Memphis Reads Archive

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You
(and already on your library shelves!)

Many books are made into films each year. Here are a few films coming out over the next couple of months based on books you can find on the shelves of some of your local library branches. Click on the title of the film to be taken to the official website of the movie and if you're interested, click on the name of the book it is based on to see which locations have the book available.

February

Film: Hannibal Rising
Book: Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Film: Bridge to Terabithia
Book: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherin Paterson

Labels: Books and Movies, Coming Attractions

From CNN:

"Sidney Sheldon, who won awards in three careers -- Broadway theater, movies and television -- then at age 50 turned to writing best-selling novels, has died.

Sheldon was 89...

Sheldon's books, with titles such as "Rage of Angels," "The Other Side of Midnight," "Master of the Game" and "If Tomorrow Comes," provided his greatest fame. They were cleverly plotted, with a high degree of suspense and sensuality and a device to keep the reader turning pages."

Check Library Catalog

Labels: Author Obits, News

Felicia Pride, who shares "publishing and literary news with a multicultural slant," through her website, The Backlist, and its companion blog, is now blogging at More Than Words (MTW) as well. MTW is part of AOL's Black Voices suite of internet resources.

At MTW, check out Ms. Pride's reading recommendations for Black History Month and learn how she's "bringing sexy back" to books and reading.

The Backlist has lots of content, but you will have to register to read the essays, interviews and other longer pieces.

Labels: African-American Nonfiction, Blogs

Fiction/Coming of Age

Heather Lawson reviews SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999)

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read about high school. It is also one of the saddest. For anyone who enjoys writers who can intertwine humor and heartbreak in an astonishing manner, this book is for you.

Ninth grader Melinda Sordino is ostracized by classmates after calling the police at a summer party. Faced with cruel classmates and parents who are too busy with their jobs and themselves to recognize their daughter's spiral into despair, Melinda finds sanctuary in an unused maintenance closet and in art class. Her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, who recognizes her intelligence and worsening pain, is the one person who reaches out to help her. Fearing her best friend may be placed in a similar situation, she finally speaks out. Of course, you will have to read the book to learn more.

The author views teachers, as well as school in general, in an intelligent and sensitive manner. There are hilarious descriptions of teachers, such as the Spanish teacher miming lessons because of her determination not to speak English in class. Also, History classes that never make it to the present are satirized. "We got to World War I in the seventh grade - who knew there had been a war with the whole world?" Not surprising, this book was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Heather Lawson, Public Services

Labels: Coming of Age, Reviews by Heather Lawson, Young Adult

Labels: Gentle Fiction, Reviews by Laura Bonds

From USA TODAY:

"A novel in which the entire narrative consists of mobile phone text messages was published Wednesday in Finland, home of the world's top handset maker Nokia Corp."

Labels: News

From Critical Mass, the blog of the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors:

Through "March 7th and 8th, when the National Book Critics Circle Awards take place at the New School in New York, [this blog] will be dedicating a day of the week to each of our 30 finalists. The blog will be guest edited by various board members, who will provide links, commentary, and a jumping off point for some discussion."

Via Blog of a Bookslut

Labels: Awards, Blogs

Labels: Gentle Fiction, Reviews by Wendi Glenn

Fiction/Gentle

Dean E. Moore reviews GLIMPSES OF TRUTH by Jack Cavanaugh (Zondervan Pub., 1999)

This exciting book is the story behind the power struggle created by Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible. The plot involves a common family swept up in the severe winds of change during the Reformation. The power of Rome, the power of English nobility and royalty are all caught up in the brewing whirlwind ignited by Wycliffe’s followers known as the Lollards. This work of fiction was appropriately dedicated to the memory of Anne Askew (1520-1548.) At 28 years of age she was burned at the stake. What was her crime? She read from an English version of the Bible.

The dedication just mentioned sets the tone for the story. Thomas Torr is the main character. He was a commoner with an uncertain parentage. He has a bright mind and is a "scribe" for Wycliffe. He lives with a ploughman and his family. Thomas becomes a focal point in the great power struggle between Rome and England, nobility and the common man, the Catholic and Protestant churches. The plot moves along rapidly and is interwoven with infidelity, romance, deception, attempted murders, robbery, and cruelty. The hopes and aspirations of Thomas Torr, allow us to experience the conflict first hand.

This fast paced, gentle fiction novel includes strong character development, excitement and realistic history. Even though Glimpses of Truth is not written as a mystery, the social and political undertones provide rich anecdotes of multiple twists and turns. Sometimes the adventure becomes so powerful one can almost forget it is fiction. The historical realism could place this work in the "historical fiction" collection.

Dean E. Moore, Frayser Branch Library

Labels: Gentle Fiction, Reviews by Dean Moore

Fiction/Gentle

Jessie Marshall reviews THE QUILTER'S APPRENTICE: A Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini (Simon & Schuster, 1999)

In this first book of The Elm Creek Quilts series, the reader is introduced to Sarah and Matt McClure, who have just moved to the small college town of Waterford, Pennsylvania in order for Matt to start his new job with a landscaping firm. While Sarah previously worked in accounting, she is now hoping to find a more interesting job. Unfortunately, her interviews have not gone well, and she is becoming discouraged. On the other hand, Matt has just landed the challenging task of restoring the grounds and gardens of Elm Creek Manor, a large estate which has fallen into disrepair. The home was recently inherited by Mrs. Sylvia Compson, a seventy-five year old widow who grew up on the estate but who is now fixing up the property in order to sell it.

While Sarah continues the search for full time employment, Matt secures a temporary job for her helping Mrs. Compson organize and ready the large family home for its upcoming sale. At first, Mrs. Compson’s formal, fastidious demeanor makes Sarah uncomfortable, but their relationship begins to deepen and soften after Sarah discovers that Mrs. Compson is a master quilter. Sarah asks for part of her wages to be in the form of quilting lessons. The widow agrees and starts Sarah out with a sampler quilt, one made up of individual blocks from many different quilt patterns.

As the story unfolds, the friendship and trust between Sarah and Sylvia grows. With each new pattern block, Mrs. Compson opens up a bit more by telling stories about the family members who used that pattern. When the quilter reaches the point in the story where she reveals her decades-long estrangement from her sister and sister-in-law, Sarah begins to examine her resentment toward her own mother. As she considers reconciliation within her own family, Sarah and the ladies from the local quilting group secretly execute a plan to help Mrs. Compson resolve regrets and heal broken relationships from her past.

The Quilter’s Apprentice is primarily about the value of relationships. The author provides a great deal of interesting information on quilting and quilt patterns while telling the story of friendships between women of different generations. This book will appeal to readers because it contains familiar character types and is leisurely in pace. The story is set in a small town, and the ending provides resolution to the multiple plot lines. The characters do not have a great deal of depth, and the dialog seems awkward at times; however, the subject matter is not explicit or violent in any sense and would certainly not offend.


Jessie Marshall, Business and Science Department

Labels: Gentle Fiction, Reviews by Jessie Marshall

Fiction/Mainstream

Kay Mills Due reviews THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf, 2006)

OK – I am becoming an official Cormac McCarthy freak! His last book, No County for Old Men, was so compelling that I knew I would have to read his latest, The Road.

The setting is post-apocalyptic America. A father and son wander an ash-covered, dead landscape. They run into some of the "bad people" but are constantly assuring one another that there are still "good people." Their story is one of scavenging for food and shelter – money isn’t important and neither are those fancy electronics. They are on a quest to get to the ocean because – they don’t really know why. The characters show such tenderness and love to one another, and yet the utter devastation of their world is evidence of unbelievable cruelty. The juxtaposition is heart-breaking. The tenacity of these two people in the face of utter desolation is strangely uplifting. A brief conversation: "We’re going to be okay, aren’t we Papa" "Yes. We are." "And nothing bad is going to happen to us." "That’s right." "Because we’re carrying the fire." "Yes. Because we’re carrying the fire."

I devoured this book. I wasn’t able to read it in one sitting and suffered because of it. I found myself thinking about it constantly, so my advice is to carve out plenty of time as soon as you get your hands on it! When I finished the book, I was exhausted. I was also stunned by the world created by this superb writer. This story is what many of us of a certain age -- Baby Boomers whose cold war memories are of bomb drills and back yard bomb shelters – feared for our future. Cormac McCarthy has taken the stuff of bad 1950s era movies and created great literature.


Kay Mills Due, Public Services

Labels: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews by Kay Due

Many bestsellers follow popular detectives from case to case. It seems that I always "meet" these men and women in the middle of a series: Stephanie Plum and Richard Jury are examples. One of my reading goals is to begin a few of these series from the first installment. I tried this recently with Lee Child's renegade sleuth, Jack Reacher. These novels were recommended by Alice Kendall in a Memphis Reads review, my former manager at Raleigh Branch, and a library customer. They all raved about the tall, dangerous ex-military officer.

As I recuperated from a cold last weekend, I passed the hours listening to an e-audio version of THE KILLING FLOOR, Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having only recently retired from the military, Reacher is traveling the United States by bus. In his words, he is "rambling." He's not looking for friends, companionship, or trouble. Wanting to learn more about a long-dead bluesman, he gets off the Greyhound at Margrave, Georgia. Reacher is arrested on suspicion of murder while eating breakfast at the local diner. He'd only been in town for eight hours.

The twists and turns of the plot were unique enough to hold my interest and Dick Hill is an able narrator. I was particularly intrigued by the extralegal lengths to which Reacher was willing to go to extricate himself and see that justice was done. Only with additional reading will I know whether I "needed" the first book in order to enjoy the rest of the series.

Learn more about the Library's collection of E-Audio books.


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: E-Audio Books

On this day, January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his fourteen-point plan for peace and managing international relations.

Read Margaret MacMillan's award-winning history, PARIS 1919, to learn more about the tumultuous Versailles Peace Conference in which "peacemakers carved up bankrupt empires and created new countries" in the wake of World War I. MacMillan explains what was at stake for historical figures as diverse as Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, John Maynard Keynes, Lawrence of Arabia and Ho Chi Minh. She also asserts that World War II cannot be blamed solely on the failures of Versailles.

The Memphis Public Library & Information Center sponsors book clubs at many branches and at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. Here's a list of the titles that will be discussed this month. For a book club's contact information, click the link for that branch or call (901) 415-2700.

Book Lover's Book Club

East Shelby
Tuesday, January 16, 1:00 p.m.
Book selection: Devil in the White City by Erik Larson [description]

Central Readers' Club

Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
MEETING LOCATION (this meeting only): FOOD COURT, OAK COURT MALL, 4465 Poplar Avenue (Intersection of Poplar Avenue and Perkins Extended)
Monday, January 15, 7:00 p.m.
Book selection: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom [description]

Cordova Book Club

Cordova
Tuesday, January 16, 12:00 p.m.
Book selection: Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter [description]

North Renaissance Men's Book Club

North
MEETING LOCATION (this meeting only): Hollywood Branch Library, 1530 N. Hollywood
Saturday, January 20, 2:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Mayor Crump Don't Like It by G. Wayne Dowdy [Memphis Reads review]
Learn more about the Renaissance Men's Book Club

North Women's Book Club

North
Saturday, January 27, 2:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson [description]

Second Saturdays Book Club

Highland
Saturday, January 13, 1:30 p.m.
Book Selection: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot [description]
Learn more about this book club

Whitehaven 4th Monday Book Club

Whitehaven
Monday, January 22, 7:00 p.m.
Book Selection: Turning Angel by Greg Iles [description]
Learn more about this book club

Fiction/Science Fiction

Doris Dixon reviews ORYX AND CRAKE by Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese, 2003)

Snowman (formerly known as Jimmy) is the last human on earth. He is the caretaker for a group of genetically-spliced "people" who are flawlessly beautiful and extremely naive. In his former life, before the apocalypse engineered by his childhood-friend Crake, Jimmy dated frequently and wrote ad copy. Now, he sleeps in a tree to avoid being eaten by wolvogs (half wolf, half dog). To survive, he scavenges humankind's leftovers for supplies, food, and liquor.

Snowman embarks on a double-adventure to understand his present isolation. He travels to his friend's devastated compound to make sense of the recent catastrophe. At the same time, he remembers his childhood and education, tries to figure out why his mother abandoned the family, and mourns Oryx, his lover. His overland journey is difficult because he has few supplies other than a broken watch, a pair of broken sunglasses and a soiled bed sheet. The circumstances of his lover's death complicate his emotional journey.

Atwood's speculative vision of the future includes the devastating consequences of corporate-funded genetic splicing. But her grim forecast is the backdrop of the novel. At its heart, Oryx and Crake is about Snowman's struggle to understand himself and his relationships with his parents, friends, and lovers.

I love the way Margaret Atwood writes about human relationships. She seems especially adept at capturing the imbalances of power that often exist between people. You may have read Cat's Eye. In the first half of that novel, the narrator recounts how, as a child, she was bullied by another little girl. Atwood's version of that peculiar terror is dead-on.


Websites: oryxandcrake.com


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Doris Dixon, Science Fiction

Labels: Books and Movies, Coming Attractions