The Western Lit Survival Kit: An Irreverent Guide to the Classics, from Homer to Faulkner by Sandra Newman

I like to have things explained in a nutshell, so I was intrigued when I saw The Western Lit Survival Kit: An Irreverent Guide to the Classics, from Homer to Faulkner by Sandra Newman that comes in at two hundred eighty pages. That’s a fair number of pages, certainly, but to cover three thousand years of literature? Not bad! Ms. Newman has written several books, including How Not to Write a Novel and Read This Next as well as numerous short fiction and nonfiction pieces published in magazines. She has also been a professor of literature and writing at Temple University, Chapman University, the University of Colorado and The New School, so I trust she knows what she’s talking about.

I am of two minds about this book. When I first sat down to read it, I felt like Dorothy Parker. That is to say, I thought perhaps the book was “not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force.” Maybe it was just my mood, or perhaps I made mental adjustments before my next session, because I found it much more fun the rest of the way. That said, I find it lazy to drop “f-bombs” in writing (or conversation), so I do wish she had found it less necessary to use vulgarisms as often as she did. Additionally, your tolerance for this book may be contingent on how you feel about the writing style of the “. . .for Dummies” books, as they have a similar snarky tone. Irreverent? Darn tootin’.

As advertised, it does run the Western canon from Homer through Faulkner including novelists, short story writers, and poets, dividing the literary periods into thirteen chapters, from “Greece: Cradle of Greek Civilization” to “The Messy Twentieth: Finally Over.” The chapter titles alone give you a sense of the tone of the book. Each chapter covers various authors of the period and has boxes delineating the Importance, Accessibility, and Fun of each of the authors works (main ones, at minimum) on a scale of 1 to 10. So, Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus gets a 9 for Importance, 6 for Accessibility, and a 7 for Fun while Milton’s Paradise Lost receives a 10 for Importance, a 4 for Accessibility, and a 4 for Fun. In addition to discussing the works, Newman also covers the private lives of the authors. Most of the really “irreverent” material comes from those entries, but the books, plays, and poems themselves come in for more than a little ribbing.

Let me close with a sample to clarify the tone of the writing. Here’s the author on Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton:

“This turgid Gothic, set in a poor New England town, has so little in common with Edith Wharton’s other novels that one suspects her muse was cheating with the mailman. If you love The House of Mirth, you will hate Ethan Frome. In fact, if you don’t love The House of Mirth, you will hate Ethan Frome. If you have the ability to hate, you will hate Ethan Frome. It has everything that made The Scarlet Letter go down like a brick: heavy-handed color symbolism, a pointless frame story, dreary characters, cold weather. In the climax, the protagonists attempt suicide on a sled, yet it is not played for laughs. Basically, if you’ve read Ethan Frome, and you enjoyed it, you’re asleep and dreaming. Soon you will wake up in a world where you too hated Ethan Frome.”

So, if you like sarcasm and want to cover a lot of the classic works of fiction since the dawn of time and don’t mind some vulgar language, this may be just the book for you!

 

Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love by Sarah Matheny

Stay-at-home mom, food blogger, and cookbook author Sarah Matheny (a.k.a. Mama Pea) is a breath of fresh air in the oversaturated market of vegan and vegetarian cooking.  Her first book, Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love is a fun and creative cookbook that provides simple plant-based meals, most of which can be prepared in less than forty-five minutes.  It not only features delicious, easy to make vegan recipes, that even meat-eaters will be hard pressed to pass up, but it includes fun stories about Sarah’s adorable children, Gigi and Lulu.  And readers will be relieved to discover that the majority of the ingredients required for the recipes can already be found in their kitchen pantries, with the exceptions being available at most local grocery stores.

Speaking on a personal level, I have made the Blueberry Streusel Muffins, Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, Better Than Ever Black Bean Burgers, Crazy-Good Hummus and Peanut Butter Dough Balls and they have all been delicious, especially the muffins and black bean burgers.

Highly recommended! Plus, check out her blog at www.peasandthankyou.com for even more family friendly recipes.

“Force of Nature” by C.J. Box

“Force of Nature” is the twelfth novel in C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett series and picks up immediately where “Cold Wind” left off. Nate Romanowski has been a minor player in most of the novels in the series, but he takes center stage in this thriller. Previous novels have teased us with bits and pieces of Nate’s past; however in this latest entry in the series we learn much about Nate’s background—why he has gone underground, shied away from society, and lives as an isolationist in the Wyoming wilderness.

Nate and Joe have an unusual friendship. Nate usually operates outside the law; on the other hand, Joe is a straight arrow whose moral values require him to uphold the law. However, in “Force of Nature” Joe walks a fine line between honoring friendship and upholding the law.

Nate is a master falconer and a fugitive,  an intense character capable of extreme violence. Joe, his family, and Nate have been friends for several years, but Joe has never inquired of Nate’s past, thinking it best if he didn’t know everything. Nate has never explained why he lives the way he does, but now things have changed. His secret and dangerous past may have deadly consequences for his friends and former colleagues, so he tries his best to keep them from harms way.

In 1995, Nate was a Special Forces agent in a unit called the Peregrines, named after one of the rarest birds in falconry. The team leader, Nemecek (their falconer), now in a high position in the government, did something so terrible that he is trying to kill everyone who witnessed the incident, including Nate. Nate warns Joe that he and his family are in extreme danger and insists that Joe get his family out of the area and into hiding.  Nate knows that Nemecek will go after anyone close to Nate in order to lure him out of hiding and try to kill him.

In the meantime, Joe finds his hands full with a new trainee named Luke Brueggemann, elk season is in full swing and on top of everything, three bodies are found floating down the river. Joe’s friend Nate seems the obvious suspect in the murders.

Local law enforcement frequently drafts Joe, a Wyoming game warden in the small town of Saddlestring, to aid in cases when police staffing is short. Besides Nate, there are familiar characters from previous novels—Joe’s nemesis, the incompetent local Sheriff Kyle McLanahan who is running for reelection and his deputy who is running against him.

C.J. Box is a Wyoming author whose appreciation of the wilds of Wyoming is evident in his vivid and descriptive prose. Box takes time to educate readers in the sport of falconry since it plays such an integral part in the story. “Force of Nature” is a darker, more intense and violent novel than Box’s usual style, more a thriller than a mystery, although the mystery elements are there to keep you guessing—just who are the moles that are working with this killer? The action-packed plot between the forces of good and evil with its twists and turns races to the ending at blinding speed.

In the audiobook format, we get added benefit of listening to David Chandler, a Broadway and television actor, deliver a gripping performance of the novel.  “Force of Nature” is available in print and audiobook formats at the Joplin Public Library.

“Animals and the Kids Who Love Them: Extraordinary True Stories of Hope, Healing, and Compassion” by Allen and Linda Anderson

Until just recently I was unaware the phrase “A dog is man’s best friend” has its origins right here in Missouri.  In October 1869, Charles Burden’s hound dog, Old Drum, was killed.  Burden sued his neighbor and brother-in-law, Leonidas Hornsby, for the death of his dog. Hornsby had been losing sheep to marauding dogs and wolves and had sworn to shoot the next dog that came on his property.  Old Drum was apparently that dog.

The case progressed clear to the Missouri Supreme Court, and in 1870 Burden’s lawyer made impassioned closing arguments in what has come to be know as “Eulogy of the Dog” (http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/olddrum/Eulogy%20of%20the%20Dog.pdf).  In this eulogy, the lawyer refers to dogs as “the best friend a man has”.  The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in Burden’s favor, and he was awarded the sum of $50.  A statue of Old Drum can now be seen in the hallway at the Missouri Supreme Court building.  Likewise, another statue and Old Drum’s grave can be visited inWarrensburg,MO.

Many animals and their stories are recounted in the book “Animals and the Kids Who Love Them:  Extraordinary True Stories of Hope, Healing, and Compassion” by Allen and Linda Anderson, but of the twenty-four stories in the book, fully half of the stories are about man’s best friend and kids.

This book tells of the magical connection certain animals have made with children and the specific difference these animals have made in children’s lives.

There is the miniature horse, Patty Pat, who is incorrigible except when she is around Tory, a five year old with variable immunodeficiency.  When Patty Pat is with Tory, she becomes a docile and tender companion.

Among other stories are those of dogs who serve as aids for children with autism, a dog providing calming influences for a child with emotional needs, a dog in a “doggie wheelchair” who is an encouragement to a child in painful leg braces, and the brain-damaged little boy whose only language was “No” until after beginning horse therapy.

Other stories are about turkeys, cats, llamas, rabbits, and turtles and their relationship with a child.

OF special interest to me were the stories of dogs and guinea pigs (!) who serve as reading companions.  Allowing children to read to dogs has research-supported benefits.  Benefits include increased self-confidence and fluency in reading (dogs don’t criticize when you stumble over a word or mispronounce it).  Health benefits have even been realized — lowering of blood pressure and heart rate, increased relaxation, and a tendency to forget about pain and limitations.

I liked those stories because Joplin Public Library offers a “Dog Day Afternoon” program.  This is a special program that allows independent readers in K-5th grade to practice reading skills by reading to certified Therapy Dogs.  This program is in hiatus right now, but will begin again June 12^th.  Check the library’s calendar for all these program dates as well as dates and topics for other summer programs.  http://joplinpubliclibrary.org/vcalendar/index.php.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, but must offer a warning.  Unless your heart is made of granite, you might wish to have a box of tissues nearby.

“Meals in Minutes” by Jamie Oliver

I heart Jamie Oliver. I’ve been a fan since his early days as the young, upstart “Naked Chef.” At first I just thought he was adorable, zipping around on his moped while wearing his dorky little helmet and messenger bag and flashing the camera a cheeky grin.

But I grew to love his approach to food. He’s passionate about tasty, healthy, home-cooked meals for people of all ages and skill levels. He emphasizes turning to fresh, seasonal, locally grown ingredients instead of just opening a can or popping something pre-packaged into the microwave.

The premise behind “Meals in Minutes” is simple: These are meals you can quickly throw together for your busy family. I don’t know that all the recipes lend themselves equally well to this concept, but it’s worth a shot.

Most, if not every meal, includes a main dish, a salad and/or vegetable side and a dessert or beverage. Oliver offers methodical, step-by-step instructions in getting everything ready at once. The accompanying photos are gorgeous and worthy of a book in their own right.

I’ve already tried several of the recipes in the book, and I had no problem adapting them to suit my vegetarian diet. The salads are simple and delicious, especially the tomato salad and the arugula salad.

The dan dan noodles, which I added tofu to and ate as a main dish, are spicy, yummy goodness, perfect for a dreary day. And the wonky summer pasta is to die for. Its ingredients: An egg yolk, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice, fresh basil and lasagna noodles. (I used fettuccine.) So basic, but such a palate pleaser.

I hope to revisit “Meals in Minutes” this summer, when locally grown produce is bountiful. Until then, you can find me in the kitchen. Or the cookbook section of the library.

“Weeknights with Giada” by Giada de Laurentiis

Giada de Laurentiis has never been one of my favorite Food Network personalities. I find her perfect teeth, low-cut shirts and less than stellar knife work distracting. Yet I always seek out her cookbooks because I find them accessible and full of good ideas.

Her latest book, “Weeknights with Giada,” doesn’t disappoint. Although she still features several traditionally Italian dishes such as pizza, risotto and pasta, she really branches out here.

The salads, such as couscous with watermelon, watercress and feta cheese, sound scrumptious. For the meat eaters, the filet mignon with rosemary and mushroom gravy might hold some appeal. I’m intrigued by the ricotta cheese, lentil, and brown rice rolls, served wrapped in Swiss chard.

Overall, the recipe selection is impressive. “Weeknights with Giada” is one of the more vegetarian-friendly mainstream cookbooks I’ve seen in a while, and I think readers will find it particularly useful this summer, when gardens and farmers markets overflow with fresh ingredients.  

“Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao” by Bee Linn Low

I have a weakness for cookbooks.

The colorful pictures, recipes and reliance on fresh ingredients call to me, so much so that nearly every evening you will find me in the kitchen making dinner from scratch. A vegetarian for 19 years, I want to know what’s in my food, and to be able to pronounce its ingredients.

Although I am fond of my own cookbooks, the Joplin Public Library offers an excellent and diverse collection that encompasses multiple cuisines, techniques and special diets. The new cookbooks I’ve highlighted below are just a few of the many you will find on our shelves.

“Easy Chinese Recipes: Family Favorites from Dim Sum to Kung Pao” by Bee Linn Low

“Easy Chinese Recipes” is basic and approachable Ñ perhaps too much so for me. I was hoping to find inspiration within its pages, but I’m afraid that wasn’t the case.

In an attempt to make the recipes simple, I fear the author dumbed them down to the point that more serious cooks won’t bother. It seemed almost everything was made with oyster sauce, soy sauce and chicken bouillon.

What about black bean paste, hoisin sauce and garlic chili paste? These ingredients add depth of flavor, and are available in most stores.  

However, “Easy Chinese Recipes” offers variety for people new to Chinese cooking, from restaurant favorites such as sweet and sour pork to the more exotic salt and pepper squid. And the photos adequately demonstrate the steps required for more labor-intensive dishes like pot stickers or green onion pancakes.

I’m sure many people will get something from this book. It just wasn’t for me.

May 7th, Oscar Wilde & a Death of No Importance/Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandreth

I am a huge fan of mysteries, especially historical ones, reading a wide variety and always on the lookout for a new author. So I was delighted to discover a new series featuring Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and a cast of other historical figures by Gyles Brandreth. Oscar Wilde is at the height of his popularity (and just a few years away from his trial for “gross indecency” that resulted in him serving two years of hard labor) and Doyle’s famed character Sherlock Holmes is Oscar’s model for detecting when murder and mysteries fall at his feet.

The first book in the series is “Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance” and is narrated by Robert Sherard, is the great-grandson of famed poet William Wordsworth. Oscar discovers the body of Billy Wood, a beautiful young man who was a male prostitute and artist’s model, ritually posed with his throat cut. When he returns to the scene with friends Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle, the body is missing and the room is immaculate except for a few blood spatters that Doyle discovers high on the wall. The police refuse to investigate with no body, so Oscar, with the help of his friends, decides to find Billy’s killer. The trail will take them from London, Kent, Oxford, Edinburgh, and Paris before Oscar finds the answer.

Gyles Brandreth does a superb job foreshadowing the tragic downfall of Oscar Wilde with his choice of murder victim in this novel. Billy Wood is a victim that most people of the time would not have cared about, and Oscar’s determination to solve his murder is touching. Learning about early embalming techniques was also an intriguing touch.

“Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder” is the second book with characters Robert Sherard and Arthur Conan Doyle not only returning but new ones being introduced, such as Dracula creator Bram Stoker, Willie Hornung who brought us jewel thief Raffles, the Marquess of Queensberry who is best known for bringing rules to boxing and Charles Brookfield, the first actor to portray Sherlock Holmes on stage.

The story starts with Oscar hosting a Sunday dinner party with 7 participants, each bringing a guest. Oscar has them playing an after-dinner game called “Murder” with everyone writing down the name of someone they would like to kill. The goal will be to figure out who wrote which name and why. But when the game quickly turns dark, with one guest named multiple times, and Oscar and his wife both named, the get-together comes to an uncomfortable close. But early the next morning, the first victim named is found dead, burned to death in what is termed an unfortunate accident. But then the second person is found dead in their sleep, raising the thought that maybe someone is working their way through the list. Oscar is on the case, utilizing many of the same techniques as Sherlock Holmes. He is determined to keep his wife Constance safe and bring the killer to justice.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the fund-raisers for the Rational Dress Society, an organization geared towards promoting fashion for women that didn’t “deform the body or endanger it.” Women at that time period often wore undergarments weighing more than seven pounds, not counting the outside layers. An unbelievable amount of women died every year from fire when their clothing caught fire from candles or hearths because of the many layers.

Another interesting layer to these books was the Sherlock Holmes’ fascination by not the public but Oscar Wilde and Doyle’s determination to kill off his most famous creation. I enjoyed reading about Wilde making statements about people based only on tiny clues, but then explaining how he was able to come to his conclusions. The author weaved in many wonderful Wilde witticisms throughout the stories, showcasing why Oscar Wilde was considered a star of the literary world for his time.

There are many different mystery series featuring historical figures, authors, and literary characters galore, and Gyles Brandreth’s Oscar Wilde mysteries are a wonderful addition to the genre.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

This is the story of two revolutions—an internal one for modern day Brooklyn teenager Andi and the French one for eighteenth-century Parisian teenager Alex.

Andi’s younger brother died two years ago and she is still having a hard time processing her feelings.  Her rage and grief are threatening to destroy her.  In fact, the only thing keeping her afloat is her passion for music, specifically playing the guitar.  Her much absent father notices her downward spiral, intervenes, and forces Andi to take a trip to Paris with him.  While there, her Pulitzer prize-winning geneticist father plans to perform DNA testing on a two hundred year old heart.  He intends to prove that the heart belonged to Louis-Charles, the son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.  Andi’s job while in Paris is to work on the outline for her senior thesis.

During the trip, Andi discovers a hidden diary locked away in a two hundred year old guitar case and she begins to read the story of Alex, a teenage street-actor who lived during the French Revolution.  It is through Alex’s eyes that the doomed-prince Louis-Charles comes alive and with it the realization that while the world may be stupid and brutal, there is much more to be gleaned from life.

The audiobook narrators, Emily Janice Card (Orson Scott Card’s daughter) and Emma Bering, were superb.  It was especially satisfying to hear the French words and names pronounced correctly.  While a fantastical twist toward the end might leave listeners questioning the author’s choices, it is hard to deny that Jennifer Donnelly is a master storyteller.  Her melding of believable characters and a riveting, history-based storyline make for a highly-recommended historical fiction drama.

Broken Vow Mystery series by Lisa Bork

                                                       

Review by Patty Crane

When I travel I always make sure I have plenty in the way of reading materials.  Since I was going to Philadelphia and Dallas I perused the New Book shelves at the library looking for some traveling companions.

I found just what I was looking for in Lisa Bork’s In Sickness and In Death.  When I get to read for pleasure I like mystery/suspense and I like to read series.  This little mystery is the third in the Broken Vows series.  What more could I ask?

Well, I could ask for the first, For Better, for Murder, and the second, For Richer, for Danger, in the series.  The library had both checked in so I was ready for layovers, delays and long car rides.

In For Better, for Murder we meet Jolene Asdale.  Jolene owns Asdale Auto Imports in Wachobe, New York, a quaint village on the lake. With the help of her mechanic and friend, Cory Kempe, she is a step away from making her business a success.

Jolene deals in exotic cars and has just bought a Ferrari Spider with the ideal customer lined up to take a look and take it home.  Everything is perfect until she opens the door to show the beautiful Italian leather interior and a dead man falls out!

Her call for help brings the local Chief of Police plus a deputy from the sheriff’s office, Ray Parker.  When Walter, the police chief, loses his breakfast at the sight of the body, Deputy Parker takes over.  Ray is tall (6’3”, 220 lbs), good-looking, competent, and Jolene’s almost ex-husband.

After 3 years apart from Ray, Jolene finally accepted a date and went out a few times with accountant Tim Lapham.  Now Tim has just fallen out of her Ferrari with a knife in his chest and Jolene is the prime murder suspect.

Sweethearts since high school and married for more than a decade, Jolene and Ray had only one problem.  Ray wanted children and Jolene was too leery of her genetic heritage to want to pass it on.

When Jolene was 12 her mentally ill mother committed suicide leaving Jolene and her little sister Erica.  Her eccentric father left most the care of Erica to Jolene.  When Erica was diagnosed as bipolar, and after several suicide attempts, entered a treatment facility Jolene knew she would never risk having children.

Even though this issue drove them apart, Jolene still depends on Ray and she trusts him to help her and find the killer.  But as the evidence piles up against Jolene and Ray shows signs of finally moving past their broken marriage, Jolene knows she needs to help herself if she wants to avoid being charged with murder.

This entertaining novel with a likeable cast of characters was a light quick read and I expected more of the same with the second and third in the series.  However as the series develops elements of family drama creep in and they are not as light as I first thought.  The peril Jolene faces is not only physical but can be emotional too.

Jolene is still asking questions and trying to find answers.  In #2, For Richer, for Danger, the search is for baby Noelle’s mother since her name and social security number are those of someone who died a year ago.  As for #3, In Sickness and In Death, who does the severed arm in the trunk of a stolen car belong to, is she dead, and who killed her?

All of these novels have multiple storylines in addition to the mystery and the cast of characters have depth.  So whether I’ll be traveling or at home in my favorite reading spot, I look forward to the next book in this entertaining series.

P.S.  If you are in a book club, each novel has a list of book club questions at the back.