Author Megan Marshall
Tuesday, May 01, 2007 at 07:00 PM

Megan Marshall is coming to the library to talk about The Peabody Sisters, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia Peabody were in many ways the “American Brontes.” The story of these remarkable sisters—and their central role in shaping the thinking of their day—is told in Marshall’s monumental biography.

BookEnds Book Group
Thursday, May 08, 2007 at 07:00 PM

Please join us for a discussion of David Bergen’s The Time in Between. Traveling back and forth in time, this award-winning novel explores the effects of war on a family and a culture. When a veteran returns to Vietnam 30 years after leaving, his children follow to try to uncover the reasons for his disappearance.

Next up for book group, on Tuesday, May ^th from 7-8 p.m., we will discuss David Bergen's The Time in Between (0812972473). Set mostly in Vietnam, the story begins when Charles Boatman, a veteran, disappears from his home in British Columbia. Motivated by his reading of a North Vietnamese novel, Charles leaves for Danang. There, after meeting a variety of people, he disappears, and his two children—Ada and Jon—fly there to find him. As a reluctant, young soldier thirty years before, Charles witnessed and committed a variety of atrocities, and now he has come to make peace with his past. His children are trying to come to terms with a man whom they’ve not always understood. Told in alternating voices, the novel is an affecting look at one family’s search for the truth and two countries where a war still resonates in the general society.

Author William Martin
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 07:00 PM

The popular author of many historical novels, Martin has a new book, The Lost Constitution. Set again in Boston, the main characters from Back Bay and Harvard Yard return in his latest. They are on a quest for an early, annotated draft of the Constitution. Moving back and forth in time, he has created another winner with this book that culminates at the much fabled Fenway Park.

BookEnds’ Book Group
Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Please join us for a discussion of Debra Galant’s Rattled. To welcome in summer, this selection is a little lighter than some of our past books. A former columnist for The New York Times, Galant has spun a humorous tale about suburban New Jersey and a face-off between the new suburban chic and the native old-timers.

Alice writes: A huge fan of Barbara Kingsolver, I have to say I was a little sad that she didn’t just complete a novel but instead her first full-length narrative, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (0060852550); however, I happily devoured her book. Subtitled “A Year of Food Life,” Kingsolver takes readers on a 12-month journey of living off her farm and eating only what she grew or local farmers raised. Peppered throughout the book are recipes from her daughter and journalistic blurbs by her husband. As always, she is funny and wise, probing into our nation’s eating disorder from a personal angle. Just as Michael Pollan did with The Omnivore’s Dilemma (1594200823), Kingsolver has written a memoir that is also a critical investigation into how we eat as Americans and how that diet is affecting our waistlines and the health of the environment....More

Alice writes: A huge fan of Barbara Kingsolver, I have to say I was a little sad that she didn’t just complete a novel but instead her first full-length narrative, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (0060852550); however, I happily devoured her book. Subtitled “A Year of Food Life,” Kingsolver takes readers on a 12-month journey of living off her farm and eating only what she grew or local farmers raised. Peppered throughout the book are recipes from her daughter and journalistic blurbs by her husband. As always, she is funny and wise, probing into our nation’s eating disorder from a personal angle. Just as Michael Pollan did with The Omnivore’s Dilemma (1594200823), Kingsolver has written a memoir that is also a critical investigation into how we eat as Americans and how that diet is affecting our waistlines and the health of the environment....More

In The Kabul Beauty School (1400065593), Deborah Rodriguez introduces us to a cast of Afghani women who changed her life and whose lives she touched. In 2002, she went to Kabul to work as a nurse’s aide but after a couple of months, the beautician found that her skills as a hairdresser were in much more demand. Through her ups and downs in funding and her challenges navigating the culture, Rodriguez introduces readers to a city, a society and a quest to find out what happens behind the veil. Insightful but gossipy, this light memoir is an engaging and inspirational journey into the world of burqa-clad women who are given the training to become autonomous businesswomen....More

Mark May 22^nd on your calendar because that’s when Khaled Hosseini’s new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns (1594489505), is due to be released. Beverly, Dede and I have all read it and think it is equally as good as his debut novel, The Kite Runner (1594480001). Again it is a journey through Afghanistan’s troubled history, beginning with the Russian occupation and ending with the fall of the Taliban. A powerful, harrowing tale set primarily in Kabul, the story follows two women from their childhoods and into their marriage to the same man, Rasheed. Mariam, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man, is forced to marry him at a young age. A few years later Laila, threatened by a fate that is likely to be prostitution or starvation, has to make the choiceless choice of becoming his second wife. Through a portrait of this household, Hosseini leads us through the country’s insufferable leadership changes that parallel a personal story of struggle. ...More

BookEnds Book Group
Thursday, May 08, 2007 at 07:00 PM

Please join us for a discussion of David Bergen’s The Time in Between. Traveling back and forth in time, this award-winning novel explores the effects of war on a family and a culture. When a veteran returns to Vietnam 30 years after leaving, his children follow to try to uncover the reasons for his disappearance.

Next up for book group, on Tuesday, May ^th from 7-8 p.m., we will discuss David Bergen's The Time in Between (0812972473). Set mostly in Vietnam, the story begins when Charles Boatman, a veteran, disappears from his home in British Columbia. Motivated by his reading of a North Vietnamese novel, Charles leaves for Danang. There, after meeting a variety of people, he disappears, and his two children—Ada and Jon—fly there to find him. As a reluctant, young soldier thirty years before, Charles witnessed and committed a variety of atrocities, and now he has come to make peace with his past. His children are trying to come to terms with a man whom they’ve not always understood. Told in alternating voices, the novel is an affecting look at one family’s search for the truth and two countries where a war still resonates in the general society.

Dede writes: Many of us are captivated by the glamour, intrigue and treachery of the Tudor court at the time of Henry VIII in England. A page-turner set in those very times, Vanora Bennett’s Portrait of an Unknown Woman (0812972473) follows Anne Boleyn and her steely ambition as she battles against Sir Thomas More and his stern principles. Young Meg Giggs, adopted daughter of Sir Thomas, is witness to all the turmoil as she grows up in the heady intellectual atmosphere of his house. A young painter named Holbein is brought to England to paint the king and his family, and he falls in love with Meg, who, in turn, is in love with the scholar John Clement, who may not be all he appears to be. The author’s portrait of the complicated Sir Thomas and the mysterious fate of the young princes rumored to have been murdered in the tower by Richard III is fascinating as well as unsettling. This is an intelligent and fast-moving historical novel....More

If you are under sixty, you are not allowed to read Virginia Ironside’s No, I Don’t Want to Join a Book Club (0670038180). Well, we can’t stop you, but you have to be older to appreciate the irreverent language and the aggravation that aging brings—and you won’t “get” the jokes. Facing her sixtieth birthday, our heroine Marie Sharp has led an exciting life as a young beauty in London’s swinging 1960’s. Now she is retired from her job as an art teacher and wants nothing more than to sit back, collect her pension and free medication and be left in peace. Not for her are the age-defying and energetic pursuits of her peers: learning Italian, scuba diving or—God forbid—joining a book club. And, romance is definitely out. The birth of her grandchild changes her life, as does her encounter with an old flame. This book is very funny and has its poignant moments....More

Alexander McCall Smith has another winner with The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (0375422730)! His series, set in Botswana, began with The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency, and readers eagerly await each new book. This is the eighth in the series, and his fans will not be disappointed. The agency is doing well. Mma.Makutsi wishes to advance her job status; the ever patient Mr. J.L.B Maketoni is tested by one of his feckless young apprentices at Speedy Motors, and Mma. Ramotswe, as usual, saves the day for clients with her gentle philosophy and common sense....More

Gretchen, our long lost bookseller, writes: Gold Dagger winner Reginald Hill’s Death Comes for the Fat Man (0060820829) immediately captures readers’ attention with an unexpected bomb blast.  Flat in a heap amid the dust, Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel—the fat man of the title—lies comatose, near death. As Dalziel fights for his life (and floats in his unconscious around the hospital), the usually reserved Chief Inspector Pascoe is transformed into a blunt man of action as she uncovers a plot by English Christians to kill local Muslims. Terrorism in England is the focus of this novel, his twenty-second in a hugely popular series that has seen Dalziel and his colleague, Peter Pascoe, persevere through every conceivable danger served up by the Mid-Yorkshire populace. As ever, author Hill has given his characters flesh and force. Each book in this series illuminates his lifelike characters and stretches the imagination of the reader....More

Pat writes: Three new picture books were just released that are great for this month as we celebrate Mother’s Day and the start of spring. For the younger set (ages 1-3), I recommend A Perfect Day (006051972X) by Remy Charlip. With soft and gentle illustrations, the book has few words but tells the reader in bold capital letters how to have the perfect day. Parent and child wake up, go for a walk, invite friends over for lunch, sing, dance and paint some pictures. The cycle will begin tomorrow as the boy is tucked into bed, another great day made better by sharing it with family and friends....More

For another Mother’s Day picture book—aimed at the 3- to 6-year-old—I really liked Angela McAllister’s Mama and Little Joe (1416916318). When two well-loved, hand-me-down toys named Mama Ruby and Little Joe arrive at their new home, they’re given an unfriendly welcome by the fine, expensive toys already there. But Mama Ruby and Little Joe are filled with the warmth and compassion that come from having a heart. With beautiful watercolor illustrations throughout, this story will make every mother teary-eyed (in the same vein as Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever (0920668372). ...More

For another Mother’s Day picture book—aimed at the 3- to 6-year-old—I really liked Angela McAllister’s Mama and Little Joe (1416916318). When two well-loved, hand-me-down toys named Mama Ruby and Little Joe arrive at their new home, they’re given an unfriendly welcome by the fine, expensive toys already there. But Mama Ruby and Little Joe are filled with the warmth and compassion that come from having a heart. With beautiful watercolor illustrations throughout, this story will make every mother teary-eyed (in the same vein as Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever (0920668372). ...More

In the spirit of spring and in the wake of Earth Day, I recommend Henry Cole’s On Meadowview Street (0060564814). Caroline and her family have just moved to Meadowview Street. Where's the meadow? Where's the view? When a small wildflower begins to grow in her backyard, Caroline and her family soon transform the yard into a wildlife habitat. The lush illustrations draw readers through Caroline’s project as she transforms her barren yard into a thriving forest. Appropriate for children aged 4-8, this picture book also has good earthy lessons!...More

Judy H. writes: Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, creator of “Bloom County” and “Opus,” has written a charming picture book, Mars Needs Moms (039924736X). A little boy named Milo sees no need for moms who are nothing but “bellowing broccoli bullies and carrot cuddling cuckoos,” amongst other things. When Martians kidnap Milo’s mom (for Mars is missing that rare treasure—moms), Milo eventually realizes the importance of moms and their immeasurable love. This is a terrific gift for Mother’s Day. ...More

Ann M. Martin, creator of the “Babysitters Club” series, has come out with a new series called “Main Street.” The first book in the series, Welcome to Camden Falls (0439868793), centers around Flora and Ruby Northrop. These sisters were recently orphaned, and now they are going to live with their grandmother, Min, co-owner of a sewing store in Camden Falls. In the first book of the series, the girls begin to adjust to their new life and become acquainted with the interesting and diverse residents of Camden Falls. This series looks like it is going to be a winner for girls aged 9-12. ...More

Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst (0385733577) is a new fantasy for ages 12 and up, centering around the battle of good versus evil.  Twins Sophie and Josh Newman become involved in trying to recover the Codex, a book of magic that holds the key to the survival of the World. Sophie and Josh are on the side of Nicholas Flamel, a 14th century alchemist who has stayed alive by possessing the Codex and an immortality potion. However, the Codex is stolen by Dr. John Dee, who at one time was an apprentice of Flamel but is now a henchman for the forces of evil. The book ends with many loose ends, indicating a sequel will be coming. ...More

Fans of James Patterson will be glad about the release of his third book in the “Maximum Ride” series, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports (0316155608). Max and her other genetically engineered friends are trying to save the world from the “By Half Plan,” a plot to reduce the world population by half. This is another exciting adventure story from Patterson for middle school students.

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Marilyn writes: It’s not easy to be different or to stand up for what you believe. Student reviewer Jasmine tells us that Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big In This? (0316155608) is about a girl named Amal who has decided to wear a woman’s traditional muslim head covering, the hijab. “The story talks about how she faces her school and family with the hijab. In the end, she learns that she doesn’t have to listen to what other people think about her, but what she thinks about herself. I enjoyed this book very much. It was funny and exciting. I would recommend this book to ages ten to fourteen.” I think it would be a great selection for a mother-daughter book group....More