Author Archives: Emily

About Emily

Emily Wichman is the Branch Supervisor at the Milford-Miami Township Branch of Clermont County Public Library.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt

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Scrapbook of Frankie PrattIn the mood to read something totally different?  Then you might try The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston.  Billed as “a novel in pictures,” you’ll find yourself reading Frankie’s scrapbook as you make your way through full-color pages overflowing with vintage memorabilia.  By way of photographs, advertisements, newspaper articles, handwritten notes, maps, cards, souvenirs, and even locks of hair, the reader follows along with Frankie’s early exploits.

The reader first meets Frankie in 1920 as she wraps up her senior year of high school in Cornish, New Hampshire.  Eager for adventure and dreaming of becoming a writer, Frankie heads off to Vassar College, followed by a year long stint in Greenwich Village.  Fleeing a great disappointment and pushing ahead in her pursuit of new experiences, Frankie departs to Paris before bad news draws her back to New Hampshire.  A series of romances, college hijinks, an inspirational meeting with a famous poet, a job writing for a tabloid, trans-Atlantic shipboard adventures with two bedraggled Russian princes, and a stay as a boarder at Paris’s Shakespeare & Company, make for interesting stops along Frankie’s circuitous route into adulthood.

Author Caroline Preston has worked as an archivist at the Peabody/Essex Museum and Harvard University, and has spent a lifetime collecting scrapbooks and ephemera.   At her website you can read about how she created this unique book, which looks to be the first in a series of scrapbook novels.  When I first heard about The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt at the American Library Association conference this past summer, it was described as “American Girls for adults.”  I think that description is spot on.  If you’re looking for a quick read, or if you’re a sucker for all things vintage, then set aside an afternoon to check out Frankie’s story.

Mystery Movie Night

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This week TNT launches its new Mystery Movie Night, a series of new movies based on bestselling books.  Watch the movies and then read the books – you might just discover a new favorite author!  Here’s the line up:

Scott Turow’s Innocent – Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m.

Sandra Brown’s Ricochet - Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m.

Lisa Gardner’s Hide - Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 9 p.m.

Richard North Patterson’s Silent Witness – Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 9 p.m.

April Smith’s Good Morning, Killer – Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 9 p.m.

Mary and Carol Higgins Clark’s Deck the Halls – Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m.

Fall Buzz Books

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IQ84Here are some of the new books getting a lot of attention this fall.  Have you read any of them or are you planning to?  What do you think?  Is the buzz warranted?

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami:  An ode to George Orwell’s “1984″ told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a mathematics lecturer and novice writer.

Blue Nights by Joan Didion:  Shares the author’s frank observations about her daughter as well as her own thoughts and fears about having children and growing old, in a personal account that discusses her daughter’s short life and her feelings of failure as a parent.

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie:  Presents a reconstruction of the eighteenth-century empress’s life that covers her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage, and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard:  A narrative account of President James Garfield’s political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment, and Alexander Graham Bell’s failed attempt to save him from an assassin’s bullet.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling:  The writer and actress best known as Kelly Kapoor on “The Office” shares observations on topics ranging from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process in the “Office” writers’ room.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem by James Carroll:  Traces the evolution of the belief that Jerusalem is the center of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious worlds and argues that this fixation is a main cause of the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn:   Includes practical, healthy tips that boost readers’ culinary self-confidence, and strategies to get the most from their grocery dollar, and simple recipes that get readers cooking.

Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga: Refusing to leave his home when a powerful real-estate developer offers to buy out the residents of a crumbling apartment complex near the infamous Dharavi slums, a retired schoolteacher becomes a target of violence by the developer and his own neighbors.

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier:  Named the guardian of her murdered sister’s troubled twins, Luce struggles to build a family with the children before being targeted by the twins’ father, her sister’s killer, who believes that the children are in possession of a stolen cache of money.

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire:  Glinda, former Throne Minister, held under house arrest by General Cherrystone, obtains the infamous Grimmerie, supposedly a volume of magical lore, coveted by Oz. Meanwhile, Lir’s daughter Rain begins her quest to discover her true identity and unravel the layers of political and personal secrets that have caused strife and division in Oz.

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco:  Follows the controversial nineteenth-century story of a European world where violence and occult practices shaping key historical events are commonly linked by a solitary evil genius.

Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean:  Chronicles the rise of the iconic German shepherd character while sharing the stories of the real WWI dog and the canine performer in the 1950s television show, and explores Rin Tin Tin’s relevance in the military and popular culture.

Then Again by Diane Keaton:  The award-winning actress documents her rise from an everyday girl to an acclaimed performer while exploring her defining relationship with her mother and how their shared and separate dreams influenced their experiences.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead:  In a post-apocalyptic world decimated by zombies, survivor efforts to rebuild are focused on Manhattan, where civilian team member Mark Spitz works to eliminate remaining infected stragglers and remembers his horrifying experiences at the height of the zombie plague.

 

 

 

Bag of Bones Coming to TV

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bag of bonesGet ready Stephen King fans!  King’s 1998 novel, Bag of Bones, is coming to the small screen on A&E.  The two part miniseries starts December 11 and stars Pierce Brosnan.  If you haven’t read the book, now’s the time to do so!  Add to your King fix by putting his newest novel on hold.  11/22/63 features a man who travels back in time to stop the assassination of JFK.  The new book will be released on November 8.

At Home in Nature

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letters from edenImagine that you’re kidnapped, knocked unconscious, and twelve hours later wake up alone in the forest.  Do you know enough about the natural world to be able to guess your general location?  Let’s make it easier and say that you know you’re in the United States.  Could you figure it out then?  If it turned out you were only 30 minutes from home, would you be able to recognize that as so?

This is a scenario I heard posed years ago, that has remained with me.  While far from being a nature expert, I like to think I’d at least be able to recognize the type of woods found in our region.  When I was a child, my mom would take me for nature walks and if I could identify ten different things by name, I would get a treat.  The number rose as I got older, yet remained an effective technique.

As an adult, much of my nonfiction reading revolves around travel, nature, and science topics.  The two books described below are by women who would definitely know where they were if dropped in the woods near their home, as both have incorporated a careful observation of their surroundings into their daily lives.

Letters from Eden: A Year at Home, in the Woods by Julie Zickefoose: Author, illustrator, and naturalist Julie Zickefoose lives on 80 acres in Ohio’s Appalachian region.  Arranged seasonally, Letters from Eden is a compilation of essays paired with gorgeous pencil and watercolor illustrations.  Delve in and get personal with songbirds, deer, turtles, snakes, turkeys, and a sparrow eating frog!

The Hidden Life of Deer: Lessons from the Natural World by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas: The failure of the year’s acorn crop, prompts author and anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas to begin feeding the white tale deer who live on her New Hampshire land. A year of careful observation of the local population follows, as Thomas seeks to understand the family structures, motivations, and survival strategies of the deer. In addition to an intimate look at the deer, the reader is also treated to stories of black bears, a massive rat, and a singing mouse.

 

Meet Your New Favorite Author!

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The library staff wants to help you find new authors to enjoy!  To help, we’ve created an extensive list of readalikes for the most popular authors among our adult, teen, and child patrons.  What’s a readalike, you ask?  A readalike is one author that is similar in writing style to another author.  For example, if you like Terri Blackstock, you might also enjoy reading Dee Henderson.  If your child is a fan of Matt Christopher, then he should give Mike Lupica a try.

Where to find these readalike lists?  You have two options!  Visit our Books, Music, Movies section of the website and follow the readalikes link.  Alternatively, in the branches, keep an eye out for our new shelftalkers.  Hanging from the shelves near your favorite authors, you’ll find little cards that provide readalikes.  Each card also has a QR code.  Scan the QR code with your smartphone and you’ll have the readalike list stored right there on your phone for easy reference.

What if we haven’t made a readalike list for your favorite author?  Come talk to our reference staff at the Information Desk; we’ll be happy to provide suggestions!  Also, check out the Novelist database, which is easy to navigate and offers a wealth of reading suggestions.

We hope to expand this project in the future.  If you have any feedback, please share it here in the comments section or with the staff at your local branch.

Goodbye Summer

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The fireworks are over, the kids are back to school, the first leaves are in the grass, and the thermostat read in the 40s this morning.  It’s time to say goodbye to summer.  Looking back on my summer reading, I see that I was all over the place in my genres.  Here are some of the books that stood out.

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff – Describes the 1945 odyssey of three plane crash survivors in New Guinea who endured a harrowing journey through the jungle to seek help, their encounter with a primitive tribe who had never seen white people, and their eventual rescue by a band of paratroopers.  I don’t usually go in for war stories, but after reading a previous book about New Guinea, I was intrigued and picked this one up.  It’s a fast, engaging read, especially for those who enjoy a good adventure story.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – Gossiping and sharing their personal secrets on e-mail in spite of their company’s online monitoring practices, Beth and Jennifer unwittingly amuse Internet security officer Lincoln, who unexpectedly falls for Beth while reading their correspondence.  There have been several e-mail/text message/blog based books in the past few years.  Is it a novel approach or a cute gimmick?  In this story, I thought the e-mails worked well, particularly since they aren’t the entire book.  Attachments is a fun opportunity to read romance from the guy’s perspective.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell - After the burned body of mixed-blood boy Johnnie Sanders is discovered in 1878 Dodge City, Kansas, part-time policeman Wyatt Earp enlists the help of his professional-gambler friend Doc Holliday.  This western, with a tinge of mystery, comes from book club favorite, Mary Doria Russell.  Her books are always well reviewed, though her settings are wide ranging.  Infused with extensive research into John Holliday’s life, Russell’s depiction of Doc’s humor is a particular treat.

State of Wonder – Ann Patchett – 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 missing researcher, a tribe of women who give birth into their 70s, and a journey into isolated regions shape this atmospheric novel.  A good choice for book clubs.

White Heat – M. J. McGrath – Investigating the murder of an adventurist under her watch, half-Inuit Arctic guide Edie Kiglatuk teams up with police sergeant Derek Palliser when she realizes that the victim’s tour group was searching for something specific.  Those curious about little known regions of the world will enjoying this immersion in the rarely written about high Arctic region of Canada.

Meet the Author: Jinny Powers Berten

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littsieJoin us at the Milford-Miami Township Branch on Tuesday, August 23 at 6:00PM to meet award winning local author Jinny Powers Berten.  A volunteer at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, her books include Littsie of Cincinnati and Littsie and the Underground Railroad.  Ms. Berten will speak about Cincinnati’s role in the Underground Railroad and how the Underground Railroad shaped Cincinnati.  According to Vanessa Seeger, Youth Services Librarian, “This will be a great opportunity to meet a local author who’s incorporated extensive local history research into her stories.”  While the Littsie books are targeted for readers aged 8-12, this event is for everyone.  It’s an excellent opportunity for homeschoolers, adults who like to read along with the children in their lives, and anyone interested in local history.

Who reads more? You or Art Garfunkel?

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Have you ever wondered what Art Garfunkel was reading in 1974?  Probably not, but you can find out on his website, where he maintains a list of every book he read between 1968 and 2009.

A frequent question here at the library is whether or not we can give patrons a list of books that they previously checked out. Unfortunately, at this time, the answer is no.  Once you’ve returned an item, assuming you don’t have an unpaid fine, we don’t keep a record of you having checked it out.  Ohio State law requires that your library records remain confidential, and this is one of the procedures in place to ensure that is so.

So, what is a reader to do?  If you are voracious in your habits, you probably have a hard time remembering what you have and haven’t read.  I can’t tell you how many times a patron has said something like, “I got through four chapters of this book before realizing I had already read it!”  There are too many good books out there and your reading time is too precious to waste.  If you’re not already, then it’s time to start keeping track of what you read.  Not only will it help boost your memory, but a reading log will make it easier to recommend books to friends and family, and allow you to reminisce about past reads.  After a few years of tracking your reading, you’ll find it interesting to go back and see what you were reading in the final year of college, or while pregnant, or on your Caribbean cruise.

More than ten years ago, I began tracking my reading by simply recording titles and authors in a notebook, breaking them down by month.  I’ve seen many patrons take a similar approach.  While I still maintain this paper list, as a backup I suppose, a few years ago I switched to a digital method.  There are a handful of different websites and apps that let you track your reading.  Two of the most popular are LibraryThing and Goodreads.  Both let you track the books you own, the books you’ve read, and the books you would like to read.  Both have social networking qualities that allow you to share book reviews, and meet other people reading the books you enjoy.  I use Goodreads because it has a nice interface, is entirely free, and has apps for both iPhone and Android.  If you’re new to the idea of maintaining a reading log, I urge you to try one of these sites.  Book titles become a jumble as the years go by, and it’ll be a lot easier to remember the details of books you read when you have cover art, your own ratings and reviews, and access to the commentary of others.

And in case you are wondering about 1974… Art kicked the year off with Georges Lefebvre’s The Coming of the French Revolution, and wrapped it up with Clive: Inside the Record Business by Clive Davis, with another sixteen books read in between.

Reading Louisiana

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green heronI was recently in Louisiana and it’s definitely a place with a lot of character.  We have lots of great books set in the state, so I though I’d share some with you.

Fiction Series

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson – The first book in Jackson’s New Orleans romantic suspense series featuring Detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya.  The story follows Dr. Samantha Leeds, a popular late-night radio host who is being stalked by an enigmatic serial killer and haunted by a woman from her past, as she joins forces with Detective Rick Bentz to find the psychopath who is determined to make Samantha pay for her sins with her life.

The Exiles by Gilbert Morris – This book starts Morris’ Creoles series of romantic, historical, Christian fiction.  Having tragically lost her parents, Chantel Fontaine journeys through the streets and swamps of nineteenth-century Louisiana in search of love and her missing baby sister.

Maid for Murder by Barbara Colley – This title kicks off Colley’s cozy mystery series.  After Jackson Dubuisson, a client of her housecleaning service, is found murdered in his study, Charlotte LaRue finds herself unwillingly drawn into the mystery when those who knew the victim insist on confiding in her.

The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke – Burke’s long running series featuring New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux, begins when he becomes involved in the case of a young prostitute whose body is found in a bayou.  Thrust into the world of drug lords and arms smugglers, Robicheaux must face down a subterreanean criminal world and come to terms with his own bruised heart in order to survive.

Chasing the Devil’s Tail by David Fulmer – This historical mystery series, with a heavy emphasis on music, is set in New Orleans’ Storyville.  Politician Tom Anderson hires Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr to investigate the deaths of several prostitutes, each of whom is found with a black rose.

French Quarter by Stella Cameron – Cameron’s steamy bayou romantic suspense series begins as Celina Payne is plunged into a nightmarish world when her boss, Errol Petrie, dies in a scandalous situation and Petrie’s business partner, Jack Charbonnet, is convinced that she is hiding something.  As they search for the truth, passion flares between them and an unimaginable evil threatens to destroy them both.

Phantom Evil by Heather Graham – Graham’s new Krew of Hunters paranormal series in set in New Orleans.  Heading a group of paranormal investigators for the government, Jackson Crow, part English, part Cheyenne, uses his link to the realm of spirits to help solve the mysterious death of a senator’s wife with the help of Angela Hawkins, a police officer with paranormal intuition.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris – Thanks to HBO’s True Blood, Harris’ southern vampire series is probably the best known on this list.  Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn’t date much because of her “disability” to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s the type of guy she’s waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too–he’s a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie’s coworkers is killed, she fears she’s next.

Nonfiction

Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum – The book explores New Orleans through the lives of nine characters over 40 years, bracketed by two epic hurricanes. It brings back to life the doomed city, its wondrous subcultures, and the rich and colorful lives that played themselves out within its borders.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers – In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, longtime New Orleans residents Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun are cast into an unthinkable struggle with forces beyond wind and water. In the days after the storm, Abdulrahman traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and helping those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared– arrested and accused of being an agent of al Qaeda.

Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life by Sean Payton – Details the author’s decision to become head coach for the devastated New Orleans Saints in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and how he led the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2009 and helped revitalize the city’s spirit.