Hush by Kate White

Hush by Kate White
Published by Harper Collins
Hardcover, $24.99

I don't read many mystery/thriller books, (mostly because I don't like the whole women-in-jeopardy-thing) but once I picked up Kate White's Hush, I found I couldn't put it down.

Lake Warren (why do they always have names like that?) is going through a bitter divorce, and now her soon-to-be ex is suing for full custody of their two children. She runs her own small marketing firm, and she is in the middle of working on a big presentation for a hot-shot fertility clinic.

She makes the mistake of sleeping with one of the playboy doctors at the clinic who ends up murdered after their tryst. If she tells the police she was there, she could lose custody of her children. Instead, she decides to find out who the murderer is. Oh yeah, and someone is calling her and leaving frightening messages on her phone. Is it her ex-husband or the real murderer?

There is also something odd going on at the clinic. Was the doctor killed by a jealous husband, because of  gambling debts, or did he find out something illegal was being done at the clinic?

The author does a good job creating characters with believable motivations. Any mom can relate to panicking at the thought of losing her children, and making bad decisions because of that fear.

White also paces the action in the novel so well, it's a real page turner. Lake gets herself into more than a few jams, and your pulse will race as she extricates herself. I will say that one of those jams involving water was a little over the top for me, but it was scary.

The mystery of who killed the doctor keeps you guessing right up until the end, and I have to confess I was surprised. The setting of Manhattan is used to good effect, you really get a good sense of the city.

If you're looking for something to take you out of your day and you have a few hours on your hands, pick up Hush. Just remind yourself to breathe while you're reading it.

Rating 4 of 5 stars

Buffalo Unbound

Buffalo Unbound: A Celebration by Laura Pedersen
Published by Fulcrum Publishing 
Paperback, $16

Laura Pedersen wrote a hilarious book titled Buffalo Gal, about her life growing up in the snowy city of Buffalo, New York in the 1970s. As I grew up in Auburn, New York, two hours away but just as snowy, I totally related to her stories of making your way through feet of snow to get anywhere.

I literally doubled over with laughter at Pedersen's skewered sense of humor about her family, friends and hometown. Now she has written a new book, Buffalo Unbound, telling why Buffalo is such a great city.

Buffalo has taken it's share of knocks over the years, losing industry, jobs, and population. But a turn around occurred when The New York Times ran a story a few years ago about people who were moving from New York City to Buffalo to take advantage of the inexpensive, spacious housing and opportunity that a city trying to recover affords young families.

Pedersen recounts canceling her subscription to Forbes magazine after it ranked Buffalo #8 on its list of Top Ten Most Miserable Cities. She decides to give the reasons why this is not true by writing this book.

She starts with the fact that since so many people have left Buffalo, there is plenty of room, and you never have to wait in line for anything. No traffic jams, no getting to the beach at sunrise to get a good spot.

Buffalonians have always been tough, and Pedersen illustrates this by telling of Margaret St. John, who refused to move her nine children during the war of 1812 when the British were on the way to burn the town. The British general was impressed by St. John, and left her family home alone.

Pedersen explains that her own neighbors also had nine children and went on family vacation just once in 30 years, and so she understands St. John's position perfectly. She wasn't taking all those kids anywhere.

Buffalo has always been very staunchly Catholic, and the story of Father Baker explains this. In the late 1880s, Buffalo was beginning to discover pockets of natural gas.  Father Baker got $2000 from his bishop and invited drillers from a gas company to come drill on church property.

They struck gas, and the money from the wells went to provide services such as the Infant Home, Working Boys Home, and as the Great Depression struck, Father Baker was able to provide food, medical care and clothing for hundreds of thousands of Buffalonians.

Father Baker has been placed in nomination for sainthood in the Catholic Church, and his influence is felt to this day in Buffalo.

Pedersen's chapter on the Blizzard of 1977 is interesting, and I like her suggestion for a

"Western New York holiday gift list:  generator, chain saw, wood chipper, carbon monoxide detector, Yaktrax (chains for your shoes), Buffalo Sabres Snuggie."

If you know what she's talking about, you will appreciate this book. Ethnic festivals, chicken wings, the polka, the disappointing Buffalo Bills, Frank Lloyd Wright, and sponge candy- all of these get their due in this interesting book about the pride of being from Buffalo.

Buffalo has many designations, the Good Neighbor City among them. Pedersen closes with

 "No, Buffalonians have it right. Join the club and pay your dues. Find others. Celebrate your joys and mourn your losses together. Stick with the herd. Swim with the school. Stay with the flock. And my mother says to wear a hat."

Pedersen blends humor with history in this love letter to her hometown. In the days when we are all seemingly connected only by the internet, this book is a welcome reminder about the importance of a true community like Buffalo.

Rating 4 stars out of 5

Erin Kelly, an author to watch

One of the great joys of reading is discovering new authors. Last week while on Twitter, I had the opportunity to receive a copy of a new book from Pamela Dorman Books author Erin Kelly. Her first novel, The Poison Tree, was publishing the following week, and Erin was going to be doing a reading and signing at the Barnes & Noble store a few blocks from my apartment.

Erin's enthusiasm for books, and mysteries in particular, was apparent from the moment she stepped up to the podium and started talking about her book. She said "my favorite books have a body count", and she recounted her love of Agatha Christie, whose book The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, is the one Kelly holds dearest. She humorously called it "a gateway drug" to other mystery books. She also names Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca and Donna Tartt's A Secret History as inspirations.

She spoke of her fascination for the possibilities that the genre of mystery holds, and for her first novel, she wanted a protagonist for whom death would be shocking- no police officer, no pathologist. Her main characters are college students. They are on "the cusp of adulthood", celebrating their "last hurrah" before responsibilities take over.

She calls The Poison Tree a coming of age novel and a murder mystery in reverse. In her novel, we know from the beginning who committed the murder, and must read on to find out who the victim(s?) were.  I like that unique concept.

Kelly read from the book, and if there is an audio version, she should be the reader. She reads with gusto, and it is apparent from the way that her face lit up and she became most animated that Biba is a favorite character. Her lilting British accent is charming, and it called to mind a scene from the movie Love, Actually, when the British Colin is in a bar in Milwaukee and he holds three lovely ladies in thrall with his accent. (Anyone get this reference? Anyone?)

During the Q&A, she expanded upon the themes of her book. She believes that everyone has secrets that they are afraid others will find out, something in their past that they fear will come back to haunt them. She also thinks that everyone's dirty little secret is that they both despise and love their own parents. Hmmm, that sounds intriguing to me.

I like to ask authors who they are reading, and she likes Tana French (I loved her novel Into the Woods), Nicci French (no relation to Tana), and Ruth Rendell, especially her early novels written under the name Barbara Vine. She also said that she loves TV procedurals, like CSI,  but doesn't like graphic gore on the written page. I agree with her on that point.

Kelly said that she daydreamed the novel for six years, and she finished it after she had her baby. She has written for the UK versions of Elle, Marie Claire, and Glamour, and she has gotten rave reviews for this, her first novel, called an "atmospheric psychological thriller", and it has moved to the top of my TBR list. Ms. Kelly is definitely an author to watch for a long time to come. I'll post a review soon.

Maisie Dobbs Review

I'm so excited to be a part of bookclubgirl's I'm Mad for Maisie Read Along.  I read the first Maisie Dobbs book by Jacqueline Winspear a few years ago and fell in love with the quiet, smart Maisie. This challenge gives me a great reason to read all of the rest of the books in the series.

Maisie Dobbs takes place following World War I in London. It's an era that I didn't know much about, and so soaking in all of the atmosphere that Winspear so painstakingly researched was a revelation. Although I'm not much of a clotheshorse, I really enjoyed how the author described Maisie's clothes. My mother-in-law designs and makes antique clothes, and as I read this book, I thought of how much she would love this.

I like how Maisie is so intelligent, yet she doesn't have all the answers. The way she mimics the posture of the person with whom she is talking to make them more comfortable with her fascinated me. Her mentor Dr. Maurice Blanche's psychological insights to Maisie, such as

"Never follow a story with a question, Maisie, not immediately. And remember to acknowledge the storyteller, for in some way even the messenger is affected by the story he brings,"

are illuminating, and useful to the reader.

Maisie's straddling of two different classes of society- her father's working class and her benefactor's aristocratic one- makes for interesting conflict for her. Her father, a groom on the estate where Maisie is a maid, wants a better life for Maisie, yet fears losing her completely to her new life. Lady Rowan, her employer and benefactor, is an interesting character and I hope we get to see more of her in future books.

And in the end, it was Enid, Maisie's fellow maid, who was the greatest influence on Maisie. Her words to Maisie about her duty to help the boys in the war effort may have had the deepest effect on Maisie's life.

Maisie Dobbs starts in 1930, after Maisie has become a private investigator, and establishes the adult Maisie before taking us back to her childhood and the story of how Maisie got to where she is. It is a good technique because we are so invested in Maisie's adult life before we see how she got there.

I felt that the author's take on the horrors of war resonated deeply. So much of what happened to the men and women who fought in war is universal and timeless. While techniques of war have changed greatly since World War I, the awful effects of it have not. I liked seeing war from a female point of view.

But my favorite quote from the book has to do with reading, of course.

"The feeling inside that she experienced when she saw the books was akin to the hunger she felt as food was put on the table at the end of the working day. And she knew she needed this sustenance as surely as her body needed fuel."

That just might be my new Facebook quote.

Since Maisie is a private investigator, there is a mystery to be solved, and mystery fans will be satisfied with this part of the story. But for me, the story of Maisie's life is what I felt most deeply about and I look forward to finding out more about her in the books to come.

Rating 4.5 of 5 stars

So I saw the new Spiderman Broadway show

Last night my husband, sons and I saw Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway before the guys went back to college. I was really looking forward to it, since I love Broadway and there are few shows that I can get them interested enough in to see with me.

I usually go to Wednesday matinees, where the audience is mostly an older crowd of females. This show had about 65%-35% male-to-female ratio. (If you're looking to pick up guys, this might be a good alternative to the bar scene.)

The good news is that the first act is amazing. I mean jaw-dropping, how-did-they-do-that amazing. When Spiderman flies over the audience and into the balcony, it turns everyone in the audience into fanboys. The first act recreates the Spiderman mythology, which was helpful for me as I was only slightly familiar with Spiderman. (I'm more of a Batman girl.)

We meet the geeky, nerdy Peter Parker, who regularly gets bullied at school. He is love with neighbor girl Mary Jane, whose boyfriend is the head bully at school, which is ironic since her father bullies her. The best song in the show is a duet between Peter and Mary Jane titled "No More", where Peter and Mary Jane mirror their frustration at the abuse they have to take.

Reeve Carney makes a fine Peter Parker, and Jennifer Damiano is wonderful as Mary Jane. I saw her in Next to Normal, which showed off more of her singing and acting talent, but her beautiful, strong voice is a highlight of this show as well. Her second act song, "If the World Should End", is terrific.

The Green Goblin, formerly known as Dr. Norman Osborn and played to perfection by Patrick Page , is a fantastic villain. The scene between Page and Carney on top of the Chrysler Building is a dramatic highlight, and when the Spiderman and Green Goblin aerial performers take over and fly over the audience while engaged in battle, it is stunning. It blows away anything I have ever seen on Broadway. Kudos to Daniel Ezralow who choreographed both the dances (which are excellent) and the aerial performances.

The sets are incredible, starting with the desks in the classroom, to the Chrysler Building to the New York skyline, with bridges, subways and cars to Peter Parker's fire escape. I've never seen anything like it.

The costumes reinforce the comic book aspect of the show, and I particularly liked the scene where criminals overrun New York, and Spiderman vanquishes them. It was very comic book-crossed-with-1960's-TV-Batman, but updated for the 21st century.

At intermission, my eyes were just wide open and all of us were speechless. Then came the second act, which features a new villain, Arachne, a mythological spiderwoman. This is where the show lost me. The character of Arachne is not well formed, and her storyline is confusing. T.V. Carpio plays Arachne, and she has a lovely voice and stage presence. Arachne's Furies, while they have interesting costumes and their dance is clever, their song adds little to the story, it actually slows it down.

Six of Spiderman's vanquished bad guys come back to wreak havoc, and while they are cool to look at, I'm not sure how much they add to the show. The Green Goblin from Act 1 is much more interesting. Director Julie Taymor uses lots of video screens in this act, and the multimedia presentation brings an exciting new element to Broadway, but again, it goes on a bit too long.

There was one short pause in the show, a technical problem that was quickly corrected.  The end of the show comes rather abruptly, without a clear resolution, or a show-stopping song. The songs, by U2's Bono and the Edge are good, but nothing really remarkable. You can recognize familiar U2 chords throughout the show. I do think there are a few songs too many in show, and maybe a few cuts could be made there.

Last night, the producers announced that the opening of the show would be moved from February 7th to March 15th to work on the second act, and that is a good thing. Taymor should take the elements that make Act 1 so strong, and stretch that out into Act 2. After the show ended, I thought if she ended at the end of Act 1, it would have been a much better show. It's almost like two different shows.

Taymor and company have brought a new crowd to Broadway with Spiderman, now let's hope they can tweak the second act, and make it a success. I'm rooting for them.

We got discount tickets to the show, which may not be available for  much longer, given that the show has sold-out many performances. Even with its flaws, I would recommend seeing Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, if only for the amazing spectacle of entertainment that it is. I thought it was cool when Mary Poppins flew over the audience, but Spiderman takes it to a whole new universe.

You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know

You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know by Heather Sellers
ISBN 978-1-59448-773-6
Published by Riverhead Books
Hardcover $25.95

Heather Sellers can't recognize faces. Not just faces of people she knows casually, but her coworkers, her family, her boyfriend and his sons. She has had this problem her entire life, but didn't know she had a problem; she thought everyone processed faces the way she did.

Perhaps Heather didn't realize she had a problem, because there were bigger issues in her family. Her parents had mental health concerns, but as a child, it is hard to recognize that when that is your normal. Her mother was most likely a paranoid schizophrenic; she refused to answer the phone and put blankets up to cover the windows she nailed shut.

Her father left the family, and when Heather could no longer take living with her mother, she moved in with Dad. He secretly wore woman's clothes and had a major drinking problem. How Heather managed to survive living with her parents is a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.

Heather never married, but in her late thirties, she met a wonderful man named Dave, who had two sons, and was divorced from his wife, who had mental illness. Because of his ex-wife, Heather felt that Dave would understand her, and he did. But Dave had issues too.

Heather and Dave eventually married, but they lived in separate homes in the same city because they couldn't agree on purchasing a home. Dave had bad credit problems, and he was rather casual about parenting.

Heather's face recognition issue led to problems at work; she would pass by her colleagues and ignore them because she didn't recognize them. They felt she was snobbish and rude. Imagine the stress of living your whole life constantly afraid that you would run into someone you knew.

Eventually, she dug around and found a diagnosis for her: prosopagnosia. Once she had a diagnosis, she found a doctor who could help her. She appeared on the Today Show, which was a big step for her, admitting her problem to the world at large.

You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know will appeal to fans of Jeanette Walls' The Glass Castle.  Both women survived difficult childhoods with mentally ill parents, and because of that, they became strong adults.

Sellers had the added problem of her condition, which she at times feared was a manifestation of mental illness, like her mother's. She writes with brutal honestly about herself, her parents, her boyfriend, and her indomitable spirit shines through.

I admired her ability to basically raise her self and take care of her parents. It must have been difficult to write about her childhood, and she doesn't blame her parents or feel sorry for herself, which is remarkable. I did find her relationship with her husband frustrating, and was glad when she resolved it.

Reading this book made me a little more empathetic to people around me; you just never know what they are going through.

Rating 3.5 out of 5

Barbara Taylor Bradford's Playing the Game

Playing the Game by Barbara Taylor Bradford ISBN 978-0-312-57808-4
Published by St. Martin's Press
Hardcover, $27.99

I can vividly remember reading Barbara Taylor Bradford's first novel,  A Woman of Substance,  back when I was in high school. Her heroine, Emma Harte, was a brave, strong protagonist, a woman who could overcome anything and run a huge department store, while navigating the tricky waters of romance.

I read many of Bradford's subsequent books, but I haven't read one in awhile. Bradford has been a successful author for over 30 years, mostly by sticking to her formula of strong female characters overcoming the odds through hard work and strength of character, and adding in a forbidden romance.

Her latest novel, Playing the Game, sticks to the formula. Annette Remington is a successful art dealer in London, married to a much older man. She becomes famous for selling a long-lost Rembrandt painting at auction, and soon the entire art world knows who she is.

But Annette has a secret from her past, one that her husband knows of and has used to keep control of her. Bradford weaves tidbits of Annette's disturbing past, expertly piquing the reader's curiosity about the truth. We know that Annette and her sister Laurie were the victims of violence in their childhood, and that Laurie is now in a wheelchair. Is the secret related to their childhood? And why does Annette panic when someone comes looking for a woman named Hilda Crump? All these questions keep the reader turning the page.

While I found the novel to feature typical characters in a familiar plot, with a beautiful woman keeping a secret while falling into forbidden romance, it is the setting that elevates this novel. I found the art world totally fascinating, and Bradford does a marvelous job immersing the reader into that world.

One of the most compelling reasons that I read is that I can learn about something I never knew before, and this book is filled with interesting facts about fine art, art restoration and art forgery. I learned that a priest hole is a small room in old homes where, during the Stuart period in England, aristocratic Catholic families hid their priests when the soldiers came to search the houses. I never knew that before, and now I have new cocktail party conversation.

Playing the Game comes at a good time; many people are talking about Steve Martin's novel, An Object of Beauty, and this is a good companion book for those looking to continue their immersion into the world of fine art.

Rating 4 of 5 stars

Friday Five- Volume 11

This week's Friday Five is sadly dedicated to the closing of one of my favorite events venues, Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle store in NYC. I've seen many terrific authors and Broadway performers there, and I will miss the store and its friendly staff.


Friday Five- Five Fantastic Events I've Seen at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle Store

• The Cast of Broadway's Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson- The cast, starring the charismatic Benjamin Walker as Andrew Jackson, gave a rollicking performance of songs from their emo-rock show. The guys who played John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and John Calhoun were hilarious. I bought tickets to the show the next day and it was so worth it. A fun, enthusiastic show.

• The Cast of Broadway's Promises, Promises- Sean Hayes, from TV's Will & Grace, proved himself to be one of the funniest men around as he asked questions of the cast of his show. He had everyone in the room rolling on the floor, including his castmates.

Patti LuPone

• Patti LuPone- The Broadway diva dished dirt on her career, including her famous firing from Sunset Boulevard, as she promoted her autobiography, Patti LuPone, A Memoir. She sang five songs for us and it was magical. She gave me goosebumps.

• Liza Minnelli- Another legend, Ms. Minnelli appeared to promote her new CD, and she sang four songs for the huge crowd of people. She was as great as you thought she would be, and she spoke to everyone who got a CD signed. A classy lady.

• Jennifer Weiner- I've seen her twice at B&N, and going to one of her signings is like going to a big luncheon with all your best girlfriends. Weiner uses inappropriate language, and if you are a relative or friend or work with her, watch out: she will be making fun of you and telling people things about you you do not want anyone to know. That's what makes her great- she's one of us. But she's one of us who can write fun, moving books. 

RIP B&N Lincoln Triangle. At least I still have 86th St. 

Kim Edwards at Barnes & Noble

The new year started out wonderfully as I had the pleasure of attending a reading and book signing of Kim Edwards, who is promoting her new book, The Lake of Dreams.

Many of you know that Kim wrote the fantastic novel, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, which became a smash hit in 2006 when it came out in trade paperback. It actually began a trend whereby books that didn't sell well in hardcover became really popular in paperback. Seeing its success, many publishers began bypassing hardcover versions of some books and going right to trade paperback, enabling many books to reach a much wider audience more quickly.

Edwards' new book is set in a village in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, much like her hometown of Skaneateles. I grew up in Auburn, ten minutes up the road from Skaneateles, so this book intrigues me a great deal.

At the Barnes & Noble on 86th St. in New York City, Edwards kicked off her book tour. She read a bit from the book, and then talked about it. The book is a first person narrative about Lucy Jarrett, who goes back to her hometown to find that what she has been told about her family is not necessarily the truth, a theme similar to The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Lucy finds some papers hidden in a cupboard about her ancestors, and the book has two parallel stories- Lucy's current day story, and the story of her ancestor. What intrigues me most about this book is that Edwards uses a lot of local flavor- the suffragette movement that started in Seneca Falls in 1848, glass blowing (Corning Glass is located less than 2 hours from Skaneateles), stained glass windows (much like the Tiffany ones in Willard Chapel in Auburn)- to tell her story. This book should be of special interest to those who live in Central New York.

Edwards then answered questions from the audience, and there were many good ones. Many people were moved by The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and one woman told the author that she loved how the author was able to make the reader identify with each character in that book. I agree, Edwards did a marvelous job not making anyone out to be the 'bad guy' in the book. She made the reader understand each character's motivation, and how difficult it was to make a life-altering decision.

Many people commented on Edwards' use of poetic language, and spoke of how beautifully she writes for her characters. One person asked if she began with language or characters first, and while Edwards said "they are interwoven, it begins with character."

Another question concerned whether the author plotted out her story lines, or whether it was more of an intuitive process. Edwards spoke of studying how various authors wrote, and said she believes most authors fall across a continuum, with those who write intuitively, like Nadine Gordimer, on one end, and those who plot everything out first, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (whom Edwards was surprised to find did this) at the other end. Edwards feels she falls more towards the intuitive end of the spectrum.

Writing The Lake of Dreams took Edwards almost four years, and she actually was in the midst of writing it when The Memory Keeper's Daughter hit the stratosphere in 2006. She put it away, but Lucy's story stuck with her, and she began again.

It was a delight to meet Ms. Edwards, we spoke warmly of our hometowns, and she told me her brother Mark owns one of my family's favorite restaurants, Doug's Fish Fry, in Skaneateles. I can't wait to read The Lake of Dreams, and will post a review very soon.

My review of The Memory Keeper's Daughter appeared in the Citizen in June of 2006 and you can find it here.  If you haven't read that one, you are missing a great story, masterfully told.

You can find out more about Kim Edwards and her books at her website, www.kimedeardsbooks.com

My Best of 2010 Books

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Bad to the Bone

Bad to the Bone: Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger  by Bo Hoefinger
Published by Citadel Press Kensington
Trade paperback, $14.95

Books about dogs are a huge trend now, with many of them on the bestseller lists. I am a dog lover; we had Malcolm, a beautiful basset hound, for seven blessed years, so I admit I'm a sucker for dog books.

Bad to the Bone: Memoir of a Rebel Doggie Blogger tells the story of Bo the dog, through his eyes and words. It started as a blog, BoKnowsOnline.com, and he also posts on Dogster.com.

The book started as a Christmas gift for Bo's "mom" from Bo's "dad", and after people suggested it would make a good book, it came to be.

The book is cute, and there are several humorous passages. Bo goes to work with Dad on a Saturday, and Bo describes the event as if he were working at the office himself. (My husband used to take Malcolm to work, so this vignette amused me.)  Bo says:

"I had read in Business Week that companies value employees more if they show leadership skills, so decided to initiate an exchange of ideas. I raised my leg as high as it could reach and left my first business message, right on the cubicle wall located by the entrance."

Bo was fired shortly after that incident.

Bo discusses his "dad's" inability to give good presents to his "mom". Mom got Dad a watch for his first gift and he got her a sweatshirt with Opus the penguin on it. Dad got Mom a vacuum cleaner for Valentine's Day and even though she returned it, for Christmas he got her a Roomba. Dad is a slow learner.

Mom is not a good driver, and Bo's description of how she got her car stuck on top of a wall is pretty hilarious.  I'm glad dogs can't talk, because if they could, imagine all the awful (true) things they'd tell their parents about each other.

Bad to the Bone brought back many sweet, funny memories for me of my dog. I laughed out loud several times reading about Bo's adventures. The only criticism I have about the book is the over-reliance on scatological stories. We know that dogs and cats can be gross, and there were a few too many stories about elimination for my taste.

Rating 3 of 5 stars

Friday Five- Volume 10

Friday Five- Five Shows to See Before They Close

There are so many Broadway shows closing in the next few weeks, it makes me sad. If you are planning to come to New York over the holiday, make sure you see at least one of these fantastic shows.

1. Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson- From the moment you walk into the theatre, you know this is going to be a crazy show. The place is bathed in red lights, including over the audience. There are portraits of famous Americans throughout, and a horse hanging upside down over the seats. Benjamin Walker wears Jackson's sexy pants, and the show, while telling Andrew Jackson's life story, has as much to say about the rise of today's populism (Tea Party, anyone?) as Jackson's time. And the music rocks! Closes January 2.




2. In the Heights- Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote this high energy musical (and won the 2008 Tony for Best Musical) about the life of a group of Hispanic-Americans living in Washington Heights. The hip-hop music and dancing is phenomenal. This is the show to take your teenage daughter to see, I liked it better than Wicked. It's this generation's West Side Story, without the maudlin deaths. Closes January 9th.  




3. A Little Night Music- Elaine Stritch and Bernadette Peters share the stage in Stephen Sondheim's musical. Hearing Peters sing "Send in the Clowns" gave me goosebumps and made me tear up, it's a magical moment on Broadway not to be missed. The entire company is wonderful, and each one gets the chance to shine with a solo. Closes January 9th.






4. Rock of Ages- Can't get your guy to go to a Broadway show? Take him to this one. Strippers, 80's rock songs  from Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Pat Benatar and a sense of fun will keep him happy, as will the drinks they bring right to your seat. This show is touring the country with American Idol's Constantine Maroulis, who was nominated for a Tony last year for his performance. (Yeah, I laughed too until I saw the show, he was so good!) Closes January 9th. 





5. Next to Normal- This Tony-winning show (best score, best actress Alice Ripley) is about the dissolution of a family because of mental illness. It sounds like a real downer, and it will make you cry, but it also has some funny moments, and the score is amazing. Look for the touring company of this show as well. Closes January 16th.   

NYC Holiday Windows

Photo by Tattooed JJ

I went on a tour of the holiday windows on Saturday, when the temperature was a sweet 45 degrees. I started with Macy's windows which, as a book lover, was really enjoyable. The story of Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus, and one scene was set in a library- heaven!










Next, I headed to Fifth Ave., which was crazy crowded. Lord & Taylor's windows depicted scenes created from holiday memories sent in by shoppers. Most were very traditional, Moms baking, kids getting a bike, families watching Christmas specials on TV, but I liked the disco Christmas best.

It was up Fifth Avenue to Saks windows, which featured the fantasy of little Annabelle. The design and the clothing were spectacular, so very creative.

Across the street is Bergdorf Goodman, and their windows were similar to Saks. They combined modes of transportation with designer clothes and also were amazing, it's almost sensory overload. It's titled Wish You Were Here.

Barney's were my favorite windows, A Foodie Holiday, featuring famous chefs. The first window highlighted Innovators & Geniuses, like Julia Child and Thomas Keller.

Next was the guys windows, with Mario Batali, Emeril, Guy Fieri and more.

I loved the ladies' window, with some of my favorites- Barefoot Contessa, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart and Sandra Lee. They are all wearing Snuggies. Rachael's face is in a clock, representing her 30 Minute Meals, and Sandra Lee has a Cuomo campaign button on.

If you have the chance, make sure to check out the incredibly creative windows around town. Happy Holidays to all!

Maisie Dobbs Read-Along

Book club girl is sponsoring a  I'm Mad for Maisie Read-Along  starting in January. If you don't know who Maisie Dobbs is, she is a female private investigator living in 1920's London. I loved the first book, and am so looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Jacqueline Winspear, the author of the series, has done such a wonderful job researching the post-World War I life in London, you really feel like you are submerged in the middle of that era. The characters are well-drawn, and I particularly like the relationship between Maisie and her assistant Billy.

Maisie deals with many men and women who have been scarred by war, and that also makes it a timely read. She is also the only female private investigator in London, which has its own complications.

I hope you'll join us on our journey with Maisie; I for one am so happy to be a part of this adventure.

booksnyc Immigrant Challenge

Colleen at booksnyc.blogspot.com has a terrific challenge for 2011. It's called Immigrant Stories Challenge 2011, and you can read anywhere from one to as many books as you want for the entire year.

The books must focus on the immigrant experience in any country, and I'm excited about it because one of my goals for 2011 is to read all of the books I have on my shelves (and in my closets). This challenge will help do that with such books as:


Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos
and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, which will be my first book for the challenge because so many people have put it on their Best of 2010 lists.

I have two great books to recommend for anyone who wants to join this challenge-
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which is about an American family of missionaries in the Belgian Congo in 1959 and
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, the true story of a Syrian-American man who is arrested on terrorism charges following Hurricane Katrina.

I'm looking forward to participating in Immigrant Stories Challenge 2011, many thanks to Colleen for hosting this!

Friday Five- Volume 9

The Friday Five is Back! If you are lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's near you, you know they have great prices. I'm so happy that a new one opened on 72nd & Broadway. I just hop on the M72 bus and I'm there and back quickly. This week it's 


Five Things I Always Buy at Trader's Joes:


1. Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels- They only carry them at Christmas, so I stock up. They are so tasty, and they make the perfect hostess gift. If you invite me to a holiday party, you are definitely getting a box!


2. Cranberry Bread Mix- Another seasonal item, this is the best quick bread mix I've ever had. Easy to make, too.


3. Heart Healthy Whole Grain Cranberry Oatmeal- I eat this every morning. It has flaxseed in it and 6 grams of fiber per packet. A great way to start the day.


4. Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls w/ Icing- My family loves cinnamon rolls, and these are the best we've tasted. They beat Pillsbury by a mile. Keep them in the frig for weekend breakfasts.


5. Extra Virgin Olive Oil- A huge bottle costs just $5.99 and it has a nice flavor too. I use a lot of olive oil to cook with, so this is a necessity.


What are your must-buys from Trader Joes? Share in the comments section.

Grisham fans will enjoy

When No One is Watching by Joseph Hayes
Published by Synergy Books
Paperback, $14.95

Fans of John Grisham's novels should add this novel to their To-Be-Read list: Joseph Hayes' When No One in Watching.


The story begins as Blair Van Howe is driving his friend and colleague, Danny Moran, home after a celebration for a big legal victory. Danny is passed out drunk when Blair hits another car, seriously injuring the other driver.

Van Howe uses Danny's phone to call 911, and moves Danny into the driver's seat, then flees the scene. The next day, he is scheduled to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Congress, and this would derail his career, which would make his wife and her politically powerful father angry.

Danny has no idea what happened; the last thing he remembers is drinking in the hotel bar. He knows he has a problem with alcohol, but he has never gotten behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

The rest of this fast-paced novel follows the ascent of Blair Van Howe, whom everyone thinks is the next Golden Boy of politics, and the descent of Danny Moran, who loses his job, his wife, and for awhile his freedom, after the driver of the other car dies.

After Danny's loyal daughter begs her dad to get help, he becomes involved in Alcoholics Anonymous. The author says that his father, an alcoholic who got sober and devoted his life to helping others, was the inspiration for Danny. He clearly understands the life of an alcoholic, as he describes Danny's life:

"Even after nearly ten years of sobriety, Danny still craved routine in his life, and the flexible job hours enabled him to live that way. He made his to-do lists every day and followed them with uncompromising discipline. He drank his soft drinks and ate his snacks precisely in accordance with his schedule."

Hayes adds a dash of ethics to this interesting political thriller, one that fans of John Grisham's novels will enjoy. There are the requisite bad guys hired by the father-in-law, the gruff cop who-can't-forget-this one-case, and the greedy, power hungry wife, but it is Danny Moran who is the stand-out character.

Danny Moran and his life bring this novel a notch above the usual run-of-the-mill political thriller and Hayes' experience with his dad helped him create the world of alcoholics, with its successes and setbacks.

Rating 3.5 of 5 stars

Tom Franklin's CROOKED LETTER

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Published by William Morrow
Hardcover $24.99

The effects of children bullying each other has been a hot topic in the news recently, but bullying has been around for a long time. It's one of the themes in Tom Franklin's devastating novel, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter.


The narrative swings back and forth between the late 1970s and the present. In the 1970s, Larry Ott is a young, lonely white boy from a lower middle class family who befriends the new boy in town- Silas, the son of single black mom. There is some kind of connection between Larry's family and Silas' mom, and enough clues are given that the careful reader will figure out the relationship well before the characters do.

The boys enter high school and grow apart as Silas becomes a baseball star, and Larry becomes the target of bullies. As the mother of two grown sons, I found Larry's sad, tormented, day-to-day existence heartbreaking to read. Why can't kids see the awfulness of what they are doing to each other? Larry escapes into books, and becomes an avid reader.

When a pretty girl from school asks Larry to take her out on a date to the drive-in, Larry and his parents are thrilled. His father, who is a bully himself, even loans Larry his car. Larry's hope for the date is ruined when she asks him to drop her off to meet her boyfriend, go to the drive-in alone, and then come back and pick her up after the movie.

Larry does as he's told, but when he arrives at the place he dropped her off, she is nowhere to be found. He goes home and the next day, he becomes the only suspect in her disappearance. She is never found, but everyone in town believes that Larry killed her.

His life becomes even lonelier than before. His home and property is regularly vandalized, and when another girl disappears twenty years later, Larry is again a suspect.

Silas has returned home as a sheriff's deputy, and he is part of the investigation into the disappearance. He feels bad about how he has ignored Larry, and he is the only one who doesn't believe Larry is guilty.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter successfully combines mystery with literary fiction. Fans of both genres will be pleased with this incredible novel. Franklin has created two fascinating characters in Larry and Silas, both with flaws, and I liked how the concept of integrity is approached in both men.

I find books that explore the male psyche intriguing, and this one is exceptional.  The book is so well crafted, every word so thoughtfully placed.

"Silas felt flattened by the truth, or the telling of it, his lungs empty and raw and the spaces behind his eyes throbbing."

The masterful way Franklin puts the reader into Larry's sad world creates such empathy, this book should be read by high school English classes.

"His eyes were closed but he felt water-not even tears, just water- spilling over his cheekbones, dripping off his jaw and chin."

The book reminded me of George Pelecanos' The Turnaround, both combining a long-ago mystery with race relations, how a decision made in youth can affect someone his entire life, and the concept of forgiveness.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter has ended up on many Best of 2010 list, and deservedly so. Larry Ott is a character I won't soon forget.

Rating 4.5 of 5 stars

Amy Sedaris at Borders

One of the funniest people on the planet is Amy Sedaris. She made an appearance at Columbus Circle's Borders store last week, and she drew an overflow audience.

We heard Amy before we saw her, as her distinctive voice with its hint of a southern twang rang out on the store's public address system. She invited store shoppers to join us in the events area of the store and wished us all a "Happy Holiday!"

She started with the obligatory photo op, seen here, promoting her humorous book, Simple Times, Crafts for Poor People, a follow up to her successful book on hospitality, I Like You!


Instead of the usual reading, Amy showed the audience a few of the crafts from the book. First, with the assistance of an  overly eager fan, she began pulling items out of her bag and demonstrated making homemade twist ties, using tape she stole from a television appearance.

I have to say that this craft looked like something a person who lives in the subway might make, but that was probably the point. She's Martha Stewart for the slightly off-kilter.

Next she invited a stylish young lad, Johnny, who was wearing a plaid shirt under blue jean overalls tucked into boots. She had Johnny create a craft using lettuce as a bed, then placing five rings of pineapple on the lettuce. Inside the pineapple he put a peeled banana, topping that with mayonnaise and a cherry. You can imagine the visual had the audience giggling.

Amy kept the audience in stitches with her non-stop repartee, and answered questions, most of which revolved around her character Jeri from  Comedy Central's Strangers With Candy. Although that show ended a while ago, it still has many fans, and Amy gave them what they wanted. She is very quick on her feet, reacting to everything that happened and poking gentle fun at the people who asked a question.

I've seen Amy and her brother David in person, and if they ever wanted to raise money for a charity, they should auction off a dinner with both of them; they'd make a killing.

Rest in peace, Elizabeth Edwards

So sad about Elizabeth Edwards. I read both of her books, and got to meet her last year at a book signing. She was very kind, spoke to everyone, held their hand, even though she took a press beating that day. May she rest in peace, reunited with her beloved son Wade.