Hello Bibliophiles! Turns out that the COVID vaccinations were cancelled due to the storms in the Midwest where they're manufacturing the vaccine, so they couldn't get the trucks out to the West Coast because they were snowed in. Mail has been delayed and packages haven't been delivered, so everything's on hold until later this week. So that light at the end of the tunnel is going to take awhile to appear fully, unfortunately. Meanwhile, I am waiting on some books to be delivered, and I've been reading a lot of books on my Kindle Paperwhite. I've also noticed that since the quarantine began a year ago, I watch most of my TV shows and movies online, rather than on the TV. I used to watch DVDs from Redbox, but I rarely do that now. Netflix and CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video are my top three favorites, with Apple + and Disney not too far behind. So grab your popcorn or snack, sit for a spell and watch a good story unfold on your streaming service of choice!
I totally agree with Adam Stern...bookstores are the heart of community
Quotation of the Day
Bookstores 'More Needed than Ever'
"The twin pillars of independent bookstores are browsing and community.... Bookstores--places that nurture learning and discussion, champion diverse voices and ideas, celebrate language, treasure knowledge and connect the past with our chaotic present to show us how we might go forward--are more needed than ever. We must do everything we can to support them now, before it is too late because they are hubs of building what Martin Luther King Jr. called the Beloved Community, centered on justice, equality and love."--Adam Stern, bookseller at the Seminary Co-op http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47467941, Chicago, Ill., in an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune
I used to read the Redwall books to my son when he was little. I'm looking forward to the film and TV series.
Movies: Redwall
A new rights deal between Netflix and Penguin Random House Children will result in the Redwall http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47468000 books by Brian Jacques being adapted into a film and TV series. Variety reported that the deal "marks the first time that the film rights to the entire book series have been held by the same company and the first time a feature film of any of Jacques's works will be made."
Patrick McHale, creator of Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall, will write the film, based on Jacques's first book in the series, Redwall. Netflix is also developing an event series based on the character Martin the Warrior.
Ben Horslen, fiction publisher, Penguin Random House Children's, said, "These perennially popular stories have been etched onto the hearts of millions of readers, and we are thrilled to partner with Netflix to bring those beloved characters on screen for families worldwide to enjoy."
This book sounds fantastic...I hope that I get the chance to read it before the end of the year.
Book Review: The Soul of a Woman
"Women's emancipation is not incompatible with femininity," declares Chilean novelist Isabel Allende (A Long Petal of the Sea in her fifth nonfiction book, The Soul of a Woman. "Quite the opposite: I think they are complementary." In this slim memoir-cum-manifesto, Allende, a passionate feminist since age five by her own estimation, recounts her experiences with the patriarchy as a young woman, her early career as a journalist and translator, and her eventual success as a novelist (and a thrice-married woman). In the book's second half, Allende details some of the atrocities faced by women around the world and makes a cogent case for changing laws and policies to empower women and ensure their rights, reproductive and otherwise.
Best known for her novels featuring strong women, Latin American politics and magical realism (The House of the Spirits; The Stories of Eva Luna), Allende is also a long-time supporter of vulnerable women and girls through her eponymous foundation. She recounts her own early experiences as the daughter of a single mother, Panchita, who was forced to take refuge with her father (Isabel's grandfather) after her husband disappeared. As a young girl, Allende saw her mother dominated by men with economic and political power, and she vowed not to live her life the same way. Determined to forge her own path, she worked in TV and magazine journalism before turning to fiction. She peppers this brief autobiography with wry asides about political systems that routinely oppress women, the conflicting messages women receive about beauty and power, and the newfangled ideas about gender politics that her grandchildren bring to her attention. Some of Allende's comments on changing cultural practices sound like the musings of an older woman reflecting on the way things used to be. However, her comments on the value of passion, the unexpectedness of romantic love and the absolute value of women as human beings are both timeless and timely.
Allende's narrative rambles at times, but she never loses sight of her chief objective: to celebrate women's worth and value, and urge readers to stand up for the women in their lives, including themselves. Readers of Allende's fiction and memoirs will enjoy this sharp, thoughtful, often charmingly irascible glimpse into the author's fiercely feminist soul. She comments, "I am not interested in the warrior's rest; I'd rather keep some ardency of mind and blood." The Soul of a Woman is--among other things--an ardent call to keep fighting the good fight. --Katie Noah Gibson mailto:katieleigh83@gmail.com, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47499623
My favorite president is such a great guy and a wonderful reader that it doesn't surprise me that he developed a love of reading as a child. And I also used to find books at garage sales, and beg my mom for a dime or a quarter to buy them.
President Obama Thanks Booksellers for 'Everything'
At the opening of the 2012 Winter Institute yesterday, President Obama sent this grateful message via video to booksellers:
Growing up, whenever I was nagging my mom, whenever I told her I was bored or distracted her while she was at work, she'd tell me to pick up a book. And over time, reading became my refuge, a world I could escape to no matter what else was going on in my life. Now as a teenager, there were a few years when I spent more time bouncing basketballs and chasing romance than exploring literature, as my grades attested. But one of the most formative moments in my life came around 10th grade, when my grandparents took me to a rummage sale and I found myself in front of a bin of old hardcover books. As I write about it in A Promised Land, for
some reason I started pulling out titles that appealed to me or sounded vaguely familiar. There were books by Ralph Ellison, Langston Hughes,
Robert Penn Warren, and Dostoevsky, D.H. Lawrence and Ralph Waldo
Emerson. My grandfather gave me a confused look when I walked up with my box full of books. He joked, 'What, you planning on opening a library?'
My grandmother shushed him. She was happy that I was reading. Though she did say I might want to finish my homework before digging into Crime and Punishment.
And so I read all those books and found that they were expanding my mind and filling my spirit and broadening my sense of possibility and helping me sort through a budding identity, who I was and how I might want to live. And I went on to pick up a lot more books, at rummage sales and libraries and bookstores like yours. And that's why I want to record this video for all of you. Because what happened to me you're providing to so many other kids and teenagers and adults around the world, the same thing that those rummage sales first provided me.
You aren't selling books. You're selling knowledge, discovery, wisdom,
empathy, access to thoughts and worlds that readers have never experienced before. And by virtue of them experiencing the lives of others through books, they start understanding themselves better. So as a reader and as an author, I couldn't be more grateful for the work that all of you do every single day, especially during such a tough year. Thank you all for everything. I hope to see some of you again in person soon, in bookstores or libraries in your community.
This quote really spoke to me, as I have often felt that booksellers and authors and librarians all had a hand in saving my soul, and raising me from an isolated asthmatic child to a woman who made her living with words as a journalist.
Jennifer Finney Boylan http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47501384 advised that if "you want to open people's hearts, if you want to inspire passion and fire and resistance, there's no other way to go about it than by writing books, by publishing books, by selling books. I would be shocked if there were not plenty of days when many of you, many of us, have simply felt worn down by our working lives....
"I'm here to remind you that sometimes the frustrating work that we do makes a huge difference. In a world of bullshit, it is an act of defiance, an act of resistance and an act of love. So, from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of all the authors who are represented by the thousands and thousands of books all of you help to bring into the world, I just want to say thank you. The work we do may not seem glamorous sometimes, but truly, on a good day, we really are all in the business of saving souls."
Another book that I'd really love to read, because there used to be such a mystique about stewardesses, especially the chic Pam Am women with their smart outfits and handbags and hats...they always looked so glamorous. I would bet the stories in this book are really juicy and fascinating.
Book Review: Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am
In the golden age of air travel, Pan Am stewardesses were a symbol of independence, glamour and sexual empowerment. They were beautiful, college-educated, skilled in diplomacy and crowd control (as well as navigating tight spaces, turbulence and even war zones). But they were also real women, with varied backgrounds and experiences both on the ground and in the air. In her second nonfiction book, Come Fly the World, journalist Julia Cooke explores the rise and fall of Pan Am against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and rapidly changing--if often inconsistent--attitudes toward women in the workplace.
Cooke (The Other Side of Paradise) conducted extensive interviews with former stewardesses, and she devotes large chunks of her narrative to their perspectives. A small-town girl from upstate New York, a young Norwegian woman who would eventually make her home in California, a woman who became one of Pan Am's first Black stewardesses--all of them came to the airline seeking adventure and a chance to make their own way. They went through rigorous training and dealt with sexism (covert and overt) in every area, from their uniforms' fit to the smiles they were expected to give passengers. More importantly, they learned valuable skills and embraced international adventures: swimming in multiple oceans, visiting cities they'd only dreamed about, even handling hijackings and other tense situations on board.
As the Vietnam War dragged on, many stewardesses helped ferry American GIs to or from combat zones. The experience affected them deeply and gave them a new perspective on both anti-war protests and hawkish government attitude back in the States. When President Gerald Ford ordered the evacuation of nearly 3,000 war "orphans" from Vietnam in 1975, Pan Am stewardesses were an integral part of what became known as Operation Babylift. They were simply doing their jobs, but they became a part of history by showing up to work.
Cooke's narrative examines the shifts in attitudes and regulations relating to women in the workplace, as well as the balancing act of standing up to sexism while keeping a job. She traces the careers of a few women who refused to quit flying when they got married, pursued managerial positions, or both. She also explores the decline of luxury air travel, the effects of various political events on the industry, and the enduring stereotypes surrounding flight attendants and their work.
Thoughtful, well-researched and utterly engaging, Come Fly the World is smart escapist journalism and a tribute to hundreds of women who were much more than just a crew of pretty faces. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz47535947
The Paris Library by Janet Skeslein Charles is a gorgeous and engaging novel that takes place in Paris in 1939 through the end of WWII, and in Montana in 1983. Though the two places couldn't seem more distinct and different, the lives of the two women protagonists have much of the same anxieties and problems fitting into their surroundings, and they find books to be a connector to their past, present and future. Here's the blurb: Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the
American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance,
friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together,
perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.
Paris,
1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police
officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the
Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear,
including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians,
Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But
when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter
sting of unspeakable betrayal.
Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely
teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is
piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about
her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of
language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never
suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.
A
powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the
relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite
authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.
The first question that I had about this book, after reading it, was what happened to Odile's first husband Paul? It's like he was a plot device that was used and then he just disappeared into thin air! That said, the prose was elegant and vital, while the plot raced along on dove's wings. It was a page-turner that kept me up until the wee hours. However, as there were some questions left unanswered at the end, I've got to give this book an A- instead of a straight A, and recommend it to those who want a birds eye view of what the cost of heroism was to those stuck in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Also the cost of being scapegoated as a woman, while the male perpetrators go free.
The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper was an ebook that I snagged for a low price on Amazon. This book was about two different eras in Australian history that are connected by opals and taxidermy, as odd as that may seem. Here's the blurb:
A cursed opal, a gnarled family tree, and a sinister woman in a green dress emerge in the aftermath of World War I.
After a whirlwind romance, London teashop waitress Fleur Richards can’t wait for her new husband, Hugh, to return from the Great War. But when word of his death arrives on Armistice Day, Fleur learns he has left her a sizable family fortune. Refusing to accept the inheritance, she heads to his beloved home country of Australia in search of the relatives who deserve it more.
In spite of her reluctance, she soon finds herself the sole owner of a remote farm and a dilapidated curio shop full of long-forgotten artifacts, remarkable preserved creatures, and a mystery that began more than sixty-five years ago. With the help of Kip, a repatriated soldier dealing with the sobering aftereffects of war, Fleur finds herself unable to resist pulling on the threads of the past. What she finds is a shocking story surrounding an opal and a woman in a green dress. . . a story that, nevertheless, offers hope and healing for the future.
This romantic mystery from award-winning Australian novelist Tea Cooper will keep readers guessing until the astonishing conclusion.
“Readers of Kate Morton and Beatriz Williams will be dazzled. The Woman in the Green Dress spins
readers into an evocative world of mystery and romance in this deeply
researched book by Tea Cooper. There is a Dickensian flair to Cooper’s
carefully constructed world of lost inheritances and found treasures as
two indomitable women stretched across centuries work to reconcile their
pasts while reclaiming love, identity and belonging against two richly
moving historical settings. As soon as you turn the last page you want
to start again just to see how every last thread is sewn in anticipation
of its thrilling conclusion. One of the most intelligent, visceral and
vibrant historical reads I have had the privilege of visiting in an
age.” —Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration
I agree with Rachel McMillan that there is a Dickensian flair to Cooper's prose, and the characters she has created are just as memorable as some of Dicken's heroes and heroines and chilly villains. The plot is just winding enough to make the journey interesting, and yet it never flags or slows down so the reader gets stuck. And I have to admit, SPOILER, that I didn't see the "dead body in the basement" scene coming at all...I was flabbergasted! I was also surprised to learn how ubiquitous arsenic was in the 19th century, used to help tan hides and prepare animals for taxidermy, as well as used to make a green coloring that was put into fabric, wallpaper and makeup. I wonder how many people died before someone finally figured out that arsenic was deadly in all its forms? Anyway, I enjoyed this book and would give it a B+, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in 19th and early 20th century Australia.
Wish Upon a Straw by Devon Monk is a story from an anthology called "Once Upon A Wish," which contains 17 fairy tale reboot/reimagined stories. As you can surmise from the title of her story, Monk has taken the Rumplestiltskin story and turned it on it's head, with a smart female protagonist who figures out what she wants and what Rumple the fae wants and manages to get everyone what they most desire for an HEA ending. The fact that there are dragons involved is a bonus. As usual, Monk's prose is expertly wrought, full of wit and warmth, and her plot is picture perfect, making the story seem all too short. I haven't read any of the other stories in the anthology, mainly because I don't recognize the authors and I dislike wasting time on stories that aren't up to the high standards set by Devon Monk's work. However, I might still take a look at them if I find myself hard pressed for a quick read. I'd give this particular tale an A, and recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered if someone could get the better of the famous Rumplestiltskin.
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