good books

Good Books Tuesday: The Language of Trees

July 10, 2012 by admin

THIS JUST IN: The Foreign Language of Friends has won a gold medal in the eLit Book Awards “Women’s Issues” category. I came home from my volunteer shift at the arts center to find a nice certificate waiting for me. Very cool! I did my happy dance, and then I made dinner. There’s an irony in that, eh?

Anyway, on to this week’s book recommendation:

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Some books entertain, some inform, some move us. Good books, though, really good books, do some of all three, and then they astonish. They remind us of why we read, and we fall in love all over again with the act of reading. Ilie Ruby’s The Language of Trees fits in to this final category.

Set in upstate New York, The Language of Trees blends Seneca folklore, a family torn apart by tragedy, and the regrets of lost love in a healthy brew of magical realism. The end result, poignant and uplifting, heartbreaking and hopeful, left me breathless and satisfied to my core. It’s the difference between eating a fine, nourishing meal vs. junk food. The calories are the same, but in the end we feel more alive and whole.

The story begins with a horrific accident on Canandaigua Lake during a sudden, intense storm that wounds an already troubled family to the core. Twelve years later, oldest sister Melanie, who has struggled with addiction since the incident, disappears. Most people assume she has abandoned her new life and young son for drugs. At about the same time, Grant Shongo has returned to Canandaigua and his roots to nurse a broken heart after the end of his marriage. Grant, of Seneca heritage, has the curious ability to heal wounds. As he connects with his roots and his destiny, his story intersects with Melanie’s in unexpected ways.

Along the way, the spirits are restless, with mysterious footprints, dimes, and paper airplanes reminding the living of the untold stories of the dead. With raw intensity, Ruby draws disparate characters together seamlessly, revealing both their greatness and their failings. Though magic threads its way throughout the story, it never cheats it or dilutes the power of the story.

It’s been hard to pick up a book after this one. I just want to savor it longer and let it settle in to my spirit. The one I’ve picked up after, though not a bad book, pales in comparison. If you love reading, read The Language of Trees. If you love writing, read it and learn.

Good Books Tuesday: Healer by Carol Cassella

July 3, 2012 by admin

Each week I am on the hunt for good books to recommend. It’s not always easy, and there are plenty of books that don’t make the cut.

These days, though, I seem to have hit a string of good books. Not so long ago I reviewed Carol Cassella’s debut novel, Oxygen, and I was so intrigued that I couldn’t wait to read her follow-up, Healer.

This book begins with our heroine, Claire Boehning, living in reduced circumstances. Her husband is a mover and shaker in the biotech field, but problems with a drug he was developing have halted his ability to gather funds, run tests, and get the drug to market. He has bet their life savings and lost. They’ve had to sell their home and have set up in a run-down property once intended to be razed for a second home. He is traveling, continuing to seek investors, leaving her home with a sullen teenager.

A trained doctor who didn’t follow through on board certification and who never worked once her daughter was born (her complicated pregnancy adds dimension to this relationship and explains some of its complexities), she visits clinic after clinic to look for a job and provide income that she desperately needs. No one wants to take a chance on her. Finally she ends up at a clinic that runs on a shoestring, treating poor individuals, most of them migrant workers. The salary is low, but it allows her to keep her family fed.

As the book progresses, her life continues to unravel as she tries to hold home and family together. The marriage is strained. Questions about medical ethics unfold. Healer touches deeply on the ins and outs of a marriage that had lost its way, and the journey back to what really matters.

Cassella, a doctor herself, did substantial research on the biotech industry for this book, and it shows. She takes a complex topic and breaks it into bites that a reader can understand, without bogging down the narrative.

The great thing about good books is that I hate putting them down. Carol Cassella has done it again!

What good books are you reading?

Book Recommendation: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

June 12, 2012 by admin

Think of a roller coaster. You get into the seat and feel it inching up, up, up, knowing that at some point you’ll start flying downhill at breathtaking speed, blowing back your hair and facial skin while you scream at the top of your lungs in fear-filled, adrenaline-laced joy.

That about sums up Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson, aka The Blogess.

When I first started reading the book, I felt a little…confused. Was I reading an unedited ramble or comic genius? A West Texas native and the daughter of a taxidermist, Lawson describes an unusual life surrounded by animal blood and guts, among other things. Later, she meets and falls in love with Victor, who appears to be the “sane one,” with the exception of his Republican leanings (oops, there goes my political commentary again).

While Lawson takes us on the roller coaster of her life, I couldn’t help but notice that the wizard behind the curtain has managed a long-term marriage and motherhood, so I suspect that there’s a certain amount of cockeyed method to all the madness. If you noticed the mixed metaphor in the previous sentence, well, it somehow seems fitting when writing about this book.

Once I got used to the book’s style, I really enjoyed it and found myself reading passages aloud, gasping through my giggles, to hubby. I think it helps to be a blogger myself — we’re an odd breed, and I related to and understood much more of this book than I would like to admit. And, darn it, she made me cry, too, though I won’t spoil the moment for the rest of you. Let’s just say you’ll know what I’m talking about when you read that particular chapter. I also have had some experience with taxidermy in my home (don’t ask), though not at Lawson’s level, so when she describes her father’s eccentricities, I nod my head in sympathy.

For women “of my age,” Lawson’s free use of the f-bomb and ADD style may be off-putting, but I ended up having a good time with this book. Humor is hard to write well, and I think that for the most part, she succeeds. I admire that in a writer! Spend some time on her blog first so you get a sense of what to expect, and you’ll be fine. I started from scratch, which perhaps wasn’t the best strategy.

At the end of the ride, you’ll get up dazed and dizzy, but with a big, sloppy grin on your face. Enjoy!

Indie Books? Help for Writers? Visit Rogue Books!

May 24, 2012 by admin

This last week I had the pleasure of finding Derek Blass on Twitter, and I thought I’d pass along his website.

Blass and I have little in common. He writes thrillers, while I write character-driven women’s fiction. He says he sees action in his head; I see inner struggles and other introspective qualities.

I haven’t read his work (YET, though it’s on my list!), and he likely hasn’t read mine.

He’s also a guy, while I speak mostly to women in my blog (with thanks for the men who are loyal readers in spite of that).

So, why promote his work? Simple. We share the common goal of wanting others to succeed. In my little blog, I write a lot about physical and mental health, in hopes that others may benefit from my experience. As a writer, I am also a voracious reader, and I believe in supporting and promoting the work of other indie authors who are doing super work!

Blass is generous with other writers. His website includes tips for writers, including an “Amazon for Dummies” article that is particularly helpful! He offers inexpensive options for indie authors to promote their work on his site. He’s also started the #amazonlikes hashtag on Twitter, and I invite you to follow him at @DerekBlass.

If you’re not a writer but love to read, check out Derek’s books, as well as the other indie authors featured on his site. Remember, buying books from indie authors helps them continue to entertain us!

Have a great weekend and a wonderful Memorial Day holiday!