Kate Shugak book, Hunter's Moon, pits boardroom treachery against the elements and occupants of Alaska's wilderness. Alaska regulates those who lead tourists to big game. Shugak is a resourceful 34-year-old native Aleut with a Class A Assistant guide's license and a dislike of cellular phones. For the first time in years, she finds herself close to romantic commitment, with former fellow Anchorage D.A. investigator and, now, fellow guide Jack Morgan. Kate and Jack help staff a hunting lodge leased by the nine-man, one-woman management team of a German software company. The firm's executive retreat, perhaps in response to international rumors of financial misdeeds, turns into an intramural range war with two accidental deaths and an abundance of motives and suspects. To survive the battle – especially after Jack is injured – Kate must summon deep survival instincts and backcountry knowledge, and use the wilderness as her best ally.

Perfect for fans of historical mysteries, Search the Dark, by Charles Todd, is a fine surprise for those accustomed to current-day plots. World War I changed everyone in England, throwing into turmoil the lives of surviving soldiers and those who awaited their return. Political and financial power changed the least. Even outside sophisticated London, power struggles and battles of jealousy and revenge lead to murder. The battered body of a young woman is found in a field. A distraught veteran is arrested. Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge, who also suffers post-war trauma, senses that the hurried case closure indicates a flawed investigation. Trespassing on local jurisdiction, charmed by a female suspect, Rutledge must travel village to country village to coax information from reluctant and conniving citizens. Then another body is found. Assisted by the voice in his head, words of a comrade who failed to return from war, Rutledge must unravel unspoken rules of social hierarchy and decipher clues from gossip. There are plenty of suspects; perhaps the wrong man sits in jail. Shell shock is real in the hunter and the hunted. Suspense holds to the final page.

Marcia Muller's 20th Sharon McCone mystery, A Walk Through the Fire is as fresh as any Muller effort. McCone is summoned to Hawaii where friend Glenna Stanleigh's film-in-progress is suffering mishaps aimed at shutting down production. This film, like previous Stanleigh documentaries intended to fight prejudice, is based on an unpublished manuscript on Hawaiian culture written by a wealthy man who vanished in 1992. McCone and longtime lover Hy Ripinsky arrive in Hawaii to a familial civil war and threat of terrorist action by a group inspired more by drugs than native rights. An attempted murder, a witnessed murder, and a bizarre suicide change the nature of McCone's investigation. Her attraction to a local helicopter pilot (and friend of the missing author) strains her relationship with Ripinsky. A web of financial treachery, greed, and grandiose plans must be untangled to dodge danger and survive.

In Heartbreaker, Robert Ferrigno's fifth mystery, there is no honor among thieves. Only distrust and layers of triple-cross. Ferrigno's characters inhabit the edges; night stars are the spilled milk of the Milky Way. In this high-octane interplay of scammers and the wealthy in sad tuxedos, separate agendas weave a tangle of lies, greed, violence, and misused intelligence. Contract hits, public taunts, and jokes in the face of death prove that Ferrigno's disaffected characters could be Elmore Leonard's. They spout the bizarre dialogue of Robert Crais's blase low-lifes; the most evil possess the twisted minds of James Ellroy's noir felons. This one works.

 

Tom Corcoran is the Florida-based author of The Mango Opera (St. Martin's) and the forthcoming Gumbo Limbo.

The best mysteries, these days, go beyond mind puzzles and character studies to remote, unique locales and to a spectrum of lifestyles. This month we visit Hawaii, Alaska, England, and Southern California. Nowhere do we find plain settings or run-of-the-mill personalities.

Dana Stabenow's ninth…

NonfictionParenting

Advice for parents: back off

Feature by Amy Scribner

The era of helicopter parenting is officially over, if this new crop of parenting books is any indication. Gone are the days of tracking your child’s every move and fighting her every battle.The focus now is on preparing children for the real world by letting them venture out and even—gasp!—make mistakes. 

In How to Raise an Adult, former Stanford dean Julie Lythcott-Haims argues that we are so focused on our children that “what they eat, how they dress, what activities they pursue [and] what they achieve have be- come a reflection of us. Of how we see ourselves. Like their life is our accomplishment. Like their failures are our fault.”

In her years as Dean of Fresh- men at Stanford, Lythcott-Haims watched as parents encroached on their children’s collegiate pursuits, showing up for social events and contacting professors. She once saw a woman in her mid-20s walking around campus, looking for the engineering building. How did Lythcott-Haims know? Because the mother of this Ph.D. candidate was doing all the talking. It’s a wonder parents haven’t moved into the dorms.

How to Raise an Adult is a bit of a manifesto, and I mean that in the best way. Lay off the Adderall, stop fretting that the Ivy League is the only route to success and let your children have unstructured time to dream, play and do nothing. Raising an adult, Lythcott-Haims posits, means letting go.

UN-ENTITLERS
With chapters titled “They’re Not Helpless” and “Overcontrol,” parenting expert Amy McCready makes clear starting with the table of contents that she finds overparenting to be underwhelm- ing. In The Me, Me, Me Epidemic, McCready, who founded Positive Parenting Solu- tions, dishes out advice in a crisply no-nonsense tone on everything from peer-pressure-proofing your kids to navigating social media.

“If we dish out empty praise and lavish rewards for the type of behavior that should be expected (such as not pitching a fit because we won’t buy them a new action figure or not making rude noises in a restaurant) we’re writing a recipe for an entitled child, one who thinks he takes ‘special to a whole new level,’ ” McCready writes. McCready offers tools she calls “Un-Entitlers,” which are like vitamins to instill capability in children. My favorite is Mind, Body and Soul Time, in which parents give an uninterrupted 10 or 20 minutes to their children and let the kids choose what they do together. It’s simple and surprisingly effective.

LIVE AND LEARN
I have a son entering middle school this fall, so The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey was a gift to me. With common-sense advice on how to stand back and let your children learn through their mistakes—including an entire chapter on navigating the hormone-drenched middle school years—this book is one of my new favorite parenting manuals.

Lahey is a warm, engaging writer who spent years in the trenches as a middle school Latin and English teacher. She advocates a lovingly hands-off approach that instills confidence from an early age.

“As adults we all have our own bullies to deal with: mean bosses, vicious enemies, and jealous peers,” she writes. “How your kid learns to deal with those people in their childhood, when failure means a day or two of hurt feelings or social exclusion, can mean the difference between a thin skin and a strong sense of self.”

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
Forget gimmicky baby toys—all your child really needs is you. Vanderbilt University child development researcher Stephen Camarata offers an antidote to all the products marketed to guilt-rid- den parents in The Intuitive Parent. “What does a baby really need to know?” he writes. “That his parents love him, will take care of him, and will encourage him and empower him to learn. This does not require special videos, special toys, special DVDs or computer programs.”

Camarata starts with a fascinating section on the science behind child development. (How many au- thors can make something called brain plasticity interesting? Very few.) Then it gets even better, as Camarata lays out his case for why parents need not obsess over every developmental milestone, instead focusing on what he calls intuitive parenting, simply enjoying your child and reacting to his activities. The father of seven children, Camarata blends research and experience to create a parenting book that lets parents off the hook.

SUCCESSFUL STARTERS
The co-authors of Raising Can-Do Kids are perhaps an unlikely duo—Jen Prosek is a public relations executive and Richard Rende is a developmental psychologist. But the partnership works. Raising Can-Do Kids is both interesting and actionable, written from the points of view of someone who under- stands development and someone else who understands what skills it takes to make a great entrepreneur. Together, they identify seven traits that entrepreneurs need (curiosity and risk-taking are among them) and show parents how to cultivate these qualities in their children.

Perhaps most intriguing is their exploration of snowplow parents, who are apparently helicopter parents on steroids. As they write, snowplow parents “don’t just try to control a child’s environment and experiences but overtly eliminate perceived obstacles in a child’s path. Requesting that a specific child not be in your child’s class is one thing; demanding to review the class roster is quite another.” Makes that Stanford mom seem almost reasonable, doesn’t it? 

RELATED CONTENT: Read a Q&A with Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of How To Raise an Adult.

This article was originally published in the August 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The era of helicopter parenting is officially over, if this new crop of parenting books is any indication. Gone are the days of tracking your child’s every move and fighting her every battle.The focus now is on preparing children for the real world by letting them venture out and even—gasp!—make mistakes.
Romance

Cowboy, take me away

Feature by Lois Dyer

Who doesn’t love a handsome guy wearing boots, jeans and a cowboy hat? There’s something romantic—and sexy!—about that iconic American image. This month, we’re featuring four heroes who epitomize the lure of cowboys for romance readers.

With more than 50 best-selling novels under her belt, author Johanna Lindsey returns readers to the American West with Wildfire In His Arms. Her latest novel features Degan Grant, whom readers met in One Heart To Win. The mysterious gunslinger is heading for California when a U.S. Marshal calls in a favor. Helping his friend sets Degan on a collision course with outlaw Max Dawson. Catching Max is the beginning of a most unusual journey, however, when Degan discovers that “Max” is really Maxine. The circumstances surrounding the beautiful blonde’s alleged crimes are highly suspect, and before long, Degan finds himself more protector than captor.

Try as she might at first, Max can’t escape Degan—but soon, she doesn’t really want to flee. She’s not the only one trying to outrun problems, however, for Degan has his own ghosts. How can two people with so many unresolved issues plan to build a future together? Can they hope for anything beyond surviving the dangerous present?

Practical, resourceful Maxie is a perfect match for the dangerous Degan. He’s never met a woman quite like her, and she’s never before found a man she can trust. Lindsey deftly paints the western setting with a sure hand as a backdrop to Degan and Maxie’s love story, which is fraught with danger and action. There are also many tender, heartwarming moments, which all adds up to a wonderful, satisfying read.

TO LOVE A COWBOY
Oregon author Maisey Yates continues her Copper Ridge novels with Bad News Cowboy, the third installment in the popular series. Kate Garrett grew up with no mother, two brothers and an emotionally unavailable father. She’s capable, confident and accustomed to working with men, but has never been romantically interested in anyone. Until her brothers’ best friend and her childhood protector, Jack Monaghan, suddenly makes her feel restless in a way no one has before. But Jack is a heartbreaker who has never offered a woman anything more than a night of mutual pleasure. What chance does Kate have with a man who openly enjoys women but rejects anything hinting at a permanent relationship?

Unbeknownst to Kate, Jack is struggling to cope with the same issue. It isn’t until they share an unexpected kiss that the simmering attraction between them flares out of control. Now they have to find a way to balance their loyalty to Kate’s brothers with the undeniable pull of overwhelming sexual attraction.

There is much to like about this latest novel from Yates. The setting is vivid, the secondary characters charming, and the plot has depth and interesting twists. But it is the hero and heroine who truly drive this story. Readers will be fully absorbed in Kate and Jack’s struggle to come to grips with emotional scars that block their ability to love. Fortunately for romance fans, the ending is everything they could wish for.

MONTANA MYSTERY
New York Times best-selling author B.J. Daniels continues her Montana Hamiltons series with Lone Rider. Set in Montana’s rugged mountain ranch country, this novel continues the story of Senator Buck Hamilton’s family. The lovely Bo Hamilton manages a family philanthropic foundation for her father, the Senator. When she learns that thousands of dollars are missing, she immediately hires an independent auditor. While waiting for his report, she rides into the mountains for an overnight camping trip in search of peace and quiet. She never expected to be taken captive by a crazed, dangerous man.

When Bo doesn’t return home when promised, rancher Jace Calder agrees to search for her. He and Bo have quite the history—they’d dated, he’d proposed, and she’d backed out of the wedding. Although he would never admit it, he has never stopped loving her. Now, he’ll have to risk his life in order to keep them both alive.

This excellent romantic mystery has lots of twists and turns, with more than one tangled knot to unravel. The setting in Montana’s backcountry is vivid and realistic, the villains edgy and evil, and the romance between Jace and Bo emotionally satisfying. Readers will thoroughly enjoy this much-anticipated installment in the Hamilton family saga.

A HELPING HAND 
Best-selling inspirational romance author Debra Clopton delivers a charming new novel in her Four Of Hearts Ranch series, Counting On A Cowboy.

Abby Knightly badly needs a change of scenery, so she packs her belongings and heads for Wishing Springs, Texas. Night has fallen; she’s tired and barely five miles from her destination when she nearly runs into a steer and a cowboy. Terrified, she runs her car into a ditch.

Rancher Bo Monahan literally catches Abby when she staggers out of her wrecked vehicle and faints, and he finds himself reluctant to let her go. Which is why she’s with him the next day when he finds a baby on his front porch—a baby with a note that says the little boy named Levi belongs to him. Stunned, Bo hasn’t a clue what to do with the child. Fortunately, Abby seems to know how to cuddle and calm the sobbing baby. Despite knowing Bo is a confirmed bachelor, Abby is drawn to him in ways that may endanger her heart. But Abby can’t turn her back on the struggling new father and his son. Soon, caring for Levi has these two damaged people, each with dark pasts, pondering whether they might share a future filled with love.

Readers will cheer for Bo and Abby as the couple struggles to overcome their fearrs. The secondary characters add color and humor to the story, and fans of this series will thoroughly enjoy this latest novel from Clopton.

Lois Dyer writes from Port Orchard, Washington

Who doesn’t love a handsome guy wearing boots, jeans and a cowboy hat? There’s something romantic—and sexy!—about that iconic American image. This month, we’re featuring four heroes who epitomize the lure of cowboys for romance readers.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Picture books and the power of imagination

Feature by Julie Hale

No doubt about it—there’s a direct connection between dreaming and doing. Three new picture books prove the imagination is a mighty tool, indeed. We may be living in the digital age, but as these books demonstrate, good old-fashioned make-believe never goes out of style.

CHASING DOWN A DREAM
Persistence pays off in Brian Pinkney’s inspiring On the Ball. Owen is having a less-than-stellar day at soccer practice. A fall on the field gets him sent to the bench, and then, to make matters worse, he fails to keep the ball from bouncing away. Owen chases it across a stream and into some bushes, where—imagining himself as a cat—he’s primed to pounce on it. But he can’t stop the ball on its mad journey, and his pursuit turns into an unforgettable adventure. When at last he reclaims the ball and zips back to the soccer field, Owen discovers he has new skills (“It was like his feet had wings”), and he always—always—watches the ball. Featuring minimalist lines amped up with washes of watercolor, Pinkney’s less-is-more illustrations of Owen on the run are wonderfully kinetic. As his story shows, determination and imagination are winning traits for a team player. Goooaaal!

CONCOTING THE PERFECT PLOT
A little make-believe saves the day in Nicola O’Byrne’s clever Use Your Imagination. Rabbit is bored: “I wish something would happen,” he says, and straightaway Wolf appears. Although his big green eyes and sinister grin indicate otherwise, Wolf says he’s a librarian (indeed!) and thus an expert in the art of storytelling. Despite this not-quite-credible claim, Rabbit agrees to Wolf’s plan of making up a fairy tale, complete with the requisite plot elements: a forest, a hero (Rabbit himself) and a villain (guess who). To this traditional scenario Rabbit adds a few surprises, including a huge pink elephant, but his ideas are quickly nixed by Wolf, who has his own plot in mind. An unhappy ending seems imminent until Rabbit outsmarts Wolf—using his imagination, of course! O’Byrne depicts the duo’s test of wits in lively, colorful mixed-media illustrations. Her delightful tale is a testament to the power of pretending.

CREATIVITY REALLY COUNTS
Faye Hanson’s The Wonder features a small boy with a big imagination. Fascinated by the world around him, the young lad is easily distracted. At the park, he wanders onto the grass and gets scolded by the groundskeeper. At school, he’s warned about daydreaming. But when art period rolls around and he’s urged by the teacher to use his imagination, the boy is in his element. On paper, he creates a fantastical realm where anything is possible (and walking on the grass is encouraged). There’s a flying car piloted by a pair of rabbits and a marching band composed of polar bears. What will this artist-in-the-making dream up next? His artwork earns the teacher’s praise and makes his parents proud. Hanson renders the everyday world in browns, tans and beiges, the better to play up the energy and sparkle of the boy’s imaginings, which brim with color. Her marvelous mixed-media spreads make this a book that lives up to its title.

No doubt about it—there’s a direct connection between dreaming and doing. Three new picture books prove the imagination is a mighty tool, indeed. We may be living in the digital age, but as these books demonstrate, good old-fashioned make-believe never goes out of style.

Romance

Romance with a twist of faith

Feature by Lois Dyer

Triumph and tragedy, love and betrayal, danger and sacrifice—the powerful emotions packed within inspirational-themed romance novels are sure to bring hours of reading pleasure. So curl up in your favorite chair and settle in for a most excellent reading adventure tinged with the spiritual.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE
With her latest novel, Ties That Bind, New York Times and Christian Booksellers Association best-selling author Cindy Woodsmall begins a new series, The Amish of Summer Grove. Wise and compassionate, lovely Ariana Brenneman is determined to find a man to build a family with, and she believes Rudy may be that person. Still, she’s never been able to forget, nor forgive, her childhood love, Quill Schlabach. When Quill left their Amish community to live in the outside world, he broke her heart and shattered her dreams. She can’t seem to fully recover.

Quill has never stopped loving Ariana, but his convictions demanded he reject the strict rules of the Amish world. Worse yet in Ariana’s eyes, he feels called to aid other Amish who want to leave the community. He knows Ariana will never be able to forgive him for his actions. He also knows that she is a woman who cannot—and will not—leave her Amish community.

While Quill and Ariana tread carefully through the minefield that is their non-relationship, her parents receive shocking news. They need Quill’s help, and what they learn will forever impact Ariana’s life.

Woodsmall’s depiction of Amish life feels true, and Quill and Ariana’s struggle to come to grips with their feelings for each other and their place in the bigger world is absorbing. Readers will cheer for these two honorable, dedicated characters and impatiently await the next installment in this new series.

LOVE DURING WARTIME
Kate Breslin’s sophomore novel, Not By Sight, is a wonderful historical tale set in 1917 England. The British are caught up in World War I, and wealthy suffragette Grace Mabry is determined to make a contribution to the war effort. She plots to expose men avoiding military service, but she mistakenly assumes the handsome Earl of Stonebrooke, Jack Benningham, is a malingerer. However, he is actually a spy working on the home front. There is an instant spark of attraction during their first meeting, which is all too brief. Months later, they find each other again when Grace is assigned to a work crew at one of Jack’s family estates. Jack has been injured and is recovering at the beautiful country home.

Circumstance and attraction draw them together, and Grace and Jack both struggle with their feelings. A dark cloud of suspicion hanging over Grace complicates their situation, and Jack will have to unravel a sinister plot, uncovering lies and betrayal to find the real enemy. It’s by no means certain that they will find a way to defeat evil forces and reach a happy future together.

Breslin’s research and attention to historical detail is impeccable. Britain in 1917 comes alive with lush landscapes, colorful period costumes and cultural references. The hero and heroine are compelling, their romance emotionally satisfying and the plot absorbing. Readers of historical romance will thoroughly enjoy this tale set in “Downton Abbey”-era surroundings.

A SEASON FOR CHANGE
Best-selling author Lynn Morris transports readers to Regency England in her latest novel, A Sapphire Season. Lady Mirabella Tirel is the daughter of a Marquess and has led an idyllic life. She has a warm, loving, supportive family and when she decides to spend the Season in London, determined to find a husband, she’s accompanied by her three best friends. One of those friends is neighbor Sir Gyles Knyvet, a Baronet, who feels far more than friendship for Mirabella. Gyles is in love with her, but due to his family’s tenuous financial circumstances, he feels unable to declare his feelings.

The three begin the social whirl that makes up the British social elite’s Season. Mirabella makes a list of possible suitors, but the list gradually grows smaller as each name is eliminated. As the weeks slip by, the four friends find themselves gaining a different perspective and discovering new things about themselves and each other. But will Mirabella’s new view of Gyles come too late to guarantee a happy ending for the couple?

This novel is absolutely charming, with witty dialogue, honorable and intelligent characters and a character-driven plot that will thoroughly engage readers. Fans of Julia Quinn will enjoy this lovely tale.

Lois Dyer writes from Port Orchard, Washington. 

Triumph and tragedy, love and betrayal, danger and sacrifice—the powerful emotions packed within inspirational-themed romance novels are sure to bring hours of reading pleasure. So curl up in your favorite chair and settle in for a most excellent reading adventure tinged with the spiritual.
Children's & YAPicture Book

What’s better than books about books?

Feature by Lynn Beckwith

It seems I have been reading about the death of the printed book for half my life. And still we keep reading real books and writing about them, too. And now I find myself picking up so many wonderful picture books in which the main character is a book. It’s enough to bring a tear to this book lover’s eye and a smile to teachers and librarians everywhere.

A BOY FINDS HIS BOOK
One intriguing new book feels good to read. Its red cover and faux linen spine harkens back to the days when picture book covers were plain, with little more that the title and author on the cover. Perhaps that’s where the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” comes from. The cover of The Good Little Book does have googly eyes and the hint of a smile inside the word “good,” but that’s it. It’s just a book. If you want to know more, you’re going to have to open the cover. Canadians Kyo Maclear and Marion Arbona must have had a ball with this one, imagining a bad little boy, sent to the book-filled study to “think things over.” This is not a book-loving boy, either, at least not until he reads The Good Little Book.

Wildly imaginative, colorful gouache and pencil illustrations and fabulous storylines amaze the boy so much that he finishes the book, and turns right back to the beginning and reads it again. And again. The book is the boy’s constant companion for months, until it is lost. He imagines the worst and searches for the book everywhere, even putting up posters and looking in the library.  Eventually, he “opens up to other stories,” which is just what a good book does. I'm not usually given to fables about books, but I'll make an exception for this little treasure and will read it aloud over and over, knowing its humor will lead many children to find their very own special book.

THE JOY OF LIBRARIES
Another book about books, this time a compilation of poems, is Jumping Off Library Shelves. It’s hard to say what’s more delightful, Jane Manning’s warm, watery gouache and pencil illustrations or the 15 carefully chosen poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Just when I think I have found a favorite, I turn the page and the next poem tugs at my heart. In the middle is Hopkins' lovely tribute to Augusta Baker, the groundbreaking African-American librarian who was heralded for her storytelling skills. Turn the page and smile to find a red-faced girl lifting a heavy dictionary, the perfect accompaniment to Deborah Ruddell’s "Dictionary Dare," which ends with the delicious “Raise me above your head / fell the quiet weight / of words.” This beautiful volume belongs in every library. Children and adults will find the poems easy to love and easy to memorize.

NARRATIVE FREEDOM
Young readers often want to write their own stories. And why not? It looks so easy! Rebecca Kai Dotlich teams up with illustrator Fred Koehler in One Day, The End: Short, Very Short, Shorter-Than-Ever Stories for a humorous but clever look at children’s storytelling. Any parent who has asked, “What happened today?” will recognize their child between the pages of this book. The first “story” is, “One day . . . I went to school. I came home. The End.” The “stories” continue with every page turn: The beginning and end are there, but the middle is missing, much like many a story in an early elementary writing classroom. While a teacher might tease out the middle of a classroom story, the illustrator provides all the details in his humorous, action-packed digital drawings. One can imagine teachers reading this book aloud and encouraging students to slow down and really explore the illustrations, catching details and nuance along the way. Beginning writers and storytellers are often told by their flabbergasted teachers, “You need more details in your story.” This picture book will allow the young writer to really understand what a detail is and how to add it to her stories.

It seems I have been reading about the death of the printed book for half my life. And still we keep reading real books and writing about them, too. And now I find myself picking up so many wonderful picture books in which the main character is a book. It’s enough to bring a tear to this book lover’s eye and a smile to teachers and librarians everywhere.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Spine-tinglers for the spookiest time of year

Feature by Julie Hale

The phrase “scared silly” takes on new meaning in these madcap tales of witches and monsters. Filled with mischievous fun, these thrilling Halloween reads will leave little readers shrieking—with laughter. Happy haunting!

WITCH VS. WEATHER
Halloween magic gets out of hand in Rebecca Colby’s It’s Raining Bats & Frogs. Delia, an adorable little sorceress, is excited about the annual Witch Parade until signs of rain dampen her spirits. When a full-on downpour soaks her broom-riding sisters, she takes matters into her own hands. Chanting an incantation, she transforms the raindrops into dogs and cats—a switch that goes hilariously haywire. Next, she summons a shower of hats and clogs, followed by bats and frogs, but her spells go awry every time. In the end, Delia realizes that rain is fine—even fitting—for parade day. Illustrator Steven Henry enlivens the witches’ wacky story with detail-filled drawings of marching scarecrows, juggling skeletons and horn-tooting ghosts, all of whom take part in the parade. As Delia learns the hard way, Halloween weather—like her magic spells—brings both tricks and treats!

THERE’S NOTHING TO FEAR
Sam Garton continues the adventures of Otter and her grown-up guardian, Otter Keeper, with the sweet seasonal treat, Otter Loves Halloween. Yes, Otter is excited about October 31, and it’s easy to see why! Preparations for the ghostly evening include a pumpkin-buying excursion (followed by Otter Keeper’s puzzlement over the carving process) and the hanging of decorations (glow-in-the-dark spider webs get stuck where they shouldn’t). Finally, it’s dress-up time. Otter dons a witch’s hat and cloak, and her stuffed pals Teddy and Giraffe get special costumes of their own. But when the trick-or-treaters arrive, Otter is terrified. She hides under the bed until Otter Keeper coaxes her out with an ingenious idea that sets her fears to rest. There’s lots to love about this delightful look at Halloween through Otter’s eyes. Her gentle personality shines through on every page, thanks to Garton’s genius digital illustrations. This is a great way to introduce young readers to the holiday.

READY, SET, SCARE!
A cute—and creepy—group of mischief-makers plans hijinks for Halloween in Ethan Long’s Fright Club. Vladimir the Vampire, Fran K. Stein, Sandy Witch and the rest of the Fright Club gang convene in their clubhouse to prepare for Operation Kiddie Scare. They review the traits of successful monsters (“ghoulish faces, scary moves, chilling sounds”), but their collective shock factor is a little low (to these guys, “scary moves” means ’70s disco steps). When their meeting is crashed by a timid-looking contingent of forest creatures who want to join the club, Vladimir scoffs and denies them entry. But the animals soon prove they’re skilled at being scary, and the two groups join forces for the spookiest Halloween the block has ever seen. Long depicts these eerie antics in black-and-white pencil drawings overlaid with classic monster-movie hues—sepia browns, sickly greens, macabre blues and purples. There’s plenty of fright-night fun to be had with his batty tale.

The phrase “scared silly” takes on new meaning in these madcap tales of witches and monsters. Filled with mischievous fun, these thrilling Halloween reads will leave little readers shrieking—with laughter. Happy haunting!

Fiction

Tales that pack a powerful punch

Feature by Michael Magras

Some people would have you believe that short stories are the literary equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues, a place to hone your skills until you’re ready for a bigger and more prestigious stage. But as masters such as Alice Munro have proven, a great short story is no less of an achievement than a great novel.

These four collections demonstrate that a new generation of authors is happy to experiment with the possibilities of the short form.

The most audacious collection here is Only the Animals by the South African and Australian writer Ceridwen Dovey. How’s this for a daring conceit: Each story is written from the perspective of an animal killed in a conflict wrought by humans. And an author appears in almost every narrative.

A cat owned by Colette escapes from the author’s car and witnesses horrors on the front lines in France during World War I. Chimpanzees in Germany who are being trained to adopt human characteristics become more refined even as food rationing dehumanizes men and women. A dolphin born into captivity writes to Sylvia Plath, “a human writer who meant something to me,” to explain the circumstances by which the dolphin performed echolocation activities for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program.

Seeing events through an animal’s eyes gives us an outsider’s perspective on major events in recent history, including atrocities like the rise of Nazi Germany and the wars in the Middle East. In forcing us to do so, Dovey suggests that some animals have a capacity for empathy that humans would do well to emulate.

RUSSIAN JEWELS
The Tsar of Love and Techno is an intricately structured and powerful collection. These interconnected stories set in Russia span more than 70 years. They begin with the tale of Roman Markin, a “correction artist” who works for the Department of Party Propaganda and Agitation. His job is to airbrush images of political dissenters out of photographs and paintings. One of the dissenters is his younger brother, Vaska.

In memory of his brother, Roman draws tiny portraits of Vaska in the pictures he censors, including a photo of a ballerina who looks like Vaska’s widow and a painting of a dacha in a pasture. The painting links tales of the ballerina’s granddaughter, a telephone operator at a nickel combine who wins the Miss Siberia pageant and marries the 14th richest man in Russia; a former deputy art director who, after the 1999 bombing of Chechnya, is forced to become head of the Chechen Tourist Bureau; and a soldier who carries a mix tape his brother gave him before his first tour of duty.

This collection showcases Marra’s wit and his gift for unforgettable details, such as when a soldier fires a round into the earth to loosen it before he digs a grave. Some characters are capable of great brutality, whereas others are capable of declaring that no invention is “more humane, more elegant, more generous” than the wheelchair ramp. The Tsar of Love and Techno is the work of an elegant and generous writer. 

EVERYDAY PROBLEMS
Lauren Holmes’ debut, Barbara the Slut and Other People, is lighter fare than the previous books, but don’t equate light with inconsequential. Holmes’ deceptively breezy stories focus on women grappling with sexual politics and make important observations about challenges faced by millennials.

A 20-year-old woman from Los Angeles travels to Acapulco to see her distant mother and to announce that she’s a lesbian. “Mike Anonymous” is a quietly devastating story of a woman who works at a clinic that helps people with sexually transmitted diseases, and of a married Japanese man convinced that he’s HIV positive. And in the title story, a high school senior applies to Princeton and struggles to lose the reputation she earned several times over in 11th grade.

Holmes, whose work has appeared in outlets like Granta and Guernica, has a keen ear for dialogue and a sharp memory for the high school life, as proven in the description of a student who “removed her retainer with her tongue and spit it onto her desk every time she was about to say something in class.” Barbara the Slut contains surprisingly tender depictions of love and family, which show that you should never judge a book by its title.

HOME TO KANSAS
Andrew Malan Milward focuses on the rich history of his home state of Kansas in his second collection, I Was a Revolutionary. Milward’s hometown of Lawrence has been the site of significant moments in American history, including pro-slavery guerrillas’ 1863 massacre of abolitionists—the largest act of domestic terrorism until the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He recreates many such historical moments in these stories.

The protagonist of “The Burning of Lawrence,” which chronicles the 1863 killings, is the Confederate guerrilla fighter William Quantrill. “The Americanist,” a modern-day story about a gay couple, invokes John Romulus Brinkley, the “Goat Gland Doctor” of the 1920s who injected goat testicles into men to improve their virility. “What Is to Be Done?” presents the eccentric sculptor Samuel Perry Dinsmoor, a retired teacher who, in later years, was known to lecture about socialism to a roomful of invisible students.

Milward’s habit of providing excessive historical detail diminishes the tension at times, but when he minimizes background information, as he does in the brilliant title piece, the results are compelling. There are lovely, unexpected touches: A pro-slavery fighter in “The Burning of Lawrence” trashes an abolitionist’s home, but pauses long enough to play the family’s organ with “long-dormant familiarity.” 

Throughout the book, Milward makes astute observations about politics, not only about the political climate of past eras but also of our own—a rarity in contemporary American fiction.

Who says short-story writers occupy a low rung on the literary hierarchy? As these collections prove, great short fiction not only is its own major league but also boasts an impressive lineup that any contingent would envy.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Some people would have you believe that short stories are the literary equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues, a place to hone your skills until you’re ready for a bigger and more prestigious stage. But as masters such as Alice Munro have proven, a great short story is no less of an achievement than a great novel. These four collections demonstrate that a new generation of authors is happy to experiment with the possibilities of the short form.
Romance

Tricks and treats in romance

Feature by Lois Dyer

It’s October, which means it’s time for spooky, sexy, supernatural romances in the spirit of Halloween. These three titles have enough romantic danger, mayhem and eeriness to satisfy the most demanding paranormal romance reader. Settle into your favorite comfy chair and enjoy!

SOUTHERN BLOODSUCKERS
Author Sandra Hill delivers the next installment in her Deadly Angels series with Even Vampires Get the Blues. This time, it’s Harek Sigurdsson’s turn to meet his life mate. The sexy vampire-angel and once-upon-a-time Viking is shocked and far from happy when he’s slammed with the scent of roses—the bonding scent—the moment his hand clasps that of Navy SEAL Camille Dumaine. He’s not ready to be mated, not even when the female is as enticing as Camille.

Camille is equally as uninterested in falling in love. However, the brilliant and sexy computer geek is assigned to an upcoming mission with her, so Camille has no choice but to spend time with him. But before the SEAL mission begins, Harek is ordered to accompany Camille to New Orleans, where her brother’s wedding is taking place. The festivities throw the two together, and given the heated attraction between them, intimacy is a foregone conclusion.

Their visit to New Orleans is over all too soon, however, and they must complete the dangerous assignment in Nigeria that originally brought them together. When an ambush surprises the SEAL team, Harek’s worst nightmare becomes reality: Just when he can admit he loves Camille, he may lose her forever.

This latest entry in the Deadly Angel series showcases the author’s talent for humorous dialogue, hot sexual tension, charming heroes, strong heroines and endearing secondary characters. Readers will relish this latest book and look forward to the next in the series with anticipation.

SCOTS MAGIC
​Best-selling author Terri Brisbin lures readers back to the Orkney Islands and 1286 AD in Raging Sea, part of her Stone Circles series. Landholder Soren Thorson and sea merchant’s daughter Ran Sveinsdottir grew up together in Orphir, a village on the windswept Orkney mainland off the northern coast of Scotland. Treachery tore them and their families apart, but now Ran has returned to Orphir. During the voyage home, she discovers a startling affinity for the water. The sea calls to her, welcomes her—and obeys her commands. Amazed and confused, she seeks an explanation from Soren’s wise grandfather, only to discover that the elderly gentleman has recently died. She is determined to avoid Soren, but when she learns he has tapped into a deep connection with the wind, storms and lightning, they agree to seek answers about their strange new powers together.

Soren and Ran soon learn that they’ve been called to defend humans from the terrifying threat of an ancient goddess. Imprisoned centuries prior for her crimes against humans, the goddess schemes to return and take vengeance. Only Soren and Ran, together with their allies, can stop her. But will they gain control of their newfound powers quickly enough to defeat the evil goddess and her minions? Or will humankind be erased from the earth in a wave of rage and death?

The setting for this supernatural tale of gods and goddesses is unique and intriguing, as are the creative legends supporting the plot. The hero and heroine are each strong and honorable, both in their dealings with each other and their answering of the call of destiny. 

CHICAGO'S VAMPIRE TOWN
Author Cat Devon brings her readers a spooky tale set in the world of Chicago’s Vamptown with Tall, Dark And Immortal. Reporter Keira Turner is still reeling from the discovery that her deceased grandfather was a vampire hunter when she confronts gorgeous detective Alex Sanchez. The entry in her grandfather’s journal is clear: “Seek out vampire Alex Sanchez in the Chicago Police Department. Trouble is coming.”

Alex is stunned by Keira’s story. Her grandfather was known as The Executioner, a legend among vampires. He doesn’t know whether the beautiful brunette is a serious threat or not, but he does know that she’s trouble—she could expose the existence of vampires to humans. Not to mention the fact that Keira carries The Executioner’s genetic code and bloodline. However, despite her grandfather’s legacy, Alex quickly discovers that she’s his mate—a detail he plans to keep hidden for as long as possible.

Unable to ascertain Keira’s true agenda, Alex takes her hostage, but it soon becomes clear that someone wants her dead. Is it the rival Gold Coast vampires or someone in Alex’s own group? What does Keira know that makes her a target? And is it connected to her investigation into a series of blood bank thefts?

The elements of the universe created by Devon are intriguing, and readers will enjoy the vampire-versus-vampire tension as both groups vie for dominance. Paired with the Chicago setting, this tale has an old-school, gangsters and cops vibe while still maintaining a contemporary feel.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington.

It’s October, which means it’s time for spooky, sexy, supernatural romances in the spirit of Halloween. These three title have enough romantic danger, mayhem and eeriness to satisfy the most demanding paranormal romance reader. Settle into your favorite comfy chair and enjoy!
Food & DrinkCookbooks

Reading to leave you shaken and stirred

Feature by Eve Zibart

Americans discover, and rediscover, trends in drinking just as they do in dining. A few years ago, the holidays were afloat in variously erudite or encouraging tomes on wine-tastings, great regions and terroirs, and beginners’ ways to “express” beverage flavors, not to mention a slew of wine guides especially for women.

Then the evangelicals of beer hopped up to defend that equally ancient and venerable tonic, followed by the prophets of whiskeys, shrubs and, well, tonics. Not to mention the numerous re-inventors of the cocktail.

All this alcohol-inspired abundance may explain why beverage experts are looking more into niche and novelty approaches this year.

PROPOSE A TOAST
Paul Dickson has written 65 nonfiction books on a variety of subjects, including cocktailing and toasting, language and baseball—often in combination (i.e., a history of drinking in baseball). Dickson’s latest, Contraband Cocktails: How America Drank When It Wasn’t Supposed To, began as a fascination with Prohibition-era recipe books that along the way naturally snowballed into an engaging discourse on classic cocktails replete with trivia, recipes, a list of -alcohol-related slang of the period and a fair amount of Golden-Era literary and celebrity gossip. As Dickson points out, the years of Prohibition coincided with some of the most flamboyant drinking in literature and on Broadway and the Silver Screen (think The Great Gatsby and W.C. Fields). 

Although not exactly unknown, the asides are entertaining: Henry Craddock, who fled Prohibition Manhattan for London and compiled the still-revered Savoy Cocktail Book, told an interviewer in 1926 that he was then mixing up at least 280 cocktails—a number that did not include juleps, fizzes, punches, highballs, etc. Dickson defends the use of vodka in the Bloody Mary, though he does dispense with the common misconception that it has anything to do with the onetime Queen, and goes with the often-disputed version of the drink having been created at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. (A disproportionate number of famous bartenders and recipe writers were named Harry, possibly giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “hair of the dog.”) 

THE PUN'S THE THING
More self-consciously “literary” is a stocking stuffer for unrepentant punsters (actually, the sort of entertainment that used to be found in the bathrooms of the well-read). In Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas, populist Shakespeare professors Caroline Bicks and Michelle Ephraim have pulled out all the stoppers, condensing the plots of the Bard’s plays into “riotous prose” and then naming slightly twisted cocktails for long-suffering characters. Consider the Lady Macbeth’s G-Spot (something like a Lear-ing bastard offshoot of a whiskey sour and a Rob Roy); Much Ado About Frothing (pisco sour with heart-shaped sprinkles) and chapters entitled “Shall I Campari Thee to a Summer’s Day?” 

As Shakespeare was already an inveterate punster, the book is almost too much of a muchness, best consumed in small quantities. Maybe it could serve a peculiar book club—one reading, and one round of drinks, at a time.

AN APPLE A DAY
Longtime beer-book author and blogger Jeff Alworth has temporarily swapped suds for cider, which he believes is the next specialty brew, and which he pointedly defines not as the insipid fruit juice of childhood but a whole family of artisan beverages including Calvados and Lambig. In Cider Made Simple: All About Your New Favorite Drink, Alworth travels from apple farms in the U.S. to Canada, England, France and Spain, talking and tasting with artisan cider blenders. He discusses the roles of aromatics, acidity, sweetness, tannins, fermentation, florals, “funkiness”—and if this sounds reminiscent of a wine primer, it’s no accident. Craft cider can range in alcohol content from 3 percent to 10 percent. It may be blended from a carefully curated balance of apple species, like vine varieties. Some of the best cider is even riddled and disgorged, à la Champagne, although with a somewhat different technique. 

Alford may be jumping the gun a little on calling cider the next favorite beverage, but he isn’t too far ahead of the curve: While its following is small compared to that of craft beer, the cider market is estimated to double every three years. 

A CLASSIC MIXER
The glossiest book of the bunch, and the one best suited to the cocktail obsessive, is Adam Ford’s Vermouth: The Revival of the Spirit that Created America’s Cocktail Culture. It’s part love letter to what has become his actual profession—he’s the founder of Atsby, a groundbreaking vermouth producer—and a bit of a vanity production, as it’s hard for him to resist specifying one of Atsby’s vermouths in his recipes.

Either way, it’s a passion project. Ford has dived deeply into drinking history—about 10,000 years’ worth—to show that herb- and spice-infused alcohols have been recognized as medicinal and recreational potions since Neolithic times nearly everywhere around the globe. (Admittedly, that’s a pretty broad definition of vermouth, but he has a point.) He strolls through decades of America’s evolving cocktail culture: the New York Exhibition of 1853, when four different Italian “vermout” makers poured a liquor that Charles Dickens admired; the wild and wicked post-Civil War Manhattan; the “Mad Men” era; etc. 

Oh, along the way, Ford brings up two more famous Harrys: Harry Johnson, famed author of the 1882 New and Improved Illustrated Bartender’s Manual, Or: How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style; and Harry Hill, owner of one of Manhattan’s first Gilded Age “concert saloons.” Maybe it’s a secret society.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

An alcohol-inspired abundance has led beverage experts to look more into niche and novelty approaches to drink-themed gift books this year.
NonfictionMusicMemoirBiography

Following the beat of their own drummers

Feature by Henry L. Carrigan Jr.

The lives of musical greats continue to fascinate us, and this fall once again features biographies and memoirs of key players, from the producer credited with inventing rock ’n’ roll to a woman at the forefront of feminist rock.

On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash got together in Memphis’ Sun Studio for an impromptu jam session. Behind the console was Sam Phillips, the man who not only discovered Presley, Cash and Lewis, but who also dreamed of bringing together black and white voices in the studio in a deeply divided South. Peter Guralnick, the dean of rock historians, draws on extensive interviews from his 25-year friendship with Phillips in the epic, elegant and crisply told Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll. Guralnick charts Phillips’ path from his birth near Florence, Alabama, to the founding of Sun Records—and chronicles his enduring contributions to rock ’n’ roll. When he produced Rufus Thomas’ version of “Hound Dog,” for example, Phillips thought it didn’t live up to Big Mama Thornton’s original, but “Rufus carried off his performance with genuine conviction—the one unwavering test Sam applied to any material he let out of the studio.” In the end, as Guralnick points out, what drove Phillips was his dream of allowing the voices he had heard singing chants in the cotton fields to express themselves in their own way. “[M]usic was not confined to the drawing room . . . there was great art to be discovered in the experience of those who had been marginalized and written off because of their race, their class, or their lack of formal education.” 

LONG AS I CAN SEE THE LIGHT
John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival serves as a cracking good storyteller in Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music. Born in El Cerrito, California, in 1945, Fogerty sought music as both escape and solace after his parents’ divorce. He traces the early incarnations of Creedence and the band’s rise to the top of the charts in 1969 with “Proud Mary” and “Born on the Bayou.” He also offers backstory on his lyrics: “Bad Moon Rising,” for instance, grew out of hearing people talk in astrological lingo such as “I’m a Virgo with Libra rising.” Although Creedence was flying high in the late 1960s and early ’70s, the group soon descended into an inferno of contentious legal battles. Fogerty expresses his anger and disappointment with bandmates Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, and for the first time shares what he believes were the outlandish courtroom tactics of lawyers who knew nothing about music. After a period away from the public eye, he has immersed himself in songwriting once again—“all good songs engage you because they get you to feel something”—and emerged thankful for the journey, even the hard parts.

THE LOVE YOU SAVE
Rolling Stone writer Steve Knopper chronicles the King of Pop’s rise to fame in the compulsively readable MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson. Drawing on 400 interviews with friends, family and others, Knopper traces Jackson’s musical genius from his early days with the Jackson 5 through his out-of-this-world solo success with “Beat It” and “Thriller.” When Jackson met Quincy Jones in the mid-1970s, he saw Jones as a father figure who could take the place of the abusive Joe Jackson, and by the end of the ’70s, Jackson was working with Jones, moving toward a solo career and developing his signature dance moves. With the release of videos for “Billie Jean” and “Thriller,” he successfully “integrated radio and MTV,” Knopper writes. Through much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Jackson lived under the shadow of child sexual abuse charges, and he sank into oblivion from prescription drug use before his death in 2009. Still, for nearly three decades, he was “supernaturally graceful, the rare show-business Renaissance man who could sing, dance, and write songs.” 

PAINTED FROM MEMORY
Unlike most traditional memoirs, Elvis Costello’s Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink eschews any narrative structure, moving freely out from his childhood in Liverpool and London, where he accompanied his father to dance halls, soaking up the chords and vibes. In school, he managed to talk a couple of friends out of an “unhealthy fascination with the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer” and turn them on to the acoustic music then flowing out of Laurel Canyon. Costello mulls over his associations with musicians from Emmylou Harris to Kris Kristofferson, discussing the influence each has had on him. A prolific songwriter, he also shares insights into the composition of his songs. For “Allison,” which is based on the imagined life of a grocery checkout cashier, he writes, “I have no explanation for why I was able to stand outside reality and imagine such a scene as described in the song and to look so far into the future.” Costello’s aim is true in these peripatetic musings about his life and music.

MODERN GIRL
Guitarist Carrie Brownstein co-founded the group Sleater-Kinney, pushing the boundaries of punk and indie rock and emerging as a central figure of the riot grrrl movement. In Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, she probes her life with an honesty that is at once painful and spirited. Growing up in a suburb of Seattle, Brownstein attended her first concert—Madonna—in fifth grade, a “moment I’ll never forget, a total elation that momentarily erased any outline of darkness.” By the time she was in high school, she was alienated from her parents and immersed in Bikini Kill, whose music provided a haven from the turmoil of her teenage life. She and Corin Tucker eventually formed Sleater-Kinney and made a name for themselves in the Seattle scene and around the world. Brownstein bubbles over with fiercely blunt insights about the male-dominated music business: “[P]ersona for a man is equated with power; persona for a woman makes her less of a woman.” When Sleater-Kinney broke up in 2006, Brownstein went on to co-write, produce and star in the television show “Portlandia.” She declares that, for her, performing and playing and living the life of a working artist constitutes her search for a home: “the unlit firecracker I carried around inside me in my youth . . . found a home in music.”

 

This article was originally published in the November 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The lives of musical greats continue to fascinate us, and this fall once again features biographies and memoirs of key players, from the producer credited with inventing rock ’n’ roll to a woman at the forefront of feminist rock.
NonfictionMemoir

Unwrapping holiday hilarity

Feature by Lily McLemore

The holidays can be a bit stressful, but luckily, laughter is an excellent stress reliever! So crack open one of the three books below and crack up around the Christmas tree.

HILARIOUS HOLIDAY ANGST
Nothing says the holidays like a nice fire, a warm cup of cocoa and getting into a massive fight with your family. Jen Mann, author of the wickedly funny People I Want to Punch in the Throat, feels your holiday-fueled pain. In her latest collection of essays, Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat, she gleefully skewers Santa and all of his obnoxious Christmas acolytes. Mann grew up in a family of “holiday overachievers” (her mother has hundreds of Santa figurines), but even as a child, she was done with the excessive cheer and holiday perfectionism. In her book, she lambastes the humblebrag-filled Christmas letter, overzealous carolers and parents bent on giving their precious ones the perfect holiday. With Mann as my companion in animosity, I can feel a little less guilty about hating the holidays and dismiss it all with a good laugh.

BASSOON SOLO
You probably recognize Rainn Wilson as the galling Dwight Schrute from “The Office,” the hugely popular NBC TV show about the lives of a bunch of paper-pushers in Pennsylvania (indeed, “Dwight” writes the foreword), but Wilson delves deeper with The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy. Born as a “large-headed, pale horror” to admittedly odd, proto-hippie parents (hence the name “Rainn”) in Seattle, Wilson blossomed into a star high school athlete and had lots of girlfriends. Just kidding: He became a Dungeons & Dragons master and took up the bassoon. Filled with genuinely fascinating stories about his unusual upbringing, his entrée into the comedy world and his thoughtfully developed views on life, Wilson’s book is an unsurprisingly funny and surprisingly poignant entry in the cavalcade of celebrity memoirs. 

WISECRACKING
Jason Gay, the Wall Street Journal’s blithe and beloved sports columnist, offers up some excellent, if nontraditional, life advice in his hilarious Little Victories: Perfect Rules for Imperfect Living. Based on his popular “Rules” column, this book is filled with, as he writes, “both practical and ridiculous” advice, like his belief that everyone should allot a little more money to flowers, that one should never rent a PT Cruiser while on vacation and that the goal of attaining total happiness is total hogwash. Gay’s tidbits of hard-earned, unexpected advice and musings are truly hilarious, but as he reflects on his relationships with his loved ones and the big moments in his life, they’re also incredibly touching. Gay is a gifted writer, and I would say this book is a big victory. 

 

This article was originally published in the November 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The holidays can be a bit stressful, but luckily, laughter is an excellent stress reliever! So crack open one of the three books below and crack up around the Christmas tree.

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