By DONNA HINE
As you read this, your mind is probably on almost anything but relaxing with a good book – or reading suggestions for good books! But we really should take time out at this busy time of year to just kick back and do absolutely nothing but read. If you let it, the act of reading can be revitalizing and exciting and it can take you out of the everyday stress of living for just a little while. Let a book transport you away from shopping and wrapping and baking and just plain everyday running around to that very special world created by every author just for you. And so many of your favorite authors love to sell their books at this time of year! How lucky are you?
Yes, I know it doesn’t seem possible, but James Patterson has written a continuation of the Alex Cross books – I wonder how many books that makes that he has written just this year alone? Anyway, “Hope to Die: The Return of Alex Cross” (PAT) just popped into the library in time for some fortunate person to read. Sorry, we already have a list of patrons waiting for it, so it may be a while before anyone can pluck it off the shelf. But feel free to put your name on the list or place a hold in our catalog – you may get the book more quickly. This one seems to be more of a psychological thriller, pitting Cross against a madman who abducts Cross’s family. The purpose is to make Cross into a murderer – hmm. Always fast-paced with extremely short chapters, a Patterson book is sure to keep you interested.
“The Girl Next Door” (REN) by Ruth Rendell involves a crime of passion coming to light after 60 years. The discovery of bones in a tin draws together old friends who once played at the site where the bones were discovered. We are given the identity of two of the victims, but the third is withheld until the book’s conclusion. Sixty years can’t change old feelings that surface, and those childhood relationships never really do change either. More an exploration of this lack of change than a murder-mystery, this novel is vintage Rendell; she has written captivating mysteries for over 50 years.
One of my favorite authors (and a former librarian to boot) is James R. Benn. A local author from Hadlyme, Benn writes of the fictional ongoing adventures of Billy Boyle during World War II. Boyle just happens to be the nephew of Dwight D. Eisenhower and is often asked by him to investigate certain sensitive situations. “The Rest is Silence” (BEN) involves a corpse washed up on the same shore where the rehearsal for the D-Day invasion of Normandy is to take place. Billy and his best friend and co-investigator, Kaz, are invited to stay with Kaz’s old friend David at Ashcroft, his family manor. Lots of family drama compounds the drama of the delicate investigation. This is very well-researched World War II fiction with a strong insight into Eisenhower and the military at that time.
The final book of fiction is also by a long-term author with a recurring main character: The book by Clive Cussler (and his son, Dirk Cussler) is entitled “Havana Storm” (CUS). Dirk Pitt is back, this time in the Caribbean Sea, and somehow becomes involved in the political situation in Cuba. Coincidentally, his children also are in Cuba chasing an Aztec stone – now all are tangled up in preventing a potential environmental disaster as well as an overthrow of the Cuban government – never a dull moment with these guys!
Name-dropping, pictures of long-ago celebrities, tales of true and absurd stories from a former 007 – does it get any better? Roger Moore has penned a collection of remembrances from his 70-year career. “One Lucky Bastard: Tales from Tinseltown” (B MOORE, ROGER MOO) is chock full of pictures and amusing stories of his friendships with other celebs and their stories also. Very lightweight, but fun to skim through if only to recognize actors from bygone years and to read what Frank Sinatra was really like.
Have you seen the movie “Interstellar” yet? “The Science of Interstellar” (530.1 THO) by Kip Thorne explains how many of the other-worldly effects can happen in reality. Wormholes, black holes, the fifth dimension and creatures from “outer space” are given their origin and meaning in this highly readable book of science. The author was involved with the making of the movie – and making it as close to reality as is possible. He set guidelines before production began to ensure this: Nothing in the film could violate the laws of physics and everything that happened had to have a basis in “real science.” I haven’t seen the film yet, but it has opened to tremendous reviews. Now I can’t wait to see it!
It must be the month for science books. “This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus The Climate” (363.738 KLE) by Naomi Klein is a fascinating look at how the climate is changing and why we insist on still burning fossil fuels to fan that flame. Apparently, we are not looking at a gradual change, but one that could occur instantly under the right (or wrong) conditions. We are basically told by this author that we need to drastically change our society and economy or the environment will become drastically changed. Thought provoking …
“On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller” (B ROCKEFELLER, NELSON ROC) by Richard Norton Smith is the final choice. Few among us would fail to recognize the name or his many accomplishments – helping to develop the Rockefeller Center as well as the Museum of Modern Art to name just two. But after having attained the governorship of New York four times, Rockefeller always craved the White House address. Patrons who enjoy the ins and outs of politics will surely enjoy this book.
Middlebury Public Library Adult Services Librarian Donna Hine writes Library Lines once a month. If you have a topic you’d like her to cover, contact her at the library at 203-758-2634.
