BOOK REVIEW

Title: Lost in the Forest

Author: Sue Miller

In ten words or less: A sudden death affects all members of a family.

Review: Eva is happily remarried, with two daughters by her ex-husband and a small son with her current spouse John. When John is killed in a car accident, the family is thrown into chaos. Eva draws closer to her ex-husband, little Theo doesn't believe his daddy is gone forever, and teenage Daisy is drawn into a sexually abusive relationship with the husband of her mom's best friend. There is graphic sexual description and not the happy ending expected, but characters come to terms with their losses.

Why bother? Fans of domestic fiction by authors like Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler will appreciate the emotion in this story of a family torn apart.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Bookmarked to Die

Author: Jo Dereske

In ten words or less: Humorous mystery featuring humorless librarian solving crimes at work.

Review: Helma Zukas is a 40-something librarian with a relationship with the Chief of Police Wayne Gallant and a suspicious stray cat she has never named. Her library director feels Helma isn't a team player, and orders her to attend a series of self-improvement workshops. And when she organizes a program on local authors, one of them is murdered afterwards. To top it off, her cat is kidnapped and Chief Gallant's ardor is cooling.
This is not the strongest entry in the Miss Zukas series but it's good to see her back.

Why bother? Mystery 'lite' features a likeable if prickly librarian who likes to keep her relationships on a professional level.

BOOK REVIEW

Author: Jane Heller

Title: Some Nerve

In ten words or less: Humorous romance between celebrity journalist and the actor she stalks.

Review: As a celebrity journalist at "Famous" magazine, Ann Roth is about to lose her job unless she can come up with the big interview with reclusive actor Malcolm Goddard. After a disastrous attempt to bribe her way into his favor, he agrees to an interview when she threatens to publishe a not-quite-truthful story about him. But her phobia of flying prevents her from showing up for the interview.
When Ann is fired for not obtaining the story, Ann heads home to small-town Missouri until she can find another job. But surprise! Who shows up but Goddard, checked into the local hospital under an assumed name. A little too much mean spirited deceitin this story to make it totally enjoyable, but a quick, glitzy read for those who enjoy "People" magazine.

Why bother? If you want a smar, celebrity-packed romance, this is it. Not one of Heller's best, but since Olivia Goldsmith's death, Heller leads the pack when it comes to witty romances with plenty of glam.

Jane Heller's website is at http://www.janeheller.com

MOVIE REVIEW

Title: Good luck

Review: Vincent D’Onofrio and Gregory Hines

Seattle Seahawks star receiver Anthony “Olee” Olezniak (D’Onofrio) receives a life-altering injuring during a game—he is blinded by a freak spinal cord injury. After almost a year, he hasn’t adjusted at all to his blindness, and when his ex-lover writes a tell-all book about him, he flies into a rage and throws his furniture out the window.
Geeky dental technician Bernard Lemley, who was paralyzed when a drunk driver ran into his car weeks before his graduation from dental school, was Olee’s biology tutor in college. He asks Olee to go on a whitewater rafting trip with him, to prove that gimps can do challenging outdoor activities. Olee feels he is being used because of his celebrity, but agrees only if Lem agrees to no publicity until after the trip.
Olee complains to Lem at the outset that he hasn’t been to a party, had an erection, or a decent bowel movement since his accident. There is crude toilet and sexual humor here, and a flash of tits at the beginning of the movie, but D’Onofrio and Hines have great chemistry and the buddy story clicks. One of my favorite actors from “Barney Miller,” Max Gail, appears as a marijuana farmer. I borrowed this film from the library, and enjoyed it enough to purchase the DVD.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"When women write about sex it's called erotica. When men write erotically it's called the sports page.
--Lisa Beth Kovetz, Publishers Weekly, September 9, 2006

MOVIE REVIEW

Title: A Prairie Home Companion

Folks who haven’t listened to “A Prairie Home Companion” won’t get the in-jokes, so I can’t speak for them. But I’m a big Lily Tomlin fan, and she and Meryl Streep were spot-on as the aging gospel singing sisters. I can’t say I’ve ever seen Woody Harrelson in anything other than a couple of episodes of “Cheers,” but I laughed so hard at his comedy routine with John C. Reilly, I had tears in my eyes. And the jokes were real groaners! But Harrelson’s expression is what did it for me. That sly grin and the look of innocence that precedes a joke that should have been left unspoken. And Keillor is Keillor—pretty much the same on screen as he is on radio.

Book review

Title: Kiss me like a stranger: my search for love and art (Audiobook)

Author: Gene Wilder

In ten words or less: Actor tells of his career and personal life.

Review: Wilder reads his own book, and it tells of his extraordinary life on stage and in film. He grew up in Milwaukee with a sick mother, a supportive family which included an older sister who was studying acting. Gene followed in her footsteps, to the University of Iowa, spent two years in the army as a medic at a psychiatric hospital at Valley Forge, and on to the stage in New York.
Wilder worked in serious stage drama, and then Mel Brooks offered him the role of Leo Bloom in “The Producers.” Other comedy roles followed, “Young Frankenstein,” “Blazing Saddles,” and films with Richard Pryor, such as “Silver Streak.” During this period Wilder has two failed marriages, and a rocky relationship with his step daughter, whom he adopted.
His marriage to Gilda Radner is described with humor, sensitivity, and love. Her battle with cancer and death was followed by Wilder’s own bout with cancer. Wilder’s book is funny, interesting, moving, but never maudlin.

Why bother? A good listen(or read) for fans of Wilder.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I need to use my most important investigative tool--my library card."
Det. Robert Goren, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"

Way to go Bobby!

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Don’t cry for me, hot pastrami: A Ruby, the Rabbi’s wife, mystery

Author: Sharon Kahn

In ten words or less: Ruby solves a mystery aboard a cruise ship.

Review: Third in the series. Ruby is tricked into sailing on a cruise with members of her temple. How bad can a cruise be? Ruby finds out when the lecturer hired for the group is killed as he is about to board the ship. When she is exploring on shore, Ruby is attacked, knocked unconscious, and her camera is vandalized. If that is not bad enough, the sleazy, toupee wearing captain has it in his head that Ruby is romantically interested in him. Ruby manages to solve the mystery, with the help of an attractive investigative reporter.

Why bother? A breezy, humorous mystery that will not tax the grey cells, and offers some laughs to boot.

SASQUATCH CHIPMUNK

The chipmunk that was living under the deck has apparently gown too large for his quarters. He was seen diving under the siding on the house, and is probably living in the cellar. I hate to think of how many chipmunks are down there. I do not begrudge them a place to live, but their favored place seems to be behind the central air conditioning and near the electrical service box. I know they will chew through anything. So far live traps have not worked. The fox urine scent has not worked. I can't seal the openings until I am sure all the munks are out. Today the munk spent 45 minutes sitting on my deck scolding me for not refilling the safflower seed birdfeeder. When hell freezes over!

MY FORTUNE COOKIE FROM YESTERDAY

"You are never bitter, deceptive or petty."

All my co-workers had a good laugh at that one.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Team of Rivals

Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin

In ten words or less: Biography of Lincoln and his rivals Seward, Chase, and Bates.

Review: Another Lincoln book? Over the past few years I have read Stephen B. Oates, “With Malice toward none,” other books on the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, and other figures of the era. So by the time I picked up the Goodwin book, I was hearing the same anecdotes for the third or fourth time. Goodwin is an eminently readable author (“No Ordinary Time, “Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream”) however, and she seems to have bounced back from the scandal of a few years ago. The focus of this volume is the political rivalry among William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates, who were also seeking the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. After losing to Lincoln, they all went on to serve in his cabinet.

Why bother? Exhaustive and well written biography of Lincoln’s life and his political rivals.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Author: Michael Schumacher

In ten words or less: Gripping tale of the legendary Lake Superior shipwreck.

Review: Twenty nine men died when the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Schumacher, who has written biographies of Allen Ginsberg, Eric Clapton, and Francis Ford Coppola, retells the story of the days leading up to the disappearance of the big ship. The official reports from the Coast Guard and other sources are at odds, and with no eyewitnesses to the sinking, the cause of the accident is still unknown. Gordon Lightfoot’s song kept the public interested in the Edmund Fitzgerald, and there were battles afterwards about recovering relics and taking photographs of the sunken wreck.

Why bother? Lots of local interest for readers in the Great Lakes area. Examines a mystery that has not been solved to this day. Young adults who don’t like fiction might be interested in this story.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: A Liberal in City Government: My Experiences as Mayor of Milwaukee

Author: Frank P. Zeidler

In ten words or less: Zeidler recalls his 12 years as Milwaukee's socialist mayor.

Review: Milwaukee has a long tradition of democratic socialism, and Frank P. Zeidler was elected mayor in 1948, as the socialists were on their last legs. He recounts the elections and the red baiting by opponents and the local media. Most of the book tells of the problems of the city versus the suburbs, during a time of economic growth. Suburbs fought annexation, though city services such as water and sewer were demanded.
Zeidler tells how the long hours and demands of the office took a toll on his health. He ran for president in 1976 on the Socialist Party USA ticket.

Why bother? Interesting to readers looking for an insider's view on Milwaukee politics and to those seeking a practical look at the effect a lone outsider can have in government.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: Kenny Salwey's Tales of a River Rat: Tales of Trapping and Living on the Upper Mississippi River

In ten words or less: Thoughtful stories of life near the Mississippi river.

Review: Kenny Salwey was born in Buffalo County, Wisconsin. The rural county abuts the Mississippi River, and is a maze of swamp, bluffs, and backwater sloughs. Salwey combines poetry with tales of hunting and trapping in the river wetlands. His childhood memories include trying to avoid school whenever possible and learning about skunk cabbage from his father. Trout fishing, canoe paddling, and morel mushroom picking are the subjects of some of Kenny's stories. His stories are thoughtful and well written, and respectful of nature.

Why bother? For readers who love stories of nature and wildlife.

FILM REVIEW

The Whole Wide World

"To make life worth living a man or a woman has to have a great love or a great cause...I have neither."--Robert E. Howard

A film festival favorite of 1996, "The Whole Wide World" is the story of Robert E. Howard, pulp fiction writer, and school teacher Novalyne Price. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) was the author of the Conan, Kull, and Red Sonja stories that ran in such magazines as "Weird Stories." As the film opens, he is living with his parents--his father is a physician and his mother is sickly, possibly from tuberculosis. Robert spends his time writing and attending to his mother's needs.
Novalyne (Renee Zellweger) is a feisty young teacher who dreams of becoming a writer. When she hears that a published writer, Robert Howard, lives in town, she phones him, but he doesn't return her calls. She gathers up the courage to call on him, and so begins a complicated relationship. Though only a couple of kisses are exchanged on screen, it is a relationship filled with passion, humor, pain, and regret. The dusty 1930s Texas landscape adds to the visual setting.
Zellweger and D'Onofrio are terriffic! This is a gem of a film.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: A Multitude of Mercies

Author: Fay Freimuth

In ten words or less: Portrait of how a schizophrenic woman's disease affects her family.

Review: Freimuth's novel is dedicated to her sister, who suffered from schizophrenia. It is the story, simply told, of two sisters--Nancy and Laura. Nancy is married, mother of two, and is expecting her third child. Laura, who has been hospitalized for schizophrenia, is struggling to support herself and get a college degree. Laura's illness affects her entire family--her parents, her grandmother--and leads her to get involved with a series of abusive men.
I don't know how much of this book is based on the author's real life experience, but it reads as if it was a journal kept to record all the painful moments of this part of her life.

Why bother? A worthwhile read--no gimmicks here--just pain, disappointment, and hope.

BOOK REVIEW

Title: A Venom Beneath the Skin: a Romilia Chacon Novel

Author: Marcos M. Villatoro

In ten words or less: FRI agent Romilia investigates the death of a fellow agent.

Review: FBI agent Chip Pierce is bludgeoned to death with his own prosthetic leg, only hours after fellow agent Romilia Chacon turns down his marriage proposal. The Los Angeles police and the FBI believe the killer is the elusive drug lord Tekun Uman. Only Romilia believes another is responsible, but the Bureau discounts her theory. The Feds accuse her of being personally involved with the Uman.

Several other books have featured female law enforcement officers, involved with criminals, including Elmore Leonard's "Out of Sight," and Thomas Harris' "Silence of the Lambs." Romilia's family life is what makes this book different; her mother Celia and Uncle Chepe came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic. Sergio, her son, read books and plays soccer.
Third in a series.
Why bother? A latina protagonist sets this mystery apart.

BIRDS IN THE YARD

This has been a wet, rainy weekend. For most of yesterday, a morning dove sat on my deck, no doubt eyeing my flower pots as a place to put a nest. This morning a pair of goldfinches were flying around the lilac bushes. I've got seven different lilacs in my relatively small yard, and I love this time of year.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read."--Abraham Lincoln