Saralee Says
Nothing says I love you like a good book. And for you who have been especially good this year, I recommend you treat yourself or make sure those who are shopping for you purchase the following:
The two best books I have read this year are The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (Thorndike Press) and Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Random House). Perfect for every discussion, these books are examples of compelling writing and simply impossible to put down.
The Wedding of the Two-Headed Woman by Alice Mattison (Harper Collins) is funny and poignant. Daisy Andalusia is 50 years old and after years of being single marries her long-time significant other. She makes her living organizing other people's clutter. A new client at Yale University turns this organized woman's life upside down.
If you do not already own a copy of Nashville: An American Self-Portrait by John Egerton and Thomas Wood (Beaten Biscuit Press) then buy one for your mate and then enjoy it yourself. This is a captivating look at Nashville and a great introduction to our city for those who want to know more about the Athens of the South. Pictorial Victorians-The Inscription of Values in Word and Image by Julia Thomas (Ohio University Press) is perfect for people who are curious about all things Victorian. Thomas uses art, books, posters and pictures to explain politics and the dynamics of family life.
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Ann Rule (Pocket Books) is for those who like to curl up with bloodthirsty crimes. This collection of stories should scare every reader because they are true. These tales of love gone bad and what happens when a normal law-abiding spouse turns vengeful are not for the faint of heart.
Susan Howatch has authored the Starbridge Sequence (Harper Collins) which include Glittering Images, Glamorous Powers, Ultimate Prizes, Scandalous Risks and Mystical Paths. These novels are an intriguing combination of stories that involve a mystery, character development, drama and the Church of England. For sheer fun and entertainment select Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson (Picador).
Larry's Language
Books make the perfect holiday tribute because they require no assembly, involve no guilt if you re-gift them and are easy to wrap. My picks do not include the usual trash (thrillers, chillers, detectives, low flung romance, or chick lit), which I dearly love but would never embarrass you publicly by giving them to you. So for semi serious gift giving, try these selections:
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt (W. W. Norton & Company) discusses how this man could write fiction that was the acclaim of the English speaking world both then and still now.
At Work in the Atomic City by Russell Olwell (University of Tennessee Press) tells of the origin, sociology and history of Oak Ridge, Tenn. in all its atomic glory.
Slavery and the Making of America by James Oliver Horton & Lois Horton (Oxford) dissects the incredible influences of the terrible moral fault in our history.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham). The subtitle says it all with absolutely correct grammar: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin). Imagine if Franklin Roosevelt lost his bid for a third term in 1940 to Charles Lindbergh who campaigned as an isolationist with empathy for Adolph Hitler.
Arc of Justice by Kevin Boyle (Henry Holt). All the roots of modern racial attitudes are here in this 1920's true story of the second African American family to integrate a Detroit subdivision; the lynch mob that threatens them; the family's criminal prosecution for murder when they defend their home; and how this influenced the New Deal.
The 9/11 Commission Report (Norton). The terrifying account of how the terrorists did it, what we could have done to stop them and what we can try to do now.
The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King (Scribner). The conclusion of a seven-volume magnum opus that King has been writing for 20 years and he even appears as a fictional character.
The Experts Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do by Samantha Ettus (Clarkson Potter). The professional way to do the everyday things in life.
Italian Frescoes by Steffi Roettgen (AbbevillePress). The awe, the wonder, and the magnificence of Renaissance paintings.
Fine Art of the West by Byron Price (Abbeville Press). Detailed designs and photographs of the arts and crafts of the American west in a stunning visual display.
Join us for our next bookclub discussion which will feature What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America by Thomas Frank (Metropolitan Books).
