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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Staff Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Book Cover

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

It is the late 1970s in the Mississippi woods when Larry Ott, a white country boy, and Silas Jones, the son of a single black mother, establish an unlikely and short lived friendship. Larry's brutal father and the social demands of the time and place drive them apart, and after Larry is suspected in the murder of a neighbor girl, Silas leaves town. Twenty-some years later, “Scary Larry” remains under suspicion, a social pariah, and Silas returns to town and a job as constable, nicknamed "32" for the number he wore during his college baseball-playing days. When another girl goes missing, Larry is automatically suspected. Silas, who knows more than he let on about the earlier disappearance, thinks Larry is probably innocent. As he sets out to prove it, he uncovers other secrets and is forced to confront his own demons and reconcile the past.

In Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, Tom Franklin has written a tightly plotted and evenly paced mystery with fully realized characters. He displays a pitch-perfect ear for dialogue and sharply renders Southern lexicon and turns of phrase. This and his keen attention to detail place the reader firmly in the humid, kudzu-covered South. Readers should be aware, however, that racism and violence play an integral part in the story.

A self-described "Southern writer," Franklin won an Edgar Award for the title story in his collection of short stories, Poachers, and has written two novels, Smonk and Hell at the Breech. Born and raised in Alabama, he currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi and teaches creative writing at the University of Mississippi.

Maria - Community Relations

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

50 Books, 150 Pages or Less: Part 3 of 3

Great novels don't have to be long. For anyone short on time or attention, here are some great reads with less than 150 pages.

Interested in other short reads? Come by the library and check out our Short Fiction display, or view all three parts of this list.

When the Emperor Was Divine: A Novel by Julie Otsuka

143 pages

Otsuka’s novel follows the internment of a Japanese-American family during World War II, with each of its five chapters narrated by a different family member. Publishers Weekly When the Emperor Was Divine a “heartbreaking, bracingly unsentimental debut,” while the New York Times wrote that “Ms. Otsuka's precise but poetic evocation of the ordinary that lends this slender novel its mesmerizing power.”

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The Messiah of Stockholm: A Novel by Cynthia Ozick

141 pages

Lars Andemening is a descendant of Polish Jews. Orphaned during World War II, he grew up in Sweden. Twice divorced and estranged from his only child, Lars leads a solitary life with the growing conviction that he is the son of Bruno Schulz, a Polish writer killed by the Nazis. Reviewing it for the New York Times, none other than Harlold Bloom described Ozick’s novel as, simply, “brilliant”. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/22/books/the-book-of-the-father.html?ref=bookreviews

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The Yellow Arrow by Victor Pelevin

92 pages

A long distance train rushes across Russia toward a wrecked bridge. The train has no beginning or end and it is impossible to get off, but the passengers are apparently indifferent. According to Publishers Weekly, Pelevin’s novel of post-soviet anxieties “fuses pungent, visceral imagery reminiscent of Maxim Gorky with an absurdist comic outlook.”

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Death is Not the End: An Inspector Rebus Novella by Ian Rankin

73 pages

In this swift, suspenseful introduction to Rankin’s hardened Edinburgh policeman, John Rebus receives a call from his high school sweetheart and agrees to track down her missing son. Publishers Weekly stated that in Death is Not the End, “Taut exposition, wry dialogue and deft plotting, together with an insider's view of the seedy underside of Edinburgh, combine to make a superior thriller.”

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The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson

119 pages

After a doctor gives Ambrose Zephyr one month to live, he and his wife embark on a whirlwind world tour, visiting all the places they love or have always wanted to see from A to Z--Amsterdam to Zanzibar. Kirkus Reviews stated that The End of the Alphabet “distills the essence of life and love,” and that, although the book could be read in a single sitting, it could “continue to resonate with readers for weeks, months, even years.”

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The Humbling by Philip Roth

140 pages

In the 13th novel from Pulitzer and National Book Award winner Roth, an aging stage actor suddenly loses his talent, followed by his audience and his wife. Struggling to rebuild his life, he begins a disastrous relationship with a younger woman. NPR called The Humbling “a swift but piercing, uncluttered but nuanced morality tale,” while USA Today described it as “slim, bleak, and sexy.”

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Salt River: A Novel by James Sallis

146 pages

John Turner--former soldier, policeman, convict, and psychotherapist--moved to rural Tennessee to escape his past. While serving as interim sheriff, a fatal car accident and a visitor from his past destroy his hard-won tranquility. Publishers Weekly called Salt River “sublime,” while Booklist stated that, “Like a tightly structured blues song, the melancholy tale finds resonance in every line and every prolonged chord.” Salt River is the third and final volume of the celebrated Turner series, which begins with Cypress Grove and Cripple Creek.

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As We Are Now: A Novel by May Sarton

133 pages

Sarton’s harrowing exploration of growing old and unwanted was first published in 1973. After suffering a heart attack, 76-year-old Caroline Spencer is moved by relatives into a nursing home. As We Are Now is Caroline’s diary of her time there. Legendary critic Brooks Atkinson called Sarton’s novel “a masterly portrait of a woman’s loneliness, helplessness and despair.”

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The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

134 pages

In the first book-length work from acclaimed satirist Saunders, the country of Inner Horner--which is surrounded by the larger and more prosperous Outer Horne--is so small that it can only hold one of its seven citizens at a time. One day, Inner Horner inexplicably shrinks, leaving most of its current inhabitant in Outer Horner. Led by their president Phil, the Outer Hornerites declare an invasion in progress and the two countries go to war. Kirkus Reviews called The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil “a mind-bending work inviting readers to ponder the nature of parable and the possibilities of language.”

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The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters by Aneva Stout

94 pages

Stout’s funny, clever debut takes the form of a gift book, telling a tale of love lost and found and lost again in 781 second-person affirmations. For example, “373. You’ll waste lots of time trying to interpret his response.” Publishers Weekly wrote that The List: “offers all the guilty pleasures of chick lit,” and that, despite its length, it “has enough drama, emotional resonance and sharp throw-away lines to make it worth revisiting, either in part or whole.”

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The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone

147 pages

In Stone’s acclaimed mystery, retired Israeli security service officer Levin leads a solitary life but agrees to follow the wife of an acquaintance. He becomes obsessed with his target and, after her lover dies mysteriously, she has a request of her own. The Jerusalem File is an expert combination of hardboiled mystery and insightfulportrait of modern Israel.

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Frontera Dreams: A Hector Balascoran Shayne Detective Novel by Paco Ignacio Taibo II

120 pages

Paco Ignacio Taibo’s mysteries featuring the one-eyed existentialist detective Hector Balascoran Shayne are internationally renowned and wildly popular in the author’s native Mexico. This slim volume follows Shane north to the US-Mexico border, where he has gone to search for his vanished childhood sweetheart. Taibo’s novels are far from traditional mysteries, but they’re not to be missed. As one reviewer in the Washington Post Book World wrote,"Lovers of modern Latin-American literature should snap up [Taibo's work], as should mystery fans who like storytelling that's as fractured as the age they live in, and far more artful."

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Camera by Jean-Philippe Toussaint

122 pages

Camera is both a comedy and a philosophical novel—simultaneously feather light and bleakly heavy. Toussaint’s Parisian narrator does very little—he considers taking driving lessons, probably falls in love, goes on a few short trips, and finds a camera. Some readers may be turned off by the novel’s relative lack of a plot, but for anyone who prizes inventiveness, there might not be a better book on this list.

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The Club of Angels by Luis Fernando Verissimo

135 pages

A club of middle-aged gourmands meet monthly for lavish feasts. After each meal, one of them dies. The Club of Angels spent more than ten years on the bestseller list in the author’s native Brazil. Publishers Weekly called it a “swift and acidic portrait of a (literally) poisoned network of friendships,” with, “a bite that endures because of the great intelligence underlying it.”

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Inside Job by Connie Willis

99 pages

Rob, professional debunker and publisher of Jaundiced Eye magazine, is forced to reconsider his beliefs after attending a séance with his ex-actress employee Kildy where the medium seems to be channeling HL Menkin. According to Booklist, “Willis, one of SF's most spirited writers, rounds on the New Age; pays tribute to a great, skeptical journalist; and affectionately parodies pulp fiction at its best in this irresistible entertainment.”

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Double Homicide by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman

147 and 133 pages

Actually two books short novels packaged in one reversible volume, Double Homicide is a great introduction to two masters of crime fiction who happen to be married to each other. Two tales of murder and suspense set in two different cities.

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Staff Pick: Get Me Out

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Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank by Randi Hutter Epstien

Science meets snark in Randi Hutter Epstien’s Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank, an irreverent look at the often misguided struggle of humans to understand how we are conceived and born. Hutter, a physician and science writer who has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Daily Telegraph, blends humor with wonder as she recounts the history of pregnancy and childbirth in a conversational style.

Hutter’s tales hit a range of topics, from the mysterious secret of forceps deliveries (their closely guarded design was not known to the public, even after over 100 years of use, until the 1813 discovery of a set hidden in the attic of a home in England), to the migration of the birthing process from home to hospital during the 20th century. Along the way Hutter chronicles the origins of the use of anesthesia in childbirth, as well as the growth of the natural childbirth movement—interestingly pointing out that both methods, in different eras, have symbolized the empowerment of women giving birth. Epstein’s light tone takes a tender tack in the book’s tragic chapters; for instance, in describing early gynecological experiments on slaves in the antebellum United States, the author calls on readers to remember the ethical travesty of this research, and a chapter on the widespread use of drugs such as DES and Thalidomide illuminates, at times disturbingly, the fallibility of modern medicine in recent decades. The book’s final chapters address the rise in popularity of sonograms, sperm banks, and the C-section.

Get Me Out is an enlightening and amusing read, especially for those interested in past methods of childbirth. Among its many revelations is the extent to which the views of the medical establishment have varied over the years, and how different the standard procedures of today are from those employed just 50 or 100 years ago. The book provides a rich historical context for anyone who has experienced childbirth, either as a parent or a baby, which, by my calculations, includes just about everyone.

Dan - Collection Development

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Staff Pick: On Cats

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On Cats by Doris Lessing

I feel kind of weird giving my highest accolades to a book about, well, cats, but this was a pretty special book. Squeamish cat-lovers beware ~ Doris Lessing starts out by telling of her girlhood growing up on a farm in South Africa, shooting baby kittens with her father because they simply couldn't manage to keep them all. I actually love her for refusing to be sentimental. Yet somehow there is an acute tenderness in her writing about her cats, especially as she grows older, despite wry tales of guns & whiskey & too many kittens. Remarkably like her darker works on the terrors of motherhood, failures of communism, etc., Lessing really zeroes in on the personalities and nuances of her characters. It's just that, this time, they happen to be cats! This was one of those especially good ones that I had to read really slow at the last chapter because I didn't want it to end.

Rachel - Adult Services

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Monday, November 1, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Roundup

This election season, we asked candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office and posted their answers here.

Click on the links below to see their responses or view them all at once, and don't forget to vote!

Paul Davis: Democrat from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 46th District.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Mike Gaughan: Democrat from Lawrence running for Douglas County Commissioner.
Favorite book: Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Arch Naramore: Republican from Lawrence running for Douglas County Commissioner.
Favorite book: Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain

Roberta Eveslage: Democrat from Lenexa running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 38th District.
Favorite books: Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov

Tony Brown: Democrat from Baldwin City running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 10th District.
Favorite book: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

L.W. Abney: Republican from Topeka running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 53rd District.
Favorite book: The Bible

Tom Sloan: Republican from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 45th District.
Favorite book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Andrew Gray: Libertarian from Topeka running for Governor.
Favorite book: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Linda Robinson: Democrat from Lawrence running for the Kansas House of Representratives, 45th District.
Favorite book: “ride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Ken Cannon: Reform Party candidate from Governor from Andover.
Favorite book: Bummy and the Coach by Ken Cannon

Dennis McKinney: Democrat from Greensburg running for the State Treasurer.
Favorite book: Lincoln’s Sword by Douglas Wilson

Steve Six: Democrat from Topeka running for Attorney General.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Lynn Jenkins: Republican from Topeka running for the US House of Representatives, 2nd District.
Favorite book: The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko

Stephene Moore: Democrat from Lenexa running for the US House of Representatives, 3rd District.
Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Kevin Yoder: Republican from Overland Park running for the US House of Representatives, 3rd District.
Favorite book: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Stephene Moore & Kevin Yoder

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Stephene Moore, Democrat from Lenexa, is running for a seat representing Kansas' 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. Her favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

"It is one of the most incredible books ever written. It is about learning respect, understanding, caring, the importance of family and the community, and above all else standing up for what you believe in."

Kevin Yoder, Republican from Overland Park, is also running for a seat representing Kansas' 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. His favorite book is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Publisher Description:

Full of unforgettable characters, Great Expectations is a tale of intrigue, unattainable love, and all of the happiness money can't buy.

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Lynn Jenkins

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Lynn Jenkins, Republican from Topeka, currently represents Kansas' 2nd District in the US House of Representatives. Her favorite book is The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko.

"I'm a CPA by trade and thus, I'm a numbers gal. The authors of The Millionaire Next Door interview millionaires to determine how a normal person can build wealth. Its not a get-rich-quick scheme, it's smart, everyday, long-term financial advice. Saving instead of buying; Paying cash instead of buying on credit...the sort of lessons we all should learn, including our federal government."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Steve Six

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Steve Six, Democrat from Lawrence, currently serves as Attorney General and is seeking re-election. His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

"To Kill a Mockingbird shows everything that is right about being a lawyer and why I am proud to be one. In the current climate in this country, I think folks would be well served to keep in mind what Atticus says in the book -- 'They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.'

A close second right now is All the Kings Men by Roger Penn Warren--which is, in my opinion, the best book on American politics out there."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Candidate’s Favorite Books: Dennis McKinney

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Dennis McKinney, Democrat from Greensburg, currently serves as State Treasurer and is seeking re-election. His favorite book is Lincoln’s Sword by Douglas Wilson.

"Abraham Lincoln, raised on the frontier, could have been lost to illiteracy but for the fact that he attended a community school. After learning to read and write he was asked by neighbors, who could not read, to compose letters to loved ones. From that he learned the difference between the spoken word and the written word. Wilson points out how he used this command of the language to call a nation to its core ideals that 'all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.'"

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Candidate’s Favorite Books: Ken Cannon

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Ken Cannon, from Andover, is the Reform Party candidate for governor. His favorite book is Bummy and the Coach, which he wrote.

"I am somewhat biased regarding my favorite book. As a 36 year educator with a number of those years teaching English, I thoroughly enjoyed the Mark Twain books. However, my favorite book is one that I wrote titled Bummy and the Coach! It will be released this coming December."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Candidate’s Favorite Books: Linda Robinson

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Linda Robinson, Democrat from Lawrence, is running for a seat representing the 45th District in the Kansas House of Representatives. Her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

"Having been an English major in college, I have a real love for British literature and wit. I enjoy the language and dialogue, as well as the writing style of the book. The fact that it is historical fiction makes it interesting and educational, as well as enjoyable to read. It’s a fascinating look into the lives and manners of Regency England."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Andrew Gray

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Andrew Gray, Libertarian from Topeka, is running for governor. His favorite book is The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.

"I must say this is one of the best questions I've been asked in regards to the campaign but yet the most difficult. Asking me what my favorite book would be is much like asking a father who their favorite child is.

I "took" this book from my father when I was 10 years old and began to read it. It is my favorite book because it has taken on different meanings through different stages in my life. I couldn't be able to understand some portions until I was able to experience them myself throughout life. I look forward to what elese it may reveal to me as I get older."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Tom Sloan

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Tom Sloan, Republican from Lawrence, currently represents the 45th District in the Kansas House of Representatives. His favorite book is War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

"War and Peace by Tolstoy truly introduced me to history, foreign cultures, psychological drama, and exceptional writing skills. My PhD research and academic writing focused on identifying 'triggers' to conflict escalation and de-escalation behaviors in international conflicts. Tolstoy's writing undoubtedly was an influence in my academic and professional endeavors, as well as my efforts to communicate effectively."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: L.W. Abney

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

L.W. Abney, Republican from Topeka, is running for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 53rd District. His favorite book is The Bible.

"I learned to read from comic books at the town drug store. My favorite book is The Bible. There is more knowledge in it than all the laws we make. When I think I know it all I learn something new. To me it is a comfort in a crazy world and a hope for better things to come. I am told that the author is God."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Candidate’s Favorite Books: Tony Brown

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Tony Brown, Democrat from Baldwin City, represents the 10th District in the Kansas House of Representatives and is running for reelection. His favorite book is Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam.

"My favorite book of all time is Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. I'm a big fan of memoirs and I think Mr. Hickam's story of growing up in Coalwood, West Virginia, is a great story of personal achievement. As a developmental psychologist, it illustrates to me the desire that all adolescents have to grow beyond their childhood circumstances. As a person, it challenges me to be better than I am."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Roberta Eveslage

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Roberta Eveslage, Democrat from Lenexa, is running for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 38th District. Her favorite books are from Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series.

"My honest favorite(s) was the science fiction Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I read the series when I was about 11 years old, and it opened my mind to alternative ways of living. It surprised me because even in this fantasy world there were still rules to live by."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Mike Gaughan & Arch Naramore

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Mike Gaughan, Democrat from Lawrence, currently serves as a Douglas County Commissioner and is running for reelection. His favorite book is Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby.

"My favorite book of all time is Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. I remember reading it for the first time and howling in laughter at some of the passages because of his dead-on accounts of what it means to be a fan. Kansas Basketball fans could identify with so much of what he describes. But now that I'm reflecting on it I want to read it again after some of the experiences I've had over the last few years - not as a fan of soccer or basketball - but as a father and as a young adult. Ultimately Fever Pitch is about embracing a passion, and even learning to live with it. I wonder if I will be more drawn to the anecdotes about Hornby's life and relationships, or still to the tales of the affliction of fandom. Regardless, I know I'll be laughing."

Arch Naramore, Republican from Lawrence, is running against Mike Gaughan for Douglas County Commissioner. His favorite book is Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain.

"How Pudd'nhead (the lawyer) got his name reminds me of a lot of other lawyers. The twins sharing one body with two heads and the struggle between the Methodist head and the free thinker head. Two heads one body that live life completely different, and how the the twins share each others life in one body. Lots of humor."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Candidate's Favorite Books: Paul Davis

This election season, we're asking candidates the hard-hitting question "What is your favorite book?" We asked all candidates appearing on the ballot for state and local office. As the election nears, we'll post their answers here.

Paul Davis, Democrat from Lawrence, currently serves the 46th district in the Kansas House of Representatives and is running for reelection. His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. He had this to say about it:

"I'm probably one of many whose favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I am enamored with Atticus Finch and his willingness to take on a client that made him tremendously unpopular in a small Southern town and how Scout was able to learn some great lessons about life from what he did. It is a great story about how we shouldn't always do what is popular and that there are times when we all need to take risks and stand up for what is right."

Inclusion on this blog does does not constitute an endorsement of a candidate by the library. However, we do endorse the books they've chosen.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

50 Books, 150 Pages or Less: Part 2 of 3

Great novels do not have to be long. Look for part three in the coming months and check out part one for more recommendations.

Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

142 pages

Time Magazine's original review of this modern classic by Kosinski called it "a tantalizing knuckle ball of a book delivered with perfectly timed satirical hops and metaphysical flutters." Blatantly satirical without being heavy-handed, Being There tells the story of the meteoric rise of Chauncy Gardiner from simple gardener to media celebrity and vice presidential candidate. The movie adaptation starring Peter Sellers is also available at the library.

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Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi

118 pages

Kureichi's novel, which provoked controversy in Britain when it was first published, is the tormented but lyrical interior monologue of a man contemplating leaving his wife. According to Booklist, "Intimacy brilliantly explores love's dying throes." Publishers Weekly called it "a devastating and insightful portrait of how betrayal can become a form of self-renewal."

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Disquiet by Julia Leigh

120 pages

A woman visits her mother's chateau for the first time in a decade with her two young children. They are quickly joined by her brother and sister-in-law, who have arrived with the corpse of their still-born baby. Disquiet is a suspenseful family drama that edges into horror. USA Today called it a "powerful, audacious, even shocking portrait of familial decay," saying that, "Leigh has packed so much nuance into 121 taut pages that you finish the slim volume and immediately want to read it again."

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The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing

133 pages

In Nobel Prize-winner Lessing's contemporary gothic, the domestic idyll of Harriet and David Lovatt is thrown horrifically off-balance by the birth of their fifth child--a shriveled goblin of an infant who only becomes more ferocious and deformed,physically and morally,as he ages. When The Fifth Child was originally published in 1988, The New York Times called it a "horror story of maternity and the nightmare of social collapse" that was "destined to become a minor classic."

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Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli

108 pages

In the final year of World War II, Commissario De Luca investigates the torture and murder of a well-connected drug dealer, diving into the murky, interconnected depths of crime and politics in late fascist Italy. Part one of a trilogy by Lucarelli, a wildly popular crime writer in his native Italy, Carte Blanche is gritty noir that Kirkus Reviews called a "smart and stylish crime yarn" from an "Italian noir master." Followed by The Damned Season and Via Delle Oche.

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Esther's Inheritance by Sándor Márai

148 pages

After a twenty year absence, the love of Esther's life has returned with his adult children and a mysterious woman to whom he is apparently indebted. Lajos, a charismatic con man who married Esther's sister instead of Esther and disappeared after her sister's death, has come to ask a favor that it is difficult for Esther to refuse.

Márai was one of Hungary's leading literary novelists in the 1930s. A committed pacifist, he survived World War II only to be driven out of the country by its new communist regime, dying in obscurity in San Diego many years later. His novels have only recently appeared in English, to wide critical acclaim.

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Shopgirl by Steve Martin

130 pages

The bittersweet first novel by actor Steve Martin. Lonely, shy Mirabelle, who sells gloves at a Beverly Hills department store, catches the eye of millionaire Ray Porter. The New York Times called Martin's novel ''elegant, bleak, desolatingly sad", and ''Martin's most achieved work to date.''

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Driving Lessons by Ed McBain

72 pages

Publishers Weekly called Driving Lessons "a complex tale of human frailty, with nary a wasted word," with a resolution that is "as shocking as it is unexpected." When a sixteen-year-old accidently runs down a pedestrian during a driving lesson, two facts are apparent to the police: that the driving inspector, though he passes a breathalyser test, appears to be drunk, and that victum is his wife.

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The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

127 pages

This early novel by one of Britain's most acclaimed authors was praised by The New York Times for its "originality, vividness, wit and power to intrigue." Colin and Mary, an unmarried couple vacationing in an unnamed European city, put their trust in a stranger onlt to be drawn into his violent fantasies.

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Mr. Thundermug by Cornelius Medvei

105 pages

This "case history", complete with photographs and drawings, tells the story of Mr. Thundermug, an oragutan with "an unsettling mastery of human speech" whose attempt to live in a London-like city with his wife and children is met with no small amount of scorn and misunderstanding. Publishers Weekly called Medvei's novel a "gently affecting and often funny allegory of the outsider."

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My Happy Life: A Novel by Lydia Millet

150 pages

Abandoned in a locked room in a mental hospital, Millet's nameless narrator recalls a life full of gross misfortune in a deceptively simple, unstintingly optimistic voice that slowly reveals, instead of pitiful naivety, tremendous strength and wisdom. Publishers Weekly called My Happy Life a "courageous and memorable achievement."

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Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore

147 pages

A disenchented middle-aged women remembers a summer of adolescent rebellion in Moore's poignant, acidly funny novel about growing older. The New York Times called Moore's book "a sad, witty, disillusioned fairy tale" with the power to make readers laugh and cry.

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The Painter of Signs by R.K. Narayan

142 pages

The Painter of Signs is a wry, bittersweet love story from celebrated Indian novelist Narayan that The Times of London called "subtle, vivid …also extremely funny." After being hired to paint signs for a new new clinic, Raman falls in love--despite his best intentions and the advice of those around him--with a young, progressively-minded woman named Daisy who is dedicated to bringing birth control to the area.

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Fire in the Blood by Irène Némirovsky

137 pages

One of a handful of manuscripts discovered and translated long after Némirovsky perished at Auschwitz, Fire in the Blood is an intimate portrait of love and passion in a rural French village. Library Journal called it an "exquisitely wrought tale" that posesses "the power of myth."

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Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates

138 pages

The narrator of Oates' gothic tale, a student at an all-girls college in New England, is obsessed with her poetry teacher and his sculptor wife. BookList said of Beasts that "Oates' control of this smart, steely tale of the baser side of human nature is absolute, as are its dark and scintillating pleasures."

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The Stones Cry Out by Hikaru Okuizumi

138 pages

The first of Okuizumi's novels to be translated into English and the winner of Japan's most prestigious literary award, The Stones Cry Out tells the story of a Japanese World War II veteran whose traumatic experience lingers long after the war's end. Publishers Weekly called it a "lyrical, riveting study of obsession, family disintegration and war's dehumanizing effects."

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Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

146 pages

Blurbing Last Night at the Lobster, Stephen King called it "A deeply moving novel about how we work, how we live, and how we get to the next day with our spirits intact." Manny DeLeon, the manager of a Connecticut Red Lobster slated to close for underperforming, reflects on his personal and professional life while trying to make his restaurant's last day of business perfect.

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