Tulsa
event guide
INSIDE!
Book Review 2
VOLUME 1, ISSUE 6
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
C H E C K
Ashes Wilderness survival and zombies. Oh my! Page 7
I T
5 11
The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption
O U T
The diet your flabby brain desperately needs. Page 8
Applying One’s Ethics By Alexander McCall Smith Pantheon, $24.95, 261 pages
12
April 2012
Alexander McCall Smith is a prolific and delightful writer, whether he is musing on the color of dappled sunlight, appropriate courtesies or the slippery, shifting nature of the moral imperative. His character studies are subtle, surprising and incisive. This eighth chronicle of the charmed world of Isabel Dalhousie dangles from a delicate framework. Jane Cooper, a middleaged Australian philosopher who was adopted at birth, is searching Edinburgh for her previously unidentified father. Isabel is intrigued and joins the search. A possible
candidate is quickly identified. But is he really Jane’s father? As she follows this meandering trail, Isabel ponders the nature of love, the meaning of family and the probable obscure area of history plied by her grizzled neighbor at a cafe. Meanwhile, she buys olives and minces sardines for 2-year-old Charlie’s lunch box. Isabel lives with the uncertainty about the resolution of Jane’s parentage until another fact falls into her lap. Ultimately, she and Jane determine the moral imperative may See YOUTH, cont’d on page 2
World Divided: Book Two of the Secret World Chronicles
Can they stop the world from ending? Page 9
The Good Daughter A moving tale more incredible than 1,001 Nights Page 15
61 Reviews INSIDE!
Book Reviews
Mystery SNAP IT for additional book summaries. As the Pig Turns By M.C. Beaton Minotaur, $24.99, 292 pages Check this out! Who is M.C. Beaton’s alter ego? The English author has scores of books to her credit, but none enjoyed so affectionately as Agatha Raisin, the middle-aged detective agency maven. In the nosy investigator’s new adventure she attends a village barbecue and notices a tattoo on the spit-bound pig. Oh horror! Not a pig but a murdered man’s torso! Crimes multiply as Agatha defies police warnings, chases off to Las Vegas and squelches along dark country lanes, stopping only for a cigarette and a G and T at the local pub. Helped by her ex-husband, flanked by her policeman friend and her usual entourage, the mysteries are solved after harrowing scenes liberally tinged with humor. Over the years and the series, sexy Agatha has become coarser, sassier and a crosspatch, but as lovable as ever. Many who disparage light fiction, especially this genre, find themselves inveigled into following Agatha’s courageous quests. This escapade will satisfy her followers and recruit new ones. A fast read full of Brit wit, once again Beaton reveals her skillful plotting and characterization. Reviewed by Jane Manaster Cinnamon Roll Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery With Recipes! By Joanne Fluke Kensington, $24.00, 304 pages Check this out! It’s just an average spring day in Lake Eden, Minnesota — snow, ice and mud that lead to a multicar pileup on the highway, plus the Swensen family finding another murder victim. When Hannah Swensen, the town baker, starts looking into the murder of a visitor to town all roads of investigation seem to lead straight out of town — to Seattle. It seems everyone is keeping secrets. Can Hannah determine which are harmless
white lies and which are keys to solving the murder? Cinnamon Roll Murder, the latest Hannah Swensen mystery, is like the last cookie in the batch — just as yummy as the first. It’s enjoyable to see people who started out as minor characters, such as Hannah’s mother and sister Michelle, growing and becoming more active in the sleuthing business. A respite from the Hannah-Mike-Norman love triangle was also appreciated. This book really keeps the wheels in your brain turning with so many possible suspects and motives. There are so many possibilities that you’ll want to read the entire book in one sitting (with a short break to try out some of the scrumptious recipes). Reviewed by Jodi Webb Deader Homes and Gardens By Joan Hess Minotaur, $24.99, 291 pages Check this out! Claire Malloy is back in another fast and funny mystery. Claire and Peter, along with Caron, her teenager, have returned from their honeymoon in Egypt to find that the three of them don’t fit into Claire’s twobedroom apartment. She begins to house hunt, and after a long time of fruitless searching and tripping over boxes, she finds the house of her dreams. When her real-estate agent disappears and the current contested owner of the house dies at her feet, Claire must solve several mysteries to have a hope of buying the house. Chaos ensues with aging hippies, uptight fundamentalists, a tattooed and pierced teenager, and a smuggling operation diving into the mix. Peter has left town for a law enforcement seminar, and Claire wants to get everything wrapped up before he returns and tries to get her to stop messing with crime. It is hysterically funny and wildly and wonderfully plotted. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed. If you haven’t been on the wild and funny ride of one of Claire’s mystery romps before, you are in for a treat. Reviewed by Beth Revers
Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause By Mignon Ballard Minotaur, $24.99, 272 pages Check this out! Small-town life was drastically changed by World War II. If you’re too young to recall that era, here’s a remarkable look at a time gone by — complete with food shortages and rationing. Miss Dimple Kilpatrick is the beloved first-grade teacher at the local grade school, and has taught nearly everyone still living in the town of Elderberry, Georgia. She knows when someone is capable or not capable of any particular action. You might say she’s Elderberry’s Miss Marple. As the young men of the town go off to join the various branches of the military, those left behind face extra scrutiny. The young women who are left behind try valiantly to keep a happy face and spirit in spite of myriad unknowns. A field trip to a nearby farm where the children will pick cotton ends in a grisly discovery: a skeleton is unearthed when part of a creek bank collapses. As if that isn’t traumatic enough for the small town, Miss
Dimple’s landlady and good friend, Phoebe Chadwick, is suddenly not her usual cheerful self. Not only will she not admit to any problems, but neither will she talk about it. Then the proceeds from the very successful war bond rally come up missing! The situation is getting out of hand, when Miss Dimple and her band of aging friends take matters into their own capable hands. Mission accomplished! Reviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
YOUTH, cont’d from page 1 be kindness. The Edinburgh of the Dalhousie series is a vivid blend of old architecture, Scottish truth tellers, music and gourmet food, laced with a small multitude of moral dilemmas. I wish that Isabel was my neighbor around the corner. Reviewed by Elizabeth Benford
MYSTERIES/THRILLERS
COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Search the library’s catalog at http://tulsalibrary.org to reserve your copies now. Deep Cover: A Harry Vicary Novel By Peter Turnbull When the snow thaws on London’s Hampstead Heath after a harsh winter, a ghoulish discovery is made that marks the start of a very dangerous case for Detective Inspector Harry Vicary and his team. A Killing in China Basin By Kirk Russell Many consider homicide detective Ben Raveneau to be at the tail end of his career – not least his ambitious young partner, Elizabeth la Rosa. But Raveneau’s long experience proves invaluable during the pair’s investigation of a murder in San Francisco’s China Basin district.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 2
Archive 17 By Sam Eastland Appointed by Stalin to finance a war with Germany by finding the legendary missing gold of Tsar Nicholas II, former investigator Pekkala goes undercover in Siberia to infiltrate a gang of convicts rumored to know the treasure’s whereabouts. Unwanted: A Novel By Kristina Ohlsson This U.S. debut by an award-winning Swedish author follows Inspector Fredericka Bergman’s federal investigation into the kidnapping and murder of a child who had been separated from her mother on a crowded train on a rainy Swedish summer day, a case that points to the work of a brilliant and ruthless killer.
Tulsa
Book Review Tulsa City-County Library 400 Civic Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 Ph. (918) 549-7323 EDITOR IN CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lisa Rodgers CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jackie Hill Tulsa City-County Library jhill@tulsalibrary.org
GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Lisa Rodgers lisa.rodgers@1776productions.com COPY EDITORS Diane Jinson Holly Scudero Robyn Oxborrow Kim Winterheimer Lori Miller Lori Freeze Cathy Lim
IN THIS ISSUE Mystery............................... 2 Fiction................................. 4 History & Current Events.... 5 Picture Books...................... 6 Kids’ Books.......................... 7 Teen Scene........................... 7 Popular Culture................... 8 Mind & Body Fitness............ 8
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Elizabeth Tropp Erin McDonough Shanyn Day Christopher Hayden Missy McEwen WEBSITE TulsaBookReview.com DISTRIBUTED BY Urban Tulsa Weekly
The Tulsa Book Review is published monthly by 1776 Productions, LLC. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tulsa Book Review or 1776 Productions advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words ©2012, LLC.
1776 Productions,
Science Fiction..................... 9
FROM THE PUBLISHER Happy springtime to all our readers! April is all about public libraries. We will celebrate National Library Week April 8-14. This year’s theme is “You Belong at Your Library.” With all the exciting offerings available at the library to Tulsa County residents, I can’t imagine a more fitting theme. Also that same week, April 10 is National Library Worker Day, so if you happen to be at the library that day, please be sure to thank the staff who help you, because with 3.8 million visitors every year, they work very hard. On April 11 we will celebrate National Bookmobile Day. Our Bookmobile often serves as a lifeline to books and other materials for customers, many of them children and the homebound, who cannot make it the library. We count ourselves lucky as our manager of Outreach Services, Brad Thomas, is also the national president of the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services. April 12 is Support Teen Literature Day, and, of course, the whole month of April is National Poetry Month. So visit your library, grab a good book or download an e-bestseller, and let’s celebrate the great gift our founding fathers gave us – the public library. Warm wishes,
Fantasy.............................. 10 Cookbooks......................... 12 Biography & Memoir......... 14 Tulsa Reads Alexander McCall Smith.............................. 16
Gary Shaffer Tulsa City-County Library CEO
Coming Up! Tulsa City-County Library will kick off its children’s and teen/tween summer reading programs May 21. Youths who complete the programs will earn great prizes and coupons provided by a variety of businesses and organizations. Also, hundreds of free actionpacked, fun-filled events are planned at area libraries this summer to complement the programs. Check the May issue of the Tulsa Book Review for more details, plus pick up a copy of the Summer Reading Program Event Guide in May at your neighborhood library.
Book Reviews
Fiction
SNAP IT for additional book summaries. One Moment, One Morning By Sarah Rayner St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99, 405 pages Check this out! Three women riding a London commuter train are intimately affected by a man’s heart attack on their way to work. The women — Karen, Anna and Lou — are each affected differently by his death during the course of one week. Karen is the wife of the man, Simon. Anna, her best friend, is on the train but in a different car. She knows someone collapsed and was taken away by paramedics but doesn’t know the man’s identity. Lou is sitting next to Karen and Simon and witnesses the collapse but feels helpless to do anything. Each woman is struggling with her own demons. Karen is trying to survive the death and be strong for her children. Anna has been living with her boyfriend for four years, but his escalating drinking is harming their relationship. Lou, who is lesbian, has never come out to her domineering mother. Lou first meets Anna on the train, and they become close after Simon’s death. What could have been a maudlin movieof-the-week story is actually realistic and compelling. While it is sad, the characters and their reactions to events are completely believable. All of the characters are threedimensional, even the supporting players. Readers who don’t relish a story about bereavement should be forewarned. Otherwise, this book is definitely worth reading. Reviewed by Leslie Wolfson A Vacation on the Island of ExBoyfriends By Stacy Bierlein Elephant Rock Books, $16.00, 186 pages Two friends escape for a girls’ weekend on a remote island, only to be greeted by all of their ex-boyfriends ... in chronological order. This sets the stage for Stacy Bierlein’s collection of short stories, from the fantastic to the
heartbreaking, as she covers the range of emotions with a voice reminiscent of Susan Minot and Kim Addonizio, but with her own brand of humor, grief and a distinctive voice. Her prose rides the line between fantasy and reality, between the exotic and the familiar, all with a fresh approach to language and storytelling, as with the story “Linguistics,” where language and relationships become mesmerizingly intertwined. The heartbreak and beauty of relationships are laid bare, as in the story of “Two Girls,” along with the profound sense of loss and emptiness, even when lying with someone, how you can miss them before they’re even gone. Strong, searing, sexy, funny, Bierlein’s characters leap off the page as they dance the intricate dance of dangerous love. Reviewed by Axie Barclay Everyday People: Poems By Albert Goldbarth Graywolf Press, $18.00, 178 pages Check this out! I absolutely love poetry, yet I have difficulty reading many collections. I scratch my head, wondering, “What does this all mean?” Poems should assist to answer that question, not hinder our ability to do so. Everyday People is a happy surprise. Goldbarth uses the mundanity of our lives to reveal the deeper shades of meaning underneath our actions. His poetry’s accessibility helps us take that next lofty step into philosophy. For example, “The Explanation” uses fantastic imagery as it lifts the reader up, swirls her around, overwhelms her senses, and suddenly drops her at the foot of a police officer as she discovers that the poem is actually the narrator’s explanation for speeding. Goldbarth explores individuals, whether they are strippers or scientists. For example, he delves into the meaning behind Darwin’s scientific discoveries, as well as Darwin’s home life with his wife and children. No subject is too small or too highfalutin for Goldbarth’s pen, and all characters are equally important in their personal lives as well as in their notoriety. Goldbarth’s use of humor and quiet, human moments allows the reader to identify herself in each poem, saying “That’s me … That’s me.” Reviewed by Kerry Ellen Lindgren
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats By Jan-Philipp Sendker, Kevin Wiliarty (translator) Other Press, $14.95, 325 pages Check this out! Do you ever truly know everything about the people you love? While you read The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, ask yourself that very question. Keep repeating. The answer will be obvious when you end the final chapter. Sendker’s poignant story of love and purported betrayal will have you in tears. Julia Win searches for her father, a wellrespected New York lawyer, who disappears on his way to a business trip. After supersleuthing through her father’s belongings, Julia discovers a letter her father wrote to a woman named Mi Mi. Determined to find the woman, Julia sets off for Burma, where her father was born, to find a link between the mystery woman and her missing father. Here, Julia hears her father’s story from U Ba, including how Tin Win was blinded, realizing how little she knows about her father’s past. Filled with Eastern influences, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats resembles a mystical fairy tale and shares the obstacles and triumphs of the varied faces worn by love. Readers may feel pushed to suspend disbelief during sections of this hit novel, but the ultimate payoff will reaffirm your faith in unconditional love. Reviewed by LuAnn Schindler The Flame Alphabet By Ben Marcus Knopf, $25.95, 289 pages Check this out! This haunting novel explores the power of language and how society would be affected without it. Marcus displays exceptional talent as he introduces the reader to a dark and horrific world in which the language of children is killing adults. It begins with the Jewish children first and then spreads to other ethnicities. This apocalyptic plague kills adults not only by the spoken word, but later, by even the written word. This novel explores various themes. Marcus gives the reader much to ponder respecting the effect of language on society, culture and individual families. In the novel, adults are forced into quarantine zones and must be separated from their children in order to stay alive. The main characters, Sam and Claire, leave behind their young daughter, Esther, due to this malevolent epidemic, to save their own lives. As they begin to wither away, Sam diligently searches for a cure. This leads to some interesting discussions about
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 4
language, the Hebrew alphabet and the importance of communication. Without the ability to communicate, what will become of our society and civilization as a whole? Marcus explores this concept in this imaginative and at times bizarre story. This intellectual thriller is invigorating and certainly interesting. Reviewed by Jennifer Ochs The Crown By Nancy Bilyeau Touchstone, $24.99, 402 pages Check this out! “Be careful how you proceed, Sister Joanna,” twisted and deadly Bishop Gardiner commands. “You must use subtlety to ascertain location. Do not draw attention to yourself with obvious searching. It is very important you tell no one of my charge. Not your prioress, nor the sisters, nor the friars I send with you. Absolutely no one. Once you learn where the Athelstan crown is located, communicate that to me alone, in writing. You must not touch it yourself, not even for an instant. You understand?” When Sister Joanna, a young novice nun, learns of her cousin’s burning, she breaks all the rules and heads to London to offer her cousin support. She ends up locked in the Tower of London with only one way to escape: search her old priory for a mystical crown. If she fails, her father will never be released. The more Sister Joanna learns about the Athelstan crown, the more dire straits become. People start dying all around her. There is a murderer loose in the priory. Joanna’s research reveals that the last several kings who touched the crown died mysterious deaths and she begins to wonder what Gardiner’s true purpose is with the crown. She must choose between saving her father or possibly putting a crown so valuable that it might cause eternal life or frightful death into the hands of a dangerous and deadly man. Nancy Bilyeau’s novel The Crown is a unique look into Tudor England. For Tudor fans such as me, it’s refreshingly different from anything else on the market. I’ve certainly never read a Henry VIII novel set inside a priory and in which all the main characters are nuns and friars! Bilyeau’s novel reminded me a lot of Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code and I think it was equally as good. This is an absolutely amazing first novel filled with complicated characters and dramatic plot lines. I would love to see this story on the big screen! Reviewed by Jennifer Melville
Book Reviews
History & Current Events SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians: A Story of Suppression, Secrecy and Survival By John Dougill Tuttle, $22.95, 231 pages Check this out! In 1549, a Portuguese boat landed in the most southern part of the Japanese islands, a place called Tanegashima. Christianity gained a foothold in Japan. The years that followed were disastrous and bloody, as new leadership and civil war tore Japan apart. During this time, hidden Christians, or kakure kirishitan, concealed themselves among their Japanese neighbors, worshiping in secret. John Dougill takes an in-depth look at why Christianity has been hidden in the deeps of the Japanese culture. Kirishitans created their own religion and, even today, they refuse to rejoin the Catholic Church. The best part of this book is that it is a secular look at Christianity in Japan. The first couple of chapters provide great background for the rest of Dougill’s thesis. A great part focuses on Tanegashima, known for its iron work. Tanegashima, because of its first contact, was the first place in Japan to buy gunpowder weaponry. Dougill perfectly blends modern-day evidence with historical first accounts to paint an accurate picture of 16th-century Japan. The narrative is engaging, as Dougill’s perspective is both instructive and playful. This is one of the best books out there about this subject of East meeting West. Reviewed by Kevin Brown JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President By Ryan Tubridy Lyons Press, $27.50, 302 pages Check this out! I’ve read most of the books written about the Kennedys and can vouch for the fact that this one is unique. JFK in Ireland is not about John Kennedy, the politician, president or historical figure. It is also not about JFK the intellectual. This book lets us
get to know the JFK who was an emotional person, with real thoughts and feelings who – just five months before his death – fell in love with the country of his ancestors. Ryan Tubridy concisely, beautifully covers the details of the “four days that changed a president.” Kennedy’s visit to Ireland allowed him to discover a part of his being that had previously remained hidden. During the last day of his visit JFK stated, “I wish I could stay here for another week or another month.” He also said, “This is where we all say goodbye.” Tubridy, a major TV personality in Ireland, summarizes the history and character of the Irish people – people who were once “on the lower rungs of society.” They were to produce a president who learned, in his near-final days, why he was proud to have come from their stock. Very well done. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation By Ashraf Khalil St. Martin’s Press, $26.99, 324 pages Check this out! The Arab spring has had some dramatic and dynamic moments. From the overthrow of longtime dictators, to the rise of democracy in the Middle East. 2011 was a time for revolution and change. One year later, the first books about these events are starting to be published, which catalogs these groundbreaking events in detail. One of the early ones is Liberation Square, which covers Egypt and the overthrow of Mubarak. The author is a reporter who lives in Egypt and writes for many publications. He was at Ground Zero, covering the events as they happened. The book is split into three parts. The first part is a quick history of Mubarak Egypt. See LIBERATION, cont’d on page 9
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 5
BEST SELLERS COMING SOON
TO TULSA CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY Downfall: An Intervention Novel By Terri Blackstock Publication Date: Feb. 28, 2012 Despite Emily Covington’s sobriety, she can’t escape her past. Her years of active drug addiction have made her the scapegoat for everything, including a murder. Now she has to identify the real killer to clear her name and protect her family. Sneaky Pie for President By Rita Mae Brown Publication Date: Aug. 7, 2012 Rita Mae Brown is The New York Times bestselling author of the Mrs. Murphy mystery series (which she writes with her tiger cat, Sneaky Pie) and the Sister Jane novels. Back Fire: An FBI Thriller By Catherine Coulter Publication Date: July 17, 2012 San Francisco Judge Ramsey Hunt, longtime friend to FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, is presiding over the trial of Clive and Cindy Cahill, accused in a string of murders, when the proceedings take a radical turn. When the judge gets shot in the back, Savich and Sherlock race to San Francisco to find out who is behind the shooting. The Spymasters: A Men at War Novel By W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV Publication Date: Aug. 7, 2012 Summer 1943. Two of the Allies’ most important plans for winning World War II are at grave risk – Operation Overlord’s invasion of France and the Manhattan Project’s race to build the atomic bomb. A furious FDR turns to OSS spy chief Wild Bill Donovan and Donovan turns to his top agent, Dick Canidy, and his team. They’ve certainly got their work cut out for them.
Haven By Kay Hooper Publication Date: July 31, 2012 Emma Rayburn lived a quiet life in the sleepy town of Baron Hollow, North Carolina, until she injured her head in a riding accident. Afterward, her dreams were full of nameless girls being tortured and murdered, nightmares that didn’t seem to have any link with her life ... until her estranged sister, Jessie, returned to Baron Hollow. Judgment Call By J.A. Jance Publication Date: July 24, 2012 Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady has a problem that crisscrosses the personal and the political. Her daughter, Jenny, has discovered her high school principal murdered. It’s no fun digging into the uncomfortable truths about the man so well known to her daughter, especially when Jenny seems to know more — and understand less — than she’s revealing. Odd Apocalypse By Dean Koontz Publication Date: July 31, 2012 In the fifth Odd Thomas thriller from the master storyteller, Odd finds refuge at a rundown mansion, but soon discovers a frightening presence. He has seen danger and he has seen death. He lives between two worlds, communicating with the lingering dead. He stands between us and our darkest fears, never failing the tests that confront him, whatever the cost. Now he has found refuge in a crumbling mansion in Santa Barbara, along with his closest friends both living and dead. But the house is a place of terrible secrets, haunted by lingering spirits. And there is a stranger, more frightening presence still … Reserve your copies now. Scan this code for more info and titles.
Book Reviews
Picture Books
Announcing the book industry’s
FIRST. . .
SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Chilly Milly Moo By Fiona Ross Candlewick Press, $15.99, 32 pages Check this out! It is a warm, sunny day, and Milly Moo is very sad. The other cows do not understand. Milly is just too hot. She does not like hot weather. It makes her sad. All she really wants to do is “churn out the finest, loveliest, tastiest, creamiest milk.” But it is too hot and she is in danger of losing her job at the farm. If she can’t produce milk, the farmer has no reason to keep her there. The other cows brag about how much milk they can make. They say the sun helps them to make all the good milk they make. The other cows laugh at Milly. It’s so hot, she even dreams about the heat. When she wakes, a storm has arrived and it is getting cold. The other cows are too cold, but not Milly. This is just what she has been waiting for. But what happens next is a big surprise. This Milly isn’t just chilly, she is silly as well. Little ones will love the nonsense of the book, as well as the nonsensical illustrations. Fiona Ross’ debut children’s book will be a favorite for the very young. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Betty Bunny Wants Everything By Michael B. Kaplan, Stephane Jorisch (illustrator) Dial Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Kids often have a problem with paring down what they want when faced with difficult choices. Betty Bunny Wants Everything looks at one young bunny’s desire to have everything she wants, and the ramifications of her stubbornness when it comes to dealing with that inability. Her parents find a way to deal with the
iPhone App
problem, but that solution ends up allowing Betty yet another way to show her stubbornness. The fun thing about this book isn’t so much the life lessons about compromising and that you can’t always have everything you want. Even the art, which is fun and has things going on in the background, isn’t the best part, but the level of small details is going to make this a hit with kids. What really sells this book are the sibling relationships and how each sibling helps the other make a decision on what gifts they receive, be it for self-defense or money decisions. Betty is also a good example of a kid that parents love to hate, both clever and selfish. Between these aspects, this book is probably going to be reread a lot, but at least it will be a fun rereading each time. Reviewed by Jamais Jochim When My Baby Dreams By Adele Enersen Balzer + Bray, $14.99, 48 pages Check this out! Professional photographer and new mother Adele Enerson’s new picture book When My Baby Dreams is a feast for the senses. Enerson’s newborn daughter, Mila, slept for hours in the beginning and she couldn’t resist staring at her angelic baby and wondering what she was dreaming about. She started shooting pictures and the story emerged. Whether you’re a parent of young children or a newborn photographer, you’re going to love this book! The book cover summarizes the story very nicely: sometimes Mila dreams she’s a butterfly, sometimes she’s a bookworm, or a surfer girl or even an astronaut. When Mila dreams, she can be anything. The photos are adorable, and the settings are so creative. I loved the cloth animals and the baby costumes. The repetitive nature of the story made it very readable. My 21-month-old daughter loves to listen to the story again and again. She also loves the pictures of the baby on all of her imaginative dreamland adventures. We’ve read this book at least two dozen times since we got it! When My Baby Dreams is fresh, different and really stands out from the flood of children’s books on the market. Thank you, Ms. Enerson, for such a beautiful gem! Reviewed by Jennifer Melville
Kids Book Review
it’s free! thousands of book titles, find author events, listen to author interviews searchable database
I’m Fast! By Kate McMullan, Jim McMullan (illustrator) Balzer + Bray, $16.99, 40 pages Check this out! Full of alliterative sounds, fun, simple colorful illustrations and, best of all, a train and a race car, this picture book by the renowned Kate and Jim McMullan, authors of I Stink, I’m Dirty and other wonderful books, is sure to please. Kids will be cheering for the big freight train to beat the race car to Chicago with all of its freight. The freight train chatters through the trip describing his moves, his freight and telling the cows on the track to “moooooooove it.” With an engaging smile and expressive eyes, he makes a charming protagonist. Along this fun trip, we get to learn what the various types of freight cars are called and find out about a cross-country train trip. This will make a great read aloud with bold illustrations and wonderful sounds to make, as well as the race adding to the suspense of the story. This is a must for train fans and fans of all kinds of transportation. Don’t miss this chance to climb aboard! Reviewed by Beth Revers
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 6
Z Is for Moose By Kelly Bingham, Paul O. Zelinsky (illustrator) Greenwillow Books, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Zebra is in charge of getting all the animals and objects to the correct pages to make this new alphabet book perfect. How hard can that be? It is the ABCs, after all. But Zebra doesn’t take into account that Moose is a little anxious. Well, not a little anxious. Moose is very, very anxious that he doesn’t miss his chance to represent M in the alphabet. And Moose doesn’t seem to remember where in the alphabet M is. As far as Moose is concerned, it should come near the beginning. By the time Zebra gets to D, Moose is there. When Zebra tells him it’s not his turn, Moose sticks around, getting in the way page after page. And when they finally do get to M, there is a nasty surprise waiting for Moose. If you can imagine the wheels coming off the alphabet, this is the book for you. For children who have learned their ABCs, this is a terrific book. It is silly, funny and very smart. Little ones will get the joke and join in the fun. The bright, clever illustrations help make this a “Read it again, Mommy” kind of book. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Book Reviews
Kids’ Books SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade By Melissa Sweet Houghton Mifflin, $16.99, 40 pages Check this out! Tony Sarg was a puppeteer, but not your run-of-the-mill puppeteer. He was one of the most inventive puppeteers of all. He was fascinated with finding ways to make things move. When only a young boy, he tired of having to get up early to feed the chickens and invented a way to feed them by simply pulling on a rope next to his bed. As an adult, he moved to London and started making marionettes that were very lifelike when they performed. Eventually, he moved to New York and performed on Broadway. Macy’s heard about his puppets and hired him to make a “puppet parade” for their holiday windows. It was a great success. Then Macy’s wanted Tony to create a parade for their employees. It was also a great success, so Macy’s decided to have a big parade on Thanksgiving Day every year. As time went on, Macy’s asked Tony to make something more spectacular. Tony came up with the idea of making huge, inflated, floating puppets for the parade, and they grew, getting better and bigger every year. This charming nonfiction book will fascinate young and old alike. The illustrations are great and really make the story come alive. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Looking at Lincoln By Maira Kalman Nancy Paulsen Books, $17.99, 32 pages Check this out! A little girl is walking through town one day on her way to breakfast, when she sees a tall man who looks very familiar. She realizes the man looks a great deal like Abraham Lincoln, and she wants to know more about him. She heads to the library and finds there are more than 16,000 books that have been written about him! She proceeds to tell us what she learns about Lincoln with the charming honesty of a young girl. She tells how he was born in a log cabin and had
a stepmother who loved him, how he loved to read and taught himself because he could not go to school. She tells a little about his family and how he became president, the important work he did and how he died. The little girl takes us with her to visit the Lincoln Memorial and tells us what we will find there. This charming book, written and illustrated beautifully by Maira Kalman, is told in the pitch-perfect voice of a small child. Her love and admiration for Lincoln comes through loud and clear. This historical fiction picture book is a wonderful introduction to Lincoln for the very young. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud By Suzanne Tripp Jurmain, Larry Day (illustrator) Dutton Juvenile, $16.99, 32 pages Check this out! Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were best friends although they were not much alike. Short, fat and a joker, John was the opposite of tall, slim and serious Tom. But they both wanted independence for the colonies and worked hard together to accomplish that for the people of America. They sailed to Europe together and entreated officials and merchants from other countries to help the colonists win their war against the English king. But they had a difference of opinion about how powerful the president should be. Tom thought if the president was too strong, he might try to become king. John thought if he wasn’t strong enough, the new government might not stand. Each was president for a time, but they didn’t speak through many years. Would they ever heal their rift? Suzanne Tripp Jurmain tells a fascinating story from the early history of our country with humor, tenderness and truth. Readers will be drawn in by excellent writing, a great story, fascinating characters and delightful illustrations. This book delivers on every level and will charm readers both young and old. Great nonfiction in picture books is rare. This is a gem. Reviewed by Rosi Hollinbeck
Teen Scene SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Allegiance By Cayla Kluver Harlequin Teen, $9.99, 498 pages Check this out! Allegiance is a beautiful continuance of the fantasy that began with Legacy. Alera is now married to Steldor (Helldor as she wants to call him) as war finds its way to Hytanica. Lush scenes and feminist themes run rampant throughout the book, making Kluver’s latest a must-read for teen fantasy lovers everywhere. Narian has found his way back into the enemy camp, and Alera’s younger sister is taken hostage by the Cockyrian Overlord to make Narian fulfill the prophecy and destroy Hytanica. Alera is at odds with her new husband and her father about her duty as queen when she receives word that Narian wishes to meet with her. He tells her to move on with Steldor and become the queen he knows that she can be, but ignorant decisions plague our main character and Hytanica is taken over by the enemy. The fight to regain her city is the redeeming factor for Alera. The strength she finds within and finally making some good decisions redeems our main character and makes the 500-page tome worth reading. I am quite simply in love with Hytanica and cannot wait to see where Kluver takes the story next. Reviewed by Pamela van Hylckama Vlieg Ashes By Ilsa J. Bick Egmont, $17.99, 465 pages Check this out! Seventeen-year-old Alex hikes into the wilderness with the ashes of her parents. Alex plans to end her life, as she’s dying of a brain tumor and tired of dealing with the symptoms and heartbreak of failed treatment. When she comes across 8-yearold Ellie and her grandfather, she plans to continue along her way. But when an electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying all electronic devices (including the grandfather’s pacemaker), she ends up taking care of El-
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 7
lie. They meet up with Tom, a young soldier, and eek out survival in the wild, desperate for news from the outside world. Unsure of whom they can trust, as the pulse turned some people into zombies, they decide to leave the safety of the wilderness to seek out fellow survivors. Ashes is split into two distinct sections, the first in the wild and the second in the post-apocalyptic world outside. Both compelling and scary, the novel will appeal to fans of novels such as The Hunger Games or The Stand. As the main character, Alex is tough but fragile, and the secondary characters are nuanced. This is the first novel in a trilogy, complete with a cliffhanger ending. The second novel, Shadows comes out in 2012. Reviewed by Kelly Garrett Fracture By Megan Miranda Bloomsbury Publishing, $17.99, 264 pages Check this out! Fracture starts off with a horrific accident as 17-year-old Delaney Maxwell has fallen through thin ice. After enduring 11 minutes in the freezing lake she is pulled out by her best friend, Decker. As Delaney regains consciousness she has to face the fact that she may not be a normal teenager anymore, especially as she feels an inexplicable pull to those who are dying. To make matters more complicated she meets Troy Varga, who, like her, shares a pull to those dying. Delaney has to decide where her heart is telling her to go … is it to Decker or should she go with Troy? This was a really enjoyable book, although I wish there had been a larger paranormal element at play. I was at the edge of my seat at times and stayed up into the wee hours of the night to finish it. Debut author Megan Miranda brings a thoughtful and imaginative look at what can happen to a survivor of a tragedy and her friends and family. The writing is easy-flowing and the plot is very believable. Reviewed by Patricia Mendoza
Book Reviews
“
Why Children Are Stressed, Why Parents and Teachers Are Disempowered, and How to Restore a Healthy Balance in Adult-Child Relationships”
Popular Culture
PRESENTED BY DR. GABOR MATÉ
Thursday, April 12 • 7-9 p.m.
SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The Twitter Book By Tim O’Reilly/Sarah Milstein O’Reilly, $19.99, 256 pages Check this out! Depending on how you view it, Twitter is either silly, a networking necessity, selfindulgent or the most economic marketing plan ever. So which is it? The Twitter Book not only helps you sort out what Twitter can do for you but it also tells you how to do it. The Twitter Book reveals secrets that would take weeks – even months – to discover, gives you Twitter etiquette and helps you make the most of your Twitter experience. Thank you Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein! Many of us know in a vague way that we should be on Twitter. But this book shows even the most techno-challenged (me!) exactly how and why. They give you examples of good and bad tweets, and images of some Twitter feeds so you can see exactly what they’re talking about when they mention various icons. Many times the visuals make all the difference between understanding and just nodding your head. No matter how well you think you understand Twitter, you should have The Twitter Book on your bookshelf. It opens your eyes to new information and is a handy reference book for things you already know. Every Twitter account should come with a copy of The Twitter Book! Reviewed by Jodi Webb Always Hit on the Wingman: ...and 9 Other Secret Rules for Getting the Love Life You Want By Jake (Glamour’s dating columnist) Hyperion, $21.99, 191 pages Check this out! Since 1956, Glamour magazine has featured dating advice from the male perspective via the persona of “Jake.” Jakes have all been single, never date readers, must REALLY like women and tell it like it is. But when this particular Jake met and subsequently married “Orange Blossoms,”
Peer Orientation:
Boston Avenue United Methodist Church 1301 S. Boston Ave.
a woman in his life whom his readers met through his column, and had to bow to a new Jake, this Jake and his editors soon realized he had more to offer: thus the creation of Always Hit on the Wingman. Filled with savvy insights, straightforward advice and unrelenting humor, this book consolidates more than 60 years of dating advice into not only a how-to guide, but an inspiring read on how to become more independent, love yourself and be confident. After all, no one loves anything more than true self-assurance, and therein lies the true power for both sexes. So if you want something, look inside yourself to find this power, and Jake will help you get there. Reviewed by Axie Barclay The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption By Clay A. Johnson O’Reilly Media, $22.99, 150 pages Check this out! Clay A. Johnson is a smart fellow — he helped transform presidential campaigning while working for Howard Dean in 2004; created Blue State Digital, the firm that handled Barack Obama’s online campaign; and was the director of Sunlight Labs at the Sunlight Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to making government at all levels more transparent to citizens. He also has won numerous awards for software development and political engagement. He has recently left all that. Why? As he describes in his new book, Johnson no longer feels that the best way to change our political system is through the regular channels. He argues, convincingly, that the problem is not Washington insiders or backroom deals, but instead how Americans are relating to and consuming information. Johnson’s argument is that just as junk food triggers our brain to be happy at the expense of our health, so do the mainstream media, our email boxes, Facebook and Twitter. His solution? Cut out the ediSee INFORMATION, cont’d on page 11
Gabor Maté is a physician and bestselling author whose books have been published in nearly 20 languages worldwide. His books include “Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers.” Rather than offering facile, quick-fix solutions to complex issues, Dr. Maté weaves together scientific research, case histories, and his own insights and experience to present a broad perspective that enlightens and empowers people to promote their own healing and that of those around them. For more information, visit www.parentchildcenter.org/mate or call 918-699-0503. Sponsored by The Parent Child Center of Tulsa and co-sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Free and Open to the Public
Mind & Body Fitness SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
The 7 Minute Solution: Creating a Life With Meaning 7 Minutes at a Time By Allyson Lewis Free Press, $25.00, 357 pages Check this out! We all get caught up in the trials and challenges of life. How many times have you told yourself you need to get better organized, refocused and back on track to things
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 8
that really make your life feel like it’s everything you want it to be? The biggest hurdle we face is acknowledging that things need to CHANGE. It’s that choice we must make and it has to be more than just words. In Allyson Lewis’ The 7 Minute Solution readers get a reality check. Choosing to consciously focus our attention for just seven minutes every day on what is most meaningful in our lives is the most basic foundation outlined in this book. Why seven minutes? It’s the average adult’s attention span. Yeah, that’s it. Not hard to believe when one realizes all the distractions out there. The 7 Minute Solution is built on a 90day timeline. Ninety days is a reasonable time that feels more attainable for seeing results in making new choices and changes. I am excited about this book. I’m excited for change. You can be too. Reviewed by Laura Friedkin
Book Reviews
Science Fiction SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
A Rising Thunder: An Honor Harrington Novel By David Weber Baen, $26.00, 458 pages Check this out! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The Star Empire of Manticore has been decimated by a mysterious enemy. In Torch of Freedom, the Honorverse novel preceding this one, a joint mission between two spies — one from the Empire, the other from the Republic of Haven, whose nations are at war — has uncovered the Alliance, the unseen foe that has targeted both their nations. The intelligence they bring ends the war between them and begins an alliance. Before they can search to uncover the Alliance, they must deal with the Solarian League, whose undeclared war will stretch their resources and possibly bring the largest and oldest league in the known universe crashing down. A lot of intrigue and some blazing space war action make this a satisfying read, but leave me wanting more. The sweeping action in this universe spans dozens of star systems and empires, and to bring us up to the point where Admiral Harrington enters the action requires more than a 100 pages. I wonder if perhaps another book in the Honorverse might have brought us up to date and allowed more of Honor in the subsequent action. Reviewed by Beth Revers Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance, Volume Two By Jack Vance, Terry Dowling (editor), Jonathan Strahan (editor) Subterranean Press, $45.00, 368 pages Check this out! Beginning in the pulps just after WWII, Jack Vance laid one of the cornerstones of modern science fiction. His style favored hardboiled prose. He eschewed the excesses often found in other lesser pulp writers; plot and character development are Vance’s main objectives. Instead of fanciful technological wonders, Vance’s focus is on humanity,
exploring how future events would change our culture and how we would remain very much the same. Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance contains 10 early works. Several demonstrate his talent for mashing hard-boiled detective stories with science fiction. Both “The Dogtown Tourist Agency” and “Freitzke’s Turn” feature Miro Hetzel, a private eye who would be right at home in L.A. noir, here solving crimes around the galaxy. “Son of the Tree” follows similar lines, as everyman Joe Smith finds himself enmeshed in a whirlwind of space opera intrigue. “The Narrow Lands” is a rare Vance work in that he focuses on extraterrestrials instead of on the range of possibilities to be found in humanity. Vance’s writing became more refined as his career progressed. Yet these early stories offer a fine starting point to help understand the 60-year career of one of science fiction’s most influential and least appreciated voices. Reviewed by Jordan Magill Earthbound: A Marsbound Novel By Joe Haldeman Ace, $24.95, 261 pages Check this out! Earthbound by Joe Haldeman is the third in the Marsbound trilogy. For those who missed the first two, the Others were unimpressed by the fleet Earth launched to defend the Solar System and, to prove the point, they blew up the Moon. Although, in time, the debris might form as cute a ring as currently flatters Saturn, it’s intended as a deterrent to any other ship taking off. Yet, in the spirit of “you can’t keep a good man down,” men tried anyway. That’s when they turned off the power. Although the idea of civilization collapsing because electricity disappears is not new, Haldeman does a very good job of moving us through the initial stages as planes fall from the sky and pacemakers stop stimulating hearts. Then it’s out into the countryside to find a low-technology farm in a defensible position. Throughout all this, there’s some fascinating speculation about what the Others might want or how humans might interact with them to change outcomes
— there’s a way of exchanging words with them, but it’s not clear whether they listen before responding. This is one of the best Haldeman novels, all told in crisp prose and ending not without hope. Reviewed by David Marshall Enormity By W.G. Marshall Night Shade Books, $14.99, 269 pages This novel has to be a contender for the best science fiction/fantasy book of the year. It gives a whole new meaning to the word “weird.” In the good old days before things got strange, the word meant something supernatural, if not eldritch. This book is just so far off the usual cosmic reservation that it surely qualifies as ultraweird. It describes what happens when a mad scientist is responsible for two devices detonating in Korea. The most observable results are a quantum leap in size for many of the things within range. Imagine individual bacteria big enough to eat humans. Imagine one man 6,600 feet tall with his normal-sized wife hanging on for dear life. Well, once the U.S. military starts shooting, it discovers its most destructive weapons barely slow down the bacteria and hardly scratch the outside of the man. Then the politicians discover this walking hazard to life on the ground is an American. Even if they could order troops to use lethal force, would they want to kill one of their own, particularly if he hadn’t the remotest idea what was happening? Enormity is magnificently surreal and a real hoot, as Melvin Palmer would say. Reviewed by David Marshall Lightspeed: Year One By John Joseph Adams (editor) Prime Books, $16.95, 575 pages I read a lot of short stories. Best ofs, compendiums, collections, award nominees and wide-ranging grab bags of stories occupy my nightstand with unerring frequency. And over the last year, tales from one magazine invariably cropped up again and again: Lightspeed. One issue, it was a secret dome on the moon or a man’s obsession with his new mechanical limbs or a race of cat people confronting their mythology when a human lands among them. Other times, it featured slacker nomads wandering the stars, zeppelin conductors throwing their annual ball or Facebook-like program tracking how much love you are capable of.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 9
But no matter the subject or storytelling style, there was something curious and special about these stories. Lightspeed: Year One collects the weirdest and most wondrous from the last year, offering a comprehensive sampling of where the speculative fiction genre has been and, more importantly, where it’s headed. Adams has emerged as one of the most reliable editors working today, assembling some quality collections, and his firm hand on Lightspeed’s rudder is more than evident in this collection. I can’t wait to see what Year Two has to show us. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas World Divided: Book Two of the Secret World Chronicles By Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin, Dennis Lee, Veronica Giguere Baen, $25.00, 432 pages Check this out! What is the world to do when invaded by spaceship-flying, ultra-mechanized, super Nazis? Call on Echo, the organization of super or enhanced humans, of course. But when that fails and many of them are destroyed, the second string is all that’s available. And those less-than-perfect underdogs must carry the fight in this second installment of The Secret World Chronicles. With multiple authors telling the tale in episodic format one would expect some choppiness, but there is none. The whole book comes together seamlessly with the narration, by Vickie the agoraphobic technomage, at the start of the stories. Humans, including the super ones, are fighting for freedom and just plain survival against a foe they do not totally understand. Gangs, power-hungry multimillionaires and mercenaries add to the challenges that those working to save the everyday person must face. They use their powers, their environment, guns and anything else they can find to stay alive and in the fight. This book is an awesome and lightning-paced story: read it on a day when you will not have to put it down. Reviewed by Beth Revers
LIBERATION, cont’d from page 5 The second part covers the run up to the revolution and the actual revolution. The third part covers what has happened since the overthrow of Mubarak. This is the work of a journalist. He includes many clips from interviews he has held and YouTube videos that he has watched. The writing style is in a journalistic style, which will appeal to many people. His on-the-ground reporting and eyewitness accounts give a glimpse to what was happening at particular moments. This is a great book for the general reader.
Book Reviews time that often leaves Calliope as befuddled as the reader. It’s all in good fun, and Benson’s immense charm sweeps the reader past the occasional plot contrivance with ease. Four books into the series, Benson is only growing more confident and capable, and she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Fantasy SNAP IT for additional book summaries. And Blue Skies From Pain By Stina Leicht Night Shade Books, $14.99, 384 pages Liam Kelly lives in a complicated world, dominated by confl ict. In Ireland in the 1970s, amidst religious and political turmoil with the English, Liam discovers another battle being waged: one between humans and supernatural creatures. As a half-breed – part human and part something more – Liam finds himself in the unenviable position of linchpin between two societies. And for a young man haunted by the bloody tragedies of the past, the pressure to find his path could prove too much to bear. And Blue Skies From Pain is the marvelous follow-up to Leicht’s debut novel Of Blood and Honey, which was one of the best surprises of 2011, and her sophomore effort did not disappoint. I must resort to the unwieldy but appropriate “unputdownable” simply to describe it. Leicht deftly expands the worlds of the Fey and the Fallen without resorting to heavy-handed info dumps, imparting an impressive amount of backstory unobtrusively. The focus on Liam, Father Murray and their shared journey never wavers, and the mix of recurring characters and new faces is handled with grace. And Blue Skies From Pain doesn’t conclude with the brutal finality of the first book, but it beautifully sets the stage for what’s to come. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas Apocalypse to Go By Katharine Kerr Daw, $7.99, 336 pages Full disclosure: I expected to be giving a glowing review for Apocalypse to Go because of having delightedly reviewed the first Nola O’Grady novel. I was gobsmacked to discover that not only had I missed the intervening volume, Water to Burn, but that this fine writer had grown so much in dexterity. Katharine Kerr has an increasingly com-
plex fantasy universe going. While sexual tension and frustration spiced up the first book in the series, this one has the warmth and sensuousness of a happy couple indulging in exploring their sexuality. Nola, incidentally, is discovering she has a very good handle on the otherwise exceedingly stubborn Ari. That worth is determined to turn their affair into marriage, much to Nola’s trepidation. However, Nola’s psychically talented and distinctly odd family provide great confl ict again. This time, not only is Nola under siege by Chaos forces, she is under direct harassment and observation, made only more neck-tensing by the armed presence and life-threatening driving of her Israeli lover. Nola’s matrimonial heel dragging is occasioned by her own mother’s experience with a disappearing husband. The author’s movement to resolve that confl ict, and to add enemies and complications makes for a good read. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton How to Be Death By Amber Benson Ace, $7.99, 304 pages Check this out! It’s not easy being a fashionista and Death’s daughter, but Calliope ReaperJones has been doing her damnedest to pull it off. Against nefarious schemes and deadly attacks, she has managed to hold her father’s empire together, and now she’s running Death Inc. And things will only get more difficult from here, as Calliope has to learn the business, handle corporate intrigue, make a strong first impression on the troops and, oh yeah, thwart the killer that’s haunting her first formal dinner as CEO. The fourth in Benson’s Calliope ReaperJones series, How to Be Death ties together many of the plot threads and loose ends from the first three books, while still joyously ripping on the conventions of the whodunit genre with a multilayered murder mystery. While the plot is needlessly complicated by the number of characters and all the twists involved, it’s still an enjoyable
Magic on the Line By Devon Monk Roc, $7.99, 345 pages Check this out! In Allie Beckstrom’s world, if you use magic, it uses you back. Every spell has a cost – memory loss, the flu, a migraine. Allie works as a Hound in Portland, tracing illegal spells back to their casters. Fans of Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris will thoroughly enjoy Devon Monk’s Magic on the Line. This is the seventh book in the Allie Beckstrom series, and there is a rash for murders in the city. She is following the rules of the Authority, the secret and all powerful entity
that makes and enforces magic policies. Allie is thrown for a loop when the Authority gets a new boss, Bartholomew Wray, who refuses to believe that the murders are connected to magic in any way. Allie’s dead father is still haunting her, providing guidance and hints when she needs it the most. When Allie has trouble accessing her own magic, she knows trouble is brewing. This is a fun series read from the beginning, so start with book one. Monk fi lls each story with action, tension, romance and thrills. Allie is a strong character that readers will love. She has strong morals and is willing to risk it all for those she loves. Fan favorites like Zayvion, Shamus and Terric are back. Reviewed by Kathryn Franklin Sins of the Demon By Diana Rowland Daw Books, $7.99, 320 pages This is a solid book that has some great moments of humor, combined with the supernatural. Beaulac, Louisiana, police detective Kara Gilligan, who can summon demons from another realm, uses this ability to
sponsored by the
Friends of the Helmerich Library Preview Night: Thursday, April 12 • 5-8 p.m. *For Friends of the Helmerich Library members only. Membership may be purchased at the door.
Friday, April 13 Saturday, April 14 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Helmerich Library
5131 E. 91st St. • 918.549.7631 *Anyone may join the Friends of the Helmerich Library for a $5 donation for individual or $10 for a family.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 10
Book Reviews solve murder cases. The latest crime committed is personal for Kara because the victims are people from her past who have done her wrong. Kara has to figure out who’s using summoning magic to kill. As Kara gets closer to the truth, she unveils some facts not only about her parents and her grandmother, but someone she thought she knew very well is keeping deadly secrets that could get her killed. I look forward to reading more about Kara and the demon world she’s involved in, including her sexy romance with the demon lord Rhyzkahl, who may be the only one who can help her embrace all that she is and more. Reviewed by Kate Garrabrant The Bride Wore Black Leather By Simon R. Green Ace, $25.95, 310 pages Check this out! For years, John Taylor has been the premier private eye in the Nightside, the dark fl ipside of London where myth and monsters roam. But now, he’s also Walker, chosen representative of the Authorities, charged with policing the Nightside in all its decadent glory. And tonight, on the eve of his wedding, he’ll need every last trick in his arsenal to handle two big jobs. That is, if his bride-to-be doesn’t gun him down first... I must admit, I’ve been dreading the arrival of this book. Since the countdown to the series’ final installment began, I saw the loose ends neatly coming together, characters settling down or moving on, as John Taylor’s story steamrolled toward his last case. But The Bride Wore Black Leather defied a lot of my expectations, presenting a more desperate, yet introspective John, forced to examine himself, his relationships and his future. There is still the classic Green breakneck pacing, the quirky character twists, the joys of name-drop references (to his other books and pop-culture icons alike), but they’re accompanied by a wonderful narrative sense of melancholy, as if Green hates parting with John as much as we do. So long, John. You’ll be missed. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas The Serpent Sea By Martha Wells Night Shade Books, $14.99, 320 pages Check this out! In the second book of her Raksura series, Martha Wells continues the story of Moon, a shapeshifter who grew up ignorant of his culture and is finally learning the rules of his tribe. The tribe returns to their ancestral home, a mountain-sized tree, only to
Fantasy discover it’s slowly rotting from within. The seed that kept the tree blight-free has been stolen. Desperate to save their home, they send a delegation to a nearby, less-thanfriendly court to beg help in replacing or locating their stolen seed. The information acquired there sends them across the titular Serpent Sea where they discover a surprising wonder: a city built atop a leviathan. Moon and his friends must find the thief in this strange place, retrieve their seed and make it back to their tree home before the damage is irreversible. Unlike some second novels, The Serpent Sea holds its own rather than resting on the laurels of the first book to carry it through. It has its own complete story arc that is distinct yet is a continuation of The Cloud Roads. It is a delight to discover a new-tome author who has a slightly more verbose writing style and manages to marry it to the more contemporary sparse style. Reviewed by Lisa Rodgers The Wild Ways By Tanya Huff Daw, $24.95, 295 pages Check this out! Tanya Huff does an excellent job of capturing the paranormal elements in this urban fantasy. She creates characters to care about. I was a little lost along the way as I had not read the previous book, The Enchanted Emporium. Read this book first as it will add greatly to your understanding of The Wild Ways. It says a great deal for the exposition that by the time I was less than half way into the book I did indeed understand all. The plot is a unique twist on caring for the environment, of people (and others) against big oil and offshore drilling. She carries the story well, and you care about the heroine Charlie as she cares for those around her. As a wild talent, Charlie is sent by means unknown to be where and when she needs to be. When she learns that not just the environment but possibly society as we know it could be at risk, it ups the stakes considerably. The story is fastpaced, full of action, with heart-stopping moments and very readable. Dragons, selkies, goblins and most frightening of all, the Aunties, combine with present-day Canada to make a fascinating read. Reviewed by Beth Revers
When We Were Executioners By J.M. McDermott Night Shade Books, $14.99, 240 pages Check this out! The time is upon us again to travel to the land of Dogsland, a town of deep-seated evil and greed. This book is part two in a trilogy, a story that follows the executioners of Erin as they continue to rebuild the last days of Jona, a half-demon, from the memories in his lifeless skull. The plot weaves in past and present, and much of the story is told in Jona’s perspective. Jona’s past focuses more on his relationship with the half-demon Rachel, while his dark side begins to grow stronger. The present focuses on the consequences of Jona’s actions and how the wolf-skin executioners handle it. The book holds to the same formula as the last. The narrative feels wobbly and forced, but this is intentional. Each page is wonderfully detailed but disjointed, for great contrast. Some points of Jona’s memories feel like a walking dream, while other parts are drastically real and graphic. The plot and pace are grand and can make for a
short but well-balanced read. When We Were Executioners is a showcase of the supernatural with perfect writing coupled with an interesting plot. The ending hints the Walkers of Erin might take a more active role, and plenty of other surprises are in store for anyone who picks up this book. Reviewed by Kevin Brown INFORMATION, cont’d from page 8 torializing and opinion, get local and get involved. There isn’t a lot of data to support him yet, but anyone who has noticed his day disappear while sitting in front of a monitor already knows we have a problem. Johnson is the first of many, I suspect, with an answer to it. Reviewed by Jonathon Howard
TULSALIBRARY.ORG/ABOUT/ FACEBOOK.PHP to follow your favorite librar�.
VISIT
TulsaBookReview.com T H I S N E W S I T E F E AT U R E S :
•
Hundreds of reviews of 4- and 5-star books • Nearly 30 categories to search, including Crafts & Hobbies, Health & Fitness, Parenting & Families Archive of past issues of the Tulsa Book Review Places that distribute the Tulsa Book Review Info on how to become a reviewer
• •
•
This website is maintained by 1776 Productions LLC on behalf of the Tulsa City-County Library.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 11
Book Reviews
Traveling the Mother Road this spring?
Cookbooks SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book Bridal: A Special Edition of the Red Plaid Cook Book By Better Homes & Gardens Wiley, $29.99, 632 pages Few are the homes that have not been graced with this classic stand-by cookbook! The new brides and grooms of 2012 will be thrilled to receive this bridal edition, packed with not only favorite recipes, but also new-home tips and cooking-together advice. Beginning with a few pages of useful wisdom, the book offers tips on technique, kitchen stocking and entertaining. A bride may even wish to refer to the kitchen utensil guide while planning her gift registry. The book has a thorough table of contents covering everything from appetizers to desserts, casseroles to candies, and is fi lled with beautiful photographs and process photos, diagrams of cuts of meat and grids covering the selection and cooking times for vegetables. There is even a section on canning and freezing for the upand-coming home preserver. A comprehensive index ensures that any cook scrambling to find their new spouse’s favorite recipe can fl ip straight to it in a hurry. A short section on “Cook Once Eat Twice” enables the couple to frugally turn leftovers into a splendid second dinner. This beautiful book belongs in the hands of every new couple – no cold cereal for dinner allowed! Reviewed by Andrea Huehnerhoff Culinary Reactions: The Everyday Chemistry of Cooking By Simon Quellen Field Chicago Review Press, $16.95, 228 pages Check this out! With information advanced enough to interest the well-seasoned, hard-boiled home cook, this book is written in such a friendly and approachable manner that even beginner kitchen-chemists will be delighted to learn from it. Learn how to manipulate the chemistry of the kitchen to create your own educated variations and even new recipes. Understand the basic workings of various leavenings; what peptide bonds
are; what kinds of reactions you can create with heat or sugar, acid or oil; and, better yet, find a way to finally understand in words what you may have been doing for years in the kitchen! The author creatively and systematically organizes the book into logical sections (“Measuring and Weighing,” “Scaling Recipes Up and Down”) and answers those nagging questions we all have, such as, “Do I really have to sift flour?” or “What actually happens when Lactobacillus acidophilus is added to milk?” Use the information gleaned from this book to create cultures in your own kitchen, find shortcuts or cheats, innovate recipes and, of course, most importantly, to sound intelligent in front of your other culinary friends! Reviewed by Andrea Huehnerhoff Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time By Georgia Pellegrini Da Capo Lifelong, $24.00, 248 pages Check this out! Even if you hate guns and detest hunting, you will love Girl Hunter. This is not a cookbook but a story narrated by a young, highly trained chef who accidentally got into hunting and fell in love with this activity so unusual for a chef. She travels all over the United States for hunting trips and even ventures to England on one of her trips. The stories are absolutely fascinating, the writing is excellent and the pages practically turn themselves. After each chapter Pellegrini included a series of rather sophisticated recipes related to whatever she bagged in the hunt of that chapter. The recipes are not hard to reproduce, though each one is likely to keep you in the kitchen for a while. Ingredients are mostly available at wellstocked markets, and instructions are clear. Following most recipes, alternative wild game is offered (for instance, if you don’t have wild hog, javelina or antlered game may be substituted). There is even a chapter with hints about how to deal with all sorts of wild meat. If you are not a hunter and have no access to wild game meat, these recipes are not for you, but the book is still a pleasure to read. Reviewed by George Erdosh
Download the Guide to Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives for diners on this route and many others.
Inside the Jewish Bakery: Recipes and Memories From the Golden Age of Jewish Baking By Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg Camino Books, $24.95, 302 pages Check this out! A great cookbook is more than a mere catalog of excellent recipes. A great cookbook reveals a world to its readers, becoming a passport to enter somewhere otherwise never visited or a chance to return to a place lost to time. And, it should offer a catalog of excellent recipes. By that standard, Inside the Jewish Bakery should be either on every cook’s shelf or at least on their wish list. Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg invite you to join them in an exploration of a cultural institution at the heart of the Eastern European Jewish community. Beyond explaining the reason bakeries were so significant, they offer a wide range of easily digestible recipes that can be followed by any home baker. Bread is, of course, at the heart of any communal bakery, and here you will read about all of the tricks that went into sour rye, pretzel, bagels and classic pumpernickel — and that is only for a start. If your taste runs to the sweet, then sink your efforts into mini coffee rings and chocolate babka and rugelach
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 12
and rainbow cookies. Let these authors, both master bakers, serve as your guides. If you think Jewish baking is limited to challah and rye bread (or that rye was anything less than a universe all of its own), then you have a lot of great baking ahead of you. Reviewed by Jordan Magill The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook: Every Recipe Is Free of Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nuts and Eggs By Elizabeth Gordon Lyons Press, $24.95, 208 pages Check this out! Standard comfort foods are some of the first things visibly missing from a person’s daily meals when diagnosed with a food allergy. The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook helps allergy sufferers transition from avoiding their favorite foods to just avoiding harmful ingredients. Gordon appreciates that avoiding allergies doesn’t mean avoiding fun foods, like jelly donuts or fried chicken. Gordon, whose other book is Allergy-Free Desserts, also provides a dictionary to explain ingredients to readers, suggestions on where to shop and instructions on converting measurements for outside the U.S. Each recipe is accompanied by a color photograph. Gordon’s recipes include a range
Book Reviews of comfort foods — biscuits, Texas sheet cake, chocolate egg cream, chicken curry, empanadas, tabbouleh — adapted to avoid the top allergies. Besides including a section on making allergy-free condiments, dressings , and basics, she has divided the cookbook into breakfast, starters, salads, main courses, sides and desserts. The recipes run the gamut of tastes, and her ingredients, for the most part, are easily found in many grocery stores (superfine white rice flour may be the most difficult for some food allergy chefs). Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey The Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free Kitchen By Denise Jardine Ten Speed Press, $19.99, 208 pages Check this out! Finally, someone gets it. Can the very things that taste so delicious be causing an internal war that is at once silent and destructible? Unfortunately, yes, but there is hope and it comes in the recipe of four equal parts of education, practice, perseverance and adaptation. Jardine has cultivated a repertoire of nutrition and culinary training, and she required a dairy-free, gluten-free diet herself. With more than 150 delectable choices to choose from you will never again utter, “What is there for me to eat?” Did you think French toast, pizza, chowder and sauces were a thing of the past? Well, fret not, Jardine has created recipes for every palate and desire. Think of fettuccini and Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake as your newest (and faintly familiar) friends. With an exceptionally wellwritten introduction, Jardine offers invaluable tips and wisdom for reading labels and deciphering what is safe to consume, as well as a lengthy resource page in the back that will have you thanking her for your newfound relationship with food. The only nay part here is the lack of photography – after all those mouth-watering recipes I was aching to see the goods. Nonetheless, it’s a keeper. Reviewed by Sky Sanchez-Fischer La Tartine Gourmande: Recipes for an Inspired Life By Béatrice Peltre Roost Books, $35.00, 320 pages Check this out! This is much more than a cookbook. Within these pages lies a journal and an archive of a life fully lived. With 320 pages joyfully brimming with color, substance and a healthy serving of character, this is not only your next best choice, but a keepsake to be coveted. Before even moving into the main course of recipes I had to indulge in the starter of Peltre’s introduction. This in itself was more
Cookbooks than a mouthful; I wanted to sit and close my eyes, take in every last morsel of what she was dishing up. Seriously, it was that good. She has a way with words and images, transporting me to two places at once, back to my young girl days with a yellow-hued nostalgia (think happy) and forward to a wide sky of clear possibilities. But wait, isn’t this a cookbook? Yes, but how she manages to cover such an array of life between the pages is part of the charm. Her photography, yes, she is both writer and photographer, is clean, crisp and colorful, another reason to stay between the pages for the second course. If your eyes have not overindulged your stomach by now, be prepared for the main course of rustic, seasonally inspired, fresh from the French countryside cuisine. This is truly a book catered to all the senses, with a happy helping of friends, stories and flavor. Bien fait! Reviewed by Sky Sanchez The French Slow Cooker By Michele Scicolone Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $22.00, 232 pages Check this out! If you are a fan of slow cookers, The French Slow Cooker is an excellent book for your kitchen bookshelf. You will find a large variety of recipes from soups to desserts, mostly inspired by French home cooking. The recipes are generally simple, perfect for those with little time or interest in the kitchen. Many you can assemble with minimal work. Yet the main criticism of slow cooker still applies: dishes tend to be a bit mushy and flavors not distinctive from one dish to another. In this trade paperback, Scicolone introduces you to slow cooking over 16 pages, everything you need to know about equipment, ingredients and safety. The layout of recipes is excellent, carefully placed on a single page for most. They are well-written, a snap to follow. Beautiful full-page illustrations help you visualize the final product. The author’s brief head notes are interesting and informative. A list of recipes precedes each chapter, which is a nice help. Some recipes are labeled “Out of the Pot: salads and sandwiches to accompany the main dish.” The last chapter gives you the basics (tomato sauce, croutons, aioli, etc). Reviewed by George Erdosh
The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen: 150 Plant-Based Recipes From Around the World By Carolyn Scott-Hamilton Fair Winds Press, $19.99, 256 pages Check this out! Most of us eat tasty chemicals because we do not know any other way. In The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen, Carolyn Scott-Hamilton helps us to learn and to understand that the vegan diet is better for the body. This book has 150 plant-based recipes from around the world. To join the growing trend of health-conscious cooking, it is essential that you stock your kitchen with food basics and options. This can be expensive so the author offers suggestions such as spices and herbs, sweeteners, flours and other baking products, meat substitutes, etc., that cooks can add as they can afford. With a fully stocked pantry, you can prepare a gluten-free, soy-free, low-fat, lowglycemic, kosher and raw meal from any country you choose. If you choose to change to a vegan diet, it is better to learn from a
vegan. If you have apprehensions based on a misinformed belief that vegans eat a boring vegetable diet with few options, you are in for a healthful surprise. If you are a newbie, remember to take baby steps. Reviewed by Vivian Dixon Sober
Join Tulsa City-County Library as it explores food, gardening and health with more than 40 free programs scheduled throughout the year. Visit the library’s website at http://TulsaLibrary.org/AYearofFood for more information.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 13
Book Reviews
Biography & Memoir SNAP IT for additional book summaries.
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making; More Stories and Secrets From Her Notebooks By John Curran HarperCollins, $25.99, 432 pages Check this out! Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making is the dissection of 55 years of work by Dame Agatha in the form of short stories, books, radio scripts and plays. Using mainly the 73 notebooks in which she recorded thoughts and ideas, but also her autobiography as well as interviews and other essays, this book attempts to show the connections between various works, give us a peek at the inner workings of Christie’s creative and writing processes, and reveal a few first drafts, alternate endings and never published works. Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making is not for a casual fan. This book delves into the tiniest of details: why one ending was abandoned in favor of another, the real people Christie’s characters shared names or personalities with, accepted misconceptions that are proven wrong by her notebooks. For those who like to get a peek at “the man (or in this case, woman) behind the curtain” this book will be irresistible. But for those who want to enjoy the whodunits without dwelling on the author, this book will offer more information than wanted. It all comes down to this: are you a fan or a fanatic? Reviewed by Jodi Webb Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey By Margaret Powell St. Martin’s Press, $22.99, 212 pages Check this out! Margaret Powell’s story is a fascinating memoir by a kitchen maid and cook. While naturally it shows the hard work she did regularly, the book also mentions many strange requests
(ironed bootlaces!) and insults Powell endured. Originally published in 1964, the memoir introduces the reader to the unfamiliar life a servant led, to which many people have no connection. Don’t pick up Below Stairs for sensational stories that parallel popular series because it will probably be a disappointment on that front. Instead, this book details the drudgery of a woman who started working as a servant at 15 years old in the 1920s, with a keen eye to the biases that existed in her life. Life for Powell was lived alongside other servants, scrubbing vegetables or cleaning the cook’s equipment. Below Stairs serves as a window into the different lives the servants lived and the class distinctions that existed at the time. While Powell’s writing is clear and understandable, readers may experience some difficulty in understanding some of the specifics of the work she did, such as having to blacklead the grates and clean knives with knife powder. Reviewed by Elizabeth Humphrey How Georgia Became O’Keeffe: Lessons on the Art of Living By Karen Karbo skirt!, $21.95, 232 pages Check this out! You’d have to be living under a rock to have not ever seen any of this iconic artist’s works of art. Her name is synonymous with vivid colorful flowers, organic otherworldly depictions of sun-bleached animal skulls floating over Southwest mesas. She lived to a ripe old age just a few years short of 100. She was wellknown, yet very private and reserved, focusing on her art and doing whatever she wanted to do. Author Karen Karbo offers a fascinating account of Georgia O’Keeffe’s life. With great wit, humor and interesting details, this was a delight to read. In How Georgia Became O’Keeffe we get a bit more insight into her odd, challenging longtime relation-
ship with another iconic character, Alfred Stieglitz, who was old enough to be her father and had a penchant for young impressionable women. Stieglitz was O’Keeffe’s mentor, lover and greatest patron of her art, as well as her husband. Yet Stieglitz strove to portray O’Keeffe and her art as a creation from a brainless beautiful ingénue teeming with raw sexuality. O’Keeffe worked very hard to recreate her presence in the art world from the standpoint of a strong independent empowered woman. This is a great read. Art lovers would most definitely enjoy the full-color photos of O’Keeffe and some of her works, and women seeking strong female role models would appreciate this book as well. Reviewed by Laura Friedkin Mentors, Muses & Monsters: 30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives By Elizabeth Benedict (editor) State University of New York Press, $19.95, 279 pages Check this out! These inspiring essays are written by some of the most brilliant literary figures today, such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Anita Shreve and Jane Smiley. They discuss the topics of mentorship and literary influence, as well as their personal growth and development as writers.
M E E T
Foer, for instance, discusses how he met an influential poet in Israel, Yehuda Amichai; how he subsequently came into contact with him again; and how at these specific periods in his life this influence directly affected him as a writer. Shreve speaks of many different writers, what she appreciated about their talents, and how they influenced and affected her growth as a novelist. From Edith Wharton to John Updike, Ian McEwan and Alice McDermott, Shreve discusses the many ways in which she learned from other works of literature. Furthermore, she elaborates on how her miscellaneous journalism jobs taught her valuable lessons. “I learned how to see the shape of a story.” The authors who reminisce about their mentors or muses have written exceptional short essays, some of which are outstanding. It is always interesting to read about the influences that make a person go down a particular path, and with these 30 writers, it is a most interesting journey and a great compilation for the literature lover. Reviewed by Jennifer Ochs
A U T H O R
Wade Rouse
Thursday, April 26 7-8:30 p.m. Central Library, Aaronson Auditorium Fourth Street and Denver Avenue • 918.549.7323 Best-selling memoirist Wade Rouse will speak, answer questions and sign books. Books will be available for purchasing. Refreshments provided by Antoinette Baking Co. Sponsored by Central Readers’ Library, Tulsa Library Trust, and the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 14
Book Reviews Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets By Dick Cavett St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.99, 279 pages Check this out! Scintillating conversation, snappy comebacks and introductions to counter culture and cultural figures that had never before been seen on the broadcast medium, those were the hallmarks of the old Dick Cavett talk show. Pity those who have never seen the show, however, DVDs are available. Cavett had extended interviews with John and Yoko Lennon, a surprisingly erudite Janis Joplin, Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn and many others. His show featuring the Jefferson Airplane, Stephen Stills and David Crosby direct from their performances at Woodstock along with Joni Mitchell is classic and unforgettable television which only Cavett could have aired at that time. The magic of the show and of Cavett personally is that he dared to mix guests and risk confrontations. One man actually died during the filming of the show while Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer almost duked it out. According to Woody Allen, “There’s never been a talk show to equal Dick Cavett’s.” In this book, Cavett talks about many of these shows, his boyhood in Nebraska, and other cultural and political observations. Except for an occasional snarky tone, this book is a fun and quick read. It is particularly recommended for the die-hard Cavett fan. Reviewed by Julia McMichael The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life By Jasmin Darznik Grand Central Publishing, $14.99, 324 pages Check this out! When a photograph she has never seen before slips out from a hiding place, the Iranian-born author is plagued with curiosity about her mother’s history. Initially, her questions are soundly rebuffed and ignored. But abruptly, she begins receiving audiocassettes in the mail from her mother. Revealing the story in cinematic detail with the help of her mother’s oral history, Darznik tells a Persian tale of loss and gain, romance and terror. With exquisite beauty and sensitivity to culture she tells a gripping tale replete with all the richness of the country of Iran, and all of the confusion and an-
Biography & Memoir guish that accompanies a life wrought with painful changes and blatant injustice. Without pointing fingers, Darznik comments pragmatically on specific struggles faced by a woman thrust into marriage years before she was ready, suffering in an chauvinistic society that punishes anybody who does not fit the expected mold, and provides snapshots into lives and paradigms that may be wholly foreign to many readers. A moving tribute to her mother and her heritage, this memoir will live for years as one of the true legends of history. Reviewed by Andrea Huehnerhoff The Man Within My Head By Pico Iyer Knopf, $25.95, 238 pages Check this out! This is a lovely, rambling book about a writer, Iyer, and a famous novelist, Graham Greene. Iyer, a popular travel writer often appearing on the back page of Time magazine, sees Graham Greene (really, his characters) as his doppelganger. Greene’s protagonists are usually characters with multiple homes and multiple selves. They’re English like Greene, but only happy when they cross the Channel and go somewhere exotic and even horrible. They’re jaded and profess indifference to the world’s pain and suffering. They claim to despise introspection, yet the deceptively simple short books themselves are forms of selfexamination for the characters, the writer and the reader. Iyer investigates many of Greene’s novels, interjecting biography and showing similarities, in both of their highbrow English educations, their restlessness and even the ways they both hide themselves through their own writing. The “Man” within Iyer’s head is, of course, many men and women, a shadowland of many voices — the soul itself, Iyer writes — “intermittent and beseeching,” emerging from behind the “personality” that is often “treacherous, inconsistent, bitter.” Eventually the compassion, tenderness, conscience and generosity of both authors comes out, and the reader might feel she knows them a little. I found myself going back to reread both The Quiet American and The Comedians after finishing this revelatory book. Reviewed by Phil Semler The Real Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II By Andrew Marr Henry Holt, $32.00, 334 pages Check this out! Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned for more than 60 years, remains an enigmatic figure. She has outlived her prime ministers
Why Memory Matters: Israel’s Yad Vashem
2012 Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration Thursday, April 19 • 7 p.m.
Temple Israel • 2004 E. 22nd Place FEATURING: Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, former director, Department of the Righteous at Yad Vashem A leading authority on rescue during the Holocaust, Dr. Paldiel will speak about the Righteous Among the Nations, which is the official title awarded by Yad Vashem, on behalf of the State of Israel and the Jewish Father Bruno with Jewish children he hid people, to non-Jews who risked their from the Germans. (Belgium, wartime) lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Tulsa City-County Library will have a mobile library at the commemoration. Please bring your library card to check out resources.
FILM SHOWING: “In Darkness”
Academy Award Nominee: Best Foreign Language Film Sunday, April 15 • 1 p.m. • Circle Cinema • 12 S. Lewis Rated R • With English Subtitles • Seating Limited • Admission: $6.50 In this film based on a true story, Leopold Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in Lvov, a Nazi-occupied city in Poland, encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the liquidation of the ghetto. He hides them in the labyrinth of the town’s sewers. Sponsored by the Council for Holocaust Education, a committee of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, in cooperation with the Tulsa City-County Library and Circle Cinema.
and survived threats to royal traditions, scandals and cultural changes. She remains a testament to the power of showing up and consistently doing her job. This book will contain very few revelations. The incredible abdication of her uncle, which eventually foisted the crown on Elizabeth, is said to account for the queen’s steadfastness. There are hints that her consort, Prince Philip, liked to have a good time out of her company. There is also an incredible story of an attempted abduction of her daughter, Princess Anne, who is a force of nature like her mother. The saga of Prince Charles and Diana is related with seeming fairness to both parties. The author also relies on a book by Marion Crawford, a former nanny to the young Elizabeth, for accounts of Elizabeth’s happy childhood. And, of course, well before Camilla, Diana and Fergie, there was Elizabeth’s younger sister, Margaret, who seemed determined to live a jet-setting life that contrasted mightily with the queen’s.
Tulsa Book Review • April 2012 • 15
The queen loves horses, dogs and simple company. She is said to have a sense of fun, a quick wit and a ready laugh. She is also able to censure others without every becoming argumentative or disagreeable. Such is her moral authority. An interesting read. Reviewed by Julia McMichael
For more Biography & Memoir reviews, visit TulsaBookReview.com
Alexander McCall Smith
“A life without stories would be no life at all.” – Alexander McCall Smith, “In the Company of Cheerful Ladies”
Tulsa Reads is a community-wide reading initiative jointly sponsored by the Tulsa City-County Library, Tulsa Town Hall, Tulsa World, and The Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers at OSU-Tulsa. For more information or additional Tulsa Reads events, visit http://poetsandwriters.okstate.edu/TulsaReads.
Around the World With Alexander McCall Smith: An Evening of Readers Theater and Global Education WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 • 7-8 P.M.
CENTRAL LIBRARY, AARONSON AUDITORIUM FOURTH STREET AND DENVER AVENUE • 918.549.7323 Free and Open to the Public Where in the world is Alexander McCall Smith? His novels are set in Botswana, Scotland, London, Switzerland, Italy, India and Columbia – but he’ll be in Tulsa on April 17! In honor of his visit, community leaders and librarians will give dramatic readings from McCall Smith’s work, interspersed with short multimedia presentations about the different countries represented in his warm and witty stories.
An Evening With Alexander McCall Smith TUESDAY, APRIL 17 • 7 P.M. OSU-TULSA, AUDITORIUM 700 N. GREENWOOD Ticket Cost: $15 The author will share insights into his groundbreaking series “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” answer questions from the audience and sign books. Tickets may be purchased online at http://myticketoffice.com. For more information, call Teresa Miller at 918-594-8215.