DEAR STEPHEN KING

Dear Stephen King,

First and foremost, I'd like to say how very much I enjoyed your new book, FINDERS KEEPERS.  In this latest thriller, Bellamy is the perfect creepy fan of  John Rothstein, while Pete Saubers is portrayed as a nicely obsessive one.  Black and white hats and who will win?   Certainly not Rothstein.

What can I say about your books overall that you haven't already heard, except that I've loved almost all of them.  You were the first (and only) author I ever wrote to and that was way back in the early '80s;  just to compliment you and ask you to write faster.  I never heard back from you but I didn't expect to.   I love books and I love reading and your books are always at the top of my list.

Sometimes an author writes something that just zings to my heart and forces me to share the thought with friends.  FINDERS KEEPERS had that special paragraph that felt like it was written just for me.  To wit, "

"For readers, one of life's most electrifying discoveries is that they are readers--not just capable of doing it, but in love with it.  Hopelessly.  Head over heels.  The first book that does that is never forgotten, and each page seems to bring a fresh revelation, one that burns and exalts:  Yes!  That's how it is!  Yes!  I saw that, too!  And, of course, That's what I think!  That's what I FEEL!"  

ZING!  And I immediately knew what the book was that made me fall in love!  GOOFY MRS. GOOSE by Miriam Clark Potter.  It's also the reason I make yearly donations to the Newark Public Library.

My family never had any money, so there weren't going to be any summer camps or outings in our future.  On the first day of summer vacation from school, my brother and I took a friend's little red wagon to the branch library on Bergen Street in Newark, New Jersey.  I was about seven years' old and Bob was probably nine.  The very kind librarian told us we could each take ten books for the summer.  HA!  What did she know??!!  One of the books I borrowed was GOOFY MRS. GOOSE.  That was it!  I was hooked!  These weren't nicely colored Golden Books.  These were black and white with illustrations by the author, with more words than drawings, but Ms. Potter unlocked a whole new life for me!  One that used my imagination!  I raced through all ten books in a week, as did my brother, and off we headed to return our allotment and borrow more.

The librarian was fairly shocked that we returned so quickly, but I just had to get more of Mrs. Goose and her friends.  Three-Ducks, Mrs. Squirrel, Black Cat and Old Lady Owl, just to name a few.  Oh my, I felt like I had just discovered my new family!  A beautiful family who always helped Goofy Mrs. Goose out of her latest quandary with kindness and humor.  I could escape my own family's poverty, arguments and unhappiness and spend my time in Animaltown that summer.  And so, I was hooked on Mrs. Goose, but even more hooked on reading, and I have spent the better part of the last sixty years doing just that!

I'm now the proud owner of ten of the MRS. GOOSE series written by Ms. Potter.  They're in fair to miserable condition being library castoffs for the most part. But to me they are my prized possessions!

So, thank you, Mr. King, for reaching my heart and reminding me why I started this blog in the first place.  It's been my great pleasure to spend time with your books over the years.

Very truly yours, A Constant Reader

ISBN:  978-1501100079  
Pub. Date - June 2, 2015
448 pages
Hardcover and eBook       

LOVE ANTHONY

by Lisa Genova

Olivia Donatelli has just lost her autistic son, Anthony and Beth Ellis's marriage has fallen apart.  Unkown to each other, they both retreat to Nantucket to try to make sense of their lives and their futures; one without the son she loved deeply and the other without the husband who destroyed their marriage.

As each woman deals with her own grief and sense of loss, their paths cross only fleetingly before Beth begins writing a story in the voice of an autistic boy.  Since Olivia has worked as as editor, Beth asks her to review her book and Olivia is shocked at the content.  She's convinced that her beloved Anthony is speaking through Beth.

And that's why this book lost me.  As background, let me say that I loved Ms. Genova's previous books, STILL ALICE and LEFT NEGLECTED.  I read and reviewed both of these books, giving them high recommendations.  The author's background in neuroscience lent great credibility to both novels which is why the mystical touch in love anthony was unexpected and jarring.

Needless to say, I was really looking forward to settling down with love anthony. Not in keeping with anything Lisa Genova had previously written, Beth's full book unfolds within the story of the women's lives, in a disjointed and disruptive way.  I found myself skipping over the novel within the novel in order to even finish reading Ms. Genova's newest.  This was a very disappointing purchase, but if you haven't read the author's previous works, you should.  Each was terrific!

ISBN 978-1-4391-6468-6
Pub. Date:  September 2012
309 Pages
Hardcover and eBook

THE ODDS, A Love Story

by Stewart O'Nan

Marion and Art Fowler are at the end of life as they knew it.  Married for thirty-one years, their marriage is pretty much over.  Marion just can't forgive Art for cheating on her and, with their children grown and gone, she's ready to begin a life of her own.  Compounding their marital problems, the Fowlers are one step away from foreclosure on their home and on the verge of bankruptcy.

Art is still deeply in love with Marion and he has convinced her to spend Valentine's weekend in the honeymoon suite of the poshest Indian casino on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.  While revisiting the local sights as they did on their honeymoon decades ago and enjoying lavish dinners together, Art has a simple sink-or-swim plan for the weekend.  He has withdrawn all of their remaining money to try to win enough to get their lives back on track financially at the high stakes roulette table and, at the same time, repair their marriage.

Like LAST NIGHT AT THE LOBSTER, Stewart O'Nan's characters in THE ODDS tug at your heartstrings.  In this wonderfully written and poignant tale, the author brings Art and Marion to life in a touching story of love, hope and redemption.  O'Nan creates beauty in the everyday and THE ODDS is a delightful book...not to be missed!

ISBN 978-0-670-02316-5
Pub. Date:  January 2012
192 pages
Penguin Group

THE GOOD FATHER

by Noah Hawley - to be released March 2012

Dr. Paul Allen is the chief rheumatologist at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.  He spends his working days investigating patients' symptoms to discover their underlying illnesses.  

When his son Daniel is accused of killing a rising political star slated to be the next president of the United States, Allen is unable to believe that Daniel is guilty, and employs the same investigative skills to try to prove Daniel's innocence despite overwhelming evidence.

Told mostly through the viewpoint of the father, we follow Paul's determined path to love and support his son, the product of his first marriage.  His continued inability to accept even the possibility of Daniel's guilt puts incredible strain on his second family, even as his career is disintegrating.


THE GOOD FATHER is interspersed with flashbacks to real-life famous or infamous assassinations from the '60s to present day, as well as Daniel's journey leading up to the shooting.  Coupled with the love and guilt carried by the father, Hawley has written an emotional story that's not easily forgotten.


ISBN 978-0-385-53553-3
320 pages
Pub. Date:  March 2012
Hardcover and eBook

CHILDREN AND FIRE

by Ursula Hegi

Thekla Janson is a young school teacher in Burgdorf, Germany during the early days of Hitler's rise to power.  A caring and gifted teacher, she has a sweet disposition and finds something lovable in even the most annoying of her ten-year-old students.  They, in turn, love her dearly.

Janson has taken over the class from Ilse Abramowitz, a Jew.  Janson revered her old teacher and thinks about her often, but doesn't visit, fearful of repercussions.  She has no real affinity for the wave of patriotism permeating her country, yet encourages her students to become members of the "Hiltler Jugend" or Hitler Youth for the camaraderie and friendship.  Thekla is aware of the dramatic changes in Germany, but adopts a "go along to get along" attitude and is able to hide her head in the sand and continue with life as she wants it to be, both for herself and her students.

But there's so much more to this latest book from Hegi.  Janson is just a symbol of how fear and propaganda, fomented by Hitler, eroded the moral fabric of Germany, one person or one child at a time.  It's only when Janson discovers a secret in her own family that she begins to open her eyes and see the horrors for herself.

A number of years ago I read STONES FROM THE RIVER by the same author.  That book, like this one, stayed with me.  Hegi has a quiet, intelligent and understated writing style, yet still manages to vividly convey the chilling reality of her characters' lives and the insidious erosion of family, freedom and humanity in the landscape of Nazi Germany.  CHILDREN AND FIRE is another unforgettable book from Ursula Hegi, not to be missed.

ISBN 978-1-451-60829-8
Pub. Date:  May 2011
288 pages
Hardcover and eBook

DOMESTIC VIOLETS

by Matthew Norman - to be released in August 2011

Tom Violet is working in a job that he hates, for a company that he isn't even sure what exactly it is that they do.  Although he really considers himself to be a writer, having worked on his novel for the past five years, he lives in the shadow of his very successful father, author Curtis Violet.  To add to Tom's angst, he has a serious performance problem in the bedroom, despite being happily married to Anna.

While Tom is sidestepping Anna's advances one evening, their young daughter Allie knocks on the bedroom door to let them know there's a burglar in the house.  Tiptoeing downstairs, Tom finds his father, who been locked out of his home by his current wife. When Curtis announces that he has just beaten out his arch rival and is going to receive the coveted Pulitzer Prize for fiction, it's just the beginning of the end of Tom's life as he knows it. 

To add to the dysfunction, Tom's mother and stepfather are on the outs, Tom hates his immediate boss and he spends way too much time fantasizing about his sexy young coworker. 

Mr. Norman has created a wonderful and poignant story from the total chaos of his characters' lives.  Amazingly funny, intelligent, insightful and offbeat, I found myself laughing out loud and reading entire pages to my husband while reading this thoroughly enjoyable book.

What more can I say!?  You need to buy this one! 

To be released August 2011
ISBN 978-0-06-296511-7
320 pages
Paperback and eBook

THE SILENT LAND

by Graham Joyce - available March 2011

On a skiing vacation in the French Alps, a young married couple, Jake and Zoe, are buried under an avalanche.  As they finally dig their way out of the snow they find themselves totally alone in a changed and silent world.

Nothing is the same as before; even the concept of time seems to have been altered in this new world.  Their concern mounts as their isolation increases and with it their fears of another avalanche.  No matter how many times they try to leave the resort, they always wind up back in the same place, at the same hotel.

Not similar but with the same overwhelming feeling of desolation as THE ROAD by Cormack McCarthy, this is a dark and frightening novel from cult favorite Graham Joyce.  Although it dragged a bit in the middle, I thoroughly enjoyed reading THE SILENT LAND and look forward to reading other books by this award winning author.