Summer 2012 Bookwatch

Western Reserve Academy

KWATCH

Reading Recommendations from the John D. Ong Library Faculty and Staff Recommendations: Beth Pethel recommends:

Thanks to all of the faculty and staff who contributed to this issue. Be sure to stop by the library to see the Bookwatch display as well as the Summer Reading display. There are plenty of treasures to keep you reading all summer.

Congratulations to Patty Campbell The winner of the $20 gift card to Amazon.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop

by Susan Cain

Talking

“At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer l listeningto speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled ‘quiet,’ it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.” (Amazon product description)

The Eight by Katherine Neville “A dabbler in mathematics and chess, Catherine Velis is also a computer expert for a Big Eight accounting firm. Before heading off to a new assignment in Algeria, Cat has her palm read by a fortune-teller. The woman warns Cat of danger. Then an antiques dealer approaches Cat with a mysterious offer….”

(Amazon product description)

Michael Morris recommends: This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff “This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning.” (Amazon product description)

Anna Freeman recommends: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows “January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.” (Amazon product description)

Otis Bryant recommends: Beloved by Toni Morrison “Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened.” (Amazon product description)

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Jeannie Kidera recommends:

Summer 2012 Issue 40

The Lives of Animals by J. M. Coetzee “It's an incredibly interesting examination of the self-legitimizing of and superiority felt by individual disciplines -- Derrida in action! It's also has a brilliant postmodern structure and makes challenging arguments about the treatment of animals (including people). Coetzee is a genius!”

Lee Blankenship recommends: First Family by David Baldacci “It began with what seemed like an ordinary children's birthday party…. This party, however, was far from ordinary. It was held at Camp David, the presidential retreat. And it ended with a daring kidnapping… which immediately turned into a national security nightmare.” (Amazon product description)

Jen Rinehart recommends: The Social Conquest of Earth by E. O. Wilson “Not necessarily a light read, but a great read!”

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island and best of all; you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.”

Walt Disney

Joel Preston recommends: What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite by David DiSalvo “Science writer David DiSalvo reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult….” (Amazon product description)

Patty Campbell recommends: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon “When [Detective Meyer Landsman] begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy, word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, and Landsman finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, evil, and salvation that are his heritage.” (Amazon product description)

Terrie Wesley recommends:

Rules of Civility

by Amor Towles

Faculty and Staff

“On the last night of recommendations 1937, twenty-fiveyear-old Katey continued: Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society—where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.” (Amazon product description)

Ruth Andrews recommends: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers Lulu in the Sky: A Daughter of Cambodia Finds Love, Healing, and Double Happiness Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind (see review on page 3) Luong Ung tells her own incredible story in these three powerful memoirs.

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

“Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta Judy Israelson recommends: travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where The Positive Dog: A Story about the Power of Positivity an inmate has information not only on Fielding,

by Jon Gordon but also on a string of grisly killings.” (Amazon “We all have two dogs inside of us. One dog is positive, happy, product description) optimistic, and hopeful. The other dog is negative, mad, sad, pessimistic, and fearful. These two dogs often fight inside us, but Catch Me by Lisa Gardner guess who wins the fight? The one you feed the most.”

“Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise. But (Amazon product description) a lone woman outside D.D.'s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition: Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant be- Sasha Maseelall recommends: lieves she will be murdered in four days. And she wants Boston's The Book of Jonas by Stephen Dau. top detective to handle the death investigation.”

(Amazon product description) “After losing his family in the Middle East, a boy is relocated to Pittsburgh, where he meets with a counselor to discuss his Rich Hoffman recommends: feelings….”

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin

by Gordon S. Wood

Andrea Hocevar recommends:

The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Tri“…a groundbreaking study, many years in the making, of Benjamin Franklin the man, Benjamin Franklin the myth, and the roots umph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

by Norm Doidge of American character.” (Amazon product description) “An astonishing new science called ‘neuroplasticity’ is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In The Postmistress by Sarah Blake this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoana“In 1940, Iris James is the postmistress in coastal Franklin, Mas- lyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the sachusetts. Iris knows more about the townspeople than she will brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people ever say, and believes her job is to deliver secrets. Yet one day whose lives they've transformed.” (Amazon product description) she does the unthinkable: slips a letter into her pocket, reads it, Susan Synek recommends: and doesn't deliver it.” (Amazon product description) A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist The Good American by Alex George “In 1860s Seattle, a man with a wife could secure himself 640 “It was very good. It is about a German couple who immigrates to acres of timberland. But because of his wife's untimely death, Joe the US in the 1900s and settles in Missouri.”

Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East.” (Amazon product description)

Christine Borrmann recommends:

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Faculty and Staff recommendations continued: Jill Evans recommends:

Matt Peterson and Patty Campbell recommend: The Maytrees by Annie Dillard “In this moving novel, Dillard intimately depicts willed bonds of loyalty, friendship, and abiding love.” (Amazon product description)

The Anthology of Rap by Adam Bradley et al. (eds.)

Non-Fiction Reviews:

This pioneering anthology brings together more than three hundred lyrics written over thirty years, from the ‘old school’ to the ‘golden age to the present day.” (Amazon product description)

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

Looking for a way to combine Memorial Day and the 2012 Summer Olympics? Try Janet Schaeffer recommends: Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. It tells the remarkable survivor story of Louis Zamperini, a young man who qualified for the 1936 Olympics for Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Idithe 5000 meter race. While he ended up placing 8th in that race, he tarod by Gary Paulson caught the attention of Adolf Hitler when he did his final lap of the track th “Paulsen and his team of dogs endured snowstorms, frostbite, in 56 seconds – moving from last place up to 8 . In 1941, Louie entered dogfights, moose attacks, sleeplessness, and hallucinations in the US Air Force and was deployed to Hawaii as a bombardier. But it is the fateful day of May 27, 1943 that begins Louie’s difficult journey -- the the relentless push to go on.” (Amazon product description.) day his plane crashed. He survives 47 days in a raft at sea only to end up in the hands of the Japanese where he is held prisoner until the end Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinof the war. This story is heartbreaking at times, but just remember the ished Civil War by Tony Horwitz book is called Unbroken for a reason. (Review by Holly Bunt)

“Propelled by his boyhood passion for the Civil War, Horwitz embarks on a search for places and people still held in thrall by America's greatest conflict.” (Amazon product description)

Four small books for quick reads:

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

others

Conundrum by David Owen: offers a unique slant on innovation Scapegoat by Charlie Campbell: focuses on the history of blaming

“Some of it was fall-on-the-floor funny.”

The Information Diet by Clay A. Johnson: compares information

Stephanie White recommends:

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

by Alan Jacobs: where the title says it all. (Review by Tom Germain)

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks “In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war… When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—she begins to unlock the book’s mysteries.”

(Amazon product description)

Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving and Not Lose Your Job, Family, or Sanity

by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea “The authors offer both inspirational advice and practical strategies to help multitasking women make running part of their busy lives.” (Amazon product description) Robert Aguilar recommends: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee

consumption with food consumption and the filter bubble

Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind by Loung Ung When I read about Loung Ung in the Plain Dealer recently, I became interested in finding out more about her. I found her writing compelling, her story amazing, and her descriptions of her childhood captivating. As a young girl in Cambodia she and her family of seven siblings, mother, father, aunts, uncles and other relatives, were living a happy normal life in the city of Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Rouge took over in April 1975, Loung’s family was driven to the countryside to escape the horrors of the “killing fields.” Her parents and two sisters were killed, and the rest of the family left to survive a terror stricken country. The story is heart wrenching and yet at times humorous as a 10 year old settles into life in the US. She lives in a Cleveland suburb now with her husband and has come a long way from the frightened little girl who couldn’t speak or understand English when she, her eldest brother and his wife arrived in a small Vermont village. She has become a “spokesperson for the campaign for a Landmine Free World,” in addition to being an activist and speaker on Cambodia and child soldiers. It’s an unforgettable story about family, struggle and ultimately success.

(Review by Sue Donnelly)

“The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protago-

That Woman by Anne Seba

nist.” (Amazon product description)

This is about the life of Wallis Simpson--the Duchess of Windsor and the wife of the Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne of England for her in 1936. It is an interesting biography about her life before Edward, what led to their relationship and how their circumstances were transformed after his abdication. (Review by Melissa Slager)

Lisabeth Robinson recommends: #1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith “I'm finding myself in the mood for Alexander McCall Smith's #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series. Wonderfully descriptive setting, a different meter to the narrative style that evokes African storytelling, and a purposeful heroine filled with integrity and an understanding of human nature. Makes me yearn for a cup of bush tea.”

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Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of NaziOccupied Paris by David King An intriguing account of a serial killer who operated in Nazi-occupied Paris, taking advantage of desperate people in desperate circumstances. Eventually brought to justice, this story will stay with you for a while. (Review by Jacque Miller)

Fiction Reviews: The Ruins of Us

by Keija Parssinen After falling in love with a Saudi student attending college in the U.S., American-born Rosalie marries him and returns to live with him in Saudi Arabia, a country that she has been fascinated with since living there as a child with her ex-patriot family. Life has been good so far—she has lived the life of a wealthy Saudi wife, has adopted Saudi customs, has been accepted by her husband’s family, and has two children including the requisite son. Everything changes with a shopping trip for a her daughter’s birthday—the day she finds out her husband has taken a second wife without her knowledge. From that point on, her family changes forever…

(Review by Jacque Miller)

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver If you read my reviews this year, then you’ll know I’ve developed a reader’s crush on Jeffery Deaver. So yes, I am reviewing another book by him – you could say I am taking a page from Dan Dyer and making sure I read all of Deaver’s books. The latest is The Bodies Left Behind. Deputy Brynn McKenzie is asked to check out a 911 call placed from a remote lake vacation home. What should have been a routine follow up soon has Deputy McKenzie on the run for her life. This caper is packed with twists and turns – a great beach read!

(Review by Holly Bunt)

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella Poppy Wyatt is in the throes of planning her wedding when she loses her heirloom engagement ring and cell phone all in one day. Her cell phone is her life line especially because she has left the number with the entire hotel staff where she lost her ring. Poppy comes upon another phone practically waiting for her in the trash at the hotel. She starts using it but, at the same time, the owner, who happens to be an eligible and handsome bachelor wants it back, and a funny texting relationship ensues.

Very funny and clever book. Kinsella takes texting to a whole new level. (Review by Melissa Slager) The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak At the end of the nineteenth century, following the tragic death of his mother, Jozef Vinich and his father leave a mining town in Colorado and return to his parents’ native country, AustriaHungary. Living a simple and idyllic life sheepherding with his father and adopted brother, everything changes when World War I begins. Enlisting with his brother, they become snipers on the border of Italy and endure the horrors of war. A coming-of-age story, a tale of fathers and sons, and a narrative of the war’s reality, this winner of the National Book Award is a beautiful and poignant novel not to be missed. (Review by Jacque Miller) The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, this thought-provoking tome reflects on the nature of history—and how each person wittingly or unwittingly contributes to it. Tony Webster has reached middle age—content for the most part with his uneventful life.

When an “inheritance” forces him to look back at his high school and college relationships, his memories and perceptions are are completely upended as he is forced to examine his role in a reallife melodrama. (Review by Jacque Miller)

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward Set in the gulf town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, this is a portrait of the lives of the Batiste family in the twelve days leading up to hurricane Katrina. A motherless family with a hard drinking and largely absent father, the four children are too consumed by their own troubles to believe the worst and take action when their father tries to enlist their help to prepare for the hurricane. Knowing the devastation caused by Katrina, I was fearing the worst and hoping for the best for the Batiste family. You’ll be grateful you weathered the storm and shared their story.

(Review by Paula Campanelli)

Paper Towns by John Green What are Paper Towns? Learn about them in this young adult road-trip novel. Quentin has been in love with Margo, his nextdoor neighbor for years. They were childhood friends, but grew apart as they got older. Shortly before high school graduation, Quentin is surprised when Margo comes to his bedroom window and invites him to join her for a night of revenge. The next day, Margo is gone. Can Quentin follow Margo’s clues and solve the mystery of her disappearance? (Review by Beth Blaustein) The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen Jussie Adler-Olsen is the latest in a series of outstanding Scandinavian authors who continue to produce quality crime fiction.

First in what presumably will be a series, we meet police inspector Carl Morck, a highly competent officer who is intensely disliked by most of his colleagues, who continue to look for ways to avoid him. Prayers have been seemingly answered when a new government program is set up to fund investigation into cold cases and Carl is promptly promoted to head the new department and immediately moved to his new office—in the basement--with his staff of one assistant, Assad. Fed up with everything and hoping to avoid as much work as possible, Carl is content to surf the Internet all day—but Assad’s presence and work ethic ultimately result in the investigation of a missing member of Parliament, a woman who disappeared without a trace five years previously. Guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

(Review by Jacque Miller)

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks This story was inspired by the life of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk who was the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. The story of his crossing over from Wampanoag Indian life on Martha’s Vineyard to a mostly white classroom in Cambridge is told by Bethia Mayfield, the daughter of the island’s Calvinist minister, who befriends Caleb while her father is trying to convert him. Through twists of fate, Bethia follows Caleb to Cambridge where she is indentured as a maid in order to pay for her brother Makepeace’s tuition and board. She becomes entangled in Caleb’s cultural struggles, and he in her quest for knowledge and voice. (Review by Paula Campanelli)

For additional suggestions please check out the Ong Library Summer Reading Program 2012 Summer Reading Booklet