Bookmarks Winter-Spring 2006 - BOOKLOFT NEWSLETTER
Thanks to everyone who entered our "Name Your Favorite Book of 2005" contest. The lucky winners of the drawing are Erik Hogg and Bob Both. We have compiled the results and we confirmed what we always knew about Wallowa County readers: their taste in books is quite diverse. There were actually very few book with multiple votes. Some of these were:
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE ~ BURNING FENCE by Craig Lesley ~ FATHER JOE by Tony Hendra ~ SHADOW DIVERS by Robert Kurson ~ DAVINCI CODE by Dan Brown
What's Mary Been Reading? ~ Book Reviews ~ New Release from Bear Creek Press ~ New Release of Local Interest
MARY' S TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2005 (not ranked in any particular order)
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Holdfast by Kathleen Dean Moore
Freddy and Fredricka by Mark Helprin
BROKEN FOR YOU by Stephanie Kallos
Margaret, who lives in a huge mansion in Seattle, has developed a brain tumor. She has lived alone in the house filled with ceramics, china and other antiques which were collected by her father. She decides to take in a boarder and chooses Wanda, a younger woman who had moved to Seattle to look for a lost love. These two loners form a bond and as a result, they begin to open up their lives to other people. As they start to re-examine the paths their lives have taken so far, they each begin to make some major changes. Many aspects of their lives start to break apart resulting in completely new experiences and leading them to explore new ideas about their futures.
This novel is beautifully written and the author uses several themes which reoccur throughout the book. One of them is the concept of being broken, and another is the pattern of a star. Kallos incorporates these themes in many and interesting ways and the novel ends happily. She won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award for this novel last year. $13.00 Grove Press
HOLDFAST: At Home In The Natural World by Kathleen Dean Moore
This is a wonderful collection of essays about connections. The title comes from the name of the part of seaweed strands which attaches them to rocks on the ocean floor. She uses this idea to extend to all of the many connections we hold tightly to in our lives, like family and special places.
Moore is a professor of philosophy at Oregon State and has been a presenter at Fishtrap several times. Her joy in living and the pleasure she takes in being in nature come through clearly: "Sometimes the natural world gives you a gift so beautiful, so precious, that all you can do is stand there and cry."
She also has a great sense of place and appreciation for the important things in life. In one essay called " The Only Place Like This" she describes it as "A place where people can make a living but not a fortune. A place where enough is great riches" Sound familiar? I enjoyed her writing so much that I started interspersing her essays with other reading I was doing so her book would last longer. I savored every word. $14.95 Lyons Press
AMBROSE BIERCE AND THE DEATH OF KINGS by Oakley Hall
This mystery is set in San Francisco in 1890 and 1891 and features a character who is a cross between Mark Twain and Nero Wolf. Bierce is a journalist who writes a weekly column satirizing the local politics of the day in the Bay area. His friend and the narrator of the story, Tom Redmond, writes news pieces for another San Francisco paper. In this story, David Kalalaua, the last Hawaiian king has come to San Francisco to die. His entourage includes several princes and princesses as well as assorted advisors and medicine men. When one of the princesses disappears, Bierce is called in to help investigate. As he and Redmond start searching for the missing princess, they uncover several other mysteries concerning the Hawaiian royalty as well as the sugar magnate who seems to have control over the family.
This novel is an interesting period piece as well as a good story. It gives a look at the politics involved in the last days of the Hawaiian monarchy and the events which led to the annexation of Hawaii as a US territory in 1898.
New Release from Bear Creek Press
OREGON'S TRAIL by Mark Highberger ($18.95) This oversize
paperback book follows the path of the pioneers from the Snake River to
the Willamette Valley. It is well illustrated and contains maps of
the areas covered.
THE MURDER OF JOHN HAWK by Jon and Donna Skovlin ($12.95) This ambush
and murder by a group of northeast Oregon outlaws was the culmination
of the clash among three cultures prevalent in the Old West -- Indians,
stockmen and vigilantes.
THE BACKWOODS TEACHER by Edna Renfrow Justice ($5.95) A small
pamphlet describing what life was like at school as well as at home in the
days of the one-room schoolhouse in Oregon.
MY LIFE ON JOSEPH CREEK by Julie Davis Kooch ~ This memoir of her days growing up in the Joseph Creek/Chesnimnus area has 462 photographs and 160 of them are color! $22.50
Our music cupboard features CDs by several local musicians as well as collections from around the globe including:
Asian Lounge * Afro-Latin * Cairo to Casablanca * Celtic Crossroads * Italian Cafe * The Caribbean * Women of Africa * Salsa Around the World
Bookmarks Archive
Past Bookmarks Newsletters (without graphics) are available by clicking on links below: