Memphis Reads

The 2011 Hugo Award Winners have been announced. The Hugo is awarded to the best in Science Fiction.

Blackout/Allclear by Connie Willis won the Hugo for Best Novel

Click to view the full list of winners.

Labels: Awards, News and Notes, Science Fiction

Fiction/Gay and Lesbian

The history of Gay and Lesbian fiction was presented during July’s “What’s Your Flavor?” Reader’s Advisory session.

Nancy reviews EDITED OUT by Lisa Haddock, Lisa (Naiad Press, 1994)

Edited Out, a Carmen Ramirez mystery, was a good choice for me because of my newspaper background. She’s a copy editor assigned to clean up an updated story about a dead lesbian school teacher assumed to have killed a 12-year-old girl before committing suicide two years ago. Carmen believes the dead woman didn’t do it, so she enlists library clerk Julia Nichols, also lesbian, to help her research factual content. (They wind up in the sack, of course, but that’s a sub-plot that takes a while to develop.)

What begins as background research soon becomes a full-blown criminal investigation, something a copy editor would never take on, trust me. Not even behind the copy chief’s back, which Carmen does, would a reporter’s legwork be usurped in this way. That’s the assignment editor’s purview. Haddock’s playing fast and loose with real newsroom procedure is impossible to overlook, but it does make for a jolly read.

Interspersed with Carmen’s scrutiny of those involved in the crime and cover-up are the confrontations with her homophobic grandmother. She describes her granddaughter’s life as perverted, but the two do eventually reach a meeting of the minds. For one thing, the women realize they are cut from much the same cloth ­-- in that both are courageous, stubborn, and bold – so they cannot help admiring each other.

As expected, all ends well. Carmen exposes the real killer, the crusty copy chief forgives her disobedience, she and Grandma agree to be friends, and there is the promise of a future with Julia. The elements meld with the tidiness of a Nancy Drew adventure, were Nancy lesbian and sexually active. Hot-to-trot Julia is a modern-day substitute for Nancy’s sidekick/boyfriend, the asexually-depicted Ned Nickerson.

Sophomoric as the writing and storylines are, I do see this series of books as inspirational for adolescent girls still pondering their sexual orientation and sense of self-worth. They should be shelved with YA fiction for that reason.

Nancy Campbell, LINC Department

Labels: Gay and Lesbian Fiction, Reviews by Nancy Campbell

From Shelf Awareness:

Labels: News and Notes

Fiction/Mystery

Mystery fiction was the topic of June’s "What’s Your Flavor?" session. Participants were required to select, read, and review a mystery novel.

Bryan reviews CALL FOR THE DEAD by John Le Carre (Walker, 1962)

John Le Carre’s first novel, Call for the Dead serves as a taut, concise introduction to the novelist’s now recognizable style of writing and to the character upon whom Le Carre centered much of his subsequent spy-thriller fiction, British intelligence agent George Smiley.

In this first episode, Smiley brings himself into an investigation of the ostensible suicide of a government ministry official who apparently feared apprehension as a spy for the East German government. With the help of veteran London Metropolitan Police Inspector Mendel, Smiley unravels instead a murder meant to cover up a spy network—in the process, reacquainting himself with both his turbulent wartime espionage past and enemy agents he then considered compatriots.

A well-paced, if in places thinly developed narrative, Call for the Dead provides an engrossing read, meshing intrigue, grittiness, irony, and fallible humanity in a convincing, distinctive way.

Website: www.johnlecarre.com

Bryan Massey, East Shelby Library

Labels: Mystery Fiction, Reviews by Bryan Massey

CNN Contributor, Bob Greene, discusses the value of reading books in the article "Free Entertainment, for Life"

"...There are so many wonderful books that have been written over the centuries, books that will thrill you and make you cry and change you and bring laughter to you and keep you up all night. Even if you did nothing else for the rest of your life but read, you would only be able to get to the most infinitesimal percentage of books that you would be destined to adore. They're just waiting for you -- waiting to be found, right now."

Want to know his thoughts about old vs. new books and the value of libraries? Click here to read the full article.

Labels: News and Notes

Good news for readers who like to know how a novel ends before they've reached the end. According to psychologists at UC San Diego, reading spoilers before finishing a novel improves the reading experience.

Allison Flood of The Guardian's Books Blog shares her thoughts on this theory. Click here read Flood's article.

Do you like knowing ahead of time how a novel ends?

Labels: News and Notes

Fiction/African American

Andrea reviews THE KID by Sapphire (Penguin Press, 2011)

(Warning: this review contains spoilers!)

First of all, let me preface this review by saying I could not wait to read this because I loved Push, the novel about sixteen-year-old, illiterate, pregnant Precious Jones. Her plight was horrific but under the guidance of her mentor and teacher, Blue Rain, Precious was given a chance to thrive.

The Kid follows the life of Abdul Jones, Precious’ son, from ages nine to nineteen. I did expect a sequel; but unfortunately, this is not one. The author, Sapphire has even mentioned in interviews, she did not mean for this novel to be a continuation of Push. In the first few pages, Abdul has to attend his mother’s funeral after she dies of AIDS.

The safety net that Precious provided for Abdul has been torn away, as he is bounced from different foster homes to a Catholic orphanage to living with his great-grandmother, Toosie. Getting fed up with Toosie and the squalor she lives in, 13 year-old Abdul takes up with his much-older male dance instructor.

Each place Abdul lived; there was horrible abuse and anguish, whether it was physical, emotional, or sexual.

Readers will be appalled at the situations Abdul is enduring, and just wish he had a “Blue Rain” in his life to help him succeed and rise above.

As coarse as his language is and as heartbreaking as his life is, I kept reading just to see what happened next. This book definitely will stir strong emotions, and you won’t forget Abdul Louis Jones for a long time!

Andrea King, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King

The Memphis Public Library will be hosting Bookstock, an inaugural event for authors on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library.

Bookstock will give authors an opportunity to autograph and sell books, plus the chance to meet and network with other local authors, exhibitors, and writing groups at the same time.

There will be morning and afternoon workshops and seminars on various topics of interest pertaining to writing, publishing, and marketing.

More details are soon to come.

Labels: Library Events and Programs

Fiction

Parkway Village Book Club recently discussed GARDEN SPELLS by Sara Addison Allen (Bantam, 2007)

The Parkway Village Book Club read this quick read and discussed it at our July meeting. Most of us really liked the quirky characters in this small town. Waverly women all have special gifts or talents that the town relishes.

Claire Waverly can make certain foods that set the mood of a gathering. Certain foods make people see only the beauty of your home, none of the flaws. Other foods can make you keep secrets, see in the dark, or think that something good is going to happen, even if it isn’t.

Evanelle is Claire’s 69-year old cousin and she is compelled to give people presents but does not know why. She is considered strange to the entire town. However, they have quickly learned that a present from Evanelle is usually something that you need eventually, so you better keep it.

There are many more Waverly women to learn about in this book and they all have special gifts or talents. Other families in this town have quirks as well. One family always has a man named Phineas in each generation and he is known for his superior strength. Everyone wants to hire him to do heavy jobs for them.

Hollye Ferguson, Parkway Village Branch Book Club

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

Mediabistro's GalleyCat reports that author Leslie Esdaile (L.A.) Banks passed away on August 2, 2011 after a battle with adrenal cancer. She is best known for her paranormal novels as well as mainstream African American fiction. Full article.

Fans of her novels can leave tributes on her Facebook page.

Labels: Author Obits

Readers at npr.org nominated and voted for the best Science-Fiction and Fantasy books of all time. There were 237 finalists.

Click the link below to view the feature

Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books

Did your favorite novels make the list? How many of the 100 novels have you read?

Labels: News and Notes

What's Your Flavor? August session:

“Oh, the Drama of It All”: Teen Fiction
Presented by: Sharon Evrard

Thursday, August 18, 2011
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Meeting Room L-56

Labels: Library Events and Programs, What's Your Flavor

Fiction/Women's

Laura reviews JOY FOR BEGINNERS by Erica Bauermeister (Putnam, 2011)

This book begins with a dinner party that Kate is hosting for her friends as a thank you for their support as she battled cancer. Her friends insisted it was to celebrate that she is now cancer free.

Her friends had been encouraging Kate to take a white-water rafting trip with her daughter, Robin, but Kate has always been too scared to do it. At the dinner party, Kate announced she would do this if each of her six friends would agree to take up their own challenges within a year. Since Kate did not get to choose her challenge, she proposed that she should be allowed to choose the challenge each friend received. Each woman agreed, but with some apprehension.

Each chapter of the book is named after one of the women and reveals how they came to meet another person in this tight-knit circle; how the relationships among the friends developed before, and after, Kate’s cancer; how they approached their challenge; and how their individualized challenge was significant to a weakness they would deal with to help them live their lives more fully.

I particularly enjoyed how it seemed that both similarities and differences among these women and their own life challenges were important to the establishment of their friendships. The group dynamic was interesting in that certain pairs of friends seemed to have closer relationships and see each other more often, but the entire group could still get together and enjoy each other’s company, too.

Laura Salehi, Bartlett Branch

Labels: Reviews by Laura Salehi, Women's Fiction

Join us for Books & Beyond in August

"Behind the Scenes at Booktalk: Stephen Usery, host and producer of WYPL Radio's nationally-syndicated program Book Talk, will discuss the history and the process of putting the program together, and share favorite anecdotes from the over 200 interviews he has conducted."

August 16, 2011 at 10 a.m.
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
Meeting room L-56

Labels: Library Events and Programs

Have you made plans to see the film adaptation of THE HELP? Have you read the novel? Refresh your memory with details from the following review submitted by Alberta Bell.

Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and used various sources (stories from her family and her family’s beloved black maid, her friends, other authors, and news media) to shape her fictional characters and their secretive part in stopping an unthinkable and unjust initiative on the black maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the turbulent Civil Rights Movement. Kathryn Stockett magnificently brings the reader into the lives of all the characters, why they are the way they are, and the racial lines that have existed between blacks and whites for generations.

Labels: Historical Fiction, Reviews by Alberta Bell

Fiction/Thriller

Darletha reviews IMPACT by Douglas Preston (Forge, 2010)

I read this book based on my personal “read a random book from the shelves” challenge. The cover art intrigued me, since I’m always game for a potential disaster type of novel. I also chose this book because the title reminded me of the movie, Deep Impact, which has a similar theme of Earth’s possible destruction by really big rocks from space.

The story begins after a meteor crashes off the coast of Maine. Another crater is discovered on the opposite side of the world in Cambodia. A scientist who was researching the ominous presence of gamma rays in the solar system has been murdered; the hard disk containing his classified research information is missing.

The plot unfolds from the alternating perspectives of a waitress, a scientist, and a government agent. Abbey, a Princeton dropout-turned waitress, witnessed the meteor event as it flew across the night sky in Maine. She uses her father’s lobster boat to hunt for the crater site, hoping to profit from any findings. Mark Corso has been promoted to the same position once held by the murdered scientist at the National Propulsion Facility. By digging further into the classified gamma ray research, Corso’s job and his life are on the line. Wymon Ford is a former CIA-agent sent on a mission into Cambodia to find the source of rare, but radioactive, gemstones.

The suspenseful plot takes off after a mysterious apparatus is discovered on Mars. The apparatus wasn't placed on Mars by humans, so how did it get there?

This was a solid, well-paced story with a good balance of science and intrigue.

Darletha Matthews, South Branch

Labels: Fiction, Reviews by Darletha Matthews