Book Notes New Hampshire

Book of the Week #6

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Catch Me by Lisa Gardner (New York: Dutton, 2012)

"The IN FOUR DAYS, SOMEONE IS GOING TO KILL ME… At 8pm on 21st January, twenty-eight year old Charlie Grant believes she is going to be murdered and she wants Boston’s top homicide detective, D.D. Warren, to handle her death investigation. Confronting D.D. at her latest crime scene, Charlie lays her cards on the table. For each of the last two years, one of her childhood friends has been murdered leaving Charlie as the only one of the three friends to remain alive. But as D.D. delves deeper in to the details of Charlie’s case, she begins to question the young woman’s story. Because Charlie can now outfight and outrun anyone she meets and D.D.’s instinct is that she’s hiding a secret. A secret so explosive that Charlie herself may turn out to be the biggest danger of all." (publisher's description)

Catch Me is the latest installment in bestselling suspense author Lisa Garder's Detective D.D. Warren series. The book will be available on February 7th and White Birch Books is hosting a book release party where you can meet the author, a N.H. resident, at Horsefeathers. The festivities will be held on 2/7/2012 at Horsefeathers Restaurant, beginning at 7pm.

Book of the Week #5

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Recollections: Ten Women of Photography by Margaretta K. Mitchell (New York: Viking Press, A Studio Book, 1979)

When it was published in 1979 this book, and the exhibit it was a companion to, was looking at the work of photographers whose place in the history of 20th century American photography was still to be adequately understood. (to paraphrase the introduction). Brief profiles, based on interviews, of ten American photographers provide insights into what brought them to create the work they did and the book includes reproductions of several of each woman's works.

"Aside from gender, their only tie to one another is that of age: all these photographers were born around the turn of the century. Their work reflects a panorama of life experience and more than seventy-five years of photographic history. Their generation lived through drastic social change and observed extremes in social mores, ethical values, and the definition of good taste in art as well as life. The world they knew as children was abruptly upended by World War I and their adult lives were disrupted by World War II. Seen as a group, their photographs form a bridge of perceptions moving through these shifts in style." (p. 8)

Among the women profiled here is Lotte Jacobi, a photographer who championed fine art photography and who made her home in New Hampshire in 1955. She was active in local political causes as well as artistic ones. Ms. Jacobi's work, as well as that of her sister, is part of an exhibit, A New Vision: Modernist Photography, opening at the Currier Museum this week and running through mid-May 2012.

Book of the Week #4

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

MacCullough's Women by Kathleen Ferrari (Nashua, NH: Roskerry Press, 2011)

Kathleen Ferrari lives in New Hampshire and has just published this, her first novel in a planned series set in the fictional city of Lynton, NH. She has previously published essays in The Boston Globe and in the Northern New England Review. She also writes a blog on her website.
On Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 11am Ms. Ferrari will be at Toadstool Bookshop, Milford reading from and signing MacCullough's Women.

"How well do I really know my husband?” When Drew MacCullough dies suddenly in a place he is not supposed to be, this is one of the questions that his widow, Franny, asks herself. In her search for answers, she enlists the help of Drew’s oldest friend and attorney, Neil Malone who is caught between helping her find the answers to her questions while at the same time protecting the memory of his friend." (from the publisher)

Book of the Week #3

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:05:00 +0000

Winter Light: Photographs by Fletcher Manley (Lancaster, NH: Fletcher Manley Imaging, 2010)

Photographer and Lancaster resident Fletcher Manley has gathered an exquisite collection of images for this book. They are black and white photographs he made between 1967 and 2010 and they capture the magical qualities of snow in scenes from around the world. Many of the images include skiers, Powder-8's is a particularly striking skiing image, but city-scapes and country woods are also included.

"Growing up among hills and mountains helped shape my appreciation of the vertical landscape. Winter held a particular fascination with its low, glancing light, long shadows, and crisp accentuated textures, where snow sculpted and redefined familiar forms. So, it was not so much as a mountaineer, but more a rambler among the peaks and valleys, that I came to frame light and shadows, shapes and forms inherent in the mountain landscape." --Fletcher Manley

Book Events Sampler

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Wednesday, 1/18/2012

Barbara Brown Taylor, author of An Alter in the World will be speaking at Red River Theatre at 6pm, hosted by Gibson's and St. Paul's School.
Poetry Society of New Hampshire, will meet at 7pm at Gibson's.
Strictly Open Mic: so bring your villanelles, your sonatelles, sonnets, triolets, haiku or couplets, anything 19 lines or less. Bring a number of poems to share, yours or someone else’s.

Thursday, 1/19/2012

Tom Fiztgerald, author of Poor Richard's Lament will be at Gibson's at 7pm
Toadstool Bookshop, Keene will host Local Authors Night beginning at 7pm.
Featuring some of the areas best writers sharing their latest books. Scheduled to appear are Linda French, author of The Lilac Room, Karren Hoyt, author of Prayers From the Heart, Prayers from the Mind: A Collection of Modern Prayers, D.C. Legendre, author of Clams in Cups: Legends of the Heart, and Melissa Mannon, author of The Unofficial Family Archivist. They will read from and discuss their books and take questions from the audience. Come support local authors and find out about great new books written in our region.

Saturday, 1/21/2012

Jane Roy Brown will be autographing and discussing One Writer's Garden: Eudora Welty's Home Place at Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough at 11am.

Book of the Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Poor Richard's Lament: A Most Timely Tale by Tom Fitzgerald (Brookline, NH: Hobblebush Books, 2012)

Hobblebush, a NH based publisher, doesn't usually publish fiction. The foreword that Benjamin Franklin scholar Michael Zuckerman wrote convinced them to take a look at the manuscript and the extraordinary work of author Tom Fitzgerald convinced them that this book needed to be brought to as wide an audience as possible. From the West Wing of the White House to the “Celestial Trial” of Ben Franklin, to the slums of Philadelphia, Poor Richard’s Lament takes us on a whirlwind tour of time and space.

"But the beauty of this book is not just in its verbal pyrotechnics, ravishing though they are. It is, still more, in the constant breath of humane inspiration that guides a steady succession of searing, soaring triumphs of communion and caritas. Fitzgerald is that rarest of birds: a great writer and a great soul. He has summoned from unfathomable depths of despair an imagining of the greatest of Americans that is not only better than the original but also worthy of his own remarkable spirit." (Foreword, p. xiv)

Author Tom Fitzgerald will be at Gibson's for a reading and book signing on Thursday, January 19, 2012 beginning at 7pm.

Book of the Week #1

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:11:00 +0000

The Talk Funny Girl: A Novel by Roland Merullo (NY: Crown Publishers, 2011)

Anita Shreve called this "One of the best novels I have ever read. A book for the ages." Set in a made-up version of rural New Hampshire this novel tells the story of Marjorie, a girl whose family is so isolated from society that they speak their own dialect and who are sinking deeper into economic ruin and the world of a sadistic cult leader.

"I am a grown woman now, married and raising children, and happy enough most of the time. Underneath that happiness, though, showing its face every now and again, is a part of me still connected to a time when I was a girl living with her parents in the New Hampshire hills. That girl was not treated well, and when anyone is hurt like that--especially a child--the hurt burrows down inside and makes a kind of museum there, with images of the bad times displayed on every wall. Some people try to forget the museum exists and keep their mind occupied with drink or drugs or food, or by staying busy with work, or they chase one kind of excitement after another, while the memories fester there in the dark. I understand all that, and I don't lay a judgement, as we used to say, over any of it. Some people use their own hurt as an excuse for hurting others, or for soaking in self-pity, or for a sharp anger that knifes up through the surface whenever something reminds them of what happened long ago. Some people spend thier lives trying never to do what was done to them." (p.1)

Book of the Week #52

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:23:00 +0000

The Taking by J. D. Landis (NY: Ballantine Books, 2003)

New Hampshire author J. D. Landis worked in publishing for many years, wrote several kids books, and published his first novel, Lying in Bed in 1995. He was interviewed for the Baltimore City Paper just after that book came out. The Taking is a fascinating tale of love and loss with the history of the Quabbin Reservoir as a backdrop. The writing is lush, but at the same time has the spare flavor of New England about it.

"A haunting story set amid a sylvan cluster of towns, villages, and graveyards in New England-- nestled in a valley that would be purposely flooded in the late 1930s to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Communities would be destroyed, lives uprooted, connections to places of birth severed, and the dead would be exhumed and reburied. The fate of Swift River Valley holds a strange fascination for seventeen-year-old Sarianna Renway, a wayward student obsessed with the life and work of poet Emily Dickinson. Sarianna finds herself drawn to this little world whose end is predetermined and whose time is drawing near. In the small hamlet of Greenwich Village--abandoned, beautiful, doomed--Sarianna takes a job tutoring a minister's son. A man of deep faith, Jeremy Treat strives to instill hope into a town destined to be taken and lost forever. He vows to be the last one in the valley to ensure his remaining flock leaves safely. Eleven-year-old Jimmy, "the perfect representation of God on earth," is a curious and compassionate child prodigy. The matriarch of the household is twenty-six-year-old Una, a voluptuous eccentric who embraces scandal--and pines for the one true love who disappeared almost twelve years ago on the day she became Jeremy's wife. When the mysterious Ethan Vear resurfaces, none will emerge unchanged--especially Sarianna, who finds herself ensnared in a triangle of shifting identities and warring passions. In lush, evocative prose, J. D. Landis takes these vivid characters--their secrets, their temptations, their desires--and creates a stunning New England gothic novel of sexual awakening, profound loss, and thwarted love." --Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #51

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:54:00 +0000

Shortcuts to Inner Peace: 70 Simple Paths to Everyday Serenity by Ashley Davis Bush (NY: Berkley Books, 2011)

Ashley Davis Bush, a writer and psychotherapist who lives in Epping, NH has written a wonderful, practical book to help all of us find our inner serenity. Mixed in with the shortcuts are anecdotes about how the tools have helped the author develop her own path. Bush does not live a calm quiet life--there are 5 kids living at her house--but has found ways to bring serenity to the chaos of modern life.

This book would make a great gift for someone who could use more serenity (you maybe?)

This excerpt explains the premise of the book, it isn't particularly representative of the warm and engaging tone that the author brings to her stories and which make this book a pleasure to read.

"So, can we train ourselves to pause? Can we learn to actually derail the habituated response and proceed intentionally? Can we develop new reactions to stress, new habits that not only lessen our suffering but actually increase our inner peace?
Yes! Practicing Shortcuts, that is, well-being exercises that are linked to established daily patterns, makes our lives more peaceful. Shortcuts (tools linked to triggers) allow us to experience calm and clarity, acceptance and gratitude, love and connection on a regular basis. They help us develop new habits of pausing, habits of redirection away from stress, and habits of "waking up" to life's riches. Moreover, when we're in a potentially downward stress spiral (and it happens to all of us) we can use Shortcuts to react differently ... to respond peacefully." (p. 3)

Calling all teenagers!

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:43:00 +0000

The Flume Award committee is looking for nominees and the deadline is January 13, 2012.

If you are a New Hampshire teenager in grades 9-12 you can nominate books for the 2013 Flume Award with the online nomination form. Nominated titles can be fiction or nonfiction books, with appeal to teens. They must have a publication date within the last two years. If the book is part of a series, it must be able to stand alone, meaning a reader doesn't have to read the other books in the series to understand what's going on.

The 2011 Flume winner was Paper Towns by John Green. The list of 2012 nominees has 13 great books on it if you are looking for something to read.

Best Books of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:33:00 +0000

It's that time again -- when everyone and their cousin comes out with a list of the best books of the year.
Here are a few that I found interesting:

Library Journal's Top Ten Best Books of 2011
LJ also has lists by various categories -- some sliced so fine as to be ridiculous-- if you like lists they have lists.
The Best Business Books of 2011 from Marketplace
This is an interesting list and the scope of "business books" is broader than I would have expected.
Slate Writers and Editors Pick Their Favorite Books of 2011
This is the kind of list that reminds me that there are way more books out there than I can possibly keep up with -- it is fun to try though!
The 10 Best Books of 2011 from the NY Times
The first thing they include is the link to the best 100 books, which seems a little like cheating, but I like the graphic they chose for the article.

Tomorrow we will have another list to check out as well, The Exchange is doing their annual Holiday Book Show at 9am with Michael Herrmann of Gibson's Bookstore and Dan Chartrand from Water Street Bookstore.

Book of the Week #50

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Dirty Whites and Dark Secrets: Sex and Race in Peyton Place by Sally Hirsh-Dickinson (Durham, NH: University of NH Press, 2011)

Part of the Revisiting New England series, this volume by NHPR host Sally Hirsh-Dickinson investigates the connections between the white identity and the black history of this small New England town and the ways those tensions manifest in the novel.

The first full-length scholarly study of Peyton Place, Grace Metalious’s classic story of New England indiscretion.

In a surprise rereading of the classic Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, Sally Hirsh-Dickinson contends that it scandalized the nation precisely because of the way in which sexuality in the novel is conflated with America’s problematic relationship to race. This charge is buttressed by the oft-forgotten detail that the fictional Peyton Place was founded by one Samuel Peyton, an escaped slave.

Hirsh-Dickinson argues that the town’s inability to come to terms with its black history informs its dysfunctional relationship to sex, power, and justice, mirroring America on the eve of the civil rights movement. She writes of New England in the larger American consciousness, touching on discussions of white studies and the racialized lower classes in American fiction. Dirty Whites and Dark Secrets is a thought-provoking study of a genre classic that will speak to both scholars and students about the deeper truths hidden in popular fiction." (publisher's blurb)

And the Winner is ...

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:09:00 +0000

Memoirs of a Goldfish written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers was selected by New Hampshire children, from preschoolers to third graders, as the winner of the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

There were 19,8263 votes cast by children across the state this year at over 140 voting sites. A flyer of the voting totals, suitable for posting, is available on the Ladybug Picture Book Award webpage.

Here are the complete voting results for 2011:

Memoirs of a Goldfish (4892 votes)
Interrupting Chicken (4880 votes) The top 2 were super close!
One (2924 votes)
City Dog, Country Frog (2294 votes)
Ugly Pie (1246 votes)
In the Wild (1075 votes)
Hibernation Station (838 votes)
The Cow Loves Cookies (795 votes)
Rubia and the Three Osos (522 votes)
Guyku (360 votes)

Book of the Week #49

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:13:00 +0000

All the Stars Came Out That Night: A Novel by Kevin King (NY: Dutton, 2005)

This is New Hampshire writer Kevin King's first novel.

"In the tradition of The Natural, and Shoeless Joe comes a mythic tale about 1930s stars Dizzy Dean, Satchel Paige, and the greatest game ever played. The date was October 20, 1934, just days after Diz’s Cardinals won the World Series. The place was Boston’s Fenway Park, under portable lights. The money behind it was Henry Ford’s, who yearned to see an all-white (and non-Jewish) team defeat the black all-stars. And the force behind it all was Clarence Darrow, the legal genius who pulled the political levers to make it happen. For Diz’s team there was Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Shoeless Joe Jackson (overweight and still banned from the game), and a lanky minor- leaguer named Joe DiMaggio. Paige’s all-stars featured Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell (the fastest man from first to third), Turkey Stearnes, and Buck Leonard. With a gimlet eye for historical detail and a passionate love for the game, Kevin King chronicles this epic game between Diz’s and Satch’s all-stars—and the epic struggle to put it together. No trophies or championships were on the line, only the two most important things in life to any ballplayer—respect and redemption." (publisher's description)

Let the Counting Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:27:00 +0000

Voting is now closed for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

The winner will be announced on this blog once the huge pile of ballots is counted. I would expect counting to be completed by the end of next week.

Book of the Week #48

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:13:00 +0000

Delirious by Daniel Palmer (NY: Kensington Books, 2011)

This first novel by New Hampshire resident Daniel Palmer is, according to Booklist, a "solid, well-constructed thriller, nicely convoluted and definitely suspenseful."
Delirious is the story of Charlie Giles, an electronics superstar who sold his startup to a giant Boston firm, and is at the top of his game until the day everthing starts going terrifyingly wrong. As he struggles to save his own life, Charlie races to find the truth and realizes nothing can be trusted--including his own fractured mind.
Palmer's next novel is expected in January 2012.

Sending Ladybug Tally Sheets

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:24:00 +0000

Voting for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award should be wrapping up this week as all votes must be recieved at the Center for the Book at the NH State Library no later than 5pm on December 5, 2011.

I have had several inquiries about faxing tally sheets. You may fax your votes, but if you don't get through before the deadline your votes won't be counted. Because of construction here at NHSL one of our fax machines has been unplugged and packed away, this leaves only one fax machine (603-271-2205). The original tally sheet posted on the website had the now disconnected fax number on it. The working number is on the version currently on the website.

You're best bet is to put your tally sheet in the mail. The address is in large type at the top of the tally sheet.

Deadlines are Approaching

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 21:02:00 +0000

Several NH Center for the Book projects have deadlines coming up:

Applications for Granite State Reads Grants are only being accepted by mail for the 2012 grant cycle and must be postmarked by December 1, 2011
Votes for the Ladybug Picture Book Award must be recieved at the NH Center for the Book by 5pm on December 5, 2011
Letters About Literature entries must be postmarked no later than January 6, 2012 and must be recieved at LAL Central no later than 1/17/2012. Each entry must have an official entry coupon attached.

Book of the Week #47

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Walking the Dog's Shadow by Deborah Brown (Rochester, NY: BOA Editions, 2011)

This book of poetry from UNH Manchester professor Deborah Brown was chosen out of nearly eight hundred submissions as the winner of the ninth annual A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. It was also the winner of the 2011 NH Literary Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry.

Read "Reprise" for a sample of Brown's poetry.

Book of the Week #46

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:46:00 +0000

A Different Time, A Different Man: The Story of John L. Sullivan, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for FDR and Truman's Sectretary of the Navy by Stephen Clarkson (Portsmouth, NH: Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2011)

Stephen Clarkson, a resident of Rye, NH and author of Patriot's Reward, has written the first biography of John L. Sullivan. Sullivan served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Franklin D. Roosevelt and was President Truman's Secretary of the Navy. He played a key role in the financing of World War II and then fought after the war to preserve a strong Navy and save the Marine Corps from being folded into the Army.

"Throughout his life, John Lawrence Sullivan was a devoted New Hampshire man. He was born and raised in Manchester and practiced law there. He managed several political campaigns and ran for governor twice. Over the years he became a respected political operative both in New Hampshire and nationally. He always kept his domicile in New Hampshire, although he continued to reside in Washington in the winter months after his government service. During the summers he and his family stayed much of the time at their other home on the coast, at Little Board Head in North Hampton, New Hampshire, next to Rye Beach." (p.7)

It seems to happen every couple years

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Time got away from me and I realized today that I missed posting a book of the week for the last 2 weeks. There is a book posted for this week (#46), but week #44 and week #45 had no books posted. After a slow start in 2007 I missed 2 weeks in 2009. As it has happened again in 2011 I clearly need to be careful in 2013.

And the winners are...

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:48:00 +0000

The New Hampshire Literary Awards were held this evening at the NH Institute of Art in Manchester. It was a wonderful night for NH's literati and I am very glad that I didn't have to choose the winners from among all the wonderful nominees!

Outstanding Children's Literature Award -- Joseph Monninger for Wish
Outstanding Book of Poetry Award -- Deborah Brown for Walking the Dog's Shadow
Outstanding Work of Nonfiction Award -- Beyond the Notches: Stories of Place in New Hampshire's North Country, edited by John R. Harris, Kay Morgan, and Mike Dickerman
Donald M. Murray Award for Outstanding Journalism -- Meg Heckman, "Living with Hepatitis C," Concord Monitor
Outstanding Book of Fiction Award -- Ann Joslin Williams for Down from Cascom Mountain
Charles Simic was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award
Readers' Choice Awards
Katherine Towler, Island Light (fiction)
Mary Carroll Moore, Your Book Starts Here (nonfiction)
Liz Ahl, Luck (poetry)
David S. Rawding, Lucas the Traveling Crab (children's literature)

Go to RiverRun this week and buy books

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:47:00 +0000

There are several excellent reasons why a visit to RiverRun Bookstore should be on your calendar this week:

On Wednesday 11/2/2011 at 7pm author Kevin Brockmeier will be there reading from his latest novel, The Illumination
On Friday, 11/4/2011 at 7pm Colson Whitehead will be there (If you haven't read his books yet, start with The Intuitionist which is amazing)
If RiverRun is going to remain Portsmouth's independent bookstore, it needs your support! The Los Angeles Times is concerned about this, and we should be too.

Ladybug Nominee Profile

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:09:00 +0000

Bear goes wandering through the woods --which are full of colorful detail thanks to the illustrations of Heather Solomon-- in search of ugly pie. He finds several friends with pies to offer, (pumpkin, honey, and rhubarb) but none are ugly enough to suit him. Each friend gives him an ugly ingredient and when he gets home he sets to "a-choppin' and a-mixin' and a-stirin' and a-fixin' and a-rollin', and a-makin' an ugly pie just fit for bakin'!" Author Lisa Wheeler provides the recipe at the end of the story.

This is one of the ten titles nominated for the 2011 Ladybug Picture Book Award. Ms. Wheeler's work has been nominated before: One Dark Night was nominated in 2004.

2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Outstanding Children's Literature

noreply@blogger.com (MaryR) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:39:00 +0000

This year, for the first time, as part of the NH Literary Awards, the NH Writers' Project will also give a Readers' Choice Award. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite book from among the titles nominated in each category. The Readers' Choice Awards will be presented at the Literary Awards ceremony on November 4, 2011 at the NH Institute of Art.

Here are the nominees for The Readers' Choice Award for Outstanding Children's Literature:
(Note, hyperlinked titles have been NH Center for the Book books-of-the-week, hyperlinked authors have had other work featured on our blog.)

Let It Fall, Maryann Cocoa-Leffler
The Memory Bank, Carolyn Coman
The Penny, Andy Cutts
Jigsaw, Terri A. DeMitchell
Wish, Joseph Monninger
The Gator Pit, Janey Morneau
Lucas the Traveling Crab, David S Rawding
The Christmas Mink and other December Tales from the North Woods, John-Richard Thompson

Vote for your favorite in each award category!

The winners will be announced next week -- do you have your tickets for the NH Literary Awards ceremony?