A Reader's Advisory, readalike and new book blog. From Long Island with a Brentwood slant.
Sunday Drive Home - David Masello
Sunday Drive Home
On the drive down the Taconic,
you sleep, your head sinks then snaps
up when it reaches some reflex angle.
Here is proof we have been together
the weekend and you feel no duty
to converse. It is the late afternoon,
the adjacent lanes agleam with cars
instinctively returning to town, each
containing a tale of having been away.
We’ve passed the point where
the Berkshires fill my mirrors;
now, the Catskills appear blue-crayoned
against the western horizon.
The sun, filtered, spotlights you,
candying your parted lips.
Down and up, down and up you go
these miles, a constant affirmation.
David Masello is known for his book on architecture and public art called Architecture without Rules : the houses of Marcel Breuer and Herbert Beckhard (Not at Brentwood). His essay is also included in the Best American Essays 2005 (Not in Brentwood).
(Source: granta.com)
Have you remembered to put James Patterson’s newest novel, The Christmas Wedding, on hold?
Getting books for the person who reads in your family is difficult, but here at Brentwood we want to make things a little easier for you. The following list has the most popular books of this past year along with a link to the catalog and a link to the reviews. Not everyone likes every book, so make sure you know what type of reader they are before you buy The Help for a reader who likes hard-boiled suspense novels.
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
For People who like: Upbeat, moving and dialect-rich Domestic Fiction
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project. (Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
Bossypants - Tina Fey
For People who like: Funny autobiographies
From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon, comedian Tina Fey reveals all, and proves that you’re no one until someone calls you bossy. (Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
11/22/63 - Stephen King
For People who like: Character-driven, intricately plotted alternate history suspense novels
Receiving a horrific essay from a GED student with a traumatic past, high-school English teacher Jake Epping is enlisted by a friend to travel back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a mission for which he must befriend troubled loner Lee Harvey Oswald. (Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson
For People who like: Engaging Business and Science biographies of a cultural figures / Who love anything Apple
Draws on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs, as well as interviews with family members, friends, competitors, and colleagues, to offer a look at the co-founder and leading creative force behind the Apple computer company.(Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
Habibi - Craig Thompson
For People who like: Graphic Novels that contain world-building elements and love stories
Follows the relationship between two refugee child slaves who are thrown together by circumstance and who struggle to make a place for themselves in a world fueled by fear and vice, in a visual parable that touches on themes of cultural divisions and the shared heritage of Christianity and Islam. (Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
For People who like: Bittersweet, moving historical autobiographies of past presidents
Presents the annotated transcription and original audio for the 1964 interviews with Jacqueline Kennedy on her experiences and impressions as the wife of John F. Kennedy, offering an intimate and detailed account of the man and his times. (Link to Catalog) (Reviews)
