Book of the Week #52

Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant (New York : Center Street, 2010.)

"I was very curious...as Oprah frequently urges her viewers and readers to “Live Your Best Life,” I wondered what would happen if one of us committed ourselves whole-heartedly to her lifestyle suggestions. Would the financial and time costs of living as Oprah prescribes be worth the results?"

I read this book this past summer and loved it. I am a fan of books about experiments people undertake to improve their lives (Julie & Julia is one of my all time favorite books), but they don't usually have a connection to NH so I don't get to write about them on this blog.

Robyn Okrant spent a year following all the advice Oprah gave out each day for a year and tells us all about it in this book. The window that presented into the life that Oprah promises, and the analysis of how that ideal of life relates to the reality of a Chicago artist/yoga teacher (who grew up in NH!) makes for a really interesting book. If the impending new year has inspired you to take on an overhaul of your life you might want to read this book as a cautionary tale. Even if such plans are not on your horizon, this book is worth reading.

Book of the Week #51

Journal of a Flatlander: Poems by Don Kimball (Georgetown, KY: Finishing Line Press, 2009)

Don Kimball was one of the poets featured in our National Poetry Month Celebration a few years ago and is the leader of the monthly open mic poetry night at Gibsons.
This chapbook was in my original cataloging pile this week and is a lovely collection of Don Kimball's work. I especially liked the poem "Overbooked" -- I have the same trouble.

Overbooked
Often I find that where I take a book
out of my bookcase -- Plato, Proust, Plotinus
some epic I ought to read -- another tome
leans in to take its place. My bookish pride
gets pushed aside by other books I've bought;
still sprouting Post-its, like disheveled hair,
books do what books are bound to do, they claim
their dusty lairs. And while my appetite
for buying more provokes my wife, books plot
on either side, prepare to slap a lien
on the vacant spot, until I shove
into place a new-bought book; those daunting stacks
I sought to read -- now, age-old hardbound bores --
still hang around, displaced, on couch or floor,
demand I read or tote them out the door.

Poem reprinted here with the permission of the poet.

Calling All True Crime Readers

True Crime Book Reviews recently announced the first annual true crime book award. They have selected a list of 30 true crime titles published in 2010 and are seeking votes to select the readers' choice award winner.

Among the nominees are 2 NH writers whose work has been featured as a NH book-of-the-week: Lara Bricker and Kevin Flynn. Luckily for me you get to vote for 10 out of 30 nominated books so I didn't have to choose between Lara and Kevin's books!

Book of the Week #50

Baby by Joseph Monninger (Asheville, NC: Front Street, 2007)

Joseph Monninger has published eleven novels and three non-fiction books and lives in New Hampshire. This young adult novel was awarded the 2008 award for best children’s literature from the Peace Corps Writers. It was also chosen as a top ten book by YALSA, a division of the American Library Association.

"The girl's first-person voice, the backdrop, and the details work together well to set this story apart from the many in which troubled teens find solace in animals." —Booklist

"The prose style is spare, evoking the harsh winter landscape." —Kirkus Reviews

Baby is a teenager in trouble, and her last chance is a foster home with a couple whose idea of fun is dog sledding. Still, it beats going to the juvenile detention center. Over time, Baby comes to love the dogs and takes naturally to sledding, but when her old boyfriend, Bobby, shows up, she can't stop herself from running off with him, accidentally taking a puppy along. In no time at all, life with Bobby goes bad and Baby has to make some hard decisions about what she's going to do.

LAL Update

Last Friday was the deadline to send in your entry for Letters About Literature 2011. If you got it in the mailbox just under the wire though, don't worry. The official rules say "Your Entry must be postmarked by December 10, 2010, (and arrive at LAL Central no later than December 20, 2010)," so there is time for it to get to LAL central in time for judging.

The LAL team will be opening mail for quite a while yet, based on the update I got this morning:

"As of Saturday morning, we had logged about 15,500 entries. But we still had lots of unopened mail from the weekend. We received 20 mail bins on Fri-Sat. Today, we got our first "irk" as well as a "skid," in total about 35 more mail bins. And keep in mind that we have had weather problems in the Midwest and that is delaying the shipments. So we fully expect to get another 30 or more bins between now and this Friday. Our goal for this week, is just to sort, open, count. Next week, we log, and then the judging begins."

Book of the Week #49

Live Free or Die: A Granite State Mystery by Jessie Crockett (Mainly Murder Press, 2010)

Jessie Crockett is a nearly life-long resident of NH and has set her novel in the fictional village of Windslow Falls, NH.

"The way she sees it, volunteer fire chief Gwen Fifield’s life is about as good as can be. Sure, she’s gained twenty pounds and her property taxes increased just in time for Christmas. But, her basement didn’t flood with the fall rains for the first time in years and the general store has started delivering pizza. Yup, by Winslow Falls, NH standards it’s pretty darn good. That is, until an arsonist lets loose in the village and Gwen finds a body sizzled like a sausage in the smoldering remains of the local museum." (Publisher's blurb)

The book-of-the-week is selected each week from the various books that cross my desk (some literally, others virtually) This one popped up in an email this morning. Laura Lucy at White Birch Books sent this to her email list today:

"If you want to have a little fun tonight - we've got just the thing. Our Mystery Book Club is having their holiday party at the store and they'll be discussing Live Free or Die by Jessie Crockett. The book was a perfect fit because it is set in New Hampshire and it has a holiday theme. Well, 'tis the season for serendipity! I got a call from the author earlier in the week and she had heard we were discussing her book and wondered if she could come. I said, that would be awesome.
To recap - a traditionally fun night has just become "funner." If you've ever been interested in the Mystery Book Club, curious about it, or just want to come say hi and meet some new people - come on down tonight at 6! We'll see you there."

And the winner is ...

Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated) by Florence Parry Heide and illustrated by Lane Smith was selected by New Hampshire children, from preschoolers to third graders, as the winner of the 2010 Ladybug Picture Book Award.
There were 18,193 votes cast by children across the state this year at over 100 voting sites. A flyer of the voting totals, suitable for posting, is available on the Ladybug Picture Book Award webpage.

Here are the complete voting results for 2010:

• Princess Hyacinth (2941 votes)
• The Circus Ship (2820 votes)
• The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School (2689 votes)
• Bad Boys Get Henpecked (2248 votes)
• Creaky Old House (2251 votes)
• Otis (1959 votes)
• Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! (1583 votes)
• Birds (744 votes)
• Under the Snow (649 votes)
• All the World (309 votes)

Hancock Town Library hosts William Martin

Author William Martin will be joining the meeting of the Hancock Town Library's First Tuesday Book Club on Tuesday December 7, 2010 at 7:00 pm

From the Hancock Town Library blog:

"Author William Martin Joins the First Tuesday Book Club. We are delighted that William Martin, author of Back Bay, Cape Cod, Harvard Yard, and The Lost Constitution, will join our monthly book club to talk about his latest book, City of Dreams. Mr. Martin is best known for his New York Times bestselling historical fiction, but he has also written an award-winning PBS documentary and one of the cheesiest horror movies ever made. Nevertheless, he was the recipient of the 2005 New England Book Award, given to “an author whose body of work stands as a significant contribution to the culture of the region.” There are over three million copies of his books in print. Please join us for this special occasion. Free and open to all."

Book of the Week #48

The Journey that Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H. A. Rey by Louise Borden; illustrated by Allan Drummond (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005)


The New Hampshire Humanities Council has awarded a major grant to The Margret and H.A. Rey Center in Waterville Valley for The Wartime Escape: Margret and H.A. Rey's Journey from France. The project, which includes and exhibit and several programs, begins with a visit from author Louise Borden on Saturday, December 18 at 7 pm at the Rey Center.

"The legendary tale about the Reys' 1940 flight from Paris on bicycles just before the Nazis stormed the City of Light comes into clear focus here, thanks to Borden's diligent research and lucid writing. Reproductions of Hans Rey's diary entries, letters from publishers and photos many taken by Margret lend the book authenticity and immediacy. Drummond's watercolors add a spirited splash of color to the handsomely designed paper-over-board volume. His illustrations display a whimsy and energy appealingly reminiscent of the Reys' art, while still uniquely his own; the artist also effectively conveys the somber side of this extraordinary story. ... A stirring, uplifting and elegantly packaged saga." (from a review in Publisher's Weekly)

December Deadlines

Today, December 1st is the deadline for sending tally sheets for 2010 Ladybug Picture Book Award voting. To be counted, votes must be recieved at the Center for the Book by 5pm, today. You may send your tally sheets by fax to 603-271-6826, or send them by email to mary.russell@dcr.nh.gov. If you already sent your votes in, you can relax and await the announcement of the winner which should be made next week.

Entries for the 2011 Letters About Literature writing competition must be postmarked by December 10, 2010. Your letter must be accompanied by the required entry coupon which includes the mailing address and instructions for sending entries.