Now in Paperback - July

Wallflower in Bloom
by Claire Cook

“Deirdre Griffin's life is not her own. Her high-maintenance, charismatic brother, Tag, is a New Age guru and a national sensation. As his gatekeeper and personal assistant, Deidre's frustrations with her family, and herself, bring her to a hysterical moment. After drowning her sorrows in vodka, Deidre gets herself voted onto Dancing With the Stars as a replacement by way of Tag's online followers. This is a very funny read that will make you roll your eyes about family!”

-- Joanne Doggart, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Chatham, MA

You & Me

by Padgett Powell

“Experience the utter joy of shooting the breeze on the porch with a couple of crotchety, intelligent old codgers. Inventive, funny, and profound, Powell turns phrases like a dervish in this Southern-styled ersatz retelling of Waiting for Godot. A wonderful book that perfectly captures kicking back and trying to make sense of the crazy world streaming by.”

-- Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

Tigers in Red Weather

By Liza Klaussmann

“Pull up a chair, pour a cup of tea - or something stronger - and get ready to travel from post-WWII America to 1980s Martha's Vineyard. You are about to meet five beautifully drawn characters who will fascinate you and break your heart. Klaussmann brilliantly weaves their lives together and, as the story unfolds, we find that each of them is covering up something. The dynamite ending comes as a complete surprise and yet it is so right. Don't miss this gem.”

-- Elaine Petrocelli, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

A Killing in the Hills
By Julia Keller

“Keller makes a powerful entry into the crime fiction field with the introduction of Bell Elkins, a prosecutor in rural West Virginia, who must not only deal with a triple murder but also must constantly contend with a deteriorating society beset by the scourge of methamphetamine. Finely drawn characters, strong plot lines, and keen attention to a growing problem in rural America make this a gripping read.”

-- Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI

Book Review - In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts
Erik Larson

A reader of books about Germany and the rise to power by Hitler could assume that there is nothing more to be written on that subject. The reader would be wrong.

Erik Larson asks readers to “put aside what we all know-now-to be true, and try instead to accompany my innocents through the world as they experienced it.” These two innocents are Frank E. Dodd, America’s first ambassador to Germany, and his daughter, Martha.

Frank E. Dodd is not President Roosevelt’s first pick for the America’s ambassador to Germany, but time is running out and America needs a representative. A historian known for his work on the American South and Woodrow Wilson, Dodd enters Germany in 1933 when President Hindenburg is the remaining “counterbalance” to Hitler’s power and in-fighting between Hitler and his subordinates contributes to the precariousness of being an Ambassador. Dodd’s “sober” temperament runs contrary to the diplomatic flurry of late-night dinners and living beyond one’s means. He is uncomfortable in the world of diplomacy where Hitler power brokers mix freely and frequently with foreign dignitaries and expectations are that America will stay out of the internal German conflicts.

Although Frank Dodd views his job as Ambassador seriously, his flirtatious twenty-four year old daughter does not. Martha takes full advantage of the many social opportunities inherent in his father’s position without regard to the consequences of her behavior for herself, her family, or her father. Eventually, Martha pays a price for her blindness to the everyday world of Germany, 1933. 

It is the everyday living of Ambassador Dodd and Martha Dodd which makes this book stand out in a crowded field of non-fiction reads. It also raises the often-discussed question, “What makes a hero? Is Frank E. Dodd a hero? Did his actions which did not ingratiate himself to the powerful or elite make him a hero”? 

Read In the Garden of Beasts so you can answer this question for yourself.