Book of the Week #52

Mystery on the Isles of Shoals: Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873 by J. Dennis Robinson (Skyhorse Publishing, 2014)

"For the first time, the full story of a crime that has haunted New England since 1873.
The cold-blooded ax murder of two innocent Norwegian women at their island home off the coast of New Hampshire has gripped the region since 1873, beguiling tourists, inspiring artists, and fueling conspiracy theorists.
The killer, a handsome Prussian fisherman down on his luck, was quickly captured, convicted in a widely publicized trial, and hanged in an unforgettable gallows spectacle. But he never confessed and, while in prison, gained a circle of admirers whose blind faith in his innocence still casts a shadow of doubt. A fictionalized bestselling novel and a Hollywood film have further clouded the truth.
Finally a definitive "whydunnit" account of the Smuttynose Island ax murders has arrived. Popular historian J. Dennis Robinson fleshes out the facts surrounding this tragic robbery gone wrong in a captivating true crime page-turner. Robinson delves into the backstory at the rocky Isles of Shoals as an isolated centuries-old fishing village was being destroyed by a modern luxury hotel. He explores the neighboring island of Appledore where Victorian poet Celia Thaxter entertained the elite artists and writers of Boston. It was Thaxter's powerful essay about the murders in the Atlantic Monthly that shocked the American public.
Robinson goes beyond the headlines of the burgeoning yellow press to explore the deeper lessons about American crime, justice, economics, and hero worship. Ten years before the Lizzie Borden ax murder trial and the fictional Sherlock Holmes, Americans met a sociopath named Louis Wagner—and many came to love him." --Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #51

Body Parts by Vicki Stiefel (Leisure Books, 2004)

This is the first book in the Tally Whyte series.

"They call it the Grief Shop. It's the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Massachusetts, and Tally Whyte is the director of its Grief Assistance Program. She lives with death every day, counseling families of homicide victims. But now death is striking close to home. In fact, the next death Tally deals with may be her own. Boston is in the grip of a serial killer known as the Harvester, due to his fondness for keeping bloody souvenirs of his victims. But many of those victims are people that Tally knew, through her work or as friends. Tally realizes there's a connection, a link that only she can find. But she'd better find it fast. The Harvester is getting closer." --Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #50

Pantheon: Book One of the Fallen Olympian's Series by Gary Devore (Lulu, 2014)

Pantheon is the first book in a series where the main characters are the former gods of the Greeks and Romans. Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Dionysus, Ares, Aphrodite, and Hermes have had many adventures in the fourteen centuries they have been pretending to be humans. Pantheon tells many of these stories, as well as what happens when these immortals decide to answer a call from Yahweh/Jehovah/Allah to reclaim their former status as deities.

To learn more about Pantheon check out the trailer, or the webisodes.

Gary Devore is one of the many NH authors who have volunteered, through the NH Writers' Project to speak to local book groups. Check out list and invite a local author to your book group in 2015!

Book of the Week #48

Essays After Eighty by Donald Hall (Houghton Mifflin, 2014)  

"Near the start of this rich essay collection, former U.S. poet laureate Hall—also a biographer, children’s book writer, and literary critic—writes that “poetry abandoned” him after he turned 85, but his prose writing endures and sustains him. And as this book shows, Hall—who sometimes puts his essays through more than 80 drafts—has not lost his touch. Laconic, witty, and lyrical, Hall is a master stylist, yet he remains refreshingly humble and matter-of-fact about fame (his and others): “Everyone knows medals are made of rubber.” " --Publisher's Weekly

Red River Theatres and Gibson's Bookstore have teamed up to host a reading and signing event for this book on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 6pm. This is a ticketed event.

NOTE: There will not be a book-of-the-week #49 as we will be publishing a daily series of book lists next week in honor of New Hampshire Writers' Week.

Book of the Week #47

Howard Ellman's Farewell by Ernest Hebert (UPNE, 2014)

"Suppose all a man has left is his imagination. Then what?
Part Falstaff, part King Lear, but all American, Howard Elman was a fifty-something workingman when he burst onto the literary scene in The Dogs of March, the first novel of the Darby Chronicles. Now in this, its seventh installment, the Darby constable is an eighty-something widower who wants to do “a great thing” before he motors off into the sunset.
Maybe Howard achieves this goal, but he manages it in strange, wonderful, and dangerous ways. On his quest he’s aided, abetted, hindered, and befuddled by his middle-aged children, his hundred-year-old hermit friend Cooty Patterson, a voice in his head, and the person he loves most, his grandson, Birch Latour. At 24, Birch has returned to Darby with his friends to take over the stewardship of the Salmon Trust and to launch a video game, Darby Doomsday. At stake is the fate of Darby. And the world? Maybe.
Howard Elman’s Farewell begins as a coming of (old) age story, morphs into a murder mystery, expands into a family saga, and in the end might just follow Howard Elman into the spirit world.
This is a novel for people who like New England fiction with humor, pathos, and just a touch of magical realism." --Publisher's blurb

NH author Ernest Hebert will be visiting local booksellers this week to talk about this last volume in the Darby Chronicles. 

• Thursday, 11/20/2014 at 6:30pm at Toadstool Bookshop, Keene
• Friday, 11/21/2014 at 7pm at Gibson's Bookstore

Book of the Week #46

Lead Poisoning by J. E. Seymour (Barking Rain Press, 2014) 

"Mob “troubleshooter” Kevin Markinson would like to retire from his profession and join his family in New Hampshire — but some jobs are hard to leave behind.
A former Marine sniper who is also a fugitive for a crime he didn’t commit, Kevin soon finds a greater challenge when he returns home and tries to settle down with his wife and two sons… who are little more than strangers. And while his family might not want him back in their lives, his mob bosses can’t seem to do without his services—forcing Kevin to juggle between the dark world of organized crime, his role as a husband and father, and his need to keep one step ahead of the law.
If he can’t, he stands to lose everything — including his freedom." --Publisher's blurb

On November 20, 2014 Water Street Bookstore is hosting a launch party for Seymour's new book, Stress Fractures. 

Book of the Week #45

The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whodunit by William G. Tapply (Poisoned Pen Press, 2004)

If your NanoWriMo plans include penning a mystery novel this month this volume provides guidance from a master, the late William Tapply. 

"The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whonunit has guided and inspired mystery writers--veterans as well as beginners-- for nearly a decade. Here William G. Tapply, with more than 20 popular mystery and suspense novels under his belt, isolates the crucial "elements" of the mystery novels that publishers want to publish and readers want to read--original plots, clever clues, sympathetic sleuths, memorable villains, multi-dimensional supporting characters, true-to-life settings, sharp narrative hooks, and, of course, smooth writing. In clear readable prose using examples from many of our best contemporary mystery novelists, Tapply shows how the writer can create the pieces and fit them together to make a story you can't put down. This new expanded edition of Elements contains original chapters by some of our best contemporary writers and most prominent personalities in the publishing world discussing writing and business issues that are vital to mystery writers in the 21st century." --Back cover

Book of the Week #44

With Halloween this Friday what could be more appropriate for this week's book than a ghost story?
How about a ghost story by NH's own Joe Hill? How about one that you can get a signed copy of through the Upstream project at Water Street Bookstore?

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2008)

"Imogene is young, beautiful . . . and dead, waiting in the Rosebud Theater one afternoon in 1945. . . 
Francis was human once, but now he's an eight-foot-tall locust, and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .
John is locked in a basement stained with the blood of half a dozen murdered children, and an antique telephone, long since disconnected, rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .
Nolan knows but can never tell what really happened in the summer of '77, when his idiot savant younger brother built a vast cardboard fort with secret doors leading into other worlds. . . .
The past isn't dead. It isn't even past. . . ." --publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #43

The Boat of Quiet Hours: Poems by Jane Kenyon (St. Paul, Minn.: Graywolf Press, 1986).

One of the poems from this volume, Kenyon's second of her own poems, was featured recently on The Writers' Almanac recently: "Coming Home at Twilight in Late Summer."  It captures the time and place perfectly.

 Jane Kenyon was a New Hamphire poet in whose honor, along with her husband Donald Hall, the Hall-Kenyon Prize in American Poetry is given annually. This year's recipient is Sharon Olds who will give a reading in Concord, NH on October 30 at 7pm when she accepts the award.

Book of the Week #42

Understories by Tim Horvath (Bellevue Literary Press, 2012)

"Taken as a complete work, "Understories" is a remarkable collection, with pitch-perfect leaps of imagination side-by-side with characters struggling in wholly recognizable ways." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

This collection of stories by Tim Horvath won the 2014 NH Literary Award for Fiction and was praised by Nancy Pearl on NPR's Morning Edition.

"What if there were a city that consisted only of restaurants? What if Paul Gauguin had gone to Greenland instead of Tahiti? What if there were a field called Umbrology, the study of shadows, where physicists and shadow puppeteers worked side by side? Full of speculative daring though firmly anchored in the tradition of realism, Tim Horvath’s stories explore all of this and more— blending the everyday and wondrous to contend with age-old themes of loss, identity, imagination, and the search for human connection. Whether making offhand references to Mystery Science Theater, providing a new perspective on Heidegger’s philosophy and forays into Nazism, or following the imaginary travels of a library book, Horvath’s writing is as entertaining as it is thought provoking." --Jacket copy

Book of the Week #41

The World of M. C. Escher, edited by J. L. Locher (NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1971)

"In the extraordinary world of M. C. Escher time,space, and visual reality have been rearranged according to an ingenious logic--simultaneity of perspective is commonplace, infinity is the average achievement, positive and negative are interchangeable, and fascination is the ensuing result.
... This volume explores the diversified appeal of Esher's prints, spanning the fields of mathematics and poetry, science fiction and art history. The five essays, including one by Escher himself are unique in that they are by scientists as well as art historians. ... A special color section has been included along with numerous working drawings and preparatory prints; the 300 illustration afford the student and scholar a comprehensive view of Escher's total work, a graphic catalogue that is at once technically masterful and compelling." --Jacket flap

Until January 5, 2015 you can get "a comprehensive view of Escher's total work" right here in New Hampshire. The Currier Museum of Art's Escher Exhibit is one of the largest and most comprehensive ever offered in the United States.

Book of the Week #40

The Old Farmer's Almanac has been published in Dublin, NH since 1792, and speaks "to all walks of life: tide tables for those who live near the ocean; sunrise and planting charts for those who live on the farm; recipes for those who live in the kitchen; and forecasts for those who don't like the question of weather left up in the air. The Almanac, North America's oldest continuously published periodical, comes out every year in September. The latest edition is on sale now wherever magazines and books are sold." (quoted from almanac.com)

This last week of September 2014 is expected, according to the almanac, to be sunny and warm in NH. Looking to use up all those tomatoes filling gardens this time of year? The almanac also includes recipes.
 
To learn more about the almanac you can watch a documentary about it, or listen to the story NPR's All Things Considered did on it recently.

Book of the Week #39

The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham, illustrations by Petur Antonsson (NY: Harper, 2014)

"Rye and her two friends had never intended to steal the banned book form the Angry Poet--they'd just hoped to read it. In truth, it was nothing more than curiosity that brought them to the strange little bookstore wedged between a grogshop and the coffin maker. But the store's owner overreacted so strongly that they fled without thinking, the illicit tome still clutched under Rye's arm." p. 1

This is the first volume in a planned trilogy from Exeter resident Paul Durham. Kirkus said that "Layers, nuance, wit and a thumping good story make this a must-read." To learn more check out the trailer.

Book of the Week #38

Stonlea: A Timeworn, Gilded Age Survivor Transformed by Peter W. Clement and Victoria Chave Clement (Peterborough, NH: Bauhan Publishing, 2014)

"Stonlea documents the painstaking steps involved in the preservation and renovation of this building, and describes the renovators' techniques. It specifically addresses the renovation of the fabric of the building--the various energy conserving strategies and the mechanical systems--as well as the whys and wherefores of the design, and is intended to serve as a model and inspiration for similar undertakings, regardless of size. Stonlea is a large Colonial Revival style summer house in New England, a vivid example of nineteenth-century resort architecture. It was completed in 1891 by a family from St. Louis, seeking to escape the withering summers on the Mississippi River. The house was designed by the well-known Boston architecture firm of Peabody & Stearns, who were very busy in the late nineteenth century, designing country houses that helped shape the new face of resort architecture in the northeast. It was built to accommodate a family of five and their domestic help, as well as long-term guests, and it therefore met the requirements of Polly Guth, its new owner, who wanted to house visiting family members and make the house a gathering place for four generations. The house is sited overlooking Dublin Lake, originally called Monadnock Lake, with picturesque Mount Monadnock beyond. The original property included the house, a barn, a cottage, and a large carriage house / garage, on approximately one hundred acres of ancient farmland. By 2009 the house's outbuildings had been sold to Polly's daughter, so the latest purchase reassembled a large piece of the original puzzle. The house had survived over one hundred years of New England weather and hard summer living fairly well, but had begun to suffer from "deferred maintenance," a circumstance familiar to all homeowners. The task of bringing the house back to its original luster was a formidable one. In addition, the owner wanted to bring to bear the latest technology to reduce its impact on the environment: She wanted a "green" house, or more specifically a "net-zero" house, referring to the balancing of energy consumed and energy produced on-site." --Introduction, p. xvii

The authors, along with the homeowner, will be at Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough on September 27, 2014 at 11am to talk about the project and their book.

Book of the Week #37

The Hand of the Small-Town Builder: Summer Houses in Northern New England, 1876–1930 by W. Tad Pfeffer (Boston: David R. Godine Publisher, 2014).

"Northern New England in the late nineteenth century saw an explosion of what we now call "new home construction." The railroads had opened up the mountains to tourists while steamers regularly plied the coast. The concept of a paid summer vacation was gaining traction, and families, both rich and poor, were eager to rusticate in small villages where, close to nature, they would enjoy the blessings of a salubrious climate. Middle-class families could afford to build homes, and since their budgets precluded "name" architects, the need was answered by native builders, talented craftsmen familiar with the local resources who could draw the basic lines, muster and supervise a building crew, and meet the needs of clients. These weren't the fancy summer "cottages" of Newport or Bar Harbor, but simple structures erected on modest budgets for comfortable summer living. Many were, and still appear, very beautiful, and the best examples are shown in this striking survey of houses built by self-taught architects whose work survives as testaments to their skill.
The men behind the developments were far more than builders; they acted as land speculators, developers, and architects. They ran the typical three-man crews, house-sat over the winter, and were the liaisons with the "summer people" who would arrive in June and leave in early September. The houses they built were sensitive to the local topography and connected to the landscape as masterpieces of vernacular design. From the seacoast and islands of Maine to the hill towns, lakes, and rivers of Vermont and New Hampshire, Pfeffer has thoroughly researched and thoughtfully photographed the best examples. His text is rich with history and commentary. Far more than a pretty picture book, this is a scholarly and richly documented survey of master craftsmen whose subtle but powerful influence on the northern New England landscape is poignantly recorded in these pages." --Publisher's blurb

Tad Pfeffer was a recent guest on NHPR's Word of Mouth and will be talking about his book at Gibson's on Friday, 9/12/2014 at 7pm.

Book of the Week #36

Labor Day: A Novel by Joyce Maynard (NY: William Morrow, 2009)

Joyce Maynard grew up in New Hampshire and wrote about her early life in At Home in the World. Labor Day was made into a film in 2014.

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry -- lonely, friendless, not too good at sports -- spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele -- a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others -- especially those we love -- above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, Joyce Maynard tells a story of love, sexual passion, painful adolescence, and devastating betrayal as seen through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy -- and the man he later becomes -- looking back on the events of a single long, hot, and life-altering weekend.

Book of the Week #35

Dangerous Denial by Amy Ray (Vancouver, WA: Barking Rain Press, 2014)

This thriller is NH resident Amy Ray's first novel. Kirkus Reviews said, "Ray takes her time establishing her characters, including the bad guys, and with a rousing, indelible payoff, it's well worth it."

"Denying the past proves deadly for BK Hartshaw and Trevor Mayhew in this gripping noir novel where nothing is as it seems.
BK is a rising star at a public relations firm, and tonight’s charity ball should be a high point in her career. But a closely guarded secret threatens to destroy her chance for happiness with the only man she’s ever loved… a man who is also hiding a deadly secret.
Trevor has tried to put the past behind him, pretending it never happened. But the conniving father he’s been running from for years has finally found him—and is determined to settle the score once and for all.
BK and Trevor’s deeply buried secrets are about to catch up with them—and everyone they know and love. Who will pay the ultimate price for their dangerous denials?" -Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #34

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker, translated by Sam Taylor (NY: Penguin, 2014)

The publishing phenomenon topping bestseller lists around the world, with sales of more than two million copies in Europe and rights sold in more than forty countries, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is a fast-paced, tightly plotted, cinematic literary thriller, and an ingenious book within a book, by a dazzling young writer.
August 30, 1975: the day fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods, never to be heard from again; the day Somerset, New Hampshire, lost its innocence.
Thirty-three years later, Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist, visits Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of the country’s most respected writers, and to find a cure for his writer’s block as his publisher’s deadline looms. But Marcus’s plans are violently upended when Harry is suddenly and sensationally implicated in the cold-case murder of Nola Kellergan—whom, he admits, he had an affair with. As the national media convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation, following a trail of clues through his mentor’s books, the backwoods and isolated beaches of New Hampshire, and the hidden history of Somerset’s citizens and the man they hold most dear. To save Harry, his own writing career, and eventually even himself, Marcus must answer three questions, all of which are mysteriously connected: Who killed Nola Kellergan? What happened one misty morning in Somerset in the summer of 1975? And how do you write a book to save someone’s life? --Publisher's blurb

This is a big fat page-turner of a thriller set in a small, seacoast New Hampshire town (which, oddly, looks to Concord as its big town) around the time of the 2008 Presidential election. This novel, which was originally published in France was a huge best-seller there. The reviews of the English translation have been less enthusiastic (see The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, the Guardian, and NPR,). The New York Times, however, called it "unimpeachably terrific" and the Telegraph was positive in its article (which also has a lot of backstory on the author).

Book of the Week #33

The Nepal Chronicles: Marriage, Mountains, and Momos in the Highest Place on Earth by Dan Szczesny (Brookline, NH: Hobblebush Books, 2014)

"When travel writer Dan Szczesny and his wife, Meenakshi, traveled to Nepal to marry in Kathmandu and trek to Everest Base Camp, they knew the journey would be difficult. What they didn't realize was how life-changing their time in the land of mountains would be.

From the chaos of Kathmandu's super-charged streets to the tranquil but challenging trails of the Himalayas, The Nepal Chronicles is a deeply felt exploration of the culture and history of one of the world's most complex places, and is a meditation on the author's own personal journey into a new family and relationship unlike any he's ever experienced" --Publisher's blurb

Dan Szczesny is a travel writer, hiker, and journalist living in New Hampshire.  When Dan's first book, The Adventures of Buffalo and Tough Cookie, came out he was interviewed on All Things Considered. If you think this book isn't for you because you aren't a hiker, check out this interview to see why you should read it anyway (as well as the threat yaks can pose  and why you should carry a pencil in the mountains).

Book of the Week #32

Claremont Boy: My New Hampshire Roots and the Gift of Memory by Joseph D. Steinfield (Peterborough, NH: Bauhan Publishing, 2014)

"In Claremont Boy, Joe Steinfield shares humorous, insightful, and often poignant recollections spanning more than half a century, recalling his New Hampshire childhood as well as his personal and professional adventures over the years. In this collection of short pieces, readers will meet immigrant grandparents and other relatives, influential public school teachers, personalities as diverse as Julia Child, a Hebrew-speaking Muslim from the Northern Caucasus Republic of Adygeya, Ozzy Osbourne, and a P.L.O. leader from Jericho in the West Bank.
Originally written over several years for the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript of Peterborough, New Hampshire, these essays are united by the author’s sense of irony and the unexpected. Whether writing about a caring neighbor, an encounter with governmental bureaucracy, or the surprise endings that often occur in life, Steinfield has taken his storytelling skills and used them to recount a life well lived." --Publisher's blurb

Steinfield will be at Gibson's on Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 7pm to talk about his book.