2010 Staff Picks

• Staff Picks by Genre in alphabetical order by author's last name.

February 2010

	Cannon, Kevin Far Arden Graphic Novel
This was my first graphic novel, and I chose a good one. The artwork is simple but effective. The writing is believable and laugh out loud funny. I especially liked the placement of words for sound effects and other wordless happenings, which reminded me of the old Batman television show. This adventure comic features characters with hidden pasts, conflict, intrigue, a touch of romance, a mythical island, and circus sideshow performers. In short, Far Arden has a bit of everything for everyone. Recommended by Melissa, February 2010
	Flynn, Nick The Ticking is the Bomb: A Memoir Nonfiction
Nick Flynn’s second memoir is, at its simplest, a moving meditation on the shadow. He focuses primarily on the idea of torture, combined with his apprehension about his pending fatherhood. As he explores these topics, however, the subjects include his past relationships, family history (including his suicidal mother and alcoholic, homeless father), and his own wrongdoings. Flynn was one of several artists invited to witness accounts of ex-Abu Ghraib inmates, many of whom were tortured and depicted in the infamous photographs. While Flynn makes clear that these brutal political and military acts appall him, his stance is far from righteous, as he imagines the humanity of both the tortured and the torturers. This perspective makes the memoir bigger than his own life or a single political argument—it becomes a reflection on the nature of fear and its power and on personal culpability as a citizen and a human. Brief, potent chapters stack and overlap with expert pacing and irresistible intrigue. Although Flynn analyzes his own troubled childhood, his tone is never self-pitying or sentimental. Instead, his prose is clear and vibrant, interspersed with passages so poetic they are breathtaking. Recommended by Renée, February 2010
	Haasse, Hella S. In a Dark Wood Wandering Fiction
In a Dark Wood Wandering, first published in the Netherlands in 1949, follows strict parameters of the historical fiction genre: it presents a story that takes place during a notable period in history (beginning with the reign of Charles VI, known as the Wise, the Well-Loved, and the Mad King); the story centers on a significant event in that period (the second half of France’s Hundred Years’ War with England, which includes Joan of Arc’s military career); and the novel presents actual events from the point of view of people living in that time period (the majority of In a Dark Wood Wandering is from the point of view of Charles VI’s nephew, Charles d'Orleans, poet and mediator, who sacrificed personal happiness in a long life's struggle for peace). A compelling fictional account of a fascinating era. Recommended by Julie, February 2010
	Halperin, Ian Brangelina Nonfiction
The title is deceptive if it makes you think it's about Brad and Angelina’s great love affair. The majority of Brangelina deals with Angelina and the making of the brand "Brangelina." In an attempt to validate, normalize, or garner sympathy, every one of Angelina’s attention seeking behaviors is analyzed. The litany is long and exhausting. Just when you think about tossing this book aside, there is a chapter on Jennifer Anniston, and sanity is juxtaposed with shenanigans. What a relief! I don’t want to give it all away -- just let me say there are answers to the questions that some of us may have percolating in our brains, but those are found mostly between the lines. I think the key to understanding this relationship isn’t to go deeper but to go shallower. Recommended by Geo, February 2010
	McCann, Colum Let the Great World Spin Fiction
An ordinary summer morning in New York City, 1974. Suddenly a crowd gathers in lower Manhattan and all eyes focus on the top of the World Trade Center towers. A man, it appears, has rigged a cable between the towers and is walking, now running, now dancing in the air. For a few moments strangers on the streets of the city are connected to Philip Petit and what will become an extraordinary American event. Meanwhile, an ambulance races to the scene of a gruesome car accident, and nearly no one notices. Against the backdrop of this summer of Watergate, the first aftershocks of the Vietnam War, and the seedy pre-Guiliani streets of Manhattan, lives intersect, some briefly and some profoundly. A resilient prostitute mother/daughter team, immigrant Irish brothers, an artist and his wife, and grieving parents all find their way through various kinds of pain on this day. “The thing about love is that we come alive in bodies not our own.” Recommended by Jane, February 2010
	Stein, Elissa and Susan Kim Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation Nonfiction
The authors approach a subject buried so deep in myth and taboo that I nearly hesitated to leave the book at the top of my “to-read” pile. Of course, that was before I actually read it, before I understood that my perspective was impeded by years of misinformation and maladjustment sponsored by the feminine care product industry. In friendly, well-researched narration, Stein and Kim describe the social history of women’s cycles and the impact that fashion, religion, politics, and economics has had on half the world’s population. I don’t consider myself naïve, but I admit I was startled to put all of the marketing and advertising revolving around menstruation into perspective. Read this book. You will learn something. And did I mention that these writers are hilarious? This is a realistic, easy-to-digest, wickedly funny and sometimes alarming work of non-fiction that is worth the time. Recommended by Connie, February 2010
	Tyler, Anne Noah’s Compass Fiction
I have read all of Anne Tyler’s novels and have never been disappointed. Her latest, Noah’s Compass, is no exception. The protagonist, Liam, is the sort of person who doesn’t open up to others. He passively accepts what is given to him and keeps everyone at arm’s length. However, when he loses his teaching job and moves to a new apartment, his life begins to change directions. Along with Liam, the book is full of wonderful characters, ordinary yet complex people who come alive on the page. With her trademark quirky families and Baltimore setting firmly in place, Tyler has created another winning story. Recommended by Karen G., February 2010

January 2010

	Baca, Jimmy Santiago A Place to Stand: The Making of a Poet Nonfiction
I talk to strangers more than most people. Nonetheless, the fact that this book made me say things like “This book is killing me!” to strangers on the bus means something. Poet and teacher Jimmy Santiago Baca was born in 1952 in New Mexico to a Chicana mother and an Apache Indian father. He was abandoned by his parents and later placed in an orphanage, then sent to a juvenile detention center after running away from that orphanage. At age 21 he was sentenced to six years in a maximum-security prison in Florence, Arizona, on drug charges. A Place to Stand is a powerful example of how cultural identity can ground one, as well as how literacy and the written word can give one a strong sense of voice. Baca’s account makes clear that in the U.S. prison system as it exists today, emotional survival and intellectual and spiritual growth is extremely improbable. He regains the sense of belonging he lost as a person of color (e.g. 90% of the inmates are Chicano) by taking ownership of his peoples’ stories and through telling his own. This is one of the most powerful books I’ve read in a very long time. Recommended by Jude, January 2010
	Grann, David The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon Nonfiction
Percy Fawcett, gentleman explorer on assignment from the Royal Geographical Society of London, disappeared in the jungles of Brazil sometime during 1925. His search for the treasures of what he termed the Lost City of Z or El Dorado ended in tragedy, but his travels inspired others to return to South America to search for him and his lost party. Hundreds of these searchers also died in their quest to find Fawcett and the fabled lost civilization he was convinced lay somewhere in the jungle. Recently named one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2009, this story is a fascinating look at the bravery and self-reliance of Fawcett, who traveled to an uncharted wilderness with few provisions and a simple compass. Fawcett’s story has inspired future generations of explorers and artists, including Evelyn Waugh whose novel A Handful of Dust is reviewed below. Recommended by Jane, January 2010
	Miller, Geoffrey The Mating Mind Nonfiction
The origins of the human mind’s varied features is a hotly debated topic amongst philosophers, psychologists, and social scientists. Why do people like art, literature, music, and poetry? Why do we crack jokes, or for that matter laugh at them? What are the origins of language? For Geoffrey Miller the answer to these questions, and many others like them, is that the human mind is an evolved product of a process Charles Darwin called sexual selection. You may already be familiar with Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which explains that organisms evolve as traits that aid in survival are passed on to successive generations. Sexual selection works in a similar way, except that traits that aid in attracting mates are passed on to successive generations. In other words, rather than an organism’s natural environment selecting for traits, the organism’s potential mates do. Applied to humans, this means that everyone alive today is partly the product of our ancestors’ preferences in what they found attractive in sexual partners. While this certainly applies to bodily traits, Miller argues that it also applies to the human mind. Thus, for Miller, our artistic tastes, sense of humor, propensity for language, and even our sense of right and wrong survive today simply because our ancestors preferred mates who displayed these traits. Miller’s argument is eye-opening to say the least, and his laid back, often humorous writing style makes this book an enjoyable read. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in popular science topics or human evolution. Recommended by Wes, January 2010
	Waugh, Evelyn A Handful of Dust Fiction
The story of Percy Fawcett’s disappearance in the Amazon was still fresh in the minds of the British in 1934 when Evelyn Waugh wrote this searing indictment of manners, morals, and marriage. Tony Last describes himself as the happiest man on earth, living comfortably on his family estate, spending his days hunting, and sharing this world with his beautiful wife and child. As his domestic life falls apart, he can neither comprehend what has gone wrong nor deal with what comes next. He decides to travel to the Amazon to find some peace and discovers something else entirely. The last few pages of this story are unforgettable, as is Waugh’s delicious prose. Recommended by Jane, January 2010

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