What We're Readin' and Watchin'

Book and video reviews by the Lucy Robbins Welles Library staff. The public library of Newington, Connecticut.
Website: www.newington.lib.ct.us Phone: 860-665-8700

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Waiting for Harry

While you wait for the Harry Potter book come out try this daily trivia game.



Get this and other HP countdowns at LeakyNews.com

Enjoy!

-vicky

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Memory Keeper's Daughter

Title: Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author: Kim Edwards

Edwards does a beautiful job of showing the reader what a secret can do to a family. The secret built a wall between the parents. The keeper of the secret hid behind it and the other kept trying to get around or through a wall she could not see or understand but knew it was there. The secret kept them from truly knowing each other. The children could not connect with their parents because of the walls between and around the parents.

Of course I enjoyed the parts of the book about photography but I could also relate to all the characters because none were perfect. The father was remote and closed. The mom was in pain with no one to comfort her. The nurse who was the most caring and giving had some mixed motives for doing what she did.

-vicky

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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The Sister by Paola Kaufmann

Title: The Sister: A Novel of Emily Dickinson
Author: Paola Kaufmann

Your thoughts:
I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone remotely interested in Emily Dickinson. The story is told from the perspective of Lavinia Dickinson, Emily's sister. Lavinia writes at the end of her life, remembering memories of her sister as well as other family members. Kaufmann offers a very interesting perspective of the Dickinson family in her extremely well-researched and well-crafted book. Another nice touch is that Emily Dickinson's poems appear at the beginning of almost every chapter and set a lovely tone for the piece.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Flight by Sherman Alexie

Title: Flight
Author: Sherman Alexie

Your thoughts:
Sherman Alexie is an incredible author and his most recent novel, Flight, is a reflection of his remarkable ability. To me, Alexie is most effective as a poet and short story writer (he is also a very talented screenwriter, as anyone who has seen Smoke Signals can attest), but his novels are also well worth the read. His style, though, may not appeal to some readers.

Flight tells the story of a half-white, half-Spokane Indian teenage boy called Zits. He has spent the great majority of his life in the foster care system and has known little other than abuse, neglect, disappointment, and hurt. During a recent stay in jail, Zits is befriended by a cellmate who has named himself Justice. As a result of this "friendship," Zits walks into a bank with a gun in one hand and a paint gun in the other and opens fire. Immediately after doing so, however, he is transported back in time and into the body of an FBI agent. This experience in time travel is the first of many that will make Zits confront his own violent acts. By forcing Zits to see the violence in the world and in himself, Alexie is also forcing the reader to confront the difficult history of violence that has long been a part of America's relationship with its indigenous peoples. The story ends with the hope that redemption, for Zits and perhaps even the world, may be possible after all.