Books Blog : Alan Bradley

The Weed That Binds the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

HRevvdon@evpl — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:56:00 GMT

Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce is my favorite new sleuth. I loved the first book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009), so much that I think I have driven my friends and co-workers crazy talking about it. But I think a lot of them have read it and feel the same way. I found the book as an advanced reader’s copy and picked it up because of the cover and the title. I am happy I did. When I learned that the next in the six-book Flavia series was coming out, The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (2010), in March of 2010 – I started searching for an advanced reader’s copy. A co-worker brought one back from a library event, not knowing that I was searching, and gave it to me.

Flavia de Luce is a brilliant eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and poisons in particular. She is as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes and as observant and down-to-earth as Miss Marple. Riding the English countryside on her beloved bicycle, Gladys, Flavia solves murders. In Weed, she is faced with two deaths but are they murders?

Set in 1950, a famous BBC puppeteer and his assistant have a vehicle breakdown in Bishop’s Lacy. Rupert Porson puts on a show in the church hall to help pay for the repairs and he is electrocuted during the second show. Who did it? Did the assistant do it? Did the vicar’s wife? What’s it to do with the other death years before?

We can rely on Flavia to find out! While dealing with her insufferable older sisters, a distant father, and a crazy tyrannical aunt come to visit, Flavia will work with the trusty Dogger to solve this mystery. Dogger is a “family retainer” with a shell-shocked past that drops gems of wisdom and mysterious information. I loved the introduction of the quirky spinster aunt, I’ve a feeling she will be around in the next books.

Watch for this book to be put out on the shelves of EVPL in March, but in meantime pick up The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie now and read it. Sweetness is available to read or to listen to on either cd or download. My advanced reader’s copy is making the rounds of the Library staff now, who knows when I will get it back…

If you can't find the book you want...call ILL! Inter-Library Loan

HRevvdon@evpl — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:10:00 GMT

The Shoebox Bible (2006) by Alan Bradley is a gem. It is funny and touching, and difficult to locate!

Bradley, a Canadian writer, is the author of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie; one of my favorite books of 2009. I stumbled across an advanced reader’s copy and probably only picked it up because of the title. It is a wonderful story and recently I was lucky enough to have a co-worker hand me an advanced copy of the second book of the series, The Weed That Binds the Hangman’s Bag (2010), which will be out in March. I liked it even more.

So, while Googling the author, I found he had written a memoir called The Shoebox Bible. EVPL did not have a copy. All the on-line booksellers and used books sources wanted around $150 for a copy and the Library was unable to find a copy to purchase for the publisher’s price. I turned to our wonderful Inter-Library Loan department; they could only locate a handful of copies in the United States (I think only 9!) and they set out to find a library willing to loan the book to me. In the meantime I had an email exchange with the author, he told me that pretty much any Canadian library would have it and my best bet would be inter-library loan. Well, EVPL ILL came through for me; they found a copy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I had to pay a fee to the University, but by now – I had to read it!

Bradley’s father “runs away from home” during World War II, deserting his mother, two sisters, and Bradley – who is less the two years old. The family only sees the father one more time, when he briefly returns to tell his wife that he has found another life on the other side of the country in Vancouver and he won’t be back. The Shoebox Bible is literally a shoebox that Bradley finds as a child, hidden under the floor boards of his Mother’s bedroom. Inside the shoebox are scraps of paper on which his mother has written bits of scripture and verse that seems to represent her feelings and experiences throughout her life. Bradley never tells his mother that he has found the shoebox and knows its contents. Decades later, while his elderly mother lays dying, he finds the shoebox again and cannot bear to open it. When he finally does, he discovers that his mother has never stopped adding to The Shoebox Bible. He discovers that while she has never heard from her husband since the day he walked away, she has never stopped loving him and hoping for his return.

This small book is big on emotion and impact. It is funny and touching.

Because it is so hard to find this book, it is doubtful many will read it, but EVPL customers should know what a great service is available from the Inter-Library Loan department. If you can’t find it on the Library’s shelves, ask these women and they won’t give up the search until all rocks are turned over. While I had to pay a fee to the University, you can make up to 10 requests a month without incurring even a minimal fee from EVPL.

Coming Soon!

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:13:00 GMT

I thought you might like to know about some new titles from authors myself and others have written about here before.

Rene Gutteridge has a new book titled Listen that should be arriving at a library near you any day now. Blog writer this.is.not.here@evpl wrote about Rene Gutteridge's Boo series here.

Alan Bradley has written a sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, expected out on March 9, 2010. It's titled The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. Blog writers HRevvdon@evpl and evillebibliophile@evpl have written about The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie here and here.

Sarah Addison Allen's third novel, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is expected out on March 16, 2010. HRevvdon@evpl wrote about her novel The Sugar Queen here. She is also the author of Garden Spells.

Lisa Lutz continues her Izzy Spellman series with Spellmans Strike Again, also expected out March 16, 2010. This series has been written about here and here.

Rene Gutteridge's website
Sarah Addison Allen's website
Lisa Lutz's website