Memphis Reads

Fear is one of many emotions a reader may experience while reading a novel. Shocking events or evil characters can haunt one's mind years after completing a book. Many readers know that fear isn't limited to the horror genre.

As thousands prepare to celebrate Halloween this weekend, Memphis Reads wants to know:



What is the scariest book you've ever read and why? What novel from the past still haunts you?

Labels: Memphis Reads Question

Fiction/Suspense

Hollye of the Parkway Village Book Club reviews THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson (Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)

This was a very intense novel with many characters and plots.

Mikael is a financial journalist from Sweden. He gets information about a corrupt man of finance, named Wennerström, from an old classmate as an anonymous tip. He then gets sued for libel and chooses to resign from his post at a prominent magazine called Millennium.

Mikael gets a phone call from a well-known man named Henrik Vanger, asking him to come and see him about a job. Henrik proceeds to tell Mikael about his niece who disappeared over 30 years ago. Henrik is obsessed with finding out who killed her and tells Mikael that he thinks one of his family members did it. He then hires Mikael to investigate his extremely-flawed family to see if he can discover what happened to his niece.

Mikael soon discovers that the Vanger family is seriously flawed and has many secrets. He hires Lisbeth, a researcher for a private detective office, to help him with this case. Lisbeth is thought to be mentally challenged because she was moved from home to home during her childhood and would refuse to answer any questions for a psychological exam. Actually, Lisbeth is brilliant and unconventional and has mysterious secrets of her own. They also discover some startling information about Wennerström along the way. The dynamic between Mikael and Lisbeth made the story a great one, in my opinion.

There is so much more to this book than what I was able to write in this review. The other members of my book club were torn. Some loved it, some didn’t. There did not seem to be an in-between on this. I want to warn people that the book is very slow and full of facts about Swedish industry for the first 80 pages or so, but once I got to the real story it was fast paced, shocking, character driven, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

Hollye Ferguson, Parkway Village Library

The Parkway Village Book Club's next selection is Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. The next book club meeting is Wednesday November 17, at 2:00 pm.

Labels: Book Club Reviews, Book Clubs, Fiction, Reviews by Hollye Ferguson, Suspense

Author Belva Plain has passed away.

From the Washington Post article:

"Belva Plain was a grandmother nearing retirement age when she published her first novel, "Evergreen," in 1978. She went on to establish herself as a prolific writer and a mainstay of popular fiction whose romantic dramas and intergenerational family sagas, though not always beloved by critics, were embraced by millions of readers.

Mrs. Plain, who wrote 20 bestselling novels in her late-life career, died Oct. 12 at age 95 at her home in Short Hills, N.J. The cause of death was not disclosed."

Search the library catalog for Belva Plain's novels.

Labels: Author Obits, News

From Shelf Awareness:

"Starting yesterday morning, October 11, in a 'stunning, never-before-attempted marathon of literary wonder,' 36 Northwest authors began writing a novel that will be completed in just six days. The story will take on 36 different lives during the week, reflecting each author's unique sensibilities. "

Learn more about this event from the article.

Thanks to Beth for sharing this story

Labels: News and Notes

(1. Never Let Me Go 2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole 3. Howl 4. Social Network 5. Let Me In 6. It’s Kind of a Funny Story 7. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest 8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 9. Tangled 10. Miral 11. Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader 12. Gulliver’s Travels)
--image used with permission from youthservicescorner.com

September 15
Film title: Never Let Me Go
Based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro

September 24
Film title: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Based on the books by Kathryn Lasky

Film title: Howl
Based on the life of poet Allen Ginsberg, including an animated re-imagining of the poem “Howl”

Labels: Books and Movies, Coming Attractions

Fiction/Suspense

Andrea reviews THE WILD ZONE by Joy Fielding (Atria Books, 2010)

Once again, Joy Fielding has packed a punch in her latest novel of suspense, The Wild Zone. This story revolves around brothers Jeff and Will, Jeff’s bartender girlfriend Kristen, and bar patron Suzy. Tom and Lainey Whitman are also vital to the plot.

Each woman is a victim of some kind of abuse. When she was younger, Kristin was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriends. Suzy’s husband physically abuses her, and Lainey is verbally beaten by her husband. It’s no wonder each of them hates men and wants so badly to be out of their current relationships.

Readers, men and women alike, will sympathize with the women, who deal with scumbag behavior they feel they must accept.

Suzy seems to be the most vulnerable of the women, as her overprotective, jealous doctor husband physically and emotionally tears into her everyday. Suzy, it would seem, warrants the most compassion from readers. Knowing this, readers will also be shocked to realize Suzy is also the most vindictive and conniving.

But, this reviewer isn’t divulging any secrets. Enjoy this story of suspense and revenge, as the signs over the bar’s entrance proclaim: “WELCOME TO THE WILD ZONE! ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!”

Andrea King, Poplar-White Station

Labels: Reviews by Andrea King, Suspense

Fiction/Romance

Laura Salehi reviews DEAR CUPID by Julie Ortolon (St. Martin’s Press, 2001)

Kate Bradshaw used to enjoy writing answers for her “Dear Cupid” romance advice column for an online magazine, but now that she’s divorced with a son to raise and bills to pay it’s not that easy (or fun) anymore. After her boss threatened to fire her if her column didn’t once again give the optimistic, helpful advice her readers were seeking, Kate decided to try flirting with men again, only to remember how fun romance could be so she could keep her job.

She chose her first target, Mike Cameron, at the airport on her way back from the meeting with her boss. Afterward, she felt silly and awkward, but relieved that he didn’t know her name and would never see her again. However, it turns out they live in the same town and he managed to track her down and hired her at her second job with the task of helping him find a wife. Kate reluctantly took the job since she needed the money; little did she know that Mike already had someone very specific in mind…

Mike was my favorite character in this book because nothing seemed to faze him and he routinely did thoughtful things for people he cared about. One of the many considerate things he did was to help repair the marriage of Julie’s closest friend.

You will probably enjoy this book if you like a story that is funny at times, but serves as a lighthearted reminder to appreciate, and not take for granted, the relationships we have with the people we care about, including friends, spouses, children, and parents.

Laura Salehi, Bartlett Library

Labels: Contemporary Romance, Reviews by Laura Salehi