Listed below are the books discussed on the Faith Middleton WNPR Radio Show May 22, 2009

Roxanne’s Picks

Brooklyn: A Novel
By Colm Toibin
Immerse yourself in the world of a young Irish immigrant, Eilis Lacey, who comes to New York from her small hometown in Ireland, an event orchestrated by her sister and family priest. Securing a job in a department store and residence in a rooming house for young women, she begins to reinvent her life until tragedy calls her home to Ireland. Her story leads you to an understanding of the “grandness of the ordinary.”

The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
Narrated by an often humorous and insightful character, Death, this book tells the tale of a young foster child, from the time she is taken to live with a family in a working-class neighborhood in Molching, Germany. She arrives at age nine with the first book she has stolen, The Gravediggers Handbook. Through the 1930s and 1940s, she collects stolen books and a set of colorful friends. This is a mesmerizing story that raises questions of loyalty and how wrong things can appear to be right. Originally marketed for young adults, the book has been repositioned for adults as well – a good book for families of teens to read and discuss together.

Essential Pleasures: A New Anthology of Poems to Read Aloud
By Robert Pinsky
Pinsky has assembled a collection of poems, some romantic, some funny, some mournful, by both famous and obscure poets to delight both the reader and the listener. Beginning with “Short Lines, Frequent Rhymes” and “Long Lines” and moving through love poems, odes, celebrations and parodies, each section begins with a description about the poetry in that group. The anthology includes works by both traditional and contemporary poets, all for reading aloud. Accompanied by a CD of Pinsky reading the poems.

House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street<
By William D. Cohan
Non-fiction that reads like fiction, this is the chilling story of the arrogance, greed and recklessness that led to the downfall of Bear Stearns. Filled with drama and detail, this highly readable book is both a fascinating and infuriating look at elements of human nature that transcend the world of business.

Who Is Mark Twain?
By Mark Twain
Hand-picked by the general editor of the Mark Twain Project at the University of California Berkeley, the twenty-four essays included are funny, lively, and utterly contemporary, ranging in subject matter from the likeability of the characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to freedom of speech and modern dentistry.

The Grift: A Novel
By Debra Ginsberg
Although she doesn’t believe that psychic powers really exist, Marina Marks becomes a fortune teller, using intuition and observation to gain the trust of clients who become dependent on her. Eventually Marina, to her own confusion and dismay, begins to suspect that she actually has psychic powers. Marina struggles through her romantic, professional and mystical troubles, as much a victim of her con as her clients.


Lee’s Picks

Ballistics: Poems
By Billy Collins
This small but powerful book makes you think that anyone could write poetry; it seems effortless and easy. Former U.S. laureate, Collins is insightful as he takes you from Paris to Pittsburg, from the philosophical to the whimsical, using simple metaphors for life lessons. He is like a sculptor, chisel in hand, removing the outer layers, leaving only the good stuff.

The Monster of Florence
By Douglas Preston
Caught up in a real life whodunit when he moves his family to Florence, Italy, Preston takes us on his journey of collaboration with Italian journalist Mario Spezi to find the killer responsible for a string of serial murders that began in Florence in the 1970’s. Eventually Italian authorities learned of their sleuthing, jailed Spezi and forced Preston to leave the country. An antidote to Under the Tuscan Sun, this look at the darker sides of crime and the legal system in Italy may give you pause to reconsider before you pack to move there.

The Abstinence Teacher
By Tom Perrotta
In this novel, Perrotta tackles the conflict ignited between liberals and religious evangelists in a suburban New Jersey town after a high school sex-education teacher speaks approvingly of a specific sexual activity to her students. The school agrees to a curriculum that teaches abstinence, igniting a furor in the community. The children, affected by the polarities of thinking, are caught in the middle.

Mark Twain: A Life
By Ron Powers
Powers gives us a readable account of this literary statesman, covering both personal and professional triumphs and losses. The book gives you a real sense of the times in which Twain lived, his travels through America and abroad. Wonderful anecdotes give you a sense of his unique genius and of the powerhouse he became.

Dracula
By Bram Stoker
The “mother of all vampire literature,” this is far more complex than a mere vampire tale. The anxiety in the 1890s about the “new woman” taking her place in society as never before and Dracula, as the representation of foreigner invasion into England are at the heart of this tale as the count tries to make the “new woman” into an instrument of his power, unleashing powerful forces in London society.

Rose’s Picks

Olive Kitteridge
By Elizabeth Strout
In this 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winner, thirteen stories are woven together into a powerful tale with Olive as either the central or a peripheral character in each chapter that links people living in a small, coastal Maine town together. Overweight, angry Olive charges through life, often unlikeable, sometimes sympathetic and always human.

The Acrylic Paint Color Wheel Book
By John Barber
Barber takes the amateur painter step by step through the creation of seven paintings, including landscapes and still life, to show how to build a painting. He discusses techniques for mixing colors and provides other helpful information for the amateur already painting, and for those who might want to give this activity a try.

Faith’s Picks

Stopover in Venice
By Kathryn Walker
Nel Everett has been living an unfulfilled life in her marriage to a musician and after an argument with him finds herself alone in Venice. What happens to her is “that thing you always wish would happen” on your vacation; she is befriended by and moves in with a local resident to then become part of an adventure in history and Italian art. A terrific read for the armchair traveler.

Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences
By Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl
Chaikin and Kohl have put together a unique chronicle of the Apollo lunar missions. In their own words, the astronauts recount their experiences in vivid detail. The candid personal accounts are accompanied by stunning photos taken by the astronauts themselves, many of which have not been seen by the general public before.

Walking Nature Home: A Life’s Journey (Louann Atkin Temple Women and Culture)
By Susan J. Tweit
When diagnosed with a terminal illness, the author sets off on a journey into the world of nature for solace. Along the way, she learns about life, love and the wonders of the natural world, the mystery of how nature is transporting. In this series of essays, she beautifully shares what she’s learned to appreciate in the natural world.

A Time for Action
By George Whitney
A former Connecticut veterinarian, Whitney wrote this extended essay about problems in government and in society today. He offers what he believes are clear solutions to solving many of these problems.

Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory
By Stacy Horn
Under the guidance of J. B. Rhine, the Parapsychology Lab was set up to study ESP and paranormal phenomena. Horn provides details of the lab’s research, the academic rivalries and warfare over the lab, its leader and its findings.

Obscene in the Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
By Rick Wartzman
In 1939, rich local California farmers, like those exposed in Steinbeck’s masterful The Grapes of Wrath, orchestrated the banning and burning of the book. One librarian led the charge against the censors. This is a skillful telling of the shameful events that occurred in Kern County, weaving the personal and political together dramatically.