Sunday, February 14, 2010

“New and Notable book reviews - AZCentral.com” plus 3 more

“New and Notable book reviews - AZCentral.com” plus 3 more

New and Notable book reviews - AZCentral.com

Posted: 13 Feb 2010 11:33 PM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

'Making Toast'

Roger Rosenblatt

(Ecco, $21.99)

This lovely memoir is not about grief, but about living with it and finding purpose in performing small, necessary tasks in the shadow of tragedy. Late in 2007, the author's 38-year-old daughter, Amy, collapsed and died of an undiagnosed heart disorder. She left behind a husband, three kids (ages 6, 4 and 1), her heartbroken parents and brothers, and more friends than she knew she had. Rosenblatt - playwright, author and prize-winning essayist - and his wife quickly left their New York home and drove to Amy's in Maryland, where, at the suggestion of their son-in-law, they moved in and began helping with the care of their grandchildren. Yes, this is sad. How could it not be? But it is never maudlin or depressing. Rosenblatt mentions his own anger, the quiet sorrow of Amy's husband, the gaping hole that had opened in their lives. But mostly he writes about his pleasure in his children and in theirs, as they all shoulder the loss together but in different ways. Restrained and oddly delicate, his book finds, in the smallest moments, grace beyond measure.

'Staying True'

Jenny Sanford

(Ballantine, $25)

She didn't see the signs. Before they were engaged, he sent her a prenuptial agreement full of chauvinistic preening (it was a hoax, but later, after his hike on the Appalachian Trail, it rang eerily true). Before their wedding, he said he did not want to say a vow that included a promise to be faithful. And later, as they began a trial separation, he swore he wouldn't see his Argentine lover, but hours later he bought a ticket to Buenos Aires. The author, who has filed for divorce from South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, paid for her gullibility, but her friends, family and faith saw her through his public humiliation. She shows herself to be a strong woman with deep morals and a sturdy sense of responsibility, which is admirable, but not always interesting. Still, readers will feel her pain. It fell to her to tell her four sons what their father had done. "This is going to be worse than Eliot Spitzer!" said one of them. Another, who remembered the letters their father had written to them during the separation, had darker thoughts. "That's it," he said. "His notes were good-bye."

'The Art of Eating In'

Cathy Erway

(Gotham, $24)

It's true, what they say: Enthusiasm is contagious, although yours might falter when you read Erway's chapter on "trash diving" (searching for food in the trash bags of bakeries and groceries). For two years, she forsook restaurants and takeout places and made all of her food at home, and she did it in a city so packed with eateries that some of its residents do without kitchens. She shared her experiences in a blog called "Not Eating Out in New York." Now she has written this memoir of what she learned, the people she met and the adventures she had in her kitchen and among people who celebrate food and frugality in innovative ways. She saved money (a week of eating at home cost $25; a week of paying her own way in restaurants cost more than $200), she learned a lot about cooking (when she first made dinner rolls, she didn't know where to buy yeast) and she created and collected recipes, some of which are in this book. Indeed, her enthusiasm is catching, even when she's describing someone else's trash.

'An Exact Replica

of a Figment of

My Imagination'

Elizabeth McCracken

(Back Bay, $12.99)

This memoir, which will be released in paperback next week, is proof of the fierce, humbling tenacity of a mother's love. In 2006, McCracken's baby boy died in the womb during the ninth month of pregnancy. She and her husband lived in France then, and as they staggered through the ensuing weeks, she was acutely aware of what she felt, what was said, what was done, what wasn't said and done. Her book is not overwrought, nor does it spurn laughter, and surely it will comfort readers who've lost children themselves. Like Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking," it is a powerful and defiant study of grief by a woman who knows it too well. It's also an act of devotion. Life goes on, McCracken says, but "death goes on, too," and "a person who is dead is a long, long story." She promises that those who are left behind to tell the story will survive. "The frivolous parts of your personality, stubborner than you'd imagined, will grow up through the cracks in your soul."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Book reviews - Clovis News Journal

Posted: 13 Feb 2010 11:04 PM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Dining on the B&O

Co-authored by Clovis resident Karl D. Spence, "Dining on the B&O" is a culmination of a lifelong love of trains and fascination with the B&O Railway.

The 170-page book written by Spence and Thomas J. Greco, has revived the experience of dining on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, offering a unique and detailed insight into the dinning cars, the food and the culture that existed there for travelers and the dinning staff.

Bringing fine dining on the rails to print, the book is filled with original recipes and chef's insights and tips to help prepare everything from basic corncakes and apple sauce to the more obscure, such as Sardine Canapes.

The book is peppered with photos documenting the rail dining experience and history and filled with the little known details and nuances of life on the rails that only authors with a passion for the subject could capture.

Spence is a retired naval reserve commander, husband of Clovis Realtor Carolyn Spence and father of Katharine Fly. Their family owns and operates Weichert Realtors and the 505 Group.

Dining on the B&O, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, can be purchased at most retail bookstores and is available at the Clovis-Carver Library.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Business Notables - Battle Creek Enquirer

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 03:58 AM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Jeff Cope, an Allstate exclusive agency owner of the Jeff Cope Insurance Agency, has been designated a Premier Service Agency for 2009.

This designation is being presented to Cope for exceeding customer expectations in his agency. Less than 21 percent of Allstate's nearly 15,000 agency owners countrywide are honored with this designation. The designation is awarded to Allstate agency owners who have consistently met designated levels in customer service and business performance.

The Jeff Cope Insurance Agency is at 812 Capital Ave. S.W. and can be reached at 968-9800.

Darrell Burke, Mark Stevens, Eric Allen, Tom Sowell, Justin Riste, Steve Holbrook, Troy Dolloway and Rod Burke of the Darrell Burke Construction Company/Re-Bath of S.W. Michigan have completed the joint Environmental Protection Agency/HUD curriculum "Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting Certified Renovator" training course on Jan. 7 in Kalamazoo. This course is required for all builders and remodelors as of April 2010 for lead safe remodeling and renovation practices on homes built prior to 1978, and for all residential window replacement work.

DENSO Manufacturing Michigan, Inc announces two promotions. Brant Davis, of Union City, has been recently promoted from section leader of maintenance, repair and operating purchasing to manager of North American purchasing. Davis has been a DENSO associate for 21 years. Jamie McLouth, of Battle Creek, has been recently promoted from specialist of training and development to section leader of compensation and benefits. McLouth has been a DENSO associate for 16 years.

Dr. John Wheeler, has been named dean of Western Michigan University's College of Education and Human Development. He will replace Dr. Gary Wegenke, who is retiring.

Wheeler, former associate dean and director of doctoral studies at Tennessee Technological University, will take the reins of WMU's oldest college July 1, pending approval by the WMU Board of Trustees.

Wheeler began his career as a teacher of students with severe disabilities in his home state of Illinois. His background includes experience there as a K-12 special education teacher and a high school football assistant coach. He earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Southern Illinois University in 1985, 1986 and 1989, respectively.

Wheeler is the author of numerous research articles and book chapters and book reviews in the areas of positive behavior supports and autism. He serves on numerous editorial boards, including Exceptional Children, the Journal of International Special Education Needs, and Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. In addition, he is the co-author of three textbooks, including "Behavior Management: Principles and Practices of Positive Behavior Supports," the second edition of which was published in 2009.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Advice straight from the heart - Honolulu Advertiser

Posted: 14 Feb 2010 05:17 AM PST

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Donna Cooper is a rodeo queen "love cop" — think Reese Witherspoon — "who spends a lot of time working to make friends happy, and that includes directing romantic traffic."

Dyad Radlavich is a devastatingly handsome yet haunted Russian-American. He's a "rough-and-tumble guy with the heart of a marshmallow."

Intrigued? Of course, you are. Both are among the most romantic characters conjured up, respectively, by Michael Little and Lynde Lakes, vice president and president of the Aloha Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

In honor of Valentine's Day, Little, who writes romantic comedies, and Lakes, who calls her books "romantic suspense" novels, agreed to answer our questions about matters of the heart.

Q. What's your advice for the clumsy and clueless among us on this holiday?

A. Lakes urges carpe diem. "This is your chance to tell this person who you care about how you really feel about them," she said.

It's important to elaborate, Lakes said. The strong, silent type who says (here she broke into a deep, gruff voice), "Love ya, babe," and thinks that's enough better think again. "He's got to follow up with why. That's the important thing."

Little suggests just finding time to be with the one you love. "Keep it simple," he said. "Tell her you love her and kiss her on the neck — but don't bite, unless she asks you to."

Q. Grand gestures, or flowers and handwritten notes?

A. Wild extravagance is almost always appreciated, but it's got nothin' on a scribbled "I heart you" note posted in an unexpected place or where the recipient will see it at exactly the right moment, Lakes said. "Anything real and from the heart will be celebrated and never forgotten."

Little agrees. "I think that flowers and handwritten notes are big gestures and it's important to deliver them in person," if you're able, he said.

Q. Any tips for the frugal valentine?

A. A sunset picnic at one of Hawai'i's world-class beaches can be romantic and need not empty your kama'āina wallet, Lakes said. Pack some treats, pin paper hearts on a blanket and you're good to go. While listening to the surf and getting cozy, tell your valentine what you appreciate most about him or her.

Little gives the beach date a thumbs-up, too. "Hawai'i is a good place for walking on the beach, holding hands and whispering in her ear — all free of charge," he said.

Another thrifty idea: "I live near Waiola Shave Ice" near Kapahulu Avenue, Little said. "It turns out it's a pretty romantic place — people hold hands while they're ordering ... they sit down and eat shave ice together; sometimes they share." He added, "I never thought of shave ice as romantic, but I'm beginning to."

Q. What's your favorite Valentine's Day memory or tradition?

A. "Every day is Valentine's Day for those who love and respect each other," Lakes said. "But for a lady who likes to dance, his promise to take me dancing once a week for life was the most romantic thing he could do."

Little's wife loves irises. So, during the week before the big day, he shops for them as a personal touch — instead of roses.

And what sort of gift does Little like to get? "I think that food is always good," he said, noting that he enjoys either a homemade meal or dinner at a restaurant.

Also, a love letter can be a wonderful gift, Little said. While romance novels tend to target women readers, men can appreciate a romantic read, too, he quipped.

Q. How should you spend the day if you don't have a valentine?

A. Rather than humming "Love Stinks" (J. Geils Band, 1980), which will get airtime on radio stations this weekend, Lakes urges — again — to boldly seize the day.

Men could gather up some flowers, maybe a few dozen roses, then go out in public and hand one to every woman they see, saying only, "For a beautiful lady," Lakes said. "They're going to get attention from a beautiful lady — just for doing that." Women could "go out and smile at everybody. You may be surprised by what can happen when you open yourself up to people."

Finally, Little has some advice for those who may be unlucky in love today but hope for better next year. Three little words: Do your homework.

"Read a romantic novel, see a romantic movie and take notes," suggested Little, author of "Queen of the Rodeo" (Triple Tree Publishing, 2001) and its prequel "Chasing Cowboys" (Aloha Romance Writers, 2009). Both detail the adventures of that sassy-and-sweet character Donna Cooper.

Lakes' romantic intrigues "Billboard Cop" (Amira Press, 2007) and "Cowboy Lies" (Amira Press, 2008) received four-star reviews from Romantic Times Book Reviews. Her story about the dashing Dyad Radlavich, who "brings into his romantic ways traditions from Russia," is now working its way toward publication.

Both writers, along with other members of Hawai'i's Aloha Chapter, have contributed stories to three anthologies published by the Romance Writers of America — "The Breakup Queen: Romantic Tales from Hawaii Writers" (2007), "Strong Currents" (2002) and "Strong Currents 2" (2006).

Reach Maureen O'Connell at moconnell@ho noluluadvertiser.com.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)