| STORE INFORMATION |
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RJ Julia Booksellers
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
203.245.3959
800.74.READS
books@rjjulia.com
Mon-Sat: 9am – 9pm
Sun 10am – 6pm
Directions
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| RJ CAFÉ |
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Serving Lunch, Dinner, Homemade Pastries, Coffee and Tea
Mon-Sat: 9am - 9pm
Sun: 10am - 6pm
Managed by La Rosticceria, Carry Out Caterers
The RJ Café is proud to display unique art exhibits from the ALVA Gallery in New London, CT
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| NEWS FROM RJ JULIA |
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| FEATURES |
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| R.J. JULIA AWARDS |
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Thank you for voting us # 1.
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| THE FAITH MIDDLETON SHOW ON WNPR |
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Faith Middleton
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The Book Show
WNPR-Connecticut Public Radio
90.5 FM Hartford/New Haven
89.1 FM Norwich/New London
88.5 FM Stamford/Greenwich
91.3 FM Southampton
99.5 FM Storrs
"My book buddies, Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, Dr. Rose Quiello, lecturer in English at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, and enthusiastic reader Sally Gessner join me in the studio every two weeks. Occasionally Lee Jacobis, author and former professor at the University of Connecticut, drops in as well.
We tell you about the books we've enjoyed recently, and listeners are invited to tell us about your favorite books on line. E-mail us at faithwnpr@aol.com. Tell us in a couple of sentences about an all-time favorite book, or a recent great read, and why you love it. Adults and children are welcome! We'll read your letters over the air."
- Faith Middleton
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| RECENT BOOKS |
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Show Date: August 31, 2007
ROXANNE'S PICKS:
Away
by By Amy Bloom
Here is the first paragraph of Janet Maslin's review:
"Away is a modest name for a book that is gloriously transporting as Amy Bloom's new novel. Alive with incident and unforgettable characters, (here's my favorite) it sparkles and illuminates as brilliantly as it entertains. The accomplishment is even more remarkable giving (given) the seeming drabness of the story this book tells. She offers a ridiculously beautiful account of a 1926 transcontinental schlep by an immigrant, Jewish seamstress from New York towards Siberia in search of her young daughterÉ To the extent that a work of fiction can be all things to all people, this one is remarkably versatile. Away is a literary triumph, a book club must, and a popular novel destined for wide readership and is accessible to the point of pure enthrallment without compromising its eloquence or thematic strength, yet it is also a classic page-turner, one that delivers a relentlessly good read."
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The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
This is the story of a man and his child, never named, who live in a post-apocalyptic world, and everything has been wiped out - there's no electricity, there's no food, there's no water, everything's contaminated, this man and child are living by their wits. Although the world is without hope, the relationship between this man and this child is as timeless as any relationship you could imagine. I came out of the book with a couple of different sets of emotions, one was, I did not put it down - I was mesmerized by it, and then the other is how basic human emotion is under any set of circumstances and there are other little parts to this story and I really understand why so many people are reading this.
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Mom's Family Calendar with Sticker and Magnet(s)
by Sandra Boynton
This is a calendar that's got columns for everybody in your family because running today's families is like organizing the invasion of Normandy, and I just really like it, because it doesnŐt take itself too seriously, but it is really practical and it's a 16 month calendar which I also like, cause it makes the years seem longer.
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Always Running: La Vida Loca:
by Louis J. Rodriguez
He so brilliantly makes you understand, what it's like for a four-year-old, Mexican-American, or African-American, or anyone else who is viewed, right from the get-go by the outside world, as meaningless, as just meaningless, and maybe worse than meaningless, maybe a problem, and that the impact on how that child then grows up to view the rest of world. They have no respect for themselves, theyŐre not going to have respect for other people, and he lit a light on the world for me, about what that really feels like, and at the same time that this man, who lifted himself out of that, ends up with a son who falls prey to it, and he struggles to understand what he could have done differently - what the world could do differently, and although the book is prose, the fact that he's a poet is so clear as you read this book. There are books that I just think it's important for all of us to read, to be looking at the world in a more open-minded way, and I think Louis RodriguezŐs memoir is so at the top of that list. ItŐs just one of the best books I've ever read.
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Kindergarten Rocks!
by Katie Davis
Some kids are starting school for the first time, and for a lot of kids, particularly those with older siblings, itŐs all they've been waiting for. For those who might be the oldest in their family, or the only child in their family, kindergarten and the idea of leaving home and being in that environment can be frightening, even if theyŐve been in some nursery school program, because expectations of kids are higher now. But it makes you want to go to kindergarten again, or if youŐre a little kid, it makes you excited to go. It's a great book to read to a child who's taking that big step.
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The Septembers of Shiraz
by Dalia Sofer
This is story is really about how all the things that are the white noise in our lives: the way we really get along with a friend, the way we really get a long with a spouse or partner, the way we really get along with our children - it can go along okay, as long as everything else is okay - but the minute everything is not okay, all of it starts to disintegrate. And all theses hates and pettiness that you have become difficult to submerge in any way. This book should be come classic about how the world can change - sacredness of what we all have - taking for granted all the little things in life - food on the table, roof over heads, how important it is for us to deeply appreciate what we all have - how important it is to be diligent, because it can disappear in a second.
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The Dorm Room Diet:
by Daphne Oz
This is a good, practical book for kids going off to college, for kids who think that eating a candy bar will give them all the nutrition and energy they need. This is also great for warding off the dreaded "Freshman 15."
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ROSE'S PICKS:
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The Tortilla Curtain
by T.C. Boyle
This is the story of Candido, a Mexican immigrant, whom we first meet when heŐs been hit by a car, driven by Delaney, a white, upper-class, yuppie guy, driving a fancy car, polished, and that first chapter alone is a page-turner because we have Delaney looking for the body, and then wondering, "What do I do?" Candido is an immigrant, he's illegal at this point, and so all he says to Delaney is, "Just give me some money." And that's where the beginning of the book takes off. Uh, now, this reverberates in DelaneyŐs mind; Delaney gives him the twenty dollars that he has in the wallet. We have these two families going side-by-side, and we know thereŐs going to be a collision. This is a page-turner and the understanding of what the immigrant experience is like from this book is brilliant. I think this book has 80 million topics that you can pick up on for discussion.
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The Human Stain
by Philip Roth
This is the story of a black man named Coleman Silk who is so light skinned that he decides to pass, go through life, leave his family behind, and pass for a Jew, he goes into the world as a Jew, becomes a very celebrated academic. HeŐs at the peak of his career when during one seemingly benign class, he looks out, heŐs taking attendance, he notices that two students are missing and he refers to them as Spooks. He meant ghosts, or specters, but the students were of color and he was charged with racism and he loses his job. And so, he then is befriended by a writer named, Zuckerman, whom we know well, those of us who read Philip Roth, but this is-he has a number of secrets in his life, this Coleman Silk, an affair and a number of other secrets, but he has kept the secret of his heritage, um, quiet for a long time. And this really becomes one of the most moving books about the unraveling of this contrived life that he presents to the world. I had just read American Pastoral which preceded this and I thought that was Philip RothŐs best work, but now I have to say, The Human Stain by Philip Roth is my favorite, he has written since, but this is my favorite.
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FAITH'S PICKS:
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The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans
by Patricia Klindienst
"I truly think that it was one of those things changed my life. I have an awful green thumb, but now I'm determined to try and be more connected to the land. My sons and I have started going to the local FarmerŐs Markets, have gone blueberry picking, are growing tomatoes and flowers, we live in a condo in a city, but weŐre growing in big pots on the deck. I love that my boys help me pick out vegetables, even ones they don't eat at the outdoor markets, and have made blueberry jelly with me, which they love. I'm a voracious reader; I love to hear about the books that I may not generally pick up on my own. Thanks for opening my eyes to this particular book." (email from Tanya Clark)
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Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson
by Sue Stauffacher
What's really enchanting and important about this children's book is that tells the story of how Althea Gibson started in a very poor neighborhood - how Althea Gibson started being raised by a very poor family, she was raised by share-croppers in 1957. She became the greatest female tennis player in the world. And she was trouble on wheels - you know, she just didnŐt want to do what people would tell her, and there was this guy who was so - Buddy Walker - who saw her, gave her a tennis racket, and he said, "I think you could be great, I think you could play tennis." And there were a couple of other coaches after that, but he is the one who got her attention, who got her to start playing, she struggled with it and struggled with it and became the first African-American, male or female to play at Wimbledon and to win. And itŐs a very inspiring story, and you cheer for her when you read it - itŐs a great book.
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Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett
"Very tightly edited, wonderful story. After reading it, I read every previous book that Ann Patchett wrote in backward chronological order. The Magician's Assistant was also a favorite, sheŐs a great writer." - email from Eleanor Feltcher
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Golfing with God: A Novel of Heaven and Earth
by Roland Merullo
I have to say that the beauty of this book for me - I was not as enchanted with the spiritual quest as many people apparently are about this book. But it made me want to golf because he has these transcendent descriptions of the act of golfing and golf courses that we all know. The story is about Hank Finns Winston, he was a pro golfer, destined for greatness, and he dies and so when the book opens he is in heaven. And so you have, and now this is the kind of fun part for me, it's why I started reading it, and I thought, "Let me hear how people describe what heaven is." He says that heaven, you bring your skills that you had on earth with you to heaven and so people continue to do what they did here on Earth, but in a slightly different way. Someone comes to him and says, "Listen, we know you were a golf-pro for part of your life," and he's in heaven now having a conversation with some big-shot and the big shot says, "We have a student for you and we want you to, he's having trouble with his gameÉ" and so of course, the student, is God. God is a pretty delightful character, he's got crazy, wild hair like Albert Einstein, kind of fierce, fierce eyes, and wears really ratty clothes, and he's a little irascible, and heŐs an interesting God. And then he and God play. It's kinda fun. I wasn't devastated by how fabulous or important it is, but I'll tell you something, it made me want to play golf. The man, Roland Merullo, WOW, can he explain the beauty of a golf course, the beauty of a swing, what it feels like to be out there in this heaven on earth kind of place.
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Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond
by Paul Shirley
"Mr. Shirley was a member of the basketball team at Iowa State while I was earning my undergrad degree which is what led me to pick up the book. Admittedly, I did not have high expectations for this book, but it is one of the best books I have read in the past couple of years. Mr. ShirleyŐs mix of self-deprecation, sarcastic humor, and realistic view of his teammates and the business makes for an excellent read. It's definitely not just for NBA and sports fans. Warm Regards, Erin Peterson." (email)
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Wittgenstein and the Theory of Perception
by Justin Good
If you are someone who's intrigued with Wittgenstein or you are interested in perception - how it is that we see and understand things, there is a book out from Justin Good, who is an environmentalist, a philosopher, and artist. He lives in Chester, CT, and he has done a book for the Continuum Studies in British Philosophy called, Wittgenstein and the Theory of Perception. He's getting at this idea that we don't really see and perceive the things around us because of familiarity, and why that happens, and what can be done about it. It's very dense, very thick, for people who are into Wittgenstein or the theory of perception.
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Nobody from No Place, Going Nowhere: Then I Hit the Detours
by William F. Murphy
It is the story of his life, a struggle with a drinking problem, discovering the spiritual life and changing himself, utterly. Mr. Murphy is a private contractor to the Connecticut State Department of Education, and lives in Waterford, Connecticut
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Victorian Hartford Revisited
by Tomas J. Nenortas
This is a beautiful book, filled entirely with photographs. It's a historical look at Victorian Hartford. Nenortas is affiliated with Hartford Preservation Alliance. I loved to see all the Victorian houses, streets, restaurantsÉIt's just enchanting to see what Hartford used to look like back then, it's just wonderful.
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Voices of Sag Harbor: A Village Remembered
by Tomas J. Nenortas
This book contains photographs and interviews about what life has been like over time in Sag Harbor. E.L. Doctorow says, "Sag Harbor is a modestly, lovely creation, human in scale, with its history available on every street, in every yard, all of it real and rooted in the safe and comely and civilized, democratic, social organization known as a village."
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LEE'S PICKS:
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New EnglandŐs Favorite Seafood Shacks: Eating Up the Coast from Connecticut to Maine
by Elizabeth Bougerol
This a very handsome book, and it's got detailed discussions from first hand knowledge of whatŐs good at these wonderful restaurants. Now locally for example, Flander's Fishhouse shows up here, and so does Johnny AddŐs in Old Saybrook, which is an real favorite, Lenny and Joe's in Madison, then Lenny's in Branford, and the Place in Guilford, which is a special kind of thing. There's a wonderful little thing in the back and it has to do with the statistics. Statistics are really wonderful, for example, in the 1600 the largest, the longest lobster that anyone caught along this coast was 8 feet long. The heaviest lobster that anyone caught in modern times was 45 lbs, roughly. And fifty percent of the body weight of every lobster is in its claws. And it goes on and on, thereŐs loads of little details here, out of 10,000 little lobsters that start out, 10 make it to harvesting size, because the others are scoffed up by haddock and all kinds of wonderful other animals.
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On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
This is the opening line: "They were young, educated, and both virgins, on this their wedding night. And they lived in a time when a conversation about sexual difficulties was plainly impossible." This time is 1962, these two-young man and young woman from very different backgrounds - he's from a country background, although heŐs educated in reading medieval history. She's from a very sophisticated background in Oxford, where her parents are educators, and sheŐs a gifted musician. The two of them get together and he's been looking forward to this night for so long, filled with sexual anxiety because theyŐd been wooing each other for a long time very chastely, and it turns out that she hates sex. And the two of them have the most astounding, astounding evening, trying to figure out how to deal with their emotions which are so much a thwart each other. You feel so much pain for these two young people, so much agony for them, you just can't contain yourself. So, I find this to be another fine book by Ian McEwan.
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My Nature is Hunger: New & Selected Poems, 1989-2004
by Louis J. Rodriguez
This is My Nature is Hunger, powerful book of poetry by Louis J. Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a Chicano, his parents were immigrants and he's written this wonderful collection of poems. He has some lovely things in this book and one very brief poem which I thought was quite touching called Existence.
"There's a tribe in South America that desires to die off. They won't eat, hunt, or gather fruit. They die off because they say dreamed the white man's coming and if they die, so will that dream."
It's obviously a poem that touches very deep roots for him, and the book is filled with wonderful things. HereŐs a great poem called, Jesus Saves, I'll read you the beginning of it:
"This dude, Jesus Saves, must be popular or something. You see his name everywhere. I first saw it when I woke up from a Bunker Hill cardboard box to a huge sign on top of the L.A. Library; it reads 'Jesus Saves.' I wish I were that guy, then I wouldn't be this chalked face pirate on city seas, then I wouldn't be this starved acrobat of the alcoves, loitering against splintered doors, and I wouldn't be this aberration who once had a home made of stone, even, and a woman to call wife and the old country where I worked since I was seven, I knew the meaning of the sun's behest for poor is to weep, but now such toil is allowed to rot like too many berries on a bush. In the old country I laughed the loudest, made the most incisive remarks and held at bay even the most limpid of gatherings."
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Unknown Weegee
by Arthur 'Weegee' Fellig, et.al.
Weegee was a wonderful photographer who took pictures in the 1940's. His work is just extraordinary. He was devoted to his work as a news photographer. He stayed up all night, slept all day, and listened to police scanner. He'd rush to the scene of the crime and take pictures of the corpses, but he learned that people were really interested in the reactions to the people seeing these corpses, and so started taking pictures of the human interest. He also spent 15 years as a printer, which means he knew how his negatives were going to look - they are beautifully printed, masterfully done. These are pictures of murderers that look like they could be your uncle or aunt, there are pictures of people sleeping in doorways, a different person each night. This is just an extremely moving book to go through.
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 SHOW ARCHIVES |
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Find out what else is happening on The Faith Middleton Show.
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Book Show Archives:
 February 15, 2008
February 1, 2008
January 18, 2008
December 7, 2007
November 23, 2007
November 9, 2007
October 12, 2007
September 28, 2007
August 31, 2007
August 19, 2007
August 2, 2007
May 11, 2007
April 27, 2007
April 13, 2007
March 30, 2007
March 2, 2007
February 16, 2007
January 5, 2007 (repeat of 11/10/06)
December 22, 2006
November 24, 2006
November 10, 2006
October 27, 2006
September 29, 2006 (repeat of 9/1/06)
September 15, 2006
September 1, 2006
August 18, 2006
August 4, 2006
July 21, 2006 (repeat of 6/9/06)
July 7, 2006 (repeat of 3/17/06)
June 9, 2006
May 23, 2006
April 14, 2006
March 31, 2006
March 17, 2006
March 3, 2006
February 14, 2006 (repeat of 10/14/05)
February 3, 2006
January 20, 2006
January 6, 2006 (repeat of 11/25/05)
December 23, 2005 (repeat of 11/11/05)
December 9, 2005
November 25, 2005
November 11, 2005
October 14, 2005
September 30, 2005
September 16, 2005
September 2, 2005
August 19, 2005
August 5, 2005
July 22, 2005
June 24, 2005 (repeat of 06/10/05)
June 10, 2005
May 27, 2005 (repeat of 01/21/05)
May 13, 2005 (repeat of 01/21/05)
April 29, 2005 (no show)
April 15, 2005
April 1, 2005
March 18, 2005 (repeat of 02/18/05)
March 4, 2005 (repeat of 01/21/05)
February 18, 2005
February 1, 2005
January 21, 2005
January 7, 2005
December 24, 2004
December 6, 2004
November 26, 2004 (repeat of 03/5/04)
November 12, 2004
October 29, 2004 (repeat of 09/17/04)
October 12, 2004
October 1, 2004
September 17, 2004
September 3, 2004 (not a book show)
August 20, 2004 (Julia Child special, not a book show)
August 6, 2004
July 23, 2004
July 9, 2004 (repeat of 05/14/04)
June 25, 2004 (repeat of 04/16/04)
June 11, 2004 (repeat of 03/19/04)
May 14, 2004
April 28, 2004
April 16, 2004
April 2, 2004 (repeat of 2/20/04)
March 19, 2004
March 5, 2004
February 20, 2004
February 3, 2004
January 23, 2004
December 16, 2003
December 5, 2003
November 21, 2003
November 7, 2003 (repeat of 8/22/03)
October 30, 2003
October 17, 2003
October 3, 2003
September 19, 2003
September 5, 2003 (repeat of 5/30/03)
August 22, 2003
August 9, 2003
July 25, 2003
July 11, 2003
June 28, 2003
June 13, 2003
May 30, 2003
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