Between the Lines

The Spring publishing season has fully hit! Some hardbacks of note are Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin and Chi-Young Kim. I really liked this story about an elderly woman separated from her husband at a Korean train station and the ensuing search for her by the rest of the family. Compelling read. Henning Mankell is out with a new Kurt Wallander novel- The Troubled Man. Typical plodding Mankell, but Wallander is always an intriguing character but we may have seen the last of him. Believe it or not, that little bag of starter is NEVER going away- Friendship Bread by Darien Gee is a novel held together by Amish Friendship Bread (which incidentally, my kids would have me making every ten days if it was up to them); Vanessa Munroe, the protagonist of Taylor Steven's The Informationist has been compared to Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. Stevens herself was raised in and remained part of an extreme religious cult until her late twenties. There are a LOT Of great book club titles coming out- My Name is Mary Sutter is a historical novel by Robin Oliveira. Mary is a midwife with dreams of becoming a surgeon. Unfortunately in the mid 1800's female doctors are unheard of. Undetered, she sets off for Washington, DC where she helps tend Civil War wounded and continues to follow her dream. Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, takes place before the Civil War at the Tawawa House, a place where Southern white men come to vacation with their enslaved black mistresses. Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet is just out in paper. Stephanie Cowell explores Monet the artist, his relationship with the aristocratic Camille and the rise of Impressionism, it is already on two local book club lists. I really enjoyed This Is Just Exactly Like You by Drew Perry. A quirky story about a crumbling marriage and a beautiful father-son relationship: Jack Lang's wife has left him for his best friend, but leaves their six year old autistic son, Hendrick, with Jack. A hilarious novel, yet full of tender moments. I'm hoping to catch a rerun of the HBO miniseries, Mildred Pierce. If you'd rather 'read the movie', pick up the original 1941 novel by James M. Cain. (I might take this one on spring break). New in paperback: Jill Kargman's chick lit Arm Candy (Forty is the ultimate F word!), Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds (I love her); Danielle Trussoni's weird Angelology, and a movie-tie in edition of Water For Elephants which hits movie theatres on April 22.

Over on the non-fiction side of things, a few new paperbacks include Robert B. Reich's Aftershock: The Next Economy & America's Future; Daniel Pink's Drive- the Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us; Hampton Sides' bestseller- Hellhound on His Trail which traces the manhunt for James Earl Ray, Carol Burnett's memoir This Time Together (god, I LOVED the Carol Burnett Show growing up- why have they not put it on DVD???), Shelby Foote's classic narrative of the Civil War (in three volumes) has just been re-released- thick books, heavy subject, good Father's Day gift! Born to Run by Christopher McDougall is piquing a lot of people's interest: the Tarahumara Indians are an isolated tribe in Mexico who have honed their ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. The book's subtitle is A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Just out in hardback and selling well is David Brook's latest, The Social Animal. A great Mother's Day title (and one I just gave my sister) is Plain Wisdom by 'Englischer' author Cindy Woodsmall and her Old Order Amish friend Miriam Flaud. A 'heartwarming celebration of God, womanhood and the search for beauty that unites us all'.

Two recent cookbooks have me ready to head for the pantry: At Home With Madhur Jaffrey has hit a lot of bestseller lists. It features simple dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. I've spent some time perusing this one and can't wait to try at least a dozen recipes that yes, do sound pretty easy! Eating Well Magazine (one of my favorites) has just published the latest in their Eating Well cookbook series- 500 Calorie Dinners- sign me up! Which to try first- the Chicken, charred tomato and broccoli salad or the risotto with broccoli rabe and red pepper? I want to try the Spicy Mediterranean Vinaigrette too!

A new OBX title of interest is Sally Nixon Haines Coming Home- three generations of reflections on the changing landscape of the North Carolina Outer Banks.

I recently reviewed Mothers & Daughters by Rae Meadows. It is the intertwined story of three generations of women- relationships, hidden lives and secrets. A main storyline of the novel is the Orphan Train Movement from the early 1900's. I knew nothing about this little known episode from our nation's history and found it very interesting. For more, read my review at

Bookreporter.com
 

New Literacy Tutors Complete Training

Thirteen new literacy tutors were trained at the Dare Literacy Council Tutor Training Workshop on Saturday, March 12. Tutors learned about teaching adults to read, how to improve their reading and math skills, to learn English as a Second Language and to prepare for their GED. A portion of the workshop touched on tutoring Preschool Literacy. Tutors will work with students throughout Dare County and in the Poplar Branch Township area of Currituck County. All Saints' Episcopal Church donated space for the workshop and Pizza Hut in Kill Devil Hills donated pizzas for lunch. The workshop training team included Linda Barnhart, Lynn Blackburn, Nancy Dunlap, Susan Estrella, Bill Nolle and Sherry Robinson-Sharpe. Volunteer Barbara Donaldson helped facilitate the workhop. Tutors attending the workshop included Jovita Drake, Kate Pullen, Maureen Thompson, Jim Connors, Norma Siegel and Jim McGaha, Sandy Basnight, Priscilla Deming, Nancy Mullen, Diane Strehan, Pris Shea, Loismary Hoehne and Jennifer Frost. For those interested in volunteering as a tutor, another workshop will be held later this year. Visit dareliteracy.org for more information.

Book Dollars for Scholars Winner

What do a best-selling author, a 1950's radio show and Duck's Cottage bookstore all have in common? First Flight High School senior Taylor Swankie. In the Fall of 2010, James Patterson-who holds a world record for penning the most best-selling titles by a single author (63)- announced his new scholarship program- Book Dollars for Scholars. Patterson invited high school seniors to submit essays based on this question 'how has your favorite book inspired you to whatever you'd like to do in life'. To promote the contest, Patterson turned to the American Bookseller Association which sent out an email announcing James Patterson's Book Dollars for Scholars to all member (and independent) bookstores.

Jamie Layton, book buyer for Duck's Cottage at the Waterfront Shops in Duck, got the email and impulsively forwarded it to her friend, and Taylor's mom, Joyce Swankie. Layton explained "I immediately thought of Taylor when I saw this email. I know how well she can write and knew that she would most likely follow up on this." Among her numerous accomplishments, Taylor has served as editor-in-chief of First Flight's award winning newspaper, Nighthawk News, for two years.

Taylor wrote an essay based on the book This I Believe, Jay Allison and Dan Gediman's compilation of selections from the current NPR show based on Edward R. Murrow's 1950's radio program which invited Americans to explain their most cherished beliefs. Taylor began her essay with the statement 'I believe in the power of words.' She then went on to describe how writing helped her finally heal after her father's death, how it helped her family to reconnect and how it would reshape her future.

Taylor submitted the essay and got on with her senior year. Layton forgot all about the email and got back to the business of selling books. James Patterson released five more novels. In late February of 2011, Taylor was notified that she was one of eight first place winners nationwide and would be receiving a $ 5,000 gift card good at any Indiebound bookstore. Eight second prize winners claimed cards worth $ 2,500 and forty third place essays were awarded $ 250 each. Indiebound is an organization that unites bookstores and other independent retailers and through marketing efforts reminds consumers of the importance to their community of shopping locally.

Taylor's essay, along with the other first and second place winners, is available for viewing at Jamespatterson.com. Naturally, we think Taylor's essay is the best of the crop. And apparently James Patterson, an author who has sold more than 220 million books, thinks so, too.