The complete title of this charming memoir by Luke Dempsey is A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See it All. This book tells the story of Dempsey and two friends who travel the United States trying to see as many different species of birds as they can.
Along the way they stay in scary motels, meet scarier people, and see many beautiful sights. Under the tutelage of his friends “Don and Donna Graffiti”, Dempsey develops into an avid and knowledgeable birder (not a birdwatcher). A transplanted Englishman, Dempsey also develops a love and appreciation for the United States and its spectacular natural beauty.
Dempsey generously shares his emotions with the reader: his loneliness; his glee at spotting a rare bird; his gratitude towards his friends; and his fear at confronting the various miscreants they meet on their journeys. Dempsey’ s self-deprecating humor keeps this book from being overly sentimental and mawkish.
I guess the biggest compliment I can give this book is that I went outside and looked for some birds. And there was a turkey in my yard! So-read and enjoy. I received a copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Thanks!
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Bloomsbury 2008
Softcover edition-Bloomsbury-2009
TGLAPPPS was the pick of the month for my book club. It is an interesting novel, written is the epistolary style. This has never been my favorite. For me, this is just distracting from the story. And this is a good story. I just had a hard time finishing it.
TGLAPPPS tells the story of the aforementioned book club, and how it developed on the British island of Guernsey during its occupation by the Germans in world War II. The story actually takes place in the year following the war, as Guernsey emerges from its enforced isolation from England.
It has been a best seller, and I can see why. The characters are interesting, but not really well-developed. I suspect there is a sequel in the works, and we will learn more about them.
TGLAPPPS is a good book, but just not my cup of tea.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Random House-2008
Softcover edition-Dial Press-2009
OK-I’m blogging about a movie, which is based on a book which is based on a blog which is based on another book-got it? Anyway, Julie & Julia is a lovely Nora Ephron movie with a great soundtrack. Starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, it’s quite a good movie.
In 1961, after years of studying and teaching cooking, and years of revisions, Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle published Mastering the Art of French Cooking. This was a groundbreaking cookbook which introduced Americans to gourmet home cooking. This book led, eventually, to Julia Child’s cooking show for PBS, The French Chef. For those who have never seen the real Julia in action, take a look at her introduction to her roast chicken show.
In 2002, self-described “government drone”, and aspiring writer, Julie Powell decided to tackle all the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She planned on cooking over 500 recipes in one year, and blogging about her efforts.
Meryl Street gives a stellar performance as Julia Child. We see the pleasure she takes in her cooking, and in sharing her knowledge with others. Amy Adams is not an actress of the same caliber. She gives a competent performance as Julie Powell. She is best showing the frustrations of Julie’s every day working life.
I thoroughly enjoyed Julie & Julia. However, if you don’t get a chance to see it in theaters, it will be just as good on DVD.
In this odd book by Canadian author and physician Kevin Patterson, the acknowledgments are at the end. I should have read this page first. The book seemed disjointed, and I wasn’t always sure who was the narrator, who was the protagonist, or even what year it was. And then I read that the book was not written as a whole, but was put together from a collection of essays. Lesson learned!
This novel is, presumably, about an Inuit woman, Victoria who, as a young child, was sent to a sanatorium is southern Canada to recover from tuberculosis. After six years in the south, she is returned to her family and her Inuit culture. She barely speaks their language anymore, and is a stranger to their way of life. Although Victoria remains in her home village on the banks of Hudson Bay, she marries Robertson, a”kablaunak”, who works for the Hudson Bay Company.
Some of the story is told through the viewpoint of Keith Balthazar, a New York physician who spends months at a time working in the Arctic (like Kevin Patterson, apparently). Balthazar’s life is a shambles, and he has few personal connections. His only friend in the Arctic seems to be the local priest.
So while this novel is presumably about Victoria, in the end it is more about Balthazar. The final sixty pages of the book are an “unpublished manuscript” by Dr. Balthazar titled The Diseases of Affluence. Reading this, we learn more about Dr. B than in the entire rest of the novel.
This is another book that could use a good American copy editor. Dr. B presumably lives in Yonkers, NY (very near me) but he travels to his brother’s house in Newark, NJ as if driving from New York City. It is also unlikely that his brother would actually live in Newark. Most of the affluent whites fled Newark decades ago, and Dr. B’s brother lived there long before Newark’s recent resurgence.
I picked this book up while in Canada on vacation. It should be valuable for Canadian readers since it does a good job of describing how the Canadian government has dealt with the native Inuits (sadly, not very well). Overall, Consumption is okay, but not worth 393 pages.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Nan Talese-2007
Softcover edition-Anchor-2008
This new novel by Linda Castillo opens up with a gory discovery: the butchered body of a young woman alongside a snowy country road. WARNING: If you get queasy reading about grisly murders, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
Yes, there are many murder mysteries, but Sworn to Silence is a bit different. The protagonist is a young woman who was raised in an Amish family. Kate Burkholder left the faith and her Amish way of life. She became a police officer and was eventually recruited to become the police chief in her home town of Painters Mill, Ohio.
This first murder is similar to a series of murders that occurred, and mysteriously stopped, sixteen years ago in Painters Mill. Chief Burkholder, her staff, and the community soon realize that a serial killer has again targeted the small farming community. Are the new murders the work of the same man? Kate thinks she knows the answer. She is, therefore, reluctant to call on other agencies to assist her overburdened staff in the investigation. This gets her into trouble with town council, who ask for help from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the county sheriff’s department.
This book is a good window into the workings of a small town police department, and into the world of the Amish. The characters are interesting and the plot is well laid out. Most readers will figure out who the killer is before Kate does, and the way the story then unfolds is not much of a surprise, but Sworn to Silence is still a good read.
I received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Once again, thanks LibraryThing!
In USA:
Published in hardcover-St. Martin’s Press-2009
Softcover edition-Macmillan-2009
