ABA and COVID 19 Virus, Artemis Fowl Movie, LondonBook Fair Canceled, Island Books, She Wolf and Cub by Lilith Saintcrow, The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly, and Maid by Stephanie Land

I've not posted a set of reviews on this blog for quite awhile, and I can only blame it on the whole COVID 19 Coronavirus pandemic that seems to be swelling in numbers of those affected by the hour here in King County, though so far, we've not had anyone in Maple Valley become officially infected, as far as I know right now (the news changes hourly). As someone with pre-existing conditions that compromise my immune system, I am horrified whenever I read about new outbreaks or watch TV and hear the news of more deaths among the elderly, the very young and people like myself, who do not have the ability to fight off a serious respiratory infection like COVID 19. Of course, forcing people to stay indoors, cancelling conventions, parades church services and everything else that could bring people together where they might infect one another has helped slow the infection rate. But the fact that you can have this virus and not show symptoms for two weeks (!), and that it can live for up to three days on surfaces, and knowing how cavalier some people are about good hand washing, I'm still nervous every time my husband or son return home from a shopping trip or work...what if someone sneezed on that apple? I could die from a virus gotten from a library book or a dirty piece of fruit. It's scary, and so many people are staying indoors, many local businesses are actively seeking ways to bring books, food or whatever you want to your doorstep, so they can stay in business during this dark time. With schools cancelled as well, everyone has a reason to pray for a vaccine and/or a miracle this Easter.

 It's important for small, independent businesses to get creative to find ways to stay open during the viral pandemic. Hill has some great ideas here.

ABA and Dealing with the Coronavirus

We wish to offer an official welcome to Allison Hill, who became CEO of the American Booksellers Association on March 1. What a week and a half it's been. In her first general letter to membership, published yesterday in Bookselling This Week, a reference to threats to indies included a new one--"rising costs, an election year, a pandemic, a looming recession, and Amazon.com In a BTW roundup  http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43610341 of how some stores are promoting shopping local during the coronavirus pandemic, Hill said, "As people practice social distancing to protect themselves, their instinct is to shop chain stores for 'one stop shopping' in lieu of their favorite bookstores, hardware stores, or other independent businesses. If your store has an e-commerce site, remind customers that they can shop with you online and that you appreciate their support right now. Partnering with a local delivery service may be another option to help serve customers who don't feel comfortable coming into your store right now.

"I'm always reminded at times like these how important it is that we walk the talk and make sure that we're all supporting other indie businesses. Check in with other indies in your area and see how you can cross-promote each other's businesses, support one another, and work together to raise community awareness about the critical need to support local businesses right now."

In addition, as noted in BTW, the ABA has set up a new page on

BookWeb.org

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43610342 that details event updates, general information about the outbreak, and resources for

retailers. And on BookWeb's Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forums, there is a new thread for stores to "share best practices during the outbreak, including how to stay healthy, how to handle related personnel issues, how to cut costs if sales are down, how to handle cancelled events, and other topics members want to share."

In related ABA news, because of the coronavirus outbreak, association staff will not attend the remaining 2020 spring forums being held by regional booksellers associations this month and next. The spring forum programs traditionally include a forum or town hall session with senior staff from the ABA. The ABA is working with the regionals to offer a virtual forum or town hall where possible.

I read two of the Artemis Fowl books many years ago, when Nick was still a kid. I enjoyed them, but it appears that they've taken the role of Artemis, who is a genius villain, and turned him into a good guy, for some weird reason. This also happened with the short series I just watched on Amazon Prime called The Rook, based very loosely on the book of the same name by Daniel O'Malley. I was so sad that they took such a wonderful and intricate story and turned it into a sex and violence-laden mystery/action series. 

Movies: Artemis Fowl

A new trailer has been released for Artemis Fowl http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43486718, based on the bestselling books by Eoin Colfer. Entertainment Weekly reported that the film "follows the 12-year-old boy genius, Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw), as he finds himself in a war against a hidden world of fairies while on a search for his missing father."

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the movie's cast includes Colin Farrell as Artemis Fowl Sr., Judi Dench (Commander Root), Tamara Smart, Josh McGuire, Nikesh Patel, Adrian Scarborough, Nonso Anozie, Lara McDonnell and Josh Gad. Artemis Fowl is scheduled to hit theaters May 29.

This famous book fair is just one of many venues cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Italy has basically closed down the entire country, and I had to attend to my book group via Skype (online video) chat this past Tuesday. No one knows when the bans will be lifted and when the rising path of the virus will finally start to head downhill to fewer cases. 

London Book Fair Canceled

The show will not go on after all. A day after London Book Fair organizers said they were still planning to hold the event next week, Reed Exhibitions announced its cancelation http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43515112 following the escalation of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Europe and the exit of so many publishers, agents and others since last Friday. Just yesterday, most major U.K. publishers said that they weren't attending, which followed cancelations by many from East Asia, Italy, North America and finally many parts of Europe.

At the same time, other book fairs had either canceled this year's edition, such as Livre Paris and the Leipzig Book Fair, or postponed, like the Bologna Book Fair.

In a statement, Reed said: "The effects, actual and projected, of Coronavirus are becoming evident across all aspects of our lives here in the U.K. and across the world, with many of our participants facing travel restrictions. We have been following U.K. government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities and other organizations, and so it is with reluctance that we have taken the decision not to go ahead with this year's event.

"We recognize that business has to continue. With this in mind, we will of course support and collaborate with exhibitors and visitors to keep our world moving during this difficult period. We thank all those from the U.K. and a multitude of other countries who have prepared over the last year to deliver what promised to be a wonderful book fair showcasing, as ever, the exciting best of the global book industry. The London Book Fair will return, better than ever, in 2021."

 YAY for Island Books, which used to be my go-to bookstore back in the late 90s and early aughts. I really miss Roger Page and company.

Bookseller Moment: Island Books

Posted on Facebook yesterday by Island Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43516672, Mercer Island, Wash.: "We opened the door to bring the fresh air in http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz43516673 and let you know we are here if you need books, a quiet place to sit, a card for a friend or just a place to be around people. P.S. as always, we will deliver anywhere on island if you cannot make it in."

She Wolf and Cub by Lilith Saintcrow is a short science fiction novel based loosely on "Lone Wolf and Cub" a Japanese wire-fu film released in Japan in 1970 and America in 1980. IT's basically the story of an assassin sent to kill a rival, including his family, who then can't bring himself to kill the youngest child. So he sets off with the child, who is skilled in martial arts, somehow, and the two defeat all who are in their path on their way to freedom. Here's the blurb: Ever since they gave her a new cyborg body and a steady stream of murderous work, she’s known the rules. Keep your head down, do your job, don’t get involved.

Then they sent her to assassinate a child.

Instead, she took him out of the City and into the Waste. Of course they’ll be coming for her, and for the strange, quiet, thirsty boy she’s rescued. Because he’s not just a child — he’s a profitable experiment. Bounty hunters. Fellow cyborgs. Cannibals. Monsters. They're all after him. All she has on her side is an almost-invulnerable body, a lifetime’s worth of stubbornness, and the willingness to kill whoever she has to. 

Saintcrow uses minimalist prose and a punchy, swift plot to tell this fascinating tale of a cyborg who learns to love a vampire child as her own.  It's not a fun and breezy read, but it is brilliant and beautiful in a harsh way. I'd give this a B+ and recommend it to fans of fish out of water or misfits banding together tales.

The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly is a historical romantic fiction novel that really surprised me. I was expecting it to be more about the home front during WW2, and as it had strong romantic elements, I also expected there to be lots of breathless sex scenes written with the usual tropes that drive me crazy (ie "heaving bosoms" and "moist caves of need" that are filled by his "thrusting manliness" LOL). Thankfully, there was none of that nonsense, and I instead found a book about three friends who did whatever they had to to survive the War. The plot was compelling and rich and the prose fulsome and beautifully tailored, like a bespoke suit. Here's the blurb: The start of World War II looms over three friends who struggle to remain loyal as one of them is threatened with internment by the British government, from the author of The Light Over London.
In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

Featuring Julia Kelly’s signature “intricate, tender, and convincing” (Publishers Weekly) prose, The Whispers of War is a moving and unforgettable tale of the power of friendship and womanhood in the midst of conflict.

I was not aware that Germans, or people of German heritage, were put in internment camps in America during both WW1 and WW2, so the fact that my grandparents on both sides were able to remain on their farms working took on a new cast of good luck for me. My parents were also fortunate that they never had to face the horror of a camp, as both were children during the war. As is usual while reading books that go from modern day (usually with a thinly characterized female protagonist) to women of past generations, I find myself being irritated at how shallow modern day women seem in contrast. That said, I didn't like the fact that Marie was such a wimpy person, crying and fearful and always being treated so horribly by her evil Nazi cousin. The other characters seemed to have more grit and backbone. But the HEA was sublime, and I read through this book in a day, because it was so engrossing. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who is curious about what America did to those with German heritage during the first part of WW2.

Maid (subtitle: Hard work, low pay and a mother's will to survive) by Stephanie Land is a memoir about a young woman who goes from an abusive relationship and homelessness while caring for her child on welfare, to graduating from a University in Montana and becoming a freelance writer and successful author.  Though I realize we're supposed to sympathize with Land, she spends a majority of the book whining, crying, having breakdowns, wanting her mommy (no, I am not kidding) and complaining about everything that befalls her and her daughter. Realistically, I think Land should have either had an abortion or given her child up for adoption, because she had no real skills in either parenting or in working at jobs that would make her enough money to live on without having to rely on her scumbag ex boyfriend, who was constantly trying to poison their daughter (one he didn't want, BTW) against her. It's also never clear why Land didn't use effective birth control. It's not expensive, and Land isn't so stupid that she doesn't know of places to get birth control for free, like Planned Parenthood. It makes no sense to me to have a child when you are incapable of supporting him or her, and when you know that the person who helped make the child is also an ineffective parent. Forcing a child to grow up in abject poverty is cruel and stupid, especially when Land has no support system, with impoverished and selfish parents and no real friends to help her in times of need, like after a car accident, when Land suffers from a kind of PTSD.  Here's the blurb: 

Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich.

At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly.

She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn't feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor.

Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it's like to be in service to them. "I'd become a nameless ghost," Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients' lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path.

Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the "servant" worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

Lands prose is vanilla and plain, but it gets the job done. Though I understand how hard it is to be poor and young in this country, while living off of student loans and low paying work (I worked for $5 an hour as a Certified Nursing Assistant in grad school when living, or trying to, in the Cambridge/Watertown area of Massachusetts. Rents were ridiculous, and I had to barter home health care with an elderly woman who eventually became senile and threw me out. I rented a room for awhile in an apartment with a couple who also tossed me out when the guy decided he wanted my room for his "study," and then I rented another room in an apartment with three other people, until it became obvious that wasn't going to work, because a student loan fell through, I was homeless in Sommerville for a week, and I had to sleep on the street. A kind elderly couple took me in and helped me get to my mother's house in Florida, where I wasn't welcome, but I eventually got a job in my field of expertise) I also know that welfare is denied to people (myself included) all the time...so there are worse scenarios than Lands. 

I also felt that Land, who didn't want to be judged by her socioeconomic status, harshly judged most of the people she cleaned house for, and even would try on the clothing of one woman, every time she was there to clean. If I am paying someone to clean, I am not paying them to snoop into my private papers, mail, clothing or cupboards. That Land felt not an ounce of remorse for doing this kind of thing over and over made me physically ill. It's a violation of another person's privacy, and you are essentially stealing from them by being paid for cleaning time when you are not cleaning, but are instead looking around and judging and snooping into their private lives. SHAME ON YOU, Stephanie Land. Though I think it's important that people read this book to be aware of what it is like to be poor and female and invisible in society, I heartily hope that people don't see us all as the grasping, whining, wimpy and creepy person that Land becomes. I worked for 10 years as a CNA, and I had to clean up much worse things than dirty toilets, so I know of what I speak. Now that I am a retired journalist, with print journalism all but defunct, I can also look back on my struggles and be proud to have survived them. But I believe that I did so with much less whinging and cringing. So I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone with a trust fund who doesn't understand what a struggle it is for women and single mothers to survive in America.