October 20, 2009: Things That Keep Us Here

Overcast with a pinch of cold. The trees are brilliant. Even with the rain and wind over the last few days, the leaves are still attached to their branches. Our neighbors have the most exquisite red bushes on their hillside. I don't think I have ever seen a red that color in nature. I have pictures; I should figure out how to load them in to show you. It's foggy up on the hills and kind of quiet. Sunrise was at 7:36, Sunset is at 6:11.

We got our every-other-month "white box" from the American Booksellers Association yesterday. Everyone gathers around and watches as the tape is slit and the cardboard wings are opened, ready for that moment when these new, not-yet-published books are exposed.

Emily took the new Elizabeth Gilbert book, Robert picked out the book about Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and I decided on a book, out of the big pile of things I want to read, called The Things That Keep Us Here, by Carla Buckley.

I have been reading only young adult books for weeks, now, in preparation for a book talk I'm doing on Friday and I have been looking forward to reading anything else. The Things That Keep Us Here looked like a good one to start with. I like books that draw me in right away, and I really like science and science fiction/speculative fiction. I started it on my afternoon break and did NOT want to stop reading. I took it to the gym and read while I did my cardio workout and then read late into the very early morning to finish it.

It could have "ripped from the headlines" emblazoned on the cover. It's the story of a family falling apart at the same time the world as they know it is ending. A flu pandemic carried by birds has begun circling the world, following migratory flight routes. As the flu infiltrates the United States, it follows the Mississippi river with the birds. Panic sets in and people begin to ransack stores and steal gasoline from their neighbors. Ann and Peter, parents of two girls, have to figure out how to survive a winter of severe rationing and fear.

What was really interesting about this book was seeing how quickly our society could fall apart when we are faced with such a calamity. How many of us have fireplaces and know how to lay a fire? When the stores run out of bread, would we be able to subsist on something like hardtack? Would we know what hardtack even is? What happens when the people who run the electric substations and water systems die? How do you get to a hospital when you can't get gasoline? Would you share your food, your bottled water, your house?

It was scary, what with the H1N1 flu in such high profile right now, reading something that seems so realistic and able to happen. It was good, but I am going to avoid crowds for awhile.

(Good for grown-ups with some teen crossover interest. Fans of Douglas Preston will enjoy it. Delacorte. Hardcover, $25.00. Available February, 2010.)

September 19, 2009

Fall really is i-cumin in. The trees are coloring up right nice and we have HUGE spiders spinning their webs from one side of the yard (and across the front door- much whapping of body parts while we hope the web still holds its spider) to the other. Sun rise was at 6:50 am! It was dark when the alarm went off! Greek Fests, Oktoberfests, county fairs!

A woman was shopping and held her two quite thick books up and said, "It's gonna take me a while to get through these!" and I said, "The rains will start soon and you'll have plenty of time to read." And then the rain fell and fell hard! And then the sun found a hole in the clouds and lit everything outside with focused light; the deciduous trees were incandescent against the darker green of the pines.

Going to the Puyallup fair to see James Taylor tonight. We will be meeting up with our niece, Brittney, and my sister-in-law, Mary, and Britt and I are going on the rides! Go, roller coasters! I like the spinny rides but no one else will go on them with me except for my sister, Keeli. I cannot bear the idea of ferris wheels, though; too open, too tippy, and I worry that I will accidentally throw myself out of them. What's with that?

The weather is warm, overcast, but the breeze keeps everything lovely. I am looking forward to sitting in the beer garden with my book, Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same, by Mattox Roesch. I love reading while having a beer, surrounded by people and their conversations, outdoors.

I love this book, too. It's the story of a 17 year-old gangbanger from L.A., Cesar, whose older brother is now in prison for having shot and killed two 15 year-old kids who wanted to leave the gang. Now that the trial is over, their Eskimo mother and Cesar move back to her home town in Alaska, Unalakleet, a village of about 800 people. There he meets his cousin, Go-Boy, a boy everyone knows and loves, a free-spirited young man who wants to make life good for people, but sometimes takes his role too seriously.

Sometimes we're Always Real Same-Same is beautifully written, a first novel, and the author reminds us (as adults) how hard it is to be a teenager growing up without roadmaps.

Cesar brings his big city boy crap with him to Alaska, treating girls without respect, trying to "be the man" in a culture that doesn't recognize that term, and having to live with and deal with the decisions he makes, learning, one mistake at a time, that he needs to think things through.

Go-Boy rides Cesar up and down roads that don't always go any where, talking about his personal philosophy, showing him what sights there are and introducing him to the people Go-Boy is so proud to be a part of, showing Cesar that he, too, is a part of this whole, that he is real same-same, whether he wants to be or not.

I don't want to tell you too much about Go-Boy and his problems, how Cesar finds his way through his childhood, how difficult it must be to live in a country like Alaska full time. I want you to discover it the way I did: one line and one page at a time unrolling ahead, filling your head with the brown and blue images of Unalalkleet.

This book is written and published for grown-ups but is a good addition to that teen crossover shelf. Unbridled Books, $15.95. Available now. Ages 15/16 and up.

P.S. James Taylor was great! The crowd (in that immense venue) was polite, and the rain held off all day and night. Can't get much better than listening to music outside, in the warm, all gathered together for the same reason.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's (PNBA) yearly trade show was last weekend in Portland, Or. The weather was HOT, the drinks were cold, and Portland is a beautiful city.

I had a great time checking in with old friends, gathering armloads of new books, hearing authors talk about their books at breakfasts, lunch and dinner. There were booksellers talking about books breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Workshops on how to talk about books, workshops on working with the public about books, workshops on letting other booksellers know about the books you're talking about to the public. Sharing the books we most want everyone else to know...Mmm, books (insert Homer Simpson doughnut sound here).

And, okay, I am really psyched to come back with my bags of swag so I can start reading something so new only the reps and publishing people have seen it.

Like Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick, the first book I pulled out of the pile!

We all know that books about the paranormal, vampires, fairies, werewolves, are all the rage and can there really be one more original story out there? I will give you a resounding yes!

Hush, Hush is the story of a smart and responsible girl named Nora Grey and the new boy in her school that she absolutely can't resist; his very smell compells her to him. She tries to drive him away and keep her distance, but Patch is always there: in her yard, behind her when she falls, in her mind, surrounding her all the time. When she finally admits how she feels about him, she finds out why her attraction to him is so overwhelming: he isn't exactly human. Two deep, dark scars on his back form a large V where his wings were ripped away when he fell from heaven. Patch has found a way to get his wings back and Nora is it.

Extremely romantic and exciting, Hush, Hush is a really good read- an especially good addition to the many books with angels as characters.

Ages 14 and older. Simon and Schuster, $17.99. Available October 14, 2009.

(This is the newest BookNotes, an email newsletter I send out to friends, family and colleagues. Included are book reviews and information about the haps at Third Place Books, the bookstore where I work.)

A couple of Fridays ago we had 100 degree weather, broke records for length and depth of heat. The Blue Angels were practicing over the city and the grass smelled like dust. I sat outside and watched the air show as they flew over my house, eating peaches and cherries, drinking water and lemon juice. The smell of lemons lingered on my fingers, making the fruit sparkle with each bite. There was little noise after the unearthly roar of the jets passed; the birds were hiding and I-90 was closed so there was no traffic. We had someone else’s summer for five days!

The season seems to be turning already: the maple tree leaves are yellowing and there is a rill of dry leaves as they are scooted along the driveway by the little breezes. It is wet and I am going to wear a sweater today! It is a day to remember when we get into that last bit of summer that comes so suddenly at the beginning of fall.

And what does this time of year remind us of? Going back to school! New boxes of crayons and the smell of pencils, backpacks clean of unknown sticky patches, little crowds of teenagers whose perfumes battle for dominance. And! Invitations to Teacher Nights! As many of the readers of this email are teachers or librarians, I am inviting you to Lake Forest Park to join us at Third Place Books’ Teacher Appreciation Night on Tuesday, September 8, from 5-7 pm. There will be giveaways, booklists, knowledgeable staff people to question, and an author! A real live author! Phillip Done, the author of Close Encounters of the Third Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood, will be reading from and discussing his book at 7.

After the BookNotes you will find a list of some of the upcoming Third Place Books children’s book events.

BookNotes

Alphabeasties: And Other Amazing Types, by Sharon Werner and Sarah Nelson, really is kind of amazing! Alphabeasties is an alphabet book of a different stripe; some of the stripes may be designed in Garamond Bold or Times New Roman, but they are stripes.

This is a book that will appeal to anyone who likes books and book design, anyone who feels that the typeface used in a story can influence the way you read, and anyone who likes to collect alphabet books. The illustrations all use different kinds of typeface to design the animal and its surroundings, so “tiger” has a specific kind of type to make up its body, with different typefaces to make up the grass or the trees or the clouds. It’s really cool. But, the thing I like best is the description of the typefaces in the back of the book! The other thing that’s really great about the book is that it shows uppercase and lowercase letters together, they are different sizes, and they have long As and short As, hard Gs and soft Gs side by side. This allows kids who are just getting ready to read to see that a letter is a letter is a letter, that because just because it looks different and may sound different it isn’t. This would be a really good book to design a lesson plan around.
All ages. Blue Apple Books. Hardcover, $19.99. Available now.

Richard Peck’s new book, A Season of Gifts, features Grandma Dowdel, the eccentric grandma who stars in A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way from Chicago, will be available in September, perfect for the new school year!

It is 1958 and a new preacher’s family has moved in next door to Grandma Dowdel. A very poor family, new to the ministry, they have a rundown church that doesn’t even have windows. It needs a lot of help and so do they. Bob, our 11 year-old narrator, has a great view of his family and the woman next door whose daily oddities both fascinate and frighten him.

Grandma Dowdel is a woman who believes in being self-sufficient and thrifty. She raises all kinds of produce, isn’t afraid to protect her property from bullies and toughs, and is gruff in her affections. She also knows that sometimes you have to sidle up to a person and their problems so they don’t run away. I absolutely love Richard Peck’s stories about Grandma Dowdel and A Season of Gifts is so good. Funny and poignant, it is a little slice of small town, mid-century life, a time just as television is becoming a normality, but pumpkins are still picked in patches, some people still have outhouses, and the entire town knows who you are and what you did, forever, as long as memory survives.
9 and older. Dial Books. Hardcover, $16.99. Available September, ’09.

I just finished reading Jonathan Stroud’s newest book, Heroes of the Valley, and it was GOOD! You may remember that Jonathan is the author of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, a series of books about a boy and the djinn he summons and tries to control.

Heroes of the Valley is a story filled with legends and a boy whose life is changed by the legends he grows up on. The setting feels a little Swedish, a little Norwegian, maybe, olden-times, fireside storytelling of the giants who founded the valley and protect it from the monsters who dwell outside the cairn lines. Halli Sveinsson is the youngest son of the house of Svein and a troublemaker. When his antics finally push the edge and cause much more trouble than he expected, he and his friend Aud, the daughter of a neighboring house, must find a way to fix it.

Epic quests, a great deal of humor, and some of the worst monsters you can imagine make for a really compelling read. While Halli may be the main character of the book, Aud is one of those strong, female characters we love so much. She is Halli’s friend and foil, adventurous and strong, and I am hoping for more about her in the next book (I am really hoping for a next book!).
Great for ages 11 and up. Hyperion. Hardcover, $17.95. Available now.



AND I just finished up the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare! The books are City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass and are based in both the mundane world (the one most of us live in) and a world surrounding us filled with Shadowhunters, angels, fairies, vampires and werewolves.

Our main character, Clary, occupies both of these worlds, often with dire consequences. Clary is a human girl, as far as she knows, with the ability to see and hear those not-quite-human beings that surround her. This ability can be detrimental both to her health and to the health of others. When Clary becomes involved, quite by accident, in a non-human affair, those beings become very interested in the fact of her existence and her life as it was before is shattered.


The books are exciting and romantic, and there is a lot going on in them. Clary is friends with a boy who becomes a vampire, she is in love with a boy who is Shadowhunter, some of their friends are werewolves, and all of this is complicated by the fact that none of these supernaturals are comfortable with each other's existence, but they are all bound by Clary and her needs. Ooh…they’re good! You are all so lucky because you have all three to read at once, you won’t have to wait like the rest of us did! Except! I just heard that there is going to be a fourth book! There is more story to tell. I hate to use this tag-line but if you know any Twilight fans, they will devour these books, too.
Ages 14 and up. Simon and Schuster. The earlier books are available in paper. City of Glass is hardcover, $17.99. Available now.

Emperors of the Ice, by Richard Farr, is an amazing book about Robert Scott’s expedition to the Antarctic. One of the men on the trip, Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (Cherry to his friends), took extensive notes and wrote of his experiences when he returned to civilization.
Cherry was not a professional adventurer or scientist but he was fascinated by his Uncle’s stories of the Emperor penguins he found on Scott’s last trip. His uncle convinced Scott that Cherry would be an excellent crew member and he was asked to be a part of this ill-fated expedition.


Absolutely riveting, Emperors of the Ice is one of those books you cannot put down, even though you know how it’s going to end. Cherry’s descriptions of the hardships the men and animals endure are sometimes difficult to read as, in hindsight, we know what should or could have been done to keep them safe.


I started this book in bed and then found myself reading it aloud to my husband because I had to share it with someone, right then! He read it when I was done and we have both enjoyed talking about what it meant to us.


If you have boys (and men) who are looking for a great survival/adventure story, one with great humor and devastating sadness, then this is the book for you. It is filled with maps, a glossary, an immense bibliography, a chapter on what the men on the trip did when they got home, and, one of the hardest parts to read, the final letters to loved ones when the men knew they were going to die. This is a grand homage to the people who have gone before us to further our knowledge of the unknown, to those who further our knowledge of science for the sheer joy of discovery.
Ages 12 and up. Farrar Strauss and Giroux. Hardcover, $19.95. Available now.



Upcoming Kid’s Book Events at Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park


There are so many great things happening at this store, I just had to let you know:


Monday, September 14, 7 pm: Tony Diterlizzi and Holly Black, authors of the Spiderwick Chronicles, are coming to present their next volume, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles 3: The Wyrm King.


Tuesday, September 22, 7pm: John Grogan, the author of Marley and Me has written Marley Goes to School, a picture book for children ages 4 and up.


Tuesday, September 22, 5:30: We have scheduled a “meet and greet” with Michelle Zink, the author of Prophecy of the Sisters. This is a chance to meet the author, get a book signed, ask a couple of questions, nothing too formal so don’t be shy, come and visit with us. This book is appropriate for ages 12 and up.


Thursday, September 24, 5:30: This event is a meet and greet with Gitty Daneshvari, the author of School of Fear, another chance to drop by and meet someone who may soon be topping all the bestseller lists! The book is good (and funny) for kids 10 and older.


Saturday, September 26, 10 – 12: Wendy Wahman, the author of Don’t Lick the Dog will be helping us celebrate Group Health READ Day.


Sunday, October 4, 12-1: Come and meet Kate DiCamillo and get a copy of her new book, The Magician’s Elephant, signed. This is not a formal signing where she will be speaking to an audience and then signing books. Kate is stopping by to sign books and will chat with those who would like to get one. We are thrilled to be able to offer this moment with her to you and hope you can come.


Teacher stuff: We have authors available for schools and an email list for educators. If you would like to find out more information about what we do for educators, email Cheryl at cmckeon@thirdplacebooks.com.


For those of you with more (ahem) mature tastes: Diana Gabaldon, Richard Bach, Diane Ackerman, Alton Brown, P. C. Cast, Barbara Kingsolver….We have a list of authors for grown ups you won’t believe. Check the store website (www.thirdplacebooks.com) or call (206-366-3333) to get the information emailed to you.

Catching Fire

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today, not too hot, not too cold, clearing later in the day. Can you believe the days are shorter already? It was dark at 8 last Wednesday.

The grass (well, the grass-like weeds, anyway) is crispy to the touch, the fallen leaves are puddling in the corners of the porch, the air is hot until the marine breezes come cool, and we are seeing many kids searching for books to complete their summer reading lists before school starts next week. I always feel a little conflicted by the seasons changing. I love fall, and I love twilight, that little extra fillip at the end of the day - the feeling of expectation that comes with the darkening sky - and summer in the northwest is the only time to do that. When it's dark at 4...Not much twilight happening then. It's just dark.

Today is Catching Fire day! The sequel to Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, can be put out on the bookstore floor today.

Hunger Games is this great book about a dystopian society (a far in the future United States) that requires two children from each city-state to fight to the death as a tithe and a way to keep control over the people. Katniss, our hero, has been chosen as one of the warriors.

Part Lord of the Flies and part Theseus and the Minotaur, Hunger Games is filled with action, philosophy, quick thinking and a little romance. Katniss returns in Catching Fire where she finds herself the unwilling center of a rebellion, receiving way too much attention from the government. Oh, it's good! A perfect way to relax before the hectic days of the first weeks of school.
Ages 12 and up. Scholastic. Both books in hardcover for $17.99.

Two of the other sequels to watch for this month are Fire, by Kristin Cashore (sequel to Graceling) and The Missing, Book 2: Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix (this is already on the shelf and is flying out of the store).

I am so close to finishing Velva Jean Learns to Drive, by Jennifer Niven, and it is such a great read. It's the story of a young woman living in a holler in Appalachia who wants to go to the Grand Ol' Opry when she grows up, and then life gets in the way. Velva Jean is a good character to expose older teens to. She runs wild after her mother dies, is raised by her sister, gets married, gives things up, gets things back, and becomes true to herself. I am going to go read, now, and see what happens at the end!
Older teens and grown ups. Plume Books. Paperback, $15.00.

The most recent newsletter I send out to friends (BookNotes) follows.

It’s Summer! July 15, ‘09

Hello! Are you still out there? It has been a while since I last wrote- not because there aren’t any books or because I haven’t been reading! I have been reading SO much, and there is so much to tell you, that I became a little overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of books and paper that surrounded me! Bear with me and I will get back to a somewhat regular schedule.

I just walked out to put the compost in the bin and looked out towards downtown. We have a tall building view and the fog has washed up against them, flowing upwards before breaking and wrapping around and moving on, filling the lower lands with clouds. Summer fog….my favorite memories are curled inside ocean fog: wrapped in sweatshirts covering halter tops and swimsuits, shorts, thongs (sorry, flip flops), sitting on the porch in the cold with my book, knees tucked inside my shirt, waiting for it to burn or blow off before heading to the beach or up the river. Going up the river was MUCH warmer. Warmth on the coast I lived on was in very short supply. The river banks always had hot rocks to lie on; the smell of hot rocks and evaporating river water rivals the smell of newly cut hay or salt water on a cold night.

I hope your summer has been a comfortable and pleasant one, filled with deep and long twilights, reading in the shade with a tall, cool glass of something by your side, and that you are making memories to hold you through the upcoming fall and winter. There have been some truly fabulous books released this summer and I hope they will find their ways into your lives.

BookNotes:

I truly love a picture book that I can read as an adult and share with a kid, both of us getting something good out of it. One of my recent favorites is Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators ever, Adam Rex.
Billy’s room is a mess and his mother is not happy. After many reminders that he has responsibilities and needs to take care of them, she threatens to get him a blue whale. While Billy neglects his chores, the threat of a blue whale is repeated, but Billy isn’t worried, he knows a bit about blue whales and he knows that one can’t be delivered to your house overnight!

Or, can they?

The next morning a blue whale is delivered to Billy’s house and that whale is now his responsibility; to go with him wherever he goes, including school where he and the whale disrupt the day, canceling the cowboy movie for a lesson on cetaceans.
And does Billy learn his lessons? Does he keep his room clean? Well, let’s just say he finds an alternative to this whole messy world.

While I don’t think I like the ending as much as younger readers will, I love the way Adam Rex illustrated this book. He uses a deep, saturated color palette, lots and lots of details to keep the read-to amused while the words are going, and a great deal of humor in the illustrations. His endpages are of sea-going advertisements, and that whale looks like he really needs a break. I especially appreciate the use of the often empty pages before a book begins as a story-mover: Billy’s mom is on the move, following the trail of toys, popsicles, and clothes to his room. I really like that the parent’s heads are cleverly camouflaged throughout.

This is a book I have already read and browsed 5-6 times and will pick up over and over- I love it! And it’s a good summer book! Ages 4 and older. $16.99. Disney Hyperion.

Another great picture book for the same age is a nonfiction book called Sparrows, by Hans Post and Kees Heij, illustrated by Irene Goede. It’s so cool to have a book that pulls common things out of the mundane and elevates them into the sublime, especially one for kids. This little book shows the life of a House Sparrow, one of the most common birds around, and gives us an up close and personal view of how they hatch, where they live, what they eat and how they attract each other.

It is a pretty simple book: lots of little pockets of text sprinkled over the two page spreads and, like Billy Twitters, the artwork is a huge reason to come back to it over and over again. There are tons of details and I have pored over the pictures many times since bringing it home. I love the spreads that show a little neighborhood of sparrows and their lives while the text explains what is going on. And, parents, it does show sparrows “pairing” and a bird actually laying an egg (although not in graphic detail, just as asides, something that happens naturally)! The book has an informational fact page at the very back. Beware, this book may turn some of your children into amateur birders, forcing you to head out to look for more! Ages 3-4 and up. $16.95. Boyds Mills Press.

One of the best books for middle readers this summer is When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. This is an amazing story about a girl whose world is filling with mysteries and conundrums.

Miranda and Sal have been friends forever and have finally figured out how to negotiate their neighborhood, avoiding the crazy man near the post box, crossing the street when they get to the group of boys hanging out on the corner. All is good until Sal gets punched by a stranger and then stops talking to Miranda.

Things begin to get a little weird when Sal goes away: the hidden apartment key disappears, shoes are stolen, the crazy man on the corner gets crazier, naked people are running through the streets, and little notes with information only Miranda should know start showing up in very odd places. One of the notes reads, in part, “I am coming to save your friend’s life and my own…You must write me a letter”.

When You Reach Me is a great story about a sixth grade girl who has an average life: she has friends, she has frenemies, she has crushes and a first kiss, her mom is wonderful and has a wonderful boyfriend. I like the book so much just for its ordinariness. Like Meg in A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda’s favorite book (and mine), Miranda is just a girl to whom things happen. But what happens…more than enough to last a lifetime.


I read this book twice. I read it once for the story, not knowing what was happening, and then again for the clues which made the story richer. AND if you have not recently read A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle, dig it up and read it, too. And then share them both with a friend so you can talk about them! Ages 10 and up. $15.99. Random House.

If you like science fiction, check out Rebecca Stead’s last book, First Light, too. It’s the story of Peter, on a research trip in Greenland, and the story of a girl dreaming of seeing the sun. Thea’s culture was accused of witchcraft and hid ages ago under the ice and Peter is close to discovering her. This is a very good read. I guess it’s more speculative than science fiction, but you will like it! Ages 10 and up. $6.99. Random House.

Coming soon, September 22 (reserve your copy now!), is Libba Bray’s next book, Going Bovine. Both Going Bovine and When You Reach Me are books you really can’t say a lot about without giving too much away. Libba is best known for her gothic-y romantic, supernatural books about Gemma Doyle (A Great and Terrible Beauty is the first in the series). Very much a departure from the English boarding school books, Going Bovine is a great addition to the Libba Bray shelf.

16 year-old Cameron wants to skate through life with a minimum of effort. All is going well until he finds out he is sick and going to die. And, yes, he has Mad Cow Disease. There is hope, though. A punk angel named Dulcie (really an angel? Hallucination?) tells him there is a cure but he must go on the road trip to end all road trips to find it.

Going Bovine is so great. Funny, sarcastic and heartbreaking, you will fall for lonely Cam on his trip to Disneyland (and a trip to lose his virginity before he dies) in a big way. Accompanied by a Garden Gnome who is actually a Berserker dwarf trying to get home, Cam’s story is one of the best of the year. I can’t wait to read it again – I lent my copy out to another bookseller - and can’t wait to talk to her about it! Don’t you love books that do that? Ages 14 and up. $17.99. Random House.

I’m in the middle of a bunch of things for grown-ups but I have to tell you about this non-fiction nature book about clouds that came in recently: Extraordinary Clouds: Skies of the Unexpected from the Beautiful to the Bizarre, by Richard Hablym.

This is an amazing book. It is filled with mostly color photographs of clouds. I guess the title pretty much sums it up but it does nothing to describe the photos. The photos are accompanied with explanations about the science of how the clouds were formed. Last Friday, while listening to Cliff Mass, weather guru, he described clouds that haven’t been seen this far south before, Noctilucent clouds. He said that if we went out half an hour or so after sunset, we should be able to see them, and so I did! On Sunday I looked them up in this book, and there they were! With the same explanation Cliff gave! Wow! Now I feel like a birdwatcher; I have a lifelist of clouds I would like to see: Fallstreak Holes, Mammatus, sonic boom clouds, and Angels on Horseback. This is a great browsing book for kids and adults and would be a very good addition to your science section. You do have a science section, don’t you? You will learn a little about physics and other sciences as you page through the book trying to figure out how clouds are made, an easy way to sneak science into your life, like bran in a muffin. All ages. $14.99. David and Charles.

I think I should get this sent off now. The opening paragraph was written a week ago and it’s obvious that the weather has changed a bit! The smell of coconut sunscreen is everywhere-

Rene’ Kirkpatrick

P.S. I am planning on sending this newsletter at some point via Constant Contact so I can add art and book jacket images. So, when I get it all figured out, watch for it. It will look different! I hope it will be a good change!

www.notesfromthebedsidetable.blogspot.com

Hey! What's with the weather? I wore socks to bed, we slept in flannel sheets and a comforter, and Dennis, my husband (whose birthday is today: HBD, D!), said he saw a woman on the corner downtown where he works wearing a blue pea coat, a hat, and gloves! It's July 7, dudes!

I started reading A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick, last night. Set in the early 1900's, it starts off with a blizzard, a lie, and an accident in the snow and ice. It felt appropriate to be reading it on this very cold July night.

Speaking of A Reliable Wife: it is really good, so far! It's about a lonely, wealthy man living in rural Wisconsin who sends away for a mail order bride and, when she arrives in snow and steam, he sees that she is not who she said she is. Both of them are looking for companionship and warmth but I think she has some serious issues; a hidden agenda! She sent him a picture of a plain woman (and she is definitely not plain), she lies about how she knows what she knows, and she has obviously chosen Mr. Truitt for a specific reason. Can't wait to get back to it- a relationship that begins in a lie is bound to have good story behind it! I'll let you know what I think when I get done.

Later: I forgot that the All for Kids book group is meeting Thursday night and we are reading Austenland, by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury). Shannon usually writes books for teens based on ancient folk tales but Austenland is about a woman seeking Mr. Darcy. She gets a chance to spend 3 weeks at Austenland, a theme park in England where everyone is plunged headfirst into the Regency era. Must read this before finishing A Reliable Wife.

Much later: Beautiful night in the yard at book group and quite a lively discussion about Austenland (we really do talk about the book). Some snacks, some catching up, and we actually decided about the next TWO YEARS' worth of books.

Our little group has been meeting, what, 10, 12 years or so, and we started as a grown-up group reading kid's books. We expand outward every once in awhile but always come back to books originally written for children.

Our group was formed when Jo, a lovely woman who died of ovarian cancer a few years ago, suggested we get together to talk about all those books we should have, but didn't, read when we were kids. She brought in a few of her friends, some of the All for Kids' staff joined up, a few other childrens book aficionados came along, and we were off! We still meet once a month, now at each others homes rather than at the store.

Austenland was a fun, frothy read, good for 20-30 year old women. I found it quite funny.

Even more later:

I finished A Reliable Wife and it was GOOD. Many turns and surprises. It is brutal, sad, complex, and there were times when I was utterly stunned by the turn the story took. Complicated characters, devious plots, A Reliable Wife was an amazing look at how people make decisions, how they choose to see things, and then how to live with the results.

I have his first book, a memoir called The End of the World as We Know It, on my desk at work right now. It's gritty, harsh, the story of a man raised in the South of the 50's. We are looking back at his life in a dysfunctional family from his adulthood, where alcohol, mental, and physical abuse combine to take his childhood. I am only a little way in but it is absolutely riveting. (Both books are by Algonquin Books, Wife: $24.95; World: $13.95. Definitely adults only.)

Well, I am now going to cleanse my palate with a few kid's books. I have a hefty stack of books on the bedside table and a few more scattered around the house, butI think I will take a new book called Fairy Tale, by Cyn Balog, to sample when I go up to bed. Sweet dreams, all.