Don't Miss Lists and Other Reading Resources

July - September 2007

Fiction | Non-Fiction | Feature
All Issues: July - September 2007 | October - December 2007 | January - March 2008 | April - June 2008 | July - September 2008

Alarcon, Daniel. LOST CITY RADIO.
In a South American country recovering from Civil War, a popular radio show reunites families torn apart by the conflict; the host is a woman whose own husband is among the missing.

Allende, Isabel. INÉS OF MY SOUL.
This novel recounts the life of Inés Suárez, one of Chile's national heroines, who was born in Spain early in the 16 th century, and became the mistress of Chile's first governor.

Anderson, Kurt. HEYDAY: A NOVEL.
In this historical adventure set in the 19 th century, a young Englishman flees to America after inadvertently causing the death of a Paris policeman. He meets a woman and pursues her to Gold Rush California, meanwhile followed in turn by his victim's brother, who is seeking vengeance.

Brown, Larry. A MIRACLE OF CATFISH: A NOVEL IN PROGRESS.
This unfinished novel with a large cast of eccentric characters takes place in a small rural Mississippi town, and is centered on a retired farmer who builds a catfish pond in an attempt to cure his deep loneliness.

Busch, Frederick. RESCUE MISSIONS: STORIES.
The characters in these short stories search for love, hope, and meaning in their otherwise ordinary lives.

Chabon, Michael. THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION.
In this mystery novel, set in an alternate past in which Alaska has become a temporary settlement for the displaced Jews of World War II, a murder draws a hard-drinking and hard-boiled detective into an underworld of gangster rabbis.

Clinch, Jon. FINN: A NOVEL.
Inspired by Mark Twain's novel, Huckleberry Finn, this story creates a history for Huckleberry's father, a violent, racist, drunkard.

Cusk, Rachel. ARLINGTON PARK.
This novel depicts one day in the lives of several dissatisfied young wives and mothers in an affluent English suburb.

Davies, Peter Ho. THE WELSH GIRL.
In this novel set in Wales during World War II, a teenaged barmaid meets a German soldier who has escaped from a POW camp built by the English army near her family's farm.

Farah, Nuruddin. KNOTS.
A Somali woman leaves her home in Canada to return to her war-torn country and reclaim a house her family once owned, which has been taken over by a warlord.

Frazier, Charles. THIRTEEN MOONS.
In this novel set primarily in North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains in the 19 th century, an old white man recalls his long, adventurous life as an adopted Cherokee Indian.

Habila, Helon. MEASURING TIME.
Twin brothers grow up and choose different lives - one becoming a soldier, and the other a writer, in this book set in a small Nigerian village.

Marks, John. FANGLAND.
In this horror novel, a New York TV producer goes to Transylvania to interview a reputed organized crime boss who is actually a vampire.

Matar, Hisham. IN THE COUNTRY OF MEN.
A nine-year-old boy growing up in Libya in the late 1970's finds his world falling apart when his family and friends are targeted as anti-revolutionaries by the repressive government of Muammar Qaddafi.

Picoult, Jodi. NINETEEN MINUTES.
A teenager, who has been bullied throughout his school career, takes revenge by killing ten of his classmates, in this suspense novel that explores the psychology of the shooter.

Pynchon, Thomas. AGAINST THE DAY.
This is a dense and complicated science fiction/fantasy with many characters and story lines, including a brigade of do-gooders who descend in balloons on the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Shafak, Elif. THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL.
In this lively novel, three generations of Turkish women are visited by a young Armenian-American woman, a distant relative, who tells them about the Turkish massacres of Armenians in 1915.

Sharpe, Matthew. JAMESTOWN.
In this black comedy that retells the story of the colonial Jamestown settlement, the settlers arrive in Virginia on a bus from Manhattan, after a long war with Brooklyn; the Indians secretly speak English, and have red skins due to their use of sunblock.

Simmons, Dan. THE TERROR: A NOVEL.
This novel takes a supernatural approach to the true story of Sir John Franklin's 1840 exploration of the Arctic in his failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage.

Smiley, Jane. TEN DAYS IN THE HILLS.
In this sexy comic novel, inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron, a group of people, gathered in a Hollywood villa at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, spend ten days telling stories, many of them involving movies.

Toibin, Colm. MOTHERS AND SONS: STORIES.
These nine short stories by an Irish author explore relationships between mothers and their adult sons.

Vreeland, Susan. LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY.
This novel reconstructs the creation of a famous painting by the French impressionist, Renoir, and tells the stories of the models who helped create it.

Wambaugh, Joseph. HOLLYWOOD STATION.
This offbeat Police procedural with vivid characters depicts the officers of an unusual branch of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the criminals they work with.

 

MORE FROM MADREADS: Book News and Reviews from Madison Public Library

Madison Public Library librarians review a new book every day on our blog, MADreads.  Get ideas on new books to read, and share your thoughts with us.

 

Out with a Bang

With the airwaves full of presidental hopefuls stumping in anticipation of the next election (a mere eighteen months away!), a bit of political comic relief may be in order. Thankfully, Christopher Buckley has a new novel out which satirizes the current political climate and the frenzied nature of presidential politics.

Boomsday opens with Cassandra Devine’s revelation that her father has spent her entire college trust fund on a dotcom startup, forcing her to head to army boot camp rather than Yale. Years later, Cassandra is furious to learn that her father, now a multimillionare with a new family, has paid Yale to accept his academically challenged stepson. In true Generation X fashion, she vents her frustration on her blog, railing against Baby Boomers for doing nothing about Social Security’s insolvancy and dumping a huge debt on her generation. After a caffine-fueled night of blogging, she proposes that all Boomers agree to kill themselves by age 75, in return for cushy government incentives.

This being Washington of course, Cassandra’s modest idea is picked up by presidential hopeful Randolph (”He’s no Jefferson”) Jepperson, who uses the lure of ‘Transitioning’ to woo tuned-out young voters. But there are plenty of roadblocks to Jepperson’s run for the White House, most memorably a right-wing preacher with a questionable past, the current president of the United States with an unfortunate last name–not to mention thousands of Baby Boomers who are less than pleased with young protesters interrupting their golf rounds.

Buckley’s plot trails off towards the end and some of his jibes may be a bit obvious, but his strength lies in his hilarious and scathing portrayal of Washington insiders. Political junkies might recognize some figures as caricatures of real Beltway players. As election season seems to begin earlier and earlier, Buckley’s comic take on political spin is a good alternative to the real thing.

- Reviewed by Katie H.

 

Acocella, Joan. TWENTY-EIGHT ARTISTS AND TWO SAINTS: ESSAYS. 700.922 Ac71t.
Aly, Götz. HITLER’S BENEFICIARIES: PLUNDER, RACIAL WAR, AND THE NAZI WELFARE STATE. 330.943086 Al97h.

Beah, Ishmael. A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER. 966.404 B359b.
Bernstein, Harry. THE INVISIBLE WALL: A LOVE STORY THAT BROKE BARRIERS. 813.54 B458zb.
Birnbaum, Phyllis. GLORY IN A LINE: A LIFE OF FOUJITA – THE ARTIST CAUGHT BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. 759.952 F824b.
Bissell, Tom. THE FATHER OF ALL THINGS: A MARINE, HIS SON, AND THE LEGACY OF VIETNAM. 959. 7043 B543f.
Borneman, Walter R. THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR: DECIDING THE FATE OF NORTH AMERICA. 973.26 B645f.

Clover, Charles. THE END OF THE LINE: HOW OVERFISHING IS CHANGING THE WORLD AND WHAT WE EAT. 333.956137 C625e.
Cockburn, Patrick. THE OCCUPATION. 956.70443 C644oc. (War in Iraq.)
Crane, Hart. COMPLETE POEMS AND SELECTED LETTERS. 811.52 C85c.
Crapol, Edward P. JOHN TYLER: THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT. 973.5092 T971c.

Dexter, Peter. PAPER TRAILS: TRUE STORIES OF CONFUSION, MINDLESS VIOLENCE, AND FORBIDDEN DESIRES. 814.54 D257p.
Diggins, John Patrick. RONALD REAGAN: FATE, FREEDOM, AND THE MAKING OF HISTORY. 973. 927092 R228dr.
Dyson, Freeman. THE SCIENTIST AS REBEL. 500 D995s.

Ehrenreich Barbara. DANCING IN THE STREETS: A HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE JOY. 394.26 Eh84d.
Eisler, Benita. NAKED IN THE MARKETPLACE: THE LIVES OF GEORGE SAND. 843.7 Sa56ze.
Elliot, Jason. MIRRORS OF THE UNSEEN: JOURNEYS IN IRAN. 915.50444092 El57m.

Fisher, M.F.K. A STEW OR A STORY: AN ASSORTMENT OF SHORT WORKS BY M.F.K. FISHER. 641.092 F535fs.
Frayn, Michael. THE HUMAN TOUCH: OUR PART IN THE CREATION OF A UNIVERSE. 128 F868h.
Frost, Robert. THE NOTEBOOKS OF ROBERT FROST. Edited by Robert Faggen. 818.5203 F929zf.

Geck, Martin. JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH: LIFE AND WORK. 780.92 B122gb.
Glendenning, Victoria. LEONARD WOOLF: A BIOGRAPHY. 320.092 W883g.
Goldstone, Nancy. FOUR QUEENS: THE PROVENÇAL SISTERS WHO RULED EUROPE. 940.1840922449 G578f.

Harris, Mark. GRAVE MATTERS: JOURNEY THROUGH THE MODERN FUNERAL INDUSTRY TO A NATURAL WAY OF BURIAL. 338.47363750973 H242g.
Heath, Chip. MADE TO STICK: WHY SOME IDEAS SURVIVE AND OTHERS DIE. 302.13 H351m.
Hedges, Chris. AMERICAN FASCISTS: THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND THE WAR ON AMERICA. 322. 10973 H358a.
Holmes, Rachel. AFRICAN QUEEN: THE REAL LIFE OF THE HOTTENTOT VENUS. 305.488961 B111h.
Honey, Michael K. GOING DOWN JERICHO ROAD: THE MEMPHIS STRIKE, KING’S LAST CAMPAIGN. 331.89281363720976819 H757g.
Hull, Lynda. COLLECTED POEMS. 302.13 H351m.
Hussey, Andrew. PARIS: THE SECRET HISTORY. 944.361 H965p.

Kriegel, Mark. PISTOL: THE LIFE OF PETE MARAVICH. 796.323092 M327k
Kundera, Milan. THE CURTAIN: AN ESSAY IN SEVEN PARTS. 801 K962c.

Lanchester, John. FAMILY ROMANCE: A LOVE STORY. 941.0820922 L224f.
Lerner, Michael A. DRY MANHATTAN: PROHIBITION IN NEW YORK CITY. 363.410974109042 L562d.

MacMillan, Margaret. NIXON AND MAO: THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. 327.7305109047 M228n.
Margonelli, Lisa. OIL ON THE BRAIN: ADVENTURES FROM THE PUMP TO THE PIPELINE. 338.27282 M336o.

Oren, Michael B. POWER, FAITH, AND FANTASY: AMERICA IN THE MIDDLE EAST, 1776 TO THE PRESENT. 327. 73056 Or3p.

Pearce, Fred. WITH SPEED AND VIOLENCE: WHY SCIENTISTS FEAR TIPPING POINTS IN CLIMATE CHANGE. 551.6 P314w.
Pollack, Howard. GEORGE GERSHWIN: HIS LIFE AND WORK. 780.92 G323po.
Pollack, Lindsay. THE GIRL WITH THE GALLERY: EDITH GREGOR HALPERT AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN ART MARKET. 709.2 H164p.

Ramadan, Tariq. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE PROPHET: LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD. 297.63 R14i.
Rodriguez, Deborah. KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL: AN AMERICAN WOMAN GOES BEHIND THE VEIL. 305. 4869709581090511 R618k.

Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh. DUNKIRK: FIGHT TO THE LAST MAN. 940.5421428 Se21d.
Seligson, Susan. STACKED: A 32DDD REPORTS FROM THE FRONT. 391.6 Se48s.
Shawn, Allen. WISH I COULD BE THERE: NOTES FROM A PHOBIC LIFE. 616.85225 Sh28w.
Sheffield, Rob. LOVE IS A MIX TAPE: LIFE AND LOSS, ONE SONG AT A TIME. 781.64092 Sh39l.
Stone, Robert. PRIME GREEN: REMEMBERING THE NINETEEN SIXTIES. 813.54 St72zst.
Stuart, Tristram. THE BLOODLESS REVOLUTION: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF VEGETARIANISM FROM 1600 TO MODERN TIMES. 613.26209 St93b
Sypeck, Jeff. BECOMING CHARLEMAGNE: EUROPE, BAGHDAD, AND THE EMPIRES OF A.D. 800. 944.0142092 C379s.

Todd, Kim. CHRYSALIS: MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN AND THE SECRETS OF METAMORPHOSIS. 508.092 M542t.
Tomalin, Claire. THOMAS HARDY. 823.8 H222zt.
Traver, Tim. SIPPEWISSETT; OR, LIFE ON A SALT MARSH. 508.74492 T697s.

Vaill, Amanda. SOMEWHERE: THE LIFE OF JEROME ROBBINS. 792.82092 R536v.
Voight, Ellen Bryant. MESSENGER: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS 1976-2006. 811.54 V871m.
Vollers, Maryanne. LONE WOLF: ERIC RUDLOPH: MURDER, MYTH, AND THE PURSUIT OF AN AMERICAN OUTLAW. 364.1523092 R835v.

Washington, Harriet A. MEDICAL APARTHEID: THE DARK HISTORY OF MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION ON BLACK AMERICANS FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT. 174.28 W277m.
Wilkinson, Alec. THE HAPPIEST MAN IN THE WORLD: AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF POPPA NEUTRINO. 910.92 N399w.
Williams, C.K. COLLECTED POEMS. 811.54 W67c.
Williams, Tennessee. NOTEBOOKS. Ed. by Margaret Bradham Thornton. 818.5403 W675n.
Wilson, David Sloan. EVOLUTION FOR EVERYONE: HOW DARWIN’S THEORY CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT OUR LIVES. 576.801 W692e.
Winder, Simon. THE MAN WHO SAVED BRITAIN: A PERSONAL JOURNEY INTO THE DISTURBING WORLD OF JAMES BOND. 823.914 F629zw.

Zinsser, Judith P. LA DAME D’ESPRIT: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE MARQUISE DU CHÂTELET. 848.509 D85z.

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