Passings of 2016

Here is a listing of writers who passed away during 2016.

Richard Adams was a British novelist best known for Watership Down, a novel that developed from stories that Adams would tell his daughters when they were children. He wrote in the fantasy genre, for both adults and children; his novels often were told from the perspective of animals. Some of his other works include Shardik and The Plague Dogs.

Pat Conroy wrote novels about life in the southern United States. His fiction included Beach Music, The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides. He also wrote the memoir My Losing Season, about how basketball influenced his life, and A Lowcountry Life: Reflections on a Writing Life, a collection of his letters, interviews, and magazine articles.

Umberto Eco was an Italian novelist, literary critic, and university professor. His most famous works were the novels The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum, and The Island of the Day Before. He also wrote academic textbooks, children’s books, and essays.

Carrie Fisher, an actress whose most recognized film role was that of Princess Leia in the Star Wars series also was the author of several books, including Postcards from the Edge, Wishful Drinking, and most recently The Princess Diarist. She also worked as a “script doctor” in the film industry.

W.P. Kinsella was a Canadian novelist and short story writer whose most famous work was the novel Shoeless Joe, on which the film Field of Dreams was based. His other written works mainly dealt with two separate themes: baseball and life on the Canadian Indian reservations.

Harper Lee was an American novelist best known for the book To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic about attitudes about race and class held by members of society in the 1930s Deep South. It has been read by generations of American students. Lee never published another work until 2015 when a manuscript written earlier was discovered and published as Go Set a Watchman.

Gloria Naylor was an American writer born in New York City. She obtained a Master’s degree in African American literature at Yale University. Her first novel, The Women of Brewster Place, won a 1983 National Book Award. Naylor also worked as a professor of writing and African American literature at several universities.

Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born American Jewish writer, coming to the United States as a Holocaust survivor. As well as writing 57 books, Wiesel was a professor, political activist and Nobel Laureate. His most famous book was Night, an account of his experiences as a prisoner of the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.

The Girls of Atomic City: the Untold Story of the Women who Helped Win World War II

           Written by journalist Denise Kiernan, this is the story of the beginning of the atomic warfare era and the women who helped make it happen. Beginning in the 1930s, the idea of atomic energy began to develop within the international scientific community. Then with the advent of World War II and its horrific cost to human life, the United States government decided to achieve the development of atomic warfare, before the enemy did. They established several worksites to conduct this mammoth project; the largest one located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee is the one that Kiernan examines.

            Using in-depth interviews of some of the surviving workers, along with historic documents, news articles, and other sources, Kiernan describes how this project influenced such sociological trends as working women, segregation of the races, mingling of the sexes, and the rapid development of a community. This mix of history and memoir is both informative and enjoyable to read. Historic photos of the worksite accompany the text.

Holiday Mysteries -- Part Two

Are you ready for some more holiday mayhem? Here it is.

            Christmas Caramel Murder, the latest in a series written by Joanne Fluke, finds protagonist Hannah preparing for the town’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. She also is supporting her friend, Lisa, who is implicated in the murder of her husband’s ex-girlfriend. The book features more than 20 holiday-themed recipes.

            In Smoke and Mirrors, written by Elly Griffiths, DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto hunt for a killer during Brighton’s holiday season. Two children were gruesomely murdered at a crime scene resembling that of the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel”.

            Fields Where They Lay: a Junior Bender Holiday Mystery is written by Timothy Hallinan. It features Junior, who has been hired by a murderous Russian gangster to look into a rampant shoplifting problem at the Edgerton Mall. He also uncovers two murders.

            Eggnog Murder presents three holiday-themed mysteries by three popular authors. The title mystery, written by Leslie Meier, is one in which a gift-wrapped bottle of eggnog proves to be a killer concoction for a Tinkers Cove local, leading Lucy Stone to seek out the murdering mixologist.

            Wishes for Christmas, written by Fern Michaels, is a crossover holiday story featuring favorite characters from both the Sisterhood and Godmothers series. In it, Maggie is preparing a tribute to a beloved teacher while Toots investigates a mystery surrounding a designer from an exclusive Charleston firm. 

            In A Christmas Escape: a Novel, written by Anne Perry, widower James Latterly seeks comfort in his loneliness in a small Mediterranean hotel during the holiday season where he is introduced to the island’s beauty by an orphaned teen. Then a violent murder takes place.

 A Christmas Message: a Novel is also written by Anne Perry. While on a once in a lifetime trip to Jerusalem for the Christmas holiday, Victor and Vespasia Narraway meet a fellow traveler who soon is murdered over a torn piece of ancient parchment. The Narraways risk their lives to complete the man’s mission.

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas is written by David Rosenfelt. Here, Andy Carpenter defends a friend who has been reported by a cranky neighbor for fostering homeless puppies during the holiday season. Then more trouble is thrust upon him when the neighbor is found murdered. 

Holiday Mysteries

            Crime never takes a holiday, even at Christmas. To prove this theory, here are some recently published holiday mysteries.

            The Bark before Christmas, written by Laurien Berenson, introduces us to Melanie Travis who is returning to her old job at a posh private school where she hopes to make the Christmas Bazaar its biggest success ever. Then a prize show dog disappears, and Santa Claus is found dead. This isn’t what’s supposed to happen at Christmas!

            Away in a Manger, written by Rhys Bowen, features Molly Murphy who steps in on behalf of two young beggars who are severely mistreated by their aunt when one is accused of stealing a purse. Molly’s investigation into the children’s background uncovers a disreputable aspect of New York upper class society.

            Deck the Hallways is written by Kate Carlisle. Contractor Shannon Hammer is trying to transform a Victorian mansion into apartments for homeless families in time for Christmas. Her work is interrupted when her father is accused of murdering a miserly bank president. Shannon must find the real killer before it’s too late.

            Harbour Street is written by Ann Cleeves. When Vera Stanhope and Joe Ashworth discover the murdered body of a woman on the metro during Christmas, they begin a search near the victim’s home. They then discover some secrets around the neighborhood and a second murder.

            Ornaments of Death, written by Jane K. Cleland, is the story about Josie who meets her charismatic distant relative Ian during the holiday season in Rocky Point. Suddenly Ian disappears! And so do two priceless seventeenth-century miniature portraits in his possession.

            Dying for Christmas, a thriller written by Tammy Cohen, features Jessica Gould, whose date with the charming Dominic leads to a horrifying Christmas celebration. Jessica is held captive by him, forced to wear his missing wife’s clothes, and open her gifts. Will he murder her or will Jessica’s secret help her stay alive?

            Purebred Dead, written by Kathleen Delaney, features heroine Mary McGill whose discovery of a bloodstained corpse and a cowering dog in a manger at Santa Louisa’s Christmas pageant leads her to investigate.

            Mystery in White: a Christmas Crime Story was originally written in the 1930s by J. Jefferson Farjeon. In this classic, a train breaks down and the passengers take shelter in a deserted country house. Then a murderer strikes.

Afternoon Book Discussions: January through June 2017

            Join us for our afternoon book discussions, held on the third Wednesday each month, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Here is what is scheduled for the first half of 2017.

            My Beloved World is written by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic American Supreme Court Justice. She shares the story of her life before becoming a judge, describing her youth in a Bronx housing project, the ambition that fueled her Ivy League education, and the individuals who helped shape her career. The discussion takes place on January 18^th.

            Girl Waits with Gun, a novel, is written by Amy Stewart. Living in virtual isolation years after the revelation of a painful family secret, Constance Kopp is terrorized by a belligerent silk factory owner and fight back in ways outside the norm for early twentieth-century women. The discussion takes place on February 15^th.

            Mountains beyond Mountains is written by Tracy Kidder; it is a portrait of infectious disease expert Dr. Paul Farmer, following the efforts of this unconventional Harvard genius to understand the world’s great health, economic, and social problems and to bring healing to humankind. The discussion takes place on March 15^th.

            Circling the Sun: a Novel is written by Paula McLain. It is about aviator Beryl Markham, who was raised by her father and the Kipsigis tribe in 1920s Kenya. Beryl endures painful losses before entering a passionate love triangle and discovering her unconventional true calling. The discussion takes place on April 19^th.

            Nora Webster: a Novel, is written by Colm Toibin. Struggling with grief and financial hardships after the death of her beloved husband, widow Nora Webster struggles to support her four children and clings to secrecy in the intrusive community of her childhood before finding her voice. The discussion takes place on May 17^th.

            The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is written by Rebecca Skloot. It documents the story of how scientists took cells from an unsuspecting descendant of freed slaves and created a human cell line that has been kept alive indefinitely, enabling discoveries in such areas as cancer research, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. The discussion takes place on June 21^st.

            

Dogs

            Dogs and humans have lived and worked together for thousands of years. Because of our interest in our canine friends, many books have been written about them. Here are a few new ones.

            Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell, is written by Alexandra Horowitz, a leading researcher in dog cognition who also has written Inside of a Dog, As we already know, dogs gather most of their information about the world through their noses; they have hundreds of millions of olfactory receptor cells in comparison to humans’ mere six million. Horowitz describes the many ways humans can train dogs to help us identify various substances, upcoming weather, upcoming earthquakes, and more. The book is both informative and fun to read.    

            Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home, written by Pauls Toutonghi, is the story about Gonker, a six-year-old Golden Retriever mix who bounded away while hiking with his owner Fielding Marshall on the Appalachian Trail. Since Gonker has Addison’s disease it is imperative that he be found within twenty-three days or he will die. Fielding, his parents and his sister go into overdrive searching for him and publicizing his disappearance on the media. This is a heartwarming story with a positive ending.

            Lucky Dog Lessons: Train Your Dog in 7 Days, is written by Brandon McMillan, the well-known animal trainer who hosts the television shows Lucky Dog and Shark Week. Simple instructions and black-and-white photos provide the reader with a guide to teaching your dog the seven common commands: sit, stay, down, come, off, heel, and no. Problems with housetraining, door dashing, chewing, barking, digging, and mealtime also are covered.

            Every Dog: The Ultimate Guide to Over 450 Dog Breeds is written by Nancy Hajeski. The book is divided into chapters encompassing the various types of dogs - i.e. scent hounds, terriers, guarding dogs, and more. Each chapter devotes a page to each breed within that type. Included are color photos, description, history, and indicators as to ease of training, affection, playfulness, whether they are good with children and with other dogs, etc.

New Cookbooks

Here are a few new books that we have added to our cookbook collection.

The Chew Approved: The Most Popular Recipes from the Chew Viewers, edited by Ashley Archer, is a collection of recipes endorsed by the hosts of this TV show. On the show, hosts Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz, and Michael Symon work with audience members to prepare dishes. Of the recipes in this book, some are the most popular from the viewer audience and some are from the hosts themselves; all of them are available to viewers through computer download. There are five chapters entitled: 1. Breakfast Bonanza; 2. Amazing Appetizers; 3. Weeknight Wonders; 4. Fabulous Weekend Feasts; and 5. Sensational Sweets. All of the recipes include ingredients, cooking instructions, number of servings, prep time, and cook time. The names of recipe contributors, comments from hosts, and many color photos also are provided.   

The book Preserving Italy: Canning, Curing, Infusing, and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions is written by Domenica Marchetti. The recipes in this book go beyond the typical American jams and relishes. Through the author’s collection of family recipes and her travels through the different areas of Italy, we are given a variety of foods – those preserved in oil, or in vinegar, or in alcohol – those featuring tomatoes and sauce – confections – simple cured meats – and more; all preserved at the peak of their flavors and ready to enjoy year-round. 

A La Mode: 120 Recipes in 60 Pairings: Pies, Tarts, Cakes, Crisps, and More Topped with Ice Cream, Gelato, Frozen Custard, and More is written by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. The authors have been featured on various TV shows and QVC, host a cooking podcast Cooking with Bruce and Mark, and have written several cookbooks and magazine articles. The combinations of pastries and frozen treats are out-of-this-world. Calorie counts are not included (why would you want them?) Color photos accompany the text.

Best Salty Sweet Snacks: Gooey, Chewy, Crunchy Treats for Every Craving is written by food writer and editor Monica Sweeney. Five chapters are comprised of five different types of snacks: 1. Gooey Snacks – such as salted butterscotch fudge; 2. Savory Snacks – such as peanut butter bacon cookies; 3. Crunchy Snacks – such as chocolate marshmallow popcorn balls; 4. Chocolaty Snacks – such as chocolate-covered potato chips; and 5. Nutty Snacks – such as salted almond brittle. Ingredients, instructions, number of servings, and color photos are all provided.