Turn the Page - March Book Review (2022)

 

Appalachian Trail

[Once upon a time I wrote book reviews for the local Public Opinion newspaper (Chambersburg, PA). I tried to include a fiction, non-fiction, and a children's book that were all available at the local libraries.]

In early spring the Appalachian Trail through-hikers leave from Springer Mountain, Georgia for a 6-month 2,181-mile trip to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Ronald Fisher's 1975 book "The Appalachian Trail" is a good introduction and includes comments by Benton MacKaye, who had the idea of the Trail. Beautiful photos of places and people enhance Fisher's diary-style record of his hike, describing not only the mechanics of camping but the natural beauty within reach and sight.  Today's hikers will enjoy comparing the old equipment to today's technology.

Bill Bryson tells a more light-hearted Appalachian Trail tale in the 1999 "A Walk in the Woods." From obvious non-preparation to Twinkies as trail food to taxi-cab rides, Bryson's true-life reporting style may have diehard hikers shaking their head but everyone will be laughing. Again, the true beauty of the natural world is discovered but 25 years after Fisher's trip Bryson documents environmental damage that threatens this fragile ribbon of wilderness.

Galveston hurricane destruction (1900storm.org)

Like the March 2011 Japanese tsunami, in 1900 a hurricane's immense storm surge wreaked havoc on Galveston, Texas – over 6,000 people died, and the town was demolished. Erik Larson documents the dramatic events in "Isaac's Storm" using diaries and records of Isaac Cline, one of the first U.S. Weather Bureau meteorologists. 

Following the personal connections of Cline - family, friends, and colleagues – through the storm, Larson adds a human element that touches readers.  The story also highlights the Weather Bureau's beginnings, how forecasts were made with few scientific instruments and limited communications, many hampered by bureaucratic rules.

For some it's March Madness time and Carl Deuker excels at describing fast action and complex basketball moves in "Night Hoops," a story about challenges and choices on and off the court (Grades 8-12).

Readers follow high-schooler Nick Abbott as he tries to deal with Trent, a neighbor and basketball teammate with a troubled home life but talent on the court. After Nick's father puts in a backyard court, he and Trent begin shooting hoops at night. As Nick chooses to befriend Trent, he must navigate his way through friends and family who don't accept him.

 Deuker's writing talent lies not only in describing sports action but in following the twists, and u-turns, of the adolescent mind. Teens will identify with Nick and the difficulties of making choices where the world is gray, not black and white.

Books are available in the Franklin County, PA, library system.

~ Carol Kagan

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The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon.

Turn the Page - June 2021 Book Review Father's Day

 Father's Day, Read Aloud, and Beach Read

Forget Salman Rushdie’s other books and pick up “Luka and the Fire of Life,” an interesting read-aloud for children who enjoy fantasy with good chapter breaks. It’s pleasurable reading for adults, too, with clever wordplay, well written descriptions and inventive solutions to seemingly impossible challenges.

Follow Luka’s quest with companions Bear the dog and Dog the bear as he overcomes various obstacles ("increasing levels of difficulty") to reach his goal and steal the Fire of Life which will, in turn, save his dying father. He acquires different "tools" along the way (nuthogs, elephant ducks and more) to help him and video gamers will see the parallels.

Rushdie, a writer and father, wrote this story for his son Milan and “Haroun and the Sea of Stories” for son Zafar.

With Father’s Day around the corner, read Jodi Picoult’s “Lone Wolf,” a story centered on the father, Luke, who is on life support after a traumatic brain injury. From bedside to courtroom to the wolf sanctuary that is Luke’s all-consuming passion, his daughter and estranged son struggle with the decision to pull the plug or not. The revelation of secrets that have misguided opinions of, and actions toward, each other add to the tension.

The characters each tell their side of events in alternating chapters. Luke has lived an adventuresome life including over a year living in the wild with a wolf pack in Canada. It is the chapters in Luke’s voice that captivate readers as he compares life in a wolf pack family to his human family, finding astonishing parallels.

The book is enriched by Picoult’s research into wolf behavior which she weaves into the tale. This thought-provoking page-turner is another book club candidate.

For a good beach read “The Rule of Four” is much better than the DaVinci Code. The lives of four intellectual roommates at Princeton intertwine while two of them try to solve a mystery contained in an ancient book published in 1499 in Venice - a real book.

Although the ancient book is a complex allegorical work written in a strange Italian dialect and sprinkled with other languages and made-up words, the authors explain it clearly and the puzzles are truly puzzling.

Well written by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, it has an interesting view of college life and the characters draw readers into lots of suspenseful action.

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Are you interested herbs? 

Check out the Herb Sampler on this Blog 

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon.