The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

My synopsis: In this novel, we watch as characters evolve (some may argue they devolve) independent of physical location but in direct relation to their quest for the meaning of life during a certain time period. In The Moviegoer, the main character, Binx, appears to live a life driven by money, lust and a constant running from past memories. While Binx searches out truth, amidst the shadows of modern everydayness, he finds solace in his moviegoing. A book most anyone can relate to ~ Who doesn’t sit down to a movie at one time or another to escape?

A local book club member noted how she felt about this book, “I didn’t feel like I was invited into the book.” Well blog readers, please consider yourself invited in and my guest.

At first, I read this novel and found it rather sad. Then, I explored the hundreds of resources at OCFPL. From the comfort of your home, I suggest you utilize the online resources @ oceancitylibrary.org. I guarantee you will find information that makes you feel welcomed within the pages of this and other novels. With such resources one will uncover opinions, truths and/or hidden intentions of the novel. Article by article, I gained appreciation for the author and his writing. This leads to my database of the month:













Lacy, Robert. "The Moviegoer," Fifty Years After." Southern Review 47.1 (2011): 49-54. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

Osborne, V. (2009). The Most Ordinary Life Imaginable": Cold War Culture in Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer. Southern Literary Journal, 41(2), 106-125.

The Aleph by Paulo Coelho

The Aleph
Super Quick Synopsis ~ An author goes on a spiritual journey traveling via the Trans-Siberian Railway with his following (admirers, devotees &/or employees). While life paths intertwine meaning is attempted to be found in each experience (often only by the reader;). Travel, loss, spiritual growth, past lives, kindness, forgiveness, rituals, religion are all subjects visited.

But “Whats it all about Alphie?” well you’ll just have to read the book!




Mining for pearls in a sea of databases....
I often find if you do some research, into any subject, you find a gem. This gem inspires you to appreciate the author and his writing. I found many pearls on my journey to find endearing qualities about this book.

My favorite Ocean City Free Public Library mining database this month is Films on Demand, AVOD. AVOD provides Streaming technology allows you to access high quality video content via the Internet.

AVOD offers two video on Coelho:

The One and the Many: Pilgrims in a World of Faith (53:00)
Whether for pardon, healing, inspiration, or enlightenment, a pilgrimage can be a journey through the kingdom of spirit. In this program, Paul Coelho, author of The Pilgrimage; His Holiness the Dalai Lama; the director of the Tiberias Center for Kabbalah and Healing; and others reflect on the history and significance of major pilgrimage destinations, including Santiago de Compostela, Mecca, Bodh Gaya, the Jordan and Ganges Rivers, the tombs of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai and Kôbô Daishi, and Chamundi Hill. (53 minutes)” http://avod.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=11716&xtid=11738

Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist of Words (48:00)
With sales of more than 32 million books in 51 languages, Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho is one of the most widely read authors in the world. This program captures Coelho’s story through conversations with the award-winning writer and those who know and admire him. Coelho’s use of a symbolic language, designed to transcend the intellect to speak directly to the heart, is discussed along with colorful incidents spanning his life, from his youthful involvement with the hippie movement to his emergence as a world-class author. In addition, The Alchemist, a number one bestseller in 29 countries, and some of his more recent writings are examined. (48 minutes) http://avod.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=11716&xtid=30017

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks was an ordinary mother of five living in Baltimore in the 1950s. She grew up in poverty on a tobacco farm of Virginia and she died after an extremely destructive bout of cervical cancer at the age of 30. During the course of her treatment, a sample of her cancerous tissue was taken without her knowledge or consent by scientists. What happened next couldn’t have been predicted by anyone – Henrietta’s cells contained the ability to survive in the lab indefinitely. Known as HeLa cells, their almost magical properties allowed scientists to discover vast new ways to treat all types of illnesses, including polio.

Despite all the triumphs in the labs, the Lacks family continued to live in poverty with no knowledge about Henrietta’s cells. It was only decades later that they were able to fully comprehend just how important their mother was to modern science. You can imagine how upset and proud they were.

Rebecca Skloot spent a decade uncovering and researching this story. Her research really shows. But don’t be afraid of the science jargon– Skloot takes special care to break down even the most advanced science issues and procedures into easy to understand language. You’ll be fascinated by what scientists have been able to accomplish thanks to the HeLa cells. More importantly, you’ll be asking yourself the question – if it’ll help to scientific advancements, who really owns my body?

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

Lucy is just a normal 20-something, living in a small town and working as a children's librarian. Things are pretty humdrum - a potential romance here, some interactions with quirky neighbors there. The one consistently interesting part of Lucy's life is the young patron, 10 year old Ian Drake, who races to the children's area to devour any and all books that Lucy can loan him. Ian comes from a stifling household and his reading habits are closely monitored by his oppressive parents. One day, Lucy arrives early at work and finds Ian has managed to stay in the library overnight. What starts out as a trip to return Ian to his house turns into a road trip all across the Northeast. Lucy doesn't mean to kidnap Ian - it just turns out that way. As the two travel across many states, Lucy tries to figure out what in the hell she's just done (and what can she do now?!).As the trip continues, Lucy comes to grips with her actions and tries to rediscover what makes her tick.

Despite it's potentially creepy subject matter, The Borrower is actually quite a charming little story. Both Lucy and Ian are fairly fleshed out characters and readers can clearly sympathize with their decisions. Makkai throws in a ton of pop culture and literary references, such as Goodnight Moon and The Music Man. Lucy genuinely cares for Ian on a parental level (thus eliminating any references to Lolita) and just wants him to be happy. The two have such a sweet repetoire that in spite of the stupidity of their situation, you can't help but tag along with them on their adventure.

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

The major criticism of Lisa See's previous book Shanghai Girls was that it ended so abruptly. At long last, with See's new book Dreams of Joy, fans will finally see what wound up happening to sisters May and Pearl and their daughter Joy. Joy picks up immediately where Shanghai Girls left off, where Joy runs away after her father's suicide whereupon she learns that Pearl is actually her aunt and not her biological mother (May is the true mother). Joy flees the United States and returns to China in an effort to find her true biological father, an artist named Z.G. The only problem is that China is undergoing its massive communist program "The Great Leap Forward" and the country is very very different than what Joy is prepared for. Once in China, Joy finds her father and settles into life on the Green Dragon commune and struggles to regain control over her life and what she thought was her family. Meanwhile, Pearl rushes back into the country she fled 20 years ago to find and rescue her daughter. But with Mao and the communist regime in charge, living is significantly harder than expected.

Overall, a quick read. Readers will see life through both Joy and Pearl's eyes. Despite not being her biological mother, Pearl has a fierce love and devotion for her daughter that is touching. As Joy quickly realizes the error of her decision to come to China, her growth and maturation is 100% believable.

Lost in Shangri-la : the epic true story of a World War II plane crash into the Stone Age by Mitchell Zuckoff

It sounds like it could be a classic Hollywood action film – a plane crashes in a dense jungle in New Guinea and the few survivors aboard must deal with a variety of life-threatening problems, the least of which includes the cannibalistic natives that are all around them. The crazy thing is that what could pass for an entertaining summer movie actually did happen and the events are recounted in Mitchell Zuckoff’s new book Lost in Shangri-La. During World War II, the United States established a military base in New Guinea. On one fateful day, a group of military men and women decide to take a sightseeing trip to an obscure part of the island, dubbed “Shangri-La.” When the plane crashes, only three members of the team manage to survive – a lively WAC (Women’s Army Corps), a young lieutenant who lost his twin brother in the crash and takes command of the trio, and a sergeant with a massive head injury.

The group has no food (relying on Charms hard candy), little water, no way to contact their military base, and the knowledge that the local Dani tribe are quite violent and unpredictable. The rest of the book is about their survival and the courageous efforts that the military takes to rescue them, including dropping in a group of paratroopers and a dangerous plane rescue.

This amazing story of courage and daring feats of bravery will ultimately inspire and thrill anyone (even non-fiction fans).

Summer 2011 Book Club selections

Without further ado, here are the selections for the library's summer 2011 book club:

6/28: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand7/12: Loving Frank by Nancy Horan7/26: Composed: A Memoir by Roseanne Cash

8/9: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov8/23: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Registration will begin on 6/1. The first 25 people to register will receive free copies of the book. Space is limited, so make sure you register early by either calling 609-399-2434 ext. 5226 or email allison@oceancitylibrary.org

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Having just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction this year, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan offers a little bit of everything to everyone. Egan follows the lives of several individuals who are all loosely connected to each other at various points in their lives. The book starts off examining the life of Sasha, an assistant to a flourishing music producer living in New York City. Sasha is a beautiful but dark character– she’s a long time kleptomaniac with a rough past. As the novel takes off, readers learn more about Sasha’s history (through the eyes of her uncle), as well as take a peek into the lives of her boss, Bennie Salazar, former teenage friends and boyfriends, and several other motley characters with completely unique life stories all their own. Some chapters are touching and quirky (e.g. a story told entirely through the use of PowerPoint slides), while others are solid tragedies.

While the concept for the book could be confusing to some, it doesn’t feel disjointed at all. The hardest part in reading Goon Squad is figuring out where each person fits into the world that Egan has created and at what point in time. The connecting thread that runs through all of the chapters deals with human development– how do we change as we age? How did we get to this particular point in our lives?

If you liked the movies Valentine’s Day or Magnolia (both of which feature lots of different mini-narratives within one major story), you’ll undoubtedly love A Visit from the Goon Squad.

Please look after Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin

An act so simple winds up creating the most compelling story that could happen to anyone with elderly parents. Park So-nyo is on her way to meet her children in Seoul when she vanishes at the train station. As the days turn into weeks with no sign of their mother, the family copes with the anguish over their major loss. The book has 4 major chapter/perspectives- So-nyo's eldest daughter, eldest son, husband and then So-nyo herself. As the novel unwinds, readers find out more and more about the woman who has done everything in her power to keep her (ungrateful) family happy and stable. All families have their secrets, but as the primary caretaker in the house, "Mom" has the most.

Please Look after Mom was a bestseller in Korea and only recently was translated into English. Readers may be slightly turned off by the second-person narrative style (which really isn't used all that frequently in contemporary fiction), but one gets used to it fairly quickly.

I absolutely LOVED this book - the language, the changing perspectives and the plot were incredibly interesting and absorbing. I can't recommend it enough!

Sing you home by Jodi Picoult

I can say one thing about Jodi Picoult - she's definitely not afraid to broach the "hot" topics of our time. This time around, Picoult covers gay marriage, embryo rights, alcoholism as well as infertility. Zoe and Max were married for several years, trying valiantly to conceive, spending thousands of dollars on IVF treatments. When they divorce, neither of them gives any thought to the 3 fertilized embryos that are frozen in storage. However, Zoe (a music therapist) eventually falls in love with Vanessa, a school guidance counselor and the two desparately want to start a family with those frozen embryos. The only problem is that also during this time, Max has become deeply religious and refuses to give away the embryos to a homosexual couple, preferring instead to give them to his older brother and sister-in-law. What follows is par-for-the-course Picoult (tense courtroom scenes and back and forth perspectives). All in all, a good read. The most interesting aspect of Sing you Home is that it comes with a music CD of songs that parallel the themes in the book. The lyrics are written by Picoult and sung by Ellen Wilber.

Fault Lines by Nancy Huston

Shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2008, Fault Lines takes an interesting narrative approach and follows four generations of a family counter-chronologically. Family secrets start to unravel as each generation's character is revealed. We first meet 6 year old Sol, a coddled spoiled brat of a character, as he and his family are on a trip to Germany to revisit a long-lost relative. Huston then introduces the reader to the other generations; his father Randall, grandmother Sadie, and great grandmother Erra. As each character's story unfolds, you can see how each narrative weaves into one. The last section, which centers on Erra, is the most eye-opening one and is the final piece of the novel's puzzle. I don't want to say much more because it'd be giving too much away, but suffice it to say, it's a pretty intense (and sad) read.

Book Blog Exclusive

You read it here first. The titles for the Winter Book Club 2011 are:

January - Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

February - Still Alice by Lisa Genova

March - Room by Emma Donoghue

April - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

May - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

REGISTRATION WILL BEGIN 12/8/2010.

Call 609-399-2434 x5226 OR email allison@oceancitylibrary.org

Up from the Blue by Sue Henderson

I heard about this book during a recent readers advisory workshop for librarians. Everyone raved about this debut novel and since I was lucky enough to score a free copy, I decided to give it a shot.

The story is told through the eyes of young Tillie Harris, a plucky girl who's not afraid to speak her mind. Set in the 1970s, life at the Harris household is strained at best. Tillie's father is in the army developing missile technology. He's about as strict as you can imagine. Tillie's mom suffers from crippling depression, spending the majority of her days in bed. Tillie idolizes her mother and doesn't fully understand her situation. When the family moves to Washington DC, Tillie's mom disappears and the things just go from bad to worse...

Overall, I liked this book. There have been comparisions made between Tillie and Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and that's a pretty apt description. She's a very likable character and you want to root for her within her dreary surroundings.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Every once in awhile, I enjoy a nice long saga. Double points if it's historical fiction. In the past, I've enjoyed Ken Follett's historical works Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, so I figured I'd check out his latest book Fall of Giants, which is the 1st book in his new Century Trilogy. Fall of Giants details the events leading up to and including World War I through the eyes of several different characters. What's interesting about FoG is that these characters are all not only from different socioeconomic situations (e.g. an Earl, a suffragette, a poor mining community), but also from different countries as well (Allies as well as German), so it was definitely enlightening to view the war through various lenses. The bulk of the novel deals with a lot of military talk, so if that's your thing, great. For me, at times, it seemed a little tedious. Despite that, Follett is a decent storyteller and his depictions of battle were very cinematic. As par for the course, Follett throws in a lot of unneccessary sex scenes into the mix as well.

It's probably safe to say that the other books in the trilogy will be about World War II and Vietnam, but who knows? At the rate, I'll definitely check them out.

Ape House by Sara Gruen

In Gruen's debut novel Water for Elephants, readers fell in love with the titular elephant Rosie. In her second novel Ape House, a similar fondness occurs with the aforementioned apes. The cast of bonobos live happily in their Language Lab under the watchful eye of scientist Isabel Duncan. They are able to use sign language to communicate and enjoy playing around with visitors and the other scientists. Everything is going great until the lab gets bombed and the apes mysteriously disappear.

Once the dust settles, Duncan is horrified to find out that the bonobos have been sold to a television producer who has casted them in their own 24 hour reality tv show. Joining forces with a newspaper reporter, an exotic dancer, animal activists and other research assistants, Duncan takes on the fight of her life to rescue her bonobos and give them the proper kind of life they deserve.

One Day by David Nicholls

Fans of the movie When Harry Met Sally will undoubtedly love One Day. Nicholls takes a peek at the lives of goody two shoes Emma and bad boy Dexter on the same particular July day over the course of 20 years or so. Each year brings lots of new changes to their friendship as the two of them grow and mature over the course of the 2 decades. Will they eventually wind up together?

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage is a heady mix of all things that are currently hot in the reading world as of late: vampires, the end of the world, political tension and violence. So it makes sense that it would be a great book for summer, albeit lengthy at 700+ pages. What starts off in the not so distant future as a gov't science experiment quickly escalates into the apocalypse for mankind as the subjects of said experiment turn out to be bloodthirsty monsters. Fast forward nearly 100 years later to a small colony of humans struggling to stay alive. The key to all of this is a little girl named Amy. Intrigued? You should be.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The final novel in Larsson's trilogy is just as action packed as its 2 predecessors. Hacker genius Lisbeth Salander is stuck in the hospital after being shot and buried alive while on the outside, governmental agencies, police officers and ex spies are all pissed that she can't just DIE already. And so, they continue to plot even worse things against Lisbeth once she eventually does recover. Lisbeth's main defender against all evil-doers is journalist Mikael Blomkvist.

The extremely interesting thing about this novel is that it is so fast paced despite the fact that the heroine is in the hospital 95% of the time. What's even better is that the action is completely believable - no one is jumping off of buildings or setting bombs off; everyone actually uses their brain and nothing more advanced than a computer.

Larsson (who unfortunately died before finishing the complete saga) provides a very satisfying conclusion to his trilogy.

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

From Booklist:

"Soli’s debut revolves around three characters whose lives are affected by the Vietnam War. Helen Adams comes to Vietnam in the hopes of documenting the combat that took her brother from her. She immediately attracts the attention of the male journalists in the region, and quickly falls into an affair with the grizzled but darkly charismatic war photographer Sam Darrow. As Helen starts to make her own way as a photographer in Vietnam, drawing as much attention for her gender as for her work, Darrow sends her his Vietnamese assistant, Linh, a reluctant soldier who deserted the SVA in the wake of his wife’s death. While Linh wants nothing more than to escape the war, Darrow and Helen are consumed by it, unable to leave until the inevitable tragedy strikes. The strength here is in Soli’s vivid, beautiful depiction of war-torn Vietnam, from the dangers of the field, where death can be a single step away, to the emptiness of the Saigon streets in the final days of the American evacuation. --Kristine Huntley"

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

Golden Richards is just like your average guy. He worries about money, getting older and trying to avoid a mid-life crisis. The kicker? Golden is the titular polygamist with 4 wives and 28 children (+ or - a few stillborns and miscarriages). And as one might expect, life in the Richards house (or houses as the case may be) can get a little chaotic. The book focuses on just a few characters in the house - Golden, his 4th wife Trish and son Rusty. Each family member has their own proverbial crosses in life to bear - Golden tries hard to live his life by the Principle, desparately trying to avoid an affair with his boss' wife. Trish struggles with the loneliness comes with being part of a polygamist family. And Rusty just wants to be noticed and not humilated on a daily basis by his obscenely large family. Udall's book is funny and just an overall a good story about the American family. Fans of the TV show Big Love will probably enjoy it.