February 2008 Archives

Oprah can indeed work wonders when it comes to selling books. And Eckhart Tolle’s "A New Earth" is her hottest book pick yet.

I laughed, I cried, I was horrified by this look into reservation life -- but it was a great book.

Fourteen year-old Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a pretty good jumpshot, spends his time complaining about life on the Spokane Indian reservation until a teacher pleads with him to want more.

“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” by Michael Chabon.

Michael Chabon’s writing grabs the reader from the start of this unusual whodunit, set in a fictional Jewish settlement in Alaska.
“In the street the wind shakes rain from the flaps of its overcoat,” he writes in describing a typical day in Sitka, the district where Jews fled when the state of Israel failed in 1948. It seems to be always gray, raining or snowing as detective Meyer Landsman tries to solve a murder.

Like many mysteries, the story begins with the discovery of a body, this time in the hotel where Landsman has been living lately.

By MEGAN ERICKSON
For the Daily Record/Sunday News

Alex Martin is an Eagle Scout and is interested in astronomy and physics. The 15-year-old sophomore at Susquehannock High School is currently working on a 30-square-foot hand-drawn maze, and hopes to attend college for astrophysics.

And there’s another accomplishment he’s got in the bag — he’s a published author.

“Shadows: The Narlan Wars” is the first of four books in the “Shadows Cycle.” Alex said the book is science fiction, along the lines of “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings.” He first became interested in writing a book when the “Eragon” series by Christopher Paolini came out in 2003. Paolini himself was a young writer, and Alex was inspired by him.

“Wonderful Tonight -- George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me” by Pattie Boyd with Penny Junor.

Pattie Boyd was married to two of the biggest rock stars and was the subject of the hit songs, “Something,” “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight,” but her life, as she writes in her autobiography, doesn’t seem particularly charmed.

First of all, her childhood was rocked by her parents’ strange marriage, her father’s and later her stepfather’s infidelity and several moves to different countries and cities and schools.

Here is a review from one of our readers, Pamela Sowers:

I would like to share a book that I read and could not put it down until who done it in the end. The book is "The Blue Zone" by Andrew Gross.

Steve McKee

Steve McKee is a York Catholic grad and an editor for the Wall Street Journal.

His "My Father's Heart, A Son's Story" covers a lot of ground. It's a story about heart disease, the relationship between father and son, the painful aftermath of a loved one's death and a story about growing up in York in the 1960s... .

Funky alphabet rhymes and a new take on The Golden Rule are the themes in the two imaginative children's books chosen to receive the 23rd Annual Please Touch Museum Book Award, the only award of its kind to honor the publication of quality books for young children. The award is given annually to two books in categories based on the age of the museum's visitors: kids ages 7and under.

This year's winners are:

Age 3 and under:
"Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes," written by Brian P. Cleary and illustrated by Betsy E. Snyder

Age 4 to 7:
"Do Unto Otters," written and illustrated by Laurie Keller

"The Emperor's Children" by Claire Messud is a novel set during the months preceeding and immediately after 9/11. The "emperor" is Murray Thwaite,a prestigious journalist living the Manhattan lifestyle: fame, money and parties. He has cultivated an image based on truth and integrity, although he is personally lacking both those qualities. The rest of the characters are all lacking moral fiber also.

Phyllis A. Whitney, whose romantic suspense tales sold millions of copies, has died. She was 104.

Two books offering new insights into the lives of three of the Civil War era¹s most compelling figures will share the 2008 Lincoln Prize, which is administered by Gettysburg College.

For their books about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Robert E. Lee, the winners are James Oakes, a professor at the City University of New York, for "The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics," and diplomat/historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor for "Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters."

Richard Ford, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and author of “The Sportswriter” and “Independence Day,” has left longtime publisher Alfred A. Knopf and switched to Ecco, a literary imprint of HarperCollins.

According to the Associated Press:

Ford, who turns 64 on Saturday, is best known for his trilogy of novels about ex-sportswriter Frank Bascombe: “The Sportswriter,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Independence Day” and “The Lay of the Land.” He has agreed to a three-book deal with Ecco, including two novels and a collection of short stories.

Ford’s literary agent, Amanda Urban, said that Ford had a “long and very rewarding relationship with Knopf, but that, regrettably, we couldn’t come to terms.” Ford, reached by The Associated Press at his home in Maine, declined comment, except to say that his years at Knopf had been “wonderful.” Knopf’s director of publicity, Paul Bogaards, said that it was Ford’s decision to leave.

If you have ever walked through the woods or around the neighborhood, picked up an interesting looking rock and wondered how it got there, you may want to purchase a copy of a newly released book “TimeWalk – A Journey through Time in Adams, Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania.”

Authored by Jeri Jones of Jones Geological Services in Spring Grove with illustrations by Tenna Byerts of Dover, the book is written for those new to geology.

This masterful saga of life in 12th-century England by Ken Follett is epic storytelling at its best. The author weaves a rich and colorful tapestry of people, places and events surrounding the building of a magnificent cathedral in the medieval town of Kingsbridge.

By JOSEPH MALDONADO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News

A book is like a warm quilt comprised of many threads, colors, textures and images. And like any quilt, a book takes tremendous know-how to transform it from an idea to something people curl up with in their favorite chair.

In May, the literary group Pennwriters will host its 21st annual conference, “A Writer’s smorgasbord.” The three-day event will feature scores of publishing experts, including many pub
lished authors.

The book: “World War II Radio Heroes: Letters of Compassion” (Intrigue, $15.95)

The author: Lisa Spahr is a native of York County. She attended schools in he
Northern York County School District and graduated in 1991 from York County High School. She holds degrees in psychology and investigative psychology from Temple University and the University of Liverpool. She is the owner of Spahr Consulting, a life coach company based in Pittsburgh.

What it’s about: “During WWII men, women and children would tune into enemy radio to learn the fate of American GIs,” Spahr said. “Some of them would write letters and postcards to POWs’ families to alert them of their status. My grandfather, Robert May pahr, was a POW for 26 months. His mother learned of his imprisonment via 70 postcards and letters received from these radio listeners, all strangers to our family.”

“Can’t Buy Me Love – The Beatles, Britain, and America” by Jonathan Gould.

Since today is the 44th anniversary of the Beatles arrival in the United States on Feb. 7, 1964, I’m posting a review of a new Beatles book I just read.
When I, a true Beatlemaniac, started reading “Can’t Buy Me Love – The Beatles, Britain, and America” by Jonathan Gould, I was wondering if I’d learn anything new. I’ve read dozens of articles and books about the group, including Bob Spitz’s excellent biography, “The Beatles,” and the Anthology by the Beatles themselves.
But “Can’t Buy Me Love” gave me plenty new to think about.

Have you just finished reading a book you couldn't put down, or one that kept putting you to sleep?

We want to hear about it, good or bad.

Send your book review to gfogal@ydr.com and we will post it here.