The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth

The Resurrectionist is two books in one novel.  The first part of the book is a biography of a genius who studies medicine, Dr. Spenser Black.  He studies in the 1870's and is at first revered at the university for his knowledge.  But he becomes obsessed with the thought that deformities were not mistakes, but views into the mythical creatures who once existed.  He started focusing all his research on this topic, and soon lost favor with the established medical community.

Leaving the college, he joins sideshows, where he exhibits oddities like Siamese twins and those with extra arms or legs.  Soon, that is not enough, and he uses his formidable medical skills to create mergers of animals and humans.  This experiments led to him being chased from place to place and always one step ahead of the law.  He ends up reviled and lonely, having given his life to the obsession he believes in.

The second half of the book are incredibly detailed panels showing the anatomical structure of the creatures he believed existed in reality, at least in some distant future.  Each creature's chapter starts with a definition and Dr. Black's connection to it.  It is shown artistically, with its scientific classification.  Then pages of drawings show it in various views; skeletal, muscular, internal organs, etc.  Some of the creatures include mermaids, dragons, sphinxes, minotaurs, Ganeshas, chimeras, Pegasuses and harpies. 

E.B. Hudspeth has created a fascinating world in which strange things are true.  The character of Dr. Black is interesting as the reader watches his obsessions take over his life.  But the true joy in this book are the intricately imagined and rendered drawings of the various creatures.  This book is recommended for fantasy and horror readers.

Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft

In the midst of a cold snap rarely seen in Linkoping, Sweden, a horrific crime occurs.  A man's body is found beaten and hung in a tree, left for whomever to find.  Linkoping is a small town, set in the rural countryside, and has little experience with such a grisly occurance.

Malin Fors is thirty-four, a single mother and a police inspector.  She is assigned to work on the case along with her partner and the rest of the team, but Malin is the lead.  As she and her partner try to determine what happened, the first step is identification of the victim to see if there is an obvious reason he has been killed.  This victim was a loner, an overweight man who kept to himself with no friends.  His only pleasure seemed to be retrieving the balls out of bounds by the local team, but he doesn't interact with team members.  Who could want to kill this man?

There are rumors of teenagers who had singled him out for torment.  Did their juvenile pranks go over the line?  His only real connection was a social worker who encouraged him, but she has been out of the picture for several years, after being the victim of a crime herself.  Her family are also outsiders and it is tempting to suspect that they are involved; perhaps for revenge?  There is even talk of a Satanic ritual, and a coven who wants to use sacrifice to get closer to their idol.

Fors is struggling not only with the case but with her relationship with her teenage daughter, who has found her first boyfriend.  This leads Malin to reflect on her own life and lack of love interest. Also she wants to find the time to get closer with her daughter, the case consumes her time and focus.   Can she solve the murder before another one is committed?

Mons Kallentoft has written a chilling mystery.  Not only is the crime cold-blooded, but the description of what the winter temperatures are in rural Sweden, how people adapt or move away, adds to the moody, remote feeling of the writing.  Readers will be swept along and will cheer for Malin, who is a very human detective.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers, especially in those branching out to novels written in other countries.

True Hollywood Noir by Dina Di Mambro

In True Hollywood Noir, Dina Di Mambro covers some of the most fascinating Hollywood deaths and mysteries, giving the facts of each case and offering alternative solutions.  Cases go back to the early days of Hollywood and then move through the decades, ending with some of the more recent mysteries with a Hollywood connection.

The cases are a Who's Who of Hollywood.  Cases include George Reeve's death (Superman), Natalie Wood, and Robert Blake's wife, Bonnie's death.  Other deaths include Gig Young, Bob Crane, Thelma Todd, William Desmond Taylor, Jean Harlow and Thomas H. Ince, who died at the estate of Randolph Hearst.  Other chapters detail mysterious deaths that affected Hollywood careers, such as Joan Bennett or Lana Turner and her involvement with Johnny Stompanato.

Each chapter describes the death, covers the news reporting of the event, then gives any alternate possibilities the author found.  One example is George Reeves.  Most Baby Boomers remember hearing that Superman committed suicide.  Di Mambro lays out the case that instead Reeves was very likely murdered, and gives the possible suspects. 

This book is recommended for true crime readers, and for those interested in Hollywood actors and actresses, especially in the early days when stars were treated like queens and kings.  The book is a quick summary of each case, but points the reader in the direction of cases where they may want to seek out longer works that cover the cases in more detail. 

The Longest Date by Cindy Chupack

The Longest Date is Cindy Chupack's memoir about falling in love and then marrying her husband, Ian.  Chupack is a successful author, working in television and part of the highly rated Sex And The City writing team.  Like her show, Cindy had been a single woman in the city for years, with multiple relationships of varying lengths.  She finally met and fell in love with Ian as they were entering their forties.

Chupack writes about topics that are common in many marriages.  Some are mundane, some heartbreaking, some hilarious.  They cover issues from nursing a husband through a cold, infertility, marriage vows, cooking, money and the decision to have a child.  The writing will make the reader laugh out loud in one chapter while bringing them to the point of tears in the next.  My personal favorite was the chapter about being supportive to a man who has a cold, which in many households translates into a major calamity.  Chupack's take on the situation was classic.

Cindy Chupack has won three Golden Globes and two Emmys for her work as a writer/producer of Sex And The City and Modern Family.  She also worked on Everyone Loves Raymond, Coach and Love Bites.  She has written about dating and relationships for many years in various venues, including Glamour and The Oprah Magazine.  Her insight into personal relationships in all their many facets told with her trademark humor makes The Longest Date a book that readers will read quickly and remember fondly. 

This Is Rage by Ken Goldstein

Silicon Valley is a different kind of place, built on brains and money.  There are Investors, the guys with mega-millions who make deals and mergers while attending parties and whose lives are consumed with strategies and one-up-manship.  There are Bankers, who make the connections, supplying the grease to the wheels of commerce.  Finally, there are the Operators, those with the brains and creativity to create new technological ideas that can make millions if they catch on.

All three groups are at a typical Silicon Valley party one afternoon.  It is held at the home of Daniel Steyer, one of the biggest Investors.  He is on the Board of EnvisionInk, one of the industry's success stories, and is involved in brokering a buyout of the company, with or without the approval of the company's founders, Calvin Choy and Stephen Finkelman.  Suddenly, the quiet of the party is interrupted as two guys attempt to kidnap Steyer.  They fail in their attempt, but manage to instead capture Choy and Finkelman and kill a bystander.

Concurrently, shock-jock Kimo Balthazer is losing another job.  One of the last liberal talk radio hosts, his current emphasis is on how companies mistreat their employees.  A good theme, but he goes over the line one day on the air, naming companies that may be sponsors, and then cursing on the air.  He is fired and since this is the last stop on a downward journey of several years, there are no new syndicates waiting for his show, This Is Rage. 

But, suddenly, Baltazer has an idea.  He has a website, and decides to create his own show, one that is on the Internet.  Internet radio doesn't have pesky FCC regulations.  All he needs is a big story, and the kidnappers have just supplied that.  They aren't ordinary criminals, but programmers who agreed to the crime for money to start their own company.  Now there are criminals who Baltazer can make sympathetic, investors who are maneuvering behind the scenes for profit without considering what might be best for the company employees, a pair of mythical techies who started a company from nothing and may well lose it or even lose their lives.  Baltazer starts his show and before he knows it, it has grown like wildfire and is fueled by the bits and pieces of the story that can leak when thousands of people collaborate on a story in the wild world of the Web.

Satire is one of the most difficult feats to pull off in writing.  It can easily tip over into such hostility and mean-spiritedness that it becomes a chore rather than a joy to read.  Ken Goldstein deftly walks the line, skewering the industries he knows well while propelling the reader on a roller-coaster ride of intrigue and providing heroes to cheer for.  Goldstein lives in this world.  He has worked at such industry giants as Disney, SHOP.COM and Broderbund Software.  He knows the ins and outs of technology and the money culture that has grown up around it.  This book is recommended for those interested in a fascinating look at the industry and for those who enjoy an amazing story with suspense and great pacing.

On Friday, January 3rd, This Is Rage is part of a Barnes and Nobles Free Friday promotion, where they provide books either free or at a major discount.  This Is Rage will be sold for $1.99.  Other books in the promotion include:

Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo (free)
This is Rage by Ken Goldstein ($1.99)
From the Ashes by Jeremy Burns ($1.99)
The Eighth Day by Tom Avitabile ($1.99)
The Fifth Man by James LePore ($1.99)
Back from the Dead by Peter Leonard ($1.99)
The Shepherd by Ethan Cross ($1.99)

Mastermind by Maria Konnikova

The subtitle of Mastermind is How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes.  Those of us who grew up reading the Sherlock Holmes stories know that his forte was announcing conclusions that seemed far-fetched and contained information that no one could know.  Yet, once he explained how he came to his conclusions, it became clear how he logically went from point A to emerge down the road at point F or M.

Maria Konnikova, a psychologist and journalist, breaks down the Holmes method.  She contrasts the Holmes method which is cool, logical thinking with that of poor Dr. Watson, whose thinking was impulsive and prone to emotional connections that led him to false conclusions.  The most important analogy of the book is that of the mind being an attic for knowledge that lets one store and process facts to reach correct conclusions. 

The book is organized around this concept.  In the chapter, Stocking The Brain Attic, she talks about how to make observations and most importantly, how to prioritize the observations into those that are unimportant and those which could be important and should be stored.  While one should observe everything, it is not possible to store everything.  But a well-stocked attic is necessary for providing the raw elements to draw on when processing thoughts.

In Exploring the Brain Attic, the focus is on creativity.  Once all the observations and facts are noted and stored away, the next step is to imagine all the possible ways in which they can be combined.  Creativity and failure are necessary steps in science and in logical thinking.  If there are ten possible combinations of fact, nine of them will be failures.  Those interested in learning to think logically cannot be thrown by those failures; they must be examined to determine what made them such. 

In Navigating The Brain Attic, the thinker finally comes to deduction.  They take the ten combinations and examine each closely, discarding those which aren't supported by all the facts.  At the end, one explanation, no matter how improbable, should remain, and will be the truth.   Finally, in Maintaining the Brain Attic, Konnikova talks about the importance of lifelong learning and constantly stretching the mental muscles. 

Readers who are interested in learning to think more logically will find this an interesting study.  Most of us will be embarrassed to realize that our Watson system is usually on full alert, no matter how logical we see ourselves as being.  True logical thinkers are few and far between, but it is a skillset that can be learned and used by anyone.  This book is recommended for Sherlock Holmes fans and for those looking for a way to improve their logical thinking skills.

Booksie's Best Books of 2013

Another reading year has come and gone.  As in other years, some books delighted or instructed or entertained more than others.  Of course, any list of 'best books' is highly individual.  I might rate a top-notch mystery higher than an average book of literary fiction while other reviewers would never mix genres.  I read 141 books in 2013 and here is my list of the books I enjoyed most:

1.  Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  Sci-fi and just totally entertaining.
2.  Joseph Anton by Salmon Rushdie.  His memoir of his time living under threat of death from fellow Muslims due to his writing.
3.  The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker.  Fantasy and totally original.
4.  Luther by Neil Cross.  Mystery.
5.  The Thinking Woman's Guide To Real Magic by Emily Croy Baker.  Fantasy and just a delight.
6.  Cinnamon And Gunpowder by Eli Brown.  Fantasy with a pirate twist and a lovely book full of plot twists and joy.
7.  The Kept by James Scott.  A debut novel stunning in its power.  Historical fiction/suspense.
8.  The Republic Of Thieves by Scott Lynch.  The second in his Gentlemen Bastards series; fantasy that is compelling and delightful.

There were also lots of books that I'd consider long-listers.  They are:

1.  The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo.  Mystery.
2.  Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson.  Fantasy.
3.  The Blooding Of Jack Absolute by C. C. Humphries.  Historical fiction with a comedic twist.
4.  Police by Jo Nesbo.  Mystery.
5.  The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood.  Suspense.
6.  We Are Water by Wally Lamb.  Literary Fiction.
7.  The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel.  Literary Fiction.
8.  The Death Of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell.  Literary Fiction.
9.  The Rathbones by Janice Clark.  Literary Fiction.
10.  Close To The Bone by Stuart MacBride.  Mystery.
11.  Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler.  Debut fantasy novel.
12.  The Round House by Louise Erdich.  Historical Fiction.
13.  The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo.  Mystery.
14.  A Conspiracy Of Faith by Jossi Adler Olsen.  Mystery.
15.  Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins.  Anthology.
16.  The Time Traveler's Guide To Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer.  Nonfiction.
17.  Lookaway, Dixieland by Wilton Barnhardt.  Literary Fiction.
18.  Prophecy by R.T. Kaelin.  Fantasy.
19.  Birdman by Mo Hayden.  Mystery.
20.  The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Englemann.  Historical Fiction.
21.  The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura.  Mystery.
22.  The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro.  Literary Fiction.
23.  Cold Killing by Luke Delaney.  Mystery.
24.  Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick.  Nonfiction.
25.  Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French.  Mystery.
26.  The Last Train To Zona Verde by Paul Theroux.  Nonfiction.
27.  The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern.  Fantasy.
28.  The Gods Of Gothan by Lyndsay Faye.  Mystery.
29.  Jack Absolute by C. C. Humpreys.  Historical Fiction.
30.  The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.  Historical Fiction.
31.  The Mongoliad, Book Two by various authors.  Fantasy.
32.  Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach.  Literary Fiction.

I fell in love with two new authors (to me) this year.  Jo Nesbo writes mysteries that are compelling but the true draw is his hero, Harry Hole.  C. C. Humphries, the creator of Jack Absolute, writes swashbuckling tales that are just a delight to read.  I was also blown away by the debut of S.M. Wheeler.

What's up for next year?  I'd like to read at least 150 books.  I have several series I want to work on.  I started reading Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series thirty-five years ago.  Now that he has finished it, I want to go back and read it all again as there are several new books in the series I haven't read.  I want to do the same with Game Of Thrones, the Hillary Mantel books about Cromwell, and 2014 is the year I want to tackle the Wheel Of Time by Robert Jordan.

Thanks to all who follow me and read my reactions to books.  I love reading and then writing about my reactions to them.  I wish you all a marvelous 2014.

Last Books In for 2013

Before I shelf these, here are the last books to make it through the door in 2013:

1.  Curse Of The Mistwraith, Janny Wurts, fantasy, book 1, Paperback Swap
2.  Traitor's Knot, Janny Wurts, fantasy, book 6, Paperback Swap
3.  A Snug Life Somewhere, Jan Shapin, memoir, sent for book tour
4.  The Sense Of Touch, Jan Parsons, anthology, sent for book tour
5.  The Blood Of Heaven, Kent Wascom, historical fiction, Christmas gift
6.  The Last Dark, Stephen Donaldson, fantasy, Christmas gift
7.  On The Floor, Aifric Campbell, mystery, Christmas gift
8.  Flyover Lives, Diane Johnson, memoir, sent for book tour
9.  Brain, Dermot Davis, literary fiction, sent by author
10.  Twisted, Jonathan Kellerman, mystery, purchased
11.  I Shall Be Near To You, Erin Lindsay McCabe, historical fiction, sent by publisher

Guests On Earth by Lee Smith

Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, is noted in the 1930's and 1940's for its caring and innovation therapies for those with mental illnesses.  Evalina Toussaint comes to the hospital in 1936 after losing her mother and being an inconvenience to her father who is married to another woman with whom he has children.  Evalina is depressed by these events, and Highland is considered to be a good solution to both Evalina's issues and the fact of her existence.

She is to grow up at the hospital, staying for years although it is acknowledged that she doesn't really need treatments after a while, and she becomes part client, part staff.  Evalina has great musical talent which is developed by the wife of the hospital's founder and most famous doctor.  She develops relationships with the other patients and staff members, coming to consider them her friends and family.

Evalina is sent to a boarding school, and finds love with a man she meets through her musical work.  After their whirlwind affair, she finds herself once again depressed and at loose ends, and returns to Highland Hospital for another stay of years.  Once again, she develops friendships with those who surround her.

There is Dixie, the typical Southern belle, who is inexplicably depressed at times.  Jinx is a seventeen year old delinquent, sent to the hospital in lieu of jail.  Zelda Fitzgerald is the wife of famous novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald and the most famous patient of the hospital.  Pan Otto is a groundskeeper who came to the hospital as an abused child and never left.  As Evalina makes her life there, it becomes clear that many of the patients would never be hospitalized in todays' society.  In the 1930's and 1940's, with their emphasis on conformity, many people, especially women, ended up in institutions when they couldn't fit into the lives around them and couldn't be coerced by normal societal strictures to conform to the picture of an approved way of life.

Lee Smith, a North Carolina author, has written a touching novel of society and the way it handles those who do not fit into the normal molds.  The clients are portrayed sympathetically and the reader comes to empathize with their inability to handle life's trials.  The book is an accurate portrayal of how mental illness was handled, with insulin and electric shock therapy, with art and gardening and long walks.  This book is recommended for those interested in North Carolina history and those interested in how we treat those who are different than us. 

The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo

A series of deaths have the police playing catch-up in Oslo.  The victims don't seem to have any relation to each other that anyone can find, but each has been killed at five o'clock and has had a finger severed.  On each body jewelry has been found that contains red star-cut diamonds; the kind of jewels that are called The Devil's Star.  In each case a bicycle messenger has been spotted in the vicinity.

Detective Harry Hole is pulled onto the investigative team.  Although he only has three weeks left until his dismissal from the police department, he is the best they have and the only one with serial killer experience.  He has been dismissed both because of his drinking and because he insists that one of the department's rising stars is in fact a criminal himself and heads up a smuggling ring.  Since he refuses to recant his accusations, and since he won't or can't stop the drinking, a decision has been made to release him from the force. 

Harry is of two minds about this.  While he can't really imagine doing anything else, perhaps it is for the best.  When working, all else goes out the window, keeping him from relationships.  The horror of what he sees keeps his drinking fueled.  But will he be able to keep away from what is central to his life?  Can he find the killer before his time as a detective is up?

Jo Nesbo has scored another hit with this latest Harry Hole novel.  The reader cannot help but be attracted to Harry in the same way that his friends are, recognizing his essential goodness while repelled by his single-mindedness and determination to drink away his problems.  No author can pull the reader into the inside of a murder investigation like Nesbo, or provide as many shocks along the way to a solution.  This book is recommended to mystery readers, and to fans of Harry Hole.

The Republic Of Thieves by Scott Lynch

Locke Lamora is in trouble.  In exile with his best friend, Jean, he is seriously ill.  They succeeded in their last caper, but at a price.  Lamora has been poisoned, and none of the doctors and healers Jean has found have been able to heal him.

Finally, Jean approaches a Bondsmagi, Archdame Patience.  Bondsmagi are to be avoided at all costs, but without their help, Lamora will soon be dead.  Patience is able to reverse the poisoning, but there is a price.  There is always a price with Magi.

The Magi are about to enter the Five Year Plan, an election that determines the Kouncil that will rule the city they protect.  Each side is involved in maneuvering the election to obtain a victory.  Who would be better at trickery than the Gentlemen Bastards, Jean and Lamora?  She obtains their services and promises them help after the election in leaving the land. 

Jean and Locke take up the challenge, but there is one thing Patience forgot to tell them.  The other side has purchased the services of another member of the Gentlemen Bastards clique; Sabetha, the only woman Locke has ever loved or ever will.  They are pitted against each other, each knowing the tricks and wiles of the others.  Which side will win, and will the battle end the love of Locke and Sabetha before it can be given another chance?

Fans of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard series will rejoice to read this third entry in the series.  The characters are compelling; the tone sprightly.  Locke is a force to be reckoned with, loyal to the death to his friends, and willing to stop at nothing to fulfill his missions.  The book moves between the current battle and the time that the Bastards worked together in a play, The Republic Of Thieves, when Locke and Sabetha's love first bloomed.  There is fantasy but it is just a background accompaniment to the action, not overwhelming.  This book is highly recommended to fantasy lovers and readers interested in a rollicking tale that will leave them obsessed and anxiously awaiting the next installment in the story. 

Best Food Writing 2013, edited by Holly Hughes

Holly Hughes has a long history of editing a compilation of the best food articles of the year.  She has put together a food anthology each year since 2000.  This years, Best Food Writing 2013, is another worthy effort and will be enjoyed both by those who identify themselves as ‘foodies’ and by those just interested in good writing that explains someone else’s obsession. 

The book contains articles by well-known food writers.  Authors include Michael Pollen, Corby Kummer (senior editor at The Atlantic for three decades), Matt Goulding, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl and Jonathan Gold, the first ever food writer to win a Pulitizer Prize.  Some of the articles are written by chefs, some by food critics, and many by those who write about food for their living. 

The articles range both in subject and voice.  There are articles that cover food fads and fashions such as slow eating, the local resourcing trend, the tyranny of chefs who have gone from those providing a service to those who give diners what they want to cook rather than what the diner wants to eat, and the emergence of food trucks.  There are humorous articles about cooking ribs and fighting squirrels.  There are emotional pieces that describe the role that food has in discovering love, parental connections, the connection between food and gratitude and food and memories.  There are profiles of chefs and descriptions of dinners with more than twenty courses.  There is complicated food, simple food, expensive food and comfort food.  

The reader will enjoy learning about the subject.  Each article is a gem in its own genre.  There is a short biography of each author before the piece, and the book is organized into subjects such as The Way We Eat Now, A Critical Palate, Farm To Table, The Meat Of The Matter, Home Cooking, To Be A Chef and Personal Tastes.  Those interested in cooking and food will find much to interest them, and those who are more mundane cooks will enjoy the view into the world of those for whom food is a compelling interest.  This book is recommended both for food enthusiasts and those interested in the subject of cooking and why it matters.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

10 years Calamity came and life changed forever.  The Epics arrived; superhuman individuals with amazing powers.  At first, humans believed the Epics were heroes, but they quickly learned that was wrong.  Epics came to rule and they rule with an iron fist.  Any resistance or even getting in an Epic’s way for a minute results in death.  They regard men as tools to further their rule.  No one can fight them. 

But some still want to.  David was eight years old the day he saw the most powerful Epic, Steelheart, up close.  He and his father were in a bank when Steelheart came in and killed everyone he saw without hesitation.  He didn’t see David, and David knows Steelheart’s greatest flaw.  He saw Steelheart bleed.  Every Epic has a fatal flaw and only by using that flaw can each be defeated. 

After years of study and plotting, David is about to get his wish to fight the Epics.  He works his way into a team of Reckoners.  Reckoners are the counter-terrorists and are humans willing to sacrifice everything to kill an Epic.  David is made part of the team for his extensive Epic research and his ability to improvise.  He joins Prof; the Reckoner team leader and his crew of Tia, Abraham, Cody and Megan.  Together they plan to not only fight the lesser Epics but to take down Steelheart himself.  Is there any chance they can succeed? 

Brandon Sanderson has written a story straight from the world of graphic novels, using words to paint the visual images.  He has created a new world, populated with recognizable heroes and evildoers and set them in a struggle from which only one side can emerge.  The words deliver a punch and the action is nonstop.  This is the first book in the Reckoner series and readers will be waiting  impatiently for the next.  This book is recommended for those who enjoy movies such as The Avengers or Superman and Batman. 

On The Horizon, December 17, 2013

Not a lot of reviews to post this week.  I'm in the middle of about eight books, so there will be lots of reviews soon, but I haven't finished any of them yet.  But the books keep rolling in.  Here's what's hit the doorstep lately.

1.  Savage Girl, Jean Zimmerman, historical fiction, won in contest
2.  The Spook Light Affair, Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, mystery, sent by publisher
3.  Dark Mirror, Barry Maitland, mystery, sent by publisher
4.  May We Be Forgiven, A.M. Homes, literary fiction, purchased
5.  Vanishing Point, Ander Monson, literary fiction, sent by author
6.  I Am Abraham, Jerome Charyn, historical fiction, sent by publisher
7.  Finn, Jon Clinch, literary fiction, Paperbackswap book

That's all!

The Entertainer by Margaret Talbot

Lyle Talbot is not a household word, but he was the stock in trade of the entertainment business.  While they might not be able to name him, many viewers would recognize him as a character actor in the 1930's on.  Lyle studied his craft and participated in all the entertainment venues of the times.  In The Entertainer, his daughter, Margaret Talbot, reviews his life and the entertainment industry in its many facets.

Lyle grew up in the Midwest.  He got his start in entertainment as a teenager, when he started touring with carnivals and repertory troupes.  In these years before movies became popular, there were many of these groups touring town to town, bringing entertainment to those whose lives didn't offer much otherwise.  From this experience, he learned to be a professional; to always come with lines learned and on time, to make sure the show would always go on.

In the 1930's, Lyle got the call to Hollywood.  With his clean-cut looks and tailored elegance, he was touted as the next leading man.  That didn't happen, but he worked for decades in the movies and rubbed shoulders with such names as Clark Gable, Pat O'Brien, Loretta Young, and Mae West.  Lyle was a man about town, known for his romantic life as well as for his acting.  He was also one of the original twenty-four actors who started the Screen Actors Guild, as a protest against the grueling work schedule expected of actors at the time.

Like many actors, Lyle found it hard to resist the lure of Broadway.  He left Hollywood and worked in one of the longest running plays around the time of World War II.  He also spent his summers throughout his life doing summer stock to keep up with the world of live theatre.

When television grew up, Lyle transitioned to it.  He became a regular on the Ozzie and Harriett show, one of the most popular early shows.  He played the next door neighbor.  One of his sons, Stephen, played another familiar character.  He was one of Jerry Mathis's friends on Leave It To Beaver. 

Margaret Talbot has written a fascinating, well-researched book about her father's life and about the various forms of the entertainment world.  She tells the good as well as the bad about her father, but there is no doubt she loved this kind man who spent his life bringing joy to others.  This book is recommended to those interested in the early days of Hollywood and television, as well as those interested in the life of an actor.

The Last Snowman by JC Little

This charming tale is especially appropriate with winter closing in for another year.  A mother is watching her children building a snowman from her kitchen window.  As she watches, she realizes that it will probably be the last snowman her fourteen year old daughter will build, and the book explores this bittersweet moment.

As the mother of a fifteen year old, I recognized the sentiments expressed in this book.  When children are small and need us twenty four hours a day, we can find ourselves wishing they would grow up and leave us more time to ourselves.  When they do just that, we are torn.  While we are proud of our children's independence as they learn to stand on their own two feet and experience life for themselves, it is difficult to realize that this time in our own lives is coming to a close, and that we will need to find new ways to relate to our children as they become adults.

All this is expressed succinctly in the story of the last snowman.  The illustrations are also adorable and portray that tug of war between child and adult.  This book is recommended for all parents and for children old enough to understand how their changes affect the adults in their lives.

The Explanation Of Everything by Lauren Grodstein

Andy Waite has a fairly decent life.  A widower raising two young daughters, he is a biology professor on the tenure track at a college in New Jersey.  Maybe he doesn't have everything, but what he has is enough.  The college isn't first tier as he imagined when he was the protégé of one of the most famous evolutionists of his time, but it is good enough.  He hasn't gotten massive research grants, but the college lets him work on his selected research projects without interference.  Maybe he doesn't have a love life, but he isn't sure he wants one after losing his wife the way he did.

Andy's favorite class is one he teaches in the fall.  Nominally outside his field, he teaches the evolution course, familiarly known as the 'there is no God' class, where he guides students through evolutionary thought and writings.  This year, however, things are a bit different.  A female student, Melissa, has come to him to ask him to supervise her independent study.  She wants to research the intelligent design theory.  Andy has no use for this theory and his first thought is to say no, but Melissa is so disarming and in need of a mentor that he agrees to take it on.

Soon Melissa has worked her way into his family's life.  She volunteers to babysit, and babysitting is something a single parent finds hard to resist.  His girls love her, and he can't deprive them of this comfort, even though she talks about religion with them, and soon, they are asking to go to church.  Even Andy starts to wonder why Melissa seems so content, so able to handle the obstacles life throws at all of us.  Could he have been wrong all these years?

Lauren Grodstein has written a novel that lays out the arguments on one of the most divisive issues in modern life.  There are few who don't have an opinion on the subject of religion, and each side is firmly convinced the other just doesn't understand how life works.  Readers will be interested to watch Andy grapple with the issue and to follow his thought processes over months of exploration.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy books about issues and how individuals react to them.

On The Horizon, December 10, 2013

It's been a fairly busy week for books.  I won a contest and got three Charles Todd books!  Here's what I've gotten lately:

1.  Hunting Shadows, Charles Todd, mystery, won in contest
2.  The Walnut Tree, Charles Todd, historical romance, won in contest
3.  Proof Of Guilt, Charles Todd, mystery, won in contest
4.  The Secret Rooms, Catherine Bailey, nonfiction, sent by publisher
5.  Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan, literary fiction, purchased
6.  Mayhem, Sarah Pinborough, mystery, Vine review book
7.  The Alhambra Decree, Lilian Gafni, historical fiction, sent by author
8,  The Longest Date, Cindy Chupack, humor, sent by publisher
9.  Leave Tomorrow Behind, Judy Clemens, mystery, sent by publisher
10.  The Time Regulation Institute, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, literary fiction, sent by publisher
11.  Mastermind, Maria Konnikova, nonfiction, sent by publisher
12. The Boxed Angel, Robert DiGiacomo, Historical mystery, sent by publisher
13. The Prague Cemetery, Umberto Eco, literary fiction, purchased

A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson

Chief Inspector Alan Banks moved from London to the country for the lower crime rate he expected to find and for the most part, he is right.  So he is surprised to have his Sunday dinner interrupted by news of a murder.  Harry Steadman has been murdered and buried in a field.

It is hard to imagine a more unlikely murder victim.  Steadman had been a professor.  When he came into an inheritance, he and his wife had bought a house and come to the area to retire.  They had spent time in the area twenty years before as newlyweds and learned to love it.  Steadman had an interest in the local history and spent his time excavating local sites for his research.

Who could have borne him enough hatred to kill him?  His wife seems heartbroken, and has an alibi from the neighbor she spent the evening with.  There was a skirmish with a realtor who wanted to develop a site that Harry felt had historical interest, but it was hardly heated enough.

After investigation, Harry starts to wonder if the roots of this murder extend into the past; that past when he visited the area before.  He had befriended a young teenage couple and they accompanied him on his archaeological visits.  The young man had gone on to college, become a professor himself, and a colleague and friend of Harry's.  The young woman had become a fairly successful folk singer, but returned to the village.  They drifted apart and some wondered in Harry was the reason. 

This is Peter Robinson's second Inspector Banks mystery.  The reader is transported to a rural English countryside, and the way crime occurs and is handled there.  The ending is enough of a surprise to delight the reader and make them eager to continue the series.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

The Kept by James Scott

When Elspeth Howell returns to her family's farm in 1897 after working away from them for months, the first thing that strikes her is the silence.  She moves quietly into the farmhouse and she sees what no mother should ever have to see.  Four of her five children lie dead, as does her husband.  Before she can look for her remaining son, she is hit in the chest by the blast of a shotgun.

Elspeth doesn't die although she isn't sure how she will continue to live.  When she is well enough to travel, she and Caleb, her son, leave the farmhouse.  They leave to track down the killers Caleb saw and watched from the barn.  They plan to wreck revenge on those who have stolen so much from them.

After weeks of travel, they find themselves in the small town where Caleb was born, as the signs point to the murderers having fled there.  They move into the local hotel and take jobs, searching, ever searching.  Not only are they searching for the men who led them there, they are searching for each other and for the love they need to survive as a family again. 

James Scott has written a stunning, original novel that is so powerful that its images will be blazed into the reader's mind.  He portrays a brutal world, unfeeling for its inhabitants, a world in which life must be fought for against the elements and the others who are also fighting for survival.  Scott's genius is that he can portray such a world and at the same time portray the tenderness and love that a family provides; its support for one's weaknesses and forgiveness for one's sins.  Caleb and Elspeth are such original characters that their story will remain in the reader's mind long after the novel is finished.  This book is recommended for all readers; it is a literary tour-de-force.