Newton Reads

The New Policeman, by Kate Thompson

newtonreference — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:24:15 +0000

Set in present day Ireland, this teen novel contrasts the frantic pace of modern day life with traditional Irish ways, Irish music, folk dancing and beliefs with a twist of magic. One of main character’s J.J. Liddy’s neighbors tells him he must travel to the enchanted land of the ever young where the faeries live to solve a decades old mystery about time itself and his family. I listened to the book on CD and thoroughly enjoyed the musical interludes between each chapter.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, by Julia Flynn Siler

newtonreference — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:57:19 +0000

The House of Mondavi follows the fortunes of the California wine family from the arrival of Cesare Mondavi in the United States in 1906 over the next four generations to the forced sale of the company in 2005 to Constellation Brands Inc. Plenty of family infighting and unwise business decisions lead to its takeover. After the death of Cesare, sons Robert and Peter ultimately could not work together, Mama Rosa sided with Peter and Robert left in 1965 to found his own winery. This same pattern of difficult family relations affecting business decisions repeated itself with Robert’s own two sons, Michael and Timothy. An interesting read for wine enthusiasts as well as students of American business.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

The Aran Islands, by J.M. Synge

newtonreference — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:23:06 +0000

At the urging of William Butler Yeats, in 1897, at the age of 26, Synge traveled to Ireland’s Aran Islands, located off that country’s west coast near the Bay of Galway. He made a number of visits, living with a family, learning the Irish language, and recording the folk tales and belief, and traditional songs and stories that he found there among the people. They were very poor and depended on fishing in the often stormy Atlantic for their livelihood. A fascinating picture of a vanished way of life that later inspired Synge’s play writing. I listened to the book on CD.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain

newtonreference — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:41:33 +0000

The “Paris Wife” in the title is Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. The author largely sticks to the facts of their courtship, marriage and alcohol-soaked life in Paris from 1920-1926. The characters come alive, Hadley trying to make a home, have her own creative life and be a support for Ernest who is combative, self-involved and driven to find his own voice as a writer. Their circle of fellow artists including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound also figure in the story as does Hadley’s “friend,” Pauline Pfeiffer, who became Hemingway’s second wife.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The Case of the Missing Servant, by Tarquin Hall

newtonreference — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:35:08 +0000

This is the first book in a new series featuring Vish Puri, head of Delhi, India’s “Most Private Investigators.” A colorful, appealing cast of family and employees help Vish Puri, know to his family and friends as “Chubby,” solve this case. With a strong sense of place, the plot takes us to different locales in India and also works in some of the problems and social issues of the world’s largest democracy. I listened to the book on CD and the narrator was terrific, using Indian-accented English and appropriate voices for the various characters. If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith’s novels, try this one, it’s a winner.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel, by Janet Evanovich

newtonreference — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:05:52 +0000

If you enjoy mystery series books, kind of silly, but fun, try the Stephanie Plum books. The author is up to number 19, so they are certainly popular, with a recurring cast of characters that I look forward to hearing more about in each book. Set in Trenton, New Jersey, Stephanie is a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinny’s bail bonds business. In this episode Stephanie is after Geoffrey Cubbin who has absconded with $5,000,000 from Trenton’s Cranberry Manor assisted living facility.

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

Islands beyond the Horizon: The Life of Twenty of the World’s Most Remote Places, by Roger Lovegrove

newtonreference — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:52:45 +0000

The author has been especially interested in birds since his boyhood. After a visit to St. Kilda in the Hebrides Islands off Scotland, he was inspired to write this account of his travels to many of the world’s most remote islands in all five oceans. Descriptions of the wildlife found on each island as well as the changes to the natural history of each place with the coming of humans are fascinating. Plants and animals introduced accidentally or purposefully have in most cases had negative effects on the ecology of the islands. Guam, for instance has had catastrophic changes with the brown tree snakes having killed virtually all the birds in the forests of Guam. Other places are taking steps to protect their wildlife, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, many birds and other flora and fauna still survive and thrive. I recommend this book for the armchair traveler.

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

Always Put in a Recipe and Other Tips for Living from Iowa’s Best-Known Homemaker, by Evelyn Birkby

newtonreference — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:55:56 +0000

The title definitely piqued my interest! This is a selection of Evelyn’s columns published in the “Valley News” of Shenandoah, Iowa beginning in 1949 and continuing for 63 years without missing a week. Now in her 90′s, she continues her column as well as radio work, a website and a Facebook page. Written about home, family, friends and neighbors, these selections give a picture of the changes in rural life over the past half century as well as the arc of one life from young mother to old age.

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

Christmas at Eagle Pond, by Donald Hall

newtonreference — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:50:32 +0000

Donald Hall, former Poet Laureate of the United States, in this novella gives himself “the thing I wanted most, a boyhood Christmas at Eagle Pond Farm.” This brief story, set in December 1940, brings us back to his grandparents’ farm in central New Hampshire. They raise everything they eat, save salt, pepper and coffee, and work every daylight hour to accomplish that. Hall, now an old man himself, brings his grandparents, other relatives and friends back to life for us, “celebrating the golden dead” and a way of life that is largely gone also. I really enjoyed this story.

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

Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel

newtonreference — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 01:02:52 +0000

This is the second part of a planned trilogy focusing on Thomas Cromwell and the book has just won the 2012 Man Booker Prize for fiction. This literary prize is awarded each year for the best original full length novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Republic of Ireland or Zimbabwe. I would agree with the judges. As an historical novel, it brings to life Cromwell, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and his courtiers in all their scheming glory. Henry is desperate for a male heir. He wants no repeat of the decades of unrest caused by the War of the Roses when the Lancasters and the Yorks fought over the throne of England. Anne, difficult, brittle, smarter than Henry, has not produced a male heir and has fallen out of favor with Henry who is ready to move on to try his luck with Jane Seymour. Cromwell, the ultimate fixer, wants to oblige his king.

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RATING: * * * * * One of the best
Reviewed by: kh