Fabulous Fiction Firsts #611 Spotlight on Psychological Thrillers

Fri, 08/19/2016 - 7:07pm by muffy

An August pick on Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, and a runaway UK debut bestseller, Behind Closed Doors * by B.A. Paris is one of the most terrifying psychological thriller you are likely to come across.

London attorney Jack Angel - movie-star-handsome and successful, sweeps Grace Harrington off her feet when he offers to dance with Millie, Grace's Down-syndrome younger sister under her care. The first sign that things are not what they seem to be is when Millie tumbles down a flight of stairs on their wedding day. On their honeymoon, Jack made clear his psychopathic plans, using Millie as leverage to ensure Grace's cooperation.

"Debut-novelist Paris adroitly toggles between the recent past and the present in building the suspense of Grace’s increasingly unbearable situation, as time becomes critical and her possible solutions narrow. This is one readers won’t be able to put down." (Booklist)

All the Missing Girls * , the first adult title by YA author Megan Miranda, is about the disappearances of two young women a decade apart. It has been 10 years since Nic(olette) Farrell left Cooley Ridge after her best friend, Corinne Prescott, disappeared without a trace. Now a cryptic note from her dementia-ravaged father brings her home. Within days of her arrival, her young neighbor Annaleise Carter disappears, reawakening the decade-old investigation that focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne's boyfriend Jackson.

Told backwards from Day 15 to Day 1 since Annaleise's disappearance, Nic works to unravel the shocking truth about her friends, her family, and ultimately, herself. "Miranda convincingly conjures a haunted setting that serves as a character in its own right, but what really makes this roller-coaster so memorable is her inspired use of reverse chronology, so that each chapter steps further back in time, dramatically shifting the reader’s perspective." (Publishers Weekly)

The Trap by East German debut novelist Melanie Raabe is a fast, twisty read.

Reclusive novelist Linda Conrads hasn't left her home since she discovered her sister's body 11 years earlier. When she sees the face of the murderer on television, the same face that she saw leaving the crime scene, she goes about setting a trap by crafting her next thriller utilizing all the details of her sister's murder. But her careful plan goes horribly awry.

Film rights sold to TriStar Pictures.

* = starred review

Brilliant Band Biography: Trouble Boys: the true story of The Replacements

Wed, 08/17/2016 - 1:43pm by eapearce

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Replacements are one of the most fascinating rock’n’roll bands of the 80s (maybe of the entire last century), first and foremost because—despite their talent—they never really got that famous. I myself am not a lifelong fan; but after being introduced to the ‘Mats earlier this summer, I haven’t stopped listening to them, and just had to read their recently published biography. Trouble Boys, by Bob Mehr, is an intricately researched book about the band that explores not only the roots of all the band members, but carries readers through their years together, breakup, and ultimate reunion in 2012.

The four original band members—guitarist and lead singer Paul Westerberg, guitarist Bob Stinson, bassist Tommy Stinson and drummer Chris Mars—are all Minnesota natives with troubled childhoods that haunted them throughout their careers. The band formed in Minneapolis in 1979 and began performing locally, gaining attention not only for their sound but because bassist Tommy was only 12 years old at the time. Alcoholism and mental health issues plagued the band, and Paul is quoted as once saying that “there isn’t a high school diploma or a drivers’ license among us,” but that didn’t stop them from rising up within the underground rock scene of the early 80s. One of the best things about the Replacements is the drastic dichotomy in the types of songs they wrote. Their second album, Hootenanny, opens with a song of the same name involving a seemingly drunken Westerberg yelling only “It’s a hootenanny” over and over, accompanied by vaguely coherent drums and guitar. On the same album though, is a deeply sensitive song called “Within Your Reach.” A fan favorite song is “Alex Chilton,” a tribute to the lead singer of Big Star, whom the Replacements were heavily influenced by and worked with at various points. The band inexplicably decided to name their first major-label album Tim, which was well-received but lead to a disastrous performance on Saturday Night Live, after which the Replacements were banned from ever playing the show again. Time marched on, Bob Stinson was fired dramatically, more albums were made (including the beautiful Pleased To Meet Me), the band broke up, and then the Replacements finally set out on a reunion tour in 2012 that concluded with their supposed “final show ever” in Portugal on 2015.

Trouble Boys tells this wild story and more of it in much greater, more vivid detail and draws on hundreds of interviews from the band members themselves, and others who knew them and worked with them over the past decades. Reading it, it’s hard not to have a soft spot for these, indeed, troubled boys from the Midwest who just wanted to play music and drink beer, but perhaps did both of those things a little too well.

Want to hear some of the Replacements’ music before reading? Try Let It Be, Tim or Pleased To Meet Me.

U of M LGBTQ Welcome Carnival

Mon, 08/15/2016 - 2:22pm by Sunny29

For many, August is a time of transition when education takes precedence over leisure activities. But, that doesn't mean that back to school can't be fun!

On Thursday, September 8th, the U of M's Spectrum Center will host an annual LGBTQ Welcome Carnival. This free event is a great chance for new, and returning, students to meet with their LGBTQ peers and allies. This event is geared toward University students but all are welcome!

If you'd like to learn more about LGBTQ topics and authors, be sure to check out some of our public lists, or create your own!

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #610

Sat, 08/13/2016 - 4:36pm by muffy

One of Bon Appetit's 8 New Food Novels to Read This Year - The City Baker's Guide to Country Living is a debut novel by Boston pastry chef Louise Miller.

Running away is what thirtysomething Livvy (Olivia) Rawlings does best. After her Baked Alaska sets fire to Boston's exclusive Emerson Club, she packs up and heads north to Guthrie, Vermont where her childhood (and only) friend Hannah lives. Luck would have it, the Sugar Maple Inn needs a pastry chef, a job that comes with a charming little cottage - the Sugarhouse.

Margaret Hurley, the cantankerous and demanding inn owner puts Livvy through her paces but is soon won over by Livvy's creations, along with the guests and the town-folks. Before long, Livvy finds herself immersed in small town life and intense scrutiny when she gets involved with Martin McCracken, a prodigal son who has returned to tend his ailing father.

After a Rockwell-worthy Thanksgiving, a funeral, and a surprise visitor shake things up, Livvy must decide whether to do what she does best and flee--or stay and finally discover what it means to belong.

This August Indie Next and LibraryReads pick, will appeal fo fans of Kitchens of the Great Midwest by Ryan Stradal; South of Superior by Ellen Airgood; novels by Erica Bauermesiter and the Little Beach Street Bakery series by Jenny Colgan.

A Fresh Look at the Spiritual Disciplines

Fri, 08/12/2016 - 6:49pm by mansii

If you have ever been curious about what the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith are, or how to begin them, Out of the House of Bread by Preston Yancey provides a fresh and accessible approach to these time-honored practices. As the title suggests, each chapter discusses both a spiritual discipline and an aspect of baking bread, drawing analogy between the two.

This book is especially helpful as an introduction because it is extremely practical. Yancey reflects on the meaning and theory behind each practice, but then gives step by step instructions on how to implement one for that week. Similarly with baking, Yancey uses the theory of bread-making to illustrate the meaning of a discipline, but then assigns you to literally bake a loaf each week, with instructions that build upon one another in making each loaf better.

For those practiced in the spiritual disciplines already, Yancey's discussion leads away from the rote application of them by habit, and instead presses in to deepening the "why" and understanding the beauty of them. Yancey draws from the Benedictine model, with several chapters addressing disciplines that might first come to mind: confession, scripture reading, intercessory prayer, and fasting. Yet the other chapters may surprise you, contemplating feasting, wonder, remembrance, and rootedness. These all tie together under the perspective of seeing the world as a sacred place where God draws near. The spiritual disciplines seek to attune us to recognizing this sacredness.

These practices unite theological strains from Quakers to Catholics and monks, from Anglicans to the Emerging Church. Click here for a list of books related to the spiritual disciplines from all of these perspectives.

Grief Is the Thing With Feathers

Wed, 08/10/2016 - 8:51pm by eapearce

Described by the NPR Book Review as “as resonant, elliptical and distilled as a poem,” Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, by debut author Max Porter, is an incredibly moving portrait of the loss of a love. Clocking in at a slim 114 pages, Porter nonetheless manages to evoke the deep weariness and desperation of grief in sharp imagery and universally understood emotions. The mourning protagonist of the book conjures up a crow who visits grieving humans and stays with them until they no longer “need” him. The crow even narrates a bit of the story, standing by as the protagonist alternates remembering fondly the early years of his lost romance and missing even the little things that he and his love will never do again: argue over petty matters, drink a little too much wine on the balcony; as NPR’s review says, the book “reminds us beautifully that life and memory are in the details.”

“Moving on, as a concept, is for stupid people, because any sensible person knows grief is a long-term project,” writes Porter. It is “the fabric of selfhood, and beautifully chaotic.” Describing grief as beautiful is a stretch for many, but Porter makes it so in this lovely little book. It’s not necessarily an uplifting read, but it’s a stunning and worthwhile tribute to the great losses that we all experience.

Those who enjoyed A Grief Observed and The Year of Magical Thinking will find solace as well in Grief Is the Thing With Feathers.

Westgate is looking for a few good hands! (And eyes, and smiles)

Tue, 08/09/2016 - 3:15pm by shurand

In preparation for the grand reopening of the Westgate Branch, AADL has opportunities for community members who want to lend a hand. Adult volunteers (ages 18+) can help staff complete specific projects at Westgate in late August - early September before the branch opens (exact dates and times TBD). Those wishing to sign up should email volunteer(at)aadl(dot)org by 8/18/16 with the following information:

- subject line: "Westgate Volunteer"
- first and last name
- birthdate (day/month/year)
- phone number (cell phone preferred)
- any questions or additional information about yourself that may be important for staff to know

Our Volunteer Coordinator will contact interested participants when specific volunteer shifts become available.

The deadline to sign up is Thursday, 8/18/16.

Fabulous Fiction Firsts #609 “Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

Sat, 08/06/2016 - 5:44pm by muffy

Shutting out the world beyond her Paris apartment for a whole year after the accidental deaths of her husband and young daughter, leaving management of her literary cafe Happy People Read & Drink Coffee in the hands of her well-meaning-but-not-so-capable partner Felix, Diane is finally ready to join the world of the living. Out of the blue, she announces that she will be moving to Ireland, the one place her late husband had wanted to visit.

Renting an isolated cottage in Mulranny along the wind-swept Irish coast, Diane makes tentative steps towards rebuilding her life, aided by endless cigarettes, music, copious amount of wine, friendly villagers and Postman Pat, a canine who takes an immediate liking to her. The exception being Postman Pat's owner, her neighbor - the rude and abrasive photographer, Edward, who is battling his own demons. I don't have to tell you what is likely to happen....

Agnes Martin-Lugand's debut, already an international bestseller, confronts life's most nightmarish tragedy with an unblinking examination. "For readers of women’s journeys and tales of hope, this slim volume engages thoughts and feelings without whitewashing grief." (Booklist). In development as a Weinstein Company feature film, sequel anticipated.

Journalist and translator Milena Busquets's debut This Too Shall Pass * is a lively, sexy, honest, and moving novel about a woman coming to terms with grief.

Forty year-old Blanca is wrecked with grief, losing her mother - the most important person in her life. Unable to carry on in Barcelona, she returns to her mother’s former home in Cadaqués with, among others, 2 sons, 2 ex-husbands, 2 best friends, and looking forward to meeting up with her married lover.

Surrounded by those she loves most, she spends the summer in an impossibly beautiful place, finding ways to reconnect and understand what it means to truly live on her own terms, just as her mother would have wanted.

"Witty and playful in tone as well as poignant and reflective, Busquets’ novel is drawn in part from the loss of her own mother, Esther Busquets, a prominent publishing figure in Spain. The seductions of its setting add to its appeal for American readers." (Booklist) Film rights to Buenos Aires based producer Daniel Burman.

* = starred review

Mad Madge

Sat, 08/06/2016 - 11:08am by Lucy S

Margaret the First

Danielle Dutton has created a short but riveting novel detailing the life and works of Margaret Cavendish, a 17th century duchess and the first woman to write for publication in England. We meet Margaret as a dreamy, yet observant child, aware of the small changes in the world around her, capable of finding an entire universe in the bubbles on a stream. “Indeed it was then that I first formed the opinion - if childishly, idly - that a person should trust to her own good sense and nature’s impenetrable wisdom.” She began to record what she saw and what she imagined, and thus this other universe became the basis for most of the poems, plays, philosophy and science fiction that Margaret created in her lifetime.

Danielle Dutton presents Margaret Cavendish’s story through two different points of view. The first half of the book is narrated by Margaret herself, almost like a diary. This allows Dutton to proffer Margaret as a sympathetic character, to show us what pushes her and what causes her to feel conflicted. We are introduced to the childlike imaginings that inform Margaret’s later work. The second half of the book is told by an omniscient narrator, demonstrating to us how Margaret is perceived by the public and how she earns the sobriquet “Mad Madge.” Dutton’s use of dual narrators allows her to create a complete picture of this fascinating woman in a very short book. As Katherine Grant says in her review in The New York Times “Dutton expertly captures the pathos of a woman whose happiness is furrowed with the anxiety of ­under acknowledgment.”

While Margaret was responsible for much groundbreaking work, like her plays for and about women or her early science fiction, she wasn’t necessarily trying to gain equality for women or propel them to the forefront. She did have a deep understanding of the different gender roles at the time and she certainly questioned them, but readers should beware of thinking of Margaret as a proto-feminist. Dutton helps us to see that Margaret’s true aim was more to see herself in the spotlight. Once recognition was given to her, Margaret found she craved it. Her innovation lay in creating her own, new identity. “Hadn’t I thoughts, after all? A mind of my own? It cannot be infamy, I reasoned, to run or seek after glory, to love perfection, desire praise.”

As Margaret fell deeper into writing the more she disconnected from the real world. “At dinner parties now, I was sometimes asked to account for myself, to speak of my ideas. I very rarely could. Bold on the page, in life I was only Margaret.” Her husband, continuously supportive, tried to draw her out, but her imagined world always prevailed. She did attempt to remain current by following fashion closely, observing, “dressing is the poetry of women,” but she seemed to slightly miss the mark, taking her style just a bit too far, so that in the end she offended those whom she meant to impress. Margaret was remembered for some of her more outlandish style choices, and for her most enduring piece of prose, The Blazing World, a detailed portrayal of her utopia.

Danielle Dutton has also created something rare in her amazingly detailed and inventive narrative. Dutton succeeds in presenting to us a captivating and conflicted woman. In just 167 pages we are shown an imagined and a real world that will not soon be forgotten.