Book of the Week #27

The Webster Lake Picture Book by Bill Cain (blurb.com, 2008)

This book is composed of beautiful color photos of Webster Lake in Franklin, NH. The author, who spent his childhood vacations at the lake now has his "own place on its shores." If you call the office and find that I am away, there is a good chance that I am enjoying one of these views (page 24 is a likely candidate).

Notes from my inbox

I've just gotten caught up on my email and discovered that there are some good events coming up, including two TONIGHT:

• New Hampshire author Guntis Goncarovs will be at the Fiske Free Library in Claremont on Thursday, July 9 at 6:00 PM to discuss his novel Convergence of Valor: The Men of the H.L. Hunley. Set in Charleston in 1864, Convergence of Valor is an historical adventure that follows the story of a German spy who becomes embroiled in the American Civil War when he stumbles upon an intriguing Confederate war machine. Books will be available for purchase the night of the program and will be signed by the author. For more information please call the library at 542-7017.
  
• Gibson's Bookstore in Concord will host Staycation Book Night with Chase Binder on Thursday, July 9, at 7 PM "Staying at home this year? No hikes up Kilimanjaro, no scuba diving in the Azores? Oh, well, maybe next year the economy will improve. In the meantime, join Chase Binder, travel writer for the Concord Monitor, as she discusses some of her favorite armchair travel books and travel memoirs. You can travel as far as your imagination can take you--and the trip is free! She will also be recommending the best resources for planning vacations closer to home--here in New Hampshire. The travel books recommended by Ms. Binder will be 20% off during the event."
  
• The email newsletter from WaterStreet Books included the news that Pulitzer-Prize winning author Richard Russo is coming to Exeter this August! Water Street Books will be hosting him at the Exeter Town Hall for an evening of conversation to celebrate the release of his new book, That Old Cape Magic. "Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Ticket price includes a copy of the book ($25.95), a seat in the audience, and a chance to have the book (and all your other Richard Russo titles) signed by the man himself. A portion of the ticket sales also goes to The Exeter Historical Society, which does good and important work in a town with as much historical significance as Exeter. They need our help and support for their preservation work. Don't need two copies of the book in one family? They are offering a family ticket. If you buy one ticket at the regular price, you can purchase a second ticket at $10 for admission only." The newsletter also mentioned that Dan Brown has a new book coming out in September and that they are "absolutely thrilled" to be the official source for signed copies of The Lost Symbol, due out on September 15th, 2009.
  
• To celebrate the 60th year of the National Book Awards, the National Book Foundation will present a book-a-day blog on the Fiction winners from 1950 to 2008. The blog will run from July 7th to September 21st, starting with Nelson Algren’s The Man With the Golden Arm, ending with Peter Matthiessen’s Shadow Country, and including works by Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty, and Alice McDermott. Discover lesser known but equally talented National Book Award Fiction Winners such as Conrad Richter, Wright Morris, and Robb Forman Dew. Then, on September 21st, you will have a chance to select The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction and win two tickets to the 2009 National Book Awards by visiting the Foundation’s web site at www.nationalbook.org, this is the first time in its history the Awards will open to a public vote.

Book of the Week #26

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey. (Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2008)

I chose this title in honor of Independence Day. Most of the time people suggest that you read something because they thought it was wonderful, that it captured some essential truth. This book, in so far as it is about New Hampshire, does not fall into that category. There is, however, value to reading something you disagree with. If only to clarify your own thinking. (Why else would so many of us read editorials diametrically opposed to our own political views?)

The idea behind this book is to "put together something broad-minded and good-hearted; something bold, intimate and funny; something full of personal anecdote and strange characters and hidden truths. What we wanted," according to Matt Weiland's preface, "was a road trip in book form." Inspired by the ideals behind the Federal Writers Project's state guides of the 1930s the editors of this volume set out to create such a road trip with the help of "out finest novelists and reporters." (p. xiii)

To describe New Hampshire, the editors chose Will Blythe, a New York writer who grew up in North Carolina and summered in Massachusetts. His writing is good, but I think he misses the spirit of the place completely. Of course, I'm not from around here either.

The chapter on New York -- Jonathan Franzen is trying to get through a barrage of handlers so he can interview the state herself -- is wonderful and very NY. Louise Erdrich, who lived for a time in New Hampshire, contributed the chapter on North Dakota.

Notes from my inbox

Poetry events have been dominating my email recently:

• The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum's upcoming Readings in the Gallery series will feature Donald Hall: July 1, South Congregational Church
  Garret Keizer and Rigoberto Gonzalez: July 15, South Congregational Church
  Marge Piercy: September 9, St. Johnsbury School
  All programs are at 7:00 PM
  
• The Hyla Brook Reading Series continues at the Robert Frost Farm, 122 Rockingham Rd (Rt 28), with a reading by seacoast poet Pat Parnell on Thursday, July 9, 2009, 6:30-8:30pm. Also reading is Hyla Brook poet Midge Goldberg. An Open Mic will follow the readings and all audience members are invited to share their work. The Hyla Brook Poets, the group which organizes the readings, meet for monthly workshops on the third Saturday of the month at 10am. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 18. Please bring 15 copies of a poem for critique. The workshops and reading series will be held at the Frost Farm through September and then return to the Coffee Factory. For questions, please contact Robert Crawford .
  
  
• From Tom Diegoli: "The Conway Public Library and Host Tom Diegoli are pleased to continue our monthly Open Mic series featuring Poetry, Acoustic Music, and Storytelling to be held on the 2nd Monday of every month, from 6:30-8:30PM, downstairs at the Library. Everyone is welcome to come and share, or just to listen. Light refreshments will be served. On Monday, July 13th we will slide into summer with an ALL OPEN MIC evening. Bring your instruments, songs, stories, poems, and especially your friends. We have traditionally had a very big turnout in July, so come and be a part of it. New faces are always welcome: we want to hear what you’ve got. The Rules for the Open Mic are: Max 5 minutes per performer. There will be a Sign-Up Sheet for all who would like to participate. Performers may be allowed more time but they must arrange it with Tom beforehand, time permitting. For more information, directions, etc., you can email Tom at thomasjdiegoli@earthlink.net (and please be sure to put “Open Mic” in the subject line to get past the spam filter) or you can call the Library at 447-5552."
  

Book of the Week #25

Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942 by Daniel Ford (Harper Collins/Smithsonian Books, 2007).

Author Daniel Ford lives on the north shore of Great Bay in New Hampshire and, in addition to being a writer, is a recreational pilot.

This book was originally published in 1991, and has been updated and revised for this 2007 edition. According to World War II Magazine (November 2007):

"During the dark, early days of World War II, when the Imperial Japanese army, navy, and air force were running roughshod over Asia and the Pacific, it seemed that nothing could stop them. Only a small band of American mercenary
fliers based in Burma and known as the Flying Tigers, led by a leather-faced fighter named Claire Chennault, seemed able to challenge and defeat the Japanese....

"The exciting story of this legendary fighting force that wore American uniforms but Chinese insignia is told in Daniel Ford's definitive history of the legendary Flying Tigers. Every page contains a new tidbit of information and rich, long-forgotten detail."