Hello from the mid-summer heat wave in the PNW! So far, we've survived, thanks to air conditioning and fans, but, having lived near Seattle since 1991, I can honestly say that I've never seen it get this hot out here, with temperatures going up to 113 degrees on multiple days! Whew! It's cooled down considerably this past week end and week, thank heaven, and I'm fortunate that I've been able to read on my Kindle Paperwhite and read a variety of "dead tree" books to keep my mind occupied while everything from the rose bush to the garden withers under the burning rays of the sun. I've also binge-watched Netflix's Virgin River season 3 and Amazon's delightful Leverage Redemption, which is a long-awaited reboot of the show that brought Robin Hood and Hijinks into the modern age. Anyway, here are the latest tidbits and reviews.
I love the story of this scrappy book van becoming a bookstore with a number of followers. I will have to look them up next time I'm in BC!
Iron Dog Books
The Canadian Independent Booksellers Association showcased Hilary and Cliff Atleo http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49043065, who launched Iron Dog Books , Vancouver, B.C., in 2017. "Their bookstore was based out of an 80 square foot renovated cube van, which they referred to as the 'food (for the brain) truck.' They spent two years travelling to events, markets, and festivals in BC's lower mainland before expanding to a brick-and-mortar location in Vancouver," CIBA noted.
Curation is key at the bookshop. "I don't believe in a hierarchy of literature, but rather a topography," Hilary Atleo said. "Each area of the map has highlights worth visiting."
CIBA noted that Iron Dog Books "has become a beloved community hub, and the truck still rides on. One of the unique benefits of the truck is being able to bring the store to new audiences. At events that are not about reading, the truck becomes a conduit of discovery or rediscovery--not only of a particular title, but of books and reading more generally."
I love stories of women's contribution to history, so this sounds like it will be a "Must See" for me in the future.
TV: Leningrad
Michael Hirst (Vikings, The Tudors) will write a TV series adaptation of Anna Reid's 2011 book Leningrad http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49043099: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944, which draws on personal diaries, Deadline reported. The project is a co-production between Range Media Partners and Svetlana and Alexey Kuzmichev's Orangery Productions.
"Because the authentic voice of the people is crucial to telling the true story, one of the great resources are the diaries kept by so many people, specifically women, in the city," Hirst said. "The majority of our main characters are women, not only because they are often overlooked or even ignored in historical accounts, but also because while many of Leningrad's men went to war and died in battle, the women remained. I think it's entirely right to tell the story of the Siege through the female experience."
Ooooh, a Jane Austen adaptation to the stage! Wonderful!
On Stage: Persuasion
Bedlam http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49073275 (Sense and Sensibility, The Crucible) is returning Off-Broadway this fall with Persuasion http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49073276, a new play by Sarah Rose Kearns adapted from Jane Austen's novel, Playbill reported. Directed by Eric Tucker, the production will begin September 11 at the Connelly Theater ahead of a September 21 opening.
"We feel extremely lucky to have come through the pandemic as a company and fortunate to be able to return to the stage," said Tucker. "I'm also happy to announce Bedlam is launching a new pipeline initiatives program to make our shows available to anyone in New York who may have been prevented from attending due to the cost of a ticket, to encourage audience development and community engagement."
This is such a cool project, but I've got way too many stories about finding great books, having book chats with employees, buying some of the softest t-shirts I've ever touched, and enjoying unpacking the haul of new books and book stuff when I get home to ever contribute to the archive project.
PowellsArchiveProject: Powell's Books, Then & Now
Powell's Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49075817, Portland, Ore., shared a pair of photos on Facebook, noting: "Powell's on Hawthorne then & Powell's on Hawthorne now http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49075818>. We first opened shop on Hawthorne in 1992 and then shifted storefronts on the street in 1995. This particular photo looks to be from the late '90s/early '00s. #TBT reading challenge: You're shopping at Powell's at the turn of the century. What book are you picking up?
"We are working on creating a lasting archive of #50YearsOfPowells, and in order to accomplish our goal we invite you to share your own Powell's history with us! Please share your memories, treasured book finds, merch, ephemera, and more with us via email at archive@powells.com or tag us in any social posts with the hashtag #PowellsArchiveProject
I wonder if Kevin Frakes is any relation to Jonathan Frakes of STNG fame? Either way, this is a book to movie adaptation that is long overdue, IMO.
Movies: The Alchemist
Westbrook Studios, Netter Films and PalmStar Media have set a September start date in Morocco for The Alchemist http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49075835, based on Paulo Coelho's novel, Deadline reported. PalmStar principal Kevin Frakes will direct while Sebastian de Souza, Tom Hollander and Shohreh Aghdashloo are starring in the movie, which will be ready for release in late 2022.
The cast also includes Jordi Molla, Youssef Kerkour and Ashraf Barhom. The film is produced by Will Smith and Jon Mone for Westbrook Studios; Frakes and Raj Singh for PalmStar; and Gil Netter for Netter Films.
"Hundreds of millions of people over the past three decades have found inspiration in The Alchemist to pursue their dreams, listen to their hearts, and never to lose hope when faced with adversity," said Netter. "Paulo Coelho's words are profound, and now we will finally be able to bring those words to life."
Frakes added that Coelho "wrote it best. When you really want something to happen, the whole universe will conspire so that your wish comes true. It has long been my dream to bring this story to the world, and now we can do that in a way that speaks to Coelho's vision, with a cast and crew that represents the global well of support for The Alchemist."
Oh how I miss the smart presidents...Rhodes Scholar Bill Clinton, brilliant Barack Obama and all the other POTUS's who enjoyed browsing a bookstore and reading real books! I love that former president Obama has another reading list out, and that Project Hail Mary is on it (A book that I read and loved, BTW...it's reviewed here on my blog).
Obama's Summer Reading List 2021
Once again Barack Obama has released his summer reading list. On Facebook, he wrote http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49116618, "Whether you're camped out on the beach or curled up on the couch on a rainy day, there's nothing quite like sitting down with a great book in the summer. While we were still in the White House, I began sharing my summer favorites--and over the years, it's become a little tradition that I look forward to sharing with you all. So without further ado, here are some books I've read recently. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did."
At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert
This sounds like a great book, one that I'd be interested in reading, following Jamie Ford's brilliant "Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," which was a revelation for me, detailing a part of history that I knew little about.
Book Review: Clark and Division
The incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II is undoubtedly one of the most egregious episodes in 20th-century U.S. history. Third-generation Japanese American Naomi Hirahara carves a little-known sliver from that grievous experience and layers it with mystery to create her provocative novel Clark and Division.
The War Relocation Authority eventually began releasing young adults to relocate in small numbers in such cities as Chicago, Denver and New York--because they were forbidden to return to their West Coast homes. In September 1943, Rose Ito was the first in her family to be discharged from Manzanar to resettle in Chicago. Her parents and younger sister, Aki, apply to follow her in the spring, although the official government literature states, "Don't bunch up in numbers more than three." Aki wonders about their quartet being "too many," but tragically, Rose is killed on the tracks of Chicago's Clark and Division subway station the night before the family's reunion. Her death is ruled a suicide, but "Rose wouldn't do that," Aki insists. She's convinced she knew her beloved, feisty, determined sister best, but is shocked when the coroner reports that Rose had had a recent abortion. Aki's doubts and questions immediately multiply; her stubborn streak is emboldened as she chases down Rose's roommates, friends, any acquaintances willing to talk. What Aki uncovers couldn't be more timely--anti-Asian racism and violence, illegal medicine, mob control, dirty cops.
Born in California to a Japanese immigrant mother and a father born in California and raised in Hiroshima, Hirahara's lauded literary career highlights her dual heritage. The author of nonfiction, young adult and three mystery series (Mas Arai, Ellie Rush, Leila Santiago) delves into her first historic fiction with Clark and Division. Although she's skillfully integrated historical events in many of her previous titles, her 10th novel incorporates three decades of researching and collecting the oral histories of Americans imprisoned for being of Japanese heritage. As a former journalist and editor for the Rafu Shimpo, the nation's most prominent Japanese American newspaper since 1903, Hirahara was involved in reporting on the Japanese American demands for redress and reparations that resulted in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which issued a national apology and $20,000 to each incarceration survivor.
While Clark and Division is currently a standalone endeavor, Aki Ito shows plenty of intriguing tenacity to star in a series of her own. Readers are sure to agree. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon
The Coming Storm by Regina M. Hansen is a wonderful YA fantasy novel based on Celtic and Canadian/Norse myths and legends. It's extremely well written, with lyrical prose that sails along the rich plot and enfolds the reader in the protagonist, Beet MacNeill's world and doesn't let go until the last line on the last page. Here's the blurb: Music, myth, and horror blend in this romantic, atmospheric fantasy
debut about a teen girl who must fight a powerful evil that’s invaded
her Prince Edward Island home—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens.
There’s
a certain wild magic in the salt air and the thrum of the sea. Beet
MacNeill has known this all her life. It added spice to her childhood
adventures with her older cousin, Gerry, the two of them thick as
thieves as they explored their Prince Edward Island home. So when Gerry
comes up the path one early spring morning, Beet thinks nothing of it at
first. But he is soaking wet and silent, and he plays a haunting tune
on his fiddle that chills Beet to the bone. Something is very, very
wrong.
Things only get worse when Marina Shaw saunters into town
and takes an unsettling interest in Gerry’s new baby. Local lore is
filled with tales of a vicious shape-shifting sea creature and the cold,
beautiful woman who controls him—a woman who bears a striking
resemblance to Marina. Beet is determined to find out what happened to
her beloved cousin, and to prevent the same fate from befalling the
handsome new boy in town who is winning her heart, whether she wants him
to or not. Yet the sea always exacts a price.
You can almost hear the violin music and smell the salt in the air in this novel, and I found it to be one of those YA novels that will speak to anyone of any age, who really likes a good, engrossing tale. My only, slight problem with the book was that Beet seemed to be more than a bit mean and b*tchy to everyone in her life, from her mother to the young man who wants to help her (and eventually date her). I couldn't fathom any reason why this teenage girl was such a pill,unless it was because that is the stereotype of "hormonal" teenage girls, is that they're horribly nasty creatures who can't get along with anyone, save their fellow nasty teenage girls, who are, of course, boy crazy, because "all" teenage girls are boy crazy, right?! In reality,this is just one more stupid stereotype that readers could do without, especially female readers. Still, I'd give this novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes myths and legends associated with the sea.
The War Nurse by Tracey Enerson Wood is a well-researched historical fiction novel that suffers from it's greatest attribute. While the prose was clean, it was also somewhat stiff and formal, and at times the historical detail overwhelmed the thin plot to the point of sinking it like a stone. Here's the blurb:
Based on a true story, The War Nurse is a sweeping historical novel by USA Today bestselling author Tracey Enerson Wood that takes readers on an unforgettable journey through WWI France.
She asked dozens of young women to lay their lives on the line during the Great War. Can she protect them?
Superintendent of Nurses Julia Stimson must recruit sixty-four nurses to relieve the battle-worn British, months before American troops are ready to be deployed. She knows that the young nurses serving near the front lines of will face a challenging situation, but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that awaits when they arrive at British Base Hospital 12 in Rouen, France. The primitive conditions, a convoluted, ineffective system, and horrific battle wounds are enough to discourage the most hardened nurses, and Julia can do nothing but lead by example—even as the military doctors undermine her authority and make her question her very place in the hospital tent.
When trainloads of soldiers stricken by a mysterious respiratory illness arrive one after the other, overwhelming the hospital's limited resources, and threatening the health of her staff, Julia faces an unthinkable choice—to step outside the bounds of her profession and risk the career she has fought so hard for, or to watch the people she cares for most die in her arms.
Fans of Martha Hall Kelly's Lost Roses and Marie Benedict's Lady Clementine will devour this mesmerizing celebration of some of the most overlooked heroes in history: the fierce, determined, and brave nurses who treated soldiers in World War I.
The novel is told in first person, almost diary-style writing from the main character, Julia, who ends up being kind of a cold and aloof icon of womanhood, instead of seeming like a real person who has to survive adverse conditions and a great deal of suffering and death over the course of two years. While I gather that this was based on real people and a real woman who had to make the choice between having a nursing career or marriage and family, it still seemed highly judgemental in the way the author dealt with that reality, as if she made the lesser, more unfulfilling choice because Julia chose her career of helping people. However, this was a fascinating snapshot of the women who worked so very hard to save lives during the Great War. I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to anyone who wants the inside story of nursing during WW1.
The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen is another historical fiction novel, about a young woman who discovers that her ancestor has left her an intact apartment full of what she thinks are masterpieces of art stolen from Jewish families by the Nazis during WWII. She spends most of the novel trying to find out who actually owned the art works, so that she can give them back to their rightful owners. Interspersed with modern day Lia's story is that of Estelle, who lead a double life as a resistance spy in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Here's the blurb: This heart-wrenching novel about family and war unearths generations of secrets and sacrifices—perfect for fans of The Paris Orphan and The Lost Girls of Paris.
2017, London:
When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is
shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets—including a
treasure trove of famous art and couture gowns. One obscure painting
leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his
own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths
concealed within the apartment’s walls.
Paris, 1942: The
Germans may occupy the City of Lights, but glamorous Estelle Allard
flourishes in a world separate from the hardships of war. Yet when the
Nazis come for her friends, Estelle doesn’t hesitate to help those she
holds dear, no matter the cost. As she works against the forces intent
on destroying her loved ones, she can’t know that her actions will have
ramifications for generations to come.
Set seventy-five years
apart, against a perilous and a prosperous Paris, both Estelle and Lia
must unearth hidden courage as they navigate the dangers of a changing
world, altering history—and their family’s futures—forever.
What is heartbreaking about this fantastically engrossing tale is that it's too short, because it's so well written with evocative prose and a robust plot full of intrigue, that readers will want the story to continue until every last painting has found it's proper home and the story of how it was obtained is revealed. the only "spanner in the works" in the entire novel is Lia's love interest, an artist who examines each artwork and helps Lia mount a show of the works and find their true owners, who is kind of a big whiny baby. His sad-sack story is not that just not that important to the plot, and comes off as the immature posturing of a wealthy guy raised with everything he could want but love...boo freaking hoo. Yet even with the immature wealthy artist idiot in the somewhat forced romantic subplot, I still couldn't put the book down. I'd give this book an A-, and recommend it to anyone who has dreamed of finding treasure in some old relative's attic and cashing in, which is what I would have done, of course.
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