Category: Books

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown

- Ann Leave a comment

boys in the boatIt’s hard to imagine now, in the relative comfort of our modern age, the devastation and poverty brought about by the Great Depression. The combination of a crashing economy and violent weather destroyed lives and businesses. People lost their livelihoods, their homes, their families – it was not unusual for parents to abandon or leave one or more children to other family members or orphanages. To live through this time would inevitably shape and influence a person for the rest of their lives. The Boys in the Boat brings this era and the people who lived it vividly to life.

The Boys in the Boat focuses primarily on Joe Rantz, one of the boys who will become part of the team that goes to the Olympics. Dirt poor, abandoned by his family when he was a teen, he was representative of the make-up of this group of rowers. Scrapping for everything they had, they were unafraid of hard work and impossible challenges. Being part of the rowing team allowed Joe to attend the University of Washington but it also gave him a family – teammates, coaches, supporters – of like-minded, honest people and it opened up the world to him.

The rowing team comes together and coalesces over the four years leading up to the Olympics. They raise the previously dismissed Washington rowing team to a contender, beating their rivals at the University of California Berkeley and then the East Coast giants of the Ivy League to earn the right to represent the United States at the Olympics. Most of these boys had never been out of the state of Washington – some not outside of Seattle – before they began going to rowing competitions with the team and now they were headed to Europe. It was almost unimaginable.

When I read this book I was surprised by how much of a page turner it was – I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. The gritty details of living through the Great Depression made the story come alive and the story of the Berlin Olympics – so carefully planned (and rigged) by Hitler and the Nazis was eyeopening, an early warning sign (if it hadn’t been carefully hidden by the Nazis) of the horror to come.

Filled with amazing stories both humorous and heartbreaking, peopled with vivid, unforgettable characters and set against the backdrop of great historical events all seen through the lens of the sublimely beautiful sport of rowing, The Boys in the Boat is a must read. Highly recommended.

 

The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies by Martin Millar

- Stephanie Leave a comment

the goddess of buttercups and daisiesDo you like reading about ancient gods and goddesses like Aphrodite, Athena, Zeus, etc? I know I do. One thing I found lacking when I was reading about them was that there was never any story about their day-to-day lives. Sure, everyone knows the Athena sprung whole out of her father Zeus’ head after he swallowed her mother to try to keep her from being born, that Aphrodite rose full-formed out of the sea foam, and that Zeus was a philandering God who had many different girlfriends and illegitimate children despite the fact that he was married to Hera, the goddess of weddings and marriage, but what about their everyday lives?? Martin Millar has attempted to tackle this question in his new book, The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies.

In The Goddess of Buttercups and Daisies, Martin Millar looks at both the daily life of the gods and goddesses, but also at the lives of the people who relied on them to make their lives work. (Admittedly more attention is paid to the citizens than to the gods, but interesting tidbits and stories are thrown in for good measure.) In this fantasy epic, the lives of Athenian citizens are in dire straits as the city is in its 10th year of war with Sparta. In hopes to end the war, a peace conference is being held around the time of the festival of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility and wine who was also known as a patron of the arts.

Aristophanes is struggling to get the necessary funds to guarantee his play’s success and to make up for the fact that he didn’t win first prize at last year’s festival. His rival playwrights are receiving any and everything they could possibly want, while the politicians and festival sponsors seem to be conspiring to make sure his play fails gigantically. One group in town wants peace, while the other group wants war to continue. Aristophanes’ play about peace will never succeed without money, so he is forced to make some deals with some less-than-reputable people in town. Add in various people praying to the gods and asking for help and soon Athens finds itself the center of attention of some meddlesome gods who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the outcome they desire.

This funny, compelling, and witty adventure into the lives of average Athenian citizens and the gods they turn to for help will have you eagerly turning the page to see what destruction and mayhem could possibly come next.

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton

- Stephanie Leave a comment

step aside popsStep Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection is Kate Beaton’s third published book of comics, but fourth overall. (Other ones by Beaton that the library owns are Hark! A Vagrant and The Princess and the Pony.) This new graphic novel is a collection of strips from her webcomic, Hark! A Vagrant. Webcomics are generally self-published online and are sometimes even published into books or as single strips in magazines or newspapers depending upon their popularity.

In Step Aside, Pops, Beaton takes a turn at digging into the lives of various literary, historical, and contemporary figures and characters. Think of this graphic novel as a collection of Beaton’s musings and ideas about different people throughout history. Her obvious love of all things literature, historical, and pop culture related flow through this graphic novel as she dissects the lives of Wonder Woman, what it was really like to be a peasant in a time of no medicine or deodorant, and how different famous Alexanders handled rough situations throughout time. Crack open this graphic novel and you’ll see how Beaton reimagines the lives of Achilles, the founding fathers when they find themselves in a shopping mall, and even how Cinderella would have played out if she had been a bodybuilder.

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon

- Stephanie Leave a comment

killjoysIn The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Better Living Industries, a megacorporation with a ruthless and tyrannical leader, is working to take over more of the world and to cut off the freedoms and emotions of everyone living on the planet. This has been going on for years with revolutionaries and groups popping up every now and then trying to save what they can of the life they used to live and the people that they used to know. A group of four said revolutionaries became THE group of revolutionaries in this world with their likenesses splattered all over the news. Sadly over ten years ago, they were all killed while trying to save the life of a mysterious young girl that Better Living Industries, aka BLI, was trying to kill. This young girl becomes one of the main subject lines of The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. Follow along as the Girl works to figure out why BLI tried to kill her, what BLI is doing to all the defunct robots around the world, how these rogue groups are surviving and getting their news, and how the system BLI has set up is really affecting the civilized people in the world and how BLI is able to control the world and its employees.

The writers, Gerard Way and Shaun Simon, along with artist Becky Cloonan, have crafted a very strange, mysterious, and science fiction heavy graphic novel that is rich in details and colors that pop into your subconscious as you follow along with the characters. This graphic novel does not have a traditional linear structure, in the sense that readers will have to pay attention to context and art clues to figure out the difference between the past and the present, but the ideas presented are so intriguing and seemingly plausible that the quick transitions between past and present and also between different characters’ storylines only serve to add to the complex and supremely creative nature of this graphic novel. I highly recommend reading through this graphic novel more than once.

Girl in Dior by Annie Goetzinger

- Stephanie Leave a comment

girl in diorI love reading fiction that I can tell has roots in nonfiction. Girl in Dior, a graphic novel by Annie Goetzinger, falls into this category. Girl in Dior tells the fictionalized story of Clara Nohant, a fashion-journalist-turned-model who ends up working and forming a friendship with Christian Dior in the last ten years of his life. In this graphic novel, readers get to see the stunning colors and designs that went into forming the House of Dior, as well as the behind the scenes work that Dior, his seamstresses, and models did in order to launch his New Look in 1947. By presenting this as a graphic novel, Goetzinger is able to showcase the different types of collections Dior put together, as well as the historical changes in fashion that the world was going through as Dior prepared to rock the world with his New Look.

Goetzinger takes great care to include the likenesses and back stories of influential people that would have been in the fashion and movie industry around the time when Dior was designing. She also includes back matter in the book along the lines of chronological reference points, a list of Christian Dior’s 22 collections, what the author calls “Christian Dior’s entourage”, as well as definitions of the different careers you can have in the fashion world and the different types of fabrics and accessories that were used. Goetzinger also includes a bibliography of works. The additional material she provided enhanced the book for me, giving me something to turn to besides an outside source when I wasn’t sure of what a certain term meant. Flip to this book if you’re interested in learning more about the creation of the Dior house, if you’re curious about how Clara went from a fashion chronicler to a model, or if you’re looking to learn more about how Christian Dior was able to change the world of fashion in the short ten years that he ran the house of Dior.

The Devil in the White City – Chicago at the Turn of the 19th Century

- Bianca Leave a comment

devil in the white cityA couple of months ago I heard on the radio that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio were going to collaborate yet again on what will most definitely be another blockbuster hit. The two have previously collaborated on The Aviator, Shutter Island, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Each film was nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures for Arts and Sciences (aka the best award in film you can attain) for Best Film and Directing with DiCaprio getting the Best Actor nomination for 3 out of the 5 films. Scorsese won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Film of the Year for The Departed. When these two get together, everyone turns out to see what they have created, especially me! This film is 2 years away from its release, and I am already gearing up for it.

This time they are bringing you a film based on the 2003 book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Erik Larson’s work is the story of the true events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. He tells this story in interweaving fashion, focusing on Architect Daniel Burnham and serial killer H.H. Holmes during the years leading up  to the World’s Fair. Both men shaped Chicago’s history in very different ways.

When I first heard about this novel, I wasn’t too excited to pick it up. My fear was that it would be too much about gruesome murders for me to enjoy. But it wasn’t. The book is about paramount history that happened just a few hours away from where we live. In fact, one of Holmes’ lovers and later victim was from Davenport, IA.

While there are a few murderous details, Holmes’ part of the book is more about how he was able to carry on his killings undetected for so long. Multiple accounts describe Holmes as an ideal individual that exuded charm and warmth. While I am eager to finish and read about Holmes’ inevitable demise, I have truly adored page after page of historical firsts. The World’s Fair was such a monumental occassion that everyone wanted to be part of it. Great inventions were first unveiled, historical figures rubbed elbows, heroes we have only read about preformed, and so..much..more.

I have no doubt that Scorsese will capture the essence of this time period and the innumerable historical particles sprinkled throughout the book. As for my all time favorite actor, Leonardo Dicaprio, I know he will deliver. It was a bit disheartening to learn that DiCaprio would encompass H. H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer, but then I realized one cannot always play the hero. And in fact, many actors do their best work when playing the villain. I wouldn’t be surprised if DiCaprio gives his best performance ever with this new film.

Photos from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

More about the World’s Columbian Exposition.

Storm: Make it Rain by Greg Pak

- Stephanie Leave a comment

stormStorm, aka Ororo Munroe, goes by many different names, but this X-Man has the ability to control the winds and the weather. In this first volume, Storm: Make it Rain, people not familiar with Storm are introduced in part to her origin story and how she got to where she is today. She’s the windrider, the Princess of N’Dare, the former Queen of Wakanda, and the headmistress of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, the place where she met Wolverine and the other X-Men, and the place where she is struggling to control, help instill, and foster a sense of belonging amongst the young mutants attending.

With the help of Henry McCoy, also known as the Beast, Storm is able to work to better the world around her and to keep both the mutants and humans around her safe from harm. Ororo finds herself helping a small village before a giant tsunami hits, chasing down missing young adults, and dealing with tyrants who are trying to control the world. This graphic novel doesn’t disappoint as we’re introduced to Storm’s connection to Wolverine, her former lovers as well as her nemesis, and to her origin story in general.

Storm is shown and drawn as a strong, independent hero who has matured from when she was a small child to a mutant who knows the limits that her body possesses and, most importantly, how to use those powers to help others. This graphic novel is a combination of Storm (2014) #1-5 with each issue bringing to light an extra layer of Storm and the reasons why she does what she does.

Rocket Raccoon: A Chasing Tale by Skottie Young

- Stephanie Leave a comment

rocket raccoonThe release of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie brought about a slam of new materials about the characters to libraries and bookstores everywhere. One Guardians rendition that the library just purchased is Rocket Raccoon: A Chasing Tale. In this graphic novel, writer and artist Skottie Young, along with the help of many other artists, have created the world of Rocket Raccoon, one of the stars of Guardians of the Galaxy, and his friend, Groot.

In A Chasing Tale, Rocket spends his time away from the other Guardians of the Galaxy by going on a series of extra money-making adventures. His time rescuing princesses and saving the world may come to a screeching halt though when he is arrested for committing multiple murders on planets all over the galaxy and is thrown into jail! Rocket does what any other upstanding superhero would do in a situation like this: turns to the nasty underbelly of criminals that he knows exist to buy their help in figuring out who is setting him up and how it’s possible that someone could be framing him when he is the ONLY existing one of his kind left! It’s a mystery! With multiple groups chasing after him and wanting him dead, Rocket and Groot have to take matters into their own hands(or maybe ummm… paws and branches…) to figure out who or what is behind this frame job, what Rocket possibly could have done to make them so angry, and most importantly, if there actually are other creatures like him from Halfworld left.

Young has crafted a graphic novel that dabbles in Star Lord and other Guardians of the Galaxy knowledge, but mostly draws upon the character of Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Don’t be worried that you will be overwhelmed or need to have background knowledge about Rocket Raccoon in order to understand this graphic novel. Some references to previous adventures happen, but most are quickly explained by subsequent dialogue. The colors are vivid, characters and their stories well-developed, and some side storylines are introduced to help liven the main story arc up and to also introduce a look into why some characters are behaving the way that they do. The second volume, Rocket Raccoon: Storytailer, was just released and is on my list of things to order, so check the catalog soon to check out this next volume of Rocket’s crazy adventures!

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

- Stephanie Leave a comment

beat the reaper1What would you do if you lived a double life? If you had the option to better yourself and change your life for the better, would you take it, no matter the cost? How far would you be willing to go for revenge? All of these questions and more are what the characters in Josh Bazell’s Beat the Reaper deal with on a daily basis.

Beat the Reaper begins by introducing us to Dr. Peter Brown, an intern at Manhattan Catholic, on his way to work when he is held up at gunpoint. Brown springs into action, showing a vast knowledge of martial arts and combat skills that are so tailored to seriously main and kill that they couldn’t simply have been learned by taking classes at the local gym; they must have been put to actual use. How did this seemingly normal man gain these skills? The mystery begins.

Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brnwa, used to be a contract killer/hitman for the mafia, a relationship that began in his teen years after the brutal murder of his grandparents and one that ends with him having to join Witness Protection when one job turns his life upside down and ultimately leads to Brown tossing his best friend out of a 6th floor window. In WITSEC, Brown decides to become a doctor to honor the legacy of his grandfather, a job that, so far, has not put him into contact with anyone in his previous life until the day he walks into patient Eddie Squillante aka Nicholas LoBrutto’s room and finds himself face-to-face with a man dying of cancer who demands to be saved or he will reveal Brown’s new identity, thus guaranteeing a group of other hitmen to come after him. Brown is forced to reconcile the sudden thrusting of his two lives together and decide how far he is willing to go to get what he wants.

This book is Josh Bazell’s debut novel and his background as a physician shows through in the intricately detailed medical digressions and footnotes that populate the book. If footnotes throw you off, don’t be worried. Bazell has molded Brown’s character into a perfect mix of the medical and the criminal that the descriptions of medical issues come across as the well-articulated discussions of a compartmentalized and highly knowledgeable individual. This darky humorous, suspenseful crime novel will have you wondering where Brnwa ends and Brown begins, a dichotomy that will either lead to life or death for this compelling main character.

What’s Cooking in November?

- Bianca Leave a comment

If you can make it, then I bet there is a day reserved on the calendar to celebrate it. Every once in a while I like to peek at the holidays and special recognitions assigned to the current month. Many of the days are filled with celebrations of a particular food. What better way to surprise your friends, family, or coworkers than to treat them to a platter of goodies to celebrate the unique holiday?

Deviled Eggs

Deviled Egg Day: November 2 – My taste buds do not understand the satisfaction and joy that is invoked by this tiny smelly yellow thing, but I must admit this side dish shows up at nearly every function I attend that includes food. Therefore, I must be in the minority. Even my children have succumbed to the powers of this egg, mustard, and mayonnaise thing. For the egg lovers out there check out D’lish Deviled Eggs by Kathy Casey. I might even find a twist on this that I enjoy. For a few quick ideas, check out Huffpost Taste by the Huffington Post.

 

sandwich recipes Sandwich Day: November 3 – We all have our favorite sandwiches. Asking someone their Hungry Hobo number is a fun way to get to know someone. Try it with a friend or family member, you might be completely surprised by the answer. Eventually you will meet your sandwich twin! But I tend to get bored eating the same sandwich; I need to change it up. Chef Tom Colicchio’s book ‘wichcraft includes sandwich recipes from the New York restaurant chain of the same name. These sandwiches are very unique and full of flavor. Cooking Light has 102 Super Sandwiches you can sink your teeth into right now!

 

bold recipesCook Something Bold Day: November 8 – Sure, why not? The idea behind this holiday is to create a dish that will fill your home with amazing flavors. It works well this time of year as many parts of the country are locking up windows for the winter to keep the heat in. Asian Grill by Corinne Trang has over 80 recipes for dressings, breads, desserts, vegetables, and meats bursting with bold Asian flavors. For more tips, recipes and Asian flavor, click Cooking By Feel.

 

 bread cookbookHomemade Bread Day: November 17 – Nothing beats bread fresh out of the oven, so how about you make it fresh out of your own oven! Thanks to authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois making bread is quick and easy. The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is fully revised and updated from the 2007 edition. New additions include 30 additional recipes and a gluten free chapter! For more gluten free bread ideas, visit Allrecipes.