Healthy Joints for Life, by Richard Diana

With arthritis in the family, having been a runner through my mid-40s, (OK, a jogger), and having not too long ago passed the halfway mark (i.e., my 50th birthday) this book offered me a wealth of information about staying in good shape for a long time. Author Richard Diana was a professional football player who experienced significant trauma to his knees and body. As an orthopedic surgeon, he regularly treats people with severe arthritis. He wrote this book to share what he's learned about the best way to treat arthritis to maintain healthy joints.

Written in terms that a layman can understand, Dr. Diana describes the root causes of arthritis, particularly the role of inflammation. He outlines the basics of inflammation, how joints work and what can go wrong with them, the foods that help or hinder inflammation, the role of supplements, and how exercise helps. He follows this with an eight-week plan to reduce inflammation and reduce pain, providing different approaches for people with mild, moderate, or severe arthritis. The appendix provides more in-depth information about the cell science behind inflammation and pain.

I found Dr. Diana's recommendations to be helpful, but not all that surprising. Suggestions about diet and exercise are consistent with many other resources on health. What I found particularly useful were the discussions about the types of food that either cause or reduce inflammation (hint: carbohydrates are not so great). I was surprised by the lengthy list of supplements that Dr. Diana recommends, many but not all of which have strong evidence to support them.

This book would be useful to not only people who already have arthritis, but also to anyone who wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Even folks who already eat a healthy diet and exercise could glean more tips from this book about what foods to add to their diet and which ones to cut back on. I'm not a big fan of supplements, so I'll withhold judgment on that chapter.

Richard Diana, M.D. Healthy Joints for Life: An Orthopedic Surgeon's Proven Plan to Reduce Pain and Inflammation, Avoid Surgery, and Get Moving Again. New York: Harlequin, 2013.336 pages. ISBN 9780373892709.

Rejection Proof, by Jia Jiang

In 2012 author Jia Jiang quit his job to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Four months into his first project, he suffered a crushing rejection when his proposal was not funded. Realizing that fear of rejection was preventing him from achieving the success he desired, he decided to embark on a project to immunize himself from the feelings of despair and unworthiness that he experienced when rejected. His new project was called "100 Days of Rejection" and was documented through video and essay in a blog that rapidly became popular.

During the 100 Days of Rejection project, Mr. Jiang tried to come up with creative and amusing proposals or requests that would be guaranteed to garner a "no" response. Early requests included asking a stranger if he could borrow $100, asking for a burger "refill" at a restaurant that only offered soda refills, and asking if he could deliver pizzas as a volunteer deliveryman. One of his early requests, asking if Krispy Kreme could make him a customized donut in the shape of the Olympic rings symbol, actually received a positive response. This video was reposted to reddit and catapulted him to fame. All of a sudden his project began to get media attention and Mr. Jiang was interviewed on national television.

Having recently experienced a rejection that left me feeling sad and disappointed, I appreciated Mr. Jiang's thoughts about the meaning of rejection and how we can recover from it. In many cases a rejection says more about the person doing the rejection than the person being rejected. Often, to be successful, you have to experience many rejections before being accepted. Many famous authors, for example, were rejected dozens or hundreds of times before getting a book accepted for publication. Using humor or explaining why you're requesting something can also help encourage a positive response. Mr. Jiang also offers advice to those who have to say "no," encouraging them to be direct and offer alternatives.

Rejection Proof is a fun and quick read, but it is also a thoughtful meditation on the meaning of rejection and how it should be perceived and addressed. I can't think of anyone who would not benefit from reading it.

Jia Jiang. Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible through 100 Days of Rejection. New York: Harmony, 2015. 226 pages. ISBN 9780804141383.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Mrs. Kimble, by Jennifer Haigh

Mrs. Kimble is the story of three women, all of whom fall in love with the same horrible man, Ken Kimble. We never learn what's caused Ken to behave the way he does, but his whole life is a series of cons. He makes people believe that he cares about them, but they're really just scenery and background to his self-absorption. He's drawn to young, beautiful women, and simply drops them when they are no longer of use to him.

A chaplain at a Bible college, Ken married one of his students, Birdie, when she was eighteen, then abandons his family when he runs off with yet another student. He then dumps her when he meets Joan, a vulnerable, yet wealthy, woman, and ingratiates himself with Joan's family, passing himself off as Jewish so that they embrace him and bring him into the family business. After she dies from cancer a few years later, Ken inherits everything from her and moves back to the Washington, D.C. area to run a real estate business. Meeting up with Dinah, a young woman who babysat the children from his first marriage, he marries yet again. The facade Ken built crumbles when it becomes clear that he had been committing fraud for years, and Ken runs away once again, only to die alone.

Jennifer Haigh's writing is crisp and unsentimental, yet she clearly evokes the emotional wreckage that Ken leaves behind in each of his marriages. I found the ending satisfying as it's clear that Ken's children, though scarred, have formed a sort of blended family and will survive. I suppose it's intentional on the author's part, but we never learn what caused Ken to become so narcissistic. Ken dies alone (this isn't a spoiler, because the book opens with his death), but we don't have the satisfaction of thinking this is a punishment for him. In the end, I felt that he didn't even care about that. Alone, and on the run from the FBI, he continued to live the way he was accustomed. He ran every day, he watched his cholesterol, he wore good suits and his Rolex watch, and he had his stash of money in the bank.

Mrs. Kimble is Jennifer Haigh's first book. I've also read The Condition and Faith, the latter reviewed here on this blog. I loved both books, and look forward to reading Baker Towers, the only book of hers that I haven't read yet, as well as any future books. 

ALA Annual 2015 Book-A-Licious Breakfast

The ALA Annual 2015 Book-A-Licious Breakfast was another fun event sponsored by the Association of American Publishers and LibraryReads. Held on Saturday, June 27th at the Marriott Marquis San Francisco Hotel, it featured six authors and their latest books. Attendees were treated to a full breakfast while each of the authors talked about how libraries and librarians were important to their development at authors, and discussed their books. I was amazed at what good speakers each of the authors were. They were at times earnest, passionate, and funny. I attend this event at every conference, and I'm never disappointed. As a bonus, all attendees are given a tote bag filled with each of the books that are discussed. The authors and books that were spotlighted were:

Charles Belfoure. House of Thieves. Mr. Belfoure is an architect who writes books with architecture as the backdrop. His first book was the best-selling The Paris Architect so there is a lot of anticipation for his second effort.

Anthony Marra

Anthony Marra. The Tsar of Love and Techno. Mr. Marra's first book was the best-selling and prize-winning A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which I have at home but haven't read yet. Mr. Marra began his talk by telling us that his father worked as a young man collecting late fines door-to-door for a public library in Brooklyn and wanted Anthony to tell the room full of librarians that he never let him return books late to the library when he was a child.

Celeste Ng

Celeste Ng. Everything I Never Told You. This is Ms. Ng's first novel, although she has published short stories previously. Her book is set in 1977, and was meticulously researched at the library. Ms. Ng reports that she obsessively read both books and newspapers about the time period to get the details right.

Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor. Lagoon. Ms. Okorafor writes science fiction and fantasy for children, young adults, and adults. Her latest, Lagoon, was inspired by the movie District 9, which she felt got so much wrong about Africa. I really liked District 9, and I'm not sure what she was getting at there, so I'll have to watch it again and read her book to see what she means.

Stacy Schiff

Stacy Schiff. The Witches. Ms. Schiff is the only one of the six authors presenting whose work I had previously read (Cleopatra: A Life, which I loved). Her new book is an examination of the Salem witch trials, and sounds fascinating.

Brigid Schulte

 Brigid Schulte. Overwhelmed. Ms. Schulte is a reporter for the The Washington Post who writes about work-life issues. Overwhelmed explores how and why women often feel so overwhelmed by all of their obligations and responsibilities. How did this happen, and what can we do about it?

Book Buzz San Francisco 2015

Book Buzz San Francisco was an all-day event held at the San Francisco Public Library on June 25, 2015. This event is sponsored by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), which very generously presents an opportunity for member publishers to share their upcoming books with librarians. The morning is devoted to children's and young adult books, and the afternoon to adult fiction and non-fiction.

AAP also provides a lunch for all who attend, and at the end of each session, attendees are given a bag full of advance reader's copies of many of the books discussed throughout the day. I was flying to San Francisco on Thursday morning, so I missed the morning session, but I was able to get there just in time for lunch and the afternoon session.

Here are some of the publishers and books that I'm excited about:

Simon & Schuster. Esther: A Novel, by Rebecca Kanner (about Queen Esther).
Perseus Books Group. First Bite: How We Learn to Eat, by Bee Wilson (who also wrote Consider the Fork).
New York Review Books. The House of Twenty Thousand Books, by Sasha Abramsky (about his grandfather who loved learning).
Sterling. House Beautiful Pink, by Lisa Cregan (how to decorate with pink).
WW.Norton. S.P.Q.R: A History of Rome, by Mary Beard.
HarperCollins. Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, by Bonnie MacBird (I got this in the bag of ARCs they distributed).
Workman. This is Your Life, Harriet Chance, by Jonathan Evison (I really liked his The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving).
Sourcebooks. Until We Meet Again, by Renee Collins (marketed at The Time Traveler's Wife for teens).
Soho Crime. Burning Down George Orwell's House, by Andrew Ervin.
National Geographic. Pope Francis & the New Vatican (first time ever photos of any pope in the Vatican;  the cover photo is embargoed and we were the first ever to see it (we were asked not to take any pictures)).
Melville House. The Dog Walker: An Anarchist's Encounters with the Good, the Bad, and the Canine, by Joshua Stevens (he spends his free time protesting against the 1%, but it's their dogs that he walks for a living).
Hachette. Drinking in America, by Susan Cheever.
Penguin Random House. The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin (about Truman Capote).

 

Catching up: June 2015

Once again I've gotten behind on writing reviews for my leisure reading, so I will list the missing books here along with just a few words about each one.

Alice Hoffman's Local Girls. I read this book (published in 1999) for my book club. Originally not very enthusiastic about it because it is a collection of short stories, I ended up enjoying it because the stories and characters were all related. The stories mostly follow Greta through her teenage years as her father leaves them for a new wife and her best friend gets pregnant and drops out of school.

Alice Hoffman's Nightbird. Twig is a young girl who lives with her mother and brother in a small town. Her life is defined by the secrets they keep; her family was cursed by a witch many generations ago and her brother is the last in a long line of men in the family who have to hide from public view. Everything changes when a new family comes to town; they're descendants of the witch who cursed the family so long ago. Including elements of magic and fantasy, Alice Hoffman's writing is simple and charming.

Joseph Kanon's Stardust. I absolutely loved this historical mystery/thriller. Set at the end of 1945, it explores the hunt for communists in the film industry. Ben Collier's brother has committed suicide and Ben's investigation into his death brings many intrigues to light. Its fast-paced and fascinating look at this period of history will make this book interesting to thriller lovers as well as historical fiction buffs.

Joseph Kanon's Istanbul Passage. This book explores yet another aspect of the five-year period after World War II. Neutral during WWII, Turkey was a central point for U.S., Russian, and other spies trying to get information and make deals throughout the war. Businessman Leon Bauer works on the fringe of the spy community, delivering messages and packages when needed. Hired to pick up a former Romanian military officer, he has to hide him away when they're ambushed. Leon has to navigate between the two nation's interests when it becomes clear that there's a traitor in the U.S. embassy who may be working for the Russians. This is a good thriller but has a little less of the historical context than the other two Kanon's that I've read.

Tiffany Baker's The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. Truly was born big and grows to be exceedingly tall and heavy. After her parents both die, Truly and her sister Serena Jane are split up and sent to different families for fostering. Because of her size and refusal to wear girls clothing, Truly is sent to live with a farming family whereas Serena Jane is brought up in a home in town. This book describes their lives growing up apart, Serena Jane's marriage and then disappearance, and Truly's service as a caretaker for Serena Jane's husband and surrogate mother to their son Bobbie. This is a strong first book; I'm looking forward to Tiffany Baker's next one.

The Good German, by Joseph Kanon

The Good German takes place during the Potsdam Conference near the end of World War II. Jake Geismar is a reporter who's come to Berlin to write for Collier's magazine. He tags along with his photographer friend Liz as she visits the scene of the conference and he witnesses the discovery of a body floating in the lake nearby. Jake recognizes the dead man from his plane ride from Frankfurt to Berlin, and begins to investigate his murder. It turns out that the dead man (Tully) was operating on the black market, and had the equivalent of $10,000 on him.

Jake has another goal in Berlin: to track down his former lover, a German woman named Lena. Married to Emil, a brilliant scientist who has disappeared, she's been on her own for some time. Raped by one of the invading Russian soldiers, she's had an abortion and nearly died from an ensuing infection. Believing that Emil tried to come back for her, she convinces Jake to help her look for him. As Jake digs into the mystery of what happened to Emil, he realizes that Emil's story is intertwined with the murder that he's investigating.

The Good German is filled with fascinating characters who typify all of the competing interests that descended on Germany after the war. One man is gathering documentation to try Nazis for war crimes. Another is trying to identify scientists who can be exonerated of their crimes and brought to America to work for the government. Gunther is a former German policeman whose Jewish wife was betrayed and shipped off to her death. Sikorsky is a Russian military officer who's also looking for Emil. Dr. Rosen was held in a camp during the war and now serves as the doctor for a brothel. Erich is a young boy whom Jake promises to care for. As Jake investigates both of his mysteries, he unlocks a maelstrom of interlocking motives and interests that only come together at the end to reveal why Tully was killed.

Joseph Kanon has published seven historical mysteries, all set in the post-World War II period. All of his books were written after Mr. Kanon has devoted many years to a career in publishing, as both editor and president of publishing houses Houghton Mifflin and E.P. Dutton. His writing is excellent; there wasn't a dull moment in The Good German. This book was made into a 2006 film starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. I remember enjoying the movie, but apparently it didn't do very well, getting only a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6/10 score on IMDB.

Joseph Kanon. The Good German. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2001. 482 pages. ISBN 0805064222.

The Camel Bookmobile, by Masha Hamilton

The Camel Bookmobile describes a culture clash between a do-gooder librarian from the U.S. and a nomadic African tribe. Fiona Sweeney is a librarian who wants to do something worthwhile with her life. She signs on with an organization that brings books to Kenyan villages, some of them traditionally nomadic, on camels. Mr. Abasi is a librarian who was content with his stationary library and who resents being forced along on these daily excursions into the Kenyan countryside. This novel focuses on the village of Mididima, and shows how the incursion of Westerners and their values receives mixed responses from the villagers.

Some of the villagers welcome Fi and her books, in spite of the fact the some of the books are wildly inappropriate. Others are concerned that she's disrupting their way of life in ways that will bring harm to the community. When a boy in the village refuses to return the two books he borrowed, he threatens the whole village with both the loss of the camel bookmobile, and by bringing dishonor onto the village and villagers. Although this is the central drama of the book, there are many other conflicts in the village. The village schoolteacher Matani tries to bridge the emotional gap between him and his wife, Jwahir. She has become infatuated with Abayomi, an older man in the village whose son Taban was maimed by a hyena as a toddler. Taban is friends with Kanika, a girl who has been caught up in the spell of the books delivered by the camel bookmobile, and who dreams of going off to the Distant City (Nairobi). Taban, who refuses to return the two books, threatens all of Kanika's plans, which rely on the continuing visits of the bookmobile.

I enjoyed this exploration of the clash of two very different cultures. The book is written from many different perspectives, and each character's motivations are revealed over time. It is tender, kind, and not at all judgmental about any of the perspectives, but raises a lot of questions about what we value and why. Fi's relationships with each of the characters brings out show how she has grown and benefited from her adventure, and how they have changed and learned from her as well. This book would be good for anyone who enjoys thoughtful, contemporary fiction.

Masha Hamilton. The Camel Bookmobile. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. 308 pages. ISBN 9780061173486.

Accused, by Lisa Scottoline

Lawyer and amateur detective Mary DiNunzio's new client is a 13-year-old girl who believes the wrong man was convicted for her sister's murder. Allegra has known for six years that Lonnie is innocent, and she's finally able to hire a lawyer to help him, thanks to an inheritance from her grandfather that allows her to spend part of her income as she sees fit. As Mary digs into the case, she finds that there is a lot more to the story than appeared obvious at the time, and it seems clear that the police seized the first likely suspect and did no further investigations.

As with others in the Rosato and Associates novels, Mary's family becomes involved in the investigation, and she finds help from the three Tony's, octogenarian friends of her father's, as well as from others. She's struggling with her new roles as a partner in the firm (to be renamed Rosato and DiNunzio), as well as fiancé to Anthony Rotunno. Balancing her mother's and her soon-to-be mother-in-law's demands about the wedding are also a challenge.

This is a fast-paced, funny mystery with a lot of action. Like her other novels, Accused is set in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. I'm particularly fond of Ms. Scottoline because of her strong support for libraries; she's been a regular speaker at Pennsylvania Library Association events. Anyone who enjoys mysteries with a strong female protagonist would enjoy Accused.

Lisa Scottoline. Accused. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2013. 354 pages. ISBN 9781250027658.

The Reputation Economy, by Michael Fertik

According to Michael Fertik, the founder and CEO of Reputation.com, our digital lives will be used to create reputation scores, similar to our credit ratings, that will be used in all manner of ways, both in our favor and against us. Citing studies that indicate that a person is more likely to declare bankruptcy if one of his or her friends declares bankruptcy, Fertik predicts that even our friends' online reputation will be used to create these future scores.

Fertik begins by describing how big data and data analysis make all of this possible. The development of inexpensive storage has created a situation in which it's cheaper to simply store all information rather than take the time to delete what's no longer needed, an effort that often requires human intervention. Everything that you do online: searching, downloading, viewing, buying, clicking likes, commenting, reviewing, sharing, friending, connecting, etc. is being collected and stored somewhere.

Fertik goes on to talk about the power of the internet to draw attention to you and your strengths, using the example of Arnel Pineda, who was the lead in a cover band in the Philippines and was hired as the new lead singer for Journey based on a video he posted to YouTube. Of course, most of Fertik's readers won't be hired by huge rock bands, but his tips are useful, if predictable: 1) post positive content widely, 2) post your resume online, 3) establish digital profiles, by buying your own domain name and updating it with, for example, professional information about yourself, 4) make sure all public information about you is consistent, 5) use social media wisely, 6) show growth over time. All of this is helpful, if unoriginal, advice for anyone who's concerned about their online profile.

The Reputation Economy is full of interesting anecdotes and predictions about how your online information will affect not only your hiring potential, but also how you might be treated as a customer at hotels or restaurants. Fertik's vision of a future in which the food you order at a restaurant is later used by an employer to determine whether you might be worth hiring is a little scary. We can only hope that some privacy will remain in our future (or we'll all have to go back to paying for everything in cash). The Reputation Economy provides a lot of food for thought.

Michael Fertik and David C. Thompson. The Reputation Economy: How to Optimize your Digital Footprint in a World Where your Reputation is your Most Valuable Asset. New York: Crown Business, 2015. 244 pages. ISBN 9780385347594.

I received this book for review from Blogging for Books.

Help for the Haunted, by John Searles

Sylvie is a young girl who's lost both her parents to violence. She's living in their house, under the care of her older sister, and trying to make sense of her life. Sylvie's parents were famous for helping people who were haunted by their dead loved ones. Sylvie lied about what happened the night they died because she's trying to protect her sister; while she doesn't believe her sister is guilty, she's afraid to ask her for the truth. She continues to pursue clues and leads in an attempt to understand what happened and who's responsible for their deaths. Did it have to do with one of their clients who was unhappy with their inability to help him? Or is the truth more mundane than that?

I absolutely loved this combination ghost story and mystery. The writing is truly excellent and it was impossible to put the book down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries and suspense stories.

I heard Mr. Searles speak about this book at the 2013 BEA. He also wrote Strange but True, another excellent book. 

John Searles. Help for the Haunted. New York: William Morrow, 2013.362 pages. ISBN 9780060779634.

The Wonder Singer, by George Rabasa

Mark Lockwood is a writer who has spent recent months getting the story of famous opera singer Merce Casals so that he can ghost write her autobiography. When she dies unexpectedly, the publisher decides to drop this project and instead hire a more famous author to write her biography. Mark knows that this is the story of his career and he goes into hiding along with all of his cassettes and notes so he can write her story and publish it first. In the meantime, his obsession with Merce is creating stress in his marriage, and he becomes infatuated with Merce's young, attractive nurse.

I loved this story of obsession, love, and friendship. The writing is wonderful and goes back and forth between Mark's own story and Merce's life and loves. The characters are interesting and well-developed, and I wanted to know what happened to them after the story ended. I highly recommend this book.

George Rabasa. The Wonder Singer. Denver, CO: Unbridled Books, 2008. 322 pages. ISBN 9781932961560.

The Black Hour, by Lori Rader-Day

Amelia Emmet is a tenured college professor who was shot a year ago by an undergraduate student. No one has ever been able to determine his motive; he was never in any of her classes and she doesn't remember ever having met him before. The book begins with Amelia coming back to work in the fall after her medical leave. She's in pain and having a difficult time adjusting to the return. Her graduate assistant turns out to be obsessed with her case, and the book follows both of their efforts to figure out what happened.

While I liked the premise, I found Ms. Rader-Day's writing and characterization of Amelia and her graduate student to be a little annoying. Some of the passages, such as Amelia's struggles to climb the stairs, are drawn out entirely too long. Nevertheless, the plot kept me going, as I was curious to see where she was taking us with this story. This is Ms. Rader-Day's first book, and I expect she'll get better at pacing and characterization, but I can't be extremely enthusiastic about this book.

Lori Rader-Day. The Black Hour. Amherst, NY: Seventh Street Books, 2014. 331 pages. ISBN 9781616148850.

The Holy Thief, by William Ryan

This is a historical mystery set in Moscow in 1936. A young woman's body has been found in a former church, and her death appears to be related to a market in Orthodox icons. Captain Korolev of the Moscow police has been asked to investigate the murder and to report back daily to an officer in the NKVD. He's faced with the challenge of investigating while important information is being withheld from him, and any misstep could mean his arrest or even death. I really enjoyed the portrayal of Soviet culture, when those in and out of favor change constantly and no one ever really feels safe. This book was really well-written and it kept my interest throughout. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery, suspense, and historical settings. 

William Ryan's website is here; it looks like he has a number of other books in this series. My copy is an advance readers' edition, and it came with an audio excerpt on CD.

William Ryan. The Holy Thief. New York: Minotaur Books, 2010. 345 pages. ISBN 9780312586454.

The Assassin's Gallery, by David L. Robbins

Mikhal Lammeck is an expert on assassination, writing what he believes will be the definitive book on the topic, titled The Assassination's Gallery. Although he's a teacher at a university in Scotland near the end of World War II, he is convinced to come to the United States to investigate what appears to be an assassin on U.S. shores going after President Roosevelt. Working with his former student, now Special Agent Nabbit of the Secret Service, he tries to think like an assassin in order to figure out where she'll strike before it happens. This is a well-written and enjoyable suspense novel. Recommended to all who like the genre.

I picked this up at the 2006 BEA in Washington, D.C.; it's inscribed "For Rebecca, David L. Robbins."

David L. Robbins. The Assassin's Gallery. New York: Bantam Dell, 2006. 413 pages. ISBN 0553804413.

Waxwings, by Jonathan Raban

I occasionally pick up a book because I like the cover, and that was the case with Waxwings, by Jonathan Raban. In this case, I was shopping at the AAUW Used Book Sale in State College, PA, one of the largest such sales in the country, with close to half a million books. Often I attend the sale three or four days in a row; the first two days are full price, the third half price, and the fourth is bag day (all you can fit for $5). I'm especially vulnerable on bag day, and that's when I picked up Waxwings; at that price it doesn't hurt to take a chance on a new book or author.

Waxwings is set in Seattle in 1999-2000, at the height of the dot-com boom. Beth and Tom are a couple whose marriage is slowly disintegrating. Beth is a writer and editor working for an online real estate company; Tom is a literature professor at the University of Washington (UW). Their four-year-old son Finn figures prominently in the story of Beth and Tom's breakup, an ongoing theme being his misbehavior at preschool and his parents' disagreements about what he should eat or watch on television. Another key figure is Chick, an illegal Chinese immigrant who's trying to save enough money to pay off the debt to the men who brought him to the U.S. His path crosses Tom's when he offers to replace the roof on his Queen Anne Victorian home, using a crew of illegal Mexican immigrants.

I was unfamiliar with Mr. Raban's work before reading Waxwings. He's a travel writer and novelist with 18 books to his credit. His writing is very good and the plot drew me along as he developed several subplots. One of the subplots involved a young girl who disappeared from a trail on the same day that Tom was hiking there. After his and Beth's separation he was falling apart, not taking care of himself and smoking. His hike helped him to develop an idea for a new novel, but also put him in the place where a crime was committed, and his disheveled appearance and the fact that he was smoking, made him the most memorable character to everyone hiking that day. He quickly becomes a "person of interest," causing UW to put him on paid leave and his wife to begin to doubt him. As he struggles with this problem as well as his wife's departure and Chick's work on his house, he begins to realize that he can survive these problems and begins to make his way back into a semblance of normalcy.

This book is funny and well-written. The main characters: Tom, Beth, Finn, and Chick are well-developed and believable. Seattle and the dot-com boom around the turn of the 21st century are also very well described. The bust that follows the boom is subtly hinted at, and Beth's new financial "security" due to her stock options is clearly at risk. Not stated explicitly, her new wealthy status was certainly a factor in her decision to leave Tom. The title of the book refers to a species of birds that light upon a bush or tree and eat everything possible before moving on, paralleling the dot-com boom and its impact on Seattle. The book leaves the reader with a feeling that Tom will survive all of his crises and Chick will flourish; Beth's future is really questionable. Recommended.

Jonathan Raban. Waxwings. New York: Pantheon Books, 2003. 282 pages. ISBN 0375410082.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs, by Anna Quindlen

I've just read Anna Quindlen's first and latest novels, one right after the other. Her first novel was Object Lessons, which I mentioned briefly in this post, and her latest novel is Still Life with Bread Crumbs. It was fun reading them successively and I noted a great improvement in her writing. This latest book is much more polished than her first, although I liked that one quite a bit as well.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs is about Rebecca Winter, sixty years old, who is a well-known photographer, but who has fallen on hard times. She has resorted to renting her New York apartment out so she can use the income to support her mother's retirement home fee and her own, much cheaper, rented home in a small town in upstate New York. Once there, her life takes on a slower pace than she's used to. She begins to make friends in town, and a romance blossoms with Jim Bates, who offers her a weekend job taking photographs of birds for the Wildlife Service. In the meantime, she wanders the woods surrounding her new home, taking pictures of what seem like memorial crosses that someone's been leaving all over the woods.

During the course of the year that Rebecca spends in her new home, she comes to appreciate the slower pace of her new life. She faces many challenges, including her father's death, and a misunderstanding with Jim, and she learns that she is a dog person, adopting a stray named Jack.

One of the things that I like about Anna Quindlen's writing as that she creates realistic characters. They're believable, they make and learn from their mistakes, and they're easy to root for. I have a sense when reading her books that things will always work out somehow for the characters. In that sense maybe they're a little unrealistic, but it's hard not to like that.

Anna Quindlen. Still Life with Bread Crumbs. New York: Random House, 2014. 256 pages. ISBN 9781400065752.

Playing catch-up

Somehow I got behind in my book reviews; a conference in Chicago late January and early February started off my delinquency and then it continued through most of February. A bad cold topped it off, and now I'm about eight books behind. To catch up, I'm going to just list the books here. I enjoyed all of them:

Iain Pears. The Immaculate Deception; and Death and Restoration. Art historian professor and art theft detective solve theft and murder in contemporary Rome. I read both of these during my conference in Chicago. Traveling just calls out for mysteries that can't be put down and these fit the bill.

Kimberly McCreight. Where They Found Her. The body of a newborn baby was found buried in a rural area and journalist Molly Anderson investigates, uncovering many small-town secrets that no one wants exposed. I got Where They Found Her at one of the American Association of Publisher events at the conference; Author Kimberly McCreight gave an interesting talk about becoming a writer. Her earlier book, Reconstructing Amelia, was a big success, but I haven't read it yet.

Paula Hawkins. The Girl on the Train. An alcoholic, depressed woman believes that she's seen a crime from her vantage point on a train going through her old neighborhood. No one believes her but she keeps investigating until she learns the truth. I also got The Girl on the Train at the conference, but the author got held up because of the weather (Chicago had a blizzard while we were there) so I didn't get to hear her speak.

Greg Iles. Natchez Burning. Mayor Penn Cage's father may be implicated in the suicide of his former nurse, and somehow it's connected to the activities of an offshoot of the KKK and murders that took place in the 1960s. This is a humongous book, 788 pages, but I could not put it down. It's the beginning of a trilogy and I can't wait for the others to come out. Author Greg Iles has already published more than a dozen books, and I don't know how I've missed him, but I will have to do some catching up. Excellent writer!

Elizabeth Haynes. Behind Closed Doors. Kidnapped on a European vacation when she was 15 years old, Scarlett Rainsford has turned up in a brothel in England. Where has she been all this time, and is her appearance related to recent murders in the area?

Jo Nesbo. Phantom. This is the penultimate (so far) of Nesbo's Harry Hole series, so I'm reading them all out of order. I really enjoy his writing and I love reading about Oslo. I look forward to filling in the series gaps.

Anna Quindlen. Object Lessons. I read One True Thing and Black and Blue many years ago. I've had Object Lessons on my shelf since then, but never got around to reading it. I'm glad I did. This is Quindlen's first novel, and her writing isn't as mature as her later books, but it's still worth reading.

Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk on How Schools Kill Creativity

Inspired by How to Deliver a TED Talk, reviewed here yesterday, I watched Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk "How Schools Kill Creativity." As Jeremey Donovan noted, his talk was funny and inspiring. He talked about his belief that creativity has the same importance as literacy for education. He claimed that if you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original. We're educating children the same way all over the world, in a system that was developed to prepare kids to be part of an industrial society. Science and math are at the top, creative arts are at the bottom. He claims that intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct, and he plugs a book he was working on at the time of the video: Epiphany: True Stories of Sudden Insight to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform. If you have 20 minutes to spare, this video is inspiring.

How to Deliver a TED Talk, by Jeremey Donovan

I've been impressed with many of the TED talks that I've watched online. Standing for Technology, Education, Design, TED conferences present speakers who speak about "ideas worth spreading." Jeremy Donovan has been involved with TED and TEDx conferences for years and in this book provides guidance for readers who want to become better speakers. Whether you will ever give a talk at a TED or TEDx conference, the tips provided in this book will help you become a better speaker.

The bulk of the book focuses on content, delivery, and design. Donovan illustrates his points with many examples from famous TED talks. Readers can spend hours just looking up and watching many of the talks that he references. He uses charts to break down the main points of many of the talks that he cites, demonstrating how the talks are structured and supported by the speakers' main points. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a better speaker.

Jeremey Donovan. How to Deliver a TED Talk: Secrets of the World's Most Inspiring Presentations. New York: McGraw Hill, 2014. 229 pages. ISBN 9780071830598.

George Washington's Secret Six, by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger

This is an easy-to-read book about a group of spies who delivered messages to George Washington about British troop movements and other details of the Revolutionary War. While I enjoyed the story, I found the writing to be scattered and unfocused. With better framing, and a more chronological approach, this could have been a much better book.

I found that the story about the spies was interesting and definitely worthy of a book. It's clear from Amazon reviews that it's fairly popular, so maybe the issues I have with it aren't widely held. But I will list them here:

1) There are no footnotes or endnotes citing where any of his information came from.
2) The writing is poor; even his co-author couldn't help with the awkward prose.
3) The narrative is confusing and jumps all over the place.
4) Every time George Washington is mentioned he's in a different place. First they're delivering information to him in Connecticut, then New Jersey. No information is provided about the larger context of the war and why or how he was in each locale.
5) The author has supplied dialog for many of the characters. He claims they're all based on his written sources, but since those sources aren't cited, there's no way to tell. The dialog supplied is very stiff and awkward sounding.

This would have made a much better historical novel. Perhaps Kilmeade should have just taken the leap and written a novel, supplying all of the dialog he wanted and not worrying about getting the facts exactly right or citing his sources. The book includes 8 pages of illustrations, a short list of sources, and an index.

Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. George Washington's Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution. New York: Sentinel, 2013. 252 pages. ISBN 9781595231109.

The 4-Hour Workweek, expanded and updated, by Timothy Ferriss

Seven years after the publication of The 4-Hour Work Week, Timothy Ferriss has come out with an expanded and updated version of the book. Having read the first edition when it came out in 2007, I was eager to re-read it and see what changed. Mr. Ferriss states that he wanted to confirm that the principles that he originally shared in 4HWW, which came before the 2008 economic crisis, were still valid in a recession (he claims they are, unsurprisingly). He's added additional content, including many letters from readers who adopted his principles and have been successful in re-designing their lives. Content from his blog has also been incorporated into the book.

Mr. Ferriss advocates lifestyle design, which for him means that he outsourced much of the drudgery of life (making appointments, doing background research, etc.), obtained a source of income that is self-perpetuating and requires little oversight, allowing him to travel and live around the world for months at a time learning new skills and living his dream. He assures readers that they too can achieve this, and lays out the steps it takes to get there.

Who is the audience for this book? Mr. Ferris would say everyone, and the sales of the first edition and likely this expanded edition would indicate that many would agree. But many of his claims and recommendations will only work for a select group of people, whom I would classify as business majors or entrepreneurs, and for the most part, single or otherwise unattached with no children or pets. Anyone in a profession: teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, librarians, accountants, bankers, etc. wouldn't be able to drop everything and move to Buenos Aires for three or four months. No one who falls into the "working class" would be able to do it either. The most significant recommendation in Mr. Ferriss' book, the claim that the reader can start an internet business that basically runs itself, would only be an option for a small sector of the population.

However, I found that many of Mr. Ferriss' recommendations could be useful to most readers. He suggests that readers outsource many of the activities that they don't enjoy. He recommends the elimination of excess possessions. He provides tips on managing people, meetings, communication (email and phone), interruptions, and more that are very useful and which could be applied by most of us. His travel advice and suggestions about how to pack lightly are definitely worthwhile. One of them (plan to buy some necessities when you get where you're going) reminded me of a friend's claim that you can go anywhere with a credit card and a passport (so stop fretting about forgetting something).

In the end, even though most people will not be able to, or even want to, drop everything so they can gallivant around the world, there is still a lot in this book that they will find beneficial. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about time management, productivity, lifestyle re-design, and simplifying.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Timothy Ferriss. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. Expanded and updated. New York: Crown Archetype, 2015. 426 pages. ISBN 97803074655351.

A Daily Dose of Ghosts, v.1, by D.L. Kaiser

I'm so impressed with my friend Lu Kaiser, who has written and published a collection of short stories, A Daily Dose of Ghosts. These witty and imaginative stories are suitable for readers of all ages. I found myself laughing out loud in many places as I read through the 30 stories in this collection. From ghosts who throw such loud parties that they qualify as nuisance neighbors to ghosts who manifest themselves to help solve murder mysteries, this book includes a thoroughly diverse assortment of otherworldly beings.

Lu is also an accomplished artist, and she's demonstrated this talent by creating the cover art for A Daily Dose of Ghosts. Lu published the book through Amazon's publishing program, and it's available as both an e-book as well as print-on-demand. I was fascinated by this project as Lu was compiling the manuscript, editing the stories, and going through the publication and promotion process. As someone who has only dreamt of writing and publishing creative fiction, I'm especially impressed with folks like Lu who actually do it! I recommend this clever collection to anyone who enjoys ghost stories with a funny streak.

D.L. Kaiser. A Daily Dose of Ghosts, v. 1. Published 2014. Available from Amazon here.

Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top

Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top is a guide to modern etiquette aimed at young adults and teenagers. Its authors are Dorothea Johnson, a long-time etiquette expert and consultant, and her granddaughter Liv Tyler (whom I will always think of as Arwen).

Modern Manners is organized into six parts addressing meeting others, business etiquette, electronic communication, travelling, dining, and hosting. It’s illustrated with colorful drawings throughout, and includes an index and additional references for those who want to learn more. Most topics are addressed with just one page of text or less. There are many sidebars with additional information, including “Did you know?” sections, lists of do’s and don’ts, and comments by Ms. Tyler, such as “Liv on eye contact,” or “Liv on body language.” These are generally short, anecdotal, and personal comments about her own experiences and observations about etiquette.

Overall, this is a friendly and accessible guide to etiquette and manners that would be a great gift for any young adult. Sections on eating out, email and text etiquette, and behavior at social events are particularly helpful.

Dorothea Johnson and Liv Tyler. Modern Manners: Tools to Take You to the Top. New York: Potter Style, 2013. 176 pages. ISBN 9780770434083.

Perfidia, by James Ellroy

James Ellroy. Perfidia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. 695 pages. ISBN 9780307956996.

Ever since seeing L.A. Confidential and reading an interview with James Ellroy I've wanted to read one of his books, so I was pleased to be given an advance reading copy of his latest, Perfidia, at the 2014 BEA, held at the Javits Convention Center last May.

Ellroy is most known for his L.A. Quartet, which includes The Black Dahlia, The Big Forever, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz, and which is set from 1946 to 1958. Perfidia is the first book in The Second L.A. Quartet, which is set during World War II and which includes many of the characters from the original series.

Perfidia begins with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the discovery of the murder of a Japanese family. The events and hysteria that surrounded the start of war are described in great detail. Men and women line up to volunteer for armed service, and Japanese citizens become immediate targets of suspicion and violence. The four main characters in Perfidia are embroiled in both the war preparation and the murder investigation. Hideo Ashida is a Japanese-American scientist who works as a crime scene investigator for the LAPD. William Parker is an alcoholic police captain hoping to become Police Chief some day. Kay Lake is a young woman who's looking for any kind of excitement she can find. Dudley Smith is a detective who's hoping to cash in on some shady deals enabled by the wartime confiscation of Japanese property.

Perfidia is dense with plot and characters. It was difficult at time too keep track of all of the characters, almost none of whom had any redeeming characteristics. All of the policemen, without exception, are portrayed as being willing to lie and cheat to get ahead. They cover up crimes, arrest people for crimes they didn't commit, kill people for crimes that they can't prove but whom they're convinced are guilty. They betray each other, make promises that they can't keep, and throw their loyalty to whomever they think will come out on top. All of the characters abuse alcohol and many abuse drugs, such as terpin hydrate, Benzedrine, and opium. Most sleep with anyone and everyone who crosses their paths, although this is explained away as the prevailing attitude at the beginning of the war. There is a casual and virulent use of racist epithets that would be shocking today. Violence is a consistent theme throughout the book with people shot, stabbed, poisoned, drugged, blown up, and beaten up.

Much has been written about Ellroy's staccato-style prose. He writes short sentences, many just fragments. I found it difficult to get used to, but after a few hundred pages of this, I adjusted. One objection I have is that many of his characters' dialog sounds indistinguishable from each other. Their utterances are unnatural; no one really speaks the way his characters do in his books. I assume this is intentional on Ellroy's part, but it still takes some getting used to.

Nevertheless, the book kept my interest, and I would like to read some of his other books. His descriptions of wartime L.A. are unforgettable; I will probably always think of this book when I think of that time and place.

The Book of Life, by Deborah Harkness

Deborah Harkness. The Book of Life. New York: Viking, 2014. 559 pages. ISBN 9780670025596.

The Book of Life is the third volume in Deborah Harkness' trilogy about witch Diana Bishop and vampire Matthew Clairmont. In this book Deborah is pregnant with twins and they've returned to the present from their sojourn in 1591. Deborah is trying to locate the three missing pages from the Bodleian Library manuscript Ashmole 782, also known as The Book of Life, which contains secrets about the origins of witches, vampires, and daemons. In the meantime, Matthew is working with colleagues to analyze vampire DNA so that he can find a cure to a genetic disease, which causes him to go into "blood rages" when he's upset. As in the other books in the trilogy, there's a lot of action ranging from upstate New York and New Haven, Connecticut, to England, France, Italy, and other European countries. With many plot twists and interesting characters, this is a great wrap-up to the trilogy. I do wonder, though, if she will continue the story. With so many characters, not to mention the twins, there seems to be a lot of potential for more books...

Hild, by Nicola Griffith

Nicola Griffith. Hild. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2013. 545 pages. ISBN 9780374280871.

I loved this historical novel about the young woman Hild, later known as Saint Hilda of Whitby. Hild was born to a royal family in 7th century Britain. She is used as a pawn by her mother, who declares that she had a dream that Hild was a seer. Used by her great uncle, the king of Northumbria, she accompanies him as he battles with others for dominance in the British territories. Author Nicola Griffith has done an enormous amount of research in support of this book, truly bringing the 7th century and all of its challenges to life. The struggles between early adherents of Christianity and pagan religions are illuminated. Ms. Griffith's writing is wonderful; the dialog is completely believable. One challenge for me was that I was constantly looking things up; Ms. Griffith's uses some older terms and vocabulary that had me frequently referring to Wikipedia articles and online dictionaries. I recommend Hild to anyone who likes history or historical fiction.

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, by Jeff Sutherland

Jeff Sutherland. Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. New York: Crown Business, 2014. 248 pages. ISBN 9780385346450.

Scrum is a project management and product development technique that's intended to deliver results more frequently and quickly than traditional methods. Originally developed for application in software development projects, Scrum can be applied in other project or development settings. Decrying the use of traditional project management techniques, such as Gantt charts, author and Scrum creator Jeff Sutherland describes the origins of Scrum, shares anecdotes about its application in war, home improvement, and business settings, and gives a checklist of Scrum principles. Although the anecdotes are interesting, this book is more of a sales pitch for Scrum and less of a primer. Sutherland does provide a list of Scrum principles as an appendix, but there isn't any real instruction on how to put them into practice. The Scrum principles outlined are:

• Pick a product owner
• Pick a team
• Pick a Scrum Master
• Create a product backlog (i.e., list of to do items)
• Refine and estimate the product backlog
• Conduct sprint development
• Make work visible with a Scrub board listing to do, doing, done items
• Hold daily Scrum meetings
• Conduct sprint reviews or demos
• Conduct sprint retrospective (i.e., debriefing)

At the end of each chapter is a list of main points that the reader should take away; these are fairly useful. Other particularly useful suggestions include the creation of a product backlog and the use of development sprints. Such efforts can be useful in many environments, not just in software development. Overall, this book was thought-provoking and would be useful for anyone who's interested in improving productivity in environments where team work is the norm.

The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

Graeme Simsion. The Rosie Project. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2013. 295 pages. ISBN 9781476729091.

Finding a romantic partner has been particularly difficult for Don Tillman, a university genetics professor and research scientist with Asperger's Syndrome. He decides to use a questionnaire to weed out any potential prospects that might be unsuitable because of one factor or another (smoking, drinking too much, chronic lateness, etc.) Through this effort he meets Rosie, a barmaid who enlists his help finding her "real" father, who has never been a part of her life. Although Rosie is completely unsuitable as a potential future wife, he enjoys her company as they work together to solve the mystery. As Rosie becomes a fixed part of his life, Don finds himself questioning his beliefs about what would make him happy, and is challenged to stretch his people skills and ability to empathize with others.

The Rosie Project is most easily described as a romantic comedy, and is in fact being developed as a movie. It's funny, touching, and a bit sad in parts, but mostly funny. Don describes his daily routine which he has scheduled down to the minute so as not to waste any time. Any deviation from his schedule requires adjusting other elements of his schedule so when Rosie begins to drop by unannounced, or change plans without advance notice, Don struggles to keep up. Rosie stretches Don's ability to enjoy himself in the moment, and Rosie learns to appreciate Don's approach to life and its challenges. I liked Don's acceptance of others' personalities, as well as his growing ability to understand others' perspectives, such as the Dean's challenges running his college. The plot is amusing and moves along at a good pace, and the dialog is truly hilarious. I'm looking forward to seeing this as a movie.

We picked The Rosie Project for our December book club read. Once again we were working from a list of Great Group Reads compiled by the Women's National Book Association. So far, from this list, we've read Burial Rites by Hannah Kent and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry; and I've read (outside the book club) Neverhome, by Laird Hunt.

In other news:

I've been enjoying Pink's The Truth About Love lately. So many good songs: "Are We All We Are," "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)," "Try," "Just Give Me a Reason," "True Love," and many more.

I've also been re-watching The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts (2009); there are some really great performances on it. Some of my favorites are "Because the Night" with Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, and U2; "Gimme Shelter" with Mick Jagger, Fergie, Will.i.am, and U2; and Metallica's "Enter Sandman."

A Bowl of Olives, by Sara Midda

Sara Midda. A Bowl of Olives: On Food and Memory. New York: Workman Publishing, 2014. 125 pages. ISBN 9780761145264.

A Bowl of Olives is a collection of reminiscences about food and shopping for food in various markets around the world. It's a small book with an attractive binding and colorful book jacket. It's illustrated with whimsical watercolor paintings by the author, along with some selected color photography. Each chapter addresses a food-related topic: markets, packaging, eggs, table settings, eating outdoors, salads, seasonal foods, food memories, olives, fruit, vegetables, seasonings, and "food wishes." The chapter on table settings starts off with illustrations of placemats, and moves on to napkins, tablecloths, vases with flowers, crockery, cups, and plates. Each page includes dozens of small watercolor paintings; for example, the section on cups has the header "The search for the perfect cup" and includes thirty tiny paintings of different cup and mug styles.

Overall, this is the kind of book that one gives to someone who likes food and cooking. Some of the chapters include recipes, although the total number of recipes probably doesn't exceed a dozen. The book is weighted much more heavily on the illustration side; some pages have no text and others just have a few sentences. It's a thoroughly pleasant book that will in turn stimulate readers to think of their own food and cooking memories.