We had an inkling this winter could be another long one, so we asked each of our contributing writers to recommend a book our readers might enjoy. We heard several complaints along the lines of, “How can I pick just one?” The task left some of them frozen – even before the first snowflakes flew. So, we share here some reading suggestions from the brave souls (warm bodies?) who answered the call. They will be rewarded with the possibility of suggesting another in the coming months. Stay tuned!
Playing for Pizza
Author: John Grisham
Publisher: Bantam Dell, Division of Random House
Reviewed by Kevin Howell
Being an ardent John Grisham fan, I’ve read most, if not all, of the 20-plus legal thrillers this author has written.
From his first novel, “A Time to Kill” (Windwood Press, 1989), to “Camino Winds” (Doubleday, 2020), Grisham has a way of empathizing with his characters. He also has a talent for adding twists and turns in his creations that keep the reader reading and never wanting the story to end. His latest, “A Time for Mercy” (Knopf Doubleday, 2020) was just released.
Along the way, I found one book by Grisham that steps aside from the usual tone of the former attorney’s style. “Playing for Pizza” adds a touch of humor to Grisham’s writing that makes it an enjoyable read with an easy pace. It is the story of a washed-out, third-string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns who manages to throw a 17-point lead in the big game. After the loss and cut from Cleveland, Rick Dockery is left with few to no options, but his agent manages to find one more team who will take him. Dockery ends up becoming the starting quarterback for Italy’s Parma Panthers and earning a small salary … plus bonuses paid in pizza.
Finding this gem among Grisham’s works was a real surprise for me and a delightful change of pace from his more intense thriller novels.
For anyone who loves American football and pizza, (who doesn’t?), and wants a relaxing break from 2020, follow Rick to Italy – where he finds glory on the field (sort of), friendship, a new love interest and the flavors of Italian food.
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting
Author: Lynn Grabhorn
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
Reviewed by Judy Cools
This book did for me what no other book in the genre has done, throughout my (getting long) lifetime. Some readers may relate to the phrase “power of positive thinking” or “mindfulness” or, perhaps, “visualizing.” The concept is one of attraction – vibrational attraction. If you’re happy, you attract more happy because it’s in the same wavelength. If you’re grumpy, sour and negative, well then, that’s what you’ll attract.
I’ve been exposed to this concept throughout my life. All the Dr. Norman Vincent Peales and Wayne Dyers of the world sounded a little wacky to me. Unrealistic. Pollyanna. Unbelievable. So, I shook my head and went about my life the same as before. It wasn’t until a major life crisis crossed my path at the same time as “Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting” that I began to see what the “Power of Attraction” people had been saying all along. I get it now – IT WORKS! And when you put it to work for yourself, your mind will be spinning.
My one sticking point with Grabhorn is that she denies the existence of God as a component in a person’s life journey. Fortunately, the book is still a good read and full of brilliant concepts and examples, if the reader just works around the God issue with their own beliefs in mind.
A valuable, life-changing book. I keep it in my e-reader and go back to it often, reading a page or two, sometimes several chapters. It never gets old.
The Mismeasure of Man
Author: Dr. Stephen Jay Gould
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Reviewed by Stewart A. McFerran
I met Stephen Jay Gould in Yellow Springs, Ohio, after he had given the commencement address at Antioch College. An Antioch graduate and professor of paleontology at Harvard, he wrote a column in Natural History Magazine for many years. Among the numerous books he wrote is the “The Mismeasure of Man.”
It is a fascinating discussion of the use and misuse of science to understand ourselves. Gould delves into the history of the measurements taken and conclusions made about men and women. Craniology, for example, was the practice of taking the skulls of deceased individuals and filling them with BBs. A comparison was made of the volume of brains after the BBs were counted.
On average, men have larger bodies and heads than women. That is a fact. Gould points out the wrong-headed conclusion that followed: because men have larger brains filling their larger heads, they are smarter. This was a faulty 19th century “scientific” conclusion, just one of the mismeasures of man in Gould’s tome. He goes on to discuss how the theory of intelligence quotient, or “IQ,” was developed and used to hold many groups of people back.
Wrong-headed conclusions still abound regarding the theory of biological evolution. Used to bolster theories on everything from criminal behavior to sexism and racism, biological evolution is widely misunderstood. Gould shows what the theory can be used for and what it cannot.
Good science is vital to fight viruses and develop vaccinations. We rely on vigorous scientific process for so many things in our lives, from the eyeglasses on our faces to satellites that power our TVs. But faulty conclusions about science made by those seeking to confirm prejudice have caused lots of problems.
Originally published in 1981, and revised and expanded by the author in 1996, “The Mismeasure of Man” will enlighten the reader’s understanding of issues still relevant today.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Author: Jamie Ford
Publisher: Random House
Reviewed by Ramona DeGeorgio Venegas
While walking our pooch, I passed the “little library” again. As she stopped to sniff a message, I opened the small door to other worlds and selected a book. I liked the name, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.” I wondered … did the author, Jamie Ford, know my crossroads?
Grabbing my attention and my hand, the historical novel took me to Seattle in the 1940s, sharing a time and cultures quite unfamiliar to me.
Henry was the 12-year-old only son of Chinese immigrants. His father was traditional and loyal to the country of his birth. A good son, Henry went along with the arrangement to attend the all-white “better” school on “scholarship.” The other Chinese neighborhood kids distanced themselves from Henry, as he walked to school in the opposite direction. The white boys bullied him.
He earned his scholarship by helping to serve school lunches and cleaning. His life at school was unpleasant until she came, another scholarship student. Their friendship lasted their whole lives, even though she was Japanese. Henry and Keiko enjoyed listening to jazz and sitting in the park under the cherry trees. She brought her sketch pad along. Their relationship grew into young love. Though he tried to keep her a secret from his father, who despised the Japanese after years of bad blood and wars, his parents suspected something.
Keiko, her family, and all Japanese were sent to camps until after the war. From the high desert internment of Idaho, they tried to stay in touch. Henry even traveled to visit her once, with his friend the sax player.
Forty years later they were able to reunite. His son had helped Henry find Keiko in New York City.
The mystery of the belongings many Japanese families had left in the basement of an old theater is just one of the fun twists of the story. Based on historical events, the book was entertaining and educational. I could feel the despair and damp fog of the war times and appreciate the bond of hope that gave their friendship wings.
Northland
Author: Porter Fox
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Reviewed by Misty Sheehan
I always like to read books about the wilderness. “Northland,” by Porter Fox, is one of those excellent books. Fox traverses the border between the United States and Canada – canoeing, hiking, riding freighters and driving by car from Maine to Seattle.
What is special about the book, in addition to the magnificent scenery Fox describes, is his discussion of the history of this land – told in a manner that isn’t boring, like the history I read in school. Instead, he weaves his historical knowledge with his skills as a professional writer, using language, metaphor and analogy.
He begins in Lubec, Maine, tracing an invisible border on the green-blue water of the St. Croix River. He struggles through three-foot swells and is knocked about by wind and water in every direction. He tells of the French occupation and the history of the Passamaquoddy tribe from Donald Soctomah, a tribal member who spent his life trying to convince federal and state officials of the tribe’s 12,000-year-old history.
Fox’s next adventure was on a freighter which took him from Montreal, Quebec, to Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. The reader learns Ontario history from stories of voyageurs and coureurs des bois (fur traders) as they traveled up the Ottawa River through Lake Nipissing on the old canoe route to Lake Huron.
The Boundary Waters were next, with the area’s thick forests and rocky lake edges. He tells of the trains that chugged through them, taking lumber.
From there, he travels across North Dakota and brings contemporary history to life in the Sioux Indians’ fight with the federal government over the oil pipeline through the Standing Rock reservation. He addresses the geology of North Dakota from ancient times to the present.
The last chapter takes us through Montana, Idaho and Washington State as it details the problems of establishing the border.
This is a great adventure tale with a marvelous history.
The Giver of Stars
Author: JoJo Moyes
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Reviewed by Ron Schmidt
This year I have been more engaged than ever in my two favorite activities, reading and walking. I’ve been doing more of each as I stay close to home – safe, healthy and content. It has made me more grateful than ever to my mom for passing on her love of reading. She read stories to me when I was too little to do it myself, sharing all the joy and excitement of a well-written book.
Of all the good books I have read and reread this year, my favorite, perhaps, is “The Giver of Stars.” This work of historical fiction is based on the true exploits of a group of brave women who became packhorse librarians, carrying books and magazines to their neighbors in the mountains of Kentucky.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, these women rode alone on horses and mules through all kinds of weather and hardships – for just a few dollars a week – to deliver books to families. Sometimes they even became teachers, helping the households learn to read.
I really liked the genuine feelings of friendship and dedication among the characters. They inspired me, and I bet they will inspire you also. Oh, yes …it has the happy ending I want all the books I read this year to have.
Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Publisher: Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions
Reviewed by Chelsea White
I’ve always been a voracious reader. When I was a kid, I hungrily consumed any literature put into my hands, from mythology to historical fiction to fantasy and science fiction. It didn’t matter what it was; I was just as happy reading one of my grandmother’s crime mysteries as I was reading about vampires or dragons. Because of this, the “why” behind my most treasured piece of literature is convoluted.
When I was 9, we were visited by family. My cousins were all avid readers, like me. One day, I had run out of books to read and my cousin handed me an old book of my grandmother’s.
“Here, try this,” she said. “It’s too boring for me.”
It was “Jane Eyre.”
I don’t know what exactly it was about it that gripped me. Certainly, I related to the young, solitary Jane hiding behind curtains and losing herself in books to escape her grim existence. To be fair, her situation was much more dire than mine, but I related to her struggle to relate to the people around her. I related to her oddness and loved her for her stoicism.
One would think a 9-year-old would lose interest in the tale once it turned to love, but I was completely swept up in the tragedy and intrigue that was Jane and Mr. Rochester. I read that book five times in the next two days and, as our most loved characters do, Jane Eyre became one of my dearest friends.
I still read Jane’s story once a year. My time with the book has become a ritual of sorts, the kind that never fails to bring comfort. A few years ago, I was given the exact book of my grandmother’s in which I met Jane for the very first time, and now that ritual is even more precious to me. I will always be grateful to have discovered the small, determined young woman Charlotte Brontë created so many years ago.
Phases of Gravity
Author: Dan Simmons
Publisher/Imprint: Subterranean Press
Reviewed by Pat Stinson
In my late teens, early 20s, I began reading more and more science fiction, mostly newer stories and collections. I was usually holed up in a bedroom as I read, Bowie’s “Low” playing nonstop in the background. One day, into my hands fell this unassuming little book of fiction, incorrectly shelved with the science fiction because the author wrote many others works in the genre, (like the excellent “Hyperion Cantos” series with its hair-raising character, the Shrike).
This more mainstream book, called “Phases of Gravity,” could have been written by Margaret Atwood, another author I discovered in my 20s and for whom I’d skipped a day’s work and traveled alone to the Detroit Institute of Arts to hear.
“Phases” is a story of finding oneself adrift and looking inside for answers. It didn’t matter to 20-something me that the over-the-hill male protagonist, a former astronaut, was going through the motions of a mid-life crisis.
How would you find meaning in your life after walking on the moon and sacrificing your family relationships to do so? This is Richard Baedecker’s attempt to fit together the pieces of his broken life, after seemingly reaching his “peak” too early.
The story is both gut-wrenching in its loneliness and humorous, dramatic almost to the absurd. But love can be absurd, sometimes. We follow Baedecker through the phases of his life, with flashbacks to the moon, restless wanderings, an exciting rescue, illuminating conversations and fiery arguments. His is a far from perfect life, but his story will leave you with a warm glow.
