Business Book Summaries
Loretta Carrico-Russell is a former print journalist, and now works as a freelance journalist for both online and print media in northern California. She also works with community organizations in her area.
Karna Converse has written everything from technical documentation and price proposals to newsletter articles, devotionals, personal profiles, and essays. She lives in Storm Lake, Iowa, with her husband, one high school student and two middle-schoolers.
Ruth Douillette retired after 35 years as a middle school teacher, and now freelances as a writer and photographer.
Her essays have been published in the Christian Science Monitor, Cup of Comfort, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and
Under Our Skin, an anthology about breast cancer. Visit Upstream and Down~.
Gilion Dumas is an attorney practicing in Portland, Oregon. She is a “compulsive list reader” with currently 786 books on her groaning TBR shelves. Her book notes, reviews, and reading lists can be found at her blog.
Nell DuVall, freelance writer and consultant, wrote Domestic Technology, a history of household technology. Fascinated by Ohio history, she found a rich lode in the rivalry between the canals and the early railroads, which she used in her time travel romance Train to Yesterday. Southern Ohio's Appalachian foothills provide a bit of paradise for Nell, two cats, five dogs, and Cormac, her pet pig, who's provided material for several children's stories. As Mel Jacob, she writes occasional reviews for Gumshoe Review and SFRevu.
Sue Ellis is a retired postmaster who lives and writes in Spokane, Washington. Her short stories have appeared at Flash Me Magazine, Wild Violet, Six Sentences, and Camroc Press Review, all online publications.
Alice Folkart lives and writes poetry and short fiction in Hawaii. She has found that sand is OK for ukuleles, but not for laptops.
Dawn Goldsmith, essayist and freelance writer with several years reporting for newspapers, writes for a variety of national markets including Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, and Notre Dame Magazine. Her book reviews have been published in Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, Crescent Blues E’magazine, Mystery Magazine and several other markets. See her blogs at Wordsogold and Subversivestitch.
Margaret Hamill is a retired elementary school teacher, but has not lost interest in children. She writes fairy tales, adventure stories, and fantasies for that age group. Two of her stories were published on CDs. She also writes personal essays, poems, and memoir for her own amusement.
Pamela Hayes-Bohanan is a librarian and Spanish instructor at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She is an avid reader, plays the recorder, and loves cooking and eating good food. Please check out her website.
Lori Hall-McNary is a third generation cowgirl who owns Rockin' L & D Ranch and her new non-profit Rockin' L & D Equine Education Services. Lori is Certified Horsemanship Master Instructor and horse trainer. She offers western riding lessons from beginner youth and adults up to pro level. Rockin’ L & D Ranch has a Gymkhana show team, a Vaulting team, a 4-H team, gives clinics to all levels of Scouts, YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, military families, offers birthday clinics and more. Be sure to see her website. Phone 760-741-1179.
Ann Hite’s collected Black Mountain stories are available as an ebook at Dead Mule. Her story, Believing in Magic, appeared in Christmas Traditions October 2009. Surviving Mom was part of Marlo Thomas’s latest collection, The Right Words At The Right Time, Vol. 2. Ann's novel Beautiful Wreck was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Ann is hard at work on her next Black Mountain novel, Where The Souls Go. See more of Ann’s work at her website.
Carter Jefferson, formerly a journalist, Navy officer, professor of European history, and family counselor, is editor of the The Internet Review of Books.
San Diego life coach and author Sheri McGregor helps writers, busy women, and business owners achieve their dreams while maintaining meaning, a sense of balance, and joy. Get Sheri’s free Healthy Habits guide, discover her San Diego hiking books.
Julie McGuire, fiction editor of The Internet Review of Books, is a paralegal. Her personal essays and poems have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor and several small periodicals. She and her family live in Virginia.
Ally E. Peltier is an editor, writer, and publishing consultant formerly of Simon & Schuster. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate and Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing, her work has appeared in a wide variety of places, including The Writer and Writer’s Digest. She also ghostauthors nonfiction books and teaches writing workshops. Learn more about Ally at her website.
Eric Petersen is an administrator and blogmaster for the Internet Writing Workshop, an international, online writer’s group run out of Penn State University. He lives in the picturesque Hudson Valley region of upstate New York, surrounded by the Catskill mountains. You can reach him by email.
Gary Presley is the author of Seven Wheelchairs: A Life beyond Polio, a memoir published by the University of Iowa Press. Presley’s essays have appeared in such publications as Salon.com, Notre Dame Magazine, The Ozark Mountaineer, and The New York Times. He maintains the Internet Review of Books blog and also regularly posts material on writing, disability, and other issues on his own blog.
Carole Sutton grew up in beautiful Devon County, England. Her earliest memory is of the Exeter Blitz in 1942. In the 1960s and ’70s, she and her husband raised their family in Cornwall. In their spare time, they built boats and sailed the English Channel. In 1981 the Suttons migrated to Australia and set up a family business. Sutton's first book, Gus, Sore Feet—No Collar was published in 1995. Since then, she’s turned to writing crime fiction enriched with an authentic nautical flavour. Please visit her website.
Joanna Weston has an MA from the University of British Columbia. She has published in numerous anthologies and in magazines in Canada, the US, UK, and New Zealand, such as Canadian Women’s Studies, Convolvus, Endless Mountains Review, Grain, Green's Magazine, Prairie Fire, Spin, Wascana Review, CBC Gallery, and many more.
Bill Williams of West Hartford, Conn., is a free-lance writer and former editorial writer for The Hartford Courant. He currently reviews books for various magazines and newspapers, including The Boston Globe. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and hosts a Sun magazine writers’ group.
Virginia Winters, a pediatrician, lives in Lindsay, Ontario, with her husband George, an internist, and her cat Fred and standard poodle named Charlie. Write Words Inc. published her first novel, Murderous Roots, as an eBook. Her short works have appeared online in Camroc Press Review, Six Sentences, and Pine Tree Mysteries. A short story was published in Confabulation2, an anthology produced by Wynterblue Publishing. Please check out her blog.
Nonfiction | Children and Young Adults | Poetry | Cooking | Fiction
Thanksgiving turkey is a memory, Black Friday has come and gone, and we are now officially in the “holiday season.”
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just hold in your heart a wish for “peace on earth, good will toward men,” no doubt you have a list of gifts to buy.
What better gift than a book?
We’ve compiled a list of suggestions from readers and reviewers for books that just might make the perfect gift for someone on your list. Browse here and make a list to take to the mall. Better still, shop right here—we’ve made shopping easy!
If you click on any of the book images, you’ll see an Amazon page that lets you order them. That would be a favor to us, because we make a few cents on each purchase from this site. So while the IRB is truly a labor of love, we’d be pleased to defray some of our expenses. Thank you!
RULES FOR THE UNRULY:
Living an Unconventional Life
By Marion Winik
Suggested by Ally E. Peltier
This tiny book is a perfect stocking stuffer for rebels of any age. I keep this book on my desk for regular reference—it reminds me that staying true to my heart is the only important measure of success, and that an unconventional life can be difficult, but much more rewarding than simply doing what you think you’re supposed to do.
At turns heartwarming and hilarious (and even a little heartbreaking—Winik uses a lot of personal anecdotes from her full, crazy life), this is for “creative, impassioned, independent-minded free spirits who know they’re different—and want to stay that way.”
Each chapter is an essay from National Public Radio commentator and author Marion Winik. She presents seven rules in all, each a touchstone all its own. For example, there’s “The Path is Not Straight,” a paean to life’s unexpected twists. In “Learn to Use a Semi-Colon,” Winik explains that if you intend to break the rules, you must first learn what and why they are (and, also, that semi-colons are awesome). An especially great gift for pending graduates, career changers, artists, or anyone walking the untrodden path and in need of a little affirmation.
BECOMING ALICE:
A Memoir
By Alice Rene
Suggested by Carole Sutton
Alice Rene’s memoir is a winner. Its dramatic opening sets the scene. Six-year-old Ilse is dragged away from the window before the Nazis, marching in her street outside, can catch sight of her. This true story crosses the age barrier and will resonate with teens and adults alike as young Ilse flees with her Jewish family across Europe, finally to end up in Portland, Oregon.
Out of the war zone, but into family disharmony, Ilse’s parents try to adjust to immigrant life in the States. Her father, a professional man is unable to work in his field, finds the drop in social status hard to bear. His wife becomes the breadwinner, which only exacerbates his domineering attitude, and adds to the family’s feelings of disorientation. With trouble at home, and always feeling the odd one out at school, Ilse battles through her lonely childhood.
As she gets older and takes more liberties, Ilse changes her name to Alice and through her own determination is able to break free from her father’s grip and attend her chosen place of learning. At Berkeley, Alice overcomes her feelings of isolation. Surrounded by girls from a variety of cultures, Alice finds her niche and for the first time feels that she is indeed a person in her own right.
I loved Becoming Alice and recommend it to anyone interested in the past. Of similar age to Alice, I found the story particularly poignant. I couldn’t help comparing Alice’s early struggles to my well-protected, easy childhood in England. I think it would make a worthy addition to any Christmas gift list suitable for young and old.
FORBIDDEN BREAD
By Erica Johnson Debeljak
Suggested by Gilion Dumas
Slovenia was a toddler of a country when Erica Johnson arrived there in 1993 to marry her black-haired poet lover, Aleö Debeljak. Slovenia had only won its independence from Yugoslavia two years earlier; war still raged in Croatia and Bosnia to the south. What was she thinking? Johnson Debeljak answers that question in Forbidden Bread, her engrossing memoir about abandoning the life of a Manhattan commercial banker to move to a nascent post-communist state where most people still grew their own cabbage and considered themselves lucky to have a tiny Soviet car to drive. She uses her own story as the backdrop for Slovenia’s story, with its tumultuous history and rich, poetry-filled culture.
Perfect for the armchair travelers on your list, as well as fans of memoirs about “ordinary people.”
THE FILM CLUB:
A True Story of a Father and Son
By David Gilmour
Suggested by Virginia Winters
David Gilmour’s son, a boy suddenly grown into a man’s body, was foundering in a school system that couldn’t keep his interest and was killing his spirit. Gilmour let his son drop out of school with the only requirements being no drugs and attendance at the film school in their living room.
The book is the story of those years, from Dad’s point of view. The transition from boyhood to man’s estate is sometimes so intimate I wondered what Jesse, the boy, thought of being exposed in this way.
Gilmour takes us inside Jesse’s skin, but also his own. He struggled in those years, to make a living in whatever way he could in jobs from television to supply teaching. Now of course he is the acclaimed winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction (2005).
They worked their way through films as diverse as French film noir and The Godfather. During the education through film, Gilmour drew Jesse’s attention to the “telling line” or that moment that defines a film. When you read The Film Club, wait for the scene in Cuba. That moment defines Gilmour’s love for his son.
Gilmour explores relationships: his with Jesse, Jesse and the beautiful Rebecca, and both with Gilmour’s ex-wife, Jesse’s mother. He expresses every parent’s love and obsession with a child’s well being.
When I was reading The Film Club, I felt as though I was involved in a conversation with the writer, intimate, personal and absorbing. A lovely book.
TRAVELING WITH POMEGRANATES:
A Mother-Daughter Story
By Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
Suggested by Ann Hite
Traveling With Pomegranates is the perfect gift for mothers, daughters, or your best girlfriend—anyone who might be searching for what they want to be when they grow up, or grappling with age and all its nasty jokes. This mother/daughter memoir is a spiritual travel journal that makes me ache to take to the road with writing tools in hand.
Sue Monk Kidd travels through Greece and Paris as she works to resolve health issues while dealing with an intense longing to write a novel—a novel that she was told would not be worth her effort. Yes, that would be her famous bestselling book The Secret Life of Bees. What an amazing glimpse her story is into the artistic life of a writer! But her determination to have a more profound relationship with her grown daughter resonates within me.
Through Ann Kidd Taylor’s words, I found that familiar search for life’s purpose. Her raw, honest emotion was inspiring. Her need to stand alone and find her best brings me to the mirror. I especially loved her writing voice for its relaxed conversational feel. I look forward to more of her work when it becomes available.
Traveling With Pomegranates is on my holiday list of must have books. It’s a good thing my hubby reads all my reviews.
PATTERNS OF CULTURE
By Ruth Benedict
Suggested by Carter Jefferson
Give Patterns of Culture to a smart high school senior, say, or a college freshman, somebody who probably has not yet found out that the world is full of a number of things.
In it, Benedict gives readers close views of four societies that are not in the least like ours: the Kwakiutls of the Northwest Coast, the Pueblos of New Mexico, the Native Americans of the Great Plains, and the Dobu culture of New Guinea. Her argument is that each of these societies makes sense in itself despite their great differences from the way we live, that every culture has a rational pattern.
Benedict published this book in 1934, when racism was the norm everywhere, and her book made a huge contribution to cutting that pernicious evil down to the size it is now—far from gone, but much less harmful. The discipline of anthropology has changed a great deal, and now many, if not most, anthropologists belittle her work. Benedict has been accused of painting pictures too rosy, but her book is still worth reading, and it’s fascinating. How many other works of popular scholarship as old as this one are still in print?
There are plenty of books written for teachers. Here are two new ones that skip pedagogy and get straight to the heart of the profession: it’s all about the kids. Or should be.
IT’S NOT ALL FLOWERS AND SAUSAGES:
My Adventures in Second Grade
By Mrs. Mimi (Jennifer Scoggins)
Suggested by Ruth Douillette
It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages is a tell-it-like-it-is tale of Scoggin’s eight years spent teaching second grade in a Harlem school. The book began as blog posts that Scoggins—under cover as Mrs. Mimi—wrote to blow off steam after a hard day in the trenches.
Mrs. Mimi is the bolder, saucier, feistier voice teachers reserve for those moments when the kids have gone home and they can close the classroom door and vent to “super colleagues” about support staff, parents, administration, classroom interruptions, testing, meetings, over-heated classrooms, annoying colleagues—all the things that come between teachers and... teaching. Mrs. Mimi spares no one her sharp assessment, except her “little friends” for whom her love and respect is evident. Lucky students!
This would make a great gift for a teacher friend who may be feeling alone in the world of little people, and could use a chuckle, even a belly laugh.
SEE ME AFTER CLASS:
Advice for Teachers by Teachers
Suggested by Ruth Douillette
By Roxanna Elden
See Me After Class is full of advice intended to encourage and inspire new teachers, and perhaps keep them in the profession past the first five years of their careers when, statistics show, nearly half will quit. Written with the premise that “teaching is tough, teachers are imperfect, and yet good teaching happens anyway,” Eldon discusses practical issues teachers face, coupled with tips and insight from long-time teachers who share wisdom learned the hard way.
Eldon covers topics with the humor so necessary for a teacher’s survival, among them classroom management, creating a teacher persona, reviving lessons that flop, troublemakers, what principals expect, and the downside high-stakes tests.
“This is not Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul, ” she says. “It’s more like hard liquor for the teacher’s soul. New teachers need something stronger than chicken soup.” Amen!
This would be a great gift for a new teacher, or someone studying to become one.
THE WAR OF ART
By Steven Pressfield
Suggested by Dawn Goldsmith
I want everyone I love, anyone with an artist’s heart who struggles with fear and self-doubt, anyone with an “unlived life,” to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
“Late at night have you experienced a vision of the person you might become, the work you could accomplish, the realized being you were meant to be?” Pressfield asks.
He insists that the one thing that stands between the “wannabe” writer and the “real” writer is resistance. “Have you ever brought home a treadmill and let it gather dust in the attic?” he asks, “Ever quit a diet, a course of yoga, a meditation practice? ... Then you know what Resistance is.”
He describes various kinds of resistance and how we “feed” it. Resistance feeds on fear, according to Pressfield, who explains that it can even arise from fear of the consequences of following one’s heart.
Definitely a book that can change lives.
IN THEIR HONOR
By Linda D. Swink
Suggested by Dawn Goldsmith
This beautiful book is a must have for anyone who was in the military, likes military history, or researches military information. It may especially be appropriate for the anti-war advocate who can appreciate fighting for a cause bigger than self and giving more than seems humanly possible.
If you’re looking for an inspiring read, a reminder of the heroics that have made our country free, this book tells about the 524 men for whom military installations have been named. It’s interesting to know, for example, who Edwards Air Force Base is named after, and why he deserved the honor.
This lovingly compiled book will make an excellent gift whether used as reference, inspiration, resource, or simply to appease your curiosity. The stories inside are brief, to the point, and so touching.
THE MAN WHO LOVED CHINA:
The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who
Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
By Simon Winchester
Suggested by Gilion Dumas
Joseph Needham’s Science and Civilization in China is still the definitive work on the subject, in continuous print since the Cambridge University Press published the first introductory volume in 1954. In The Man Who Loved China, Simon Winchester turns his inquisitive eye and keen wit to Needham’s life and accomplishments, wrapping personality, history, politics, and science into the kind of irresistible story only Winchester can produce.
Winchester uses the compilation and publication of Needham’s masterpiece as the backbone of this biography. He branches off from the central story to discuss the Needham’s socialist politics, his unconventional love life, and his role as one of Red China’s most “useful idiots.”
Winchester could write an interesting book about garden mulch, so it is no surprise that The Man Who Loved China, based on a fascinating life, is fascinating. This is one of his best. Recommended for those interested in China, the history of science, or just an engaging adventure tale.
THE AGE OF REAGAN (Vol. II):
The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980 - 1989
By Steven F. Hayward
Suggested by Gilion Dumas
The long-awaited second volume of Steven F. Hayward’s definitive Ronald Reagan biography has arrived in time for the holidays. The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980 - 1989 takes up where Volume I, The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964 - 1980, leaves off—Reagan’s first Presidential election.
Both volumes are chunky, averaging between them 800 pages each, but they seem like “quick reads” because they are filled with interesting information, and Hayward is a deft writer with a light touch. He relies on primary source material, and the second volume benefits from the recent availability of Reagan’s White House diary and Soviet records, including Politburo minutes.
Hayward is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, so it is no surprise that he approaches his subject from the right. But his work is definitely biography, not hagiography. The set would make a terrific gift for history buffs, students of the Cold War, and, of course, Reagan fans.
LETTERS TO A YOUNG DOCTOR
By Richard Selzer
Suggested by Gary Presley
Despite its title, a thoughtful person shouldn’t consider this book only as a gift for someone in the medical field. No, this is a book an introspective person might offer to a kindred spirit. To read this collection of essays is to acknowledge the essence of St. Paul’s supposition that there are “angels among us.” And they need not be celebrated like Mother Teresa or the Dalai Lama.
The essay “Toenails” illustrates that, as the essay “Imelda”—” she pressed to her mouth a filthy, pink, balled-up rag as though to stanch a flow or buttress against pain”—reminds us that angels sometimes have rough edges and tattered wings.
If your “thinker”—the kindred spirit who receives the book—gives you a hug and a whispered “thank you” after reading Letters to a Young Doctor, you can turn to more of Selzer’s profound work for the next occasion. There are eleven other volumes waiting to be gift-wrapped. Nearly every word illustrates what it means for us to be spirits immersed in these strange fragile bodies.
THREE SAN DIEGO HIKING BOOKS
By Sheri McGregor
Suggested by Lori Hall-McNary
For nature lovers who either live in or will be visiting San Diego, California, these area hiking guides make great gifts. As a native San Diegan, author and hiker Sheri McGregor’s insights about the area’s plants, wildlife, and history come through in vivid, informative descriptions.
For less strenuous hikes, try her newest guide, Easy Hikes Close to Home: San Diego. This take-along sized volume is perfect for backpack or pocket, kid friendly hikes, as well as for adults with busy schedules. 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Diego includes some short and some longer hikes, both in-town and in outlying regions. I really appreciate that McGregor’s guides indicate where the horseback trails are, too.
Want more solitude and more adventure? Day & Overnight Hikes: Anza Borrego Desert State Park offers day-hikes as well as camping options. All three guides include San Diego County history that brings the sights alive.
McGregor has hiked these trails and her description of trails and markers is accurate. As a horse trainer and Master Instructor, I find the details help me find the best trails for my novice and more advanced riders.
I highly recommend all three books; the pocket guide makes an excellent stocking stuffer, teacher gift, etc.
THE FAITH CLUB
By Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner
Suggested by Karna Converse
Three women—one Muslim, one Christian, one Jew—wanted to write a children’s book about how Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are connected. After a few discussions, however, Idliby, Oliver, and Warner discover that first each must articulate her beliefs to the others and address the stereotypes and concerns she has about the other two religions. The Faith Club is the result of their discussions.
This book of spiritual reflections will probably have the most appeal for women, but I recommend it as a gift for anyone interested in exploring issues such as: Are all religions equal? Do they address the same God? Is there a difference between faith and religion and why does one practice a particular religion? I wasn’t rewarded with specific answers to these questions, but with the knowledge that open and honest discussions help one work through stereotypes and misunderstandings to find joy in and respect for other religions.
Since publication, the authors’ message to look at what unites instead of what divides has given birth to Faith Clubs throughout the United States. The book includes a reading group guide, a Q/A with the authors, and suggestions for starting a Faith Club (including sections in Hebrew and Arabic). These sections are just as thought provoking as each woman’s individual faith journey.
PAULO COHELO:
A Warrior’s Life
By Fernando Morais
Suggested by Loretta Carrico-Russell
Paulo Coelho’s spiritual path took a rebellious detour that included sex, drugs, rock ’n roll, and electroshock therapy before culminating in his present day faith. Coelho is famous in this country for his book The Alchemist, but in his native country of Brazil he is known for being the “boy who was born dead.” Morais comprehensively captures the life of one of Brazil’s most prolific writers and spiritual guides.
During three years of research of “one of the most extraordinary individuals [he had] ever worked with,” Morais moved in with Coelho and invaded his privacy by rifling through his pockets, analyzing his will, and searching for the illegitimate children he was sure Coelho must have fathered. What impressed Morais most was the positive reception Coelho received from poor and wealthy alike, regardless of where he traveled.
What I found most interesting was how Coelho surmounted destructive behavior and suicidal tendencies to re-emerge as a stronger more enlightened and productive person. This book would make an excellent gift for those struggling to define themselves and those who need to learn to forgive themselves for past transgressions.
FOR A GIRL BECOMING
By Joy Harjo (Illustrated by Mercedes MacDonald)
Suggested by Ruth Douillette
I discovered For a Girl Becoming as I awaited the birth of a second grandchild. What a lovely gift it would make should the baby be a girl, I thought. When Benjamin was born, I decided to give the book to his older sister Olivia, who, at six, is a girl becoming a big sister.
The book is perfect to commemorate the birth of a girl, but it will make a nice gift to mark a milestone at any stage in a girl’s life from birth to graduation and beyond. Like all good children’s books, this one will appeal to adults; it speaks to girls and women at all stages of “becoming.” Its words bestow blessing. It offers understanding. Its language is love.
Illustrations rich in western color complement poetic language full of Native American symbolism to welcome a baby girl into a world of love and challenge. Acknowledgment that there will be hardships and disappointments along the way is tempered by encouragement; love of family expands to love of those who share the world “whether they be plant, creature, human, or helpful spirit.”
A delightful gift for a girl at any stage of becoming a woman.
SUMMER LIGHTNING
By Judith Richards
Suggested by Sue Ellis
I read Summer Lightning when it was among the new selections at my local library in 1978. I was so charmed by it that I shared it with my then thirteen-year-old son, who liked it as much as I did. It takes a look at a carefree truant named Terry and his escapades in the Everglades as our country edged toward WWII.
It’s available at Amazon.com and is soon to be a movie. I bought a new copy a few years ago and my son and I enjoyed it all over again. Amazon compares it with To Kill a Mockingbird.
OUT OF THE DUST
By Karen Hesse
Suggested by Sue Ellis
I ran across Out of the Dust at a garage sale and decided to pre-read before giving it to my granddaughter. I’m so glad I did, because I enjoyed it as much as I knew she would. Written entirely in free verse, it takes a look at a young girl who suffers a terrible tragedy in the midst of the already challenging times.
Set in Oklahoma during the dust bowl of 1934 and ’35, this uplifting, beautifully written story has won nearly more awards and noteworthy mentions than can be listed on the back cover, including the Newbury Medal in 1998. I recently bought a new copy because my granddaughter wanted to keep hers. I’ve reread it twice so far just to admire the language.
TIME GREAT DISCOVERIES:
Explorations That Changed History
Edited by Kelly Knauer
Suggested by Ruth Douillette
Anyone familiar with the excellent TIME books will be glad to learn of the newly published volume Great Discoveries.
Written at a comfortable reading level for young adults, it’s full of diagrams and photographs with explanatory captions for reluctant readers and plenty of solid informational text for adults.
Exploration is the theme, and indeed the reader becomes an armchair traveler joining in on discoveries of past and present journeys, and even sailing on into the solar system, learning all the while.
The book would make a great classroom gift in these times when school budgets are tight. It’s more expensive than a mug or candy, but will serve the classroom for years to come. Or give it to a student who might be more inspired to learn history outside of the classroom; it’s certainly more up to date than most classroom texts. But it’s for adults, too, anyone with an interest in the world around them.
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
By Katherine Paterson
Suggested by Eric Petersen
If your kids saw the Disney movie, but never read Bridge to Terabithia, they’re missing out on something special. Katherine Paterson’s beloved, celebrated, and controversial children’s novel has been touching the hearts and minds of young and old readers alike for over thirty years.
Ten-year-old Jess Aarons, a poor but artistically gifted farm boy, hopes to be the fastest kid in the fifth grade. His hopes are dashed when the new girl, Leslie Burke, outruns him and wins the race. That’s no way to start a friendship, but soon Jess and Leslie become inseparable.
Together, they create a world of their own—Terabithia, a magical land where they rule together as king and queen. There, nothing can defeat them—not the giants in Leslie’s stories or the real life bullies they face at school. As Leslie draws Jess into her world of imagination, she brings happiness to his bleak life and rebuilds his shattered self-esteem.
Then one day tragedy strikes, and Jess must use all the strength and courage Leslie gave him in order to cope with his loss.
Share this haunting and beautiful book with someone you love.
I CUT MY FINGER
By Stuart Ross
Suggested by Joanna M. Weston
This is poetry for an evening by the fireside with a bottle of wine. Give it to a friend and tell them to savour, relish, enjoy the poetry.
Ross writes of hamburgers and history, of oceans and orphans, of sonnets and self-portraits with humour. But underlying the piled on images is a realistic, often optimistic, view of the world: the prince will always kiss Sleeping Beauty into wakefulness, will always bring the glass slipper to Cinderella.
Ross links images in a dance of kaleidoscopic colour and shape. At the same time he maintains rhythm and the cohesion of felt emotion. He brings a sense of adventure and wonder to each page; the reader can never be sure what might happen next. Violence erupts occasionally into the poetry, much as it does in real life, but that keeps the reality in Ross’s surreal world. The reader may be bemused by the combinations of images, but must be prepared to suspend belief in order to be both beguiled and surprised.
With time and patience, the pleasure of reading this book will be deep and lasting. Drink the wine of Ross’ poetry, let the prince meet Cinderella and enjoy the last waltz with laughter and delight.
DAWN LIGHT:
Dancing with Cranes and Other Ways to Start the Day
By Diane Ackerman
Recommended by Bill Williams
For the person on your gift list who enjoys poetry, fine writing, and the marvels of nature, Diane Ackerman’s latest book would make an ideal gift. Ackerman’s joyful love of the natural world jumps off the pages of this lush tribute to hummingbirds, whooping cranes, squirrels, flowers, and seasons.
Here’s a sample of Ackerman’s evocative writing: “Voice-dueling birds keep winding their springs, buzzing their kazoos, whistling, warbling, and chattering in a divine ruckus of warring songs.”
Ackerman, who lives in upstate New York and Florida, celebrates the magic of dawn, which has enjoyed a special significance in culture and religion throughout history. Religious rites, prayers, and festivals often take place at dawn. She also mourns the loss of dark, star-filled nights, and recommends that communities dim lights and place curfews on illuminated advertising signs. This is nothing new for Ackerman, whose previous books include A Natural History of the Senses and, more recently, The Zookeeper’s Wife.
Dawn Light, with its poetic, colorful observations about the animal and plant kingdoms, will remind readers of Mary Oliver and Henry David Thoreau.
BETTER WITH FRIENDS
By Helen Losse
Suggested by Sue Ellis
Better with Friends is a small book of poetry that fits the hand and fills the heart. Helen's poems cause the reader’s mind to linger on the poetry of responsibility, justice, faith, loss, and even chasing trains in the dead of the night.
Losse is the poetry editor of the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. She has two chapbooks and several other poetry publications, all listed on the back cover of her newest book.
My copy’s begun to look well used, and I haven’t had it that long—it was published this April.
BETTY CROCKER’S PICTURE COOK BOOK
Originally published 1950 By General Mills, Inc. & McMillan & Co.
Suggested by Margaret Hamill
I received my copy of this great book at a wedding shower in 1951. I spent much time poring over its colorful pages, reading helpful hints, and dreaming of delicious meals I would make for my future husband.
This book has twenty tabbed sections on many subjects and includes a comprehensive how-to section. There are pictures and descriptions of cooking utensils, and illustrations showing how to prepare special ingredients, such as caramelizing sugar, whipping cream, and Melba toast. The meal planning section has hundreds of illustrated recipes of breads, desserts, beverages, eggs, meat, salads, sauces, soups, supper dishes, and vegetables.
After fifty-five years of preparing meals for my family, I gave my well-used, food-stained copy to my daughter, and bought a new reprint for myself. Some of my favorite recipes are the lemon cake pudding on page 222, the brownies on page 190, and caramel (burnt sugar) cake, my husband’s favorite, on page 130. I learned to make meat loaf by following the directions on page 275. Step-by-step instructions, with pictures and color illustrations will make you want to move to the kitchen and get to work. If you need a bride’s gift, or want to add to a seasoned cook’s collection, put this book under the Christmas tree this year.
MORE-WITH-LESS COOKBOOK:
World Community Cookbook
By Doris Janzen Longacre
Suggested by Pamela Hayes-Bohanan
When I give or receive a book for a gift, I hope it is one that will be opened more than once. I received the More-With-Less Cookbook as a Christmas present many years ago, and it is the most frequently used book in my kitchen.
It features simple, flavorful recipes from all over the world. It is more than just a cookbook, however. Incorporated into the book are reflections, poetry, and essays about how we can use fewer resources, while getting more out of life.
For instance, my family drastically cut the amount of sugar we used while baking when we learned that North Americans eat over 120 pounds of sugar per year. To our pleasant surprise we could taste many more flavors in our pies, cakes and cookies and were consuming fewer calories to boot.
Simple meal plans, nutrition information, and measurement conversions complete this compact, spiral-bound cookbook.
44 SCOTLAND STREET
By Alexander McCall Smith
Suggested by Alice Folkart
Anyone on your holiday list who likes a gentle but interesting read would like the four-book 44 Scotland St. series by Alexander McCall Smith, whom many of you might know as the author of the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency and the Elizabeth Dalhousie mysteries. 44 Scotland St. starts the series, and is followed by three slim volumes, Espresso Tales, Love Over Scotland, and The World According to Bertie, all published by Anchor Books in the U. S.
The Scotsman newspaper asked McCall Smith if he would like to attempt a serial novel in very short segments to be published daily in the newspaper. Dickens had done it. Thackeray had done it. Why not McCall Smith? 44 Scotland Street, was such a success that the paper begged for more. McCall Smith obliged with three more novels.
The series introduces us to the author’s beloved Edinburgh and some of its more interesting citizens. We meet hip young people, not so hip young people, hip older people, a very hip dog, the hippest little kid you’ll ever meet, and a pair of almost-curmudgeons as we watch relationships weave throughout the coffee houses, pubs, cafes, and streets of the town. Everyone is at a crossroads of a sort. You’ll wonder from book to book what’s coming next.
The “chapters” of these little books average about three pages, and so are great for someone who has to snatch time for reading. But they’re addictive, and most readers find themselves unable to put them down. Buying the whole set for someone won’t break the bank, either. They’re just pennies over $10 each on Amazon.com.
DOCTOR MARGARET’S SEA CHEST
By Waheed Rabbani
Suggested by Carole Sutton
Dr. Margaret’s Sea Chest is the first of a trilogy of historical fiction. Intrigue and conflict abound as the story unfolds during India’s struggle for freedom. Rabbani takes readers back to the nineteenth century into the life of a young woman determined to become a doctor in an era when the male-dominated professions refused to accept them.
The story begins in 1965 in India. Dr. Sharif is an American doctor about to return to his country at the end of his stay in New Delhi hospital. He is asked to take back with him a hundred-year-old chest discovered in the hospital storage room, and to find and return it to the descendants of its original owner, Doctor Margaret Wallace, a female doctor present at the hospital during India’s First War of Independence in 1857.
Dr. Sharif tracks Margaret’s relatives to Canada and returns the sea chest, which once opened reveals valuable artifacts. Dr. Sharif and his wife become fascinated with the “lady doctor’s” diaries. Here, the story takes off.
Rabbani presents well-researched historical facts through Margaret’s journals. His tale takes the reader on a breathtaking sweep of young Margaret’s life, from a child, to the bride of her forbidden lover, to become a doctor who meets Florence Nightingale and works amongst the wounded from the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War of 1854.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for all who like reading about history in a well-informed novel structure.
VELVA JEAN LEARNS TO DRIVE:
A Novel
By Jennifer Niven
Suggested by Ann Hite
I was ten years old when I was saved for the first time. Even though Jesus himself never had much to do with religion before he was twelve, I had prayed and prayed to be saved so that I wouldn’t go to hell.
So commences the story of an Appalachian girl in Jennifer Niven’s first novel Velva Jean Learns to Drive. The main character is of course Velva Jean, who has a secret dream to become a big-time singer in Nashville. Her story begins in 1933 and spans eight years of her tumultuous life. While on her deathbed, Velva’s mother urges her to go out into the world and really live. She honors her mother’s last wish by falling in love with Harley Bright, a handsome revival preacher.
This is one of the freshest voices I heard in a long time. Niven pulled me into her intricate story and wouldn’t release me even after I finished the last page. Her characters still haunt my thoughts today.
If you love the South and good old-fashioned storytelling, you must have this book for the holidays.
RANDOM VIOLENCE:
A Jade de Jong Investigation
By Jassy Mackenzie
Suggested by Carole Sutton
Jassy Mackenzie pulls no punches when describing the violent nature and senseless crimes committed by the villains in her aptly named debut thriller Random Violence.
Jade de Jong, a private investigator, returns to South Africa after a long absence. She’s on a personal mission as she plans revenge against her father’s killer. Jade links up with a friend from the past, police Superintendent David Patel, who is investigating the brutal shooting of Annette Botha in what at first appears to be a carjacking. With possible corruption within his force, David, an old love interest, values her opinion and wants her in his investigation. There are many twists and turns as they work together, and the pressure mounts as Jade tries to keep her private activities secret.
With a strong female lead, believable characters, and a colorful location, the tension builds as Annette’s murderer manages to stay ahead, and the reader wonders if the determined Jade will succeed in her own personal mission. Well paced, Random Violence keeps you guessing, and the finale is “unputdownable!”
This novel’s drawing card is its unusual settings in South Africa, where the violence is uniquely African. I enjoyed the story as I enjoy most good quality crime fiction, and would heartily recommend it to the followers of that genre.
WINDY CITY:
A Novel of Politics
By Scott Simon
Suggested by Carter Jefferson
Alderman for Chicago’s 48th ward, vice mayor, and a Tamil himself, Sunny Roopini runs an Indian restaurant, but he doesn’t mind throwing in a little Italian food to keep his multi-ethnic neighbors coming back for more, and he knows how to take care of his constituents like nobody else.
When the city’s beloved mayor keels over into a prosciutto and artichoke pizza, Sunny is stuck with a job he’d never imagined in his worst dream. While the cops try to figure out who poisoned the king of Chicago pols, Sunny struggles through his scheduled eighty-four hours as interim mayor and presides over the election of his chief’s successor. Who owes who what favors? It all depends on trade-offs that make Wall St. MBAs look like amateurs.
Sunny, a recent widower, balances in the middle of a see-saw at the heart of the negotiations, wanting only to get back to his two lovely daughters—the one who precedes every sentence with “Bloody hell!” and the other who tags along. Funny cracks, clever political ploys, and aldermen and women who act like silent movie comics and modern heroes fill the pages. I’ve never read a funnier book, although it has its sad moments. Scott Simon, a veteran reporter, knows Chicago inside out, and he tells a story that’s not only hilarious but also highly instructive.
Before the end of Windy City, whoever you give this to will be standing on the bridge at Millennium Park knowing why it’s absolutely vital to move somewhere not far from Navy Pier.
BROTHERHOOD OF WAR:
The Lieutenants, the Captains, the Majors
By W. E. B. Griffin
Suggested by Carter Jefferson
Not everybody likes military fiction, but for those who do, this series is a classic. It includes seven or eight more volumes besides the three in this book.
One main character is not enough. Griffin gives us the lives of half a dozen Army officers from the end of World War II up to Vietnam. They’re wounded in Korea, disgraced for bad moves, deeply in love with the wrong women—or the right ones—flawed heroes all. Then there are secondary characters, not minor by any means, who get a little less attention, but enough to make the reader care for them. Finally, even the lesser characters, heroes or villains, are alive on the pages.
Moreover, Griffin has done the research. When a tank gunner starts shooting, Griffin’s describing a real battle in a real war. Or when Lieutenant Sandy Felter, a skinny little Jew nobody thinks should be in the Army, leads a black general to the rescue of a prisoner of war against heavy odds, it’s just the kind of thing that really happened.
Give Brotherhood of War to people who like real adventure. When they finish the series, they’ll know it’s time to go on to Griffin’s multi-volume novel The Corps, and see how the Marines fared during World War II.
OUTLANDER
By Diana Gabaldon
Suggested by Dawn Goldsmith
Diana Gabaldon recently released the seventh book in her series: Echo in the Bone. But I recommend her first book, Outlander, for any wannabe novelist looking to learn to fit description, dialogue, and facts into a cohesive package that moves the story forward.
One small detail foreshadows, links to, or sets up another scene. Maybe not immediately, but when it happens the reader thinks, “Oh yeah, she mentioned that before.”
Gabaldon’s excellent use of details not only enriches the scene, but also provides threads in a complex and beautiful tapestry. She also proves that a lengthy book can be totally engaging and entertaining, and never boring.
Outlander is exceptionally beautifully written for history/romance/paranormal (time travel) buffs who have been searching for a series that will draw them right in. You’ll be calling the main characters by their first names and talking about them so much that your spouse will think they’re the new neighbors or the guests you invited to Thanksgiving dinner.
Don’t think this is tame fare; it is edgy and pushes a few limits, although not gratuitously. This book makes one think and laugh and cry and say thank you that there are six more books after this one. If nothing else, lifting that book, holding it, turning pages, are good for abs and biceps.
THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
By Mary Ann Shaffer, and Annie Barrows
Suggested by Virginia Winters
If you haven’t read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, run out and get it immediately—tomorrow, if it’s too late now. Mary Anne Shaffer and Anne Barrows write about the German Occupation on the island of Guernsey, off the coast of England in World War II, telling us the story through letters exchanged between an author, her publisher, and various friends on the island and in the U.K. Not since Helene Hanff’s 84 Charing Cross Road have I read a collection of letters that create a world complete with drama, pathos, love affairs, and history, not to mention characters I like so much that it hurts to know they are fictional and not waiting somewhere to meet me for tea.
I’m sure there must be something to criticize about the book, but just now I am so entranced I can’t think what it might be. This is great gift for lovers of letters and English tales and the older book mentioned above. Enjoy!
THE ANGLE OF REPOSE
By Wallace Stegner
Suggested by Julie McGuire
Angle of repose is an engineering term that defines the maximum angle of a stable slope. In Wallace Stegner’s magnificent novel, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, it is the maximum amount of friction and tension a relationship can withstand before crumbling.
Angle of Repose tells the story a retired professor Lyman Ward, who travels in a wheelchair. He sets out to tell the remarkable story of his pioneer grandparents whose marriage is a testament to survival of love against the greatest odds. The novel is also a harsher, and richer, depiction of the American West than the Hollywood version. It is no wonder that the Modern Library has included Angle of Repose on its list of the hundred best novels of the twentieth century.
Stegner’s writing breathes on each page; no word is out of place. There were sentences that made my heart ache with their beauty. This book is the perfect gift for the person in your life who is truly in love with reading.
THE HOT FLASH CLUB
By Nancy Thayer
Suggested by Sheri McGregor
For women in the 40+ age range, Nancy Thayer’s Hot Flash series is an escapist flight of fancy based on the honest, funny, and intimately touching realities of woman of a certain age.
In her first novel in the series, The Hot Flash Club, Thayer weaves an intricate plot that connects the lives of bright, successful, but imperfect women who become friends and co-conspirators to help another.
At the book’s end satisfied readers will be sad to say good-bye to the characters they’ve come to love—but they don’t have to! Three novels follow in the heartwarmingly hilarious series: The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again, Hot Flash Holidays, and The Hot Flash Club Chills Out.
For ease and convenience, find the books in large print, audio, and Kindle versions, too.
I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM:
A Mystery à la Mode
By Wendy Lyn Watson
Suggested by Nell DuVall
For those who like humorous mysteries, Wendy Watson takes the reader on a wild Texas stampede in I Scream, You Scream, when ice cream maven Tally Jones tries to catch a murderer. Miss Fancy Britches Brittanie Brinkman, a manipulative Barbie doll, steals Tally’s philandering husband, now her ex, Wayne. Tally swallows her pride to gain a dessert catering contract for Wayne’s annual customer bash, a luau. Desperate for money to keep her fledgling ice cream business alive, she ignores Brittanie’s insults and unreasonable demands. When Brittanie turns up dead, Tally becomes a prime suspect, only to be replaced by her ex-husband.
Humor abounds, and the novel features lively, interesting characters. Astute readers may work out who the murderer is, but plenty of twists will hold their interest until the end.
Have more ideas for great gifts? Post them in the Comments section below.
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