Blogmania

If you just can't get enough of either my opinion about books or blogs in general, I have a treat for you. I am a part-time reference librarian at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton and we just launched a new blog called By the Book. This blog will feature book reviews by my fellow librarians and news about the literary goings-on at the library. Hope you enjoy it!

Sisters

I have two sisters, both of whom I love dearly and both of whom I rarely see. It is not that I would not love to see them much more often, but many miles divide us. Still, we are sisters and that bond is unbreakable and above all, precious.

I recently read a book by Julia Glass entitled I See You Everywhere. This is the story of Louisa and Clem, the "serious" sister and the rebel. The two tell their stories in alternating chapters, tracing the story of their lives over the years. As they move further apart geographically, they grow closer emotionally. This is a funny, heart-rending story that is beautifully written. Although both sisters could be difficult and prickly, I liked them and found them to be both honest and real. I found myself hoping for a happy ending with the two sisters rocking on a porch in the sun as they enjoyed their old age.

I guess sisters are a rich topic for fiction. In my library's catalog there are over 250 books listed under the subject "Fiction - Sisters". Some of my favorites are:

Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee

The Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

How to be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward

Last Summer (of you and me) by Ann Brashares

Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Wilde Women by Paula Wall

These books demonstrate that relationships between sisters range from affection and caring to competition and rage. The stories are entertaining and funny and sad and sometimes emotionally difficult.

And to my sisters who are so far away....I am thinking of you, miss you and love you......

Where are you reading?

I just read an article in a magazine about a man who stores his American Literature collection in a beautiful cabinet in his bathroom. While this may seem a little strange to some people, it makes perfect sense to me. When people ask me what I am reading, I usually answer, "where?"

This is a tour of my current reading life. Upstairs in the bedroom, I am currently sleeping with (and sometimes on) two books: Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead (an advance readers edition of a much anticipated book) and Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. Whitehead wins out over James most of the time, because James is "required reading" for a book club meeting and it is inevitably put off until the last minute. (I say that this is so it is fresh in my mind, but really it is just procrastination). Still upstairs, in the bathroom I am reading The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willlig. This book is historical fiction of the lighter sort and is perfect bathtub reading.

Downstairs in the living room there is a copy of a play, Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott, and The Gold Coast by Nelson Demille. I am re-reading The Gold Coast in anticipation of the release of DeMille's new book, The Gatehouse in a few weeks. In the dining room is a pile of books that are "to be read" and have yet to be prioritized. In the kitchen are the cookbooks, which as you can tell from the previous post, also are fine reading material.

You might think you are done with the tour, but no, hang on a minute. You cannot forget the car and both of my jobs. In the car is a decrepit copy of The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb that is being slowly consumed at bank drive-through windows and other waiting areas (I swear I hardly ever try to read at red lights....) At the bookstore, ironically enough, I hardly ever read books. I try to catch up on catalogs and reviews and book magazines. But at the library, on my break, I have an uninterrupted period of time to sit down and read. Right now I am reading Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire.

I have always enjoyed reading many books at the same time. There are different books for different moods and different times. Some people think that this is confusing and just a little crazy. I say that if you want to know what I am reading, you better specify the location or sit down, because it may take awhile.

Comfort Food

When I was growing up in California, October wasn't exactly autumnal. The weather would cool down from the blazing 100 degrees common to the Sacramento summer, but we did not have to pull out the warm jackets to take long walks and kick the falling leaves. Here in Westhampton, the temperatures have cooled and the leaves are changing and it feels like the time to hit the farm stand to buy fall produce to make a hearty soup. This kind of weather is also good for curling up under a cozy blanket on the couch and reading a good book.

My favorite book of the moment is called The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. This book is due to be released in January, but I cannot wait until then to talk about it. The story revolves around a cooking class given by Lillian at her restaurant. Lillian believes in the power of food to evoke emotions and memories and propel people to make changes in their lives. As the classes progress, we learn the stories of the students, sometimes funny, sometimes sad. This book just made me want to cook and tell stories and be with the people that I love. I am sorry that you have to wait for it, but in the meantime, here are some food books to whet your appetite....

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a story of magic and food and familial obligation. The language is rich and beautiful and you will fall in love with the characters. Tita, though constrained by familial expectations and a rather difficult mother, shines through.

Another magical story that revolves around food, family and love, La Cucina takes place in Sicily and is full of descriptions so lush and complete that you swear you can taste the food. Rosa suffers great love and enters into mad passion. Sadly, in her darkest days she move to Palermo and becomes a librarian (!?!).

I just loved this small book that is partly an ode to pies and partly a memoir. The author describes the pies and the pie-makers with delicacy and affection. I especially love the sections dealing with the "Pie Ramble", a kind of roadtrip/quest for the holiest of grails....a perfect piece of diner pie. Humor and love are combined in this book to make a tasty dish.

If you have finished these books and it is still not time for the release of Bauermeister's book, you can turn to the tried and true book of food stories: The Joy of Cooking. I am most fond of the 1975 edition. This classic cookbook will tell you everything from how to set a table for entertaining to how to cook a lamb's head (though you may want to skip that recipe if you have a weak stomach). Among the many recipes you will find little stories and tips about cooking, and sometimes life.

Good food nourishes not only the body, but the soul. Good books about food do the same. So make a big pot of soup, find a soft blanket and settle in on a rainy autumn afternoon for a good read.

fREADom

Just about a year ago I heard a rumor about a parent who was upset about the content of two books on a list of 300 self-select reading books for the 9th grade. According to the rumors (I live in a small town and rumors abound), there was a petition asking for the removal of the books from the list and from the library. As a library science student, a bookseller and a mother, I felt that I needed to investigate what looked like an attempt to censor books. This began a season of my life that was difficult and disturbing and just a little heart-breaking.

The petition was presented, committees were formed, sides were taken. Because I chose to fight the removal of the books from the list, I lost long-time customers at the bookstore, I was berated for bringing negative publicity to our town, I was accosted at my place of business and called a "pornographer" and my 15 year old daughter and I were addressed at a school board meeting by a parent who told us that she felt sad that the only way that my daughter and I could relate to one another was to read filthy books together. The disappointment was compounded when the school board decided to remove the books from the list. I lost a lot of innocence about what I had supposed was a general consensus that people should not dictate what I or my children were allowed to read.

Yet in the midst of all of this, I experienced something that gave me so much hope. And since next week is "Banned Book Week", I wanted to reflect on that event. On a cool, autumn night, about 70 people showed up at the bookstore to celebrate their right to read. We had people of all ages writing letters to the school board, making posters, signing petitions and eating pizza. We had celebrated authors including Roger Rosenblatt, Julie Sheehan, and Ursula Hegi read aloud from works that had been challenged. We had school teachers and journalists and librarians read, as well. But most importantly, we had teens (Kristian, Kenny, Rachel P., Louie, Amanda, Rachel L., Billy ) read aloud from books such as The Giver, The Book Thief, Catcher in the Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Go Ask Alice. I got goosebumps while these works were being read because all of the people that had been eating and talking and writing, stopped what they were doing and listened....listened to these words that others had wanted to silence.

Although we may have lost this particular fight against censorship, I believe that something was gained. The young people that came to our "Read-In" learned that is possible to dissent both vocally and respectfully. They also learned that rights that we may take for granted are rights that are precious. I hope that they feel that they fought the good fight and that books and reading will always be worth the struggle.

So I hope that you are able to take some time this week to read a good book and celebrate your freedom to read. If you want to see a list of some books that have been challenged or banned, take a look at the ALA list of the top 100 for 2000-2007. I think you might be amazed at some of the titles you see.

School for Scandal

School has begun and the books I have been reading lately all seem to deal with schools and scandals . I recently took the comprehensive exams for my library degree and I have not felt that level of pressure for many years. But for young people in school, the pressures go beyond those of an academic nature. These three books deal with the social pressures, the gossip, the impact of the internet on kids. The books also talk about how these issues affect the lives of the adults involved in their world.

In Testimony by Anita Shreve, the headmaster of a private school, three male students and a young girl each tell their story of a drunken party, a video posted on the internet, an affair between unexpected people and lives that are changed forever. The narration of the story in a so many different voices leaves open questions, that may or may not be answered by the end of the book. This book does not come out for another month but it is affecting and timely and well worth the wait.

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta deals with the dangerous combination of religion and education. Ruth Ramsey, the human sexuality teacher at the local high school is forced to teach an abstinence curriculum after parents complain about the content of her course. Tim Mason, one of the evangelical Christian parents who does not approve of Ruth, has troubles of his own. This book shows both the personal and the societal effects of this very timely struggle. Perotta writes so well that you feel you know all the characters.

Carol Goodman's Lake of Dead Languages is a book that explores scandals, both old and new, at a boarding school located in a rural setting. Jane Hudson returns to her old school, along with her young daughter, to teach Latin after a failed marriage. Jane had left Heart Lake School twenty years earlier after a scandal. This haunting story tells of late night rituals, murder and suicide and the secrets a school community can keep over many years.


September has always been a "back to school" time of year with new notebooks, sharpened pencils and shined shoes. While it is easy to romanticize the good old school days, these books remind us that being young is not as carefree as we would like to remember.

It's a Classic

Oh how I love a Penguin Classic! If I won the lottery, I would not run out and buy diamonds or cars or houses, I would buy the complete set of Penguin Classics. As an independent bookseller, I rarely want to buy anything from Amazon.com, but every once in a while I log on and look with longing at their "sale priced" (only $7,989.50) collection. It is described as follows: The Penguin Classics Library Complete Collection currently consists of 1,082 titles, all great works of literature totaling nearly half a million pages. From Renaissance philosophy to the poetry of revolutionary Russia, from the spiritual writings of India to the travel narratives of the early American colonists, from The Complete Pelican Shakespeare to The Portable Sixties Reader, there are classics here to educate, provoke, entertain, and enlighten readers of all interests and inclinations.


While I am waiting for those winning lottery numbers, I try to be content with reading one classic at a time and slowly building up my library. I love the Jane Austens, the Charlotte Brontes and the Steinbecks. So in the spirit of starting up new things in the fall (it is a new school year, after all), the Open Book Book Club has decided to start an offshoot devoted only to classics. We will meet on Sunday afternoons every other month to have a snack and discuss a classic novel. We are starting with Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. If you live in the area and would like to join us for our October meeting, you are welcome.

If you can't make the meetings, join us in spirit and let me know what your favorite classic is. And keep an eye out for those distinctive black-bottomed covers at your favorite independent bookstore. They always encase a treasure.