Good Summer Reads

Frequently I write a book review column for the local paper. Here is my most recent installment for your summer reading.

Last week I was stuck in a doctor’s office for a very long time waiting my turn--no books, no knitting, only the dog-eared, year-old magazines on the waiting room table. How could I bear these wasted moments? Luckily for me young friends were there waiting too, so we visited and eventually our conversation came around to books.

I always try to ask my young friends about the books they read as much to learn about my friends as to have them educate me. And they never fail to surprise and delight me! This particular young friend is just finishing the 8th grade, yet he is reading “How to Talk to a Liberal” by Ann Coulter and everything by Kurt Vonnegut. What a range of interests! How wonderful to be interested in everything, even Ann Coulter!

What I learned from my young friend that I want to try to follow this summer is:
*to be adventurous in my reading,
*to pick up books that I normally wouldn’t, and
*to add some splash and bodaciousness to my repertoire

Here are a few books to expand your horizons this summer.

ENSLAVED BY DUCKS by Bob Tarte. "Hilarious" doesn't do Enslaved by Ducks justice. Bob Tarte ended up in rural Michigan with his wife, looking for a peaceful existence in which to write his music column and perhaps putter around. That could have very well been how things unfolded had it not been for Binky, the rabbit they thought would be fun to have as a pet. Binky did not prove to be the pet of their dreams, and you will have to read the book to find out how Bob and his wife edged toward the dark side of animal husbandry and somehow ended up with 37 creatures, most of whom were fowl. Thus the title, Enslaved by Ducks, which is truly what the Tartes were by halfway through the book. Life, death, mystery, action, suspense, and one chuckle after another will greet you every time you open this book.
THE FAMILY ON BEARTOWN ROAD a memoir of love & courage by Elizabeth Cohen. I am convinced that extraordinary writing often comes when we are struggling the most; when we are lost in a whirlwind of events beyond our control. Elizabeth Cohen finds herself the sole caregiver of a father with Alzheimer's and a rambunctious toddler daughter. Left suddenly by her husband, who could not handle the challenge, Cohen struggles to come to terms with a life in which she is sandwiched between two generations who depend upon her completely, and whose needs are not all that different. Plus she has to hold down a job with the local newspaper. This is her memoir of that raw and vividly alive time — moments of watching a beloved father lose his mental capacities and a beloved child gain hers, side by side. Cohen's account is frank, touching, and courageous. She does not shy away from any detail of daily life with Daddy and Ava — how much she flounders, how lost and desperate she feels. She is straightforward and unsentimental, but her strength and determination and love for her family are like beacons of light, shining off the pages. It is a lifeline for those in caregiver positions, especially those dealing with the tragedies of Alzheimer's. (There is a resource guide for Alzheimer caregivers in the back of the book.) This is more than a good read; it is an inspiring treasure.

LOVE IN THE DRIEST SEASON by Neely Tucker. Here is a riveting memoir, one that informs us deeply about the affairs of the heart while educating about the affairs of the world. Neely Tucker is a staff writer for the Washington Post now, but for years he was a foreign correspondent in Africa. He is a white Mississippi native, married to a black woman, Vita, whom he met in Detroit. This is the story of their sojourn in Zimbabwe and their decision to adopt Chipo, a tiny black girl abandoned in a field of dry grass to die — one of thousands of children left orphaned by AIDS, civil war, and the Rwanda genocides. Tucker is a marvelous writer. His combination of vivid, stunning journalism and his strong emotions creates a powerful and moving story about a couple driven to achieve the impossible — adopt a Zimbabwe child in a country that does not allow foreign adoptions and does everything possible to discourage them. Set this drama next to the volatile political situation Tucker and his wife find themselves in when Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's policies begin to endanger their lives, and you have a suspenseful story that won't let you put the book down. This is creative nonfiction at is best. It is a true gift.

LUNCH AT THE PICCADILLY by Clyde Egerton. The Rosehaven Convalescence Center is the setting for this funny, poignant story about a handful of oldsters living the last few years of their lives, apparently oblivious to the fact that their bodies and the world they live in have changed quite a bit. There's more to the story than that, though. There's absurdity, there's grace, there's innocence and the ever-present human condition. It's quite a pleasure to spend some time with this group. And with Carl, Lil's middle-age nephew — he's the narrator — who gets roped into all sorts of dramas. He's the chauffeur, the voice of reason, the one who can see where things are headed, the guy with patience and a good heart who describes in memorable detail the often eccentric day-to-days of Maudie, Clara, and Beatrice, Lil's partners in crime, so to speak. Add L. Ray Flowers, the freelance preacher who is much younger but convalescing there for a brief period, and you have a handful of a good read. It is quite a glowing, wacky, and compassionate portrait of these unforgettable seniors and those who care for them.

PLIAN TRUTH by Jodi Picoult. You might as well stock up on food and drink right now, because once you start reading Plain Truth, you won't want to leave your easy chair! This psychological drama/murder mystery/ romance novel begins with the discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn. Nobody in Lancaster County even knew 18-year-old Katie Fisher was pregnant, but circumstantial evidence suggests that this young, unmarried Amish woman gave birth to a boy and then took his life. Everyone knows Katie to be a very loving and gentle young woman, so no one in the Amish community can conceive of her committing such a crime. And you can only imagine the tension and cultural clashes that transpire when Ellie Hathaway, a high-powered, big city attorney, comes to live on the farm with Katie to meticulously prepare to defend her in court. Jodi Picoult was just as meticulous in her research of Amish life. Having lived with an Amish family on their farm, she gives us a glimpse into a lifestyle that is rarely accurately portrayed. This award-winning author skillfully weaves layer upon layer of mystery, suspense, passion, and heartache, culminating in a stunning surprise only five pages from the novel's end.

IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE by Sinclair Lewis. And finally for my young friend who wants to read adult books, but is caught somewhere between the outlandish accusations of Ann Coulter and the wild, brash fiction of Vonnegut, may I suggest this forgotten, newly reprinted classic. In 1935, Sinclair Lewis penned this cautionary tale chronicling the fictional rise of "Buzz" Windrip, who becomes President against the protests of Franklin D. Roosevelt and America's saner citizens. A charismatic Senator who claims to champion the common man, Windrip is in the pocket of big business, is favored by religious extremists, and though he talks of freedom and prosperity for all, he eventually becomes the ultimate crony capitalist. Boosted by Hearst newspapers (the FOX News of its day), he neuters both Congress and the Supreme Court, before stripping people of their liberties and installing a fascist dictatorship. Like I said, we should all partake of “adventurous reading.”