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February 2010 Archives
Editor's Note: Hey, Indigoers! Installment number two has arrived, as promised. Look for more Aja goodness next week - and check out Part the First if you missed it - Kirsten
16. Hanging on to Max, by Margaret Bechard. (Young adult) (C) All I can say about this is that I should have read the ending before I A. bought it and B. read it. (Hint, the title is misleading.)
 17. Gossamer, by Lois Lowry. (Kids) (B+) The young boy already being so messed up at so young an age, the mother being hopeful that she could get her life back on track, and the dreams of what was, what might be, what could be...It was beautiful and haunting.
18. The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (Volume 1), by Robert Kirkman. (Graphic novel and science fiction) (A-) Its got some stellar art, a very far-fetched plotline (lone guy in a hospital filled with zombies who survives and finds a trapped, live horse to ride), and the encampment's portrayal? Spot on.
19. Emma, by Jane Austen. (Classics) (B) About 1/3 through I had to call my friend and confirm each of Austen's characters to their Clueless counterparts.
20. U.S. of Eh, by can't remember. (Humor) (D) NOT AS FUNNY AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN. All about Canada's secret control of the U.S. It should have either been actually funny or walked a completely straight line about Canada secretly
controlling the U.S. It waffled too much and I found myself easily setting it down.
 21. Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin. (Young adult) (A) A 15 year old girl dies, ends up in Elsewhere to live her life over...in reverse, and must still learn all those important, hard lessons.
22. Shakespeare's Secret, by Elise Broagh. (Kids) (C) I, uh, had some problems. I'm willing to disbelieve up to a certain point. This just kept throwing fantastical coincidences one after another. So, I kind of stopped caring because it was pretty obvious these weren't real people in the slightest. I'll give it props for thinking creatively about "the real Shakespeare" and Anne Boleyn. It was cute and it was obvious why 8-12 liked it. It's just a shade too under YA for me to handle.
23. Rules of the Road, by Joan Bauer. (Young adult) (B) What was truly interesting was that this story, ostensibly about the travels Jenna takes with her boss on a six week store tour ,is actually about being a shoe salesperson.
24. Chesapeake Blue, by Nora Roberts. (Romance) (B+) This is the fourth book tacked on to what was originally a trilogy but manages to stand on its own as a good, solid read.
Note: I love Nora Roberts. To the point that I've been watching some seriously bad Lifetime channel movies based off of her books. I read her stuff a lot.
25. A Summer of Kings, by Han Nolan. (Young adult) (C) I have big issues with books that cross the line from a white person trying to find his/her path during the
 Civil Rights movment and that same person being the one to show everyone what that path should be.
Note: This was a Golden Sower nominee.
26. Tokyo Fiancee, by Amelie Nothomb. (Foreign fiction) (B-) The only issue I took with this book was A: it started throwing out Japanese things like a touchstone (Hey, I too know what okonomiyaki is and how to spell it!) and B: the female protagonist is kind of self absorbed.
27. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. (Fantasy) (C+) Coming from a blended family, I liked the thought of a family together by choice and love.
28. New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer. (Fantasy) (B-) Meyer has a surprisingly sensitive and effective treatment of mental health issues but still sets a horrible example for how a young woman should interact with someone they love. (Co-dependancy issues.)
29. Eclipse, by Stephanie Meyer. (Fantasy) (B-) Turns out Jasper is a functioning member of the family - who knew?
30. Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer. (Fantasy) (C-) GROSS. Seriously. Like 90% of this book grossed me out. And I'm not even talking about blood and guts and stuff.
I hate moving. You set aside the things that you know you're going to want as soon as you get settled in, then you pack them all together in a nice little box that you proceed to totally misplace amongst the conglomeration of other, equally nice, little boxes. And you end up thinking to yourself, "Okay...I took all of the stuff from the bathroom cabinet and packed it together so that I would know where it was...now why don't I know where it is?"
My point? I put all of my cords & card readers & drives & such into a nice little box last December, and I found that box last night. ROCK! Finally, I can synch my calendars & contacts, put some new music on my not-an-iPod, and basically function like the technologically advanced human being I know myself to be. Also: so many pictures to upload! Funny how sorting through the digital record of my life calls to mind so many things that might otherwise go forgotten....
Indigo pictures are a hoot to look through. I love to document the things that you see at an independent bookstore that you just don't find at Barnes & Noble or Borders. Every day, I watch scores of folks who are otherwise strangers sit down to a meal together at The Table. Our youngest customers come swooping in each Saturday morning with new stories to tell us from the past week at school. Booksellers greet visitors by name as they stroll through the door. Now seriously: does your chain bookstore know your name? I think not.
 Even more seriously: would your chain bookstore jump-start your car? Totally not. This was my very favorite found photo from the last few months. Look how pleased we all are! I'm thrilled to have exhibited a useful skill, Kate's thrilled she didn't have to touch any engines, Car Guy is thrilled to have his engine running again...Car Guy, I failed to get your name during our afternoon together, but here's a shout-out all the same. 'Sup?! Thanks for asking for help. I'm seriously flattered to know that our Indigo crew is approachable on a human level, and refreshed to be able to contribute something outside the realm of my professional expertise.
So, from your independent bookseller to you - remember: just to be safe, leave the newly-started car running for at least 10 minutes to allow the battery to recharge...
Yet another one of the personalized services we're happy to provide. ;)
 If you let it, Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution will challenge much of your daily routine and how you interact with our world. Because of this, it is not an easy read but a changing one, and honest change rarely comes easily or naturally. If, however, you can work up the courage to open the cover, prepare to have you worldview shaken or even flipped on its head! Claiborne, now a well-known author and activist, is a founder of The Simple Way in Philadelphia, a coalition of professionals, hippies, doctors, bums, activists, dropouts, and PhDs working and living together, investing in the community of people surrounding them. Irresistible Revolution chronicles their life-changing journey and their attempts to catalyze what they view as a complacent population and a stagnant, apathetic church in America.
Dearest Indigo Bridgers,
In 2008 I was given a half dozen books for Christmas. After dealing with inventory, post-holiday craziness, and New Year's, I settled in to read some books. A few friends had done reading goals the year before and I decided, January 1st, 2009, to set a goal for myself. My goal was to read 100 books. It seemed like maybe it would be a stretch. I read fast but I don't always have a lot of time to dedicate to reading. I thought this would help me remember that prioritizing something you LOVE is a-okay.
Well, the totals are in for your viewing pleasure. Since there are a lot of books, I've broken them up into bite-sized pieces and honed them down to the one, most important sentence...or two. Bolded selections are highly recommended by me.
Note: A lot of these books are available here at Indigo Bridge Books if you're interested. Anything we don't have in stock, we'll order for you!
1. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. (Young adult and fantasy) (A+) This part ghost
 story, part coming of age tale wowed me beyond belief. (This later won the Newbery Medal.)
2. Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli. (Young adult and historical fiction) (B) This made me cry my eyes out - mean, it was about the Holocaust, so, yeah.
3. The Pagan Stone, by Nora Roberts. (Romance and fantasy) (B) I would recommend the series to any romance readers who also like fantasy and demons/magic/etc.
4. Nobody's Baby But Mine, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (Romance) (C) This was cute, pretty darned far-fetched, but I liked the characters.
5. I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley. (Humor and biography) (B+) Not quite as top notch as my main man, Sedaris, but some of the stuff she talks about felt like she was writing down a conversation I'd had.
6. Under the Persimmon Tree, by Suzanne Fisher. (Young Adult and historical fiction) (B+) This was about the Middle East (Pakistan/Afghanistan) with a bittersweet ending that rang truer than a forced happy!happy ending would have.
7. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. (Young adult and science fiction) (A+) Think Battle Royale (the Japanese movie) with a touch of Fantasy and a helping of SciFi.
 8. Glitter Baby, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (Romance) (C+) I had doubts, and really, if your romance novel reader is actively having doubts about something she already has to suspend her disbelief to read?
9. The Negotiator, by Dee Henderson. (Religious fiction) (B) I like the family introduced in the stories - a bunch of kids who make their own definition of family are now grown up and taking a stand.
10. World War Z, by Max Brooks. (Science fiction) (A) It was dead on (hee) exactly how I imagine a zombie apocalypse going down.
Note: At the time I read this, I commented that I needed to get his first book, The Zombie Survival Guide. (I now have it.)
11. The Secret World of Sparrow Delaney, by Suzanne Harper. (Young adult) (B+) Sparrow can see, talk to, hear and smell ghosts (the four markers of a good medium) but she's the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and her family thinks it's fated that she'll be great. That's a lot to live up to.
 12. Alamo House, by Sarah Bird. (Fiction) (B) A bit antiquated, and yet I couldn't help but love the main characters, who were women coming into their own and OWNING it.
13. Sister Salty, Sister Sweet, by Shannon Kring Biro and Natalie Kring. (Humor and biography) (C) Supposedly on par with David Sedaris but it only started off strong in the funny department and then tapered out into just memoir.
14. Mending Fences, by Sherryl Woods. (B) THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE NOVEL. If someone tells you that it is they are a lying liar who lies. This is a telenovella. Well-written but in no
way romantic. Dark, tragic, and gritty.
15. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. (Science fiction) (B+) Sci-fi space game where children play 'games' that have real results that ends half horrifyingly and half inevitably.
 For the last few displays I've been in charge of here at Indigo, I've resorted to ludicrously easy stuff like orange books or books about "subjects". So, for my staff pick, I went all out with in-depth literary analysis that would knock the argyle socks off of some of those Ivy League geezers. I decided to gather a bunch of books by political commentators and make plays-on-words from their authors and titles, with the apt title of PUNdits! I spent a good hour on them, on the clock even. I think that would be my dream job! Here are some of my favorites:
Why type of math reveals an inconvenient truth?
"An Al-Gore rithm!"
Where do the CNN hosts eat?
"The Jack Cafferty-ria"
Who's going to do it?
"George Will" (The author is George Will. I think the beauty in this one is in its absurd simplicity.)
 Here are my least favorites:
What kind of gun shoots "bu's"?
"A Pat Bu-cannon"
And then a really long drawn out one where the punchline is "Her? All dough!" like Geraldo Rivera.
A woman already commented on how she hated half of the titles. I think she might have hated the puns more.
When I was 13 years old, I knew everything. I was magnificently sure of my superiority in mind and spirit, my unknowable genius, my unprecedented individuality, my intimidating arsenal of literary brilliance. My magic was the roughest, not to be challenged or ignored. I was bigger than everything that came before me, and all that jazz. I was deeply, luminously dark, a beacon of existential certitude, loudly and proudly oxymoronic. Rooted in my stunning misery, I declared myself pedagogically unapproachable and resigned myself to having learned all there was to learn. I was as small as the world, but as large as alone. I was a self-aggrandizing pain in the neck.
And then came Holden Caulfield. He taught me that I was neither unteachable nor solitary. This was the book that I wanted to write! And someone had beaten me to it. I was humbled by, and completely enamored of, J.D. Salinger. I gobbled up all his work. I was certain that no one else in the whole wide world understood him the way that I did. I was Franny. I was Teddy. I was desperately searching for a lost something that I had never possessed in the first place. And I was suddenly aware that I was not the only one to feel this way. An astounding number of people read the words "don't ever tell anybody anything" and become possessed of the need to tell somebody something immediately. I am one of them. Many of us are quietly embarrassed to admit it, but Holden makes us frantic of speak before we're silenced, to rage against the dying of the light. To holler, if you will.
I'm still annoying and narcissistic. That, apparently, will never change. My love for Salinger has also remained constant - so many stories I adored as an adolescent have become nearly unpalatable in adulthood that I cherish his endurance all the more. Rare is the book that can act not only as a keystone but as a social barometer. The Catcher in the Rye is particularly unique in this regard, being one of the few modern classics never to have been forced into the spectacle of film. J.D. Salinger ensured that Catcher would stand alone, demanding to be read, to be touched. The tactile informs the cerebral and emotional. We love it all the more for having held it each time we've experienced it. We recognize this in each other, we respect it. Kim Coleman's declaration at an Indigo dinner last month that Catcher is the book she most wishes she had written elicited deep nods all around the table. Proof positive that I work with good folks.
I've written three letters to Mr. Salinger over the last fifteen years. I really wish that I had sent one of them. Barreling down the winter highway last Thursday afternoon, spewing snow and spewing tears, listening to NPR's early tributes to this departed stranger, I regretted this most epic fail over and over. About all I know is, I sort of miss this guy I didn't even know. I sort of miss that something that I never had.
Well. It's funny. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.
 Stir: Mixing it up in the Italian Tradition, by Barbara Lynch
This fantastic, sharply designed Italian cookbook is not written by an Italian grandmother, but by Barbara Lynch, a woman from South Boston who never went to culinary school, but with distinct taste has earned the reputation of cooking some of the best food in the country. Recipes include Brioche pizza with roasted potatoes and Rosemary to instructions on how to make homemade pasta dough. Delicious!
 Bury Me Standing, by Isabel Fonseca
This is a book we can't keep on the shelves. I think it's because the subject of Gypsies ignites a strange fascination in people. The mystery that shrouds the Roma people is explored by Fonseca who has lived with groups of the Roma in Europe and gives vivid accounts of the individuals she met along the way. Keenly interwoven are the Roma's own stories of how they came to be and Fonseca's observations and pictures that are sure to engage the reader.
Mark Twain: Man in White, by Michael Shelden
Michael Shelden is the author of three previous biographies including one about George Orwell. There couldn't be a more appropriate subject for his new work. Mark Twain is one America's most prized literary natives--a man known for living large and writing with the same enthusiasm. This biography gives the details of this legend, focusing much on his later life using never before published journals and letters.
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17. Gossamer, by Lois Lowry. (Kids) (B+) The young boy already being so messed up at so young an age, the mother being hopeful that she could get her life back on track, and the dreams of what was, what might be, what could be...It was beautiful and haunting.
Civil Rights movment and that same person being the one to show everyone what that path should be.
