CATALOGS
|
GOOD READ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Know an obscure or famous writer worth writing home about? Here's the place. Here also are some powerhouse suggestions for more reading!
Also check out women's
science fiction for chatty recommendations.
|
e-mail me your thoughts
|
Generic Order Form
For condition grades, see glossary. |
Leila Ahmed
I can't remember title or author of adult autobiography which was published in 1998 or 1999. Written by a woman, now a feminist, it tells of growing up in Cairo under Farouk and the changes in her view of herself and the views of Europeans to former colonies and to Arabs and people of color.
I don't recall this title right now, but I have two other feminist Middle-Eastern
books that might interest you:
Mourad, Kenize. Regards From the Dead Princess. A Novel
of Life. NY: Little Brown, 1989. Based on author's mother's life as the
last in the royal Sultan line before the fall of the Ottoman Empire, her
subsequent exile in Beirut, marriage to a rajah of India, and flight to
Paris just in time for the Nazi Occupation. XL. $10 ppd.
Bhutto, Benazir. Daughter of Destiny. An Autobiography.
NY: Simon & Schuster, 1989. Written by the daughter of the executed
Prime Minister of Pakistan who became the first elected female leader of
a Muslim nation. XL. $10 ppd.
Isabel Allende
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Paula by Isabel Allende was picked by a shopowner a couple doors down from Loganberry who sells international folk art at Phantasamagoria Gallery and who travels to Central and South America for her inventory. Many of us had read Allende's fiction, and were startled to find so much of it in her real life story. Her sense of magic realism and the spiritual world are not fictional elements in Allende's life, but very much a part of her reality. The book is disturbing on several levels: it is the story of her daughter's tragic illness and death which is obviously saddening, but the family history that Isabel recounts for Paula is one of intrigue, deceipt, violence, and strange rituals/games, and Isabel's unwillingness to let go of her daughter is as difficult as Paula's eventual death. Certainly interesting to read after our previous selection of Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge, the daughter's story of her mother's death. But with several young, new and prospective mothers in this group, the conversation drifted to motherhood, and the bond between mother and child...
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Allende,
Isabel
Paula. Harper
Collins: 1994, 1995. Translated by Magaret Sayers Peden. An American
Library Association Notable Book of 1996. New trade paperback.
$14
Eva Luna.
Alfred A. Knopf: 1987, 1988. Translated by Magaret Sayers Peden.
First trade Edition. VG/VG. $15
The Infinite Plan.
Harper Collins, 1991, 1993. Translated by Magaret Sayers Peden.
First Edition. F/F. $15
Margaret Atwood
submitted by Karin
I just finished Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. I wonder if there could be any author out there who writes as well as she. I have most of her books--some in first editions. I would never part with them. They are like jewels.
submitted by Barbara Louise
Author of The Handmaid's Tale,
a terrifying dystopian tale of a very possible future if the Religious
Right should ever take power in America.
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Alias Grace by
Margaret Atwood was an autumnal selection. I loved it.
Just ate it up. It works as a kind of mystery-in-reverse. You
know what happened, physically, but you're never quite sure how or why
it happened, or who did it (of course). So here's Grace Marks in
jail for murder (this much we know it true, historically), and through
Atwood's captivating flashbacks and interior monologues we learn more about
Grace. It 's hard to believe anyone you know could be capable of
murder, and by learning about Grace's difficult immigrant life, you come
to respect her and appreciate her silence. But did she do it?
I'll let you read it.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Atwood,
Margaret
Alias Grace. Doubleday,
1996. New trade paperback. $12
Bluebeard's Egg. Seal
Books, 1983. Used mass paperback. F. $4
Surfacing. Warner,
1972. Used mass paperback. VG. $5
Life Before Man. Simon
& Schuster, 1979. First edition, ex-library with usual marks.
G+/VG. $12
Cat's Eye. Doubleday,
1988. Hardcover book club edition. VG/VG. $8
Wilderness Tips. Eagle
Large Print, 1991. Hardcover ex-library large print edition.
F/F. $8
Howard Bahr
submitted by Carol (NC)
I just finished reading a wonderful book this morning. I had been dragging my feet for the last 200 pages. Didn't want it to end. The Year of Jubilo by Howard Bahr (author who wrote The Black Flower). I loved both of his books. It is like he writes just for ME--he writes just exactly the way I love. I can't describe just WHAT that is, but I am in my glory when reading a book by someone who writes like that. He came to Davis-Kidd to read and sign two wks. ago and it was the same night as my book discussion group. I wish now that I had blown that off and attended his reading. I don't know WHY I didn't--we were discussing an absolutely awful book called The Red Tent. We had a huge group (one wonders....) and most all the attendees were rabid pro Red Tenters. There were a couple of luke-warmers, but nobody was admitting that. I was the only out and out disliker of the book (and said so, but only when asked). Anyway, I wish I had attended the Howard Bahr reading. He came to our book group last year when we read The Black Flower, and I loved him. I recommend The Year of Jubilo highly.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Bahr,
Howard
The Year of Jubilo: A Novel of the Civil War. Henry Holt, 2000 New hardcover, $25
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War. Henry Holt, 1998. New trade paperback, $13.
Cari Beauchamp
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Hollywood seems so male-dominated today that we assume it always has been. Surprisingly, there were some women in early Hollywood who were very well respected, well paid, and powerful. Frances Marion was one such legend, and although she worked within a male-dominated business, she made her mark and held her ground. In Beauchamp's feminist film history called Without Lying Down, she tells the story of Marion and other women who worked hard in the early days of film, how they got there, and why so many of them seem forgotten today. An interesting read for anyone interested in film or images of women in the media.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Beauchamp,
Cari
Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and
the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood University
of California Press, 1998. New trade paperback, $18
McCreadie, Marsha. The Women Who Write the Movies: From Frances Marion to Nora Ephron.Birch Lane, 1994. Out-of-print.
Marion, Frances. How to Write and Sell Film Stories. Out-of-print.
Rachel Carson
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Most of our book group didn't finish the biography of Rachel Carson by Linda Lear, partly because we were all daunted by its mammoth size and slow plodding pace. So after a good discussion of the biography, and particularly of Rachel Carson, we've made an agreement to keep reading and to report every so often on our progress. Perhaps it will be the six-month book club book!
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Biography
by Linda Lear
Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.
Henry Holt, 1997. New hardcover edition. $35
Books by Rachel Carson
Silent Spring. Houghton
Mifflin, 1962. Fifth edition. Front endpaper cut. VG/VG.
$12
Under the Sea-Wind.
Oxford, 1941, 1952. VG. $7
The Sea Around Us.
Oxford, 1951. VG/VG. $9
Forrest Carter
submitted by SPM
I am involved in several book groups here and our last book read was The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. The book was excellent, but I heard there was some controversy regarding the author. Someone said a) That this was not the author's real name and b) the real author was a former Ku Klux Klansman. I remember hearing something, but I don't know what. Can you elaborate on this or can any of your correspondents? Many thanks.
submitted by Harriett (Cleveland OH)
I remember being quite disheartened to hear that Forrest Carter is
not Native American and that the book is most certainly a piece of fiction
and not autobiography. I originally responded that I hadn't heard the Klu
Klux Klan bit and rather doubted it, but I just found something on the
web that supports
that theory. The book itself was honest and touching, so that the discovery
of its fiction is disconcerting. It makes a reader feel like s/he has been
deceived. But it does make one wonder how a racist is capable of writing
such a beautiful book.
Breena Clarke
submitted by Carol (NC)
Do not fall into the trap of reading one of Oprah's recent picks, River, Cross My Heart. It was just awful, awful, awful. If I were Oprah, I would be embarrassed. She HAS had some good picks; this one was just not one of them.
Seamus Deane
submitted by Hilly
I belong to a book group (we meet once a month to discuss a book we've agreed to read) and have just read Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane. I beleive this was nominated (or might have won) the Booker Prize a while ago, but we have just discovered it. It was wonderful - very atmospheric as you'd expect from a poet, and very Irish in speech patterns and use of words. It's a childhood recollection - fictional, but must be autobiographic in many details - plus a family mystery, set mostly in the 1950s and early 60s. I would never have especially picked this book up, but I'm really glad I did, and recommend it as a book to read and re-read.
Charles Dickens
submitted by Hilly
I haven't visited your site for a while, but was delighted to see you'd started a book group! I have discovered so many books this way that I would never normally read. Sometimes, if I've missed out on classics that everyone else read at school, there's a feeling that the opportunity has passed - but if it's the book group book, I read it! We just read Nicholas Nickelby (I seem to have completely bypassed Dickens for some reason til now), and thought it was brilliant - very modern, funny, sharp. The mother reminded me of Mrs Bennett in Pride & Prejudice - silly but not without sympathy. Also especially thrilling to me, is that I am sure I work in Newman Noggs house - my studio is in a 1790 building in Soho, London, and the description fits perfectly! We're having the book group meeting here Friday, in the front room upstairs where the Kenwigs held their supper party. Next month we're reading children's books as one of our members is doing a degree in the subject - a very odd book called The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine (compelling but disturbing - and I'm over 40!), and the wonderful, magical Tom's Midnight Garden.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Dickens,
Charles
Actually, I have lots of Dickens, lots of biographies of him, and funky
old editions, including several illustrated (and bowlderized) versions
for children. Ask me what's new.
Oliver Twist. Hurst
& Co., n.d. Vintage hardback with pictorial paste-on. G.
$6
Oliver Twist. The
Bath Press, BOMC paperback. 1838, 1998. Illustrated. $9
Great Expectations.
The Bath Press, BOMC paperback. 1861, 1998. Illustrated. $9
The Old Curiosity Shop.
Dodd Mead, 1944. Illustrated. VG/VG. $14
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
The November title for Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club was The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Divakaruni. This magical book was enticing and invigorating, full of poetic language and fantastical dreamscapes transposed to Oakland California. It's about Indians living in the States, helping people in need, mysterious and magical spices, and finding love and peace. I found the plot rather predictable, and the subsequent loss of magic in tone a bit disappointing, but as someone in the group said, maybe finding out you're just a normal human with plebian passions and skills is part of the sobering experience of this book. The language is beautiful, if not unnecessarily dense, and the characters (with the possible exception of the young American, according to many in the reading group) were all likeable and interesting. Overall, recommended.
Available now at
Loganberry Books. Order!
Divakaruni,Chitra
Banerjee
The Mistress of Spices.Doubleday,
1998. New trade paperback, $13
Sister of My Heart.
Random House, 1999. New trade paperback, $13
Arranged Marriage: Stories.
Doubleday, 1996. New trade paperback, $12
Black Candle: Poems About Women from India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Calyx, 2000. New trade paperback,
$13
Leaving Yuba City: Poems. Doubleday,
1997. New trade paperback, $12
.
George Eliot
submitted by Erica
First, let me say how FUN your pages are! I just happened upon them (playing around with the new search engine Dogpile) and stayed to read the stump-the-bookseller bits and read about children's books (one of my favorite topics). I'm also always happy to read about what's going on in the Cleveland area. I grew up in Hudson (didn't get up to Cleveland much except for museums) and do sort of miss Ohio.
I also like the bookchat page. It makes me happy that in this world
of TV addicts and computer games, there are still some people devoted to
the written word like I am. I'm currently reading Middlemarch
by George Eliot. I'm enjoying
it a lot. One of the things I find in authors like Austen, A. Trollope,
Dickens, and now Eliot, is that they seem to include a lot of "commentary"
about people's states of mind and how people "travel through the world".
(I'm having a hard time putting it into words, but it's those statements
about how people react to the world, or how they think about things). Modern
novelists, at least the ones I've read, don't seem to do this. Some
people maybe are put off by the "Dear reader..." asides, but I really enjoy
them. A lot of times one or more of the "asides" in a book has spoken
to something going on in my life at that moment (I remember reading
Phineas
Finn and getting all caught up in the parts about whether you
should compromise your principles to fit in better with those you work
with/for - I was going through that situation in my life at that time).
Another thing I love about the Victorian novelists is the length of the
books! I love being able to return to them night after night and rejoin
the same characters. And I love the slow progress - it's an antidote to
the artificially speeded-up lives we seem to live today. I can appreciate
that I am forced to go slowly and thoughtfully through a book, maybe look
things up, maybe reread sections in order to get the full flavor of it.
I'm currently writing a doctoral dissertation (in biology, a field wholly
unrelated to what I read "for fun"). One thing I've noticed after a long
day of writing and analyzing data is that I really crave going home and
crawling into bed with a book. And I've bought a LOT
of books lately as little "treats" for myself. (I know I'll regret
that when I get a job and have to move). I wonder if anyone else who did/does
graduate work or intensive technical writing also notices a need to read
for pleasure?
submitted by Harriett
Middlemarch is the best
Masterpiece Theatre program I have ever seen. I higly recommend it,
annually, along with the book!
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Eliot,
George
Middlemarch. Everyman's
Library, 1951, in two small volumes. VG/VG. $12
Adam Bede. Washington
Square Press, 1971. Mass paperback, G+. $3
Silas Marner. Dodd
Mead & Co., 1899. Illustrated by Reginald Birch. Green
cloth with gilt. VG. $25
Rose Estes
submitted by Rita
I recently read Children of the Dragaon by Rose Estes. It was a very enjoyable journey that bulit up its complexity slowly, by the end I was leaping out of bed to see if its sequel was available on eBay. When I could find nothing, I went to Amazon's search engines and discovered that Children of the Dragaon was long out of print, and that Ms Estes never did write her intended sequel - egad!!!! Are there many books like this?
Helen Fielding
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
You've probably heard the hype about Bridget Jones' Diary. Columnist Fielding has a cult following and no doubt a healthy bank account thanks to Bridget's trans-contiental popularity. I, however, wanted to kick Bridget in the gut and tell her to get her act together: stop smoking and drinking, dump the no-good guys, find some decent friends, a job that's worthwhile, and maybe even a hobby. Was it funny? Hell yes. But the idea of relating to this fictional character as a realistic 90's swing girl is depressing and infuriating.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Fielding, Helen
Bridget Jones' Diary.
Viking, 1998. New hardcover, $23. New trade paperback, $13
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
Viking, 2000. New hardcover, $25
Cause Celeb. McCellaland,
1995. New trade paperback, $17
Beth Gutcheon
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Five Fortunes by Beth Gutcheon. Take a break. Go to The Fat Chance spa with an odd assortment of other women, each with her own secrets and sorted history. This book kept my sister-in-law (who usually prefers Anne Rice) up until 4 a.m. Sometimes it's great to lose sleep over a great book!
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Gutcheon,
Beth
Five Fortunes. Harper
Collins, 1998. New paperback $13
More Than You Know. William
Morrow, 2000. $24
The New Girls. Harper Collins,
1996 reprint. New trade paperback, $13
Still Missing. Harper
Collins, 1996 reprint. New trade paperback, $13
Saying Grace. Harper
Collins, 1996 reprint. New trade paperback, $13
Ursula Heigi
submitted by Laurie
Another excellent book is by a German writer Ursula Heigi called Stones from the River, about a dwarf girl growing up in pre and post war Germany. Hope you read them and enjoy.
Georgette Heyer
submitted by Eric (Alaska)
I just found about your web site. And have spent much too much time browsing, inquiring, etc. since. Some of my favorite authors over the years include...Janet Lambert (as a teen), Gladys Malvern (from my teens to my 60's), Elswyth Thane nee
Beebe (the Williamsburg series...read them over and over and over!), Emily Loring (easy reading romantic with a little mystery...clean, moral), and last but definitely NOT last...Georgette Heyer. I still remember moving to a new town, meeting the preacher's wife, talking books ...and her comment when she learned I had never heard of Georgette Heyer. "Oh, I am so jealous of you! You have all her books to look forward to!" It took me a few years to get started...but how I have enjoyed the pleasure of this author's company and sense of humor. She writes very clean and very funny romance novels that take place in Victorian England. The first one or two might take a little work to get into the first chapter or two...but in my book she rivals Jane Austin. If you decide to read her mystery stories, tho...be prepared....they are good, but keep you on the edge of your seat. So like my friend said to me....I am really envious of all you who will
be reading her for the first time. Enjoy!
Alice Hoffman
submitted by Taube
I really enjoy the books of Alice Hoffman. She writes with great humanity and a whimsical, fey quality that I find irresistable.
Jonathan Hull
submitted by Carol (NC)
Another book I read recently that I loved was Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull. I would be absolutely FOISTING these this book on my reading friends if I owned it, but, alas, it was a library book. So, if you run across one, hop on it. You won't be sorry. The ending of Losing Julia was a bit contrived (and it bothered me some that the author did that; he was too good all the rest of the way thru the book to do that), so rip out the last two pages and that will solve that problem.
Marie Jakober
Submitted by Alison
Having stumbled across the women's book chat page, I decided it would be the place to mention Marie Jakober. I'll admit bias: she's a friend. She's also a writer whose writing and whose integrity I admire greatly. She writes what she has to write about - which has prevented her from fitting into any of the neat classifications writers are encouraged to conform to, and is part of the reason she isn't better known. Then again, she isn't exactly a comfortable writer: she writes about power, its structures, its institutions, and how they corrupt and are maintained. A bleak SF novel, in which oppression dominates and good and evil blur (The Mind Gods), two novels about the Sandinista revolution (Sandinista and A People in Arms - both published by New Star Books in Vancouver), two fantasies (High Kamilan and The Black Chalice) and a novel to be published by Tor about the American Civil War. Her latest is The Black Chalice, published by Edge. The Black Chalice is a pagan grail, guarded by the sorceress Raven, who enlists a war-weary returned Crusader as lover and champion against a Duke's dream to of establishing a Christian kingdom in medieval Germany. If anyone has read High Kamilan, The Black Chalice revisits the same themes, but the historical background gives it greater depth and groundedness (although I love High Kamilan for the character of the queen, Marwen).
Mary Karr
submitted by Sandra (Portland OR)
I recommend Mary Karr's Liars Clubas a fascinating ride through a child's memoir of a turbulent childhood. This is non-fiction, but that is sometimes hard to believe as the things that happen to her are so dramatic and big. One of the members of the book club to which I belong, believes that in fact some of the tales are too tall to be true, and that's what Liar's Club really means. See for yourself, that's all I can say. This is a page turner.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Karr, Mary
The Liar's Club: A Memoir.
Penguin, 1998. New trade paperback. $13
Viper Run. New Directions,
1998. New hardcover, $20
Laurie R. King
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Earlier in this Book Chat page you may note that I am not a natural mystery reader. I've tried. I tend to respect avid mystery readers, but I don't know what makes them click. Laurie R. King's A Grave Talent is a classic example: why spend all that time tracking down a killer, learning how he thinks and moves, setting up a trap (which of course becomes lazy as soon as the villain decides to strike), and solving the whole thing just to realize that the villain was a misfit of humanity, a mass of evil incarnate, a stinker crazy person beyond rational thought and motivation? If I want to be depressed about the condition of humanity and society, I'll watch television news (which of course I don't). So don't ask me how the book was, the mystery readers all loved it. I just don't appreciate mysteries.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
King,
Laurie R.
A Grave Talent. Bantam,
1993. New mass paperback, $6
A Grave Talent. Bantam,
1993. Used mass paperback, G-, $2
With Child. Bantam,
1996. Used mass paperback, G-, $2
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, A Darker Place, A Letter of Mary, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, The Moor, Night Work, O Jerusalem, To Play the Fool, With Child.
Barbara Kingsolver
submitted by "Canary" (Washington DC)
Two of my favorite female authors are E. Annie Proulx and Barbara Kingsolver. Anybody out there share my tastes? I also like Mary Wesley and Anne Tyler. For "garbage-reading" nothing makes me happier than Georgette Heyer. Any recommendations?
submitted by "Teach" (Chicago IL)
I just got interested in Barbara Kingsolver's
books. I work at a book store & there is an overabundance of what I
want to read. The back of The Bean Trees
sounded good, so I read it. Excellent! I followed the story with Pigs
in Heaven (a continuation) also very good. I tried getting
into High Tide in Tucson, but
found that I enjoy reading novels vs. short stories. I have The
Shipping News, but I haven't gotten a chance to read it
yet. Let me know your thoughts on it, and I'll give it a go.
submitted by Sandra (Portland OR)
High Tide in Tucson is not
short stories, but rather essays from the author that are meant to be read
in order. You'll probably enjoy those essays more after reading most of
Kingsolver's novels.
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
The Poisonwood Bible by
Barbara
Kingsolver. A wonderful look at family fusion and friction,
at the ironies of a society far displaced from its reciprocal relationship
with nature, and a brutal politcal intrigue of the United States' murky
dealings with Africa (in particular, with the Congo in the '70s). It's
sometimes a frightful journey, but you won't forget the characters, nor
the lush and unforgiving beauty of Africa.
submitted by Carol (NC)
Our book discussion group just did Poisonwood
Bible. I had read it at the beginning of '99
and was just not willing to reread it. I did go to book discussion
and remembered a lot of the story, but really not enough to speak out about.
I enjoyed listening, though, and the friend I go with most times, Anne,
had just read it for the discussion group, so she had some things to offer.
There is a cafe that Anne and I always meet and have dinner before book
discussion. It is such fun and I look forward to it a lot.
submitted by Caroline
I'm about 3/4 quarters of the way thru The Poisonwood Bible
and I'm thoroughly
enjoying it. Learing about the Congo in Africa..... you actually feel
like your there. Some very sad things happen but also some happy things.
I would recommend her writing to anyone......
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Kingsolver,
Barbara
The Poisonwood Bible.
New paperback $14
Animal Dreams. Harper
Collins, 1991. New trade paperback, $13
The Bean Trees. Harper
Collins, 1988. New trade paperback, $13
Pigs in Heaven. Harper
Collins, 1993. New trade paperback, $13
Pigs in Heaven. Harper
Collins, 1993. First edition, F/F $25
High Tide in Tucson.
Harper Collins, 1995. New trade paperback, $13
High Tide in Tucson.
Harper Collins, 1995. First edition, F/F $25
Homeland and Other Stories.
Harper Collins, 1990. New trade paperback, $13
Anne LaBastille
Loganberry's Women's Words Book Club
Woodswoman, an oldie but goodie. Anne LaBastille decided to get away from it all and live alone on a lake in the Adirondacks, and this is the story of her adventures, troubles, discoveries, and triumphs. One of our book club members knows the lake in question well, so we had some fun discussions about the physical terrain and an appreciation of the land. Her book can be a bit didactic at points, and seems a little dated 20 years later, but all of us rather longed to pack up our bags and tents and go live in the woods. Now.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
LaBastille,
Anne
Woodswoman. Dutton,
1976. New trade paperback, $13
Beyond Bear Lake.
Norton, 1987. Out-of-print.
Women and Wilderness.
Sierra Club Books, 1980. New trade paperback, $14
Woodswoman III : Book Three of the Woodswoman's
Adventures. West of the Wind, 1997. $16
Jaguar Totem : The Woodswoman Explores
New Wildlands & Wildlife. West of the Wind,
1999. New trade paperback, $16
Anne LeMott
submitted by Carol (NC)
This month, we are doing a book I ACTUALLY HAVE NOT READ YET!!! Hallieujah! Traveling Mercies by Anne LeMott. I am about 1/2 way thru and enjoying it very much.
Billie Letts
submitted by Angel
Where the Heart Is is one of my all-time favorite books! It is full of real people with real lives. The story progresses at just the right pace and the character names are unique and refreshing. A sweet, funny, sad book
Maud Hart Lovelace
submitted by Judy
You must add the Betsy-Tacy books to your list of wonderful books that shouldn't be missed. My seven year old daughter and I are now consuming these and we are each anxious for the next chapter to be read at the close of a day. Maud Hart Lovelace had a gentle and fun way of telling a tale. Read these books!
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Lovelace,
Maud Hart
Betsy-Tacy. Harper
Collins, 1940, 1968, 1995. New paperback, $6
Betsy-Tacy and Tib.
Harper Collins, 1941, 1969, 1993. New paperback, $6
Betsy-Tacy Go Over the Big Hill.
Harper Collins, 1942, 1970, 1993. New paperback, $6
Betsy-Tacy Go Downtown.
Harper Collins, 1943, 1971, 2000. New paperback, $6
Heaven to Betsy. Harper
Collins, 1945, 1973, 1994. New paperback, $6
Betsy in Spite of Herself.
Harper Collins, 1946, 1974, 1994. New paperback, $6
Betsy was a Junior.
Harper Collins, 1947, 1975, 1994. New paperback, $6
Betsy and Joe. Harper
Collins, 1948, 1976, 1994. New paperback, $6
Betsy and the Great World.
Harper Collins, 1952, 1980, 1996. New paperback, $6
Betsy's Wedding. Harper
Collins, 1955, 1983, 1996. New paperback, $6
Anne-Marie MacDonald
submitted by Laurie
I just found your site and am a big book fan. I want to add a recommendation to your Women Author section: Anne-Marie MacDonald's Fall on your Knees. I can't even begin to describe it (well I could, but it would take too long) but if you like E. Annie Proulx or Jane Urquart, you'll love this book. Its the author's first and I can't wait for her to write another.
on mysteries
submitted by Harriett (Cleveland OH)
I've decided
that it's time for me to figure out what all the fuss is about mysteries.
I've read very few in my life, and when I was an English major I'm sure
I scoffed their mass market and addict fans. But now that I'm no longer
part of academia, I have the opportunity to read "trash" without guilt.
The most amazing thing I've discovered is that these modern mysteries are
so easy to read that it really is a joy and a relaxation. However,
it is not just junk reading: I found that while my brain did not have to
work too hard reading and I could flip the pages quickly, my brain was
off on its own quest to find the clues and solve the mystery. So I was
certainly actively using the brain cells, but in a kind of duality-process
that kept me invigorated without wearing me out intellectually. It's a
new kind of reading for me. It was FUN!
So, what did I read? I read Sue Grafton's A is for Alibi (I have a thing about doing things in order). I suppose I started with Grafton because I wanted to read a female mystery writer, and all the PR stuff got to me. I'm also aware that the first edition of A is for Alibi sells for hundreds of dollars right now, so I thought I should check it out. It was enjoyable, and I liked Kinsey Millhone (but do you pronounce the h?). Enjoyable fluff, really, without being, as I said before, braindead fluff.
But now that I'm on the mystery kick, I've started soliciting suggestions. I've been recommended to read Patricia Cornwelland Ngaio Marsh, but far away the most convincing recommendation I've heard (from several sources) is for Dorothy Sayers. So I have Murder Must Advertise by my bedside table, and if I'm not too tired from selling books or working on this website, I'll dip in and I'll bring in my reports shortly. Other recommendations are of course welcome. Send 'em all in!!
submitted by Elizabeth
The Brother
Cadfael series by Ellis Peters are
absolutely wonderful. She has another series that is contemporary (sort
of) that is good. But Brother Cadfael
is my favorite. He is a monk in 12th century England during the civil war
between King Stephen and Empress Maud. He is honest and human. I learned
a lot of English history too. There are about 20 books so they'll keep
you busy for a while. I have heard that Ellis Peters died recently. That's
sad. A series of books that are often filed with the Ellis Peters books
are by Elizabeth Peters. These are
good, too. One of the series is about Amelia Peabody, an archeologist from
England to late 1800's Egypt. These are humorous. She has another series
about Vicky that is more contemporary, but I don't like them as much. That's
enough for now.
submitted by Sandra (Portland OR)
Pronounciation tips: Kinsey's last name is pronounced MILL- hone, with
the accent on Mill, and the hone rhymes with bone.
Patrick O'Brian
submitted by Harriett (Cleveland OH)
I decided I just had to read Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander because the hype surrounding it just can't be beat (not main-stream hype, mind you, but there's a serious cult out there). This is the first of his Aubrey/Maturin series about big boats in the eighteenth century, or, I should say, the Royal Navy and the Napoleonic wars. There are, I think, 13 books in the series now, and although O'Brian is getting pretty old, he keeps churning them out. The first two pages really impressed me with O'Brian's masterful character portrayals of our two leading men, yet unintroduced to each other, attending a concert. Aubrey hums and taps his feet, not necessarily in time with the music, much to Maturin's disgust. That scene hooks you immediately: you know who both these gents are and you're ready to spend a few hours getting to know them better. Which indeed happens. Captain Aubrey hires Maturin as his ship's surgeon, and fortunately, Doctor Maturin doesn't know much about eighteenth century brigs, so there are some serious ship lessons for the land-lubbing readers like me. I had more problems with geography I think, at least the very specific geography of ships at sea and the various battles that ensued. I remained engaged throughout, and truly liked these real and flawed characters, and their adventures are certainly worth writing home about. It was a treat that the book is so well written too, spare and economical in style, but with some social satire to make Jane Austen proud. Any fans out there?
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
O'Brian, Patrick.
THE COMPLETE SET PLUS LEXICON!
Special offer: I now have all sixteen of the late great seafaring books by Mr. O'Brian in paperback, together with an O'Brian Lexicon. All 17 books are for sale as a lot for $80, plus $6 postage in the US. What a coup!
Dorothy Portnoy
submitted by Tina
You must check out the book recently released by Book Partners called Purple Irises by Dorothy Portnoy. Your readers will love this story of a woman in trasition and the wonders of living your life when others turn within. An exceptional read.
Agnes Rossi
submitted by Hilly
An author I have recently discovered is Agnes Rossi. I heard part of her novel Split Skirt on Radio 4 (BBC talk programme - a wonderful source of information and entertainment here) and had to buy the book to find out what happened. Very interestingly observed people and an unusual idea (two very different women spending a weekend in jail together). So I looked for others and bought The Quick which turned out to be short stories. Again, deceptively simple to read but very perceptive - about the death of her father and flashbacks to an earlier death. I'm sure this is from experience, there were a lot of seemingly bizarre details that really struck a chord with me. Recommended! (I'm a Kinsey Millhone and Dorothy Sayers fan too).
May Sarton
Loganberry's Women's Word Book Club
May Sarton's need to write is as basic as her need to breathe. Her words are poetic, but her journals are more famous than her poetry (a fact that greatly displeased Sarton). Her Journal of a Solitude is just that, except that many people come in and out of her rural New Hampshire home while she is there. Some of these visits are charming respites, and some leave Sarton in a rage. However, her aching need for solitary time and for pen and paper are palpable throughout and an enlightening window into the psyche of a great writer, a strong woman, and a gardening afficianado. The serenity of her solitude is gained only by controlling her temper, her needs as a woman and as a writer. Ultimately, she records both her strengths and weaknesses and we recognize the truth (ourselves) in her candor.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Sarton,
May
Journal of a Solitude.
Norton, 1973. New trade paperback, $12
Faithful are the Wounds.
Norton, 1955. First edition. F/F. $28
The Fur Person: Poems.
Rinehart & Co., 1957. First edition. VG. $25
Joanna and Ulysses.
Norton, 1963. First edition, VG. $15
Miss Pickthorn and Mr. Hare: A Fable.
Norton, 1966. First edition, inscribed. F/F. $65
Plant Dreaming Deep.
Norton, 1968. First edition. F/F. $25
As We Are Now. Norton,
1973. Used mass paperback, F. $3
Crucial Conversations.
Norton, 1975. First edition. F/F. $25
A World of Light: Portraits and Celebrations.
Norton, 1976. First edition.F/F. $28
The House by the Sea: A
Journal. Norton, 1977. First edition. G+/VG. $20
A Reckoning Norton,
1978. Used hardcover, VG/VG. $10
Recovering: A Journal.
Norton, 1980. First edition, VG/VG. $22
Anger. Norton, 1982.
Used mass paperback, F. $3
At Seventy: A Journal.
Norton, 1984. Used hardcover, VG/VG-. $10
Selected Letters 1916-1954.
edited by Susan Sherman. Norton, 1997. As new hardcover, $15
Lisa Scottoline
submitted by a browser
She is an interesting author of the thriller genre - known as the female John Grisham by some silly marketing people but very good author, uses the cliched base for a stoiry but then makes it really interesting. Has written a semi-series about a law firm with different characters from the firm appearing in different books. Check her out!
Anne Sexton
Loganberry's Women's Word Book Club
This was my book club selection, because while shelving a book called Doubly Gifted, an anthology of artwork by authors, I was captivated by an expressionistic painting by Anne Sexton, and the poetry excerpt which accompanied it. I suddenly realized that I had never read anything by this Pulitzer-Prize winning poet. So I went to the shelf and found Transformations, so that was what I chose. But after reading her retelling of Grimm's fairy tales, I wanted to know more about the woman who created such powerful words and images, so I read the biography written by her daughter: Searching for Mercy Street by Linda Gray Sexton.
Anne Sexton was not an easy person to live with. She was most likely manic-depressive, as well as alcoholic, with a troubling history of her own. She started writing poetry at the suggestion of her psychologist to help her express and control her emotions after a breakdown following the birth of her second daughter. She is called a confessional poet, so when Linda became literary executor after her mother's suicide in 1974 at age 45, she didn't hold back the letters, journals, and psychiatric tapes and notes that all directly fed into Sexton's poetry. The authorized biography by Diane Middlebrook in 1990 caused a sensation for this candor, and particularly for its use of psychiatric records. Linda's subsequent biography explains how easy this choice was: Sexton had already told these stories in her poetry, and if these notes helped explain her poetry and her creative process then they were relevant for a biography. It's hard to argue against that, because relevant they most certainly are, and Linda was determined not to squander this information like the family of another confessional poet, Sylvia Plath, did. Linda Gray's biography is a touching memoir, as well as her own therapeutic homecoming, and it leaves me yearning to read all of Anne Sexton's poetry, then Diane Middlebrook's biography, and then rereading all the poems again. Isn't that what biographies are meant to do?
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Sexton,
Anne.
Transformations. Houghton
Mifflin, 1971. Used trade paperback, G. $4
Biographies of Anne Sexton:
Sexton, Linda Gray and Lois Ames, ed. Anne
Sexton: A Self-Portrait in Letters. Houghton Mifflin,
1977. F/F $18
Middlebrook, Diane Wood. Anne Sexton:
A Biography. Random House, 1992 reprint. New
trade paperback, $17
Sexton, Linda Gray. Searching for
Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton.
Little Brown, 1994, first edition. F/F. $18
Etta Shiber
submitted by Tom
Reading the fascinating Paris Underground by Etta Shiber. Does anyone know what happened to her after the war? We found no references to her elsewhere on the web.
submitted by Kelly
Hi. My Aunt found this book by Etta Shiber
in her grandmother's attic. She enjoyed reading it so much and now has
the same questions you do? What did happen to her after the war? Could
you please send me some information as you come across it so I can help
futher her search for the answer? Thanks.
submitted by Jay
I am looking for post war information on Etta
Shiber's Paris Underground. I Collect
antique books, especially WWII era books. I found Paris
Underground in a small antique shop in the mountains
of Mentone Alabama. It is one of the most fascinating books I have ever
read. Any information you could lead me to would be very appreciated.
submitted by Marshall
I, too, came across this book recently and shared it with my family.
We are all very curious as to what happened to Etta and her dear friend
Kitty. We will continue searching and let you know if we find anything.
Thanks!!
A note from Harriett at Loganberry:
I don't know a thing! Anybody know anything about Etta Shiber?
Email me.
this just in from Marsha:
I found a few references to her in Noel Barber's
book, The Week France Fell,
and the Cincinnati Public Library apparently has a copy of her book, Paris
Underground. Her dates in the Public Library card
catalog entry show her as deceased in 1948. I hope the book is available
when I get up there to look for it.
submitted by Themis:
Hi. Did you ever hear anything about what happened to her or
to Kitty? (from the autobiographical book Paris Underground)
submitted by Helen:
I just read this wonderful book and was immediately filled with questions.
I went online to see if I could find out anything about the author or what
happened to her and her friends, and couldn't find anything but your question.
Did anyone contact you with any info? I'm so curious.
submitted by Michael:
i am just one of a few people that happened upon your website during
a search for "etta shiber". i found her book, paris underground
in the bargain section at borders, a hardbound, gilded and boxed version
from a "secret war" series offered by time-life in the late 80's.
it was $2.99 and i snatched it up, took it home and read it. i enjoyed
it so much that here i am looking for references to her on the web.
i was happy to see others in the same situation, appreciating an unusually
excellent book, but finding limited info on the author. if you find
anything, i would love to hear..thanks very much
and now from Rod:
I am currently on sabbatical from the University of Pittsburgh, writing
a play adaptation of PARIS UNDERGROUND. Etta seems to have
vanished, though her memoir was a Book-of-the-Month selection. (She
died in 1948.) The "Dupres (Ann and Paul)" who collaborated with her are/were
in reality Betty and Paul Winkler, reported by the Library of Congress
as living in Paris as late as 1971. I would be interested in any
post-publication information. Please reply to me at rodeatman@hotmail.com.
submitted by Craig:
Like many of your e-mail commentators, I found your website while doing
a search for info on Etta Shiber. I received her book Paris Underground
for Christmas, and find it fascinating. The copy I have appears to be a
pre-publication bound copy. What makes it special is that it is signed
"To
Josiah P. Marvel, With gratitude and best wishes from Etta Shiber, November
1943". Josiah Marvel was the Quaker who visited her in Prison. I've
done some searching in the Time Inc database, but have not come up with
anything yet. Please feel free to contact
me with any information you have or find, and I'll pass along whatever
I find.
submitted by Dorcas:
Hi, Someone wanted info on Etta Shiber and Kitty. I found this very
interesting information.
At
the time of the German invasion of France, Etta Shiber, American author
of Paris Underground (1943),
then in her 60's, lived in Paris with her good friend Kitty Beaurepos.
They had met in a dress shop on a trip Shiber had made to Paris in 1925.
Yearly, Shiber visited Beaurepos in Paris and when Shiber's husband of 35 years died in 1936, she moved to Paris to live quietly with KB. In 1940, they resisted fleeing Paris until there was no hope and then they joined the jam of refugees fleeing south.
Her book graphically describes the confusion and fear felt by the refugees on the crowded roads, some on foot carrying what possessions they could, others in dog- or horse-drawn vehicles, and some like Shiber-Beaurepos in automobiles - all subject to being machine-gunned and bombed from German planes - and there was no food left anywhere.
The two old women stopped at an inn to search for food and found, instead, a British aviator who failed to get evacuated at Dunkirk. They hide him in the trunk of their car and when the Germans caught their refugee column and turned them back to Paris, the aviator - undiscovered - went with them. They hid him in their apartment, finally making contact with the underground to get him out.
They were told there were nearly a thousand starving British soldiers hiding in the woods around Concy-sur-Conche and Shiber-Beaurepos and the underground brought groups of four of the Brit soldiers to their apartment to house them while they prepared false papers and made arrangements to get them through German lines. In all they helped more than 150 English soldiers escape, but inevitably the Gestapo discovered their underground.
KB was sentenced to death - she was English and had had a French husband - and Shiber (the U.S. was not at war with Germany yet) was sentenced to three years at hard labor. On May 17, 1942, Shiber, ill and half-starved, was exchanged for Johanna Hoffman who had been convicted of espionage for the Germana in the U.S.
submitted by Steve:
From the New York Times, December 25, 1948: "Mrs. Etta Kahn
Shiber.....died yesterday at her residence, the Hotel Beacon, Broadway
and 75th St, (NYC). She had never fully recovered from a fractured hip,
suffered in a fall last summer. Her age was 70." There follows
a brief history of her early years, and a five paragraph synopsis of the
book Paris Underground. Sorry I have no more info.
Finally, some more information
via great niece Karen Kahn:
My great aunt was Etta Shiber and I have begun
to publish various letters and newspaper articles on my website, www.EttaShiber.com.
I am hoping to continually add to these artifacts, as well as to begin
communicating with others who may also have information regarding my Aunt
Etta. Please visit the website and use the email link to contact
me if you have any information to share, or any questions that I may be
able to answer.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Shiber, Etta
Paris-Underground.
In collaboration with Anne and Paul Dupre. NY: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1943. First edition in dust jacket. VG/G+. $25
Jane Smiley
Loganberry's Women's Word's Book Club
We thought we'd take an adventure west with The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton by Jane Smiley. Lidie, ill-tempered and ill-behaved, travels to the Kansas Territory with her new husband in 1855 for adventure, and to keep the new territory free from slavery. Her battles with her husband, southern anti-abolitionists, horses, and most especially the weather are not only comendable but inspiring. Her hardships would defeat most of us, but she has little choice but to continue. Although some of our group found this a bit plodding and depressing, it is also courageous and informative, and a great story.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Smiley,
Jane
The All-True Travels and Adventures of
Lidie Newton. Knopf, 1998. New hardcover, $26
New trade paperback, $13
Duplicate Keys. Fawcett,
1984. Used trade paperback, VG. $5
A Thousand Acres.
Knopf, 1991. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Used hardcover,
VG/VG. $9
A Thousand Acres.
Knopf, 1991. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Used trade paperback,
F, $6
The Greelanders. Knopf,
1988. First edition, VG/VG. $25
Moo. Ivy, 1998.
New trade paperback, $8
At Paradise Gate.
Scribner's, 1998. New trade paperback, $12
Horse Heaven. Knopf,
2000. New hardcover, $26
Lee Smith
submitted by Marcia
I just read one of the best books I've ever read!! It is Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith and I must have my own copy. I was so impressed I wrote to Ms. Smith telling her how much I enjoyed her work. I hd never before written to an author so I'm not sure if she will appreaciate my thoughts. Love your site!
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Smith,
Lee
Black Mountain Breakdown. Putnam,
1980. Used hardback, XL, G/G $6
Fair and Tender Ladies.
Putnam, 1988. Used hardback, XL, VG-/VG- $8 New trade
paperback, $10
Family Linen. Putnam,
1985. New trade paperback, $13
Oral History. Putnam,
1984. New trade paperback, $12
Saving Grace. Putnam,
1995. Used hardback, XL, G/G $8
Elizabeth Taylor
submitted by Hilly
Is Elizabeth Taylor published in the US? She was called "the modern Jane Austen" writing about England in the 1940s and rediscovered by Virago Books in the UK in the 80s. Very gentle stories about English life, beautifully observed, nothing much happens - except in A Wreath of Roses where there's a mysterious death, but that's quite a shock in these books. I recognise the people (and an England that has really disappeared now). I recommend Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont as a start - wonderful study of an old woman who is not stereotypical at all.
Andrea Weiss
Loganberry's Women's Word's Book Club
Those fascinating expatriate woman who lived in Paris between-the-wars! Andrea Weiss' book features some great photographs and stories and connects this group together in a way I have not seen done well before. From Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Janet Flanner and Solita Solano, Sylvia Beach and the great Natalie Barney come some amazing stories of a time, an era, a place, and state of mind now seemingly long gone. Paris Was a Woman was originally a film, which may explain the choppiness of the book, but it's a good read and a great jumping stone to further exploration of these fascinating women.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Weiss,
Andrea.
Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left Bank. River Oram, 1999. Currently out-of-print, but on order. I can usually get a fine oversized trade paperback for $20.
Paris Was a Woman: Portraits from the Left
Bank. A film on VHS. Out of stock.
Mary Wesley
submitted by CeCe
Lunch time is over in Calif., but I just have to tell you how much I enjoyed your website. I was actually reading Mary Wesley's Part of the Furniture...then decided to look her up on the Internet. One of the cross references led me to your section. What a find! I am in a book group in Oakland, CA that has been together (with a few changes) since 1973. I really enjoyed the comments by contributors to your Chat area. I'll solicite some remarks from my group to send to you.
Carol Williams
submitted by Carolyn
Just logged onto your book chat for the first time. What a find! Since I've become pretty much a shut in with my disability, I don't get out to book clubs anymore. I rely on recommendations from friends, from my wonderful housekeeper, Nancy. She's the one who told me about Sue Grafton. And the Amazon subscriptions. I recently read one of the most enjoyable books ever. Recommended by Amazon. It was in the garden section, but anyone can read it and be ever so sorry when it's over. Because it is really about life. A life that is satisfying in a very
deep sense, that allows room for breaking the rules to suit our souls, about being ourselves and lovng who we are. What is this wonder? Bringing a Garden to Life, by Carol Williams, Bantam Books, 1998. It brought me back to life. What more can I say. A book that can do that is certainlly a rare treasure. I only wish that I lived next door to Ms. Williams. I feel I have gained a friend. Fair Winds!
Terry Tempest Williams
Loganberry's Women's Word's Book Club
Loganberry's Book Club met in January to admire the poetic and moving account of Terry Tempest Williams and her mother, the Great Salt Lake, breast cancer, and bird migrations in Refuge. I loved it. It is not a pretty tale, per say, but inspiring and real, well written, and wonderfully constructed (I love it when the coincidences of life seem to take on meaning and significance of their own). I suppose there were some in the group who tired of all the bird talk, but I could picture that well enough. This is a powerful women's book that I recommend to anyone seeking to find strength in their female family lines in the face of adversity (natural, medical or political) or in peace.
Available now at
Loganberry Books.
Williams,
Terry Tempest
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family
and Place. Vintage, 1992. New trade paperback,
$13
Desert Quartet. Random
House, 1995. Used hardcover, VG/VG. $10
Leap. Pantheon, 2000.
New hardcover, $25
An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field.
Vintage, 1995. New, $10
Coyote's Canyon. Gibbs
Smith, 1999. New hardback, $20
Pieces of White Shell: A Journey to Navajoland.
University of New Mexico Press, 1987. New paperback, $11
