Martha's Winter 2011-2012 Picks

Top Secret Stuff to Read.....

An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base. Annie Jacobsen. Non-Fiction.
All the CIA, FBI and Air Force info you might not really want to know! Area 51, being the famous site where the Roswell aliens are now supposedly stashed, is discussed in detail due to recent declassification of certain former top secret materials relating to the government site. Based on interviews and research of the the newly available materials, you will learn about the development of nuclear bombs and their testing as well as our own incredibly expensive spy planes (total titanium), leading up to today's drones which currently cruise the altitudes above various countries. Alas, the 60 million or so pages relating to the Roswell aliens remain classified. You will have to read to the end of the book to discover the author's theory about the actual identity of the aliens...achieved through personal interviews of a former employee. The Russians might be involved...A detailed and good read, if you really want to know the truth about certain governmental activities.
Want to read actual declassified top secret documents? You can go to http://www.foia.cia.gov/ and have a blast!

Film of related interest: "Fair Game". Inner workings of the CIA, as an agent has her cover blown and her husband tries to fight the government for her support....


Top Secret New England Stuff to Read...


Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, The Ivy League and Hidden Paths of Power. Alexandra Robbins. Non-Fiction.
"The Tomb" here is referring to the meeting place of the elusive Yale University club, the Skull and Bones. The "hidden paths of power" would refer to the high coincidence of Yale graduates who were, oddly, also members of this exclusive club, and, who, oddly, also became United States Presidents or who otherwise, oddly, have found rather high positions of authority in the political stratosphere of America. This book takes you through the developmental history of Yale University, from the initial conception of the college. Somewhat scary is the fact that Skull and Bones was there at the beginning and still continues to function. What you may not know is that several competitive secret societies exist on the campus, which have also produced a fair number of high-ranking officials. Women have rather recently been accepted into Skull and Bones.The author claims to have been a member of one of the "other clubs" and to "know people". Fascinating info about a very closed society, undoubtedly with many secrets, some of which you probably will not find in the book....


For the Francophiles...


Aristide Ravel Mysteries. Susanne Alleyn. Mysteries.

Easy-going mysteries set in pre-revolutionary France, with awesome Parisian historical detail. The books feature the character Aristide Ravel, writer turned semi-professional cop. Read about turn of the 18th century Free Masons, the monarchy, the Church, romance and more. "The Cavalier of the Apocalypse" (nothing at all apocalyptic about it), "Game of Patience" and "A Treasury of Regrets".




Madame Tussaud. Michelle Moran. Fiction.

Very well written fictionalized account of the famous Madame Tussaud wax museum and its "participation" in the French Revolution, 1789, Paris. The wax museum acted as a "three dimensional newspaper:", depicting current events and people in waxen form. A very gripping account of the King and Queen, Marie Antoinette and Louis the 16th. life at Versailles and "the Terror", as known by Parisian citizens at the time of their overthrow. Also, colorful portraits of the political characters involved in history at the time, many of whom "visited" the Tussaud's salons. The guillotine is alive and well in this book and gives one pause to think about the path to freedom and democracy, as the French did model their government on aspects of America's preliminary government.


Vampires Strike Again...


The Night Eternal. Guillermo Del Torro/Chuck Hogan. Fiction.

At last the third and final installment to the Vampire series!
Global apocalypse and takeover by the Vampires...David vs. Goliath....suspense, drama, a race to the end....and then Resolution! A must read if you have started the Strain Trilogy! (The Strain, The Fall)
See Del Torro films...always creative, touching and unusual. My favs: "Pan's Labyrinth", "El Espinazo del Diablo" (The Devil's Backbone" - do not be dissuaded by the cover picture of a gross ghost...it is a ghost story, but is quite wonderful), Hellboy I and II!


Comedic Relief...


How to be a Wild, Wise, Witty Woman. Loretta LaRoche. Humor.
Way to brighten a dreary day! Listen to her in the car for hysterical, practical advice, full of optimism. Aimed towards women, but men will also get a chuckle from some excerpts!









Fashion Suicides:The highs and lows of the Fashion Industry....


Savage Beauty. Andrew Bolton. Exhibition catalog.

Upon the death of fashion designer, Alexander McQueen (suicide) last year, there was a retrospective show of his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City called "Savage Beauty. You can get the catalog book of the museum pieces, also called "Savage Beauty", see the fantastic range of his work and get a glimpse into his personal and professional life. The book also has a very cool cover - changing from skull to portrait of the artist. You can also go to Youtube and see live footage of his fashion shows...those shoes...yikes!
A friend of McQueen's and yet another fashion suicide...


Blow by Blow: The Story of Isabella Blow. Detmar Blow (husband). Biography.

Short, sad and very readable. Isabella Blow was involved in the initial success of Alexander McQueen, a proponent/advocate of the newest fashion talents... only to be used and forgotten in the end....involves the fashion business and aspects of the titled English aristocracy.




L'Amour Fou. Directed by Pierre Thoretton. Documentary.

The life of designer Yves St. Laurent, as told by his partner Pierre Thoretton.
Tragic and dramatic, just like his fashion collections. Very tastefully done documentary outlining Yves St. Laurent's fashion career, his descent into addiction and oddity, and his over-the top, unbelievable collection of art, recently auctioned off for zillions of dollars. True fashion trauma at its best, so engaging and so "triste" (sad), as one would say in French. Film in French with English subtitles.
P.S. Yves St. Laurent was not a suicide, he died of brain cancer.


Swedish Horror...


Let the Right One In. John Ajvide Lindqvist. Fiction.

Wow, Swedish creep at its' best! Author John Ajvide Lindqvist has successfully combined the elements of human depravity with a vampire twist in "Let the Right One In". An international best-seller, I can understand why. Eerie, believable, but unbelievable, read it if you enjoy horror once in a while (and don't turn off the lights!). Also see the movie (after the book) "Let Me In"...interesting visual interpretation of the text. Lindqvist has also written other books, among which I tried "Handling the Undead"- more mundane horror, but entertaining.


CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)...


The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science. Douglas Star. Non-fiction.

This was a truly fascinating book detailing the activities of the original crime scene investigators, in France, who diligently worked to create the profiling and testing that we now see weekly on crime investigation programs such as CSI and Criminal Minds on television. Though the title is a bit disturbing, essentially it refers to the tracking of a serial killer in the 1800's, upon whom much testing was later done to establish the parameters of "what makes a criminal a criminal". Everything from physical diagnostics to mental and social issues are graphically brought to light - questions of what does or does not constitute criminal insanity are discussed...forget the title, read the book!


On the lighter side...


Cat Mysteries Series. Lilian Jackson Braun. Fiction.

My father and I both picked up a Lilian Braun cat mystery at the same time, unknowingly - we both enjoyed the light, easy read. I started with "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern" and my Dad with "The Cat Who Said Cheese".



I was curious about the author, as she has so many books on the library shelf, and I do like cats. My Dad has since gone to complete the reading of 26-27 of the books ! According to my Dad, the "cats helped solve a murder mystery by their actions and reactions, as if they knew more than the people". I, too, found this charming and intriguing. "Each chapter covers small town activity and a piece of the mystery...", says Dad, which, I would say, makes for a very pleasant afternoon read...though I might never catch up to Dad's 27 books!

Denise's Winter Picks

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Juvenile Fiction.

Emotionally intense wonderful story.

"Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better. Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope." - amazon.com


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Young Adult Fiction.

Fast-paced and emotionally intense.

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed." - amazon.com


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer. Fiction.

Emotionally intense. A wonderful book.

"Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey."-amazon.com.


The Cellist of Saravejo by Steven Galloway. Fiction.

Emotionally intense.

"In a city ravaged by war, a musician plays his cello for twenty-two days at the site of a mortar attack, in memory of the fallen. Among the strangers drawn into the orbit of his music are a young father in search of water for his family, an older man in search of the humanity he once knew, and a young woman, a sniper, who will decide the fate of the cellist?and the kind of person she wants to be." -amazon.com


The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Fiction.

Very slow. I gave in at 250 pages.

"At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.
Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment--to oneself and to others." - amazon.com


The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry. Mystery.

"His name, they tell him, is William Monk, and he is a London police detecive. But the accident that felled him has left him with only half a life; his memory and his entire past have vanished. As he tries to hide the truth, Monk returns to work and is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of a Crimean War hero and man about town. Which makes Monk's efforts doubly difficult, since he's forgotten his professional skills along with everything else....." - Kirkus Reviews



The Honeybee Democracy by Thomas Seeley. Non-Fiction.

Informative and intriguing.

"Honeybees make decisions collectively--and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making.

A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees.

In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution.

An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them." - amazon.com


Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai. Juvenile Fiction.

"Fadi never imagined he'd start middle school in Fremont, California, thousands of miles away from home in Kabul. But, here he was, half a world apart from his missing six year old sister who'd been lost because of him, as they'd fled Afghanistan. Adjusting to life in the United States isn't easy for Fadi's family and as the events of September 11th unfold, the prospects of locating Mariam in a war torn Afghanistan seem slim -- impossible. Desperate, Fadi tries every hare-brained scheme he can think of to find her. When a photography competition with a grand prize trip to India is announced, Fadi sees his chance to return to Afghanistan and find his sister. But can one photo really bring Mariam home?

Based in part on Ms. Senzai's husband's experience fleeing Soviet controlled Afghanistan in 1979, Shooting Kabul is a powerful story of hope, love, and perseverance." - amazon.com

The Great Cheese Conspiracy by Jean Van Leeuwen. Juvenile Fiction.

"Fed up with the slim pickings in their movie-theater home, Merciless Marvin the Magnificent and his mouse gang decide to hit the big time and pull a heist of such magnitude even Humphrey Bogart would be proud. The Target: a cheese store." - amazon.com

Denise's Picks

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. Fiction.

Fast paced and emotionally intense.

"When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.

Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail."- amazon.com


A Day in the life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela. Non-Fiction.

Informative and illuminating.

"The roar of frenzied spectators inside the Coliseum during a battle between gladiators. A crowd of onlookers gathered around a slave driver. The wondrous plenty of banquets where flamingos are roasted whole and wine flows like rivers. The silence of the baths and the boisterous taverns . . . Many books have dealt with the history of ancient Rome, but none has been able to bring its readers so near to daily life in the Imperial capital." - amazon.com


Sister by Rosamund Lupton. Mystery.

"When her mom calls to tell her that Tess, her younger sister, is missing, Bee returns home to London on the first flight. She expects to find Tess and give her the usual lecture, the bossy big sister scolding her flighty baby sister for taking off without letting anyone know her plans. Tess has always been a free spirit, an artist who takes risks, while conservative Bee couldn’t be more different. Bee is used to watching out for her wayward sibling and is fiercely protective of Tess (and has always been a little stern about her antics). But then Tess is found dead, apparently by her own hand."- amazon.com


The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. Fiction.

Denise loved this!

"The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for cooking class. It soon becomes clear, however, that each one seeks a recipe for something beyond the kitchen. Students include Claire, a young mother struggling with the demands of her family; Antonia, an Italian kitchen designer learning to adapt to life in America; and Tom, a widower mourning the loss of his wife to breast cancer. Chef Lillian, a woman whose connection with food is both soulful and exacting, helps them to create dishes whose flavor and techniques expand beyond the restaurant and into the secret corners of her students’ lives. One by one the students are transformed by the aromas, flavors, and textures of Lillian’s food, including a white-on-white cake that prompts wistful reflections on the sweet fragility of love and a peppery heirloom tomato sauce that seems to spark one romance but end another. Brought together by the power of food and companionship, the lives of the characters mingle and intertwine, united by the revealing nature of what can be created in the kitchen." -amazon.com



Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister. Fiction.

Another great read by the author of "The School of Essential Ingredients."

"At an intimate, festive dinner party in Seattle, six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them. To celebrate her new lease on life, she'll do the one thing that's always terrified her: white-water rafting. But if she goes, all of them will also do something they always swore they'd never do-and Kate is going to choose their adventures.

Shimmering with warmth, wit, and insight, Joy for Beginners is a celebration of life: unexpected, lyrical, and deeply satisfying." -amazon.com

Fall Picks

Marcie's Pick

Stitches by David Small. Graphic Novel.

Graphic novels aren't just for kids! This is an emotionally intense, intriguing autobiographical novel for adults.

Denise's Picks

Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham. Juvenile Fiction.

When his best friend disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, thirteen-year-old Theo uses his legal knowledge and investigative skills to chase down the truth and save April.

This is a fast-paced story, introducing a new Grisham hero to kids.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler. Mystery Fiction.

In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.

It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.- amazon.com

This is an emotionally intense, faced-paced, intriguing thriller!

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Fiction.

A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh journeys into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years--a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past.

A provacative, ambitious, and thrilling novel set in the Amazon jungle.

The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey. Fiction.

A beautifully written, unforgettable novel of a troubled marriage, set against the lush landscape and political turmoil of Trinidad.

Monique Roffey's Orange Prize-shortlisted novel is a gripping portrait of postcolonialism that stands among great works by Caribbean writers like Jamaica Kincaid and Andrea Levy.

When George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad from England, George is immediately seduced by the beguiling island, while Sabine feels isolated, heat-fatigued, and ill-at-ease. As they adapt to new circumstances, their marriage endures for better or worse, despite growing political unrest and racial tensions that affect their daily lives. But when George finds a cache of letters that Sabine has hidden from him, the discovery sets off a devastating series of consequences as other secrets begin to emerge.

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. Fiction.

A love story between two people from an institution, set during the 1960's.

Martha's Spring/Summer 2011 Picks

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. Psychological Fiction.

Artists, compulsion and mental illness..the author has done an amazing job of intertwining the lives of three artists, both modern and historical, and covering several centuries. The story hinges on the degrading mental state of a modern day artist, finally confined to an institute. His doctor seeks to find the source of his compulsive paintings...which leads the reader on a whirlwind tour through art schools, Europe and elsewhere to solve the mystery - compelling, intelligent and an insider's view into the minds of working artists.


The Terror by Dan Simmons. Fiction.

Wow! My pick of the decade! "The Terror", while actually the name of a ship, is also aptly titled for the style of the book - The H.M.S. Terror and her companion ship the Erebus, are off on an Arctic exploratory expedition to find the Northwest passage in the 1840's. They are trapped on the ice for three years....The book is laced with historical fact and made doubly entertaining by the vivid descriptions of the crew's physical and psychological descent into, basically, a frozen hell. While I have never been enamored of "maritime" literature, I found myself completely terrorized and totally gripped by each page as the story unfolded. The addition of some Eskimo folkloric devices seemed almost unnecessary, but they do add a mystical sense to the already frightening realism of "The Terror".


Spellbound: Inside West Africa's Witch Camps by Karen Palmer. Non-Fiction.

A man throws a chicken..it lands face down..the woman is found guilty of being a witch. The chicken lands face-up, she is found not guilty and can remain with her family. This is not a historical account of the treatment of women in West Africa, it is happening today. If you need a good reminder of the freedoms women enjoy in the developed world, this book will provide it. The author goes to Ghana and gives a first-hand account of what she hears and witnesses concerning the very active witch camps in West Africa, where magic still invades the modern world.

The Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child mystery series have captivated me for several weeks now....It all started with:
The Reliquary (sequel to The Relic). The scenario involves a series of gruesome murders and rumors of human mutations, all taking place in the abandoned tunnels underneath New York City. Through reading this book, I became familiar with the characters that reappear, comfortingly, in numerous related books in the series. The educated FBI Agent Pendergast, Nora, the Museum of Natural History curator, Bill Smithback, the NY Times reporter, D'Agosta the NYPD cop, and others. I loved the setting in NYC and the great mix of fact, fiction, suspense and mystery.


As a result of this first book, I read the non-fiction book "The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City", by Jennifer Toth. Equally as fascinating as the fiction, the author has interviewed and spent time with the various "levels" of humans currently inhabiting the tunnels under New York City. It would
appear that whole villages, with a sort of governmental policy are actually functioning underground in New York. Eye-opening and a little sad and scary.

Well, I didn't stop at just one of these books - I have probably read through 9 of them now! Like a good addictive television show, each book provides a very unique and creative murder/mystery to solve, often in the environs of the New York Museum of Natural History, NYC in general, or in Europe.

These books do not need to be read in order, they stand alone, although there is some overlap of characters and story line. At times, the story line can be a bit far-fetched, but I forgive this as it also adds to the creativity and general entertainment of the series. Some examples:


"The Cabinet of Curiosities"- Bizarre surgical murders and the original natural history museums, often called"cabinets of curiosities".

"Dance of Death" - A diamond heist at the Museum of Natural History, Pendergast's diabolical brother, action-packed.

"Book of the Dead" - Egyptian mummy curse at the Museum of Natural History, psychotic behavior.

"Brimstone" - Mysterious cases of instant human conflagration, a missing Stradivarius violin, Italy.

"The Wheel of Darkness"- A stolen Tibetan mandala and murders on a cruise ship.

"Cemetery Dance" - Zombies and cults in NYC.

"Riptide"- Buried treasure and a mysterious illness.


One for the road...


"High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly", by Donald Spoto.

I enjoyed listening to this book in the car. Not only did I learn a lot about the life of Grace Kelly, but the book is also full of informative detail about Hollywood, Hitchcock and the movie industry of the 1950's and 1960's. The narration by George K. Wilson was expertly done.


Armed with my new knowledge of Grace Kelly, I then had a film fest of some of her movies, all very good, with great costumes. Here are the movies I watched, though there are a few others:

High Society(musical, set in Newport. RI),

High Noon (western),







Rear Window (Hitchcock),








The Country Girl (she won an award for this one), and









To Catch a Thief (Hitchcock)

Pat's Picks

Ken Follet : World Without End, Pillars of the Earth and Eye of the Needle.

Great historical fiction and social history.






Sandra Brown : Tough Customer.

Detective stories...cops and ex-cops.....

Martha's Fall/Winter Picks

Just Kids by Patti Smith. Autobiography/Biography.

Patti Smith, poet and musician, traces her growth as an artist in tandem with her relationship with the famous/infamous photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. The book provides a great glimpse into the New York art and music scene of the 60's, 70's and 80's. For those, like me, who are familiar with the lore concerning the people and places mentioned, such as Max's Kansas City and the Chelsea Hotel, the tale can take you on a romp down your own memory lane. Smith's own story is interesting on its' own, but further developed by her intertwining details about the fated life of her companion, Robert Mapplethorpe.


Life by Keith Richards. Autobiography.

At last, the truth about Keith Richards, in his own words! While a life of "drugs and rock'n roll" is accurately described by Mr. Richards, for the curious, I felt that the major contribution of this book was the incredible amount of musical history that is described on first-hand account, dating from the era when the Rolling Stones were competing for stage space with the Beatles. Musical technology, style and influences are described in detail by the man himself. Legends about Brian Jones, Mick Jagger and Keith's wife Anita are addressed in a tasteful and fair manner. Enjoy the tour!


The Case for Books: Past, Present and Future by Robert Darnton, Head of Harvard University Libraries. Non-Fiction.

This is a small and eminently readable book, for all those who love the printed word. In my brief encounter with this book, I learned a lot about the history of printing and the act of reading, and was led through thoughtful discussions about the future of books and libraries, as they confront the constantly emerging world of digitization. While some of us worry about the future loss of our "physical libraries" to the virtual universe, Mr. Darnton puts forth an excellent case for their preservation.


The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. Fiction/Horror

The second book in a vampire trilogy...it's the end of the world, nuclear explosions abound, the vampires have taken over and will the child be saved? I found this to be good "entertainment" reading, and it's easy to get "involved" with the characters - I have no choice but to wait for the the third book to be published to get the answers...Eternal Night.


Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
and Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain. Non-Fiction.

This was my first foray into the world of "foodies", and I found the Kitchen Confidential book to be fascinating and somewhat addictive to read, though I have neither a background nor a future in the restaurant business! High anxiety and shenanigans behind the scenes at various restaurant settings are related in an amusing and sometimes advisory style. I will never look at my restaurant meal the same way again, after having read this book. While Kitchen Confidential was published in 2000, Medium Raw could be considered a follow-up, ten years later. While there were bits and pieces of great food trivia and gossip in Medium Raw, I would forewarn the reader of excessive foul language. While I rather more enjoyed Kitchen Confidential, I would still suggest Medium Raw to the true "foodies" out there, as Anthony Bourdain is a bottomless pit of cooking knowledge and experience - both his own and that of others in the profession. If you are really going to go on an Anthony Bourdain binge, you can try out some of his recipes from "Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking"!


Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King. Fiction/Horror

Stephen King writes again! A collection of four rather harrowing stories, depicting various aspects of the darker side of human nature. I really enjoyed the creative quality of the plots in this collection, and found it to be a fast and easy read and somewhat thought-provoking- the stories make you wonder what you would do in these tricky moral situations. Kudos to King!


Heart-Shaped Box and Horns by Joe Hill. Fiction/Horror.

I came across Joe Hill while working amongst the fiction stacks...while at first I was a bit leery due to what I consider somewhat far-fetched plots, I came to love the very clever and creative style this author has of weaving a fantastical story with a strong moral foundation. While Horns actually involves a young man growing horns and reading people's minds and Heart-Shaped Box concerns a ghost bought over the internet who follows the main characters around in a blue pick-up truck, I quickly became enamored of the characters and it was a race to the conclusion. Good, fun reads, both books!