Friday, November 30, 2007

Fluke by Christopher Moore

Novel
This wonderful tale of a Hawaiian whale researcher has a witty twist. Nate Quinn cannot take in what he sees when identifying the whale he has been following all day. Through his camera lens he sees not the barnacles and scars usually found on the mammal's tail, but the words "bite me."
From then on his life takes irrational turns and it becomes questionable who is researching whom. For those who love Carl Hiaaasen or Tom Robbins.

Submitted by Linda
Dough by Mort Zachter


Memoir
Dough, a story of bread and money, examines life's ironic twists as Mort attempts to solve the mystery surrounding the substantial brokerage accounts left behind by bachelor uncles Harry and Joe who ran a day old bread store on Manhattan's Lower East Side. If the money was honestly made, why was it such a big secret? Why did Harry and Joe live like paupers while sitting on millions? Mort explores greed and forgiveness as he struggles to integrate his life's dreams with his sudden windfall.

Submitted by Max

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

History/Biography/Politics
An enormously (757 pages) worthwhile read. It felt like a privilege to read this well-researched study of the political genius of Abraham Lincoln made more obvious through fascinating side-trips into the lives of his cabinet members and their families. Goodwin seemed to have real insight into the personal motivations of Lincoln and what eventually made him such a great man for the ages.

Submitted by VGW

Friday, November 2, 2007

Eat Cake; Step-Ball Change by Jeanne Ray

Fiction
If you are in need of a light and funny read, you can't go wrong with Jeanne Ray. The above two books center on a middle-aged mother dealing with an entertaining but not overly intense family crisis. The stories of course include the usual cast of interesting and sometimes oddball
family members. These were quick reads that held my attention and made me laugh. A good alternative to an evening of bad television programming.

Submitted by Deb
The Journey Home by Olafur Johann Olafsson

Fiction
This book is a well written and moving story about a woman in the latter years of her life returning to the home of her youth in Iceland, having been away since she was a young woman. The story of her life is primarily revealed in flashbacks as she writes in her journal during her travel from her home in England back to Iceland. It is a moving and sensitively told story that genuinely reflects the female mind and perspective. This is especially wonderful and surprising, given that is it written by a male author.

Submitted by Deb
The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Fiction
Second only to Beloved in evoking the human reality of slavery without preaching or judging. Characters live and move about a plantation in Virginia owned by a black, slave-owning family.

Submitted by Barbara