Hilda C. Landers Library & Archives

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is the story that isn’t in the Bible: that of the wives of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhah, and Jacob’s only daughter, Dinah. Dinah narrates the story of the lives of her mothers, as she calls all of them, and her own life when she leaves them. I love historical fiction that tries to fill in the gaps of history, and this is a great example. I felt like I was sitting at Dinah’s feet, listening to her tell the story of her and her mothers.

Availability: COSMOS & USMAI
Review Submitted by: Rebecca Thayer
Rating:  Highly Recommended.

Included in the Millions list of upcoming titles are a few of the books the library summer reading program is offering as prizes; The Twelve by Justin Cronin, NW by Zadie Smith, Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon and Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub. Check out The Great Second-Half 2012 Book Preview to find out more about them.

2012 has already been a rich year for books, with new novels from Toni Morrison, Richard Ford, and Hilary Mantel and essay collections from Marilynn Robinson and Jonathan Franzen, to name just a fraction of what we’ve featured, raved about, chewed on, and puzzled over so far. But the remainder of this year (and the hazy beginning  of next year) is shaping up to be a jackpot of literary riches. In just a few short months, we’ll be seeing new titles from some of the most beloved and critically lauded authors working today, including Martin Amis, Zadie Smith, Michael Chabon, Junot Díaz, Alice Munro, Ian McEwan, George Saunders, and David Foster Wallace. Incredibly, there’s much more than that to get excited about, but, were we to delve into it further up here, we would risk this introduction consuming the many previews that are meant to follow.

See the first half, Most Anticipated: The Great 2012 Book Preview.

It has been years (probably at least five, since the last Harry Potter book release in 2007) since I can honestly say I’ve read a book that I couldn’t put down. Complications was that for me this week.

Complications is Gawande’s first book, published in 2002. At the time, he was a surgical resident in the Boston area, where today he is currently a cancer surgeon. Since, he has written two other books, is a staff writer for The New Yorker, and an associate professor of surgery at Harvard. You may have seen him on the news recently being interviewed about Obamacare.

The central theme of the book is the fallibility of doctors. Has a doctor ever told you, “You may have such-and-such, and there’s a 5% chance that this-and-that will happen”? They most likely made that statistic up on the spot. Granted, it’s not JUST a number—the doctor is using his or her past experience with the disease or problem, and may remember reading up on studies or past cases. They’re also quickly factoring in your age, gender, and overall health. Mostly, however, that “5% chance” statement is pure speculation intended to reassure you and gain your trust that you are, in fact, in competent hands.

Gawande is not untruthful or boastful about anything. I have always had a fascination with doctors—even the slimier ones I’ve had—because it’s a job I know I could never do. My fascination has grown as I now go to grad school at a medical college and hospital—I not only pass doctors everyday, but am surrounded by (and will soon have to TA) future doctors. To enter a thoughtful, reflective surgeon’s head, as I could while reading this book, was invaluable. He touches on his own experiences; details of studies on doctors’ and surgeons’ errors; surgical technologies; and fascinating anecdotes including, but not limited to, gastric bypass, flesh-eating bacteria, chronic blushing, and extreme nausea during pregnancy. His style is clear and easy. Other than the obvious Marley and Me, it’s probably the first non-fiction book I’ve ever teared up while reading. (Okay, Marley and Me may have been more than just “tearing up.”)

I had gotten this book for my boyfriend, a surgical tech student, for Christmas as a recommendation from my grad school counselor. Now into his first surgical tech job, he’s looking forward to re-reading it. I just read the last sentence an hour ago and I’m already looking forward to reading more of Gawande’s writing. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned a doctor’s prescriptions, instructions, or motives before—which is probably most of us. I took a lot of out my reading and hope this review has inspired others to as well.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Jordan Gaines, Alum ’11
Rating:  Must Read

According to the back cover of my copy of this short play, “In The Birthday Party, a musician escapes to a dilapidated boarding house, where he falls victim to the shadowy, ritualized violence of two men who have followed him from his sinister past.” I know, sounds like a great read from the start, right? I found this caption intriguing enough to want to find out who this character is and what happened in his past, but after reading the play, I know just about as much as when I began.

The entire play takes place at a boarding house where we witness the odd relationship between Stanley, the only boarder, and Meg, the seemingly not-all-there owner of the house (she’s married, but the husband isn’t in the play very much). Two new boarders arrive who apparently know something about Stanley’s past that Stanley is trying to run away from. (I’m not worried about giving anything away because I have no clue what he was involved in). That evening, Meg throws Stanley a birthday party which involves a lot of drinking and odd, unexplained cruelty that ultimately lead to Stanley leaving the boarding house.

If my summary seems odd and random, it is because that is how the play read to me. I didn’t find any of the characters likable or relatable and the play was filled with monologues that I am sure were meant to have a deep meaning to illuminate the point of the play, but were completely lost on me. I also had an issue with the stage directions. I have read a lot of plays and would never use a lack of stage directions as a defect of the writer (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is almost famous for its lack of stage direction) but I do feel that when a writer decides to include them, it should be to help emphasize a theme or characterization. In The Birthday Party, I had a difficult time figuring out what the stage directions were trying to accomplish or how they were helping to further the play.

While I may have enjoyed this play more if I was willing to take the time to study the text closely and analyze the possible meaning of the passages, the play as a whole left a sour taste in my mouth and I’m not sure I want to look that closely at it just yet. (If are any fans of this play read this post, please don’t take offense. I would honestly love to hear what you like about it).

Availability: SMCM Library (as part of The Complete Works of Harold Pinter)
Review Submitted by: Lauren Grey, SMCM Alumn ’11
Rating:  Not Recommended

Hotter Than That by Krin Gabbard claims to be the story of “The Trumpet, Jazz, and American Culture.” It’s actually a description of how masculine the trumpet is and how the author personally experiences the trumpet. Every chapter the author mentions how the trumpet is a pure form of masculine expression. As a woman, it makes me feel left out, and that if I played the trumpet, it would be lesser than a male performer. Even the little section about the history of female trumpeters is sprinkled with comments like, “Although she is tall, slim, and attractive, Jensen is all business when she plays.” (direct quote)

The last straw was at the end of the book, when he spends four pages summarizing the book, all about the masculinity of the trumpet. Only one paragraph mentions women at all, and in it he says, “At this point, it becomes clear why women can be as successful as men when they play the trumpet.” That’s good, but his reasoning is horrible. “If a woman… rips through a phrase like Armstrong or Gillespie at his most intense, we might say that she is expressing the masculine side of herself.” So, according to the author, a woman can’t be a good trumpet player if she isn’t in some way masculine.

The book has other issues, though. It’s poorly organized, with biographical chapters mixed in with chapters about the history and construction of the trumpet. Also, the author spends many pages describing his own personal preferences for the trumpet and how he learned the trumpet.

Availability: USMAI
Review Submitted by: Rebecca Thayer
Rating:  Not Recommended

Cross George Orwell’s 1984 with modern-day America. Brings up some controversial issues on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It keeps you wondering what is right, what is constitutional, and what is going too far.

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating:  Highly Recommended

I highly anticipated the final book of the Hunger Games series. I have enjoyed the other two books and looked forward to enjoying the third. It is not that the 3rd book is not well written, since it is. It is just that the story was not what I expected. I don’t want to give anything away for those that haven’t read the series yet but the characters lost a little of the edge I had come to enjoy in the first two installments. It was still a good book just not exactly what I was hoping for.

Availability: SMCM Library and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Mandy Reinig
Rating: Recommended

Read Mandy Reinig’s reviews of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

I have seen the movie and was looking forward to reading the book since movies tend to leave out some of the most exciting parts. I was not disappointed. I think this book took on special meaning for me since I read it just as I was arriving to work with elephants in Sri Lanka. For me, this book became not just a love story but also a story about the emotions and feelings of the animals themselves. I also enjoyed how the author moved back and forth between the present Jacob and how the present Jacob came to be.

Availability: COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Mandy Reinig
Rating: Highly Recommended

See Jordan Gaines’ review of Water for Elephants.

I’d heard that the movie adaptation of this book was “so-so,” which led me to believe that the book was incredible and the movie did no justice. After reading the review on this site several weeks ago, I was excited to buy the book, since my library hadn’t had the book on the shelves for weeks. I wish I’d saved my money.

My frustrations with the book are two-fold. Firstly, I never felt drawn into the book at ANY point. The book switches between 3rd-person narration and entries from Lincoln’s “secret journals,” oftentimes changing with every other paragraph. Grahame-Smith’s style, while unique, never allowed me to feel like I was experiencing the story. I felt like an observer, and I desperately wanted to feel included.

Secondly, while the vampire twist was a unique idea, Grahame-Smith’s storytelling ability was lacking. The book reads like a history lesson, and basically every hardship in Lincoln’s life (i.e. deaths in the family) was blamed on vampires. When the vampires aren’t playing a role in the book, the author seems to get lost in his research and ramble. (And when they ARE playing a role, there is a severe deficit of description). Grahame-Smith lacks the ability of many historical biographers to draw readers in to peoples’ lives—he simply recounts anything I could have Googled and adds in some vampire-killing. Indeed, he acknowledges Google and Wikipedia at the end for the “help” he had with writing his book. He doesn’t cite one historian, Lincoln biography, or primary source.

I did enjoy reading about Lincoln’s life, but was frustrated by its execution. The best takeaway from my reading was that Lincoln had a life that doesn’t require vampires for it to be incredible. It has inspired me to go read a real Lincoln biography now. I have yet to see the movie (and may only see it when it comes out on DVD), but this may be one instance where the movie may actually be better than the book.

Availability: USMAI and COSMOS
Review Submitted by: Jordan Gaines, SMCM Alum ’11
Rating:  Not recommended

Read Samantha Schwartz’s review of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.