Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun

Sisterland

Violet and Daisy are twins with psychic abilities. Daisy, a stay at home mom, has disconnected herself from her "senses" due to her desire to not feel different from anyone else. In strict contrast, Violet makes her living by reading fortunes. Granted, there hasn't been much of a living for Violet and Daisy usually helps her sister out whenever she can.

When Violet has a premonition that St. Louis will experience a major earthquake, Violet and Daisy are thrust in to the national spotlight. Violet makes appearances on The Today Show and garners praise and criticism about her talents. Once the media finds out Violet and Daisy are twins, they are eager to spotlight their childhood. Daisy, who in college changed her name to Kate, isn't thrilled with the media attention since she has tried to disassociate herself from her that part of her life. She must now confront the return of her own premonitions, and deal with the fall-out from her husband and friends, who are professors at Washington University in the earth science department, who vehemently deny there will be an earthquake.

While Violet and Kate are close, Violet scorns Kate's decisions to be a stay at home mom, while Kate can't understand Violet's lifestyle. The weeks leading up to the prediction change Violet and Kate in ways they can't image. Will Violet's premonition bring the sisters closer together? Will it come true?

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Review by Cara

Evolve or die, says author

The Approaching Great Transformation
Toward a Livable Post Carbon Economy
by Joel Magnuson

Here's a palliative for the crushing existential gloom you've felt since reading Kunstler's Long Emergency and Too Much Magic, grim visions of the near future when cheap fossil fuels and neverending economic growth have gone the way of the dinosaur.

I say "palliative" because Magnuson's provocative book is no feel-good cure for the post-carbon blues, though his vision is vastly more upbeat than Kunstler's. The "great transformation" of the title is the inevitable resetting of industrial societies and economies worldwide as fossil fuel supplies dwindle, taking with them cheap food, abundant clean water, fast and easy transportation, and pretty much all the everyday conveniences of modern living. Magnuson's optimism is evident in his choice of the adjective "great" to describe this event, which in his view will be enormous in its impact but also could be turned to enormously beneficial ends.

Magnuson takes heart in the knowledge that the human race possesses a measure of reason and foresight, perhaps even enough to resolve "glaringly obvious contradictions like endless growth driven by corporate institutions and the reality of a finite planet with limited resources." If we fail to prepare for an inevitable loss of 80% or more of our energy supply in our lifetime, we will have only ourselves to blame.

But despair not, exhorts Magnuson: "Hopelessness and despair are human emotions that stem from a kind of blindness to the opportunities for real and positive change that are now presenting themselves. Rather than surrendering to powerlessness, we should become engaged in our own communities and welcome new approaches to meeting our needs."

Among the exemplars of novel, humane engagement touted by Magnuson is New Belgium Brewing. Employee-owned, wind-/solar-/biomass-powered, and suffused with a carnivalesque spirit of creativity and community, New Belgium embodies the values of craftsmanship and sustainability conceived by 19th-century English artist and writer John Ruskin and advocated by Magnuson. If New Belgium really is a viable model for post-carbon industry, maybe the future isn't so bleak after all.

Here's hoping.


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Review by Don Beistle

The dark side of the flying dream

LeMay
The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay
by Warren Kozak

Last month I wrote about young men who joined the military out of a desire to fly and then developed misgivings as the gravity of what they were or could be required to do came to weigh on them. Curtis LeMay was not that kind of pilot nor that kind of man.

To many he was a monster, or at best a madman. LeMay was the architect of the American firebombing campaign that killed a half-million Japanese civilians in the Second World War, the master of America's airborne atomic arsenal in the 1950s, the model for General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, and George Wallace's third-party running mate in 1968.

LeMay is one of those fascinating historical figures about whom not enough has been written. Warren Kozak wrote this book specifcally to remedy that oversight and to help correct LeMay's bizarre and cartoonish public image. No chickenhawk, Kozak's interest in LeMay stems from a remark made by one of his college professors: "You might not agree with his politics, but if you have a son serving in combat, you want him serving under someone like LeMay."

That practical assessment informs Kozak's generally positive portrait of LeMay as a decent man called upon to do truly terrible things in pursuit of the greater good. LeMay's bravery and leadership were legendary (he frequently flew the lead plane on dangerous missions), and his ability to hit the enemy harder than any other commander while bringing more American flyers safely back to base were very nearly miraculous. But don't take my word for it, read Kozak's strangely compelling biography for yourself.


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Review by Don Beistle

A Woman of Adventure

The Map of Lost Memories
By Kim Fay

Indiana Jones is an archaeologist, and so is Irene Blum. But while Indy spends his time slashing through jungles and hunting lost treasures, Irene is an expert from afar. She grew up in museums, becoming so knowledgeable in ancient Cambodian civilization that she knows she'll have the job of Museum Director one day. Unfortunately, when the director steps down Irene is not offered the position. It goes to a man instead. She may be the best person, but this is America in 1925 and the museum is set in its ways.

Furious, Irene sets off on a quest to find a long-lost treasure and prove her worth to the world of archaeology. Her first task is to run down the people who will help her. This takes her to Shanghai where she meets the drug-addicted and unpredictable Simone Merlin. While Irene is not sure how far she can trust Simone, a narrow escape from danger seals them together and they set off towards the lush jungles of the southeastern Asian interior. While Irene has never been to Cambodia before, it is a homecoming for Simone. Along the way they meet a nightclub owner and a diplomat who both join the expedition. Everyone seems to have their own agenda, which they are in no hurry to share with the others. Will Irene find her lost treasure and the vindication she seeks, or will it be stolen from right under her nose?

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Review by Danny Hanbery

Norcross Branch Staff Picks

September's staff picks come from the good folks at the Norcross Branch, who offer a really intriguing handful of titles for your reading pleasure.
 
The Age of Miracles
by Karen Thompson Walker

Suppose you woke up one Saturday morning and found that the rotation of the earth had suddenly started to slow down? As time passes the days grow to 20, 30 then 40 hours long, and life changes radically for residents of one California suburb. The environment serves as a major testing ground for maintaining relationships and establishing stability. People struggle to figure it out whether live by clock time or to adjust their lives to movement or lack of movement of the earth. This story is told through the eyes of Julia, a 6th-grade girl who valiantly navigates changes within her family, her friendships and her own coming-of-age. Highly recommended for modern day fantasy lovers.

Between Two Fires
by Christopher Buehlman

The setting is medieval France in 1348. Thomas, a disgraced, faithless but warmhearted knight finds an angelic orphan girl who seems to be much more than Thomas can comprehend. She convinces Thomas to lead her over the depraved landscape to Avignon, where she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has overcome mankind. You see, the final war is coming and strange, unholy things walk the face of the Earth. This book is epic in scope, emotionally draining for the characters (and readers alike) and is definitely exhilarating. Recommended for readers who like to take the scariest ride at the amusement park.

Leviathan Wakes
by James S. A. Corey

Corey, the pen name for Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, delivers a rollicking good space opera about the people of the solar system (Earth, Mars and the Asteroid Belt) coming face to face with the gruesome infectious evidence of a far flung alien civilization. Highly recommended for fans of more human-centered Science Fiction.

Maisie Dobbs series
by Jacqueline Winspear

Mystery is my favorite genre, and a little history in the plot makes it even better. I especially like to read book series in order. When I reach the last book available in a series, I am at a loss until I find a character in a new series to follow. I found my new historical mystery series in Maisie Dobbs. The series is set in World War I-era  England and begins with Maisie Dobbs as a young girl earning her living as servant. She serves as a nurse during the Great War, witnessing firsthand the terrible loss and suffering from trench warfare and nerve gasses. After the war she becomes a strong, independent woman who runs her own private investigation agency. As the series develops, Maisie solves mysteries that come from the troubles of the war, which highlights the compelling human cost of war as well as the social issues of the era.

The Scent of Darkness
by Margot Berwin

Eva, also known as Evangeline takes a journey of self discovery from Cyril, New York to the fragrant and otherworldly bayous of Louisiana and back. After inheriting her grandmother's home, Eva discovers a vial of perfume in a hidden room where her Grandmother, an "aromata," created scents. Gabriel, a young medical student who has been using the home as a quiet study, is present when she empties the vial upon herself and is transformed from invisible and lackluster into a force whose presence is felt as soon as she steps foot in New Orleans. Evangeline’s presence transforms strangers, animals, Gabriel (who represents good) and Michael Bon Chance (who represents evil and wants to possess her power). Evangeline is drawn to both men but even more so to the mystery of the scent, which does not wash off or wear off and has changed life as she knew it. Highly recommended for those who enjoy Magical Realism.



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Hosseini's Latest

And the Mountains Echoed begins Abdullah and Pari, a brother and sister who live in a poor Afghan village.  After the death of their mother, Abdullah becomes everything to 3 year old sister Pari; brother, mother, father in essence a touch stone for her own existence.

Their father sells Pari to a wealthy family in Kabul with the two fold goal of providing her with a better life and sustaining his new wife, his son Abdullah and their newly born son.  The rupture of the relationship between Abdullah and his sister Pari creates a chain of events that cross several continents and opens a wound in them both that touches all who connect with them including cousins, caretakers, and extended family  over a span of 50 years.  Secondary and tertiary characters in the story are prey to dreadful misfortunes, seemingly life enhancing good fortune that all of which underscore the fragility of life, predestination in life and the complexity of events that occur at  random with reverberating consequences. 

The themes of self sacrificing love vs. selfishness, privilege vs. sharing and joy with minimum comfort vs. angst amidst opulence makes this an involving and at times a heart breaking read.   Author Hosseini has a gift for engaging the emotions of readers and leading them head first into a different culture from which they emerge with a different perspective.  Please read this one!

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Review by Karen Harris 

    

I Want My MTV

VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave chronicles MTV's beginnings from the original VJ's (Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson, and Nina Blackwood) point of view. Due to the death of VJ J.J. Jackson, his side is told from interviews he gave and memories from his fellow VJ's.

Each chapter is named with lyrics from songs and an explanation of what the chapter will cover. The VJ's discuss what they were doing before MTV, how they were hired, what the early days were like, and ultimately, how they left MTV.

MTV began as a music station. Videos from artists (mainly rock) were shown with the VJ's introducing the videos, conducting interviews, and sharing music news. MTV was readily available in every cable market, hence the I Want My MTV campaign. As Michael Jackson grew bigger, the pressure to play his music increased, and studio executives began to shift programming to suit different music genres. The VJ's chronicle MTV's humble beginnings, their antics on air, the relationships they had with each other, and their view on different music artists.

This book is a good read for anyone who grew up on MTV and remember the VJ's, or someone interested in the history of MTV.

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Review by Cara