WE JUST KEEP READING...
Claire picks: Shadow
Tag by Louise Erdrich
 Gil is a well-known
painter and America is his wife and his muse and
primary subject. Their relationship is complex, dark
and struggling to survive. When America realizes that
Gil is reading her diary, she starts writing just what
she wants him to see and keeps a secret diary with
her real feelings elsewhere. While Gil fights for his
marriage, America fights for her independence. Their
marriage is tenuous, their children and home life
tense, but they don't seem to be able to break away
from each
other or improve on their deep and strong bond.
Shadow Tag is a moving, powerful and
honest exploration of a marriage and a family in
crisis. The reader can't help but wonder if the story is
a bit autobiographical, as the characters feel so real
and their plight so achingly familiar. This, to me, is by
far Louise Erdrich's most powerful and effective
book.
Tim picks: The Children's
Book
by A.S. Byatt
This lushly detailed novel from the author of
Possession centers around Olive
Wellwood, a famous children's author at the end of the
Victorian era. The lavish parties she throws at her
family's rambling country house are attended by a
circle of intellectuals, Arts & Crafts adherents,
anarchists, socialists and their children. Her life
seems as charmed and magical as the fairy stories
she weaves, but when the family's dark secrets are
revealed the drama unfolds and sweeping changes
overtake England at the end of the Edwardian era and
the beginning of the Great War.
Pat L-S picks:
Born Under a Million Shadows by
Andrea Busfield
The story is told through the eyes of eleven-year-old
Fawad, ever the optimist, even though his father has
been killed and his sister has been abducted. The
Taliban have withdrawn but their shadow lingers in
Afghanistan as Fawad and his friends work the
streets and cling to the hope for a better life.
Fawad is wise, witty and impish, and his life takes
a turn for the better when his mother is hired as a
housekeeper for three Westerners working in
Afghanistan. The book humanizes the Afghan people
through humor and pathos. Fawad is a delight with
his misunderstanding of Western culture and his
inate wisdom. I didn't want the story to
end---I knew I would really miss hearing more
about Fawad and Afghan life.
Manda picks: Her Fearful
Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
On the surface Audrey Niffenegger's Her
Fearful Symmetry is about a ghost haunting
her former apartment and trying to make contact with
those around her. However, I found it's the characters'
relations with each other that really drive the story. As
the book focuses mainly on two sets of identical twins,
there is a constant battle of wanting the safety and
comfort of being in a couple while at the same time
needing to be separate individuals. This tug of war is
then echoed in the other characters' relationships with
each other. A great read that's not your average ghost
story.
Tom picks: Tracking and the
Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes
Winter is my favorite time of year for a few reasons.
Not only is the landscape quietly beautiful, but it also
becomes very telling. Tracks and patterns, whole
situations and events become outlined in the snow,
laid out for any to see. Hunters are safely inside,
enjoying the spoils of their efforts, and I have a full-
access pass to the forest without needing to don any
safety-orange paraphernalia. This time of year
presents people with a great opportunity to get to
know
their environment, just by being outside and paying
attention. Whether skiing,
snowshoeing, or just walking, one can access goings
on that may otherwise not have been apparent.
Tracking and the Art of Seeing has
been an instrumental tool in my
amateur tracking development, and is the first book I
would recommend on the subject, despite
the fact that it isn't very portable.
Paul Rezendes not only gives people the tools to
enjoy
this pastime, but he writes from a perspective that is
easily relatable.
Although he provides all the scientific information you
would expect from a field guide (and then some), he
splits it up with personal stories
and anecdotal information that makes everything
easier to process, without sacrificing factual
legitimacy. No small feat by any means.
By talking from experience, Rezendes is able to fill in
the gaps left by other field guides that give only basic
information and statistics. Having the guide be in a
large format also has benefits that make up for lack of
portability. Namely, it gives more space for the
wonderful photos that Rezendes has collected during
his career as a tracker. Again, these photos go
beyond the standard fare found in a
typical field guide. Rezendes' visual accompaniments
add context and perspective to what he's talking about
in a very direct way, rather
than simply simply showcase the animal in question.
The book provides a perfect gateway to understanding
our surroundings in a closer way, as well as a simple
winter activity
that many can participate in. His accessible and
down
to earth style makes this a great guide that you can
actually understand without any
prior knowledge or experience. If you're looking for
something to get into this winter, or just curious if
those are coyote or dog tracks in your
backyard, I highly recommend this informative guide.
Lynne picks: Final
Salute by Jim Sheeler
Final Salute is the story of a "casualty
assistance calls officer", the Marine Corps term for the
person that no soldier's family ever wants to see. He
is the person who comes to your door to tell you that
your son, your daughter, your husband, your father -
someone you love and care about - is dead. But this
book is much more than a story of war and its terrible
consequences. It is a story of how we care about each
other as human beings, how those left behind are
forced to change and it is ultimately about honor and
service performed in the most unlikely ways, in the
mostly unlikely places. It will change how you view the
military (or at least this part of it) no matter what your
opinion of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may be.
Suzanne picks: The
Help by Kathryn Stockett
 It's rare when I'm
hooked after reading the first page of a novel,
however,
in the case of The Help, the character
Aibileen's
dialogue captured me immediately. Kathryn Stockett's
first novel is set in the early 1960's. The plot
surrounds the clandestine operation of writing a book
about black maids in Jackson, Mississippi. The
protagonists: two black maids, Aibileen and Minny,
and Skeeter, a white, young, recent college graduate
are endearing and daring. Their southern dialect and
points of view let the reader enter their disparate
cultures. In one section, we view the events
surrounding the murder of Medgar Evers' murder
through the eyes of the black community and
understand why JFK's death is virtually glossed over.
Stockett writes from her personal childhood
experience effortlessly and instills uneasiness,
humor, irony and honesty. Reminiscent of To
Kill a
Mockingbird, the story invites the reader to
experience
racial barriers vicariously. Let's hope this will not be
Kathryn Stockett's only novel.
The Staff at Bear Pond
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