Author: Bruce Levine
This is social history at its finest. The Fall of the House of Dixie uses meticulous research and incisive quotes from a variety of sources–including soldiers, slaves, abolitionists, impoverished whites, and the Confederate aristocracy–to provide an astonishing autopsy of life in the nineteenth century South before and after the Civil War. Levine, a professor at the University of Illinois, presents complex ideas and loaded topics with remarkable clarity. He’s a wonderful interviewee as well, as exemplified by his appearance on NPR’s Fresh Air. This book is owned by Acorn, and can be requested through SWAN or by contacting the Library.
Author: Lee Toland Krieger
Since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, I’ve learned to embrace the cheesy rom-coms with the endings that are so predictable. But this time I embraced more of an untraditional rom-com that recently came out: Celeste and Jesse Forever. It’s the story about two people who were best friends growing up, got married, and through a series of unfortunately bad decisions get a divorce. The key is that Jesse and Celeste want to stay best friends but yet move on with their own lives, which proves to be very difficult.
There’s some raunchy comedy and drug references sprinkled in, but it takes a realistic point of view of a relationship. Jesse learns to grow up and Celeste acknowledges that she may not always be right. Plus, the soundtrack is amazing; Lily Allen, Freddie Scott, and a nifty tune by Sunny Levine (“No Other Plans”) capture the essence of the darker side of romance. If you don’t see it for the great cinematography or soundtrack, at least borrow it so you can see Chris Pine’s hilarious outtakes as a drunken vagrant – that in itself is definitely worth seeing! Celeste and Jesse Forever is available through SWAN.
Author: Josephine Tey
Richard III has been in the news as of late; researchers and forensic scientists have recently confirmed that the ruins located underneath a parking lot in Leicester were indeed that of the late Richard III, King of Great Britain. But who really was Richard III? Was he a tyrant and murderer, like how Shakespeare depicted him in the historical drama Richard III? Or was he just a misunderstood ruler, with the Tudor dynasty power hungry and itching for the crown? The Daughter of Time explores these ideas and more. In the book, Alan Grant, a police officer from Scotland Yard, is stuck in the hospital. When he sees a portrait of Richard III, he analyzes his face and believes that he is not the murderer everyone set him out to be. With the help of a researcher from the British Museum, the two men journey out to find what exactly RIchard III was like, and was there really proof of him killing his two nephews. It’s a great read for those who like detective stories and discovering the truth. The Daughter of Time is available through our online catalog SWAN.
Author: Joe Weisberg
Reviewer: Jennifer
It’s the early 80’s in suburban Washington D.C. The US and the Soviet Union are embroiled in the Cold War. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings, an attractive, charming and extremely ordinary married couple with two children. Soon, we learn the couple is a pair of highly-trained undercover KGB spies who have been living in the US for decades. Their children, their neighbors, nobody knows anything of their double lives. This show is only two episodes in, but I am hooked. Both Russell and Rhys are fantastic at playing complex characters who are torn between a conflicting sense of duty to their homeland, mission, children and each other. I cannot wait to see where this series goes.
Author: Michael Dahlie
Things you need to know about Michael Dahlie’s The Best of Youth: It takes place in Brooklyn. It features a sensitive, but clueless 20-something who spends his free time writing short stories. There is a manic pixie dream girl who plays the viola in an all-girl band. What will surprise you about this novel: It’s still a tremendous triumph of humor and imagination. While Dahlie’s world might be too whimsical and unlikely (the main character’s parents die in a freak boating accident leaving him $15 million and a successful actor chooses him to ghostwrite his young adult novel), the author effortlessly infuses the comedy-of-manners and aw-shucks character that constantly leaves socially inept, privileged Henry with the fuzzy end of the lollipop with something akin to sympathy. Even when I hated it, I loved it.
Author: Kobo Abe
The novel, available through SWAN, begins with a Japanese entomologist hoping to discover a new beetle species in the remote sand dunes outside of his city. After he misses the last bus out of the village, he is offered a room in a woman’s home at the bottom of a dune. After descending to the home on a rope ladder that is pulled up after him and spending the night shoveling sand into buckets that the villagers lift out of the pit, he realizes that he is doomed to fight the onslaught of sand for the rest of his days. As the characters develop a relationship amid the struggle, an existential question question comes to mind–are we all just shoveling sand?
Like the proliferation of the pomegranate and high-quality television programs, mashups are one of the twenty-first century’s great consolations. Mashup artists alter the instrumentation and vocals of existing tracks in order to combine two or more songs into one, and the most gifted succeed in creating soundscapes that are both astonishingly fresh and seamless. One standard-bearer is Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album from 2004, which combines the Beatles’ The White Album with Jay-Z’s The Black Album. Some recent standouts are Scott Melker’s Skeetwood Mac–a wondrous melange of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and rappers like 2 Chainz and Yung Joc–and “Horizon,” which features MYTHS, Grimes, and Majical Cloudz.
Author: Gillian Flynn
I just finished Gone Girl, and it really lived up to the hype. Amy and Nick Dunne were living a glittering dream–writing jobs, Brooklyn brownstone, Amy’s trust fund–that was quickly and mercilessly liquidated by the Great Recession. Their marriage unravels when they move to Missouri to care for Nick’s ailing parents, and Amy disappears on their fifth anniversary. It may sound like another episode of Law and Order, but Flynn’s potent storytelling, spiky observations, and a delectable menagerie of unhinged characters elevate the book into an exercise in psychological jujutsu. I’m officially hooked on her writing, as I’m currently reading Dark Places and awaiting Sharp Objects from SWAN.
Author: Mike Kersjes
This inspiring story is about a special education teacher/ football coach who gets his students into Space Camp, even though normally it is only for gifted and talented students. Kersjes presents his experience with honesty and humor. He shows great persistence and determination in preparing his students for this incredible adventure in getting to Space Camp. He believed in his students and taught them to believe in themselves, even when the world around them has belittled them for so long. I would give this book two thumbs up!
Author: Robert D. Kaplan
Kaplan’s new book (located on our new book shelf) explains his theory that cultures and politics are largely shaped by geography. He covers some interesting themes and offers intriguing ideas and opinions throughout. For example, attempted control of Middle Europe was fundamental in the campaign of the Nazis, the U.S.S.R., and continues today with the EU. After he explains a few historical geopolitical theories, he outlines his own unique take on world affairs which are too hard to summarize here. I’m surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed the book considering that I don’t normally like his style of historical writing (i.e. determinism combined with vague imperialism). If you’re interested in international politics, history, or the game RISK, I’d recommend it because it is thought-provoking.
Author: S.C. Gwynne
I’ve been enjoying this audiobook all week, but I’m only halfway through it. I knew very little about the Comanches before this and I’m really enjoying learning more. They were one of the first Native American peoples to adopt horses and they quickly became the most adept. As mounted warriors, they fought off the Spanish, Apaches, French, Mexicans, Texans, and Americans for years. Their story is told through the kidnapped Texan frontierswoman Cynthia Ann Parker, who in time adopted the lifestyle of her kidnappers, and her son, Quanah. Only half-finished, I’m already willing to recommend it to anyone interested in the American frontier or Native American history.
Author: Ira Wagler
I’ve just recently finished this book (today!) and it was different from what I expected. The protagonist, having been raised in an Amish Mennonite household, explores and takes the reader on a journey through his childhood and adolescence while considering whether or not to join the church as a “full-fledged member”. He has many hiccups, including running away from home, stealing, and even deserting a potential bride. Wagler, struggling mentally and emotionally through all of his trials, tries to always do what he thinks is right in the end. However, instead of embracing the church as this way of life just like his ancestors did before, he accepts his restlessness and yearning for something more; he left the church after going to great lengths just to be accepted once again. If you are interested in memoirs, journeys about one’s spiritual path, or just religion in general, this is a most interesting book. Acorn has the e-book, but you can get it through our online catalog as well.
