DCL Book Chat

Even if you’re not a presidential history buff you will find this book fascinating. And if you are a presidential history buff, plan on a late night. Candice Millard, who brought us the terrific story of Teddy Roosevelt ‘s journey down the Amazon that nearly killed him in River of Doubt, has outdone herself with another fascinating but little known story in American history.

Nine time Ohio congressman James Garfield was not expected to be his party’s candidate for president in 1880. But after thirty-four ballots he became the compromise candidate and soundly defeated Winfield Scott Hancock in the election. Garfield was on his way to improve African-American civil rights and heal the rift in his party when, just 200 days into his administration, he was gunned down by a deranged and disgruntled office seeker in a Washington, DC train station.

This fascinating biography of both Garfield and his assassin tells the story of a time in America when anyone could access the President and American doctors jeered at the findings of Joseph Lister. It’s the thoughtful story of a man who might have been one of our greatest presidents if he had not been cut down in the prime of his life.

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Just My Type is a book about fonts. Yes, I realize that sounds pretty odd, but remember how hot Eats, Shoots and Leaves was a few years ago, and think about how fonts can actually elicit emotions and pretty strong reactions. A few years ago when Ikea changed their font people were actually angry about it. It was a fontroversy. 

Simon Garfield is a British author who has written non-fiction works delving into everything from the history of AIDS in Britain, to the attitudes of the British during and after WW2. He’s a splendid writer who concentrates on somewhat “quirky” topics. You will learn why the “T” in the Beatles logo is longer than the other letters and how Gotham font helped Barack Obama into the White House. If you have ever looked at the drop-down menu in Word and wondered what a Garamond is, or why you’re attracted to Comic Sans, which this book calls irreverent and naïve, this might be something to consider for a change of pace.

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Imagine a not too distant future where robots make up a very important part of our lives: they clean our houses, work in our factories, watch our children and even fight our wars. It seems possible, doesn’t it? But then imagine that one very smart computer tries to take over our world and begins destroying cities and eliminating humans. What would the human race do when their very existence is in jeopardy?

Told from multiple points of view in interviews, first person accounts and even videos, Robopocalypse is fast paced, fun and frightening to anyone with an electronic device. A Steven Spielberg film is already in the works and the best part of all is that a 10 year old girl plays a huge part in attempting to save the human race from extinction. You go, Mathilda!

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Alice Love wakes up on the floor after knocking herself unconscious during a spin class. She is shocked when she discovers she’s in the gym. (She hates working out!) Alice soon gets an even bigger shock because she believes that she is 29 years old, happily married and expecting her first child. Alice discovers she is actually 39 years old with three children and in the middle of a nasty divorce. What happened to those ten years? And when did sweet Alice become the control freak no one likes, not even Alice herself? This fast paced, funny and touching book, with the added delight of an Australian setting, may be your perfect beach read this summer.

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In a small Pennsylvania town in 1968, Lynnie, a developmentally disabled young woman, and Homan, a deaf African-American man, fall in love at The Pennsylvania State School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. Determined to escape the horrific conditions at the Home, they run away and seek refuge at the home of Martha, a retired schoolteacher.

When the school officials catch up with them, Homan escapes into the woods; just before Lynnie is captured and returned to the school she gives her newborn daughter into Martha’s keeping with the words, “Hide her.”

So begins the forty year journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha and baby Julia as each has to overcome incredible challenges.

Readers who loved The Help will find the same rich and well defined characters plus insight into the deplorable conditions at some institutions in the 1960s. Rachel Simon is the author of the book Riding the Bus With My Sister that was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It was based on her own story of her life with her developmentally disabled sister so this topic is very near to her heart.

This is one of those books you can give to anyone who says, “I just want a good book to read.” Your book club will want to read this one!

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The Paris Wife is Hadley Richardson, a twenty-eight year old spinster who falls in love with a handsome, magnetic, passionate young man full of dreams named Ernest Hemingway. The Paris Wife is a fictional account of their short, turbulent marriage spent mostly in 1920s Paris. Through Hadley’s eyes we see Jazz Age Paris and the many larger than life artists who frequent their cafes. We also see her brilliant, self-absorbed, egocentric husband through her eyes, the woman who loved him before he was famous.

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Most of the world has never heard of Henrietta Lacks but her contribution to medical science is immeasurable. Without her knowledge, while she was dying, her doctors took samples of her tumor that have lived on since the 1950s and aided in medical discoveries from polio to AIDS research. At the same time her cells were launching a multimillion dollar industry, her family was living in poverty with no health insurance. Rebecca Skloot spent ten years researching the story of Henrietta Lacks and the result is a gripping and fascinating true story.

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Colorado Springs baker Ramona Gallagher’s life is in a downward spiral. Her boulangerie is in financial trouble, she’s not getting on with her parents and her pregnant daughter’s husband has been seriously wounded in Afghanistan. When her daughter leaves for Germany to be with her husband, her thirteen year old stepdaughter has nowhere to go. So Ramona takes her in. What follows for Ramona is a summer of reconnecting – with her family, with her high school crush and with a prickly teenager who needs a lot of love. Stir in some baking tips and mouthwatering recipes and readers will discover a story with a lot of Colorado based charm.

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Corte (no first name) is an agent for an anonymous government agency who safeguards high profile citizens. His current assignment is to protect a DC detective from a man who will do anything (i.e. torture) to extract information from him. Corte has a personal reason to stop this man: he murdered his mentor. Jeffery Deaver offers plenty of twists and turns pitting two very intelligent opponents against each in an intriguing battle of wills. In addition he gives readers a thoughtful, rather scholarly hero (who doesn’t brood or overanalyze as much as Lincoln Rhyme) in what readers can only hope is the first in a new series.

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Five year old Jack has lived his entire life in an eleven foot square room. His mother was a nineteen year old college student when she was kidnapped by a man who has held her captive for seven years. His mother has conceived a dangerous plan for escape; will Jack be able to pull it off, and what will his world be like if he does? Told entirely in Jack’s bright but socially naïve voice, Room delivers charm, humor, breathtaking suspense and, most of all, a mother’s love for her child. It’s a book you will never forget.

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