Books Blog : small town

A Very Unique Murder Mystery

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:27:00 GMT

I was very much looking forward to reading Heads You Lose, a murder mystery by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward. Lisa Lutz's Spellman series is one of my absolute favorite series of books and I was sure this new book would be wonderful even though it wouldn't feature the Spellman family. I wasn't wrong but I wasn't really right either.

Let me tell you about the format of Heads You Lose. There is an editor's note and a few more pages of reading before you get to the title page. Don't skip these or you'll be a bit out of the loop before you hit page one. From there it gets more unique. Lisa Lutz wrote the odd numbered chapters and David Hayward wrote the even numbered chapters. Notes between the authors are featured throughout but mostly between chapters. These notes were distracting at first but eventually they became the best part of the book.

The mystery itself wasn't very thrilling. I honestly got bored with it about half way through, even as more bodies were turning up in the small California town were brother and sister Paul and Lacey Hansen live and work. There were some good characters but they weren't enough to keep me interested when the awkward plot let me down. I did finish the book but I didn't really like the resolution and mostly felt relieved to be done with the book. My overall feeling about the book is that it's just okay; different but not quite special.

There's word that there will be fifth Spellman book next year and I'm still looking forward to it. David Hayward hasn't written other novels but I believe he could write a good one. I just don't think this collaboration worked out very well.

The book's website: http://headsyoulose.com/

Lisa Lutz's website: http://lisalutz.com/

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:49:00 GMT

Sarah Addison Allen has charmed me with every one of her novels and her most recent, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is no exception. I loved every minute with Emily, Julia, Vance, Stella, Sawyer and Win. I want to eat cake made by Julia, see the wallpaper change in Emily's bedroom and just experience the little bit of magic all of these people have in their lives.

Teenager Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather, Vance Shelby, also known as the Giant of Mullaby because he's "tall enough to see into tomorrow"-- over eight feet tall. Emily has never met her grandfather or visited Mullaby, where her recently deceased mother grew up. She doesn't know what to expect and there are a number of surprises awaiting her, some of them upsetting, some of them comforting.

Meanwhile, Julia Winterson wants nothing more than to leave Mullaby and move back to Maryland. Julia may have grown up in this small town, but now she is a temporary, maybe not so welcome fixture, or so she thinks. Julia inherited her father's BBQ restaurant in Mullaby. While she leaves most of the running of the restaurant to her staff, she bakes fabulous cakes and pastries fresh each morning as town is waking up. When the mortgage on the restaurant is paid off, she plans to sell it and open her own bakery in Baltimore. Emily is a great character, but Julia is my favorite.

Sarah Addison Allen's two previous novels are Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. I think of the three, The Girl Who Chased the Moon is probably my least favorite, but don't let that put you off. I still loved it and recommend it very much; I just like the other two a little better. I don't want to go into detail about why I like this one just a little less, for fear of giving away a big part of the story.

One difference between The Girl Who Chased the Moon and its predecessors that I found kind of nice is that there isn't a really bad guy involved in the story. Gardens Spells had David and The Sugar Queen had Julian; both were truly evil men; there's no other way for me to describe them. While that very real evil was absent from The Girl Who Chased the Moon, other touches of other-worldly, positive magic were present. As an example, the wallpaper in Emily's bedroom changes depending on her mood.

With all three novels, I've really become attached to the characters. Both main characters and supporting characters are always a treat. It's always possible to imagine her characters going on with their lives beyond the end of the book. The stories are about the past and present, but the endings are about the future and leave me feeling hopeful. Her style is becoming familiar to me and I like that because it makes the books comforting. I do hope, however, that her stories continue to remain fresh; that familiar style doesn't become same old, same old.

The Ripest Moments by Norbert Krapf

Bufkinite@evpl — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:00:00 GMT

The Ripest Moments is a simple pleasure to read. While reading this memoir of growing up in the 40s and 50s in Jasper and rural Dubois County, Indiana, I found myself reminded over and over again of my own childhood in northern Indiana, and the cousins, aunts, and uncles we'd often visit in Ohio and West Virginia.

While this is primarily a book about place, and family, it's also a book about community, and the work ethic that built communities like Jasper - and like Evansville, for that matter - with materials and stock that, in the author's words, were "one generation removed from the farm, two or three generations removed from Germany, and a hundred years beyond the wilderness."

As the title suggests, there's quite a bit remembered about the importance of gardens, orchards, and farms in this book. Family garden plots were central to the survival of pre-suburban, working families. "Summers on the Farm," "The Rye Field," and "The Garden and the Strawberry Patch" are just a few of the more mouth-watering chapters.

If you were born & raised in southern Indiana, you'll find something familiar, and likely something warm, in this book. But even if you're a transplant, this book may speak to you. Quoting the author's preface: "I have always believed that any story set deeply in one time and place, if told well, speaks for other times, places, and people. To put it another way, a sense of time and place travels well. A life lived deeply anywhere resonates beyond the context of its specifics."

This one resonated with me.

The author's website.

Animal Dreams -- Books for Lunch at Red Bank Branch

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:58:00 GMT

On Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at noon we will be discussing Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver at Red Bank Branch Library. I could hardly put Animal Dreams down while I was reading it and I hope you'll enjoy it too. Codi, her father and the other characters are wonderful and the small town of Grace, Arizona captivated my imagination. Barbara Kingsolver is my mother's favorite author and she's been recommending her books to me for years. I'm so glad I've finally taken her advice! Please come and join us for the discussion; the more the merrier!

click here to visit author Barbara Kingsolver's website