It’s getting to be That Time of Year, dear readers…the holidays are a difficult time for a lot of people, and the stress of shopping and traffic and the endless loop of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree everywhere you go….

So I think it’s time we dip into our files of “things to make you smile”, and see if we can’t do something to make this frigid day a little better:

1. This plushie grilled cheese sandwich:

2) Corny Dewey Decimal System jokes:

3). This Guide from The Toast: “How to Tell If You Are In A Stephen King Novel”

My favorite line: Abandoned building issues aside, you’ve learned by now to trust any wizened old man who speaks slowly and issues warnings to passerby, especially if they’re wearing overalls.

4) This new version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” that emphasizes consent, hooray!

5) New books!  Let’s meet some of them now!

The Way of the Writer:  Charles Johnson, a National Book Award winner, Professor Emeritus at University of Washington, has made the art of storytelling into his life’s pursuit.  In this fascinating, and surprisingly useful book, he offers tips and advice developed from thirty years of mentoring students, and a lifetime of academic and literary pursuits.  Organized into six easy-to-digest sections, he runs through sentence structure and word choice before moving on to dialogue, plot and storytelling , as well as the very nature of human creativity, creating a work that is invaluable for aspiring writers and devoted readers alike.  Library Journal gave this book a starred review, saying ““All writers will welcome the useful tips and exercises, but the book will also appeal to readers interested in literature and the creative process. Johnson’s wonderful prose will engage readers to think more deeply about how to tell a story and consider the truth-telling power of the arts.”

The Secret History of Twin Peaks: This book has been making a whole lot of headlines recently, not only because of the planned reboot of this series, but because it’s one of those awesome fiction-masquerading-as-reality books, with articles and pictures and illustrations that enlarge the world of the original series, placing the unexplained phenomena that unfolded there into a vastly layered, wide-ranging history, beginning with the journals of Lewis and Clark and ending with the shocking events that closed the finale of the original show.  I was always made to go to bed before the original show aired, but this seems like the perfect primer to get ready for the return.  Entertainment Weekly was delighted with this book, calling it “A treasure trove of town secrets…Plus, Frost (finally!) tackles unanswered questions from the show’s finale.”

The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell:  In December of 2000, FBI Special Agent Steven Carr of the bureau’s Washington, D.C., office received a package from FBI New York: a series of coded letters from an anonymous sender to the Libyan consulate, offering to sell classified United States intelligence. The offer, and the threat, were all too real. A self-proclaimed CIA analyst with top secret clearance had information about U.S. reconnaissance satellites, air defense systems, weapons depots, munitions factories, and underground bunkers throughout the Middle East. Rooting out the traitor would not be easy, but certain clues suggested a government agent with a military background, a family, a dire need for money, and dyslexia. Leading a diligent team of investigators and code breakers, Carr spent years hunting down a dangerous spy and his cache of stolen secrets. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee has brought this fascinating story to life with impressive details and a knack for narrative that Kirkus called “A well-written…tale of thwarted amateur treason underscoring the disturbing vulnerability of today’s intelligence systems.”

The Blood Mirror: It’s getting very close to blanket fort time, dear readers, our favorite time to indulge in dense series and longer books that we might not otherwise find time to enjoy.  And with this almost-conclusion of Brent Weeks’ Lightbringer Chronicles, it’s safe to say that this series is an ideal candidate for your blanket fort reading.    At the opening of this book, the fourth in this epic fantasy series, the Seven Satrapies have collapsed into four-and those are falling before the White King’s armies, leading to some intense battle scenes and pitched political intrigue.  For those who have come to love these characters, there are also growing relationships and character development that will keep fans turning the pages for more….and that’s all I can say for fear of spoilers.  Publisher’s Weekly loved all the layers and twists in this hefty installment, saying “Bestseller Weeks keeps the pot simmering with many secrets revealed and much verbal sparring in this fourth volume…[he] deftly moves the pieces around his chessboard, snapping them with assured feeling onto their new squares in preparation for a climactic confrontation. Readers will need to pay careful attention to catch all the political and social machinations.”

Out of Bounds: World-class crime novelist Val McDermid is back in this taut tale featuring a twenty-year-old cold case that comes to light when a teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, and a routine DNA test reveals a startling revelation.  Assigned to take up the case, Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie finds herself drawn out of the grief of a recent tragedy by the mystery…and a supposedly closed terrorist case in which she has no business investigating…but Pirie is not one to believe in coincidences, and this one is far too big to ignore.  McDermid is always gives readers what they are looking for in terms of complex characters and twisty, emotionally-fraught mysteries, and this 29th novel is no exception.  Booklist gave it a starred review, saying “Readers will easily connect with Karen, whose unwavering confidence is tempered by a strong dose of kindness and sense of justice . . . Satisfying investigative detail, swift pacing, and realistic mysteries steeped in the intricacies of Scottish law; a sure fit for fans of Tana French and of Denise Mina’s Alex Morrow series.”

Until next week, dear readers, keep smiling, and happy reading!

Whether we agree with it or not, beloved patrons, time marches on, and we come again to the close of another week, and the arrival of a new Five Book Friday.

One week ago, Buzzfeed published a list of “32 Beautiful Book Quotes To Read When You’re Feeling Lost“–a feeling, I think, to which many of us could relate.  I clicked on the link, more out of a desire to stay lost than to confront reality.  But the more I read of these quotes, many of them from 18th- and 19th- century authors, I realized that I was feeling just a little bit better.    Not necessarily because of what the quotes said, although some of them were truly touching; instead I found myself taking enormous comfort from the longevity of literature…from the power of language to endure, to hold a charge for generations so that readers centuries away can still feel its power.  And so I thought, by way of introduction today, I’d share a few of those quotes with you:

1. “Oh God, the terrible tyranny of the majority. We all have our harps to play. And it’s up to you to know with which ear you’ll listen.” —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
   
2. “Be good, be young, be true! Evil is nothing but vanity, let us have the pride of good, and above all let us never despair.” —Alexandre Dumas, The Lady of the Camellias 
3. “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before – more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” —Charles Dickens, Great Expectations 
4. “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” —Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan 
5. . “All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, a light from the shadows shall spring; renewed shall be blade that was broken, the crownless again shall be king.” —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

And now, on to the books….

The Fall of the House of Cabal: It’s finally here!  As you all know, I–and a fair number of other Library Staff members–are big fans of Herr Cabal, and, while new comers will find plenty to enjoy here, this book is a perfect reward for those who have walked each step beside the great necromancer.  Johannes Cabal has, at long last, discovered a vital clue to help him his pursuit for a cure for death.  However, in order to follow where that clue leads, Cabal will have to take a winding and laborious path, peopled with any number of beings from his colorful past, and any number of horrors awaiting him.  While this book is full of Jonathan L. Howard’s deliciously unique humor, plenty of returning characters and surprise cameos, and the return of a number of plot lines from past adventures, I have to admit to you that this book nearly did me in.  I may have cried.  I may have tried to bite someone who tried to take the book away from me.  But in the end, what I realized was that Howard is a better author, and Cabal himself a far more nuanced character than I had given either credit for.  And while I shall continue to fervently hope and pray that we see more of Cabal at some point in the future, I can honestly say that this book is one of the most rich, fun, and thoughtful (temporary) series finales I have read in some time.  The San Diego Union-Tribune agrees, saying, in their review, “Howard makes it look easy to paint a soul-stealing, murdering necromancer as a sympathetic character; that, folks, is worth the price of admission.”

Writing to Save a Life: In 1955, a young Black man named Emmett Till was tortured and killed while visiting family in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman.  His case, and his mother’s insistence on having an open-casket funeral so that all could see what had happened to her fourteen-year-old son, became national news, and is a particularly momentous example of race relations in the United States.  What many overlook is the fact that Emmett’s father, Louis, was executed by the Army for rape and murder a decade earlier, in 1945–one of some 83 Black soldiers who were executed during the Second World War.  Drawn to this joint tragedy, award-winning writer John Edgar Wideman’s book is part history, part personal journey, and part consideration of the legacy of one family and their role in a uniquely American story, culminating in a work that is powerful and somewhat genre-defying in its presentation. Kirkus notes “There are many layers of meaning in this book, especially regarding the identification of Wideman with Emmitt, both of them 14 when the author saw a photo of the dead boy’s battered face, and the narrative expands into a meditation on black fathers and sons, the divide and the bonds, the genetic inheritance within a racist society.”

Valiant Gentlemen: Roger Casement was born in 1864 in Ireland, and was baptized into both the Protestant and Catholic faith.  He worked as a civil servant for the British government, and became what we now recognize as one of the first human rights advocates of the twentieth century, bringing to light the enormous human rights violations taking place in the Belgian Congo and in the Amazon rainforest’s rubber plantations.  He was knighted for his work–and was executed about a decade later for conspiring with Germany to liberate Ireland from the British Empire.  In this new novel, Sabina Murray reimagines Casement’s life, and, specifically, his relationship with his once-best friend Herbert Ward and Ward’s extraordinary wife, the Argentinian-American heiress Sarita Sanford.  While tracing the incredible details of Casement’s life, Murray’s book is also a fascinating study of love and betrayal on both a personal and a national scale.  This novel is garnering acclaim from reviewers and readers alike, with Publisher’s Weekly noting that it is “Brimming with exquisite detail and clever humor . . . [Murray] maintains an impressive balance of historical accuracy and dramatic momentum, crafting a stellar fiction that shows how the grand course of history can be shaped by the smallest disagreements between friends.”

Thus Bad Begins: Spanish writer Javier Marías has been compared to literary greats like Umberto Eco and Elena Ferrante, and this new novel showcases all the elements of his writing that have won him awards and acclaim across Europe.  Set in Madrid in the 1980’s, the book follows Juan de Vere, a university student who takes a job as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, an eccentric, once-successful film director.  But he soon learns that his idol, Muriel, has odd ideas about Juan’s real job description–he assigns Juan to investigate a family friend, Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, and his relationships with Muriel’s enigmatic wife.  As he digs into the family’s background, and the deep, complex ties that bind all three people together, Juan finds himself lost in a web of deceit, loyalty, and deception from which even he might not emerge unscathed.  Booklist gave this novel a starred review, saying “In highly respected Spanish novelist Marías’s new work, we quickly see that political tensions have continued to reverberate [from the Spanish Civil War] . . . Marías reveals how insidiously oppression skews personal lives and relationships year after year.”

Angelic Music: The Story of Ben Franklin’s Glass Armonica: Amongst the myriad inventions for which he is known today (including the bifocals and the ever-famous lightning rod, Ben Franklin’s enduring favorite was the ‘glass armonica’, which is, apparently, the first musical instrument invented by an American,  constructed of stacked glass bowls and played by rubbing one’s fingers on the rims (kind of like you play the glasses at a fancy dinner party).  There were rumors, at the time of its invention that the instrument was haunted–people were known to fall ill while playing, and it was said that ghosts could be summoned through its strange music, causing it to eventually fall out of common usage.  But now that we can produce glass without the use of lead, the glass armonica has seen something of a return to favor, with new compositions being created in any number of musical genres.  Corey Mead takes readers through the history of the armonica, its invention, the remarkable people who played it, and the many who heard it, making for a fascinating musical exploration, as well as an intriguing historical tale.  Publisher’s Weekly called this book “Charming and fascinating . . . part musicology and part cultural history . . . Mead’s lively storytelling opens a window into a (as it were) mesmerizing chapter of music history.”

Until next week, beloved patrons–happy reading!

Things are tough out there, beloved patrons–tensions are high, emotions are volatile, and those of us with autumnal allergies are sniffly and miserable.  So, with that in mind, please enjoy these five things to make you smile before we get to the books:

1. This plush orange, who seems very content with life:

   

   2. The Giant Pumpkin from this year’s Topsfield Fair, which weighed in at  2,075.5 pounds, making it not only the largest pumpkin in Topsfield Fair History, but the largest pumpkin in North America!

3. A hedgehog dressed as Dracula (seemed timely, right?)

4. Apple Cider Donuts from Idylwile Farms in Acton:

5. And, of course….new books.  New books can make any day just a little bit better….let’s see what we’ve got for this week:

Hag-Seed: Though many know her because of her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood has written over forty works of fiction, poetry, and essays, and this newest of her novels is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year.  A retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, that also includes a staging of The Tempest, Atwood’s book focuses on Felix, the Artistic Director of the Makeshiweg Theatre Festival–a man at the top of his game, and a man deeply troubled by memories and old grudges.  He finally gets a chance to right his wrongs, to have his revenge, during a staging of The Tempest in a prison theater program…but he never counted on the effect the work, and his own work, might have on him in return.  Even those familiar with Shakespeare’s work will find this new novel fresh, inventive, and wonderfully surprising, because Atwood so deftly weaves her own insight and characterization into a plot that never feels borrowed.  The Boston Globe agrees, writing that “What makes the book thrilling, and hugely pleasurable, is how closely Atwood hews to Shakespeare even as she casts her own potent charms, rap-composition included… Part Shakespeare, part Atwood, “Hag-Seed” is a most delicate monster — and that’s “delicate” in the 17th-century sense. It’s delightful.”

Eternal Frankenstein: Mary Shelley invented the modern horror novel with her 1818 Frankenstein.  It has never been out of print in its nearly-200-year existence.  It has inspired legions of authors, filmmakers, artists, and readers across years, countries, and generations.  And this volume, edited by Ross E. Lockhart, pays tribute to the greatness of Shelley’s creation, as well as to Shelley herself, in a new collection of sixteen short stories.  These are the perfect appetizer-length stories to get your All Hallows Read started right, and an impressive contribution to the Frankenstein cannon.  It’s also enormously gratifying to see Mary herself appear in these stories, and to have such a presence in this book, reminding us of the debt that we horror fans owe–for new comers, there are also appearances by Tesla and Stalin, among many other historic characters, and a wide array of time periods and narrators, as well.  Publisher’s Weekly was impressed enough to give this collection a starred review, hailing “This impressive compendium contains a rich array of short stories…All of the writing is high quality, all the stories are suspenseful, and would make an excellent college classroom companion to Frankenstein because of its relatable narratives interwoven with history and biography, as well as some vivid present-day tale…that address bullying, loneliness, and body image.”

A Gambler’s Anatomy: Jonathan Letham made his name by breaking all the rules of genre with ease and impressive skill, and its has ensured that this new release is also one of the most hotly anticipated books of the year.  The hero of Letham’s tale is Bruno Alexander, a stylish professional gambler who lives to squeeze enormous sums from hapless amateurs.  But when his luck runs out, and his health begins to fail, Bruno finds himself begin flown to California for an experimental surgery–and revisiting the course of the strange, fantastical life that has brought him to this point.  Facing an unsure fate, and grappling with powers he doesn’t quite understand, Bruno begins to wonder whether he has really been calling the shots in his life, or whether he is merely a pawn, at the whim of fate.  The result is a story that Lithub describes as “a spy story wrapped up in a farce wrapped up in a social justice quest narrative, with a dash of horror and the paranormal thrown in for good measure. A tragicomic gem.”

The Risen: Drenched in atmosphere and full of fully-realized characters, Ron Rash’s new book is a perfect piece of escapism for those looking for a new, suspenseful, and captivating thriller.  It all begins in the summer of 1969, when sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, are swimming in a secluded creek in their remote Appalachian hometown.  There they met a stunning stranger named Ligeia, originally from Daytona Beach, who entrances them both–and also drives them irrevocably apart.   Decades later, Bill has become a respected surgeon, while Eugene has become the town’s resident failure.  But when their shared past returns to haunt them, Eugene is forced to delve into his memories and try desperately to recall which of them is true, before the past destroys any hope of Eugene’s or Bill’s future.  The Washington Post gave Rash’s novel rave reviews, calling it “Compelling… Rash, as always, has an absolutely sure sense of place… He is a riveting storyteller, ably heightening the tension between the story’s past and present… A story about control, evil and the nature of power — both to save and to kill.”

Homeward Bound: While there were a fair number of raised eyebrows and discussion over Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize last week, which is really exciting, because it means people are thinking about these things.  It also resulted in a lot of discussion about the power of song, and song lyrics, to shape people, affect their thinking, and provide a soundtrack to their lives.  And few people embody that power more than Paul Simon.  Simon has sold over 100 million records, won 15 Grammys, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame–twice.  And he has done it by constantly evolving, trying new forms of expression, and embracing all the wonderful foibles and details that make humans so nifty.  In this first major biography of the seventy-five-year old Simon, Peter Ames Carlin looks not only as his life and art, but at the people whose lives he has touched, from Carrie Fisher to Leonard Bernstein, from Nelson Mandela to the thousands of people who came to Central Park to see him reunite with Art Garfunkel.  The result is a powerful and fascinating work that Kirkus Reviews cheers as a “nuanced, fascinating portrait…Simon’s music career defies easy categorization―much as his relationship with Garfunkel does―but in Carlin’s portrayal, his legacy as an innovative songwriter and musician is undeniable. An absorbing and layered study of ‘one of the most influential voices in Western popular culture.’”

Until next week, beloved patrons–happy reading!