By Michall Jeffers
If you need an excuse to squirrel away a few hours to read, take advantage of the Labor Day weekend, or that blissful moment when the kids are finally off to school for the fall semester.
A few books worthy of your attention:
Even though Nancy Taylor Rosenberg is a best selling author, she will be a new discovery for many readers. The Cheater features her flawed central character, Judge Lily Forrester, battling her own demons while she strives to bring to justice those who would hurt the innocent victims in our society. At the same time, a serial killer is murdering and dismembering unfaithful husbands that, inexplicably, is considered a crime worthy of FBI attention. Be warned: This thriller is full of violence and raw sexual images, but it’s a real page turner.
Must have non-fiction: An Edible History of Humanity, by Tom Standage. In an entertaining and easily digestible form, this book brings a new perspective on the world. Standage explains why so much of what we hold true about our food is a myth, starting with the thesis that farming was a burden rather than a boon to primitive man. He notes that mankind has been eating genetically altered food for ten thousand years. Maize, which we Americans call corn, doesn’t exist in the wild in anything like its present form, and must be cultivated by humans. Carrots are naturally purple or white; the orange veggie that we eat today was developed by Dutch horticulturalists as a tribute to King William I, the Prince of Orange. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were actually stronger, healthier, taller and lived longer than their farmer descendents. They had better teeth, too. And all this info is in Part 1! A lot to digest, yes, but well worth the effort.
Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Deception, by Eric Van Lustbader continues the popular series that made it to the screen starring Matt Damon as Bourne. There’s a lot of creative violence, foreign intrigue, and constant re-capping of the plot so you won’t miss a thing if you put it down for a couple of days.
Black Hills by Nora Roberts is mindless fun, the usual formula for Girl meets Boy, Boy meets Horse, with a smidgen of Native American lore, and a pretty lame mystery masquerading as a “why-done-it.” And once again, the message is City Life bad, Farm Life good.
Dust And Shadow by Lyndsay Faye is a well-written Sherlock Holmes tale, obviously given a great deal of thought and research by the author. The sleuth himself is accused of being Jack The Ripper, but of course, he deduces the real criminal. Don’t miss the acknowledgment in the back of the book, wherein the author thanks the restaurant that fired her, thus making her writing career possible.
Skip it: Killer Summer by Ridley Pearson. Murdered my interest by page 20, my personal cut off spot for “I’ve given this a fair chance; now, we’re quits.”
Avoid it like the Plague: Finger Licken’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. This is what happens when an author scores big with a book series, and just starts churning out sequels. Nomination for most unbelievable love interest since Jondalar goes to Ranger, a super-macho paper doll character whose dialogue mostly consists of the word “Babe.”
In case you missed these over the summer, pick them up now:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. Just because everyone is reading it doesn’t mean it isn’t a great book. It starts out like a bit of easy reading fluff, but turns into something much more substantial. Buy the paperback.
A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth. If you haven’t seen her work on stage or screen, I hope you will soon. She’s the best, and her autobiography is fun.
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg. Wonderful writer, great chick lit well worth reading in the autumn chill.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. If you love New England, you’ll enjoy this different take on the Salem witch trials.
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman. If you can, read it all the way through in one day, because the middle is so depressing, if you put it down, you may not pick it up.
And remember, “I’m reading!” is a perfectly acceptable way of saying, “Give me some space.” Enjoy!
Michall Jeffers is an active member of National Book Critics Circle. She not only writes about books, she also reviews them and interviews celebrity authors on her eponymous cable TV show, which is seen throughout the Tri-State area.
