The Sisters Antipodes

Today’s post is from Karen at Haggard Library:

The Sisters Antipodes by Jane Alison

The Sisters Antipodes is a fascinating memoir in which Jane Alison recounts her unusual and troubled family history.

Two families meet in Australia. Both fathers are diplomats. Each family has two daughters close in age. At some point, each family is fractured when the parents split and re-form with the other couple. The daughters on each side, now separated from their biological fathers, find themselves competing for the love and attention of the father they have lost, and the new one now living with them. The fiercest competitors are Jane and Jenny. Both girls share so much in common, but are always separated by the rift left behind after the split of their families.

This account is so compelling and heartrending. The story of Jane Alison’s childhood is so incredible that it almost seems like a novel rather than a true account. I stayed up all night reading because I had to know what happened to Jane and her counterpart Jenny. I highly recommend this book.

Go With Me

Today’s post is from Lynn at Parr Library:

Go With Me  by Castle Freeman

Go With Me  is a short book, with an amazingly big story and well-developed cast of characters.  It takes place in a little town in the New England woods.  A darkly funny and rather gothic tale, Go With Me centers around the town villain who is stalking a young girl from out of town. 

The local sheriff says he cannot help her, but puts her in contact with men who believe there is no sense beginning  something unless they plan to “go through.”  And “go through” they do!

A Patriot’s Handbook

Today’s post is from Dawn at Parr Library:

A Patriot’s Handbook:  Songs, Poems, Stories and Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love   selected and introduced by Caroline Kennedy

July 4th is around the corner, and this anthology celebrates the diversity of people, voices, opinions, and ideals which helped build and  create this country.  Caroline Kennedy’s personal selection of a wide variety of materials and  documents, including photos, and illustrations, allows us to examine what it means to be a patriot.  The selections are arranged by topics such as Freedom, The Flag,and Portraits of Americans.  The  people  included are from  past to present day and vary as much as the material included.  While intended for families, it is relevant to many interests including general education,  reference, or browsing for personal enjoyment.

Change Your Underwear Twice a Week

Today’s post is from Sarah at Parr Library:

Change Your Underwear Twice a Week:  Lessons from the Golden Age of Classroom Filmstrip  by Danny Gregory

Readers will be tempted to just browse this fascinating book but I recommend reading the text.  Who would have guessed  that Joan Baez’s father wrote and produced educational films and filmstrips?  Change Your Underwear Twice a Week is full of interesting tidbits about key individuals, the American education system, and government subsidies and propaganda.  Baby Boomers and teachers will especially be entertained by this history of the filmstrip.

The Freshman

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

The Freshman (1990) directed by Andrew Bergman, starring Marlon Brando, Bruno Kirby, and Matthew Broderick

 Clark Kellog (Mathew Broderick) starts on the adventure of his life when he goes to New York to attend film school. Arriving in New York, Kellog is fleeced of all his money and property by a small time crook (Bruno Kirby).  To get cash for his textbooks Kellog agrees to pick up a package for Carmine Sabatini (Marlon Brando) the head of an import/export family. Kellog assumes the package is contraband, but is unprepared for the actual contents. The package is unexpectedly difficult to deliver to the “gourmet club” which is the ultimate destination. Brando’s deadpan parody of his most famous Don Corleone role is comic genius. The climactic scene where wealthy people enjoy an unusual feast as Bert Parks serenades them is unlike any other. This offbeat comedy where nothing is predictable is just the pick me up for a hot summer’s evening.

The Great Brain

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

It’s summer and we are all in full swing with the Summer Reading Club here at the library.  In the spirit of that event I thought I would share one of my favorite books from when I was a kid.  The Great Brain was the first novel-length book I remember reading all the way through and I enjoyed it very much.  I enjoyed it so much I quickly read all the books in the series and enjoyed them as well.  I never saw it but I remember the cover of my paperback copy loudly proclaiming that it was now a “MAJOR” motion picture starring Donny and Marie’s irrepressible younger brother, Jimmy Osmond.  I think now I would actually like to see that movie…but I’m old these days and tend to reminisce more than is probably healthy.

The story follows the adventures of Tom Fitzgerald as seen through the eyes of his younger brother J.D..  Tom’s great brain runs rampant in Adenville, Utah, whether he is bilking kids out of their money by showing off his father’s brand new water closet or using it (his brain, not the water closet) to rescue two lost children.  The stories paint a wonderful picture of turn-of-the-century Utah and the mischief is softened with just the right amount of poignancy.  On a lark and mostly for the sheer symmetry of the thing I re-read the book last year on a library trip to Utah and it held up just as enjoyable as the first two or three times I read it.

If you haven’t read these junior novels yourself (or even if you have), take a break from the David Baldaccis and the Mary Higgins Clarksof the world and give this children’s classic a shot.  And when you’re done, lend it to your own kids, see if they don’t enjoy it  just as much as you.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Today’s post is from Cecily at Haggard Library:

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Vampires in books are usually very suave, dangerous, sophisticated, and sexy.  Think  about everything from Twilight and Interview With a Vampire, back to the original Dracula.  With all that in mind, you could say that 15-year-old Nina (or 51-year-old, depending on how you look at it) is not quite the vampire you’d expect.   Her skin is more gray than white, she’s weak, sickly and prone to bouts of nausea, and survives by “fanging” guinea pigs.  Yum.  Her least favorite thing about being a vampire is her Tuesday night support group, where she has to sit around with a bunch of other sickly, whiny, loser vampires and talk about her feelings.  But when one of the group members is staked, the rest of them fear a slayer is on their trail.  Tired of being a wimp, Nina decides to be proactive and find the killer before he finds her.  In the process, she might get to finally grow up a little bit.

Nina’s descriptions of her awkward, boring, gross vampire life are funny and the comedic cast of supporting characters makes for an unpredictable plot.  This is a refreshing and entertaining take on the life of a classic literary monster.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists

Today’s post is from Erik at Schimelpfenig Library:

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

I’m an actor here in town and some of my favorite acting experiences (as well as writing) have been the melodramas at The Pocket Sandwich Theatre;  I’m also a big fan of Monty Python.  That combination is the general idea behind The Pirates! series and it works really well.  There are several books in the series (5 or 6 I’m not sure, sorry)  and the Pirates! meet and have adventures with folks ranging from Ahab to Communists.  This particular adventure finds our hero, The Pirate Captain, worried that his crew are getting bored with the mundanity of pirate life.  So, seeking to break the monotony, he gets tricked into attacking the HMS Beagle.  From there, hilarity ensues at a breakneck pace including a chimp in a suit (Mr. Bobo, the Man-panzee), a kidnapping, damsels (and pirates) in distress, murder, intrigue , corruption at the highest levels of the Church and the satisfying comeuppance for the bad guys all wrapped up in just 144 pages.

And that may be my one complaint about this book.  It was just too short, I wanted it to go on for a while longer but I guess that is what the rest of the books are for.  There are a few things that take a little getting used to, like the fact that the pirates aren’t named but rather described such as “the Pirate in the Green Scarf,” but you get used to that pretty quickly.  The book isn’t going to kick James Joyce around and get confused for classic literature or any of that stuff but it is a nice, quick, enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

One for the Money

Today’s post is from Cynthia at Harrington Library:

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

Need an escape? How about a fast, funny, bit of fluff that will brighten your mood and offer an escape from the summer heat? One for the Money introduces Stephanie Plum, sexy, junk food addicted, Jersey girl, and a bounty hunter with more luck than skill. She also destroys vehicles with style. Stephanie’s sidekick Lula is a plus size former ho who likes to wear spandex. The antics of the characters and the sometimes bawdy dialogue will make you laugh out loud. The Stephanie Plum series is the perfect summertime guilty pleasure. Read and enjoy!

Under the Lemon Trees

Today’s post is from Carole at Haggard Library:

Under the Lemon Trees  by Bhira Backhaus

Set in 1976, this is an engrossing first novel about teenage girl named Jeeto who lives in Sikh community in Oak Grove, California. She is caught between the desire to go to college at U.C. Berkeley and her mother’s insistence that she submit to the traditional arranged marriage to a stranger.

The Sikh community can be viewed as suffocating, but also can be reassuring with many family members and friends to guide the young woman’s steps. This book provides a sympathetic and revealing picture of an immigrant culture in transition. Truly conflicted, Jeeto must chart her own course in life.