BOOK REVIEW

Finding freedom: the untold story of Joshua Glover, runaway slave by Ruby JacksonWest

In ten words or less: True story of a runaway slave who escaped to Wisconsin.

This is the story of Joshua Glover, runaway slave, who after his escape was living and working in Racine, WI. His fate as a free man was tenuous-- the state of Wisconsin was pitted against the Supreme Court, which supported the slave owners. Glover, who could not read or write, is remembered through documents, newspaper reports, and letters and accounts of others who knew him.

Why bother? Compelling story of an ordinary man, who only wanted to be free.

AMERICAN COZIES

Short takes on a few mysteries.

Death in the cards: a stain-busting mystery by Sharon Gwyn Short

Josie Toadfern, who runs a Laundromat in small town Paradise, Ohio, finds murder and mystery when a psychic fair comes to town. One of the psychics predicts danger, and when Josie stumbles over a body, conservative town residents confront the New Agers.

The gourdmother by Maggie Bruce

Lili Marino, a gourd artist from the big city, moves to upstate New York and gets involved in solving the murder of the high school football coach. Bigotry, football rivalries, and old feuds surface. The author slips in information about the history of gourd craft, and instructions on various techniques used to work the gourds.

Gunpowder green by Laura Childs

Theodosia Browning owns a tea shop, and gets involved in a murder investigation when a starting pistol explodes at a yacht race. Way too much information about tea for me, but otherwise a pleasant enough read.

Layered Nutty Fruit Bars

There was a big snowstorm here, so I spent the morning making these.

Servings: Makes 24 to 36
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs
1 (9-ounce) package NONE SUCH® Condensed Mincemeat, crumbled
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
3/4 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped hazelnuts or pecans

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a 13x9-inch baking pan, melt butter in oven. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Crumble NONE SUCH® evenly over crumbs. Pour EAGLE BRAND® evenly over NONE SUCH®. Top with chocolate pieces and nuts.
Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars.

November’s Books

"Saucer attack!" is a eye-opening and fun book. "Saucers came into the public psyche at a time of great tension and paranoia in America. People feared 'the Bomb' and communist infiltration."

The first "sighting" of a flying saucer occurred in June 1947, and by 1950 books were published and a film called "The flying saucer" had been released. George Adamski and Buck Nelson had gained notoriety for their stories of contacts with alien beings.

This book has fantastic color reproductions of some great UFO art. Covers from magazines, posters from such films as "Invasion of the saucer-men," "It conquered the world" and "The thing." Great fun!

Rome 1960 by David Maraniss
Put a lid on it by Donald Westlake
I am not a cop by Richard Belzer
When you are engulfed in flames by David Sedaris
Woman’s Day Christmas cookies, candies, and cakes
Taste of Home’s gifts from a jar
Rough weather by Robert B. Parker
Nim Chimpsky: the chimp who would be human by Elizabeth Hess
Death books a return by Marion Moore Hill
Alex and me: how a scientist and a parrot discovered a hidden world of animal intelligence and formed a deep bond in the process by Irene Pepperberg
The day I ate whatever I wanted by Elizabeth Berg
Saucer Attack! By Eric Nesheim
Hot by Julia Harper
Big book of the unexplained by Doug Moench
The private patient by P.D. James

BOOK REVIEW

Quaking by Kathryn Erskine

In ten words or less: Disaffected Goth teen Matilda placed with Quaker foster family.

Review: 14-year old Matilda has been bounced from relative to relative. She goes to live with distant cousins—Sam and Jessica Fox, Quakers. Matilda dresses in black and won’t talk to her classmates. She’s been told she’s dumb, but is put in Advanced Placement classes. Her nemesis is Mr. Morehead, a teacher who is pro-Iraq war and who sides with the school bully. When local churches and synagogues start being vandalized by the bully and his friends, Matilda comes to understand Quaker teachings.

Why bother? Erskine provides a realistic view of peace activities and nonviolent protest regarding the Iraq war.

What the postcard didn’t say by Shoshanna Shy

A book of mostly upbeat poetry by this Wisconsin author. I don't read much poetry, but I enjoyed Shy's collection. Many of the poems deal with exes, everyday life, though there is one that examines domestic violence from multiple viewpoints. Here’s the title poem.

What the postcard didn’t say #17

Tonight I sleep
On this cabin floor
Tomorrow bleach my hair
Change my name
From now on your dad
Gets to deal with you
I’ll look you up
When you hit 18

BOOK REVIEW


Running wrecked by Mark Combes

In ten words or less: Scuba shop owner find abandoned sailboat adrift—suspects foul play.

Phil Riley escapes from his life on the mainland and buys a dive shop on Isla Tortuga in the Caribbean. He finds a luxury sailboat adrift; no one is on board but he finds an infant’s pacifier. Is there a missing family? When he tows the boat back, Chief of Police Bourgois seems unconcerned. And the Chief seems very chummy with a newcomer to the island—Donald Bennett.
When Riley starts investigating, he is warned to stay out of it. But when his teenage helper Chubby goes missing, and then Riley gets a beatdown, he is determined to find out what Bourgois is hiding.

Why bother? Readers of Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford series will find a good read here.

BOOK REVIEW

Tuna: a love story by Richard Ellis

In ten words or less: Everything you always wanted to know about tuna.
Because of the popularity of tuna as a food fish, especially in Japan where it is prized as sushi, it is now on the brink of extinction. The seas have been over-

Fished, and now “tuna ranches”—similar to cattle feed lots—have become Multi-million dollar businesses.
Ellis addresses the importance of tuna to the global economy, the ocean ecosystems, and as a food and sport fish. No longer will you take the ubiquitous can of tuna for granted.

Why bother? Great insight into how humans are driving fish and the fishing industry into extinction.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Librarians are my sex symbols. Growing up, other kids had Charlie's Angels. I had my librarian." --Author Sherman Alexie, quoted in Library Journal, November 15, 2008

THIS WEEK: NONFICTION

Worst hard time: the untold stories of those who survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
One of the worst man made disasters in recent history, the “black blizzards” of the dust bowl were caused in part by unscrupulous land speculators who enticed immigrants and farmers to the great plains. The land there was unsuitable for farming, and coupled with eight years of drought, caused untold misery. Egan interviews survivors of those hard times.

If you enjoyed this book, here are some others that you may like.

Hard Times: an oral history of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel
Terkel interviewed men and women who lived through the Depression of the 1930s. Included were the rural poor, sharecroppers, gangsters, immigrants, and politicians. Pulitzer Prize winner. More stories of personal lives affected by the Depression, in their own words—and not all were stories of hardship. Terkel was a master interviewer.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Pulitzer Prize winning epic tale of the Joads and their journey from Oklahoma to California. One of the jewels of American literature—it will fill the reader with many emotions, and paints a vivid picture of the times.

Following the harvest: a novel by Fred Harris
Harris, a former Senator from Oklahoma and author of two previous novels, writes a coming of age story. Sixteen year old Will joins a wheat-harvesting crew with his father, and travels to North Dakota. Lots of period detail. Harris’s style is plain-spoken and forthright; a comfortable read.

Dust bowl descent by Bill Ganzel
Photographer Ganzel revisits the subjects of the famous photos of the Farm Security Administration for an update on the faces of the Dust Bowl. Putting faces to the stories of the Dust bowl, this book includes some of the images that immediately come to mind when the Dust bowl is mentioned.

THIS WEEK: CHRISTIAN READING

In Booklist (9/15/2008) an article by John Charles and Shelley Mosley stated, “At their worst, faith-based romances can be staid and dogmatic.”

A Measure of Grace by Al Lacy
Knight Coburn’s father died in a cattle stampede. Knight and his mother are born-again Christians, but Knight wishes his best friend, Jordan Shaw, would become born-again. When Jordan’s parents pressure him to marry neighbor Belinda Ashworth, he decides to advertise for a mail order bride.
Diana Morrow answers the ad. Her father is in jail for beating up a young man who asked to date her, her mother, and he has threatened to beat her when he is released from jail. Diana’s mother is Saved while in the hospital, Diana is Saved while on the train traveling to Idaho, and her father is Saved somewhere along the way. Everyone lives happily ever after—except Jordan, who is eaten by a bear, mostly likely because he was not Saved.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
In a retelling of the biblical tale of Hosea, this is the story of
a prostitute and the upright farmer who marries her. It’s set in the 1850s gold rush era.

Promise me the dawn by Amanda MacLean
In this book set in early 20th century San Francisco, the heroine leaves England to seek her fortune in America. The 1906 earthquake plays a pivotal part in this Christian romance.

Don’t throw away tomorrow: living God’s dream for your life by Robert Schuller
The “Hour of Power” preacher delivers advice and reflections, teaching values and principles with personal stories.

Mosaic: pieces of my life so far by Amy Grant
Christian singer and songwriter Grant offers glimpses into her life as a celebrity and as a wife, mother, and friend.

BOOK REVIEW


Fenzig’s fortune by Jean Rabe

In ten words or less: Gnome gets caught stealing treasure; is sent on dangerous mission.

Fenzig is a gnome who decides to help himself to some of King Erlgrane’s treasure. When caught, the King sends Fenzig on a mission to steal a neighboring Duke’s emeralds. There is a magic sword, a homing spell, dangerous villains, a gypsy peddler of potions, and wizards. The author has written twenty fantasy novels.

Why bother? Humorous—and short—fantasy tale for readers looking for something less than an 800 page tome. Tolkien lite.

October’s Books

Monsters by Roy Milano features wonderful black and white photos from the classic monster films, with essays by descendants of the famous actors, such as Ron Chaney, Bela G. Lugosi, and Sara Karloff. There are additonal essays by actor Jennifer Beals, director John Landis, and makeup artist Rick Baker. But the full page, stunning photos are the highlight of the book. A movie fan must!

Cell by Stephen King
A measure of grace by Al Lacy
Dying in the gutters: CSI by Steven Grant
Soul music by Terry Pratchett
Just a taste by Dierdre Martin
Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Beyond oatmeal by Carlene Duda
Bloody murder: CSI NY by Max Collins
Dead hot shot by Victoria Houston
Quaker book of wisdom by Robert Smith
Worst hard time by Timothy Egan
Monsters: a celebration of the classics from Universal Studios by Roy Milano
Dolly departed by Deb Baker
Cicada summer by Dallas Releford

HORROR FOR HALLOWEEN

Cell by Stephen King
Are cell phones responsible for creating a race of flesh-eating zombies—former regular folks who are now rampaging across New England? Those spared, mostly small children, the elderly, and middle-aged Luddites who eschewed cell phones, take up arms and attempt to defend themselves against the senseless destruction.
Graphic artist Clay Riddell is in Boston when the madness begins. On his way back to Maine to check on the safety of his son, he joins forces with other refugees along the way. King demonstrates how an everyday object—the cell phone—can turn us all into zombies.

World War Z by Max Brooks
In first person accounts, various folks tell of their survival of the Zombie War, which pitted humans against a 200 million strong army of zombies. A send-up of political and military policies, which asks “How can you kill the undead?”

Dead lines by Greg Bear
Failed screenwriter picks up a shoot promoting the “Trans”—a new super cell phone, which can also communicate with the dead. Even the dead can hear him now, and they are really annoyed.

Shark trouble by Peter Benchley
“Jaws” author Benchley debunks many myths about sharks, but includes enough hair raising encounters with various marine animals to make it scary enough.

Alive! By Piers Paul Read
A plane carrying a rugby team crashed in the Andes; it was ten weeks before the men were rescued. With little food aboard, they turned to cannibalism.

Laughing corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake is asked to raise a 300 year old zombie. Because it would require a human sacrifice, she refuses, but when bodies keep turning up, she realizes that someone else took the job.

Monster island : a zombie novel by David Wellington
When a plague hits Manhattan, its citizens are turned into rotting, walking corpses. The fate of the city depends on an army of teenage girls and a former U.N. weapons inspector.

Hot zone: a terrifying true story by Richard Preston
It reads like a bioterrorist thriller, but this is a true story of how a strain of a deadly ebola virus came to the U.S. We are only an airplane ride away from a pandemic.

Serpent and the rainbow: a Harvard scientist’s astonishing journey into the secret societies of Haitian voodoo, zombies, and magic by Wade Davis
An ethnobotanist arrives in Haiti to research two documented cases of zombies and is drawn into the vodoun culture.

RUBY SAYS "HAPPY HALLOWEEN"

BIRD OF THE DAY

On the way to the grocery store Sunday, we spied two adult bald eagles, flying rather low over the road. It was pretty windy, but I assume they were making their way over to the lake about 1/4 mile away.

BIRD OF THE DAY

A flock of cedar waxwings was in the crabapple tree Saturday. When tired of the crabapples, they would swarm to the wild grapes that are growing over the lilac shrub.

THE BIRTH OF ROCK N ROLL: DISCWORLD STYLE

Soul Music by Terry Pratchett
This is a part of the Discworld series. Discworld is a flat, circular planet that rests on the back of four elephants, which are standing on the back of a giant turtle. Author Pratchett takes a not-so-subtle look at the birth of rock ‘n roll, or as it is called here—the Music with Rocks In. A character loosely based on Buddy Holly, destined to die young. Woven in the story are song titles, lyrics, and even a scene from the “Blues Brothers” movie.
How can you not like a series that features a librarian that is a 300 pound orangutan? Its his primary function to keep people from using the books, lest they wear out from all that reading. Some of the songs attempted by the band are “Cavern deep, mountain high,” “There’s a great deal of shaking happening,” “Give me that music with rocks in,” and “Pathway to paradise.”

Some other books to check out:

Last chance to see by Douglas Adams (nonfiction)
Sci fi author tracks down some of the world’s vanishing species—the komodo dragon, baiji dolphin, northern white rhinoceros. The height of irony is when Adams sits down at a banquet at a conference called to save the Chinese river dolphin, while the main course is, you guessed it, one of the endangered dolphins.

Callahan’s key by Spider Robinson
Jake Stonebender moves his family and closest friends in search of a new bar, and on the way accepts an assignment from Nikola Tesla to save the universe. The puns fly fast and furious, and the cast of characters include Jake’s teleporting infant daughter, a talking German Shepherd and Robert Heinlein’s cat, Pixel. A good time is had by all.

A farce to be reckoned with by Roger Zelazny
Azzie Elbub is a bored demon who decides to stage a play, with Renaissance Europe as the backdrop. But Azzie’s nemesis, the Archangel Michael, steps in to prevent a Mongol horde from overrunning Venice. Silly, but lots of fun.

A man without a country by Kurt Vonnegut
Author Vonnegut takes on society in this collection of essays; one reviewer called him “Garrison Keillor with a savage undercurrent.” The humor is exceedingly dark, and the wit sharp.

APPLE TIME

It's time to visit the apple orchard--and make a pie. This recipe is a large pie baked on a jelly roll pan; great if you don't want to bother with crusts for two pies.

Apple Slab Pie
15 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg yolks, beaten
4 tablespoons water
8 apples - peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix egg yolk and water together and mix into flour until it forms a ball. Roll out to fit the bottom of a 10x15 inch pan.
In a large bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons flour, sugar and cinnamon. Pour filling into pie crust and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2/3 cup brown sugar and 2/3 cup butter. Cut in the butter until crumbly, then sprinkle over apples.
Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

THIS WEEK: LITERARY FICTION


Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Oscar is a gentle, somewhat naïve young man, who loves the ladies—the problem is, they do not love him. Dominican men are good dancers, sharp dressers, and outrageous womanizers. But Oscar is an overweight nerd, who reads science fiction and designs computer games.
Oscar’s story is told by his sister Lola, and her sometimes boyfriend Yunior. It is also intertwined with the story of Oscar and Lola’s mother, and her parents, back in the Dominican Republic during the murderous Trujillo regime. The story is at times funny, heartbreaking, horrifying, and eye-opening. This book won a Pulitzer Prize.
If you enjoyed this book, here are some other titles you may want to read.

Known world by Edward P. Jones
Set in Virginia 20 years before the Civil War, this is the story of black slaveowners. Henry was the son of slaves who had bought their freedom, but as soon as he had saved enough money, he bought a slave. When he died, would his wife free the slaves? A troubling look at the cruelty of slavery.

Mambo kings play songs of love by Oscar Hijuelos
The mambo Kings are two Cuban brothers who come to American in 1949, and dream of becoming stars. They eventually appear on “I love Lucy” and tour in their pink bus. Pulitzer Prize winner.

Loving Pedro Infante by Denise Chavez
Tere Avila is in love with Mexican movie star Pedro Infante, who is Elvis and Cary Grant all rolled into one. The author explores feminity and cultural identity, and there are many references to Chicano culture and language.

Nonfiction: Brother, I’m dying by Edwidge Danticat
Haitian-American Danticat learned in the same day that she was pregnant and that her father was dying. A poignant memoir of a family separated and changed.

Angela’s ashes: a memoir by Frank McCourt
A Pulitzer Prize winning book which tells of the brutal childhood of McCourt, whose father regularly drank up the family income. Franks and his siblings went cold, hungry, and some died. His mother was reduced to begging. Yet there is humor midst the poverty, and hope for Frank.

Nonfiction: China men by Maxine Hong Kingston
The story of three generations of men who immigrated to America—their struggles, triumphs, and failures. Kingston weaves fables, ghost stories, legends and memoirs into her tale.

Trujillo: the death of the goat by Bernard Diederich
After reading Junot Diaz’s book, the reader may want to know more about Trujillo and his rule in Santo Domingo. This is the story about his assassination and the reign of terror by his relatives. The era did not end until his sons executed the last of their captives and fled the country with their father’s body and a good portion of the country’s wealth. Not for the squeamish.