Book Review: Full Dark, No Stars

 By Stephen King

• Pub Date: 2010 

• Where I bought this book: I really do not remember 

• Why I bought this book: I buy every King book as it comes out.

********

    So. I was browsing in my local Barnes & Noble store this past week, and stopped by the horror section to see if they had a copy of A Face in the Crowd, a digital book he wrote a while back with Stewart O'Nan. 

    Instead, I came across a copy of 1922, a thin volume about a farmer who conspired to kill his wife in that year. I looked through it and did not recognize the synopsis. Looking further, I noticed it was originally published in 2010 with three other tales in the Full Dark, No Stars collection. I knew I had that copy at home.

    So I grabbed it and started reading the first story, 1922. Still did not recognize it. But I liked it, though it was a bit creepy. The second story, Big Driver, about a serial rapist, I also did not find familiar.

    Still, I was sure I had read this collection before, even if it was more than 15 years ago.

    But apparently, I had not. The next two stories, Fair Extension and A Good Marriage, also seemed new to me.

    I could have forgotten all of them, although I have often caught glimpses of King's past writing in his new works, But in these, nothing. So maybe I had bought the book and put it aside, then on the shelf, without even reading it. But my Goodreads page shows I read it from Nov. 25, 2010 -- Thanksgiving Day! -- to Nov. 27, 2010, about three weeks after it came out. So maybe I lied, or maybe I've read so much King my hippocampus cannot keep them all sorted out.

    *Shrug* I suppose I'll never knew.

    But I'm glad I have now read it (or read it again). The stories were good, if a bit unsettling, even for King.

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, 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, 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

This Week in Books, 1st Edition

Apparently, this is a thing with book bloggers: You write about what books you've just read, are reading, and what you plan to read next. I'm not always that scheduled -- often I just go to my TBR stack and grab what looks interested.

But hey, I'll play along. Maybe I'll make this a permanent feature.

My week in books. 

First off, as one can tell by my latest review, I have just finished, for the second time, Stephen's King's Elevation. As Lawrence Welk would say, "It's wunnerful, wunnerful."

On my current reading list are two books. One is the Pulitzer-prize winning, All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. It's a book set in and before World War II, and contrasts the growing up of a blind French girl and a orphan German boy with a knack for electronics. So far, so good. The second is a Gulf War memoir, Wine in the Sand, by a buddy of mine, Jim White. It's as wild as the war (apparently) was.

As for what comes next, I'm not sure. It might be Music Love Drugs War, by Geraldine Quigly, a novel about growing up in Northern Ireland during the heart of the Troubles in 1980. Or is might be Jasper Fforde's latest, Early Riser, about a human society that hibernates in winter. Bonus for me: I am going to see Fforde speak and sign my book at Left Bank Books in St. Louis next week. Yippee!!

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.

Review: The Obama Inheritance

The Obama Inheritance, by Gary Phillips


When I started looking for this book, which takes a light-hearted, fictional look at the conspiracy theories surrounding President Obama, I began to think that maybe, just maybe, it was another crazy dream.

I had heard a review on NPR, praising the book. But then, that's a well-known liberal station that deals in what our current president calls fake news. Still, it sounded good, so I plugged it into my books-to-buy app. But mysteriously, the app could not find the book. And when I visited my local Barnes & Noble, it was not in stock. Moreover, the clerk told me the B&N website had it as "unavailable."

Hmmm.

Three other local bookstores -- one chain, two independents -- also didn't have it. No one at any of those stores had heard of it.

Double hmmm.

So, I finally traveled 800 miles from home, on my Thanksgiving trip to New York. And there, in the Oblong Books and Music store in Millerton, N.Y., I found it. I had to ask, but the clerk knew it and took me directly to it. It exists!

Seriously. It exists.

By the way, have I mentioned how much I love this bookstore? If you're ever in upstate New York, plan a visit.

Anyway. Here's the review.

This book is good, if uneven. But that's to be expected with a short story collection written by different writers. Some you will love. Some are just OK. Others you will deem unreadable, and move on. That's what I did.

But here are three I really liked:

One portrays Michelle Obama as the leader of a group of women officials who have second lives as a group of vigilantes, attacking pharmaceutical executives who blatantly raise prices on live-saving drugs. Obama's Book Club persuades the men to reverse position.

The second is a Star Trek takeoff, with Bah'rack playing the role of the logical Vulcan, and Dr. Joe Biden as the ship's high-strung doctor. Sometime in the future, the ship's captain notices an incursion in the space-time continuum, and concludes that Klingons have travelled back in time to the mid-20th Century. So the Vulcan and the doctor are sent to earth to fix the problem. Biden has to drop the doctor, since his knowledge is too advanced for this world. Bah'rack -- whom you will note is neither American nor even Earthling -- takes the Anglican version of his name. And the rest is history. OK, alternative history.

The third story is about the Second Amendment supporters who attack a hospital seeking the identity and location of the Obama Death Panels. Good characters and finely written.

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.

New goal: To see the best bookstores in the USA

I have a new goal in life. No, it's not to have my Twitter account blocked by Donald Trump or Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, although those are both worthy goals.

The Book Loft, in Columbus, Ohio

Instead, it is to visit every bookstore on this list, which purports to name the best bookstore in each state. I'm not sure how the listmaker made the selections. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that I have visited just two of them, one in my home commonwealth of Kentucky, and the second across the river in Ohio.

As for the Kentucky selection, I would agree that Carmichael's in Louisville is a fine and dandy place. It's cozy, yet has a good, eclectic selection. Still, I would give my vote to Coffee Tree Books in Morehead. It's near the campus of Morehead State University, has a generous collection of books beyond the typical best sellers, and it behind the best named coffee shop in the world -- The Fuzzy Duck, which, by the way, also has a great selection of teas.

The second -- the Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio -- is without doubt the top bookstore in my neighboring state to the north. I wrote about this gem in a previous blog post about the the best independent book stores I have visited. It remains true.

Book Review: Twisted River

Twisted River, by Siobhan Macdonald

I must confess, I bought this novel while wandering through my local used bookstore because I liked the author's name. I read the blurb on the back and found nothing that dissuaded me from buying it. So I did.

That being said, I was confused when I started reading the novel because the book's summary gave a false impression of the story. In fact, one of the key pieces of information it gave about the story was either blatantly misleading or flat out wrong.

And that confusion continued throughout the book. Often, I had to go back to check on things -- because some details changed significantly enough that it had to be an error rather than a change of perspective. In other places, lots of extraneous details were brought up -- some seemingly important at the time -- but not explored further. Actions of some of the characters took an abrupt turn without explanation.  While the start of the book placed equal emphasis on the two families profiled, one turned out to get far more attention.  In several places, I thought a careful editor could have tightened the story and cleaned up minor problems.

Still, I liked the book. It tells the story of two families -- both with a husband, wife, and two moody children -- who are having difficulties and need a break. They sign up for a home swap, and the Irish family takes a vacation in Manhattan, while the New Yorkers ship off to visit mom's birthplace of Limerick.

The novel's format is to tell the tale from the perspectives of the four adults -- how they got into the mess they are in, provide some expository details, along with their thoughts and backgrounds. For the most part, this works. It tries to get a little thillerish near the end, but not enough to get annoying.

But it really has an unsatisfying ending, as it leaves one hanging. I found myself asking "Why?" and "What happened to ...?"

But please, don't take this as a negative review. Except for the niggling details, it's a fine book, well written, and a good story. I recommend it.

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.

Indy Book Store Day

Today is Independent Book Store Day, according to whoever determines these things. And while I usually ignore such marketing ploys, on this one I will bite. I mean, who doesn't love an independent book store?

In keeping with the theme, I'm gonna note some of the best bookstores I have visited, including two in my hometown. I am sure there are more and better ones out there, but I just haven't been to them.

Yet.

So here goes.

                                         The Book Loft in Columbus, Ohio

The Book Loft, located in the German Village section of Columbus, Ohio, is a marvel. It takes up several floors of an old house and spreads out way beyond the gardens. A brick path takes you to the entrance, and you mosey through dozens of large and small rooms that house thousands of books in any genre you can think of. And if you cannot find what you are looking for, rest assured you likely will pick up something even better. That has happened to me every time I've been there.

In Morehead, a block from the state university, you will find the largest independent bookstore in Eastern Kentucky, CoffeeTree Books. Part of the pleasure of this store is its location behind the more whimsically named Fuzzy Duck Coffee shop. It's a small shop in a small town that I visit because my daughter goes to college there. But the selection is incredible -- I have found books there that have become some of my favorites -- and the staff is helpful and smart.

Sometimes, I think Millerton, N.Y., may be the perfect small town for me. As you enter the main street -- coincidently named Main Street -- you come across the finest tea shop in the land, Harney & Sons. A quick walk down the block is Oblong Books & Music, perhaps the best bookstore I have ever visited. In between is the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, which I have not yet run, but which seems amazing.

                                My daughter and I at the Millerton trailhead,
                                       between the tea store and bookstore

Anyway, back to the main point -- the bookstore. What I really like is its selection. It's a normal-sized store, but instead of having many copies of every book by popular authors clogging the shelves, it has one or two books by a wide variety of authors, known and unknown. It has a good selection of feminist books, and promotes works of fiction you just won't find anywhere else. It has a wonderful children's section, with -- at least when I was there -- a Harry Potter wall in which people could write about what attracted them to the series.

Two more independents to mention: The Booksellers on Fountain Square in Cincinnati, Ohio, has a surprisingly wide selection in a small spot. And while Roebling Point Books and Coffee in Covington, Ky., specializes in local books, it maintains a large selection of national titles. It regularly hosts book signings and discussions by and with local authors.