I Got This One Just for You

Why real paper books are one of the best holiday gifts:

No batteries required, no power cord

Do not need to be put together in advance/no complicated instructions

No replacement parts
Never need to call technical support
Can be reused endlessly
Cannot be accidentally deleted or stuck in your "queue"
No downloading required
Requires actual thought on the part of the gift-giver
Screen never goes blank after 5 minutes
Your favorite pages will be dogeared by no one but you
Easy to share with friends (no Adobe account or upgrade required)
Easily replaced if lost/stolen/damaged
Beautiful illustrations can tell the whole story (no reading required)
Only falls asleep when you do
No calories
Allows reader to take a trip without the need for travel insurance, anxiety about drinking the water, or fear of being robbed or lost
Won't freeze up
May involve time travel/space travel without any scientific knowledge on the part of the reader
Never have to shut down during take-off or landing
Doesn't have to be brand new in order to have value
Easy to wrap
Can be dried out without wasting a bag of rice
Provides a different experience for each person who reads it

Looking for a meaningful gift this holiday season?  Would you like to give a gift that keeps on giving?  I'm not referring to ereaders, ipods, tablets or other electronic devices.  They have their day and then sit neglected and unused when the next hot item arrives on the scene.  Why not choose a book?  A real old-fashioned paper and ink, smells a little like glue and crackles when you're the first one to open it BOOK. 
A book can be a conduit for the reader to experience something new, fresh, and exciting.  Books are one of the few things that actually improve with age-sometimes the readers' age.  There are countless books that have remained enduring favorites.  Children are still willing to follow Alice down the rabbit hole, even thought it's been over one hundred years since she first took the plunge.  The experience you had reading The Hobbit as a child becomes something completely new when you read it again as an adult.  Children in particular know that being read to by someone who loves you or sharing a book with that person is a special memory.  You can't write a heartfelt inscription in your own handwriting on a book that is given electronically.

Of course my kids think they're too old to be read to and they certainly wouldn't want anyone to think they still enjoy picture books.  However, they aren't ready to get rid of any of their favorites just yet.  They have younger cousins who like to be read to when they visit us.  At those times, we can often find them digging through the bookshelves looking for their old favorites.  The pleasure they derive from sharing the book is twofold.  They joy of sharing with family, and the opportunity to remember "the good old days".  ("The good old days" refer to the years before they were at school all day and did nothing but play.)  I hope as they read aloud to the little ones, they hear the voices of their mother and father echoing in the background.  I still use quotes from some of their favorite books to let them know that I remember the good old days too...and those were good days. 



Reading Rut Reversal

Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias won countless contests during her lifetime.  I confess, she almost beat me.  Don Van Natta Jr.'s book Wonder Girl threw me into a reading slump for over three weeks.  I normally don't spend that much time on a book that I'm not enjoying.  I believe that if you reach a point where you realize you are forcing yourself to continue reading a book, it's time to stop and take stock.  Reading is supposed to be enriching.  It should give you pleasure, not fill you with distaste.  I found myself wondering why anyone would spend time with Babe no matter how good she was at athletics.  Not having read any other books about this person, I accept that she may have been an obnoxious, self-serving braggart who would take any advantage over her opponents.  That is the picture I was given by this biographer.  Unfortunately, about one fourth of the way into this book, I just couldn't take her anymore.  I had stalled out.  She threw me into a reading slump.  Usually when I hit the "reading wall" like this, I look ahead in the book to see if it's worth it to continue the journey.  Nope, none of her amazing sporting triumphs could tempt me back into the book.  For a short time I felt dazed, empty, and dull-witted.  I came to the realization that I must either force myself to conquer Wonder Girl or accept defeat.  I accepted defeat and returned Babe to the library because I was ready to stop wondering why I was still trying to finish it in the first place.

This kind of thing can happen to any reader and I admit that this is not the first time it's happened to me.  It's rare that I give up on a book but I couldn't take her braggadocious personality and frankly, it seemed like she was the villain in her own life story.  The last time I wanted to take a book and stomp on it, I was reading Margaret George's Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles which is over eight hundred pages long.  I loved her other historical fiction and this one seemed like the perfect pick for a long Thanksgiving weekend with plenty (maybe a little too much) of family time and no television.  There again, the main character made me so angry I couldn't finish the book.  I kept thinking, "Mary, you're a queen, please take some initiative in your life and stop letting everyone trick you into stupid, nefarious plots!"  Over five hundred pages in, I just couldn't empathize with this character and that was it.  I was so frustrated with her inexplicable, self-destructive behavior that I had to let her go.

There is no shame in returning books and admitting that you had to move on from one because it had bogged you down.  Like many things that can't be changed in life, just let it go.  I returned Babe and a few other books that I felt had contributed to my slump.  As soon as those books hit the bottom of the bin, I felt better.  My mind was clear, my brain was hungry, a burden had been lifted from my shoulders and I was ready to move on.  Now I have some books on my pile (and many more waiting for me) that fill me with the buzz of anticipation that I associate with the reading experience.  Last night I started Reached by Ally Condie.    This is the last book in an excellent trilogy which is comparable to the Hunger Games.  This author spends more time developing the personal relationships of the characters and there aren't a bunch of kids killing each other off.  It's a welcome break from Babe.  Patiently waiting their turn are a few other books that have nothing to do with sports.  First is Ellen Baker's Keeping the House because it's about Wisconsin and looks like a good match for my upcoming Thanksgiving read-a-thon.  The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin is appealing because the setting is in the Pacific Northwest and I get a little homesick during the holidays.  Also on stand-by is Millennium People by Ballard.  I loved Empire of the Sun (book and movie) and am intrigued when an author comes out with something new after a long hiatus.  Underneath Ballard is an annotated Pride and Prejudice.  I adore Jane Austen and usually revisit at least one of her books every year.  Recently I read a glowing review for Tina Fey's Bossypants on audio which inspired me to get that for the long car ride "up north".  I hope it lives up to its hype. 

Holiday time is upon us.  The parades start next week.  The decorations are draped all over the stores.  Black Friday advertisements are everywhere.  We must shop, bake, wrap, visit, clean for parties and write out cards.  Don't forget to take a break from the madness and soothe your brain with a good book or book on CD.  Believe me, you can't gear up for the holidays if start them out in a slump.

Just the pie, thank you, no turkey...

We are approaching the the happiest time of the year, the winter holidays.  Or is it the busiest time of the year?  The most hectic?  Frantic?  Does the thought of going into Walmart (or any other store) raise your blood pressure exponentially?  Are you looking forward to eating a delicious Thanksgiving meal or are you fretting about making an over sized turkey with all the trimmings for people that you aren't even sure you want to acknowledge as relatives?  Are you busy devising a plan of attack for 2am Black Friday shopping or are you hunkering down, waiting for the fanatics to leave the store so you can buy what you need?  This time of year is a mixed bag for most people.  Like everything else in life, attitude and perspective will determine how well things go for you personally.

I believe that I am mightily spoiled during the Thanksgiving holidays.  One could say that I married my spouse for his mother's cooking during this time of year.  I have only had to make a turkey for Thanksgiving ONCE.  I don't actually like the taste of turkey that much and I especially don't enjoy preparing the bird.  It's gross and it's all I can think about after the turkey is cooked, carved, and presented for the feast.  My thoughts bounce from what is in the stuffing,  to where the stuffing was while it was cooking, to cleaning out what was in the bird before we put the stuffing in it; it becomes an endless mental gymnastics exercise.  My nose, taste buds and stomach clamor for the delicious meal.  My brain says to flee the carcass!  My dream Thanksgiving cookbook would be part of the Fix It and Forget It cookbook line with a subtitle along these lines: put your entire turkey, stuffing, trimmings and side dishes into a crock pot and come back several hours later to enjoy it.  Sadly, no such book exists.  If it did, maybe I could make it through one Thanksgiving meal without any inner turmoil.  Thankfully, my mother-in-law makes a large variety of side dishes for the meal, so I am able to disguise my freakish fears (tiny turkey portion) under mounds of homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and a homemade roll.  I used to take a more than healthy portion of her divine stuffing until I realized that the slightly funny aftertaste was.....giblets.  Once I made the connection, there was not enough gravy in the world to help me overcome my distaste for stuffing.  The bonus side to having "mental taste problems" is that I legitimately have room left for her amazing homemade pumpkin pie and/or slab-apple pie topped with her homemade whipped cream. 

I realize that someday I may be called upon to be the Thanksgiving cook or at least participate beyond my usual offering of homemade cranberry sauce.  In preparation for that, I have started to peruse books specifically aimed at this meal.  Not because I think I could in any way prepare a better meal than the wonderful woman who has been making it for me for the past several years.  I am trying to overcome my fowl fear, more specifically my turkey terror, in an effort to do a credible job when my time comes.  Hopefully when that day arrives, I will see the same joy on people's faces that my mother-in-law witnesses when she presents her masterpiece of a meal.  Of course (as my husband once made the mistake of saying) mine will never taste like mom's.  I think I will aim for edible.  After all, isn't this time of year supposed to be about spending time with the people you love, not about how much you love turkey?  

Overcome or be overcome by it

I remember a Thanksgiving long ago when our power went out just as the meal preparations were completed.  How lovely that Thanksgiving meal by candlelight seemed!  Then we waited for the power to come back on.  What started out as an adventure (cooking with an iron skillet in the fireplace, "camping" at night in our sleeping bags by the fire) became a long, agonizing wait for hot water, hot food, and clean clothes.  This event became known in the Pacific Northwest as The Thanksgiving Day Storm of 1983.  There are many of us who have memories of weather events turning family gatherings into marathons of perseverance against the elements.  These become epic tales passed down from generation to generation, often growing more fantastic with each new telling. 
After witnessing (from a safe distance through the magic of television) the havoc of "frankenstorm" Sandy, I started to think about preparing for disaster season in Wisconsin, commonly known as WINTER.  Most people throughout our fair land have certain tasks, like cleaning the rain gutters or washing the windows, that they schedule according to the time of year.  Growing up in the mild climate of the Pacific Northwest, I was not taught to pack sweaters or shorts away because one might need a sweater in June and a pair of shorts in December.  We used the same jacket all year round, generally a windbreaker with a hood, unless we were taking a day trip into the mountains for skiing or tubing.  Lately, it has occurred to me that perhaps it was time to think beyond mere winter preparation chores.  In a world of "here and now" not tomorrow, shouldn't we consider that help might not be immediately around the corner?
We may not end up on a desert island like Robinson Crusoe, or Tom Hanks but we could get stranded in our car.  Nor would any of us wish to end up on a remote mountaintop like the survivors of the Andes plane crash or in the middle of the Atlantic ocean at night like the ill-fated passengers of the Titanic.  Certainly in this day and age, we would never allow children to walk miles home during precarious or inclement weather.  How many of us would have the courage of Aaron Ralston to sacrifice a limb to save their own life when faced with a desperate choice?
Are these adventure stories or acts of desperation?  That's not always easy to determine.  Every reader experiences a book and its contents differently.  While one person may admire the will to survive, another may focus on the appalling actions taken by the characters or author to ensure survival. Life and our reaction to it is unpredictable.  None of us can accurately determine how we will behave when faced with a crisis.  Will we be noble and self-sacrificing, thinking more of others or will we use the weaknesses of those around us to stack the odds of survival in our own favor?  Everyone has a mental image of who they would like to be and how they would wish others to see them.  Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy (sometimes of immense proportions) to bring out our brave and noble characteristics.  All to often we find that we are not be the person we had hoped to be but that  
doesn't mean we should give up. 

Books about survival against the odds honor the indomitable human spirit.  They are about the "yes we can" attitude that is instilled into the genetic make-up of human beings.  These are the people who defy their own instincts to take care of themselves and instead take care of others without hesitation.  We don't know what may be around the corner or how we will handle it.  We can be glad that there have been others who were willing to do it for us.



I'm scared and I LIKE it

In late October, our thoughts naturally turn to the dark side.  Books like The Amityville Horror, Haunted Wisconsin, and The Salem Witch Trials Reader disappear from the non-fiction shelves.  It may not be for everyone, but there are many people who genuinely enjoy being scared.  To appease this "unnatural" reading appetite, here are a few books that may make you think twice about turning off the lights at night.
Old school or "classic" horror relies on building suspense instead of gore.  Take for example the author Ira Levin.  In Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, and The Boys From Brazil, the author depicts a normal world with average people in situations gone terribly wrong.  There is EVIL lurking just beneath the surface of their normality.  Books like Stephen King's Carrie with its realistic high school setting of a bullied, misfit girl versus her tormentors, Robert Harris' Hannibal Lecter series with its cannibalistic character, or Richard Matheson's I Am Legend resonate with the reader because there is a kernel of truth at the heart of the tale.  Who doesn't want their beloved family pet to come back to them as in Pet Sematary?  Doesn't being confined to the house and cut off from civilization during the winter months drive everyone a little nuts like in The Shining? 
Horror plays upon the natural or unnatural fears of the reader.  In The Exorcist, The Omen, and The Bad Seed, children are manipulated by evil or they are using evil to manipulate those around them.  Inside the reader the seed of doubt as to the actual innocence of those children is planted as their stories unfold.  Terrifying vampire stories have been around for decades thanks to books like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.  In those stories, a bite on the neck does not lead to undying love, it leads to unquenchable thirst for the blood of others or a painful death.  They love people only for their value as a food source. 

Don't have time to be scared to death by a book?  Nearly every one of the books mentioned have been made into a movie at least once.  Some of them, like Dracula, have been revamped and updated many times over.  They may not have an over-the-top "slasher" appeal but these are subtle stories that will wiggle down into your mind and make you think twice before you turn out the lights at night.

Share the Good Things

Several of us at the library have recently finished reading (or re-reading) 84 Charing Cross Road and sharing our thoughts about it during a book discussion.  It is a fascinating glimpse into the not-too-distant past that uses letters (less than 100 pages worth) which help the reader realize that living conditions in England in 1949 were still fairly sparse following the aftermath of World War II.  Nylons were not readily available and food like meat and eggs were strictly rationed.  Contrast that with people living in the United States, like the author, who were long past any such restrictions.  The letters reveal that a combination of a shared love of literature and the author Helene Hanff's outgoing personality resulted in a deep and lasting friendship which developed through letters.  When contemplating the idea of sharing a part of oneself through letters (the actual printed word, not an email or text), one cannot help feeling nostalgic or sentimental regarding the demise of the art of communication in this manner.

There is nothing wrong with being sentimental or feeling nostalgic.  Michael Perry makes this very clear in his latest book, Visiting Tom.  You do not have to be from the state of Wisconsin to appreciate the unique title character of this book.  Tom and his wife Arlene are a snapshot of a vanishing breed of people.  Reading this book was like visiting with my own grandparents.  As I was reading, I could picture my father-in-law (who is an avid collector of things-that-might-be-useful-in-the-future) digging out an old part from one of his many boxes or piles and using it to fix something for one of his kids or grand kids.  These are the type of people that even if they can't do the work themselves, they know how to get it done, and don't worry, they will tell you the right way to do it.

Stories of growing up in
Manitowoc, WI
that will make
you smile.

People like Tom (or Grandpa or my father-in-law) are not known as great communicators.  However, as is clear from Perry's book, given the chance, they will gladly share their stories with you.  They may not be comfortable with email, cell phones, or writing things down, but give them some unhurried moments, and they will share moments of their past with you that is not to be missed.  This art, storytelling, is a window into our collective history.  There will come a time when these stories will be shared not by the people who lived them but by the people who cared enough to stop and listen.  Visiting Tom displays the joys of living in a small, rural community and the personal ties that develop from an interconnected past.  In order to enjoy the true benefits of small community life, we need to take the time to stop and listen. 
Don't miss an opportunity to learn more about the history you share with your community, even if you haven't been born and raised there.  I learned so many interesting things about Manitowoc from Dave Crehore's book, Sweet and Sour Pie.  His childhood stories are laugh-out-loud funny and he describes a lovely Manitowoc that has not vanished completely.  We can share in this love and laughter as we grow together and build our future.

Movies to remember...they're swell!

Hey, you remind me of a man.  What man?  The man with the power.  Power of what?  Power of hoodoo.  Who Do?  You do! Do what?  Remind me of a man.  What man?  The man with the power.... 

Cary Grant (or Archibald Alexander Leach), is still dreamy.  Whether you happen upon him in black and white or color, his good looks will cause you pause on that channel.  If you watch him in action long enough, you will be caught up by his charisma, charm, and comedic abilities.  The other night I had the pleasure of viewing The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, a hilarious black and white comedy.  Cary Grant and Myrna Loy are perfect together and Shirley Temple turns in a fabulous performance as an overwrought, misunderstood, teenager in love with an older man.  One of the laugh-out-loud moments for me was watching the high school basketball scene from the movie.  It looked nothing like the basketball played today...and the uniforms are enough to give one the giggles.  You could never make a movie like this today since the mere thought of a family agreeing to allow an older man to date their high school aged daughter is alarming to say the least.  The beauty of this film is that the audience never once believes that anything will develop between Shirley Temple's character and her crush.  From the start, he is clearly meant for her age-appropriate older sister.  This allows you to relax and enjoy the silly situations and oddball dialogue without any fear that you are going to see something that will give you nightmares.
Years ago I read Shirley Temple Black's autobiography.  She started her acting career at a very early age and became a box office smash with a perfect image to maintain.  She was not allowed to be seen in public with a curl out of place or a tear in her eye.  If she lost a baby tooth, they glued a temporary one in to fill the gap.  As her body matured, she was forced to dress and act younger than her actual age until the studio could no longer hide the fact that America's "Little Darling" had become a teen.  Her book describes the highs and lows of the Hollywood life for a child actor.  The fascinating part of her life is how she remade herself and rebuilt her life after Hollywood.  Who could foresee that Shirley Temple, child actress, would go on to become a representative to the 24th General Assembly of the United Nations and a United States ambassador twice?
Myrna Loy is best known for her portrayal of Nora Charles in the six Thin Man films.  She is the perfect wife, impeccably groomed and always prepared with a witty remark.  Myrna herself was most proud of her work in The Best Years of Our Lives which is a dramatic piece featuring the return of three World War II servicemen from different backgrounds.  She had a lengthy and varied movie career but said she received the most satisfaction from her work as a Red Cross volunteer during World War II and later with UNESCO.  In her autobiography, she describes how her remarks against Hitler got her movies banned in Germany and earned her a reprimand from the studio.  According to the biography of Loy by Emily Leider, Myrna was one of the few Hollywood actresses who subscribed to a code of ethics when it came to relationships (other people's husbands).  As with all things Hollywood, we will never truly know the real Myrna Loy but we can enjoy her flawless comedic timing, and the lovely, glamorous persona that comes through when she is on the screen.
There have been several biographies of Cary Grant over the years and much speculation about his personal life.  I prefer to remember him as the suave, debonair good guy from Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest, the angel from The Bishop's Wife, or the heartthrob from An Affair to Remember.  I smile at the thought of Shirley Temple singing "The Good Ship Lollipop" or dancing with George Murphy and Bill Robinson.  I admire the aura of sophistication Myrna Loy gave to every one of her screen characters.  I am grateful that I don't have to wait for these people to randomly show up on my TV screen because I am at the mercy of a cable channel.  To paraphrase the remarks of a recent library patron-this library has an excellent movie selection, and they're FREE.  They don't make these kinds of movies anymore, don't miss out on the good stuff.