Room

Room by Emma Donoghue

Having read some reviews of this book which described the harrowing situation of the two main characters, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to read it or not. I’m glad I did though because the characters of Ma and Jack were so well developed and held my interest so thoroughly that I read this book almost non-stop during a two day period. Emma Donoghue has written a wonderful character driven novel which is absolutely a must read. A previous staff review clearly explains the plot line (Nov.1, 2010)

The Good Earth

The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution...
Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel -- beloved by millions of readers throughout the world -- is a universal tale of the destiny of men.

The Whistling Season

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
"Can't cook but doesn't bite." So begins the newspaper ad offering the services of an "A-1 housekeeper, sound morals, exceptional disposition" that draws the hungry attention of widower Oliver Milliron in the fall of 1909. And so begins the unforgettable season that deposits the noncooking, nonbiting, ever-whistling Rose Llewellyn and her font-of-knowledge brother, Morris Morgan, in Marias Coulee along with a stamped of homesteaders drawn by the promise of the Big Ditch -- a gargantuan irrigation project intended to make the Montana prairie bloom. When the schoolmarm runs off with an itinerant preacher, Morris is pressed into service, setting the stage for the "several kinds of education" -- none of them of the textbook variety -- Morris and Rose will bring to Oliver, his three sons, and the rambunctious students in the region's one-room schoolhouse.
A paean to a vanished way of life and the eccentric individuals and idiosyncratic institutions that made it fertile, The Whistling Season is Ivan Doig at his evocative best.

Any Day Now: David Bowie

Any Day Now: David Bowie: the London Years, 1947-1974 by Kevin CannAny Day Now covers Bowie's early life and the beginning phases of his exceptional musical career. This painstakingly assembled biography/chronology lists studio session dates and concert appearances, presents press clippings and handwritten letters and also provides a complete discography for the said period in time. Most impressive is the multitude of incredible photographs of the adventurous singer; each page is filled with striking images, large and small. It's an interesting read and account of the rapidly progressing artist in both appearance and musical style.

Rocannon's World

Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula Le Guin's first novel seamlessly blends science fiction and fantasy. Rocannon, an ethnologist, visits the planet Formalhaut II to study the native culture, and finds himself trapped when his ship is destroyed. In his adventures he rides on the back of giant winged cats, meets the various species inhabiting the planet, some of which have striking similarities to the men, elves, and dwarves of fantasy fiction, and must confront a mysterious presence in a cave. In Rocannon's World, Le Guin explores the implications of space travel, faster than light communication, and the meeting of alien cultures. A powerful story, appropriate for fans of either genre.

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide [magazine]

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide (formerly The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, 1994-1999) is a bimonthly journal centered around a conceptual theme with contributions from leading scholars and writers in the given field. Also in each issue are interviews, poetry and both in depth and brief book reviews which are great for either catching up or for keeping current of interesting literary developments. Some notable contributors have included Andrew Holleran, Emma Donoghue, Larry Kramer, Jewelle Gomez and Barney Frank.

Man Ray in Paris

Man Ray in Paris by Erin C. Garcia

We've recently been hit with a steady current of material spotlighting Americans residing among the Parisians in the 1920's. Several fantastic books on the subject have been published this year along with the opening of Woody Allen's new comedy Midnight in Paris.

Paris in the 1920's was a creative haven for many artists, critics, filmmakers and writers. Man Ray, who would not wish to be simply classified as a photographer (he considered himself a painter who also took photographs, made films and worked with sculpture and collage), came to France in 1921 and produced some of his most revered photographic work. Basing much of his craft on experimentation and dreamlike imagery, he aligned himself with artists in the Dada and Surrealist movements. In Erin C. Garcia's book, we see portraits of Man Ray's colleagues which include Jean Cocteau, Hans Arp, Salvador Dalí and Marcel Duchamp.

Man Ray in Paris provides many stunning photographic plates and also chronicles the artist's stay in the City of Light.

The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

The first odd thing I noticed about this novel is that it's told in the first person plural. It's a clever and engaging device for sisters talking about themselves and each other, and kept me attentive to whose point of view I was reading as it shifted from the inside of a character's head to one, two or three characters collectively observing another. The voice is opinionated, familiar, loyal, funny, and often jealous or spiteful as siblings are about each other. Not much happens (three adult sisters move home as their mother struggles with cancer; they find themselves to be more than they thought) but plot doesn't much matter as the book is about personalities, family relationships, and how we evolve through involvement with others. A rich vein of Shakespeare runs through Weird Sisters in the naming of characters, the professor father's constant quoting, and the cast of literary archetypes that inhabit these contemporary, believable women.