Sunday, March 30, 2014

Book Review
Casebook by Mona Simpson

I love a good coming-of-age story. Mona Simpson’s “Casebook” is a good coming-of-age story, and so much more.

The story starts when narrator Miles is 12 years old and takes us through his high school years, and a few years beyond. We also get insights from his friend Hector through some “footnotes.”

At points, the story is heart-breaking, laugh-out-loud funny and poignant. So many emotions and situations are played out that it’s certain to tug at everyone’s heart strings one way or another.

The crux of the story is that Miles’ parents are splitting up and his mother’s new boyfriend is a bit of a mystery. Miles goes from not liking or trusting him, to liking him, to hoping he can make them a normal two-parent family again, and then back to not liking him. With the help of Hector and a private investigator they hire (How they get the money is one of the really funny parts of the story.) and his own eavesdropping and surveillance techniques, Miles learns that the boyfriend – Eli – is not what he claims to be.

In the six years the story spans, Miles’ relationship with his twin sisters changes as he, and they, mature. As often happens when you’re 12 and growing up, his relationships with his friends changes. While he grows closer to Hector, other friends drift apart for various reasons. He’s also thinking about girls, sex and his own weight issues.

We also learn a lot about what Miles and Hector feel about divorce and other relationships their parents, adult relatives and friends of their parents are having.

As I said, I love a good coming-of-age story. They don’t get a whole lot better than “Casebook.”

4 of 5


I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

St. Bonaventure Professor Pens First Novel
With Encouragement of Peer, Former Students

Dr. Denny Wilkins’ first novel is a love story in more ways than one.

Without the supportive embrace of a respected peer and two former students, “mapping Utah” still would be just a Word file on his computer, said Wilkins, now in his 18th year as a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University.

Wilkins will talk about “mapping Utah” at the Olean Public Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9.

Longtime English professor Rick Simpson gushed about Wilkins’ manuscript when he read it several years ago, but it wasn’t until Kelly Zientek, ’05, prodded her former prof that he took the plunge to get the book published.

Wilkins had sent the manuscript to Zientek to read in 2011, but it wasn’t until early last semester — when asked by Wilkins to look at 70,000 words of another book he was working on — that the topic of his first book surfaced again.

“She sent me back her comments on the new book and said, ‘Whatever happened to ‘mapping Utah’?” Wilkins said. “A few days later, she called me and asked if she could try to publish it. She thought I might be angry, but I was never more honored and flattered in my life. This thing would still be sitting on my hard drive if Kelly hadn’t pushed it.”

Zientek had no experience in the publishing world, but was so impressed with “mapping Utah” that she was willing to figure it out in order to get Wilkins’ work in people’s hands.

“I just felt like he was this really accomplished person and feared that I might be overstepping my bounds, but he was really receptive to the idea,” said Zientek, an adjunct ESL instructor at UNC-Charlotte. “I just started Googling, and actually found some e-books on publishing e-books to help me figure this out.”

Zientek enlisted friend and former college roommate Holly McIntyre Hartigan, ’05, to design the book’s cover. The gesture was especially meaningful to Wilkins; Holly was dating senior Shane Colligan in the spring of 2003 when Colligan died, nine years to the day after receiving his first of two heart transplants.

“Holly and Shane’s roommates came to me the Monday after he died,” recalled Wilkins, a respected teacher but notoriously tough grader. “Shane had left an email posted on his dorm room door with a compliment from me of maybe six words and he had written on it in big red letters, ‘Yowza!’ They just thought Shane would have liked me to have it, so having Holly involved in my book is very special.”

Zientek formatted Wilkins’ novel to be published as an e-book for Kindle, Nook and Smashwords, and as a print-on-demand paperback she created through Createspace.com; it’s available with the e-books at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

“What e-publishing and print-on-demand has done is give authors a lot more power over their work,” she said. “And in the past, where you might get only a few weeks on a store shelf to turn a profit before it gets pulled, being available as an e-book gives a book a chance to grow organically and slowly as people discover it.”

Wilkins meticulously details the fitful journey to publication at mappingutah.com, but in a nutshell:

In 1989, the love of Wilkins’ life rejected his matrimonial request, he emptied two six-packs, wrote 30 pages he only vaguely recalls writing, threw the floppy disk in a box, found it five years later, decided adding to the story was better than working on his doctoral dissertation, forgot about it again, discovered it four years later, fleshed out the characters some more, sent sample chapters to 70 literary agents, got feedback from one who said it was wordy, whacked 48,000 words (one at a time), and then let it “gather digital dust” for another six years.

Enter Dr. Simpson. Over breakfast while discussing another friend’s attempt at a novel, Wilkins cracked to Simpson, “I’m sure glad I didn’t let you read mine.”

Unaware Wilkins had written a book, Simpson pestered him for months until Wilkins finally let him read it. A month later, Simpson emailed him:

“The characters are marvelous. You attempt one of the most difficult feats of all for the male novelist, screenwriter, dramatist, or poet, namely the portrayal from the inside of a complex, flawed, mature, maturing woman. … The portrayals of both (main characters) are striking and memorable. And many fine minor characters show up. … I found myself caring about these people quickly and deeply. I turned pages rapidly. I thought about the story when I wasn’t reading. I wanted to get back to the book when I was elsewhere.”

Flattered to the brink of tears, Wilkins still left the manuscript in dry dock for five more years until he let Zientek read it. She did more than get it published.

“Kelly is really the person who made it better,” Wilkins said. “She did a conceptual edit, and then a line edit. She found things as a woman that as a guy I didn’t see. And she was incredibly professional about it. She didn’t make changes, she just pointed out the problems and let me make the decisions.”

The editing process was payback for a professor’s passionate devotion to detail, Zientek said.

“Denny drilled a couple of things into our heads as J-students: don’t be redundant; and show, don’t tell,” she said. “So I had to laugh out loud a few times when I would make comments on the manuscript to ask him to show, not just tell.”

Subtitled “love and war in the wilderness,” Wilkins’ “mapping Utah” is about a 30-year-old woman named Kara who flees a stifling job and relationship in Seattle and follows the prompting of a mysterious map into the majesty of Utah.

There, she encounters Noah, a licensed pilot who adores his hermitic existence in Greasewood Draw, where he battles the destruction of delicate wildlife areas by dropping paint bombs from an ultralight plane onto off-road vehicles.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Teeny's Tour of Pie

Do you like pie? Silly, question, right? Everyone loves pie!

Well, you'll love it even more after reading Teeny's Tour of Pie. It's more than a cookbook; it's Teeny LaMothe's cross-country adventure to learn tricks and secrets of pie-making from some of America's best bakers.

The mouth-wateringly good pictures, some of which Teeny took herself, will make you want to start baking right now. And the variety of pies is incredible. From sweet to savory and pot pies to cream pies she's got it all -- even Teeny's teeny pies.

You can hear my conversation with Teeny here.

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Book Review:
The House at the End of Hope Street

Menna Van Praag's The House at the End of Hope Street is a delightfully enchanting tale that may have readers wishing they could find the house and live there themselves.

But they won’t be able to find it unless they need it. That’s how this magical house works. For more than 200 years the house has beckoned women who need its comfort, encouragement and insight to work out problems in their lives. And, yes, the house is a living entity that “laughs,” “applauds” and “hugs” in unique and sometimes funny ways.

Over the years thousands of women – including Florence Nightingale, Vivien Leigh, Daphne DeMaurier and Elizabeth Taylor – have spent time at the house and still talk to the current residents through their pictures that hang on the walls. One of my favorite living person/not-living-person encounters includes Beatrix Potter who, apparently, can’t keep a secret.

Peggy Abbott is the current landlady, a job that has been in her family for generations. When the quirky, cream-loving octogenarian gets a note from the house on her 82nd birthday telling her this will be her last birthday so she needs to find a replacement for herself, she frets at first. But eventually she concentrates on her gentleman friend Harry, with whom she still has good sex on their Sunday dates, and wonders if she has thrown her life away by running the house instead of running away with him.

The three women staying at the house are college student Alba, struggling actress Greer and waitress/singer Carmen. They all have secrets gnawing at them, and keeping them from moving forward with their lives.

Alba, with the help of Stella, the ghost who tells her she’s been waiting for her, grows the most during the story. Not only does she have secrets, secrets are being kept from her as well. When her family comes together for a sad event, and some of those secrets are revealed, Alba goes on a quest to find out who she is – both literally and figuratively. Not an easy quest for a girl who would rather be surrounded by books than people.

Greer and Carmen both have issues that are holding them back and keeping them from reaching their potential but, through the help of the house, they are able to overcome to those issues.

Some of the imagery Van Praag uses is breathtakin. The most shining example is her description of a laugh as being a mixture of sunshine and champagne.

I read a review in which the reviewer seemed disappointed that all the characters got what they wanted or needed at the end of the story. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with everyone getting a happy ending. The house is on Hope Street, after all.

I received this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

The Interestings
By Meg Wolitzer

One of the most popular books of 2013 is now out in paperback.

This morning author Meg Wolitzer and I talked about The Interestings. You can listen here.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Stone Cold
By C.J. Box

C.J. Box is one of my favorite authors, not just because of his books, but because he's such a great interview. I spoke with him today about the newest Joe Pickett novel Stone Cold.

The case Joe is working in Stone Cold is a bit of a departure from the usual, but Joe is still the same Joe with all his quirks and stubbornness. His buddy Nate is back, too, and plays an integral role in the story. And, there's a side story about Joe's daughter Sheridan, who is in college now.

C.J. and I talked about the book, another Joe Pickett project and the Hollywood actor/producer/director who is interested in turning the Joe Pickett series into a TV series.

You can listen to our conversation here.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Book Review
Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro

Parenting today has myriad challenges and the mommies and daddies in Julia Fierro’s Cutting Teeth are dealing with just about all of them – along with their own issues.

We all know parents who would not be friends except for the fact that their children are friends, or go to the same school, or are in the same playgroup. That seems to be the case in Cutting Teeth, where the mommies – and one daddy – probably wouldn’t hang out together at all if not for the playgroup.

When Nicole – who is convinced a catastrophic event is about to happen in New York City (because it’s on the Internet so it has to be true) – invites the playgroup families to her parents’ house at the beach it becomes obvious how dissimilar the families are.

Also obvious is a sense of desperation many of them have. Overbearing social climber Tiffany is desperate to prove she is not white trash (which is how she grew up) and will go to any lengths to get what she wants. Stay-at-Home-Daddy Rip is desperate to have another child partly because he believes he will have no purpose after his Hank starts school. Former debutante Leigh is so desperate to have another child through in vitro fertilization (to prove her son’s problems are not her fault) that she turns to crime.

The fun part is when all of these things play out during the long weekend, which also has Nicole obsessing over the end of the world, pregnant lesbian mom Susanna wondering about her relationship with wife Allie, and Rip’s wife Grace trying to prove she’s not a bad mother. Add to the mix nanny Tenzin, the “Tibetan Mary Poppins,” who has her own story to tell. And the kids: Harper, a 4-year-old diva and the only girl in the group; Hank, the overly sensitive little boy whose greatest desire is to have a princess dress; and hyperactive Chase who no one but Tenzin and, strangely, Tiffany can connect with or control.

One of the tests of a good book for me is whether I think about the characters when I’m not reading. About 100 pages from the end, before I picked it up for the day, I said to myself, “I wonder what Tiffany’s up to today?” And I don’t even like Tiffany!

Something Cutting Teeth reminded me of is that I don’t have to like a character to have her be my favorite. At different points in the book I liked and disliked all of them. But, together, they’re a fun and sometimes poignant package that I’m glad I got to know.

I received this book from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 5

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The Food Lover's Guide to Paris
By Patricia Wells

This is the enchanting and delicious revision of the classic bestseller with 450 entries -- 345 of which are new. This beloved culinary guide has been entirely rewritten by Paris authority Patricia Wells, who takes readers, travelers and diners to the best restaurants, bistos, cafes and bakeries the City of Light has to offer.

The book has also been entirely re-photographed, with the gorgeous, glossy images bring the sights, smells and romance of Paris to life.

It also includes a French/English food glossary and quick-reference indexes. Plus, some of the finest chefs in Paris have confided their secret recipes and allowed Patricia to include 40 of them in the book.

You can hear my conversation with Patricia here.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Cider Brook
By Carla Neggers

Sometimes I can't believe I actually get paid to do my job. This -- my chat with Carla Neggers -- was one of those times.

We talked about her latest Swift River Valley novel, Cider Brook, which includes romance, intrigue and even a hunt for pirate treasure. It's a really fun book and my conversation with its best selling author was fun, too.

She even gave us a little hint about who will be featured in the next Swift River Valley story.

If you want to see pictures of the area where she based the stories, go to CarlaNeggers.com and click on the blog link. To hear our conversation, go here.

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Monday, March 17, 2014

Retribution
By Anderson Harp

Anderson Harp served 30 years in the US Marine Corps, rising through the ranks to become a colonel, and has served as the Officer in Charge of the Crisis Action Team for Marine Forces Central Command.

Using his up-to-date knowledge of cutting edge technology, and the kind of military experience that make for great thriller writing, Harp has created a fast-moving and totally riveting story that's sure to make him a leading name in the military/political thriller genre.

You can listen to our conversation about Retribution here.

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I See You Made an Effort
By Annabelle Gurwitch

Actress and author Annabelle Gurwitch gives us a laugh-out-loud, spot-on look at how feels for a woman to turn 50 in "I See You Made an Effort."

If you're frustrated by brain fog, can't figure out what age-appropriate clothes to wear and shell out big bucks for "Hope in a Jar," this book is for you.

But it's not just for women. Men may want to take a look to see how women feel. And, believe me, we all feel this way.

By the way -- there is no new 50. 50 is 50. Find out why in "I See You Made an Effort."

Listen to my conversation with Annabelle here.

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Book Review
Panic by Lauren Oliver

If it's possible to get an adreneline rush by reading a book, I did. I couldn't turn the pages in Lauren Oliver's Panic fast enough.

Panic is a summer-long game played by graduating seniors that includes several challenges -- some death-defying -- they must complete for a chance to win the $67,000 prize.

Main characters Heather and Dodge have totally different reasons for playing. Heather wants the money so she can leave town, and her train wreck of a mother behind, and never look back. Dodge wants revenge for what happened to his sister during Panic two years ago.

When a person dies during one of the challenges they think the game is over, especially now that the police are paying even closer attention. But Panic goes on and includes nail-biting moments when Heather and her friend Natalie are doing their individual challenges.

The story delves into the characters' relationships with each other, their families and other people in the small Upstate New York town where they live.

All in all, Panic is an exciting, gripping story. Lauren Oliver does it again.

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The Best Laid Plans ...

The plan was to start March Madness at Anne's Book Club with Annabelle Gurwitch and "I See You Made an Effort," but due to technical difficulties at the radio station I can't do that.

On the bright side: I'll be able to post two author interviews tomorrow (fingers crossed).

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

March Madness at
Anne's Book Club

Starting tomorrow it's March Madness here at Anne's Book Club.

Everyday for the rest of the month we'll have interviews with authors, including C.J. Box, Carla Neggers, Annabelle Gurwitch, Anderson Harp, Meg Wolitzer.

We'll also being giving away lots of books. We'll throw in a few book reviews as well.

And we might have some surprises, too. It is madness, after all.

Keep checking back here, as well as Facbeook, Twitter and on the air at 1490 WESB for details.

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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories
By Lani Hall Albert

This afternoon I had a delightful chat with Lani Hall Albert about her first book, Emotional Memoirs & Short Stories.

The singer (Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) and wife of musician Herb Albert (for 45 years!) talks about how she chose the stories she shares in the book, and what they mean for her and all women.

It's an interesting book to pick up for Women's History Month -- or any month -- because it shows how women can empower themselves and each other.

You can listen to our conversation here.

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Monday, March 10, 2014

Book Review
First Love by James Patterson and Emily Raymond

If you liked Hazel and Augustus in The Fault in Our Stars, you will love Axi and Robinson in First Love.

The story starts with Axi telling her best friend Robinson that she is running away from home and has planned a cross-country bus trip, and that she wants him to go with her. Axi's little sister died "before she could tie her shoes," her mother left and all Axi knows is that she went "East," and her father drowns his sorrows at the Reel M Inn Tavern. Why shouldn't she leaver Klamath, Falls, Oregon? Axi thinks. Robinson doesn't hesitate before agreeing to go with her, but thinks Greyhound isn't the way to go. So, their journey starts on a stolen Harley.

They visit, among other places, Torrance, California, where they do some NASCAR driving; Hollywood, where they swim in the pool of an empty for-sale mansion, and crash a star-studded benefit for a children's hospital; Las Vegas, where they are befriended by stripper, and go totally overboard when escaping from a police officer who pulled them over for speeding in a stolen Porsche; and Detroit, where we start learning a little about Robinson's past.

Along the way Axi and Robinson grown closer, and we learn how they met, why they knew they'd be best friends forever and that Axi wasn't the only one who was in love at first sight.

The teens end up in Asheville, North Carolina, where we learn the rest of Robinson's story.

Any more would be a spoiler, and I don't like doing that. I will say I cried, though.

5 of 5

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Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Vatican Diaries
By John Thavis

Award-winning journalist John Thavis talks about "The Vatican Diaries" and offers other observations based on his nearly 30 years of covering The Vatican for Catholic News Service -- and is just as fascinating as I hoped he would be.

Some of the insights he offers are not in the book, so you'll want to listen to hear what he thinks about how Pope Francis is doing, and what he thinks the future holds for the new pope.

This was one of my favorite interviews of the past few months. Thank you, John Thavis!

You can listen to our conversation here.

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A Breast Cancer Alphabet
By Madhulika Sikka

Madhulika Sikka is the executive editor of NPR News and a breast cancer survivor. Now she's hoping A Breast Cancer Alphabet will help other women get through this serious, scary and stressful time in their lives.

She says she didn't start out to write in alphabet form, but was just writing her thoughts. She hadn't even planned on passing them on to anyone else. But I'll let her tell you the rest of the story.

You can hear our conversation by going to WESB.com/listen, clicking on the "Local Programs tab, and scrolling to today's date. (03-05-14). (A short piece on Good Deeds Day precedes Madhulika.)

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Newbery-Winner Avi to Speak at Pitt-Bradford

Avi, the Newbery Award-winning author of more than 70 books for children and young adults, will visit the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford March 19.

The presentation, “A Conversation with Avi,” will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Harriett B. Wick Chapel. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the Pitt-Bradford Hospitality Management Program will provide refreshments.

The visit, sponsored by the Pitt-Bradford education program and the Education Club, is free and open to the public. To reserve a seat, contact Dr. Wayne Brinda, assistant professor of education, at wjb27@pitt.edu.

Most recognized for his Newbery-winning Crispin series, Avi will talk about how he gets his ideas and thoughts on using adolescent literature and will read excerpts from his most recent story, “Sophia’s War,” and other books. A book signing will follow the presentation, and books will be available for purchase.

Avi says that engaging his readers is one of the key reasons he keeps writing, and he has been fortunate enough to hear directly from readers about the impact his books have had. “I have been touched many times by readers who find some special connection between their lives and something I have written: the Danish girl who read something of mine in Danish, and struggled to communicate that in her halting English; the autistic boy who somehow found something meaningful about my books that reached his own inner life; the women who have told me how important ‘The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle’ was to them when growing up; the boy who felt a new sense of courage after reading ‘Crispin.’”

Beyond his fans’ questions about the characters he has created, the writer’s most commonly heard question may be about his own use of the single name “Avi.”

“As a young adult, I was a reader of French literature, which has that one name tradition: Moliere, Racine, Anouilh, Gide, and so forth,” he explains. “Then too, Avi (which is not my birth certificate name) was given to me by my twin sister when we were infants, and it stuck. Then my family was opposed to my becoming a writer because they considered my writing poor (which it was, then). By using my own name (Avi), I was having my revenge on family.”

Although he believes — and has the awards to show — that his writing skills have improved, writing still does not come easily to him, despite having more than 70 books to his credit. “I never studied writing in any formal sense. I taught myself to write by reading and by imitating what I was reading,” he says.

Avi earned the Newbery Award in 2003 for the first of his “Crispin” books, “Crispin: The Cross of Lead.” The Newbery is given annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children for that year.

Avi also received Newbery honors for “True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” and “Nothing but the Truth,” both of which also received Boston Globe Horn Book Awards, along with “Poppy.” He has earned the Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award for “The Fighting Ground” and the Christopher Award for “Encounter at Easton.”

In addition to his evening talk, Avi will also visit students at School Street and St. Bernard elementary schools, Fretz Middle School and Bradford Area High School during the day.

14 women to watch in 2014 - Blog Post | BookPage

14 women to watch in 2014 - Blog Post | BookPage

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Eyes Closed Tight
By Peter Leonard

Peter Leonard's new book "Eyes Closed Tight" was released today and he talked with me about it.

You can listen here.

It's a page-turner of a thriller from the son of the legendary Elmore Leonard about a retired Detroit homicide detective who gets pulled back into a case when women are found murdered outside the motel he's now running in Florida. Similarities to a case of O'Clair's in Detroit make him think someone is trying to send him a message. And it gets even more personal than that.

One of the things I love about my job is reading great books before they're released so I can tell people to go out and buy them or check them out at the library as soon as they're available. So, do it! :)

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