It's been awhile since I've posted a book review because of my busy-ness and because I've yet to find a book worth taking the time to review. Outlander came to my rescue, literally and metaphorically . . .

It's 800+ pages make even the most avid reader quake in their boots, it's sheer mass made me think twice about starting the Outlander journey. In reading this massive book I received tears, out loud laughs, feelings of revulsion and a 3:00 am feeling of contentment when I finally closed the back cover.

Claire is a war-nurse in the 1940's and married to Frank. She encounters a place which takes her back to the 1700's in barbaric Scotland. She immediately puts her nursing skills to use extracting a bullet from a young Scot named Jamie. The remaining pages follow Claire and Jamie on their journeys through a Scottish castle, encounters with English dragoons, witches, monsters and more importantly one of the best books I've read in awhile.

This is only the first book in a series of 5 or 6 books, and I'll be reading them all. Outlander is definitely not for the faint of heart. It contains copious amounts of violence, sex, swearing, blood and pretty much anything that would make a book worth reading.

If you decide to accept the challenge of this book, you will be surprised how quickly it draws you in and wraps you in the history and love of a Scotland long past.

No Strings Attached Puppetry Festival at SLC Library

8TH ANNUAL NO STRINGS ATTACHED PUPPETRY FESTIVAL

March 7–8, 2009 - Main Library

A variety of puppetry styles are represented at this year's festival, from the Bunraku puppets of our headliner troupe, Tears of Joy Theatre, to marionettes, hand and rod puppets, and shadow puppets. There will be selections from a brand new musical, Hands Up!, co-produced by Wasatch Theatre Company and the Starry-Eyed Puppets. In addition to your favorite local performers from previous years (Paradise Puppetworks, Whizgiggle Puppets, Utah Puppet Players, and Puppetmania), we welcome newcomers Freddie Spencer—The String Man, the Utah Marionette Theatre, and the return of Maxed Out Puppetry. Cosponsored by the Imagination Celebration of Salt Lake City.

SATURDAY MARCH 7

9:30 a.m.

Puppet Manipulations & Found Object Workshop with Tears of Joy Theatre

Learn five points of puppet manipulation: breath, spine, brain, focus, and movement. You'll bring objects to life and learn the building blocks and techniques for excellent puppetry. Participants should bring a soft doll or stuffed animal sized between 12 and 20 inches, with long, flexible limbs and a flexible neck. Found objects will be supplied. For teens and adults. Registration required; call 322-8106.

Utah Puppet Players: The Country Fair and The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Come join the fun with Mr. Bear, the Moo-Moo Cousins, Buford Beaver, Gwendolyn Grasshopper, and the rest of the gang as they put on a rollicking, old-fashioned fair in Forest Country. Everyone is having fun except Snitchy Snake, who just has to have that shiny trophy, even if he has to steal it. But something changes his mind. What could it be?

The shepherd boy passes the long day by telling lies about seeing a wolf amidst the sheep. His grandfather is tired of the boy's tricks, so when he hears the call again, he doesn't come. In this version of Aesop's fable, the dog finally teaches the boy a lesson: never tell a lie.

10:30 a.m.

The String Man—Master Puppeteer Freddie Spencer

The puppetry festival is thrilled to have the talents of Freddie Spencer, longtime professional puppeteer of stage, screen, and television, now transplanted from California to Park City! Freddie's stellar variety act includes hand and rod puppets and marionettes.

11:45 a.m.

Utah Marionette Theatre: William Shakespeare's Half-Hour Radio Hour

An interactive marionette and audience participation reader's theater conceived and written by Artistic Director Nat Reed. Following the performance, audience members are welcome to offer suggestions and critique this work-in-progress. This will be an opportunity for you to see what it takes to create puppet theater from the page to the stage. For ages 8 and up.

1:00 p.m.

Tears of Joy Theatre: Little One Inch—A Tale from Japan

A tiny boy sets off to save Japan from a great ogre. His parents give him a rice bowl and chopstick to use as a boat and oar. On his adventure, he befriends a kappa, rides a koi, and becomes the playmate of a princess before defeating the ogre in a hilarious battle. Performed with Bunraku style puppets.

2:30 p.m.

Maxed Out Puppetry

Join Utah County's premiere puppet troupe for a lively assortment of skits and songs sure to tickle your funny bones! Maxed Out uses a variety of hand and rod puppets and live music.

3:00 p.m.

Children's Puppet-Making Workshop with Helen Taylor

Make a pop-eyed dragon puppet with a moveable mouth using egg cartons, colored paper, and other materials. For children ages 7 and up. Registration required; call 322-8106.

Musical Selections from Hands Up!

Playwright George Plautz and composer Matt Heider will be "on hand" to discuss the process of adapting this new musical comedy produced by Wasatch Theatre Company and the Starry-Eyed Puppets. It's Monty Python meets Faust in this irreverent look at showbiz eccentrics enthralled by the devil-possessed bat puppet, Tolstoy! Based on the book, The Good, the Bat, and the Ugly by Paul Magrs. This program is intended for teens and adults; language and subject matter make this program unsuitable for young children.

3:30 p.m.

Whizgiggle Puppets: Crazy Creature Comedies

Join the library's own Whizgiggle Puppets as they present a collection of amusing animal antics including such side-splitters as The Frog Prince, Continued; Psssst!; and everyone's favorite colossal canine, Dogzilla. Each story showcases a zoologically zany combination of hand and shadow puppetry. Bring the whole family for a rip-roaring, furry fun time!

4:30 p.m.

Paradise Puppetworks: Luck o' the Irish

After 300 years of keepin' the gold, Paddy McFee has chosen this time to fade over. What is he thinkin'? Who will be the new keeper? And what about the Fairy's Ball? Join us for this delightful tale of leprechauns and magic.ALL DAY: Take-and-make bag puppet fixin's outside the Conference Center.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

1:15 p.m.

Tears of Joy Theatre: Little One Inch—A Tale from Japan

A tiny boy sets off to save Japan from a great ogre. His parents give him a rice bowl and chopstick to use as a boat and oar. On his adventure, he befriends a kappa, rides a koi, and becomes the playmate of a princess before defeating the ogre in a hilarious battle. Performed with Bunraku style puppets.

3:15 p.m.

Puppetmania: The Great Book Chase

A bookworm leads a group of three young puppets through three very different storybooks. A variety of rod and hand puppets enliven these tales as they go from dragon-slaying to Cinderella, to an exciting pirate adventure! The show includes original music and the help of six young audience members.

4:00 p.m.

Puppet-Making and Performance Workshop with Tears of Joy Theatre

Participants will learn a story, make a puppet, and perform a puppet show at the end of the session. Parents are encouraged to return for the last twenty minutes to watch the performance. For children ages 6–12. Registration required, call 322-8106.

ALL DAY

Saturday and Sunday:Books about the art of puppetry and puppet-making will be available for check out outside the Children's Library.Puppets and books about puppet-making available for purchase in The Library Store.

Wicked

I embarked on reading Wicked because it got an amazing number of good reviews on Amazon and I hadn't heard any bad things about it. The book wasn't really what I expected . . .

The book is surprisingly more political than any other book that I've read, I guess that's not saying much since I hate politics. It goes into a lot of detail about the different political groups in Oz, their beliefs, their problems and their work either for or against the Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy is only in the book for a grand total of 5 pages, so if you're looking for something that more closely resembles the movie you loved, this isn't the book for you. I would instead suggest the musical, which is much more superficial when it comes to morals of the story and endings.

After I finished the book I went onto Wikipedia to see the plot of the musical and they were like two different things entirely! Except for a few instances where the characters or the story are similar to the book, it's completely different. It seems like the musical is much more, and should be, musical. I mean that it has more about friendships, love will conquer all and pretty musical numbers and sparkly costumes.

I'm assuming that a lot of the people that gave Wicked good reviews are either biased toward political novels, or have seen the musical before reading the book.

Make of it what you will, but the sparkly shoes, flying monkey, and Wizard of Oz couldn't make this a must read.

In a Sunburned Country

I just finished a 350 page book about the dangers, wonders and comedy of the forgotten country of Australia. It's by the author of "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" which I enjoyed reading, but doesn't hold a candle to "In a Sunburned Country." I've always looked for a book that combines enough comedy, with the right amount of information without being daunting and overwhelming. I found that in this book.

I found myself being so intrigued by the subject matter, that I actually read the scientific names of the flora and fauna. I couldn't put this book down, and it gave me a new perspective on the country, people and enormous treasures of the Australian country. It made me want to visit, never venture there, and meet the people all at once.

Turning Angel

My friend, Barbara at work, bought me this huge paperback called "Turning Angel." She said that it was an intense read, but definitely not appropriate for our work book club.

"Turning Angel" takes place in a small town called Natchez, in Mississippi. The epitome of perfection, Kate Townsend, a local high school student has been killed. Kate held such a bright future that the whole town is shocked by her murder. Penn Cage is a retired lawyer, who currently writes novels. When his best friend, Drew comes to him telling him that Kate and Drew had an affair, Penn is thrown into the center of a huge tangled mess. Penn is through practicing law, but his love for his friend quickly make him Drew's lawyer and begin a journey he will never forget. This murder opens up a whole side to the town that Penn has never seen before, a town he thought he knew.

This book definitely isn't for the faint of heart, as it contains nudity, sex, violence, a lot of drugs and anything else. What I liked about this book was the good balance of a crime novel and a drama, but it had enough suspense and pull that I couldn't put it down.

Thanks Barbara, it's going in my collection!

January's Book

As you probably guessed by my rave review for The Thirteenth Tale, that is our book for January.

"Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale. Setterfield has rejuvenated the genre with this closely plotted, clever foray into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths. She never cheats by pulling a rabbit out of a hat; this atmospheric story hangs together perfectly.

There are two heroines here: Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has been confounding her biographers and fans for years by giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Because of a biography that Margaret has written about brothers, Vida chooses Margaret to tell her story, all of it, for the first time. At their initial meeting, the conversation begins:

"You have given nineteen different versions of your life story to journalists in the last two years alone."

She [Vida] shrugged. "It's my profession. I'm a storyteller."

"I am a biographer, I work with facts."

The game is afoot and Margaret must spend some time sorting out whether or not Vida is actually ready to tell the whole truth. There is more here of Margaret discovering than of Vida cooperating wholeheartedly, but that is part of Vida's plan. The transformative power of truth informs the lives of both women by story's end, and The Thirteenth Tale is finally and convincingly told."

--Valerie Ryan

The Thirteenth Tale

I consider myself lucky if I am able to find 1 book a year that I absolutely love. This year, I have been fortunate enough to find 4 books that I rated an A. The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Water for Elephants and now The Thirteenth Tale.

You know how when you read a book and you get to a specific part and you think, "Man, if they had just left that part out if would have been so much better!" I did not once think that throughout the whole book. I pride myself on watching so many TV shows and scary movies that I can almost always predict the twists and turns before they happen. I did not see this book coming at all, I thought I had it all figured out and then KABLOWEY! it threw me for a loop.

Synopsis

Vida Winter is the most famous living author, with hundreds of books published and an amazingly huge fan base. A woman, Margaret, who has only written a couple biographies and about "ordinary" people receives a letter from Vida inviting her to write Vida's biography. This would seem normal, only that Vida has never told the truth about her life and in the last 2 years alone has given over 20 different accounts of her story. This is the chance for Margaret to realize some things about herself and for Vida to get some things off her chest.

There were so many things that I loved about this book. The writing didn't trip me up at all, I didn't have to go back and re-read sentences because the working was all jumbled. I finished it in 2 days; I just couldn't put it down and like I said, it kept me guessing.

For anyone looking for a good read, with a little bit of everything, I definitely recommend this book!

Best of 2008

Amazon.com has completed a Best of List for 2008. While there are 100 books on each of the following lists, I have only listed the top 10. Click on the link at the end for the complete list . . .


Editor's Picks
1. The Northern Clemency
2. Hurry Down Sunshine
3. Nixonland
4. The Forever War
5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
6. The Likeness
7. Serena
8. So Brave, Young and Handsome
9. The Lazarus Project
10. The Ten-Cent Plague


Customer Picks (top 10 book sales)
1. Breaking Dawn
2. The Last Lecture
3. Brisingr
4. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
5. The Tales of Beedle the Bard
6. The Appeal
7. When You are Engulfed in Flames
8. In Defense of Food
9. The Revolution
10. The Host

http://www.amazon.com/Best-2008-Books-Holidays-Seasonal/b/ref=amb_link_6320642_4?ie=UTF8&node=1239030011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=browse&pf_rd_r=1TJND4Y8QK6XHS44RZ02&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=465729671&pf_rd_i=283155

Are you a Harry Potter Fan?

If you are, then you'll be happy to know that J.K. Rowling has come out with a new book.

This information is from the Amazon page for the book.

J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, available December 4, 2008.

Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and "that magic causes as much trouble as it cures."

But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.

Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."
Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.

December's Book

The Shack: William P. Young

For December's Book I thought we would turn to a book about God, being that it's that Holiday time of year. The Shack is a very unique book, in that it's about God but not any particular religion. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even with the very confusing conversations between God and Mack the main character. This book made me look at so many things in a new light, and it spoke to me, something a lot of religious texts are missing. It's definitely more relatable than scripture, but carries a lot of the same messages.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking to define their relationship with God, or for anyone who likes a story about Love and Triumph.

The Process

In July I started to become an avid reader. Our work had attempted to start a Book Club the year before, but it had fizzled out, and so I began the process of starting it anew.
I've taken the job of selecting books very seriously. I have a rigorous screening process before a book is selected for our Book Club.

1. I find the New York Times Best Seller Lists. I pick a couple of the more popular books.

2. I then go to amazon.com, and see how many reviews the book has received from customers. I try not to pick books that have under a couple hundred reviews.

3. I make sure that the majority of the reviews given for the book are 4 or 5 stars. If the reviews are pretty spread out in terms of 1 to 5 stars, I don't pick it. I need to find a book that will appeal to a large group of people.

4. I make sure that the book isn't sexist, meaning that I want a book that will appeal to both men and women.

5. I check the price of the book and the release date. I try not to pick things that came out too recently, because then they will be harder to get from the library. I also try to pick a book that is available in paperback so that it will be a cheaper price, although this doesn't always happen. Some books haven't been released in paperback yet.

If a book meets all these criteria and I have a strong feeling that it will be a good fit for the Book Club, I try to get it from the library and read it before I suggest it. Sometimes I like to read the book for the first time with my group, so I won't read it in advance on purpose.

After reading it, if I feel that the majority of the members will like it, then I put it on my Monthly Book List.

One of the best parts of this Book Club is the feeling when someone tells you that they absolutely loved the book that you recommended. It's become something that I cherish and it makes all the work worth it. This has actually become the highlight of my job.

You don't have to be a employee of Marriott to participate. You are more than welcome to read along with us. We have a discussion each month, and I am going to post the Discussion Questions, so that any of you can participate.

Happy Reading!!