TSCPL | Contemporary Fiction

Lucky

2008-06-24T15:34:00-06:00

Lottery by Patricia Wood

One might think Perry L. Crandall has a right to feel sorry for himself. He has a low paying job, few friends, a mother and brothers who have disowned him, no house, no car, and a low IQ. But Perry will tell you that he’s lucky, for his life is full of simple pleasures, excellent health, a couple of wonderful friends, and a grandma who loved him and raised him well. About a month after Gram dies, Perry inherits 12 million dollars from the lottery. Suddenly his family and complete strangers want to get to know Perry better, and Perry will have to learn a lot about the world in short amount of time.

I love to read a book where you can root for the main character whole-heartedly and unabashedly. Perry L. Crandall is one of those types of characters, and he has stayed in my head long after I finished the audiobook. While some people call Perry retarded, he’s not. As he’ll explain, his IQ is 76 and that is not retarded. In fact it is Perry’s keen insight into people, warm heart, and a strong sense of ethics and morality that guide him to success where geniuses have failed.

Beware: Bobbie Faye Post Ahead

2008-06-20T23:05:00-06:00

Ever have a bad day? Even your worst bad day will seem like a piece of cake after reading Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey

If you like over the top tall tales then this is the book for you! Bobbie Faye is (apparently) known throughout Louisiana for causing disastrous mayhem wherever she goes. So a day where she wakes up to six inches of standing water in her trailer seems just about normal to her--until she discovers that her brother has been kidnapped by thugs. Suddenly Bobbie Faye is in a desperate race to save her brother, helped by a mysterious (and sexy) stranger who may or may not be in cahoots wtih the bad guys. On her tail is the local sherriff, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend, and helping her in the background are a colorful assortment of friends. I particularly liked the whip toting Nina. This book was a hoot to read, it's like a modern day tall tale where you can't believe the ridiculous situations the author comes up with, one right after the other. So for a great pick me up when your having a bad day (or even when you're not) read Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey.

Cover image courtesy of the Macmillan Books website.

If you liked Sex and the City…

2008-06-03T22:08:00-06:00

Check out the How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo. How to Be Single centers around the life of Julie, a 38 year old publicist who has never been married and only been in a few long term relationships. She also has 4 single friends, each with their own relationship issues.

Check out the How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo!

How to Be Single centers around the life of Julie, a 38 year old publicist who has never been married and only been in a few long term relationships. She has 4 single friends: Ruby is a depressed cat lover; she falls in love and gets her hopes up too quickly, just to have them crash down on her. Georgia is a divorcee who is newly single and ready to mingle; she has no idea what the dating world has in store for her. Serena hasn’t had sex in 4 years…until she shaves her head and takes a vow of celibacy to become a swami in training and falls for her swami mentor! Alice is tired of being single and waiting to find the perfect man and she is serious about finding a husband so she quits her job to intensify her efforts by dating “full time.”

Julie sets off on an adventure around the world to meet single women in different countries to see if there is a better way to do it—to be single. While she learns that while the obstacles single ladies encounter may be different, no matter where you live dating is not easy, but being single can be wonderful, adventurous and enlightening! At the end of her journey she succumbs to the reality (although it makes her slightly nauseous) that maybe all you need to do is love yourself, and the rest really isn’t a big deal!

If you like Sex in the City you will probably enjoy this book. Liz Tuccillo worked as a writer and story editor on the HBO series. She is also co-wrote the book he’s just not that into you: The no-excuses truth to understanding guys with Greg Behrendt (which you should read only if you are prepared to except the fact that he’s just not that into you!) So, go see the new movie, then come and check out these great books or episodes of the TV show on DVD.

Recommended by Bonnie

The Sugar Queen

2008-05-12T15:29:00-06:00

Author Sarah Addison Allen invokes the magical elements of other sugary stories like Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, but with Moonpies and Bit-O-Honey and boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes. Josey Cirrini is twenty seven years old and she has spent most of her life trying to make up for the bad behavior of her childhood.

Josey Cirrini is twenty seven years old and she has spent most of her life trying to make up for the bad behavior of her childhood. Even though she was a rude, mean-spirited little girl, she has grown up to be her elderly, disapproving mother's constant companion and given up all hope for a life of her own. She tries to be content with her situation, waiting eagerly for the mail to be delivered each day and dreaming secretly of traveling the world. In the small ski resort community of Bald Slope, North Carolina, her father was the hero who brought skiing and the winter tourists to the struggling town. Since his death though, the Cirrini women are just wealthy eccentrics hiding away in the garish house they inherited.

Everything changes when Josey discovers that a local waitress, Della Lee Baker, has broken into her bedroom and is holed up in her large walk-in closet. The bossy and sassy woman refuses to leave, and she's holding Josey's stash of sugary junk food hostage in exchange for her protection from an abusive boyfriend. Suddenly emboldened by Della Lee's advice and instructions, Josey finds herself sneaking out of the house at night after her mother takes her sleeping pill. She seeks out friendship with another young woman in town, Chloe Finley, and gets the courage to talk to her longtime crush, her mail carrier, Adam. Chloe Finley just broke up with her boyfriend Jake, but she has something bigger to hide - books seem to appear in her life whenever she needs them - and she's not sure she can keep hiding the stacks of books, or ignoring their messages. Della Lee shows no signs of leaving the bedroom closet, Josey's mother is as demanding as ever, and Josey is about to discover secrets about her family that will change her life forever.

Author Sarah Addison Allen invokes the magical elements of other sugary stories like Chocolat and Like Water for Chocolate, but with Moonpies and Bit-O-Honey and boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes. Her struggling Southern belle, Josey, will capture the heart of anyone who has ever regretted that they are remembered for their childhood misbehavior or who is trapped in repaying an impossibly large debt of gratitude. Della Lee and Chloe are certainly the most magical characters, acting as fairy godmother and friend to Josey as she emerges from her sheltered life. Josey's romance with Adam is developed slowly, but surely, amid the drama and conflict of a handful of other Bald Slope characters. For pleasure reading or a light book discussion, The Sugar Queen can open your heart to the sweet possibility of family, friendship, and love where you least expect it.

Check out The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen or read more about the author here.

Lissa Staley, Reviewer

Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakthrough

2008-04-26T13:48:00-06:00

The citizens of Kettle, Wisconsin are very proud that their town doesn't have any crime, so when a recently acquitted murderess moves in, everyone is gossiping about it.

Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakthrough by Isabel Sharpe

The citizens of Kettle, Wisconsin are very proud that their town doesn't have any crime, so when a recently acquitted murderess moves in, everyone is gossiping about it. After her wealthy husband's suspicious heart attack in the bathtub, and her subsequent murder trial with national media coverage, Lorelei Taylor is hiding from the press. She's so overwhelmed by her own problems that she doesn't expect to befriend anyone else in town.
Sarah Gilchrist has always done whatever was necessary to maintain her perfect home, garden, and family. Lorelei quickly sees through her facade and makes it impossible for Sarah to continue to ignore her own unhappiness. Erin Hall has kept her husband's abusive behavior a secret for more than a decade, and no one in this small town, including her mother-in-law, expects her to do any differently. When Erin discovers that she and Lorelei have similar and terrible relationship histories, Erin finds inspiration for surviving her own marriage. Lorelei can't resist meddling with the local affairs, although she is constantly surprised by the secrets of this small town. To add to her frustrations, the sexy widower next door refuses to be seduced by her shocking big-city attitude. Lorelei is not the only woman who is pushed past her limit - but are these women on the verge of a breakdown, or something better?

The small town characters are given some depth by including brief chapter openers that are quoted from the ephemera (letters, diaries, notes, school essays) of the women's lives. This light read is focused on the friendships and relationships of women. While this is definitely a Desperate Housewives readalike, it should appeal to most women's fiction readers.

Lissa Staley, Reviewer

Please Read… The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz

2008-04-18T14:30:00-06:00

It seems that every review I write is about a book I discovered in New York City. While trolling through the stacks at The Strand, my friend Michael insisted that I buy a copy of The Street of Crocodiles by the reclusive Polish author Bruno Schulz. It was three bucks so I did, and upon my return home upon my bookshelf it went. And sat. This winter, I was having some trouble finishing longer books, so I began reading shorter ones to break out of my reading slump. Looking for thin books on my shelf, I noticed The Street of Crocodiles, so I decided to give it a try. Reading it reminded me why I trust Michael's recommendations.

It is difficult for me to describe exactly what it is about Bruno Schulz's writing that is so unique and satisfying. It is fantastic and surreal without being overindulgent. It reminds us that fiction is fiction and that unreal things can occur; time can be disrupted, space can be distorted. The Street of Crocodiles is a collection of short stories focusing closely on the life of the narrator's family, the father and his eccentricities in particular. All the stories take place in a small Polish village; many of the stories take place within the confines of the narrator's family's home. These stories germinated as a series of letters written to a friend prior to their publication. I hesitate to tell much more really; it is better to discover Bruno Schulz on your own terms–and now you can do so for free. Our library has just purchased a new edition of The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories which constitutes Bruno Schulz's complete fictional output. A great loss to modern European literature, Schulz was murdered by a German military officer in 1942.

Think all librarians are alike? These books beg to differ!

2008-04-17T01:18:01-06:00

In honor of National Library Week (April 13-19, 2-8) try one of these very different novels featuring librarians as characters--

The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzweil

A young librarian researches the mysteriously incomplete cabinet of wonders of an 18th century inventor.

Lucy Crocker 2.0 by Caroline Preston

Lucy Crocker, a former artist and children’s librarian, struggles to develop a sequel to a popular computer game.

Miss Zukas and the Library Murders by Jo Dereske

An inquisitive librarian and amateur detective is unable to resist the urge to dig into the facts of each Bellhaven, Washington murder mystery.

Untamed by Kathleen Lawless

A librarian finds passion while researching her family history at an infamous bordello in the old West.

The Archivist by Martha Cooley

A librarian is guarding the private letters of poet T.S. Eliot from the inquiries of a young poet who wishes to study them.

Blackwater Spirits by Miriam Grace Monfredo

A historical mystery set in mid-19th century Seneca Falls, New York features a spirited librarian.

Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr

A librarian’s solitary, content and celibate life becomes disorganized in a witty romance.

Sideshow by Anne D. LeClaire

Museum librarian Soleil is sleeping in a cell that projects her dreams in a multimedia museum exhibit.

The Book of Flying by Keith Miller

An orphaned librarian searches for a mythical town where the flightless may gain wings.

Bibliophilia: A Novella and Stories by Michael Griffith

A postmenopausal university librarian becomes a “sex cop” patrolling the stacks for illicit activities.

Contest by Matthew Reilly

Seven contestants in a nightmarish competition find themselves locked inside the huge, silent New York Public Library.

Who Reads What? The Famous Club shares their current reading for National Library Week

2008-04-14T01:10:00-06:00

Each year, Maine librarian Glenna Nowell's queries celebrities across the US for her annual "Who Reads What?" list. National Library Week is April 13-19, 2008. Nowell started writing to celebrities in 1988 and has since heard from presidents, actors, athletes and a couple of United Nations secretaries general.

Visit the Who Reads What Celebrity Reading List to find out what are celebrities reading in 2008. Check out who else has participated in the "Who Reads What?" survey over the years.

Thoughts on recent reads

2008-03-28T15:48:00-06:00

Once again, here are a few of the books I recently finished reading and what I thought of them.

Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish by Joe Mackall
The author and his family live across the road from an Amish family and in the course of time he develops a close friendship with them--as close as a non-Amisher is allowed. The family he befriends are of a very strict order and his friendship with them starts when he gives the husband a ride to a funeral. Through the years of interacting with this family, and through his own research, he has discovered a lot about Amish life which he shares along with his stories about how these things play out in real life. He also talks about a young man he knows who left the Amish order and much of a struggle it was for him to establish himself in the modern world. The result is an utterly fascinating look into another world, told in a real and heartfelt way as the author also discusses his own reactions to the ways of his neighbors. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good non-fiction read.

Scaramouche a Romance of the French Revolution by Rafael Sabatini
I didn't think I would like this at first, I've never been much interested in the French revolution and I thought the language would be challenging. But the language wasn't too much of a problem and I got caught up in the drama of the story. The man character's best friend is killed--murdered, really--in an unfair duel and Scaramouche vows to avenge his death and continue to speak out for his cause. The rest of the book deals with his struggles to survive and carry out his pledge, which isn't easy since the guy who killed his friend is a rich and powerful man. Along the way he has many adventures, romances, and encounters interesting characters. Fans of historical fiction and rollicking adventure should highly enjoy it.

Captured by Grace: No One Is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God by David Jeremiah
In this devotional book the author expands on the way God captures us with His grace using the lives of Paul from the bible and John Newton who wrote "Amazing Grace". I found the details about Newton's life particularly interesting. The author also includes practical suggestions for how to meditate on and incorporate the lessons used in the reader's own life at the end of each chapter. It was a very easy read, harder to actually live out but it's alway good to be challenged to live a better life.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
An encounter with a girl at a lemonade stand starts the main character, Reese, on a journey out of his self-imposed isolation. Reese was once more than a man who likes to restore boats and pal around with his brother-in-law. And the secret to who he once was may be just what Annie--who has a terminal illness--needs.
This is a heart-felt story, if you are prone to cry be sure to have plenty of kleenex on hand as you read it. Out of tragedy comes hope and a chance for redemption and a brighter future. This is a good story to savor and the characters will stick in your memory for a long time. I definitely recommend it.

Librarians Are Reading

2008-03-16T23:00:00-06:00

At a recent meeting TSCPL staffers shared what they were reading.

At a recent meeting TSCPL staffers shared what they were reading. Here's the list, with comments from the readers:

Gluten Free Girl by Shauna Ahern --Not just your typical recipe book, but also her story. She writes so well, it's a fun read.

The First Patient by Michael Palmer --Better than his last one, a medical thriller, an easy read and quick.

The Appeal by John Grisham --Not one of his best, different, especially the ending.

Ciao Italia Slow and Easy by Mary Ann Esposito --(a cookbook) I'm not so sure, it doesn't have very good pictures, but I am going to try a recipe from it.

Fowl Weather by Bob Tarte --It's really, really good, very involving.

Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough --Extremely historically detailed

Bird of Another Heaven by James D. Houston --The story of the last King of Hawaii, fascinating.

The Summer of Ordinary Ways by Nicole Helget --A memoir, the chapters read like short stories, full of indelible images, grim yet beautiful writing.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe --Still a really good book, really great characters, her favorite was Ophelia.

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins (a Printz honor book) --A demon vacations by possessing a human teenage boy, it takes you through what it means to be human in a fun story.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale -- A fractured fairy tale, she loves stories like this where the female characters get to be the hero.

The Galton Case by Ross McDonald --An excellent hard-boiled story in the vein of Dashell Hammet

Against the Machine by Lee Siegel --A Cultural Study of the Internet and how it has affected human interactions.

Food Fictions (From the Selected Shorts audiobook series) --I highly recommend the selected shorts recordings--they are the perfect thing to listen to on short drives. My favorite from this one was John Lithgow's performance of "Taste" by Roald Dahl--hilarious!