Blue Blood

If you follow Blue Bloods this current television season, you might like the memoir on which it’s based, Edward Conlon’s Blue blood (363.2094 CONLON).  Conlon covers his years as a cop, starting out on the housing project beat and rising to detective, working Narcotics along the way.  This is a realistic portrayal of the daily grind, not car chases and pratfalls, although there can be PR disasters and rewarding moments as well.  

I just finished his first novel, Red on red (FICTION CONLON). The cop interaction reminds me of the best of TV’s NYPD Blue or Hill Street Blues; there are several intersecting story lines with enough gritty truth and pathos (suicide, mistaken identity, murder and a serial rapist) to admire anyone who takes up a badge and works the Job.

He recently retired from the force because “I was a cop for 18 years and I only wrote one fiction book.”  Here’s hoping there are many more books to come from Mr. Conlon. 

Book Discussions and Book Discussion Groups

Looking for a book group? The librarians at the 2^nd Floor information desk may be able to assist you in finding one that will suit.  We keep a list of local area book groups and a list of electronic resources that book groups may find useful.

From time to time there are also special events that include book discussions, such as Mountain View Reads or the current Silicon Valley Reads 2012.

Silicon Valley Reads 2012

http://www.siliconvalleyreads.org

The theme for this year is “Muslim and American” – Two perspectives.  From the link you can find out more information about the 100+ events that free for all ages throughout Santa Clara County.  Book Discussion Groups are part of these plans and include discussions on two books.

The Muslim Next Door (297 Ali-Karamali)

By Sumbul Ali-Karamali.

Wednesday, Feb. 1st at 6 p.m. at Edenvale Branch Library. Information: 408-354-1242

Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p. m.   at San Jose Women’s Club. Information: 408-354-1242

Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p. m.  at Sunnyvale Public Library. Information: 408-730-7300

You can also join the new San Jose Public Library Online Book club which debuts in February with discussion of The Muslim Next Door. Check the website: http://www.sjpl.org/ebookclub.

The Butterfly Mosque (297.092 Wilson)

By G. Willow Wilson

Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m.  at Evergreen Branch Library.  Information: 408-808-2173

Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6:45 p.m. at Santa Teresa Branch Library.  Information: 408-808-2173

Another events you may find of interest:

Willow Wilson, author of The Butterfly Mosque, talks about her book and answers questions about being a Muslim and American. Co-sponsored by Friends of Mountain View Library.

Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m.  at Mountain View Public Library.  Information: 650-903-6337                  

Killed at the Whim of a Hat

Colin Cotterill takes a break from his popular Dr. Siri series, which is set in Laos, to introduce Jimm Juree in what hopefully will be a new series.  “Killed at the Whim of a Hat”, title taken from a George W. Bush quote, is a fine beginning.  Jimm, an aspiring crime reporter, has moved from the “big city” to rural Southern Thailand with her quirky family and jumps at the chance to get involved (and get a scoop!) in two cases.  Cotterill writes with his usual humor about a world very different from ours but just as intriguing.

I remember, don’t I?

Two first novels dealing with different aspects of memory made for great reading this past month. Imagine what your life would be like if you had no memory of the past. Christine in Before I go to sleep puts it succinctly:

"Another day was ending. Soon I will sleep and my brain will begin to delete everything.  Tomorrow I will go through it all again."

 The doctor who is working with Christine to retrieve her memories urges her to keep a journal, one that  she decides to hide  from her husband Ben.  The doctor calls her everyday to remind her where the journal is. She adds to the journal faithfully.  She does recall some things: she published a successful novel; she and Ben had a son, Adam; she had a best friend, Claire. Why doesn’t Ben talk about these things?  Why is he so sure she can never be better? Author S.J. Watson builds up the tension to a chilling conclusion as Christine discovers the truth. 

In Turn of mind, Dr. Jennifer White’s world is falling apart. Jennifer is recently widowed, newly diagnosed with dementia and living with a caretaker; her illness has forced her to retire from a successful orthopedic practice. When best friend Amanda is found murdered (with four fingers missing), Jennifer becomes a person of interest to the police. Did Jennifer kill Amanda? If she didn’t, who did? Jennifer’s children Mark and Fiona have their own agendas as she deteriorates further and the police search for answers. Author Alice LaPlante does a superb job in depicting Alzheimer’s and the family tragedy that ensues. Her prose is literate but engaging; this is more than just a thriller. 

Veteran’s Day 11.11.11

Friday is Veteran’s Day.  World War I started almost a hundred years ago: for background information on its causes, there is no better source than Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August, written in 1962.  It won the Pulitzer Prize and cemented her reputation as a popular historian.  Many of the combatants were still alive in 1962; almost 50 years on, I’m not sure there are any survivors. 

Survivors’ stories do live on in Beauty and the Sorrow: An Intimate History of the First World War, a compilation of 20 personal accounts of the war across all occupations and nationalities. Infantrymen, nurses, civilians and schoolchildren recorded their experiences and author Peter Englund paraphrased or quoted them directly from letters, diaries and memoirs.  Initial enthusiasm for the war gave way to shock, bitterness and exhaustion as the war dragged on with no clear winners.   

If you would prefer a visual history, the Library has many excellent DVDs: First World War, Great War, Last day of World War I, WorldWar I: American Legacy and World War I in Color.  We have outstanding feature films dealing with the war as well: All Quiet on the Western Front, Gallipoli, King and Country and Paths of Glory all depict the futility of war. Two French films, Life and Nothing But and Very Long Engagement demonstrate  the toll taken on those left to mourn. 

Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

This year’s Mountain View Reads Together book choice is Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, the most recent book by environmental writer Bill McKibben. The author describes a drastically changed planet he calls “Eaarth,” yet also offers hope via new ways of living. McKibben is the founder of the grassroots group 350.org, dedicated to solving climate change.

Mountain View Reads Together, currently in its sixth year, is a project that creates a shared community experience by offering a series of events related to one book. All of Mountain View is encouraged to read or listen to the chosen book, and participate in related events. 

A series of free activities that are related to the themes of the book will be offered throughout November. For more information visit mvreads.org or www.mountainview.gov/library.

October 31st is the deadline for the art contest. Create a work of art in any medium, suggested by the themes of the book http://www.mvreads.org/files/ArtContestRules.pdf 

Butterfly's Child

Opera fan?  Puccini fan?  Madame Butterfly fan?  Ever wonder what happened to Butterfly and Pinkerton’s son, Benji?  “Butterfly’s Child” by Angela Davis-Garner follows his life back in the United States, possibly not quite as you imagined it.  The book is available in the What's New Fiction Section.

Indulge yourself by first watching the Madama Butterfly DVD (DVD 782.1 MADAMA PUCCINI, 1^st floor)