The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara

The Killer Angels has been called “the finest Civil War battle novel.” It gets into the thoughts of the generals involved and brings them to life again. I found this book fascinating, poignant and highly readable.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

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One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, by Rebecca Mead

A behind-the-scenes look at the American wedding industry, and an exploration of how the American wedding has been transformed from a passage to adulthood into a “consumer rite of passage,” a vehicle for self-expression, and–for the right price–a chance for brides to become a celebrity for a day.  It’s an interesting read, but I wonder if Mead’s many extravagant examples are really all that typical, since as she points out, many of the wedding “statistics” about the costs and economic impact of weddings come from the wedding industry itself.  Brides who avoid bridal magazines, wedding websites, and wedding planners–the type most sympathetic to the point of view of this book–don’t get counted.

Rating:  ***A good read
Reviewed by:  stc

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The Well-Tended Perennial Garden: Planting and Pruning Techniques, by Tracy DiSabato-Aust

By chance I discovered the expanded edition of this title in our New Books section when we were in the midst of a front-yard planting project.  As a beginning gardener, I found the planting and pruning advice clear and very helpful, and in gathering ideas, I appreciated the examples of gardens designed by the author.  But the book also has plenty of more advanced information for the experienced gardener.  The central section of the book contains a perennial encyclopedia with beautiful photographs, and the appendices include planting and maintenance schedules, and lists of perennials for specific pruning and maintenance requirements.  (If you buy the book, there’s also a section in the back to create a maintenance journal for your own garden.)

Rating: ****A very good read
Reviewed by: stc

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Unaccompanied Women: Late Life Adventures in Love, Sex, and Real Estate, by Jane Juska

When she was 66, Jane Juska placed an ad in the New York Review of Books: “Before I turn 67–next March–I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like.  If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me.”  The adventures which followed led to her entertaining book, A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance (2003).  Covering the adventures (and lack of them) which followed in the wake of that first book, this sadder-but-wiser follow-up is a little thinner in content, but also more poignant and reflective.  Juska’s decision-making is sometimes questionable, and she isn’t always a likeable character, but the strength of the book is its honesty, and her willingness to share the truth of her experiences, embarassing missteps and all. 

Rating: ***A good read
Reviewed by: stc

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A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

This was a great book for commuter listening. Bryson tackles the history of the universe, the solar system, life on earth, early man, physics and how scientists found out about all these topics in his usual entertaining style.

Also available on CD, cassette, in large print, and in a special illustrated edition.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

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Book Sale in Auburndale this weekend!

Join the Friends of the Newton Free Library on Saturday, September 8, 10 am-3:00 pm and Sunday, September 9, noon-3:00 pm for one of their best book sales ever! The sale will be held at the Auburndale branch library, 375 Auburn St., Auburndale, (617) 552-7158. There will be a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, an extensive collection of children’s and young adult books and a special Bloomsbury collection. All proceeds from the sale benefit the library.

In the video above, a volunteer with Friends of the Newton Library talks with the Newton TAB about the quarterly book sale.

Other upcoming sales:
December 1st and 2nd, 2007

(with thanks to the Newton TAB for the video)

A Year Without “Made In China”: One Family’s True Life Adventure in the Global Economy, by Sara Bongiorni

The author decides to find out if her family, which includes two small children, can live without goods imported from China for a year after surveying with “a creeping unease…the gloomy wreakage of the (Christmas) holiday.” A thought-provoking and entertaining look at the economic realities around us all.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: KH

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