Summertime often gives us the urge to peruse book lists on a quest to find that great beach, backyard or airplane book. Our librarians are always happy to suggest some books. You can also check out some media sources that have published summer reading lists:National Pubic Radio ; Los Angeles Times ; The (London) Times ; New York Magazine ; Wall Street Journal ; Chicago Tribune ; Harvard Book Store ; and Oprah’s Summer Reading List.
If you were uninformed, you might think T. C. Boyle’s latest novel, The Women was intentionally created to complement Nancy Horan’s novel, Loving Frank.
While not the case, I took a chance on this latest historical novel about Frank Lloyd Wright and was happy to find his love life ‘continues’ in The Women . Horan’s novel came out nearly two years ago and is still hugely popular—Boyle’s is new this year.*
Frank Lloyd Wright loved four women. Nancy Horan tells of his relationship with Mamah Borthwick Cheney and its tragic end. T. C. Boyle writes the story of all the women including Catherine Tobin, Maude Miriam Noel and Olgivanna Lazovich Milanoff. There’s little duplication between the books because Wright’s relationship with Cheney in The Women is not covered to the depth found in Horan’s book.
The Women is told as if written from translated notes by the grandson of Tadashi Sato, one of Wright’s apprentices. Don’t try to find him as I did among the real apprentices at the Taliesin Fellowship (which was Wright’s school of architecture in Spring Green, Wisconsin). He’s a fictional character. In an unusual style for a novel, Sato, the narrator inserts footnotes at the bottom of random pages. You can read the novel without the notes and enjoy the flow, but you’d be missing some of the historical aspects. The footnotes add dates and biographical information, as well as explain outside events affecting the story. While at least one reviewer described them as ‘distracting’, I enjoyed them as enhancement.
Enjoy too the rich vocabulary used by Boyle. Certainly it’s readable without a dictionary; many of the words are made evident by their context. But, I was rewarded with shades of meaning and visual imagery for the ones I looked up.
For readers who enjoyed Loving Frank and wanted more, The Women is perfect serendipity. That’s why I’m loving T. C. Boyle.
Donna, Reference/Genealogy Librarian
* (In the spirit of the style of the novel, I’m adding a footnote.) The manuscript for The Women was finished in 2007, but publication was delayed for a couple of reasons. The first was the publication of Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Publication was postponed again to avoid being lost in the drama of the 2008 presidential election.
On May 27, Alice Munro was announced as the winner of the international award from the Man Booker Prize. Several years ago, the library’s Contemporary Books Discussion Group read her short story collection, “Open Secrets.”
“Alice Munro is mostly known as a short story writer and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels,” observed the judging panel. “To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before.”
One of her short stories, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” was recently made into the movie, “Away From Her,” with Julie Christie. It tells the story of a college professor who loses his wife of 40 years to Alzheimer’s.
Beth, Reader’s Services
Our summer reading program for adults begins June 1 and runs through August 15. For every title you read, a librarian will stamp your player’s card and give you an entry form for the weekly prize drawings. Two names will be drawn each week. Read nine books to complete the contest and qualify for the grand prize drawing for a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Read five or more books to be entered into the second prize drawing for a $50 gift card to Borders. Like to listen to your books? Audiobooks are okay, too.
Don’t let your kids have all the fun this summer! Stop by the Reference Desk and join your own summer reading program!
Beth, Reader’s Services
“It’s not the dead that get to you in the end. It’s the people they leave behind.” So says Detective Superintendant Boyd, head of the Cold Case Unit of the Metropolitan Police in London. The library owns the first three seasons of this excellent BBC drama. The squad has three detectives, a forensic expert and a psychological profiler. The episodes of Waking the Dead are well written and cast. If you are a fan of shows like Law and Order, CSI, and Criminal Minds, I recommend this show.
I know- this blog is about reading but once in awhile we readers might like other avenues!
Beth, Reader’s Services
Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day. Much press is given to it. And rightly so. There are many of us who could do more to be less wasteful. Watching all the news coverage made me remember something that we did every year when I was in grade school in Nebraska. Does anyone else remember Arbor Day?
I was happy to see that the City of Wheaton’s Forestry Division and the Environmental Improvement Commission will join students from Washington Elementary School to celebrate Arbor Day on Friday, April 24, at 9:30 a.m. They will be planting a new tree for the school. If you remember doing this and recognize the name J. Sterling Morton, you might enjoy the website www.arborday.org. Here, you can plant a tree in memory of someone; identify that tree you pass by in the park; and plan your visit to the Arbor Day Farm Tree Adventure in Nebraska City, Nebraska!
If you would like to read a short biography on Morton or Denis Hayes, the man credited with organizing the first Earth Day in 1970, check out the library’s database, Biography Resource Center (Wheaton Public Library card required).
Beth, Reader’s Services
In February, I wrote that I had joined LibraryThing, an online community for readers where you can keep track of what you read and check out what others are reading. Today I came across a similar site called weRead. Here you can:
Beth, Reader’s Services
I wear one of those t-shirts with the slogan “English Major: You do the Math.” Usually I get my Physics from “Star Trek” or “Doctor Who.” So I appreciate a physicist like Steven Weinberg, who explains concepts in physics for a layperson like me, without using equations. Essays by Weinberg on the Origin of the Universe and Beautiful Theories, excerpted from “The First Three Minutes” and “Dreams of a Final Theory,” will provide matter for the April 8 Great Books discussion. How can physicists know what happened at the beginning of the universe? Will the universe go on expanding until it all goes cold and dead, or will it eventually contract back into a dead-hot singularity? Why would one or the other of these theories be more philosophically pleasing? How can a theory be called “beautiful”? We’ll have fun talking about these and other questions, because our Great Books group always loves readings in Physics. In 2004 the group enjoyed learning about String Theory from Brian Greene’s “Elegant Universe.” We even tackled Einstein’s “Relativity.” I found it surprisingly readable. Just don’t ask me to explain it to you.
-Bev, Great Books Coordinator
Would you like to join Great Books? Check it out!
In a recent posting by Foyle’s, a bookstore in London, I read that they were participating in a new campaign called “Slow Down London.” It kicks off on April 24 and encourages Londoners to slow down and take time to enjoy their lives. Nothing new about this philosophy but something about the suggested ideas and the graphics caught my eye. Because I have a fear of the copyright police, I’m not using the very eye-catching campaign logo in this blog but do check it out! It’s clever!
Among the many suggestions offered, I would promote reading a book. And I don’t mean listening to the audio version of a book - sit down with an actual book. Sometimes when I listen to a book, I’m doing something else - dusting or writing cards.
Last month I read “Consequences” by Penelope Lively for our March book discussion meeting. This would be an excellent book for you to slow down and read! It covers about 70 years of London history starting at pre-World War II as seen through the lives of three generations of women. The author’s style of writing, and themes of “what if” and the role of history in shaping us, led to a great discussion.
Take time to catch up on that series you meant to read. “Among the Mad” is Jacqueline Winspear’s newest entry in her excellent Maisie Dobbs mystery series. “Maisie Dobbs” is the first title. We did this title also in our book discussion group and many of us have followed the series.
Beth, Reader’s Services
And hopefully, one link will lead to an enjoyable read! I subscribe online to a number of library and book-related newsletters. Each one is filled with links that, if you decide to follow, may lead you many miles away. Sometimes I find something useful for work and sometimes I come across a book recommendation that proves fruitful (meaning that I enjoyed it and was able to recommend it to other readers).
The Reference and Users Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, recently published its list of notable books for the year. Since 1944, it has annually provided readers “with a list of 25 very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader.”
Last summer, our Computer Services librarian, Eileen, blogged here about LibraryThing. You create a profile and you can start a catalog of books you have read or want to read, you can write reviews, and you can share books with other readers. Well, I finally got around to it! I have started an online catalog of the books I have recently read. Check out my profile and catalog on LibraryThing.
I hope you’re reading something enjoyable right now! And if not, maybe one of the titles in the RUSA list will grab you this week!
Beth, Reader’s Services