In Their Own Words....from the BBC

Have you ever heard of the BBC's series In Their Own Words: British Novelists - Interviews with Remarkable Modern Writers?

I just spent a totally enjoyable 27 minutes listening to a fascinating interview with J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien talks about how he came to write The Hobbit (on the back of a student's exam paper), and what he had in mind when he began to write The Lord of the Rings. Also present are students and fans of the trilogy - talking about what is special or unique and what Tolkien's books meant to them. Of course, there is the obligatory derogatory comment, deriding Tolkien's fiction as the worst kind of escapism. (Tell me - what' wrong with escaping, every so often?)

It was incredible to actually see Tolkien in person, as he sat in his own den or wandered about Oxford. The last view on the interview is a gradual panning out, from Professor Tolkien standing on a turret at the college, to the whole of Oxford - quite a spectacular view.

Other authors that you can listen to include Virginia Wolfe, Iris Murdoch, John LeCarre, Aldous Huxley, P. G. Wodehouse, Daphne DuMaurier and lots more. Video clips run from 8 minutes to 30 minutes. The Tolkien interview was first broadcast in 1968. (Tolkien died in 1973.) Meg

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

You all know the story. Henry VIII, king of England in the early 1500s, is desperate for a male heir and not adverse to swapping one wife for another it that is what it takes. Henry wants to annul his 20-year marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope, many of Henry's advisors and Catholic Europe do not take kindly to this proposal.

Much has been written about the characters in this real life drama - Henry, the volatile and determined monarch, Catherine the faithful and steadfast Queen, Anne the young and hopeful lady-in-waiting, the brilliant Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas Moore, who opposed Henry outright and lost his head because of his opposition.

In Wolf Hall, however, Hilary Mantel chooses to focus on Thomas Cromwell - the wily and consummate politician. Cromwell is a man lowly born, but with guile and daring, manages to become Henry's confidante - suceeds in giving Henry all that he wants - with momentous consequences.

This historical novel is full of detail and deep in nuance and societal foibles. But perservere. The writing is superb and the story complex and satisfying. Meg

Join a Book Discussion Group this year

The Newport Public Library offers two book discussion groups that meet regularly at the library.

The Tuesday Afternoon Book Discussion Group meets (usually) on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 1:00pm. Luke Owens is the discussion leader and the group discusses a variety of books, both classic and contemporary. Their first meeting is scheduled for September 14th when they will be discussing A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt. A list of the rest of the titles chosen for the year is available here.

The Thursday Evening Book Discussion Group wiil begin on Thursday September 23rd at 7:00pm. Pat LaRose is the discussion leader and this group also looks at a variety of works, both ficition and non-fiction. They begin the year with a discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize winning classic by Harper Lee. At the first meeting, the group will have the opportunity to weigh in on the rest of the titles chosen for the year. Some possible titles are listed here.

Both these groups offer lively discussion and good reading. Consider them when you are making your plans for the fall. Meg

Thursday Evening Book Group in Review - A Year's Worth of Books

The Thursday Evening Book Group met at the Blue Plate Diner for their annual July get-together. We discussed the book The Road Home by Rose Tremain and reviewed our reading for the past year. We were in agreement that this year's list was a good one, with variety and depth to the selections. When asked for favorites from the list, some had trouble deciding.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay was a top choice for several members. Others enjoyed The Girls by Lori Lansens, Into the Forest by Jean Hegland, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and one person chose The Road Home. No one chose any of the non-fiction selections as a favorite, but among them the stand-outs were The Widow Clicquot (about the lady who made champagne) by Tilar Mazzeo and American Made (about the WPA) by Nick Taylor.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our social evening, and as a added surprise we were joined by a former member who had moved away and was back for the summer. A great evening and a great year of book reading and discussion.

If this sounds enticing to you, perhaps you'd like to join us next year. We meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m., once a month, usually the third Thursday. We will meet again on September 23rd to discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in honor of the 50th anniversary of publication. At that meeting, we will review the list of possible selections for the next season, October through July.

Contact Pat LaRose (847-8720, Ext 103) for more information about the Thursday Evening Book Group. Contact Luke Owens (847-8720, Ext. 208) if you are interested in the Tuesday Afternoon group. PL

A Zoo Book for July

Did you know that July 1st (1874) is the anniversary of the opening of America's first zoo? On that date, the Philadephia Zoological Society opened the Philadelphia Zoo for the first time. The price of admission was $.25 for adults and $.10 for children. There were over 800 animals present.

In honor of this anniversary, why not read a wonderful book about a zoo and a little know World War II drama. The book is entitled The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman.

When the Germans invaded Poland (in 1939) the city of Warsaw was decimated - along with the city's zoo. With most of the animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began sheltering Jews (escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto), as well as Polish resisters (and some surviving animals from the zoo), in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Based on Antonina's own memoirs and newspaper interviews, as well as Ackerman's own research in Poland, the result is an exciting and unforgettable portrait of courage and grace under fire.

Ackerman said, in an interview, "I felt that her [Antonina's] story needed to be told, because it's a tale of heroic compassion, something 'ordinary' people rise to in every era, though we hear little about it." Meg

Reading challenge – read five Pulitzer Prize winning novels this summer!

Sometimes I find it hard to find a “good book” to read. I am a mystery fan and used to love delving into the puzzles and nuances of good detective fiction – trying to figure out whodunit – and often why and when and how. But sometimes even a “good mystery” does not satisfy. So I have been turning to prize winning fiction and non-fiction as a source for titles. This month I was looking at Pulitzer Prize winning fiction – and there are some intriguing titles there that both you and I might want to try.

This year’s winner, Tinkers, by Paul Harding is about an old New England man who is dying. The book travels through his memories of mending and “tinkering” with the clocks that were his occupation. It is a fictional (and thus often profound) look at life and death, suffering and joy and the daily lives that people live.

Last year’s winner, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout, is also about a New England family – this time in Maine. Stout has crafted a series of short stories – all taking place in and around the small town where Olive and her husband live – that are connected by common characters and outlook. This is a fine book that I, for one, could not put down, once I got into story number two.

The Pulitzer Prize web site lists all winners and many runners-up – so you have quite a few titles and kinds of works to choose from. If you choose to click on “Back to Categories list” – you can browse through ALL the categories for which a Pulitzer is awarded – Biography, Drama, History, etc., to say nothing of all the award winning newspaper stories and photography that are also the domain of the Pulitzer Prize.

Web Sites for Mystery Lovers

The May 1st issue of Booklist, a library journal devoted to book reviews and recommendations, featured mysteries and included some really good recommendations for online sites for mystery readers. I thought I would share some of these with you.

The Malice Domestic site is dedicated to mysteries that are traditional and “cozy,” as the site’s subtitle “If traditional mysteries are your cup of tea…” alludes to. Malice Domestic provides all kinds of information about their annual convention (next one – April-May, 2011), but also lists all the Agatha Awards given out (since 1988) and is a fun site to just explore.

Sisters in Crime is an organization and a web site dedicated to the promotion and support of women who write mysteries. A really neat feature of Sisters in Crime is their extensive list of Mystery Bookstores and Sisters in Crime (often abbreviated SinC) author web sites. (Check under Resources in the left-hand menu.)

The Mystery Writers of America give out the annual Edgar Awards (and have done since 1946!) and their site contains information about their organization as well as a complete archive of all the winners and nominees for the Edgars.

For a site that tries to pull all of this together - listing award winners and nominees, new books, old titles and much more (over 37,000 titles) try Stop You’re Killing Me. This is a wonderful site for mystery lovers. A very unique Stop You’re Killing Me feature are the indexes. They have an historical index (find mysteries that take place in the Colonial era), a job index (find mysteries that involve an interior decorator), a location index (find mysteries that take place in New Mexico) and more.

The world of mysteries and mystery writers is huge and growing bigger by the day. Perhaps these sites (and your friendly, neighborhood librarian) can help you discover your next mystery to read and enjoy. Meg