I Love Me A Curmudgeon Too

“If I’m ever unsure as to the correct course of action, I’ll think, 'What would a ferret do?' or, 'How would a salamander respond to this situation?' Invariably, I find the right answer."

Rae is almost always two steps ahead of me. You’ll remember her declaration that “audio books are your best friends” if time is scant like mine. Did I subconsciously thumb my nose at her advice? All I can say is it’s hard being a purist at times. Slow to the audio party, at least I’m choosing listens that would make Rae proud. We’re antsy for October to come, so I picked a story set in the hearts-aflutter U.K. Combine British culture with an educated curmudgeon for the main character and you can pretty much say winner winner chicken dinner. Plus, narrator Cathleen McCarron proves to be pure ear candy, making Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine a fantastic listen.   

Gail Honeyman’s debut novel introduces us to Eleanor, a thirty-year-old woman who is sensible, quirky, lonely and highly regimented. Her perceptions of the world are rather unique, and more often than not, they’re quite hilarious. They’ll endear you to her. And that’s good—she needs all the friends she can find because she has none, other than the unlikely, lovable IT guy at work. Raymond saves Eleanor when she is far from fine and helps her see that even a horrific past doesn’t have to dictate the future.  Despite some sobering details, this is ultimately a feel-good book about an unusual heroine who eventually finds the right answer: you have to open your heart if you want to be completely fine.

*Be warned: Honeyman uses some salty language, which seems to be common among curmudgeons?  (Sorry Ove.)

Posted by Tracy

Help Sophia Find Her Way (To A Publisher)

Got a sneak peek over the weekend of the manuscript for How Sophia Found Her Way by Summer Cox and I'm smitten. It's hard to resist books that teach, especially when they do it well. This beautifully told tale taps into something Tray and I have spent many small hours of the night discussing: how to instill resilience in our kids. The older we get, the more importance we place on our children developing the ability to cope, because let's face it, life has a way sometimes of making Ms. Trunchbull look like a lamb.

In Cox's story, Sophia is given four gifts that help her find her way back home. Her joy at being once again safely snuggled in her warm bed is short-lived, however, as she looks around to see that her newfound gifts have vanished. And then she learns the greatest lesson of all: those gifts were inside of her all along.

This book is a gift. One that every parent will want for their children. All it needs now is to find a publisher, and that's where you, dear readers, can help. If you have a Facebook account, click here and like the author's page. You can even go the extra mile and ask your friends to like the page as well just because that's the kind of person you are. We'll let you know as soon as this lovely little read is available for all.

Posted by Rachel

Weekly Wrap-Up

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” ―Jorge Luis Borges

@littlefreelibraryeastbethesda

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Prince George. Our favorite little Brit is four today. If you're like us and can't get enough of him, click here. This may be how our other favorite little Brit feels about her brother stealing all the limelight. 

Jane Austen and the Bank of England. The British love is strong this week.

Not to be outdone, the New York love is strong too.

Back to the Brits, the newest Harry Potter Illustrated Edition is already our favorite.

Wait...are these a thing again? 

Saving our libraries. 

This pretty much says it all.

Sorry guys, but this made us laugh. 

Our feet need these.

A Wrinkle in Time, the book. And judging by the trailer, the movie as well. Here's hoping it's as good as it looks. In the meantime, we all have an excuse to reread the book. As if we needed one.

Throwback Thursday

“A terrific story—odd, suspenseful, controversial and ultimately revealing.”

We’re stuck in the middle with you. Looks like Rae is in the middle of Ginny Moon. Me and the boys are approaching the halfway mark of Rae’s birthday book: Orphan Island. And I’m midway through a surprise read. Good thing it’s Thursday and time to take a look in the rear view. Tonight, I’m looking waaay back. Probably too far back for this memory of mine, but let’s not split hairs, okay? 

I’ve never read a more interesting book about locks than Russell Martin’s extraordinary historical odyssey/scientific mystery appropriately named Beethoven’s Hair. After the Master Composer died, a young musician named Hiller paid his respects and, as was the custom, collected a few hairs from the genius’s head. Martin takes us on a fascinating journey as he traces the strands whereabouts, eventually leading us to the wonders of forensic science. Science solves the mystery surrounding the deaf composer’s disability (for lack of a better term). I remember well feeling engaged as I turned pages.  It’s true: “Russell Martin has created a rich historical treasure hunt, a tale of false leads, amazing breakthroughs, and incredible revelations. This unique and fascinating book is a moving testament to the power of music, the lure of relics, the heroism of the resistance movement, and the brilliance of molecular science.”

Posted by Tracy

July/August Book Club Selection

My favorite part of entering was when the contest said this one thing: You May Already Be a Winner. It made me think that somewhere, probably somewhere fancy like New York City or Paris, someone was holding a big old suitcase of cash with my name all typed in gold....Or even there could be a life-time supply of Twix bars just waiting in the UPS truck. 

In case you missed it, we're big fans of Ann Dee Ellis. Her latest book, You May Already Be A Winner, looks to be just that: a winner. The cover alone makes us swoon. It feels like the perfect book club selection heading into August as we squeeze the last lazy days out of summer. Grab your kiddos and have them read along or send 'em packin so you can curl up with it all by yourself, preferably by a pool, with a cold drink in hand. Speaking of dreaming big, another favorite of ours, Ally Condie, had this to say about Winner: "I felt like I hit the jackpot when I read this book. Olivia's story is lively, full of heart, and a must-read for anyone who knows what it feels like to hope and dream big."

Posted by Rachel

Can I Get A Witness?

“You know, one meets so many people, the years pass and pass, but there are certain times, certain people…They take up room. So much room. I was married to Howard for twenty-eight years and yet he made only a piddling dent in my memory. A little nick. But certain others, they move in and make themselves at home and start flapping their arms in the story you make of your life. They have a wingspan."

I suppose I’m an old dog.  And I’m still a purist. But like Ona Vitkus, I can learn new tricks. For the first time, I’m listening to audio books. I’m listening, ears perked, even though I’ve been slam-bang in the middle of Joe Queenan’s camp: “I do not listen to audio books for the same reason I do not listen to baked ziti—it lacks the personal touch.” Move over Joe. I think Meg Conley may have said it better. “Books are too immersive for anything other than paper. I like writing in them, feeling them, staining them with the food I’m eating while I read them. The books I collect across the years I spend here will be a record for my kids.” That’s right Meg. I’m with you—in an ideal world—a world where time is not my betrayer.  

Rachel said it herself: “Desperate times call for desperate measures”—and these are desperate times. I’m cheating on the clock with my stony phone. No dog-ears, no water stains from the splash of a bath, no love in the margins. Just me and the hand held that introduced Miss Ona Vitkus, a Lithuanian immigrant who’s as quirky as she is old. She’s 1 hundred and 4 and the least likely candidate to become an eleven-year-old boy’s friend. (Or a middle-aged, inattentive father’s friend for that matter.) But their friendship stops me in my tracks at times. I was glad I knew little to nothing about our March (wait March?!!?) book club selection when I downloaded the audible, which allowed the story to do what it was meant to: unfold. After all, that’s how the most beautiful friendships evolve. A story about a friendship filled with the color and vibrancy of the birds’ morning chorus will always resonate with this girl. By eye or by ear, I loved this one. The truth is this story provided harmony for me—a reminder to be more grateful for the certain others in my life who make themselves at home, the ones (like Rae) with a radiant wingspan. 

Posted by Tracy

The Real Caboose

“There was no one clear point of loss. It happened over and over again in a thousand small ways and the only truth there was to learn was that there was no getting used to it.” 

Blinders. That's what Tracy's got when it comes to me. And I say hallelujah. She thanks me for not making her feel guilty for falling behind, when all the while I'm the real caboose. This is the friendship dreams are made of. The rest of you, though, can no doubt see the cold hard truth so I best be getting back on my posting horse. Might as well come outta the gate with a winner of a read.

Tray has a friend who refuses to read books with characters that make bad decisions. That's gotta wipe out at least three quarters of the literary canon, doesn't it? Sayonara Shakespeare. Bye bye Brontës. Later Leo, and while we're at it, Willa, Ernest, and Herman, to name just a few. If she held real people to the lofty standard she's set for the made-up ones, her circle of friends would be as suffocatingly small as her reading list.

Add Ann Patchett's State of Wonder to the list of reads she'll most certainly want to avoid. Her loss. This book, like life, is full of moral dilemmas, and no, the characters don't always get it right. Do any of us? But it's beautifully written and the characters are lovely, flaws and all. In the end, two choices are made: one is excruciatingly painful and while it will break your heart, you'll understand why it has to be so, and the other, if you're like me, will fill you with fury at the pure selfishness of it. No matter how you feel about the ending, I'm betting you'll be glad you came along for the ride. It's a story that will leave you thinking long after you've turned the last page—which makes it a winner in my book.

Posted by Rachel

Star-Spangled Reads

“I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.” —George Washington

I’ve come in from poolside to write this post. We’ve had burgers, American style. My nephew’s fireworks show last night was da bomb. (Let me translate da bomb for you young readers: an old but cool way of calling something awesome.) And currently, we’re all full on U.S.A. pride. More now than ever, I appreciate a holiday because it amounts to a break. Rachel was in Park City last week—together we bemoaned the fact that our lives are jammed up with too much work.  We should be reading in excess rather than amassing dollars slowly, shouldn’t we?  So today, I’m celebrating my country’s freedom and some free time.  

If time, time, time is on your side, here are a few star-spangled reads that are sure to make your patriotic hearts flare. 

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis

Ellis is an award-winning author and it shows.  Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation won the big grand-daddy of them all: the Pulitzer Prize. Sometimes it’s easy to deify people who accomplish the impossible—Ellis isn’t afraid to expose the fact that while the founding brothers (including Adams, Madison, Washington, Burr, Franklin and Hamilton) were greatly gifted men, they also had their fair share of weaknesses. This book will remind you of how fragile our new republic was and how amazing it is that history ultimately found favor with us.

1776 by David McCullough

Is it even necessary to convince people to read McCullough at this point in his illuminating career? He’s secured not one, but two Pulitzer prize awards for his biographies Truman and John Adams. His account of the year that changed history, 1776, is no less compelling. It’s considered one of the best examinations of the beginning of our American Revolution.  As per the norm with the best-selling author who makes it look easy, he provides little known detail that will prove intriguing for readers who want to get to George Washington beyond his dental woes and the cherry tree myth.  (You’ll learn something of the Town Destroyer’s notable peers as well.)

Seven Miracles that Saved our America by Chris and Ted Stewart

I’m at my sister Sharee’s house for the holiday. When asked “What’s a favorite flag-waving read of yours?” She didn’t hesitate much: Seven Miracles that Saved America. She even explained why: “It reminded me why our currency says ‘In God we Trust.’” Stewart and Stewart provide compelling evidence that without the hand of God to preserve our nation, the United States would not have prevailed. This tandem author team, brothers with pens, articulated well: “No man is perfect. And neither is any nation. Yet, despite our weakness, we are still, as Abraham Lincoln said, the best nation ever given to man. Despite our faults, this nation is still the last, best hope of earth.” 

P.S. If you’re patriotically precocious and you’ve read these three, you may want to check out Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life. Who is Chernow, you ask? He wrote the book that inspired that little show “Hamilton” that everybody’s talkin’ about.

Posted by Tracy