Various titles, nonfiction and fiction:

Recently, I was asked to pick out some books for a family to read aloud in front of the fireplace during the Thanksgiving holiday. I showed the patron the choices I had made, but there was one she didn’t pick, and now after I read it, I realize I should have insisted. It’s a funny slim volume of acerbic aphorisms by a children’s author of great renown, Lemony Snicket, but it would certainly appeal to people of all ages. It’s called Horseradish : Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid. I’ll quote one of the sardonic adages — “Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel, because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under the coffee table.” Lots more where that one came from. Makes you laugh, which we all need these days.

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler. First of all, you find out that Lars Kepler is actually a pen name of a married couple who live in Sweden. Secondly, you immerse yourself into a thriller of cold, dark Swedish winter. You say, oh no, this is bleak, this is so Swedish! But you can’t help yourself. You’ve got to find out why Dr. Erik Maria Bark didn’t want to hypnotize a victim/suspect after he had sworn off hypnotism 10 years ago. Finally, mid-story, you find out why, and the gruesome murders that occurred at the beginning of the book eventually make some sense. Good read, but take sunshine breaks!

Shooting from the Lip : the Life of Senator Al Simpson, by Donald Loren Hardy. All Park County, Wyoming, residents should read this book simply to keep in mind the wonderful statesmanship and humor of our former U.S. Senator. Information gleaned from Simpson’s own diaries brings to life the behind-the-scenes politics, especially during the George H. W. Bush era. It’s full of Simpson’s iconic witticisms, two of the funniest having to do with porcupines and punch bowls! Don’t miss it.

Wonkenstein : the Creature from My Closet by Obert Skye. Rob has lots of books, but most of them end up in a heap in his room. One-day, Rob hears sounds emanating from the closet. A funny little creature that’s a combination of  Willy Wonka and Frankenstein emerges. The book is a laugh-out-loud blend of comical drawings and writing. Quite similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Middle grades and grown-up kids both will enjoy this.

Unbroken : a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand recounts the true story of Louis Zamperini who survived to tell a horrific tale. He was a delinquent but channeled his defiance into running and was on the brink of breaking the four-minute barrier before the Berlin Olympics. Then World War II began, and he became a B-24 crewman in the U.S. Army. His plane went down in the Pacific in 1943, and he spent 47 days in a life raft. He was picked up by the Japanese and then became a target of torture by one of the worst prison camp officers ever imagined. He survived, returned to the states, beat alcoholism and turned to Christianity. He was then able to return to the country of his tormentor and forgive those who treated him so horribly. It’s a tale of overcoming PTSD in the face of overwhelming odds. No wonder it continues to be a best-seller. We have this in book form, large-print book, and on CD.

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman : Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Phillips Feynman, is an older book but worth revisiting. The late Nobel-winning physicist reminisces and pokes fun at himself and the scientific world in a series of laugh-aloud encounters with a life well-lived.

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert conjures up scenes from an Edward Gorey type of world. It has a comic gothic feel, just a little weird but entertaining. It’s about an 83-year-old woman who wrote obituaries as a career. She has lost two husbands; her son struggles to continue the family newspaper and printing company which is secretly publishing the “Miranda and Desiree” young adult novels by a recluse author; a strange woman by the name of Daisy promotes the possible fantasy of a missing daughter, Lenore, which creates a nationwide cult. The attraction of the book are its characters and language. Not your normal everyday fiction.

Navajos Wear Nikes by Jim Kristofic is a must-read for a “white apple,” or bilasáana, a term applied to the author by classmates while growing up in Ganado, Ariz., a town on the Navajo Reservation. The author learns to be a “tough noodle” white boy while learning to appreciate a culture so different from his own. He lives in the east now, but finds himself drawn to The Diné and honors their culture in his own way by taking oral histories, writing, and teaching. Here’s a wonderful quote from the epilogue: “If I’ve learned anything, it’s that we are all quietly responsible for the places that have made us who we are. If we love those places, we should at least learn their stories and understand their people.” This is a lovely book!

The Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku is one of those looks at the future that you just can’t quite believe. The talk about robots, carbon nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, space elevators, and so much more will make you wish you were immortal so you’d have a chance to see it all transpire. It’s the kind of book on CD that will probably take more than one listen. Or, you’ll quite possibly have your finger on the reverse button! Fun stuff.

Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin ends happily, thankfully. In the meantime, the reader must cheer for the main character, Judy Lohden, a female dwarf and a good vocalist, who attends a high school for the talented in Michigan and who unwittingly becomes the victim of a sex prank. While it’s not exactly Glee, neither is it Catcher in the Rye. The book is real without a hard edge but doesn’t spare bad words or uncomfortable situations. It refers to sexual encounters but not in explicit detail. Recommended read for both adults and teens. Judy is a hero for young women who ultimately must discover their own value.

Room by Emma Donoghue. At first I thought I would hate this book.  A woman and her son being held captive in a Room for years  is a definitely ugly premise. But you will be captivated yourself by the narrator, the 5-year-old Jack, who develops survival mechanisms, as provided by his mother, to ultimately escape and learn to live in “Outside.” You will soon see why this has been on the bestseller lists for a long time.

Listening to Books on CD is a great way to walk the dog or do some house chores! Here are a few I’ve enjoyed over the past few months:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The recording is a wonderful way to digest this marvelous work that reminds us that the day when southern women mistreated their hired help was not all that long ago and that people of conscience can take steps to restore dignity.

Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood precedes Oryx and Crake. Both are called dystopias, which is a good term for the sad horror of a genetically skewed planet gone awry. There is not a lot of joy in these stories but much food for thought.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow is a coming of age story about a brave girl named Rachel, the dark-skinned, blue-eyed girl whose mother lept from a rooftop in Chicago with her children. Rachel survived the fall but is haunted by the lack of being able to identify with the “white” life of her Danish mother or the “black” life of her grandmother. She struggles to achieve her own individuality. This is a heartrending book but one that will stay with you awhile.

Back to books:

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall. I’ve been waiting to use the phrase “tour de force” like I’ve read in other book reviews. I think this book earns that nomenclature.

Golden Richards is such a human character who well captures the humor and foibles of our species. A polygamist finds himself gloriously apart from his four wives in Utah after striking out to aid their struggling finances by heading up a construction job on a whorehouse in Nevada. He tries to hide the details of this job from his family and in the meantime falls for the boss’s wife and lives through an abundance of woes. The comedy hits tragedy near the end of the book, but like Udall’s other book, The Miracle of Edgar Mint, the main characters settle upon a somewhat compromised but satisfactory resolution of their lives. Udall’s rich language should earn him a prize for this novel. I wonder if it will happen?

Lowboy by John Wray allows entrance to the world of a fictional young person afflicted with the disease of schizophrenia. William Heller, aka “Lowboy” rejects medication and spends time riding the N.Y.C. subways or existing in tunnels underneath the city. His mother, Violet, and a detective, Lateef, seem to join forces to lure him back to reality. Language is key to this book, which draws you into a different mindset and a dark world.

Callisto by Torsten Krol is a book you can’t forget. The main character’s name, Odell Deefus, makes you laugh. His misbegotten life makes you laugh. What happens to him as a victim of post-911 America does not make you laugh. But his dumb luck prevails. The book begins with Odell just trying to join the Army but ending up a victim of circumstances — an accidental killer who becomes a terrorist suspect. The book is kind of a cross between Confederacy of Dunces and Fargo. Torsten Krol is an Australian author, but the name is pseudonymous. Nothing is known about him except that he is sarcastic.

Like all of his books, War Dances by Sherman Alexie is extraordinary — humorous until the end when he jumps out and says, “But wait, it also rings true, and therefore it’s sort of tragic too.” This collection of short stories and poems will start you laughing and end you thinking, which is what all good literature does. “The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless,” and “Fearful Symmetry,” are two of the collection that are especially good. Reminiscent of John Cheever, I think.

Are you a fan of the TV program “House?” If so, the book, Every Patient Tells a Story by Lisa Sanders, M.D., will interest you. As the technical director to the program, she has a lot to say about the medical field besides reporting case studies with off-the-wall symptoms. She believes that doctors today should pay more heed to the physical exam, especially in cardiac diseases. She doesn’t believe in “chronic Lyme disease,” and Google isn’t perfect for finding health information, but it can be successful sometimes.

Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver lives up to the standards of her other tour de force, the Poisonwood Bible. Lacuna is an insightful side trip into pre- and post-World War II history told through the journals of the fictional character, Harrison Shepherd. He and his mother flee Virginia to live in her native Mexico. Harrison settles into a somewhat disappointing alternative to academic life: first as an assistant to the artist, Diego Rivera, and secondly as a stenographer for the Communist, Lev Trotsky. These real-life people seem more human to us when described in the context of  Harrison’s world. When Harrison must return to the states, he is acclaimed as a novelist of a series of books based on Aztec history. But things fall apart for him and his woman companion and assistant when Harrison makes McCarthy’s Un-American list. As with Kingsolver’s other novels, the langugage is crisp, beautiful, well-crafted. Harrison evolves from boy to manhood fully able to conquer his fears and demons. Don’t miss the latest of one of America’s best authors, period.

The Four Corners of the Sky is just a great read by an entertaining author, Michael Malone. A Navy woman test pilot, Annie Peregrine, is trying to divorce her cheating husband when her long-gone scam-artist father, Jack Peregrine, returns to her life and claims he is dying from cancer. Is he? Or is it just another fraud in his long resume of cons? I predict this will be a movie someday. I hope I’m right.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, is one of those American classics a person keeps meaning to read. Don’t put it off; it’s a wonderful story with one of the best characters in literature — Francie Nolan, a young woman blossoming from a poor Irish girl from Brooklyn to a college student going to a university away from her home city. Along the way, she learns important lessons of life: the best being to love with all your heart but be true to yourself. The book on CD is a great way to enjoy this coming-of-age marvel. All young women should read this book. Though first published in 1943, it probably will never lose its power.

The English Major by Jim Harrison. If you don’t mind a little crankiness, this novel can be amusing. Cliff, the main character, just gave up being a farmer after his wife left him. To lick his wounds, he decides to take a cross country road trip. For entertainment, he decides to rename the fifty states and their birds. Also, he rather enjoys complaining about his girlfriend Mary Belle, who was one of his students when he taught high school English. He bemoans his ex-wife, Viv, who became a successful real estate agent and left him for a businessman. He makes fun of his gay son, Robert, who lives in San Francisco and prospers by arranging locations for movies. Nonetheless, the book on CD is entertaining and can get one to Cheyenne from Cody on its six discs.

Final Gifts by Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley bestows comfort for people in hospice and their family and friends. It describes death as merely departing this life into the next. It helps loved ones interpret, without fear, the dying person’s experiences and needs . This classic of the hospice movement can be found in the Planetree Health Reference Center, which is a department near the Reference Area in the new Park County Library. The call number for this particular title is GV 200 C 1997.

The book jacket aptly describes Downtown Owl, a novel by Chuck Klosterman, as “darkly comedic,” but you don’t realize the darkest part until the bitter end. Let this serve you as a warning, but please don’t miss the wry sarcasm and humorous portrayals of three characters in the mythical town of Owl, North Dakota: Julia, a new high school history teacher; Mitch, a football player and high school student; and Horace, a widower who values the truth but won’t share his own secret. There are some very clever inner dialogues in this book and lots of occasions with which the reader can share laughs and empathize.

Against Medical Advice, by James Patterson and Hal Friedman, will appeal to all who enjoy true-life stories about medical conditions. This one, Tourette’s Syndrome, plagues the co-author’s son, Cory, from the age of five until eighteen. The boy’s tics, inappropriate cursing, and self-medication with alcohol, try the patience of his parents. Interestingly, the authors tell this story in Cory’s voice. The book takes on the character of one of Patterson’s thriller novels. This one, thankfully, has a happy ending, but not without variations of horror.

Polygamy is a subject that haunts Mormons even today. David Ebershoff capitalizes on this lingering scar in his novel The 19th Wife. He weaves into the tale the historical character of Ann Eliza Young, Brigham’s 19th wife who after being expelled from the church, crusaded against polygamy. Eberhoff interchanges his fictional embellishment of Eliza’s writings with the story of Jordan Scott who unwillingly returns to Utah to help defend his mother. She is accused of killing the “Prophet,” a charismatic leader of a modern polygamist sect who convinced her to kick Jordan out of his home when he was only fourteen. The author’s note and bibliography of sources at the end of the book are interesting too.

The rich, sparse prose of The Legend of Colter H. Bryant by Alexandra Fuller entertains the reader with vivid, taut description. Such phrasing belongs to master authors. Her words serve as framework for lives familiar to Wyoming residents. The characters’ down-to-earth practicality joins passion for family, friends, and the rugged geography of their home. The author notes her book is nonfiction with which she takes liberties. The combination results in the portrait of a young father, husband, cowboy, oilfield worker, the kind you have met and mourn the loss of when tragedy strikes. Don’t miss this memorable book.

Merle’s Door by Ted Kerasote. Yes, it has some sad moments at the end, but don’t all dog stories? Most of the time it’s an adventure story of Merle (whose name derives from a French word for excrement). Merle, the cross between a golden lab, golden retriever and who knows, loves to “hunt” elk but not birds, loves to ski on powder, and is the “mayor” of Kelly near Jackson, Wyo. The author intermingles some research on dog intelligence and behavior with his love for his dog. Definitely worth the time for reading or listening pleasure.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is a fictional companion piece to Merle’s Door. Enzo the dog narrates the story of his relationship with the race car driver who loses his wife to illness and is threatened with the loss of custody of their daughter, Zoe. Enzo is a Buddhist at heart and tries to bring together his family with compassion and patience. When facing his own mortality, he hopes for reincarnation as a man. Yes, bring tissues for the last chapters. We have this in compact disc book form too.

Who has guts enough to go to Afghanistan and set up a beauty school? Deborah Rodriguez, author of Kabul Beauty School, a nonfictional account of a woman from Holland, Michigan, gives up her chaotic but comfortable existence in the states to help women discover their own strength during the upheaval of war in the Middle East. Co-written by Kristin Ohlson, this book doesn’t focus solely on the brave deed of one woman. It includes indepth portrayals of the Afghan women who are the real heroes of the story. They learn to promote beauty in the midst of devastation, to improve their own lives financially, and to boost their own status as people, not just female servants. Highly recommended in book or CD book form.

By reason of insanity by Randy Singer. Classify this as Christian Legal Suspense. Cover says “every bit as enjoyable as John Grisham.” Take one female reporter traumatized by a college rape who sees visions, is imprisoned for protecting a source and then is accused of murder; a prosecuting attorney who on the surface seems obliviously doing his job; a defense attorney who tries to save his sister accused of murdering her husband; and a serial killer named “Avenger of Blood” who quotes Bible verses. You get a neat package of suspense that has an ethical bent. Don’t believe it? Try it.

Breathing the Fire by Kimberly Dozier. If you want to know what a victim of a car bombing in Iraq experiences, this upfront look by a CBS news foreign correspondent will open your eyes. Fortunately, her employer helped her get the medical attention she needed. She is sympathetic and communicative with servicemen and women, but the book spares no details of the horrors of war.

Hello to all That : a Memoir of War, Zoloft, and Peace by John Falk. A reporter battles his own depression while learning to be a foreign correspondent in Sarajevo during the conflict of the 1990s. He deals with his own demons but learns to be true to himself and to the people about whom he writes.