Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis

Epic life pretty much sums it up! In the early 1900’s many believed, including Edward Curtis, that the American Indians and their cultures were going to disappear. Curtis photographed American Indians and documented their languages, religions, alphabets, art, etc. as much as humanly possible. He felt that this endeavor was a race against time. This artistic and cultural achievement was also radical for its time, because the majority of this country believed that American Indians had no culture or religion and were barely human. Curtis sacrificed everything for this undertaking, his business, family, money and reputation. This book is recommended for readers that enjoy biographies of larger than life personalities or histories of the United States, photography, the America West, or American Indians.

Check out Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher @ the library!

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo

An Amish father and his children are run down in their buggy on a quiet country road in the heart of Amish country.  It appears at first glance to be an accident but on further investigation it may be a purposeful hit and run.  Kate Burkholder, police chief in Painters Mill, Ohio, must find out who did this before the murderer comes back for the rest of the family.  This series has great character development, suspense, and twists that you won’t see coming.  On her fifth Amish thriller, Linda Castillo is only getting better. 

Checkout theKate Burkholder series @ the library!

The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg

Edie Middlestein is eating herself to death and her family is not taking it well. She, the only child of parents who could deny her nothing, had loved food all her life. From childhood through college and law school, an unhappy marriage, and motherhood, food had comforted and consoled her. By the time she is sixty, she is well over 300 pounds and her weight has cost her her job and her husband.  Richard Middlestein abandons his wife, leaving the family home and planning divorce. His decision causes his children, daughter Robin, son Bennie, and daughter-in-law Rachelle, to turn against him. They ostracize him and strive to convince Edie to lose weight. But it is not an easy task. Robin, having once been overweight herself, angrily confronts her mother about her lack of self-control.  Rachelle stalks her mother-in-law, following her from one fast food restaurant to another, horrified but unable to do anything about it. She reacts to Edie’s weight by restricting the food she serves to her husband, children and even friends, cooking inedible healthy meals. Only Bennie is able to do something practical, sitting in Edie’s kitchen all night to prevent his mother from gorging on snacks the night before surgery. But self-control comes from within and the Edie’s family, despite good (and not so good) intentions, is unable to change her destructive habits.  The MIddlesteins is a story about a dysfunctional family that is dysfunctional in its own unique way. It is told with wry humor and warm affection for the members of this imperfect family.  

Check out the Middlesteins at the library!

Longbourn by Jo Baker

Many, many authors have tried to capture the genius that is Jane Austen (and more specifically, the delight that came from the characters in Pride and Prejudice).  But Longbourn by Jo Baker isn’t an Austen rip-off.  It isn’t even a story that tries to answer the question “What happened after Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy got married?”  Instead, Baker has told the story of the Bennet household from the point of view of a rather unlikely character: the Bennet’s housemaid, Sarah. 

Sarah (about Ms. Elizabeth Bennet’s age) has been with the family since she was a little girl.  She does everything that is expected of a housemaid including: soaking and scrubbing muddy petticoats, feeding the pigs, emptying chamber pots and washing the never-ending supply of dishes being used by a family of seven.  She does not complain. But she does wonder what it would be like to live a life where no one expected you to do anything and you could act on your own free-will. 

The joyous thing about this novel is that we see only glimpses of the Bennet family; a line of conversation here and there, but not much more.  The pages are filled with Sarah’s daily activities and those of the other staff: Mr. Hill and the housekeeper Mrs. Hill, the young housemaid Polly and a new hired man, James, who has a shadowy past.  There is little here of Jane’s pining for Bingley or Elizabeth’s annoyance with Darcy.  Sarah slowly sets off down a path towards her own romance but will she end up with the mysterious James or Mr. Bingley’s handsome and charming servant Ptomely? 

Baker takes us with Sarah on her journey from young lady to woman and we get to see just how much she longs for a world outside of service.  We see her set off with Elizabeth to Kent to visit the Collinses and her amazement at the metropolis that is London.  When she is given the opportunity to leave Longbourn and serve at Pemberly, will the grand house be the new responsibilities and distractions she needs?  Will she marry in order to get out of service?  Or will she go a direction all her own without the help of her benefactors and friends? 

Longbourn by Jo Baker is a fun and new twist for even the staunchest Jane Austen fans.  

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

Rose Baker is a young woman in the typing pool of the New York City Police Department during Prohibition. She is plain, quiet and prudish about life.  However, she is also lonely. So when Odalie, a glamorous flapper with bobbed hair and expensive clothes and jewelry, joins the clerical staff and reaches out to Rose for friendship, Rose is intrigued. Like a moth to a flame, Rose is drawn into Odalie’s dangerous life, becoming her roommate, sharing her clothing and jewelry, accompanying her to speakeasies and parties and running spurious errands on her behalf.  Odalie is mysterious, with more than one version of where she and her wealth came from: perhaps prostitution, bootlegging or a family inheritance.  Whatever the source, she lives well and is generous in sharing her comfortable life with Rose. But she also exacts payment for her generosity, expecting Rose to blindly do her bidding. And Rose, having been drawn in by Odalie and unable to return to her old life, cannot deny her.  How much will Odalie ask of Rose? How far will Rose be willing to go on Odalie’s behalf? Tension builds throughout the entire book and these questions are not answered until the last page. 

Check out The Other Typist @ the Library!

Self-Inflicted Wounds by Aisha Tyler

Are you familiar with the comedian Aisha Tyler? Maybe you've seen her hosting Whose Line Is It Anyway, or remember her as Ross's girlfriend on Friends, or perhaps you remember her Talk Soup days. No matter where you've seen her, you know she's smart observant and the kind of person you'd want to have coffee with and maybe hear some of her stories.

Here's your chance, grab Self-Inflicted Wounds, a cup of coffee, sit down with Aisha. She'll tell you stories about growing up vegetarian before it was cool, being a tall, dorky girl who didn't quite fit in until she found people like her. From her days frying up chicken in her mom's best shirt, to her trip down the mountain on a snowboard that resulted in a broken arm at the worst possible time, you'll laugh with Aisha. And like any good friend, she wants you to learn from her mistakes, and she'll be laughing with you.

Check out Self-Inflected Wounds @ the library!

City of Women by David R. Gillham

The year is 1943 and while most of the men are fighting in the war, Berlin is a city of women.  One of these women is Sigrid Schroder.  Her husband is a soldier at the front and she is living with his mother.  On the surface Sigrid appears to be a good German, going to work every day and sacrificing for the war effort.  In actuality she has a Jewish lover and is helping move Jewish men, women, and children to safety.  In contrast to a lot of books about World War II the Germans aren't all bad just as the Jews aren't all victims.  The author captured the feel of wartime Berlin when everyone was looking over their shoulder and had to watch what they said lest they be turned into the Gestapo.

This story will make you reflect on what you would do when faced with the decision Sigrid faces:  help and risk your own safety or sit by while people are murdered.  Checkout City of Women @ the library!

The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell

In 1929, a dance hall in a small Missouri town exploded, killing forty-two people.  One of them was pretty Ruby DeGeer, who, although poor and poorly educated, easily attracted the attention of wealthy men.  One of these men was banker Arthur Glencross, who employed Ruby’s older sister, Alma Dunahew, as his maid. Alma had good reason to believe that Glencross was responsible for the explosion and made herself few friends in town by saying so. Although there were others who could be suspected, Alma was unyielding in her certainty of his guilt.  Her fight for justice eventually turned into what was considered bizarre behavior.  Finally, practically catatonic, she was committed to the Work Farm. Her disappearance into her own misery left her youngest son, John Paul, motherless at an age when he still needed his mother. Dependent on odd jobs and the kindness of neighbors for most of his childhood and youth, John Paul resented his mother’s obsession and the loss of his family. The rift these hard times created between mother and son lasted into John Paul’s adulthood and Alma’s old age. In The Maid's Version, Alma tells her story to her grandson with hope of healing the rift. Author Daniel Woodrell is a well-respected author whose last book, Winter's Bone was made into a successful movie. In this book he draws a vivid picture of small town life in depression-era Middle America, clearly depicting the great divide between rich and poor, weak and powerful. 

Check out The Maid's Version @ the library! (Check out the new version of County Cat too!)

Run, Brother, Run

Run, Brother, Run: a Memoir of a Murder in My Family by David Berg



Run, Brother, Run is a true tale of murder and how it affects a family.  The book is written by David Berg, whose older brother was murdered under mysterious circumstances by hit man Charles Harrelson (father of actor Woody Harrelson).  While a good portion of the book deals with the crime, police investigation and the aftermath of the court case surrounding Alan Berg’s murder, much of the story is about the Berg family.  It is a story about memory and how tragic events can alter the way you see the past and the future.

Berg begins with memories from his childhood using wit and honesty to portray life in a very stressful home.  Here is one example:

“That was 1946, the year our father met Dorothy Heinrich in a Kalamazoo diner.  She would one day become his wife, but for now, she was his waitress.  “Dot” was five ten, with the sultriness of Rita Hayworth.  Mom was four ten, with the temperament of Henry VIII- so there you have it.  It wasn’t the first time Mom had caught Dad cheating, but it was the last.  Our parents would scream at each other for what felt like hours.  Alan would cry in bed beside me, and then, to my astonishment, get up and go down the hall to intervene.  Mom would shriek, Get out of here, Mr. Buttinski, this is not your business!  Get back in that bed! “(4).

Berg talks a lot about growing up in the Berg household.  A big part of that time was David and Alan’s father wanting his sons to go to medical school.  Alan took quite a few detours before getting there (including leaving the Navy due to holding a floating crap game) but Alan finally made it into the medical program at the University of Texas.  After a fight with his father, Alan took off instead of registering for classes.  The hopes of having a physician in the Berg family had died yet another death.

David becomes a lawyer much to his father’s dismay.  When Alan disappears in May of 1968, David admits to being busy starting his new career.  But it is clear that certain things don’t add up.  Alan had been involved in gambling, but he was also very in love with his wife who was then pregnant with their third child.  The police refused to start an investigation, insisting that Alan must have just taken off.  But David and his father knew different.  They began hunting for leads which took them down a whirlwind of different paths, most of which involved paying a fee of some kind.  When Alan’s body was finally found six months later, questions surrounding Charles Harrelson and a business associate of Alan and David’s father swirled in earnest. 

There isn't a happy ending to this tale.  There is no justice for the dead, and none for the surviving family.  David berg tries his best to use his knowledge of the law to lay out the facts surrounding his brother's murder and subsequent trial.  It is a stark tale of true crime in America in the 1960s.