TWIB: 14th Edition

 

Palabras Bilingual Bookstore sits in an older urban neighborhood
threatened by gentrification, just north of downtown Phoenix

    PHOENIX, Ariz. -- In this desert city in the western United States, I discovered a diverse collection of bookstores.

    Although generally a conservative place, history might give a reason for this -- it was colonized by the Spaniards, became an eventual settlements for many of North America's indigenous populations who were driven from their more eastern or southern lands, and was the migration point of enslaved people after the U.S. Civil War -- by some estimates 25 percent of cowboys were Black.

    Later, as the city's population exploded with white residents, the Latino population continue to lead the pack, with the Black and Asian population also increasing. Today, the non-white population comprises 57 percent of the city's population. 

My TBR stack from Arizona

    My first stop was at Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, off downtown in a place known as Casa Caracol, which includes a small café and Andria's Tienda. It was love at first sight.

    I really had to stop myself after gathering a number of new tomes, including Old School Indian, by Aaron John Curtis, the tale of a Native American -- a Kanien'kehá:ka from Ahkwesáhsne -- who left the reservation when he turned 18 and returned 25 years later, suffering from a rare disease and a failed marriage, and persuaded to undergo a tribal remedy. I also grabbed The Body Farm, by Abby Geni, a collection of short stories about people's relationships with their bodies.

    I moved on to Grassrootz Books and Juice Bar, a Black- and worker-owned place in Eastlake Park, also near downtown, which includes shops featuring African and African-American art and clothing. It was another delight, full of books I would love to read but know I could find in few other places.

    There, I bought All Eyes are Upon Us, by Jason Sokol, a history of Black life and politics in the northeastern United States, an area often considered amenable to but also showing a hostility to civil rights. A Man Called Horse, by Glennette Tilley Turner, tells us about the life and times of John Horse, who founded and ran the Black Seminole Underground Railroad. Trees, by the superb Percival Everett, weaves a story of magical realism when he tells what could happen if Black men and woman who were brutally lynched and slaughtered throughout U.S. history somehow rose again and turned the tables on their killers.

    I moved on to the Poisoned Pen, a shop over in the wealthy suburb of Scottsdale that specialized in mysteries both cozy and dark. Here, I found tales by two Irish writers. Northern Ireland's Stuart Neville, dubbed "the king of Belfast noir," brings us The House of Ashes, about a hapless family that moves from England back to Northern Ireland into a house with an, shall we say, interesting history. And the always compelling Colum McCann pens Twist, a story that introduces us to the men who repair broken underwater cables, and winds up delving into the sum of human existence.

    My final stop was a place called Changing Hands Bookstore, at the base of Camelback Mountain. It's a bookstore and a bar. Or a bookstore with a bar. Or, perhaps a bar with an attached bookstore. I'm really not sure -- and hell, does it matter? It was a fun place to visit.

    So not only did I but a T-shirt, but I found a few books to add to the collection, inclding The Children of Jocosta, by Natalie Haynes. She is one of the best writers in the re-told Greek myths genre, and this is one of her earlier tales. She's also a scholar, broadcaster and comedienne, but, truth be told, her writings are her best work, including several non-fiction discussions about women in Greek mythology. Finally, The Possibility of Life, by Jaime Green, is a look at the search for and the possibility of finding life out there in the vast universe.

TWIB: 13th Ed.

     So, I visited the Book Loft in Columbus today -- and while the two-hour drive took closer to four hours because of a massive delay on Interstate 71 (I have no idea why; traffic just stopped for an hour) -- it was an enjoyable experience. A late lunch with my daughter at Fourth & State, a vegan cafe downtown, and then on to add to The TBR Stack.

The latest haul, ready to be read

    

        The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton: I have no idea what it's about, but my first daughter told me to "but it and read it next." Also, the title is fantastic, and the author's first book, Good Morning, Midnight, was a good read (and another compelling title).

    Babel, by R.F. Kuang: I have seen this title all over the place. So I grabbed it in the store, and after reading the description -- about languages, learning, and imperialism -- I could not put it back.

    How It Went, by Wendell Berry: When Kentucky's greatest living author -- and perhaps its finest living person -- puts out a new volume of stories about Port William, Ky., you just have to give it a go. Berry, after all, taught this Kentucky immigrant everything I've learned about the state.

    The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris: What it's like when two Black woman work in the same office, as told by a Black woman. I think I'll learn something from this.

    Tread of Angels, by Rebecca Roanhorse: Read this description from the book flap: "High in the remote mountains, the town of Goetia is booming as prospectors from near and far come to mine the powerful new element Divinity. Divinity  is the remains of the body of the rebel Abaddon, who fell to Earth during Heaven's War, and it powers the world's most inventive and innovative technologies, ushering in a new age of progress. However, only the descendants of those who rebelled, called the Fallen, possess the ability to see the rich lodes of the precious element. That makes them a necessary evil among the good and righteous people called the Elect, and Goetia a town segregated by ancestry and class."  Yep, me too.

    Galatea, by Madeline Miller: It's short, but it's the first book in a while from Miller, the goddess of reinterpreting the perspectives of the Greek legends.

This Week in Books, 11th Ed.

 Grand Opening of a New Local Bookstore

    We have a new bookstore that opened here in Northern Kentucky. Okay, it's not exactly new, but it is the second location of our wonderful Roebling Books & Coffee.

    

    

    Let me repeat! We have a new bookstore location in Northern Kentucky. It's two miles from my house, and a block away from where I work. This might be dangerous.

    It opened Saturday, Nov. 27, which coincidentally is Small Business Saturday. It's at Sixth and
Overton in Newport's East Row neighborhood, a little more than a mile from its main store near the Roebling Suspension Bridge in Covington. So it's a local business -- and a bookstore. Everything is right about this.

    It being Opening Day, it was a little short on stock -- but heavy on coffee and tea, and atmosphere, and comfortable chairs, and wonderful art and antiques throughout. It's so much more than a bookstore.

    It's a local cafe. It's a community meeting center, fitting for its location in a residential neighborhood. It's a place to browse, to find new books, to explore new ideas. It is using a new way to present books -- with their covers facing out, giving them room to show off, to present their best selves, to speak to you, the reader.

    And a slow browse gives you the opportunity to listen, to hear the book call out to you, to whisper what it has to offer. Maybe it's a new experience, presenting a new culture, or showing new way of looking at life. Maybe it's a salve for a troubled soul. It might be a gift for a treasured friend.

    Or maybe it's promising a magical tale, a tour from the faeries into another dimension, a read to remember. What spoke to me was A Darker Shade of Magic, from V.E. Schwab, a wonderful writer who also penned The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

    

This Week in Books, 10th Ed.

   An excursion north

     I have written before about the Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio. It's a great place, filled with small rooms full of books that are hard to find elsewhere. That is why I spent Memorial Day adding to my TBR Stack.

    Some of the books bought were recommendations from my fellow book fans who joined me on this trip. A few were ones I have had my eye out for. And a few were spur-of-the-moment decisions.

 

The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin

    She has long been a favorite. She is not only a great writer of science fiction, but is "a literary icon," as the author Stephen King described her.

    

    Anyway, I heard about this novel on a podcast called "Fast Forward," which is about topics that might arise in the future. (It's great. You should listen to it. Its host, Rose Eveleth, has the perfect podcast voice, and I am in love with it.) During a show about space flight and labor law, and what living and working on another planet might entail, the host mentioned this book. So I bought it. It was the least I could do.  

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by T.J. Klune

    Look at that book cover! That should be enought reason to pick it up.

    Not only that, but the title has the word "cerulean." We need to use that colorful word more often. Says Merriam-Webster: "Cerulean comes from the Latin word caeruleus, which means 'dark blue' and is most likely from 'caelum,' the Latin word for 'sky.' An artist rendering a sky of blue in oils or watercolors might choose a tube of cerulean blue pigment. Birdwatchers in the eastern United States might look skyward and see a cerulean warbler." 

    What's it about? Who knows? But it's described as "being wrapped in a big gay blanket."

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

    This was recommended by Corina Fay, a teacher and one of my companions on this trip. Listen, when a teacher tells you to read a book, you read it.

    The book's description says that "between life and death there is a library." And this library allows the book's protagonist to change the course of other lives by changing her decisions. Of course, knowing this might make the choices harder. 

    Still, she should make those decisions. 

Girl A, by Abigail Dean

    I have had this one on my to-buy list for quite a while. I found it. So I picked it up.

    Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a girl -- known as Girl A in media accounts -- who grew up in her family's "house of horrors" before managing to flee and save her five siblings. When their mother dies in prison years later, the children must come to grips with their traumatic Despite the raw subject matter, I am told it's a novel one can rip through in a couple of days. A blurb calls it "gripping and beautifully written." What more could one ask for?

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.S. Schwab

    Another friend and bibliophile, scientist Melissa Mann, and I were discussing the fluidity of time, and she recommended this novel. She even pointed out the shelf it was sitting on.

    I did not know this, but Schwab is one of the great science fiction writers of our time. In this novel, her protaganist and title character is immortal -- with the catch that every year on her birthday, she jumps into another skin and time. No one remembers her former self.

    Which of course, leads to the awful blurb: "A life no one will remember. A story you will never forget." But an author does not write her own blurbs. So I forgave her and bought the book.

The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley

    The book blurb describes it as a "genre-bending feat (that) masterfully combines history, speculative fiction, queer romance, and more." So I have to ask, how could you pass this one up?

    Oh, you want more? It also bends time.

    Actually picking up this novel was a mistake. I was going for another book, but grabbed this one instead. It spoke to me.

The Elephant of Belfast, by S. Kirk Walsh 

    It has an elephant. In Belfast. Industrial, gritty, urban Belfast.

    It also has Loyalist Protestants and Republican Catholics continuing their long feud over a small piece of Ireland. 

    Then World War II happened. And life went on.

 

This Week in Books, 9th Ed.

When I first saw Parnassus Books -- the independent Nashville bookstore co-owned by writer Ann Patchett and named after a Greek mountain that was home to the Muses -- I was a tad disappointed. It looked like your basic suburban bookstore, located next to a paint store in a strip shopping mall that also is home to a Chipotle and a Vitamin Shoppe.

But once inside during my visit this weekend, I re-discovered how wrong first impressions could be. It's a wonderful place -- comfortable, well designed, and full of interesting people and helpful workers. I saw several books being promoted as outstanding works that I already have read and enjoyed, both confirming my taste and that of the staff.

And the books! I planned to buy one or two, and would up working out with a half-dozen. Of course, I had to pick up the owner's latest, The Dutch House, which will rise high on my TBR stack. Then I grabbed another book on my planned reading list -- Red at the Boone, by Jacqueline Woodson. Bonus! It's signed by the author.

The additions to the stack

So already I was winning.

The bookstore is subtlety subversive and feminist. It contains more than the average number of books by and about women. Numerous books in the children's section are about empowering girls. Many of the featured books are by female authors.

And it works. As I strolled over to the new and interesting books pile, I discovered The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, by Abbi Waxman. I had never heard of this novel before, but when you chuckle and recognize yourself in the book's description, it's a clear sign from Apollo to put it in your bag.

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by. They are all -- or mostly all -- excited to meet her. She will have to ... Speak. To. Strangers.

So you can see why that one will be good.

Two more books somehow found their way into my bag: Night Boat to Tangiers, by Irish author Kevin Barry; and Going the Distance, by William Steele, a biography of the late Canadian writer, W.P. Kinsella, who is one of my favorite authors.

And by the way guys who checked me out. Your recommendation for the Sunflower Cafe in South Nashville was spot on. I thoroughly enjoyed my vegetarian meal there.

This Week in Books, 8th Ed.

Rambling through a bookstore

One of the joys of wandering among the shelves of an old bookstore is a lack of people. Oh, perhaps you see the occasional fellow book fiend studying the titles, but for the most part you are alone with your thoughts and your fictional friends.

Then there is the Book Loft of German Village, a rambling independent bookstore in neighborhood near downtown Columbus, Ohio.

The entrance to the Book Loft

The stacks of fiction
 along a narrow hallway

A staircase lined
 with promotional photos

Most bookstores are large and airy, inside one large room. This one is not.

Many bookstores -- especially those of the chain variety -- are enclosed in modern glass and steel. This one does not fit that description.

They are in suburban shopping malls, surrounded by large parking lots. Usually, you'll find similar stores in similar buildings nearby -- a Panera, an office supply store, and most likely a Starbucks.

But the Book Loft is tucked away in an urban neighborhood. The entrance is a garden, and the store itself resembles a bunch of older homes that were renovated and smashed together. Yes, there is a coffee shop next door, which is part of a small, local chain, Stauf's Coffee.

The Book Loft boasts 32 rooms. Outside are tables full of books on sale, along with the racks of remainders. I arrived with my daughter in the early afternoon on a sunny weekend, when the Ohio State Buckeyes were thankfully playing out of town -- the university and the 100,000-seat stadium is about five miles away along city streets.

So after a vegan lunch, we made our way over, entered through the garden gate, and strolled up the walk.  It's a wonderful place, with surprises up every flight of stairs and around every corner. Each room has a theme, but you are likely to find random stacks of books in random places, so you have to meander all over the place, just in case you might miss something.

The fiction section takes up several rooms, and arranged along narrow hallways lined with bookcases. I found several novels that just came out, one that isn't scheduled to come out until next month (I said nothing, and bought it), and a sports book I've been seeking for a while.

Last Night in Montreal, by Emily St. John Mandel. Because I read Station Eleven and loved it.

The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin. It asks the question, how would you live if you knew the day you would die. Sounded intriguing.

On the Come Up, by Angie Thomas. The story of a young black girl who really wants -- needs -- to become a rap star. It's been on the TBR list for a while.

After the Miracle: The Lasting Brotherhood of the '69 Mets, by Art Shamsky. The Mets. 1969. 'nuff said.

The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood. Doesn't everyone want to read this?

Akin, by Emma Donaghue. Another of my favorite writers, and I mistakenly thought it wasn't due out until next month, so it was a bonus when I saw it.

The Institute, by Stephen King. He has his own bookcase -- not just a mere bookshelf -- in my library.

This Week in Books, 7th Ed.

My reading list for the rest of the year is out.

I have been slumming as of late and not reading as much as I would like and should. Life has been getting in the way, and my TBR Stack is stagnant.

But on Wednesday, the  Booker Prize for Fiction -- formerly known as the Man Booker Prize -- released its longlist for 2019. It's given me back my excitement for reading. Soon, every damn one of the 13 novels should make it onto the TBR Stack.

Several already are on the TBR list: Margaret Atwood's Testaments, a sequel to her classic, The Handmaid's Tale, which has received much attention of late, what with the television series and the current political climate; Northern Ireland author Kevin Barry's Night Boat to Tangier; and An Orchestra of Minorities, by Nigerian author Chigozie Obioma.

I have raved several times about the prize, and its awarding of deserving books, now from around the world, as long as the novel was written in English -- previously, one had to be a member of a former nation of the British Commonwealth to be eligible. The expansion has just increased the breath and scope of the books and the authors, leading to a diversity of riches. The list will enhance my reading of authors of color, of woman, and of people from outside the United States.

Just listen to some of the titles and authors on the 2019 longlist: The Man Who Saw Everything, by Deborah Levy, which weaves together two stories of a similar event -- a man being hit by a car on Abbey Road in London. There's Lost Children Archive, by Valeria Luiselli, about several Mexican children on a journey to cross the U.S. Border. Then there is 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in The Strange World, by Elif Shafak, which gives life to the thoughts and remembrances of a sex worker as she lays dying after being murdered and dumped.

Let's get to reading.

This week in Books 6th Ed.

TBR's Stephen King
bookcase

So, I finally persuaded my daughter to give Stephen King a shot. She doesn't like horror. I kept telling her King is much more than a horror writer

We have shared books since she was in her late teens. When she comes home now, we often go straight to my library, where I offer some suggestions, and she can browse for more. At times, she'll recommend a book for me. It works for us.

She's a runner (a good one, I might add; a Boston qualifier). So I gave her Elevation, telling her it had a running story arc that was well done. It's one of King's shorter works, so it's a quick read. Here is my review.

She liked, it. No, she loved it. I am happy, although not surprised. It is a good read.

The best description of King is that he puts regular people in abnormal situations. I think King's strength as as writer is simple: He writes well, has great characters, and tells a helluva story. What more could you want? Despite his reputation, he's not solely a writer of horror, which I've always seen as bloody, slasher stuff. Instead, he's a writer of the supernatural -- the paranormal, if you will.

Anyway, now I have to decide what King work to suggest next. Perhaps one of his earlier works -- perhaps Dead Zone, which could be appropriate in the current political climate? Or perhaps a later work, Sleeping Beauties, which he co-wrote with his son, Owen King? It hits the high points of a King book, and I credit Owen King with taking out some of King's flaws, particularly his weakness in crafting a credible ending.

As for the TBR stack: It's getting bigger after a trip to a local bookstore this past week. I found three books that weren't even on the horizon:

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek tells the fictionalized tale of the first travelling library in Kentucky (my home), and how one of the (real-to-life) blue people of Kentucky was its librarian. They Said it Couldn't be Done is about a time I remember well from growing up in New York City in the summer and fall of '69, when man landed on the moon and the Mets won the World Series. Fifty years later, I cannot read enough about the latter. And Washington Black continues my excursion into books by and about people of color. This one tells the story of an 11-year-old field slave who becomes his master's brother's servant, and their ever-changing relationship. It was nominated in 2018 for the Man Booker prize, always a great place to find a good read.

This Week in Books, 5th Ed.

So. I found this list of new Irish writers in The Irish Times book section, and I have a sneaking suspicions I will be buying several of the selections. Their books may be hard to find here in the states, but I do have several options on the interwebs that do not include Amazon!!!  I am not a big fan of the megalith, mainly for its work helping to destroy local bookstores.

Indeed, several of my internet choices are local bookstores, even though they may be thousands of miles away. I define "local" rather broadly. figuring it's local somewhere. Right?

Adding to the stack

 Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson;
Dreyer's English, by Benjamin Dreyer;
and Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

Speaking of local bookstores, I went to one this weekend and bought these,  which will be going in The Stack. >>>

^^^ Also, my daughter added to the stack by recommending Wife of the Gods, by Ghanaian author Kwei Quartey. Because one of my goals this year is to read more writers of color, it's a good choice, and I am looking forward to it.

<<< Then there was this run of about 5.5 miles along the muddy trails and up the Stone Steps at Mt. Airy Park in Cincinnati on a cold but sunny Saturday. You can see me there in the middle, I climbed to the top of those steps, which rise 276 feet over the span of a quarter mile, a grade that averages 20 percent.

That sharp rise in the middle? That's the Stone Steps

This Week in Books, 4th Ed.

When the longlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction was announced this week, I saw that two of the nominations are shelved in the TBR library. Not only that, but my current read, The Bees, by Laline Paull, was a shortlisted finalist for the award in 2015.So I wanted to know more.

                                                                   Photo from Women's Prize website
 The judges with their selection of the 16 books longlisted 

The award, dubbed one of the most prestigious in the UK, is given annually for the best novel written in English by a woman of any nationality.

Book awards in the UK have interesting logistics. First off, they announce a longlist, about a dozen to 18 novels of the best of the best. About six weeks later (April 29 this year for the Women's Prize) comes the shortlist, with the top five books becoming finalists. After a buildup, a ceremony is held to announce and honor the winner (June 5, 2019). The Man Booker and other awards use a similar method.

It's sort of the way the Oscars are heralded, and it's nice to see literary awards get the attention they deserve.

Such lists also are a great method to find new novels one might otherwise overlook. For years, I've used the Man Booker lists and found great novels written from different perspectives. The search will now include the longlist and shortlist of the Women's Prize, which seeks out and honors women writers from around the world.

"Written by women. For Everyone" is its motto. Previous winners include Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2007, The Song of Archilles, by Madeine Miller in 2012, The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver in 2010, and last year's top novel, Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie.


I have read two books on this year's longlist. Circe is the story of a minor Greek goddess, the daughter of the Titan sun god Helios. Because she is the goddess of witchcraft, she is banished to a deserted island. Here, Miller tells the story from Circe's perspective, including her meetings with Greek gods and heroes, such as the stories of the Minotaur, Medea, Icarus and his doomed flight to the sun, and one of her lovers, Odysseus. I read it last year at a time I was not keeping up with this blog, so I have not written a review. But it is top rate.

Milkman also tells its story from the perspective of its main character, a teen-age girl growing up in a split community very much like a 1980s version of Northern Ireland. My review is here.




Before I wrote this blog post, I went for a four-mile run to clear the head and think. It was cold, 20 degrees when I started -- that's seven below for you guys outside the United States.


 Also, it started to snow.

This Week in Books, 3rd Ed.

TBR had a relatively easy week.

After driving back from St. Louis, where TBR attended a lecture and signing by the great Welsh writer, Jasper Fforde, it was time to actually start reading his latest book, Early Riser. So far, it's a good one, dealing with a world in which humans hibernate during the winter months (well, most of them; this is about those who don't).

First though, TBR had to finish up All the Light We Cannot See, which took a while -- not because it isn't good (spoiler alert: it is) -- but because of its subject matter. It's a tough book to read.

As for next on the list,TBR is looking forward to reading  The Bees, about a resistance movement in a beehive. Seriously. Listen to this blurb:

 "Then (Flora) finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous. Enemies roam everywhere, from the fearsome fertility police to the high priestesses who jealously guard the Hive Mind. But Flora cannot help but break the most sacred law of all, and her instinct to serve is overshadowed by a desire, as overwhelming as it is forbidden."

Sounds delightfully weird, doesn't it?

TBR stayed out of bookstores this week, so did not buy any more books. But the need-to-buy list is getting lengthy, and TBR is feeling a bit antsy and a growing desire to add to the stack. Must resist. The Stack needs to shrink, not grow.

This Week in Books, 2nd Ed.

It's been a busy week at the TBR blog. I've finished a couple of books, bought a few more, and just returned from St. Louis, where I attended a book signing.

< One book read-and-reviewed came from a friend (it was a good book, though, so no conflicts), and the second > came after seeing and reading a play.

Still, the TBR Stack expanded, after I strolled into a local used bookstore -- in the case, Half Price Books -- and found three books I had to have. Two of the three already were on the TBR list, so that did not expand too much.

The finds included Mr. Fox, by Helen Oyeyemi. Her latest, Gingerbread, which is recommended reading for Black History Month, was not available, but her first novel was. Also put in the stack was The Woman Who Died a Lot, the (as of now) final book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. The Bees, by Lline Paull, has long been on the TBR list. It is literally about in-fighting in a colony of bees.

Now we get to the high point of the week: A visit to St. Louis to hear Fforde speak about his newest novel, Early Riser, and have him sign a copy. Fforde talked about developing and writing his stories, starting with a "narrative dare." This time around, it was to "write a thriller in world where humans have always hibernated." So that's what he did.

"Fantasy is the sandbox of fiction"

The author and me

Road Trip!! For a writer?

So I have to ask: Is driving 5 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours to listen to a speech and have a new book signed by one of your favorite authors a logical thing to do?

It's not like I'm a stalker or a fan-boy. But I enjoy the work of Welsh author Jasper Fforde, and it's not like he's readily accessible here in the United States.

I look at it this way. I like to drive. The trip will give me a chance to explore a new city. Even better, I get the opportunity to visit another bookstore.


Plus, I get to hear Fforde speak -- and to buy a signed copy of his latest book, Early Riser.


Fforde writes what he calls absurdist fiction. The tagline for the new novel is, "Every winter, the human population hibernates."

I first discovered Fforde's work while perusing a going-out-of-business sale at my local Borders (remember Borders?) I don't like to take advantage of a bookseller's failure, but it was pricing items up to 75 percent off. I could not resist adding to my TBR stack, and off I went. I saw one of Fforde's books, and fell in love with the title: One of our Thursdays is Missing. I often buy books because I like the title -- an interesting color or cover also catches my eye -- and I have found a lot of favorites that way.

I did not know then that the Thursday book is the sixth in a series. Nor did I know I was reading it out of order. But I didn't care. It was funny, clever, and literate. I found the other titles in the series, and read them more-or-less in order.

The series takes place in Book World, a universe where fictional characters are real and live a regular life, only to come out and "work" when someone is reading the novel. Books have a certified copy that cannot change, because it would change the plot in every book that was printed. Indeed, the first tale in the series, The Eyre Affair, relates an illegal attempt to change the ending of Jane Eyre. Enter book detective, Thursday Next, a member of the literary police, who is assigned the task of stopping such things from happening. Thursday has a special talent -- she is one of the few people who can jump from real life to book life, and back again.

It's not only Book World that Fforde has dreamed up. He created a Nursery Crimes division of the literary police, and has its detectives investigate the death of Humpty Dumpty and look into the case of the three bears. He's also written a Young Adult series about magic -- from a golden age that has long since passed -- and dragons and quarkbeasts. "Quark," says the quarkbeast.

His books are filled with literary references, from the mundane to the obscure. Amusing, witty, sometimes laugh out loud literary references.


I know I am not smart enough to get all of them. When I do, I feel smug and brilliant. When I don't, I usually know it's there, and can guess the context.

Or  I'll look it up, as Casey once advised.

My all-time favorite? While attending a party in Book World, Thursday Next looks down to see a young fellow tuging on her skirt. He was asking her, "If you please, draw me a sheep" No. 2 on my list is when Thursday somehow leaps out of a Shakespeare play with Hamlet in tow. She asks her mother if he can stay, or if he should return to Book World. Her mother thought he should stay in the real world for a while "Then he won't need five acts to make a decision."

How many acts do I need? I really want to go.

Books in 2019

I am posting this here so I will always have access to it. It's The Guardian's preview of the year in books and literature.

 It looks like a great resource.

What The Guardian recommends to read this year

Black Friday: Books and tea

Although I am far from a shopping aficionado, I did have my own little excursion this Black Friday.

I drove some 60 miles from where I was visiting at my brother's house in upstate New York to my favorite small town -- Millerton, N.Y. -- to partake in tea and books.

My first stop was, of course, Harney & Sons tea shop. It's a great tea company with its headquarters in town, and it has a store/restaurant right on Main Street. While waiting for a table where I would soon order a cuppa and snack on scones, jam, and clotted cream, I perused the small shop and put in my semi-annual tea order.

Afterward, I strolled across the street to one of my favorite bookstores in the country, Oblong Books & Music. This store is a gem. It has a children's toy and book shop downstairs. Climb the stairs, past the Harry Potter Wall -- or enter from around the corner -- and you will find one of the widest array of books in the smallest of spaces. OK, it's not that small, but it is cozy.

And here is what I love about it: Instead of carrying dozens of copies of best sellers or books by authors one can find at your local Wal-Mart, the store will have a few volumes by hundreds of different writers, both well-known and those waiting to be found. I discovered the Irish writer Kevin Barry here. Last year, I found a compelling book, Submission, by Michel Houellebecq, on its shelves.

This year, I was pleased to find The Obama Inheritance in the store. Ever since I heard the review on NPR recently, I have searched in several bookstores but have been unable to find this treasure. All the stores claimed not to carry it, and I began to wonder: Was the book that told stories about the various conspiracy theories surrounding President Obama a conspiracy in itself? Barnes & Noble did confirm it existed, but mysteriously told me it was unavailable -- even on its website.

But now I hold a copy in my hands, and I am eager to start reading it.


But that's was only part of my haul. I also picked up Artemis, a story of moon colonization by Andy Weir, the author of Martian; Elmet, a Man Booker Prize finalist, by Fiona Mozley; and A Line Made by Walking, by Irish novelist Sara Baume.

The next day, while treating my daughter to her visit to The Drama Book Shop in midtown Manhattan -- where she hauled in her own collection of books -- I picked up Uncommon Type, the collection of short stories written by actor Tom Hanks.

Yep, I believe in shopping small and shopping local -- even if that local shopping is hundreds of miles from my home.

And ... where we buy more books

My daughter came home from college last night to spend a few days with us before starting her summer internship. She asked me when we were going to that bookstore I had spoken about.

The newest stack

That bookstore is run by the Cincinnati Public Library, and it sells used books -- including the books of plays she deepy adores -- at a deep discount. I told her I needed to check when it was open, because it keeps irregular hours. She then announced plans to go to Half Price Books, and asked if I wanted to tag along.

What a stupid question. Of course, I did. Let's go.

So it was another day of adding to the stack. I didn't really plan to buy much, and decided if I did buy anything, it would be short novels or collections of short stories. I needed a break from my current reading on physics -- interesting, but difficult -- and wanted something light and short.

Well, I kind of stuck to my plan. All of the books are 300 pages or fewer. And some of them are light reading.

But perhaps not The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I hear tell it's about a depressing future. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure what to make of The Rain Before it Falls, by Jonathan Coe, a British author whose previous works I have enjoyed. It's labeled a "psychological thriller" that reveals "a heart-stopping family saga" in the voice of an elderly woman. Hmmm. And Grendel, by John Gardner, is the story of Beowulf as told from the monster's perspective.

I think Sandra Cisneros' Woman Hollering Creek looks like an interesting read. It's a collection of short stories, and I really liked The House on Mango Street, another book of hers I have read. And The Mermaid's Secret, by Katie Schickel, is classified as a "beach read." I've already started it, and while the story is set in a beach community on the Maine coast, it's not what I would consider a typical breezy summer read.

But we shall see.

Book Review (and more purchases)

The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros.

In which a young Latina writes of her days growing up in Chicago.

It's a fine, if too-short, book -- less than 100 pages -- that's deceptively well written, and introduces you to a way of life perhaps seen but seldom understood by many in America. It talks of poverty, and of getting by and living in a culture different from the majority.

It's not really a novel but a series of vignettes the author uses to introduce us to her characters. In tight but evocative writing, with some of the most compelling metaphors I have seen, Cisneros explains their motivations and desires. She is sympathetic, realistic, and non-judgmental about their actions and their decisions.

She writes like she has lived their stories. Because she has.

This book is one of two I bought this past weekend at my local half-price bookstore. The other is also about people struggling as they grow up and live in poverty.

Carolyn Chute writes about rural poverty in Maine. I've read three of her novels, The Beans of Egypt, Maine, LeTourneau's Used Auto Parts, and The School on Heart's Content Road. All three were excellent. So I am looking forward to delving into Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves.

Heck, even if I weren't a fan, I would have bought the latter book for its title alone.

This one is not my fault

Seriously, I blame this on a co-worker of mine, whom I will call Tina. I call her that because it's her name.

She knows about my tendency to read and buy too many books. She knows about my enjoyment of all things Irish. So, she asked, had I heard about or read anything by Maeve Binchy? Yes, I said, I have heard of her. But no, I had not read any of her works.

The next day, Tina brings in a stack of books: two works by Binchy, and another book about an Irish rebel by the name of John Devoy. (Ireland has a lot of rebels. This one I have not heard about. He came to America to fight for Ireland's freedom. I am interested in learning more.)

                                                           Adding more to the stack

This means I have three more books in my stack -- at a time I am seriously working to shrink it, rather than expand it. On the plus side, two of the books are written by a woman, at a time another goal of mine is to read more women authors -- especially ones I have not read before.

So my two goals are now in conflict -- subtract from the stack, but add more women writers. I guess I'll just have to read faster.