Books, Movies, and Music
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Books, Movies, and Music blog
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Posted on Monday, December 12, 2011 - 6:39pm
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Shine begins with a newspaper clipping about a teenage boy, Patrick, who was beaten and left for dead - apparently the victim of a violent hate crime. Sixteen-year-old Cat, appalled at the lackluster attempts of the Black Creek, North Carolina law enforcement officials to solve the crime, is determined to find Patrick’s assailant herself – despite having barely spoken to Patrick, or any of her old friends, for the past three years. As Cat digs into the mystery, she begins to overcome a traumatic event in her own past and make connections with her brother and her friends again, realizing that she can’t do it alone. However, Shine is more than just a mystery: it’s a deep examination of a small town and many of the people in it, and an exploration of people’s motivations – why do they do what they do? Cat learns to look past “people’s outsides” and “think about their insides, too” – in other words, she learns appearances can be deceiving, and learns to question some long-held assumptions.
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Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011 - 7:33pm
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At exactly seven minutes past midnight, the monster comes to Conor's room. There's been a monster in his nightmares, but it's not this one: this is the yew tree from the backyard, come walking to tell him three stories. After three stories, Conor has to tell one in return, and it has to be the truth. It has to be his truth. And it's seven minutes past midnight.
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Posted on Friday, December 2, 2011 - 10:23am
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This book is really two stories in one, both set around the time of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair: the narration alternates between the story of the architects who built the fair – especially Daniel H. Burnham – and that of serial killer H.H. Holmes. While Burnham and his fellow architects build the “White City” (so called because all of the buildings were painted white), Holmes operates in the “Black City” – the underside of Chicago in the 1890s. This book is superbly well-researched and filled with interesting tidbits (the Ferris Wheel was conceived and first build for the Chicago World’s Fair), but facts are only part of what makes Devil in the White City such a gripping and fascinating read; Erik Larson’s writing brings both stories to life in a way that is vividly real.
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Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - 12:47pm
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Ann Patchett is the author of several previous novels, including Bel Canto, The Magician’s Assistant, and Run. Readers who have enjoyed Patchett’s previous novels will doubtless enjoy State of Wonder as well. Patchett is a master of setting; the places she writes about are vivid and real. The main character, Dr. Marina Singh, must journey from wintry Minnesota to the Amazon jungle in order to track down a fellow research scientist, Anders, who has disappeared. There, Marina finds her old and formidable mentor, Dr. Swenson, who is focused on an amazing discovery and is unconcerned with the fate of Marina’s co-worker. Marina must find out what happened to Anders and convince Dr. Swenson to return. State of Wonder is a tremendous story of beauty, loss, and recovery – a character-driven novel with a plot as powerful and twisting as the Amazon River itself.
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Posted on Saturday, November 19, 2011 - 4:30pm
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In 2003 author Joan Didion's husband, John Gregory Dunne, dies unexpectedly from a heart attack. The year that follows is a year of "magical thinking," as Didion can't help but expect her husband of 40 years to walk through the door. This touching memoir provides a bittersweet account of Didion's journey and ultimately becomes a celebration of their marraige. Didion's stark account is unembellished and manages to avoid the sentimentality that similar memoirs frequently feature.
For those of you who have already read this book, take a look at Didion's latest, Blue Nights, in which she struggles with the death of her daughter.
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