Morgan's July Picks

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Some rainy summer day escape into the tropical world of State of Wonder. I was amazed by the scenery, the characters and the incredible meeting of science and pure mystical wonderment. This is the story of one woman's incredible journey into the Amazon in search of answers regarding her colleague's sudden death as well as an attempt at a covert investigation of another scientist's work.

This book transports the reader deep into the jungle where they are faced with snakes, cannibals, magical trees and many vignettes of the strength of the human spirit. While this story is a little odd in places and definitely leaves a lot up to the imagination at the end I found myself riveted throughout the book. Somehow this book, which came out in 2011, slipped my attention until just recently. If you too had not yet picked it up it is definitely worth a read.

Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann

I had the distinct pleasure of reading this book as a pre-read for MainStreet BookEnds in preparation for a visit from the author. First of all Stephanie Lehmann is a really fun person who has obviously researched  her work quite intensely and is very passionate about the changing roles of women at the turn of the century. The book itself is an engaging portrait of New York in two times, 1907 and 2007. 

The plot switches between both time as two women's lives mirror each other in fun and engaging ways. Olive is a feisty and heroic protagonist is 1907 who must find her own way in the world while facing down the challenges she meets in a patriarchal turn of the century New York.  I loved the story of Olive and the old city as well as the window both provide into another time and place for women and their roles in society. 

Present day we meet Amanda who is a struggling business owner and NYC resident. A romantic at heart Amanda discovers the story of Olive in a box of old clothes we wants to buy for her vintage shop and is transported and transformed by her journey in another woman's shoes. Amanda is a flawed character but she is utterly relatable and very interesting to get to know.  Definitely a great summer read that will have you thinking from the start!

Marti's July Picks

Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets: A Bookshop Love Story by Jessica Fox 

This is a new book being published in July. It is a memoir about Jessica as she chooses a new path in her life. She left a job at NASA in California and moved all the way to Scotland to a used bookstore and found love. Sometimes you need to find a new path, especially when new visions surround you.

Memoirs are books that are written as a narrative containing personal observations. They are intended to be true and honest reflections while in many cases they are actually self-absorbing. Not in this case! While the book does chronicle Jessica’s search for a new path, it does not grandstand or overwhelm the reader with all the things that she did, as many do. Jessica has managed to balance herself between an honest recount and a reflective narrative.

The story was quirky, heartwarming and romantic. There is a huge cultural divide between the west coast of Scotland and the west coast of California. Jessica manages to bridge the divide pretty well during her first visit. However, once she left she realized that she loved the owner of The Book Store and the town of Wigtown. Luckily, the love was reciprocated. But twists in the path for them, both personal and governmental do intercede in their relationship.

Jessica’s story reads quickly. I found myself wishing for a positive conclusion, but not feeling secure in its existence. The language, feelings and descriptions make the book more interesting. Each chapter begins with a thoughtful quote that in some way enhances the chapter. Often Jessica is having a heart to heart with Melville, just to round out the importance of following one’s heart. An ARC of this book was given to me in exchange for my honest review by Book Browse

The House Girl by Tara Conklin 

This is her debut novel. It is seemly  a story about a lawyer, Lisa Sparrow in a large corporation, with drive toward becoming a partner. However, it is the story she uncovers that changes the book. Lisa is asked to help find a person who is a "good" fit for a lawsuit over slavery. We are introduced to a controversy in the art world about Lu Anne Bell and her slave Josephine. Which one is the artist, the slave or the master? This forms the second line of the story. The stories while over 100 years apart are twisted together. Together they are a powerful tale that leads toward a an interesting conclusion.

I enjoyed reading The House Girl. They are written in a style similar to Jodi Picoult or Chris Bohjalian, the stories continue to meander in an out of the past and present. The House Girl also allows us to view our reaction to slavery and reparation.  The modern day interpretation of racial stereotypes as opposed to the historical reactions.   The book is well written and well paced, allowing us views of the story to come.

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin

This is an account of the wife of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of Charles Lindbergh.  The story while listed as a historical novel does contain a basic accurate outline of Anne and her life. Melanie Benjamin, the author wrote at the end of the book that the events are real, but the emotions are fictional. However it is those emotions that complete the picture of Anne. From falling in love with Charles Lindbergh, learning to become a pilot, losing her oldest child, and living with a brilliant yet seemingly an emotionally bereft individual, Anne loved Charles.  She was his most ardent supporter
throughout his life because of that love. She independently raised her children and faced most days alone, while he was off promoting flying and working in aviation. She was a great writer in her own right, as well as helping Charles publish his writing about his flying adventures. 

I enjoyed the perspective of seeing everything through Anne’s eyes.  I found her reliance of following her husband’s beliefs saddening, but probably quite accurate for the times.  I felt her redemption when at the end she began to forge her own path. I do wish the book had more photos of them, but knowing that this is historical fiction I understand the lack of them. The book was good.  The writing was clear and read quickly. The emotions and feelings felt genuine.  A nice read.

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

This book is a wonderful journey taken through the land of scents and perfumes. Grace Monroe is a young lady in 1955 in England. She has made what is known as a "good" match, however she is struggling with the day to day life. Eva d'Orsey has died and left a significant inheritance to Grace Monroe. But who is Eva d'Orsey and why leave Grace Monroe so much money? The novel revolves around these two characters going back and forth in time. The connection is unclear as the women in both story lines become more clear about what they want. Intertwined with the story are the whiffs of scent and color, fragrances that have made women and an industry notable.

There was a lot of information about making perfume within the novel. I was worried that I would be put off by this, as I am not a perfume person. I absolutely was not. I was mesmerized by the tale, and found the the focus was not the perfume but the women and the perfume. I found it fascinating as it wound around the story. Another line within the story that fascinated me was the almost savant memory skills that were apparent in the story.

This is a wonderful story about what makes a life and the richness people take from that life...and about perfume that swirls around scenting the journey!

Karrie's June Picks

Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

This is an incredible adventure. Katsa is born a Graceling. That means that she has an incredible talent that others don't. There's only one problem - that talent is the talent of killing. Used as a weapon by her uncle, the King, Katsa is disgusted with herself. So she does the sensible thing - she runs away, beginning a quest using her Grace to save the life of another rather than destroy it. Being free, Katsa is now able to begin learning about herself, to us her own mind and control her Grace in new ways. As a faithful companion, Po helps her to see that she is not just a deadly weapon and they begin to realize that her Grace may not be killing. Adventure, love, and sacrifice combine perfectly to make this book an amazing read.

Though this is a Young Adult book I would recommend it to anyone! Cashore is a beautiful writer and has created a wonderfully colorful world of her own! Though I do recommend this to anyone I would be careful letting young kids read it due to a scene that does get into adult content. I would say it's a great read for anyone over 15!

From Baghdad With Love

By Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman

Talk about the love of man and dog. This book made me believe in the spirit of humanity and appreciate the men and women fighting over seas even more than I did before I read it. And I did. A lot. And then I read this book. And in this book a found group of people who were not just soldiers. They were people. Just people. Trying to get a little puppy out of a war zone. Talk about adopting a rescue. When these Marines first went into Iraq they were told: Take no mascots. That means no animals, leave them to starve, get run over, or shot. Well these men just couldn't do that when they found Lava. They took him in, nurtured him with their own food and found something worth loving in a war that was astoundingly gruesome.

Morgan's June Picks

This June be inspired by something new, something smart and something motivational

 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

This book recently came to my attention as something that I might find interesting because of my interest in both contemporary fiction and light science fiction. I am so glad that it did! This book is very innovative in its writing style, organization and general subject area. There are 6 major story lines all of which interweave through time, space and concept. While at first it was a little slow and a bit confusing (also mildly irritating when one section ended mid-sentence) you quickly adjust to the style and instead read slowly to admire the incredible complexity of storytelling managed by Mitchell. My favorite part of this book was how it not only wove together characters, social commentary and themes surrounding technology, morality, and religion but how while reading one book I got to read a story from every genre. Beginning with historical fiction you move to contemporary fiction, then science fiction and then post-apocalyptic fiction. While it sounds like this could be disorienting I actually found it to be exhilarating and engaging. I hope that other novelists pick up on this incredible new method of storytelling and I encourage anyone interested in reading a book that may define the future of fiction to pick the book up soon. I envy you the opportunity to read this book and discover all of the interconnection between the many plot lines. This is one of those books you wish you could forget entirely just to experience it new all over again.

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Everyone needs to read this book. Period. As a young woman entering the workforce and looking for strong female role models this book came out at a particularly advantageous time. Sandberg is honest, down to earth, smart, funny and helpful in her advice, anecdotes and encouragement. This book however, is not just for young women. This book is for any woman who is looking help be on the forefront of the next feminist movement. While women now receive more than 50% of college degrees awarded in the US and make up about that same percentage of the work force we still fall behind in filling executive positions, political positions and other positions of power. All women have a responsibility to the next generation to work towards the fulfillment of the promise of gender equality. This book gives us all many of the tools and understanding we need to move forward with this work. This book is also for anyone who knows a woman (so everyone) because it is important for men, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters to understand the circumstances women find themselves in at the workplace and to encourage them in ways that allow them to grow, succeed and lead. Thank you Sheryl Sandberg for stepping up, sharing your stories and saying what so many of us already thought but just needed confirmed in order to step up too.

To Repair the World: Paul Farmer Speaks to the Next Generation by Paul Farmer

First, if you know anyone graduating this June this book is the perfect gift. You're welcome. Second,  buy a copy for yourself. Paul Farmer is one of the most incredible individuals alive today and I completely agree with President Clinton that Farmer deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. His work to fight illness, inequality and poverty has had an awe inspiring impact on people around the globe. I offer him to you as the ultimate example of someone who asked the question, "Can I change the world" and answered it with a resounding yes. This book, a collection of speeches given by Farmer, challenges its readers to ask these kinds of why not questions. My favorite thing about Farmer is that he challenges every conventional idea about how foreign aid, medicine and society should work. Instead of getting caught up in the way things have always been done he says, clearly it isn't working as we still have rampant disease, poverty and inequality so lets go big or go home. Pick up this book, read it and then go do something about the challenges facing humanity. As Farmer demonstrates it really is as simple as making the decision to do something about injustice and then following through.

Marti's June Picks

Get Cozy and Read!

Have you considered reading a “cozy mystery”?  They are part of the crime fiction category with a twist.  Think about Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote and you have the vision of a cosy mystery in your head. Cozy mysteries do not focus on the violence of other crime fighting series.  Often the main character is well known to a number of people in a small community, intelligent and just curious enough to get in trouble. The characters of the setting show up with varying degrees in the different books with the main character always running the investigation.  Cozy mysteries are mostly serial in nature, as there are often a number of stories all around the main character and town. Many can be read as a standalone novel, but are best when read as a series. Cozy mysteries can focus on any number of specialties.  There are cozy mysteries that focus on knitting, bookstores, libraries, inns, cooking, fishing and other seemingly innocuous tasks. This focus on a specialty is what draws a number of people in.

In this genre, I am reading The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries by Karen MacInerney.  In this series, the owner of the Gray Whale Inn, Natalie Barnes is the lead character who invariably gets pulled into a mystery that she ends up helping solve. The setting is Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine.  At the end of each book are some recipes that Natalie makes for the inn within the story line. Try Murder on the Rocks (The Gray Whale Inn Mysteries series) by Karen MacInerney.



Cozy mysteries focus more on the characters and mystery then most of the rest of the crime fiction genre.  The murders are not focused on, nor described in all the blood wrenching glory.   I often feel reading this genre that I am having a cuppa tea with an old friend who is relaying a story from her town. There are many cozy mysteries and types available.  Along with the series mentioned above – here are two other good series I have been known to imbibe: Mum’s the Word (The Flower Shop Mysteries #1) by Kate Collins and Murder is Binding (The Bookshop Mysteries #1) by Lorna Barrett.


Below you will find some links to a couple of sites to get you started. 

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/ - this is the mother lode site where you can find huge lists and collections of cozy mysteries to everyone’s taste.


http://cozy-mysteries-unlimited.com/ - This is another site where you can find any number of books.

As always the people at MainStreet BookEnds would love to help you connect with books.  Stop in and check out the stock and all books also can be ordered at the store and on the web page. Get Cozy and Read!