The Faith Middleton Show on WNPR
Our favorite books
"Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, appears with other book buddies for my book show. We tell you about the books we've enjoyed recently, and listeners are invited to tell us about their favorite books on line. "
- Faith Middleton
The books listed here are from a few of the more recent shows, and will be updated after the next book show with Roxanne Coady.
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Wandering Souls: Journeys With the Dead and the Living in Viet Nam
By Wayne Karlin
Our Shelf Talker
A Vietnam vet had trouble getting back into society after the war but has worked through all that with a tremendous amount of effort. Many years later he accompanies another vet back to Viet Nam to help him find the family of the soldier he killed. This other vet had gone through the pockets of the Vietnamese soldier (as they were ordered to do) and he found a journal indicating that he was medic for the vietnamese. The palpable quality of the writing personalized the death for the American soldier and it never left his mind that he wanted to find the family. What happens when he does find the family is remarkable. They are able to forgive him because the story of the death of their family member is returned to them and they could now have his funeral. This is an extremely moving story.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
Good Night Connecticut
By Christina Vrba
Our Shelf Talker
This great children’s board book is part of the Goodnight Our World series.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
Mai Lin
By Willa Correnti
Our Shelf Talker
This book by a local author has been Wally Lamb endorsed. It’s the story about a white girl, Maria who marries into a Chinese family. Her new husband’s sister, Mai Lin has died and no one discusses it. The family secrets prompt Maria to investigate what happened to Mai Lin and we find that their stories become parallel. Very well done.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
Lady Killer
By Lisa Scottoline
Our Shelf Talker
She is now my favorite mystery writer! Her protagonist is a lawyer named Mary DeNunzio who lives in Philadelphia. The plot centers around a group of women who hated Mary in high school but now need her help to find a girl friend who’s gone missing. Ms. Scottoline, unlike most mystery writers, is able to evoke a whole world that totally engages the reader.
Cross Country
By James Patterson
Our Shelf Talker
I wanted to delve into mysteries a bit after some of Roxanne’s recent recommendations. I was able to find a book that Patterson had written himself, not farmed out, and the title refers to one of his main characters Alex Cross. While this was a diverting read, the appeal scares me. There was gore on every page and it seems that Cross gets beaten up and always comes back for more. I recognize how popular Patterson is with both men and women readers but I worry about the quality of the writing.- Lee from the Faith Middleton Show
The Way We Live Now
By The Way We Live Now
Our Shelf Talker
I have long wanted to read a book by this author and at 842 pages long, this is a stunner. I recommend it to anyone who wants to get involved in a book with 100 chapters that will engage them for along time. Trollope was inspired by the financial mess during the Victorian Period and his Augustus Melmont is not unlike our Bernie Madoff. People think Melmont is wealthy so he can get involved in all sorts of schemes. Everything eventually blows up but this is a moving portrait of Victorian England and a mirror of our own time.- Lee from the Faith Middleton Show
What About Bear?
By Suzanne Bloom
Our Shelf Talker
You know I stress all the time the importance of reading to young children and this is just a great picture book with its fun illustrations. Perfect to read aloud.- Roxanne
Making Toast
By Roger Rosenblatt
Our Shelf Talker
Roger is a funny writer and a wonderful guy. This is the story about his daughter, a wife, mother and pediatrician who died unexpectedly from an asymptomatic heart problem. Roger and his wife leave their home to move in with their son-in-law and help care for their two young grandchildren.The “making toast” of the title refers to what Roger could do best as they all struggled. He teaches us how they moved through tragedy and how renewal came through the relationship between grandparent and grandchild.
- Roxanne
In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic
By David Wessel
Our Shelf Talker
This is one of the best books out there for people who are curious about the recent financial melt-down. Wessel addresses the incompetence and the hubris, that was not immediately apparent to the rest of us. Frustrating but important reading.- Roxanne
Linchpin
By Seth Godin
Our Shelf Talker
Are you indispensable at work? Should you do what you are told to do or should you be outrageous and get noticed? The author helps answer those questions in a very entertaining but thoughtful way. He describes how to play that role as being a “linchpin”. Linchpins are successful because they love what they do. Their enthusiasm is matched by hard work and that becomes contagious and they become indispensable! What I took away from this book is the idea that it is important to be joyful, in a real, fundamental way about the work we do. It was a very good reminder, especially in this environment.- Roxanne
Read Me: A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements
By Dwight Garner
Our Shelf Talker
New York Times book critic Dwight Garner brings together original ads for some of the most acclaimed and bestselling books of the twentieth century, including The Great Gatsby, On the Road, Invisible Man, Lolita, Silent Spring, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, and dozens of other classics in Read Me. These ads show us famous books when they were simply new volumes jostling for attention on bookstore shelves, not yet icons of our literary culture. This is a fascinating look at our cultural history from many different perspectives - booklover, graphic designer, advertiser, history lover - very intriguing.- Roxanne
The Soul of a Dog
By Jon Katz
Our Shelf Talker
This is Katz's book about living on his farm in New York state. He's gathered quite an assortment of creatures and he writes about this wacky undertaking. The crux of the book is his interest in the question of whether animals have souls. Of course he thinks so.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
A Is For Admission
By Michele A. Hernández
Our Shelf Talker
This is a valuable insiders guide to getting into the Ivy League and other top colleges. Michelle has been an admissions officer so she is more than capable to discuss the myths and mandates and what schools really want.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
Antiques Road Show Behind the Scenes
By Marsha Bemko
Our Shelf Talker
I am hooked on this show and this book tells you how the show works. It explores the history and lore and why ten million people tune in every week. It turns out it is an extraordinary undertaking to put on this show. This book is so worth reading.- Faith from the Faith Middleton Show
Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
By Margaret Atwood
Our Shelf Talker
This group of essays has footnotes and a bibliography and is meant to have high seriousness, but it's easy to read. It's meant to ask the question, why do I write? She realizes that she is negotiating with a lot of dead writers representing the playing field in which she herself is writing. Ms. Atwood writes with such extraordinary understanding of the nature of writing, you can't take your eyes off the book. Anyone who wants to write should read this book.- Lee from the Faith Middleton Show
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