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Good Books Book Club

Staff Picks

November 2011

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth Speare
(reviewed by Heather)
YA SPEARE (N) (young adult fiction- Newbery Award Winner)
This is the story of Kit Tyler, a teenager struggling to fit into her community in the year 1687.  After her grandfather dies, she must move from Barbados to the Colony of Connecticut to live with her aunt’s family.  She is regarded suspiciously by the members of the Puritanical community, because she swims, and is headstrong. She befriends a Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond and soon the community suspects Kit may be a witch.  The story brings the historical period of witch hunts to life, but it is also a story of love and family.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
(reviewed by Heather)
YA WESTERFELD (young adult fiction)
If you are curious about the steampunk genre-this is a classic example.  This book takes place during World War I as Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated and the world goes to war. That is when the story takes a twist into an imaginary world. The conflict is between the Clankers, who create machines that run on steam, and the Darwinists, who create new species. Prince Aleksandar, whose people turn against him after his parents’ assassination, is a Clanker. He meets Deryn Sharp, a girl disguised as a boy working for the British Air Service. She serves on the Leviathan, a massive airship that crashes in Switzerland where the two teens cross paths. The story is exciting all the way to the end, when you will be left wanting to know what happens next.

Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
(reviewed by Brianna)
B CHENG (biography)
Life and Death in Shanghai is Cheng’s first-hand account of her life during China’s Cultural Revolution. It is a haunting narrative of Cheng’s years of imprisonment for being wrongly accused of being an imperialist spy. During her imprisonment, Cheng never gave up and never gave in to lies and false denunciations. Her story is heartbreaking, courageous, and unforgettable.

Nightwoods : a novel by Charles Frazier
(reviewed by Pam)
F FRAZIER (adult fiction)
Written by the author of Cold Mountain, this novel takes place in the same area of N. Carolina but in the early 1950's. 
Living in an abandoned rural lodge, Lure is a young woman suddenly in the position to raise sister's young twins.  Neither of them has spoken a word since witnessing their mother's brutal murder.  Their father is aquitted and released from jail and the novel becomes a story of suspense.
Frazier has a powerful ability to depict sights and sounds of the Carolina backwoods and uses fire and water as important themes.  Nightwoods moves quickly to a satisfying conclusion.

October 2011

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry
(reviewed by Linda)
F MCHENRY (adult fiction)
Ginny Selvaggio, a twenty-something young woman who has Asperger’s Syndrome, finds great solace in cooking.  After her parents meet an untimely end in an accident, Ginny discovers her ability to reach the dearly departed by preparing one of their handwritten recipes.  The tale is engaging and helps the reader to understand the perspective of a person with Asperger’s Syndrome.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
(reviewed by Brianna)
F ATWOOD (adult fiction)
Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale envisions a near future where the Republic of Gilead (formerly the USA) is controlled by religious leaders after a theocratic revolution in response to the degradation of society. Women were strictly controlled, had no jobs or money, and were assigned to various classes, one of which was the handmaids. Because of low population levels from wars and toxic waste, handmaids were responsible for replenishing the population. This novel is told through the handmaid Offred and her experience as life as a woman in the new republic.

One Thousand White Women : the Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
(reviewed by Chris)
F Fergus (adult fiction)
A fascinating story about May Dodd, a bright and cultured young woman living in the late 1800’s who was ahead of her time. Through a government program called “Brides for Indians” she gets sent to live with the Cheyenne Indians and tries to adopt their culture while still being true to herself.    The author does an excellent job of combining history with an intriguing and imaginative story that was easy to read and hard to put down.

September 2011

The One that I Want by Allison Winn Scotch
(reviewed by Heather)
F SCOTCH (adult fiction)
Thirty-two year old Tilly Farmer thinks her life is perfect. She is married to her high school sweetheart, working as a guidance counselor in her hometown, trying for a baby.  Tilly has had a hard life -her mother died when she was young and she took a lot of responsibility for everyone else. But, Tilly is a cheerleader -always plastering a smile on her face.  After visiting the local fair one summer, everything changes. Tilly wanders into the fortune teller’s tent and is greeted by an old friend, who gives her the "gift of clarity." 

The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe
(reviewed by Heather)
F MONROE (adult fiction)
Following the migrating monarchs across the United States to Mexico, four different women find transformation. The main character is Luz Avila, who has always lived with her grandmother, the butterfly lady. Her grandmother buys an orange VW bug for the long trip from Wisconsin to Mexico. Along the way, Luz attracts a collection of lost women and a dog, seeking change in their lives.  This is a very entertaining read about women's friendships and the information on the migrating monarchs is fascinating.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010 edited by Freemon Dyson
(reviewed by Pam)
500 BES (adult non-fiction)
Very interesting pieces that are well-written and informative.  I had planned on reading just the stories that were interesting to me but actually read them all.  If you have any interest in science and nature you won’t be disappointed.

Until Tuesday : a wounded warrior and the golden retriever who saved himby Luis Carlos Montalvan
(reviewed by Pam)
B Montalv (adult biography)
A Captain in the US Army assigned to curtail arms smuggling at the border of Syria and Iraq, Montalvan returns home haunted by the war, in constant pain from a traumatic brain injury, physical wounds, and extreme PTSD, he got to the point where he couldn’t even climb a flight of stairs or face a bus ride to the VA hospital.  He drank, he argued, and cut himself off from people he loved.  He was sent an email from the VA about service dogs and them met Tuesday, a golden retriever trained to assist the disabled.  This turned his life around.  Told in his voice, Montalvan speaks about his feelings about the war, officials in the military and our government, and how he felt betrayed by them.  Very compelling story in all of its aspects.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
(reviewed by Pam)
F GIORDA (adult fiction)
A beautifully written and thought provoking story of loneliness, love, and the weight of childhood experience – one reviewer said it is a book you will love in an instant.  It is about 2 “primes”  - misfits who seem destined to be alone, but recognize in each other a kindred spirit.  Giordano is a 27yr old physicist from Italy who has received a prestigious award for this novel.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
(reviewed by Maggie)
B HAMILTO (adult biography)
This book is the autobiography of Gabrielle Hamilton, and her path to becoming a chef and owner of her restaurant in New York City at a relatively young age.  Her unconventional path begins after her family begins to dissolve and she takes restaurant and catering jobs to survive.  With an even more unconventional marriage, she has to learn as she goes about the restaurant business, family, and the balance between all of it that will define her life.  This is a great book for anyone that appreciates food and the hard work that goes into the restaurant business. 

August 2011

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
(reviewed by Brianna)
GN 940.53 SPI (graphic novel)
In Maus, Spiegelman narrates the story of his father’s survival of WWII and transforms it into a graphic novel.  Through comic-book form, Spiegelman depicts the struggles and heartache of his family trying to survive in Nazi-occupied Poland.  Because of the nature of the book, the reader is transported into the story with images and imagination, both of which make the story that much more moving.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
(reviewed by Maggie)
958.1 TZE (adult non-fiction)
When the Taliban invaded Kabul, the Sidiqi family was forced to rearrange family roles.  The men and of the family were forced to leave the city, and the women and girls were unable to continue careers or education, which was very devastating to them.  Unable to work and provide for the family as they were shut in their home, the women joined together to start sewing in their home for tailors throughout the city.  Not only were they able to form a successful business during those hard times, they also educated and helped many women in similar situations to start their own business ventures, which brought back the empowerment of women in a terrifying time. 

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews
(reviewed by Cindy)
F ANDREWS (adult fiction)
If you are looking for a nice quick and predictable read for your summer vacation be sure to check this book out from the library. It is a story about 3 best friends who rent a run-down beach house on the Outer Banks for one month. They come with their own baggage with hopes of finding answers to their life’s questions.
Add to this mix a handsome landlord with an ex-wife who is a very beautiful but greedy woman, escaping her abusive husband that just embezzled millions from his friend .There is plenty of adventure in this book. It is a predictable read but in a lovely summer read way as you will want to see what happens next in the characters’ lives.

July 2011

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
(reviewed by Cindy)
F HARRIS (adult fiction)
Sookie Stackhouse survives the bombing of her employer, Merlotte’s bar. She knows someone is out to finish her off. Emotions run high between Sookie, Eric, and Sam as a major development of the blood bond changes and now Sam has been promoted to her best friend. Sookie makes some great discoveries especially about her family history and finds out who gave her the special gift of telepathy.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
(reviewed by Cindy)
F HARKNESS (adult fiction)
This is the first book in a trilogy involving Dr. Diana Bishop (a witch), Matthew Clairmont (1500 year old vampire) and a very old valuable manuscript that contains secrets of the occult’s evolution. This book is a page turned for those who like history, magic, love and romance, and a bit of adventure all rolled into one great read. The last page leaves you hanging on for more to come in the second book.

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
(reviewed by Cindy)
F SEE (adult fiction)
This book is the continuing story of Shanghai Girls. May & Pearl’s daughter Joy fleas to China in 1957 to uncover the family secrets. At this time Mao’s Great Leap Forward occurs where close to 45 million Chinese experience death. The author does an excellent job in the portrayal of this horrific event and gives us a great story. If you liked Shanghai Girls you will like the continuing saga of this book.

The Bride's House by Sandra Dallas
(reviewed by Maggie)
F DALLAS (adult fiction)
This is the story of three generations of woman in the historical mining town of Georgetown, Colorado.  The beautiful house they live in is the envy of everyone, but full of their secrets of shame, love and betrayal.  Dallas does a wonderful job of creating charming characters intertwined with accurate historical depictions of a mining town that is reminiscent of the old days of Park City.  With the rise and fall of the mining town, these woman struggle to balance society, class, family and love.

June 2011

The Peach Keeper: a novel by Sarah Addison Allen
(reviewed by Heather)
F ALLEN (adult fiction)
This latest novel by Allen features Willa Jackson of Walls of Water, North Carolina. The magical realism found in Allen’s other novels remains, along with a little bit of romance, and a little bit of history. The story revolves around the “The Blue Ridge Madam,” a mansion in the Blue Ridge Mountains once belonging to Willa Jackson’s family. An old classmate of Willa’s, Paxton Osgood, has restored the mansion and plans to open an inn. When a skeleton is found buried beneath the lone peach tree on the property, a secret history involving both Willa’s and Paxton’s families is unveiled.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
(reviewed by Linda J.)
F NESBO (adult fiction)  A little boy in Oslo, Norway, wakes up to find a snowman in his front yard and his mother missing.  Veteran detective Harry Hole is called in to solve the puzzle.  Soon, a pattern is discovered and more bodies turn up.  What sounds like a formulaic murder mystery is absolutely gripping when told by Jo Nesbo.  He is a Norwegian author, often compared to Steig Larssen, but I found this book to be better than any of the "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" books.  It is very well-written with many twists and turns which will keep you turning pages well into the night. 

May 2011

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
(reviewed by Valerie)
745.2 MCD (adult non-fiction)
Introducing a new industrial revolution:
Environmentalism has always been at odds with industry and vice versa; environmentalists trying to rein in industrial growth and industry fighting against the constraints of the environment. The problem lies with the linear lifecycle of production: cradle to grave. This means that lots of time and effort is put into extracting raw materials from the earth and producing a product whose lifecycle inevitably ends in a landfill where it can never be recovered. 

Picture instead industry that is cradle to cradle. A product is designed with the idea that all the components are valuable as either biologic or technical nutrients. “Products that, when their useful life is over, do not become useless waste but can be tossed onto the ground to decompose and become food for plants and animals and nutrients for soil; or, alternately, that can return to industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products”. With this revolutionary concept, the idea of waste is eliminated.

This book provides examples of companies that are succeeding at cradle to cradle design. Instead of merely recycling (which often means down-cycling) these companies and innovators are seeing their products through their whole lifecycle rather than just into the consumer’s hands. This change in perspective could make peace between the natural world and human productivity.

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
(reviewed by Brianna)
YA PFEFFER (young adult fiction)
For 16 year old Miranda along with her friends, family, and classmates, the impending impact of a meteorite striking the moon is an event to look forward to.  What they don’t realize is that life after the meteorite hits the moon will change their lives in a way no one expects.  Written in the format of Miranda’s journal, the reader experiences the hope that comes along with surviving in a world forever changed.

The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier
(reviewed by Pam) 
F BROCKME (adult fiction)
In the aftermath of a fatal car accident, a private journal of love notes from a husband to his wife is passed into the hands of six suffering people.  Although completely different, they live in a world in which pain is expressed as illumination, so one’s wounds and suffering glitter and fluorescence.  A very original story about a different world and how people are still connected.

My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
(reviewed by Pam) 
813.54 CON (adult non-fiction)
Conroy revisits a life of reading by sharing anecdotes of humorous and touching stories of his love of books and reading since childhood and the influences they have had on his life and career.  From the pleasures of his local library to his relationship with an English teacher, a bookshop owner,a book rep, and the authors he loves, his stories are amazing in their wisdom and honesty.  He still reads 200 pages every day.

Even Silence Has an End by Ingrid Betancourt
(reviewed by Pam) 
B BETANCO (adult biography)
During her campaign for the Columbian presidency in 2002, Ingrid Betancourt was abducted by the FARC and held captive in the Columbian jungle for over 6yrs.  This is the amazing account of those years and what she endured and her reflection on what it really means to be human.

April 2011

The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson
(reviewed by Pam)
333.95 WIL (adult non-fiction)
Considered his most personal and timely book to date, biologist E.O.Wilson assesses the precarious state of our environment.  He examines the mass extinctions occurring now and provides a specific plan to save our world.  He has a vision that is as economically sound as it is environmentally necessary.  The current scientific information he presents is written in an engaging and persuasive style that is easily understood by everyone.  An elegant manifesto of why biodiversity matters.

Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
(reviewed by Zeb)
F GRE (adult fiction)
This quick, suspenseful, and at times humorous book is about a vacuum-cleaner salesman in Havana recruited by the British Secret Service to work as a secret agent; in need of money he reluctantly agrees.  Things are going fine until the phony reports he has been filling to keep his job start becoming true.  Similarly engaging is The Quiet American. 

March 2011

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
(reviewed by Heather)
F CLAYTON (adult fiction)
This book tells the wonderful story of the friendship of five women in Palo Alto, California. The women are very different but are bonded by a shared love of literature and the Miss America Pageant, which they watch together every year. The women start a writing club and meet weekly. They also experience the history of Vietnam, the race for the moon, and the women’s movement.  Humorous and enjoyable!

The Lake of Dreams: a novel by Kim Edwards
(reviewed by Heather)
F EDWARDS (adult fiction)
This complex family history is set in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York.  It is the story of Lucy Jarrett, who returns to her childhood home and accidentally discovers her family's hidden past.  Lucy is in transition and is attempting to figure out what comes next for her. Besides still being distraught by her father's death in a fishing accident years earlier, she questions her current arrangement with her boyfriend and career choices.  Lucy reconnects with her first boyfriend and digs into her family's mysterious past while she is home.  The mystery of her family's secret past is very interesting and ends nicely in present day.

Bloodroot by Amy Greene 
(reviewed by Pam)
CD F GREENE (audiobook)
Bloodroot is a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power to heal and to poison, and this book tells a story of incendiary romance that consumes everyone in its path.  Myra Lamb is a wild young girl who grows up on Bloodroot Mountain in the Smokey Mtns of Tennessee.  Her grandmother Byrdie, passes down “the touch” that bewitches animals and people alike.  Doug is the neighbor boy who longs for Myra yet is destined never to have her.
Against a backdrop of beautiful but unforgiving country, a dark mystery unfolds of one family across generations.  In this audiobook all the characters are read by people whose voices bring to life the characters they portray.

The Signal by Ron Carlson 
(reviewed by Pam)
CD F CARLSON (audiobook)
This is a western story of childhood, love of land and family, and what is truly meaningful in life and the difficulty of finding the truth.
Read by T. Ryder Smith who really makes the story come alive.

February 2011

Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain
(reviewed by Heather)
F MOUNTAIN (Adult Historical Romance -Fiction)
This is the story of Eleanor Glanville, daughter of a Puritan landowner in the English moors during the 17th century. The marshy land that she lived on was abundant with butterflies. At that time butterflies were believed to be the souls of the dead and Eleanor's scientific study of butterflies had others believing she was mad. This historical romance shows the differences between Puritans and Catholics, and how they affected England politically and historically.  A large part of the story involves Eleanor's love life and her struggle with her lovers over the decision whether or not to drain the marshes around her home. An excellent read for those who like historical fiction.

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
(Reviewed by Jasmina)
F HOFFMAN (adult fiction)
This book is a collection of stories that chronicle the history of Blackwell, a mythical town in Massachusetts. Each story takes place in a specific time period and focuses on different characters descended from the town founders. The stories are short and not directly related yet they piece together a fragmented picture of the town’s history. Recommended for those that like magical realism.

January 2011

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Alexander McCall Smith
(reviewed by Linda)
CD F ZAMA (audio book)
In this charming novel, retired civil servant, Mr. Ali, decides to open a marriage bureau to remedy his boredom.  The accounts of his matchmaking for affluent clients in contemporary India are entertaining and humorous. He becomes so successful that he requires an assistant, Aruna, a poor hindu girl, who encounters a handsome young doctor that comes to the agency for a list of potential wives. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s Mma Ramotswe will likely find Mr. Ali to be a similarly engaging main character. 

Letting Loose the Hounds by Brady Udall
(reviewed by Pam)
F UDA (adult fiction)
Here are 11 stories set in the small towns of Utah and Arizona.  Most of them deal with "letting loose" or wanting to.  The stories range from situations that are familiar and surprising in their range and can definitely be considered written with "guy humor."

For more reviews go to Novelist