New Fall Fiction

The Week magazine dated November 20, 2009 has book reviews on page 25 under the title, Fall Fiction: New Novels from Four Old Favorites. The four "old favorites" are Stephen King, John Grisham, Barbara Kingsolver, and Philip Roth.

The New Novels are Under the Dome by Stephen King, Ford County Stories by John Grisham; a collection of short stories, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingslover, and The Humbling by Philip Roth; referred to as "the most entertaining depressing book".

70 Years of Best Sellers 1895-1965

I am browsing a book by Alice Payne Hackett called 70 years of Best Sellers 1895-1965. The writer points out that best sellers does not refer to the best books but rather to the books that people love the best. The writer got much of the information from Publishers Weekly.

Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian Maclaren and The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope were bestsellers in 1895. That's the year that the first American Bestseller lists were published.

The Marriage of William Ashe by Mrs. Humphry Ward and The Gambler by Katherine Cecil Thurston were bestsellers in 1905 and Hackett says novels were beginning to write the new inventions into their plots: cars and wireless telegraphy.

An Austrian archduke was murdered in Sarajevo in 1914 and triggered a war in Europe and The Eyes of the World by Harold Bell Wright and Penrod by Booth Tarkington became bestsellers.

In 1940 the year Hitler and the Nazis attacked England, How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn and Country Squire in the White House by John T. Flynn were bestsellers.

Interesting 280 page book written by Hackett and published in 1967.

Andre Agassi's Memoir

Ah! The trials and tribulations of Mackenzie Phillps, Hulk Hogan, Valerie Bertinelli and Andre Agassi. I guess I won't be writing a memoir any time soon. I have nothing shocking to say.

Read about Andre Agassi's book appropriately called, Open: An Autobiography. I hope Chris Rock took note that Agassi was obsessed about his hair. I also like what he said in the interview in USA Today,

"The true Andre. I continually change and differ and grow, but this is my look at who I was and who I became. But it's ever-evolving".

We are all evolving. Good thing to remember when we come across some folks with whom we can not stand to be in the same room. When they evolve and change, you may want to have them back in your life.

New Cookbooks

I love to cook but I love to look at cookbooks more than I love cooking. From time to time I feature cookbooks in this blog. I am intrigued by the recipe in People Magazine, November 16 issue, for Comfort Meatballs taken from the book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I never thought of putting milk in meatballs or browning them then baking them. The book is by Ree Drummond and this is the link to her blog.

Some of the other books featured in People are The Pleasures of Cooking for One , Ad Hoc at Home, and Bubby' Brunch Cookbook.

Book Club Selections

We are flexible. We could make changes but right now these are our selections for 2010.

January 15

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba

February 19

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

March 19

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

I am reading Steve Berry

I am finally getting a chance to read Steve Berry's 2007 book, The Alexandria Link. Yes, I am behind because Steve Berry already has information on his web page about another book to be released in December 2009 ... The Paris Vendetta.

I am only on page 39 of The Alexandria Link. So far, I know it has something to do with the conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. It starts in Palestine when the State of Israel is about to be reestablished. I know that the protagonist, Cotton Malone, has been targeted by the bad guys because he knows some secret and the US government is involved. I feel like I am reading a mystery thriller that is a cousin to The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This is because some of the same key words have come up already: order/chaos, puzzles/codes, and secrets.

Okefenokee Book Club Selections 2009

I think my favorites this year were Secret Life of Bees, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Shadow of the Wind I highly recommend these books for your reading pleasure. 

 January 16 Secret Life of Bees by Sue Kidd Monk 

 February 20 Dewey the Small town Library Cat by Vicki Myron 

 March 20 The Keepsake by Terri Gerritsen 

 April 17 March by Geraldine Brooks 

 May 15 Straight by Dick Francis 

 June 19 Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows 

 July 17 Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon 

 August 21 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford 

 September 18 Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith 

 October 16 Silks by Dick and Felix Francis 

 November 20 Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, and David Oliver Relin 

 We want to start off next year with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba.

New Book by Jeanette Walls

Remember Jeanette Walls the writer of one of our favorite book club selections, The Glass Castle? Well, Ms. Walls has a new book out. She has written the story of Lily Casey Smith, her grandmother. Ms. Walls is also featured in this month's issue of Reader's Digest. Remember Walls mother in the memoir? She is now 75 years old and no longer chooses to be homeless. She lives with Walls and is the source of the story for the second book, Half Broke Horses.

Book Club Selection

It will be Three Cups of Tea next month. That's the title of our book for discussion. November will be the last meeting for the year and we may try out Captain Joe's next time as the venue.

Brief review of The Lost Symbol

I hope the Dan Brown fans, particularly the readers of The Lost Symbol, saw him on televsion last night on NBC. I finally finished this action filled novel and decided that the themes are transformation, death, and secrecy. It's not a simple story. There are subplots and unexpected twists. Every character is looking for something inthis story. It could be a pyramid, a place, a person, a clue, a lost word with magical powers.

The transformation theme is the primary focus: transformation of a cube into a cross, transformation of body and soul, transformation of the world through human thought, and the transformation of man into God. We learn, in this novel, about symbols of death and transformation and the alchemicals that facilitate transformation.

The theme of secrecy was equally fascinating: secret underground locations in Washington D. C., secret pyramids that reveal secret locations, secret symbols that reveal lost secret words with magical powers, the Masons - a society with secrets rather than a secret society. In this novel some secrets are hidden and some are in the open waiting to be noticed and interpreted.

I loved the combination of science and mysticism in this novel. I loved the revelation of secrets of the buildings and the artwork within the buildings of Washington, D.C.

The way the novel focused on Noetic Science at the beginning of the book, I was led to believe that at least one character would use his or her mind to transform events but that did not happen.

Key words in this novel are: Apotheosis, Ancient Mysteries, Apocalypse or enlightenment, and Circumpunct. I think that in the end, the writer wants us to think about those words.

Graphic Novels by Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney and his creation Diary of a Wimpy Kid were featured on the View this morning. I was hearing about this series of graphic novels for children 9 to 12 years old for the first time.