“Book reviews: ‘Stitches in Time,‘ more - TriCities.com” plus 2 more

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• Book reviews: ‘Stitches in Time,‘ more - TriCities.com
• Book reviews: 'The Man From Beijing' by Henning Mankell ... - Dallas Morning News
• Book Reviews - News Slashdot

Book reviews: ‘Stitches in Time,‘ more - TriCities.com Posted: 13 Mar 2010 09:55 PM PST Family has put together a memoir book "Stitches in Time: Rena Remembers – A Memoir," Rena Meade Dotson, edited by Brenda D. Salyers, Helen Dotson and Lynda D. Hubbard (Heritage Nook Books, $22, 2010) For years, three sisters assisted their mother, Rena Meade Dotson, in putting together a memoir. "Mother and I started putting the stories and book together in 1985," said co-editor Brenda Salyers of Pound, Va. Later, sister Lynda D. Hubbard came along, with help from another sister, Helen Dotson. The result is "Stitches in Time: Rena Remembers – A Memoir." This self-published project compiles the stories and vintage photos of Rena Meade Dotson, who grew up during the Great Depression on Meade Creek in Wise County, Va. Spread across 180 pages, this warm and casual collection tells of Dotson's love of reading, times of courting, church, work and playing marbles. One tales recalls "The Cow that Gave Jellied Milk." Another explores "The Pie Supper." The book is available at Heritage Nook Books of Pound, Va. E-mail or call (276) 796-4604. "Henry County, Virginia: Images of America," (Arcadia Publishing, $21.99, 2009) Author Thomas D. Perry takes a nostalgic look at Martinsville and Henry County, Va., in a recently released collection of historic photographs. The timing couldn't come better for this 128-page book. The region of Martinsville and Henry County has been hit hard with factory closings and layoffs in recent years. Still, this book recalls a more vibrant town, when Martinsville's textiles interests made it the "Sweatshirt Capital of the World." Today, the uptown Martinsville area has been re-invented with a newly opened higher education facility near the old Henry County Courthouse. New owners have also taken over old buildings. The uptown district is also home to a trail built atop an old railroad. "Henry County, Virginia: Images of America" shows photos of old times in Martinsville, including the locomotives that once ran on that rails-to-trails path. The book's cover depicts the John D. Bassett High School varsity cheerleaders, pictured in the 1970 Bassett Christmas parade, holding a "Bassett Bengal" mascot. Inside, a map shows Henry County along the North Carolina border, formed in 1777 and named for Patrick Henry. The county once stretched into parts of what are now Carroll, Franklin and Patrick counties. Of course, a book about this region would not be complete without a shot of NASCAR's mammoth Martinsville Speedway. While it now seats several thousand, that track opened in 1947 as a dirt track with seats for 750. "Little People Little Patriots: Saving America One Child at a Time," Steve Brezenski (AuthorHouse, $12.99, 2009) Author Steve Brezenski presents 52 short discussions on the founding principles of America in "Little People Little Patriots: Saving One Child at a Time." This paperback contains quotes from George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The book, according to the author, is meant to instill pride in what it means to be an American "and help families and communities as they draw together in a common effort." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Book reviews: 'The Man From Beijing' by Henning Mankell ... - Dallas Morning News Posted: 13 Mar 2010 09:55 PM PST So here are nearly 900 pages of Scandinavian murder, mayhem and police acuity, more than enough to get a discerning genre reader through the last gasp of winter. Of these two writers, Henning Mankell holds a huge head start with the U.S. reading public. Over the past decade or so, he has built a large audience that, even now, in the (mostly) snowless U.S., can't wait to find copies of his new snowbound work of mystery. The Man From Beijing more than repays such patience. It's a terrific police procedural that lends a local cast to mayhem and murder but also extends its narrative reach to include scenes in China and other foreign locales, even going back in time to the mid-19th-century North American frontier. Oddly enough, the demise by sword one winter night of more than a dozen people in a northern Swedish hamlet presents a massacre that at first seems without motive. Only when Birgitta Roslin, a judge with a very slender tie to one of the victims, begins to assist the police in the investigation do certain important matters become clear – and put her in danger. Despite the broad reach of the plot, the book never puts the reader in danger of losing interest. In a compelling straightforward translation from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson, the novel develops good momentum, even as we want to pause a bit in our reading and contemplate the strange, cold motive of the perpetrator and the beautiful, icy landscape in which large amounts of blood are spilled. Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbo has a lot of catching up to do if he wants to create a demand the way Mankell has. His new police procedural, a thickly painted novel called The Devil's Star, suggests that he certainly has the wherewithal to do it. He offers a grasp of modern family and city life as well as up-to-the-minute police work that's much greater than the average thriller. And Nesbo's main character, the exasperating alcoholic police detective Harry Hole, offers a wonderful variation on the lone-wolf investigator with a great deal at stake in an investigation that may be his last. Everything from little-discussed sexual practices to the nature of Norwegian fennel bread to chemistry, the diamond industry and contemporary theater comes into play in this intriguing novel, which has two strong intertwined plots – the attempt to solve an apparent string of serial killings and the discovery of serious corruption in the Oslo police department – and a strong forward-tending narrative rhythm that binds them together. National Public Radio commentator Alan Cheuse's latest novel is To Catch the Lightning. books@dallasnews.com The Man From Beijing Henning Mankell (Knopf, $25.95) The Devil's Star Jo Nesbo (HarperCollins, $25.99) Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Book Reviews - News Slashdot Posted: 13 Mar 2010 10:28 AM PST What's missing, by the way, in my opinion, to make these REALLY useful, is a simple javascript call to determin if you are currently web connected, something like isNetConnected() found in some applications. This would let you customize the option you present to the user (ie, you can only sync your data when you're web connected). Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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