wednesday july 30
My to-be-read shelf is so overloaded that I'm starting to feel guilty about it, so I haven't gotten in line yet for Jennifer Haigh's new book, The Condition. But I remember her last one, Baker Towers, very fondly. It was one of those quiet books that doesn't seem like much when you describe the plot but has an emotional resonance that stays with you.
So let me describe the plot anyway! The Novaks are a family in a little Pennsylvania mining town. Rose is the Italian bride of a Polish miner, so she doesn't fit tidily into the town's social circles. Widowed young, she raises three daughters, Dorothy, Joyce, and Lucy. Each of the girls has to make decisions about whether to stay in their hometown or venture out into the wide world: Dorothy sees government service during World War II, Joyce dreams of escaping but finds it hard to cut family ties, and Lucy, much younger than her sisters, sees the town dying after the mines close.
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saturday july 26
You know that little patch of urban blight that you pass by every day? What if you did something subversive there - like scattering some flower seeds under the cover of night? That is the mission of Guerrilla Gardeners - to install just a little beauty in an otherwise unbeautiful spot. A few nocturnal Brits started the idea in London, and now there are 'troops' of planters all over the world. Their dangerous quest: cleaning up public places - without permission. I actually know people who have planted 'weapons of mass beautification' right here in Cincinnati - they shall remain anonymous.
Even if it is just temporary, replacing trash with plant material serves to make neighborhoods safer, healthier, and happier. And subversively or right out in the open, urban gardening is an idea that just makes sense. Cincinnati's Civic Garden Center is a marvelous place for learning more about plants that thrive in the city. Should you want to commit some random acts of gardening, these resources are available at the Library:
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friday july 25
Last night I watched the latest episode of Greatest American Dog on CBS, while my dog Sami slept on the couch. She can’t catch a Frisbee, walk on a teeter-totter, or jump through a hoop. Just getting her to take a proper walk, go outside on command, or play with a toy is a challenge, really. Needless to say, she will not be the Greatest American Dog, but I love her anyway.
The library has many recently published books to help you train (or just plain understand) your dog. Here are a few:
The Westwood Branch Library will also be hosting the Dog Days of August on Saturday, August 2nd, 9th, and 16th. Keep reading for a list of doggone fun activities!
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wednesday july 23
I wrote last week about a John Harvey mystery, an expert British police procedural. I’ve picked up two more dynamite mysteries since, one new, one old, also by masters of the genre. Some writers really know how to do it—I hope you’re reading these series.
The first was Chasing Darkness, by Robert Crais. Crais’s Elvis Cole mysteries just crackle with sharp writing, eerie violence, and a hero who hits the perfect note of sarcasm that so few have gotten right since the early days of that other p.i., Spenser.
The second was Jan Burke’s Kidnapped, the 2005 volume in her series featuring California newspaperwoman Irene Kelly. Once again, wow—Burke spins a complicated plot as breezily as though she’s spinning plates, but she’ll have you deeply invested in the fate of all of her characters.
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thursday july 17
What does it take to get into the Tour de France? Blood, sweat, tears, and a ton of determination. Lance Armstrong won an unpredecented seven consecutive events. Johan Bruyneel, a Belgian cyclist and trainer, told Lance in 1998, "if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win". Bruyneel's new book, We Might As Well Win: The Road to Success With the Mastermind Behind Eight Tour de France Victories, describes his well-proven training regime.
To understand the level of hysteria that rises throughout France for this event, think March Madness here in the U.S. While the finish line is always on the Champs Elysee in Paris, the route of the course changes every year, causing much competition and speculation amongst people in the Provinces. The Tour's official website is loaded with information and videos providing every detail about the 2,000+ mile race, which was first run in 1903. There are also some very cool ways in which you can watch live coverage: via Google Maps or through the tips on this Silicon Valley site.
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wednesday july 16
How did I miss this one? One of my favorite mystery authors, John Harvey, has a new pair of detectives. Here’s hoping 2007’s Gone to Ground will be a series debut to sit on the shelf beside his Charlie Resnick and Frank Elder series.
DI Will Grayson and his partner, Helen Walker, of the Cambridge Major Investigation Team, are investigating the brutal beating death of Stephen Bryant, a film studies lecturer and writer.
The natural first suspect is Mark McKusick, the partner Stephen had recently broken up with. Mark seems like a mild man, but there’s something so personal about the crime that Will and Helen have to consider the possibility of a jealous ex. Or had Stephen picked up someone else? A missing computer that contains Stephen’s research on sultry 1950s film star Stella Leonard could point to robbery.
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friday july 11
In 2002 the great Neil Gaiman wrote a children's novel, Coraline. Darkly spooky, scary and suspenseful, the book brings to mind a fairy tale, with a resourceful heroine facing daunting odds to save the day. It also brings to mind Alice in Wonderland, where Alice is confused but still seems to know whom to trust and where to find help -- and the way out.
Recently published is the graphic novel, Coraline, adapted and illustrated by the award winning P. Craig Russell. At first I was worried: how could I accept this new version of Coraline, a pre-teen in t-shirt and jeans? How could the atmosphere of the spooky old house and its inhabitants, so well developed in Gaiman's words, possibly be communicated in pictures?
I needn't have worried. Russell brings it all to vivid life, a little bit scarier than the novel was, with pictures lifted straight out of the imagination. This is the everyday brought to nightmare level, with buttons for eyes and confederate cats and souls trapped inside mirrors.
Come along with Coraline...stay...we want you to...
