Bookmarks Summer 2008
Summer Page-Turners
Isn't that what we really want now that the weather is finally warming up and thoughts start to turn towards hammocks in the shade and maybe even vacations? A disclaimer: when I read I don't pay too much attention to "bad language" and most page turners contain language, some kind of violence and very often some sex. Unless any of these is thrown in without purpose, I tend to breeze by them without taking offense. If you are squeamish about any of these areas, be aware that there may be some in these books.
MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Franklin
Kind of a cross between Brother Cadfael and CSI, this novel is about a forensic pathologist who lived in the time of Henry VIII. A series of murders have occurred in a village and some citizens under Henry's patronage are accused. King Henry sends a request to Salerno (a medical center of its day) for someone experienced in determining the causes of death. Answering his call is Adelia Aguilar, a woman (!) physician and knowledgeable post-mortem examiner. If the presence of a female physician is not startling enough, an African bodyguard accompanies her. Needless to say, the village is almost more worked up over the presence of these very exotic visitors than they are about the crimes occurring in their midst. Our heroine is efficient about her work and the novel is a good period piece as well as mystery. $15.00 Berkley
BACK TO WANDO PASSO by David Payne
An aging rock and roll star with marital trouble returns home to the south to try to find his true self and work out his life's problems. Off his medications, his delusions become entwined in the past history of the plantation house where he is living. The novel moves back and forth between the story in the present and the story of the former owners during the Civil War. Full of convoluted family ties and dysfunctions, numerous other difficulties and with a little voodoo thrown in, this strangely philosophical novel is very compelling. $14.95 Harper
THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS by Michael Gruber
This big, multi-layered story about some 17th century documents found hidden in an old book is quite a yarn. Two employees of an antiquarian bookstore in New York rapidly become involved in an international intrigue when they find these documents and discover that they reveal the existence of a hidden copy of an unknown Shakespeare play. As the book moves towards its suspenseful and surprising ending, there are numerous plot twists and double-crossings, not to mention an interesting glimpse of life in Shakespearean England with its own set of political intrigues. $14.95 Harper
For Young Readers
Or not, in the case of the Philip Pullman His Dark Materials trilogy. I know this is far from new, but having read just the first book when it came out years ago, I decided to treat myself and re-read it, as well as read for the first time the other two. Wow. If you have not read these, prepare to be amazed. This masterful trilogy deals with multiple worlds, the nature of consciousness, the meaning of good, evil, and selfless sacrifice. All this within a fantasy adventure involving two young people. One of the amazing things about it is that it works equally well for young adult reading as it does as an adult story exploring deep philosophical questions.
The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass $7.50 each Laurel-Leaf
SAVVY by Ingrid Law
The Beaumont family is a little magical. As each member turns thirteen he or she develops a savvy, some unusual thing they are able to do. One brother can create storms and another can make electricity. The problem is that these talents are hard to manage at first. When the brother with the affinity with the wind gained his savvy, he unwittingly created a hurricane, resulting in a family move to the Midwest, far away from large bodies of water. Mibs is just about to turn thirteen when her father is involved in an auto accident and taken to a hospital far from the family home. But when Mibs mistakenly thinks her savvy will help her father, she stows away on an old bus whose driver is heading towards the hospital. Along with several siblings and a few friends who sneak onboard, Mibs soon discovers that the bus is heading in the wrong direction. This is but the start of her adventures and by the time she does get to her father's hospital bed, she has had to learn how to deal with much more than just her new power. $16.99 Dial
BEST OF COVERED WAGON WOMEN The University of Oklahoma has published a collection of eight diaries by women of the westward migration. Compiled from their eleven volume Covered Wagon Women Series, these eight firsthand accounts are among the best ever written. Chosen by the original editor of the series, they portray the hardship, adventure and love for family and friends that characterized the overland experience. $19.95
COMING TO STAY is the memoir of Mary Dodds Schlick, who moved from the Midwest to the Colville Indian Reservation in 1950 with her husband Bud, a forester for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For over 50 years she has maintained a close connection with the native people as a neighbor, journalist, teacher and master basket maker on the Colville, Warms Springs and Yakama reservations. Through her life's stories Schlick, winner of the Oregon Book Award for her book Columbia River Basketry, Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth, tells us about community and family, celebration and loss and how she came to stay in the place she now calls home. $22.50 Oregon Historical Society Press
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