“Gabe and Lea are perfect for each other. Everyone sees it. Except possibly Gabe and Lea.”

New / Old Flames are our favorite books  – the ones we really think you should read too.

 

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Reviewed by Megan

Relationships don’t happen in a bubble. There’s the barista who watches as you and a certain someone sit across the coffee shop from each other, never quite locking eyes. Your best friend listens as you dissect what he possibly could have meant by “hey” and lends you her favorite sweater because you look great in green. And don’t forget the squirrel in the park where you take your first ambling walk together…

Gabe and Lea are perfect for each other. Everyone sees it. Except possibly Gabe and Lea. In “A Little Something Different,” Sandy Hall treats readers to a classic love story told with a decidedly non-classic twist. Told from the viewpoints of 14 different people around the lovers, the reader never actually hears from Gabe and Lea, and like the watchers never quite knows how they feel, except that there’s something there, if they could just get out of their own way.

Since one of my favorite romance novels tropes is when the characters don’t see they’re perfect for each other, I loved being able to share the fun of this frustration with the characters who watched Gabe and Lea’s story unfold far too slowly (and with pitfalls that really didn’t need to exist). This twist is what elevates the story from cute to charming, and gives the reader a different perspective on what otherwise could have been a fairly typical college romance.

And sometimes watching the people in your life fall in love can be as fun as falling in love yourself, since you get all the fun of anticipation and discovery, without the added angst of self-doubt and fear of rejection.

 

Megan is a Youth Services Librarian at Shirlington, and also run the “Books on Tap” Book Club.

This Fairytale is Not for Kids

New / Old Flames are our favorite books  – the ones we really think you’ll love too.

 

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Reviewed by Karen

As a youth services librarian, I have long been a fan of Neil Gaiman’s children’s books, but never read his novels for adults.  As many of my friends have raved about “American Gods,” I decided to start there.

In “American Gods,” Gaiman takes the old world’s gods and deftly interweaves them with America’s new world gods: technology, television, etc. Lack of belief has eroded the old gods’ power, and lead to a war between the old and new. The book starts with a seemingly ordinary man, purposeless after his release from prison – until he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday who offers him a job and leads him deep into the heart of the gods’ hidden war.

I’ve always been fascinated with folklore and fairytales, and with every new chapter there was another character I recognized, but couldn’t quite pin down. Why did Czernobog and Bielobog sound so familiar? And what about Hinzelmann?  Trying to find the connections was a mystery in itself. When I had the “aha” moments that revealed Czernobog and Bielobog, it was like remembering a life I’d forgotten – my years in Ukraine. And Hinzelmann brought back the German stories my grandfather told me when I was a little girl.

But you don’t have to have lived abroad or be well-versed in folklore to enjoy “American Gods.” While few readers are likely to catch all of the references, trying to figure them out – and learning more about Indian, Chinese, Middle Easter, Norse or Native American lore – is half the fun! And Gaiman’s use of obscure Americana like The House on the Rock is compelling, as the author visited each location he uses in the story.

I should be clear that “American Gods” is no kid’s book. Despite the folklore story line, some scenes are shockingly graphic. So if this book isn’t for you, I can heartily endorse all of his work for children and teens – they’re great for adults, too.

 

Karen is currently the manager and children’s librarian at Cherrydale, as well as the leader of Lit Up’s awesome Commuter Book Club.

 

“Every once in a while a book restores my belief that magic could be right around the corner.”

New / Old Flames are our favorite books – the ones we really think you should read too.

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Reviewed by Megan

There’s a lot that’s great about being an adult. I can stay up as late as I want, eat ice cream for dinner, and I don’t have to listen to my parents (although I constantly ask for their advice anyway).

Things that are not so great about being an adult are bills, the need to get up early for work, and the lack of magic in everyday life. Or rather, a belief in the possibility of magic – the hope that a Hogwarts letter will come on our 11th birthday, or the bone deep belief that one day your closet will open – not into a disorganized shamble – but instead into a world populated by talking animals and wicked witches. At some point in becoming adults we lose this connection to a fantastical fantasy life, and instead start dreaming of saving enough money for a down payment, or freedom from student loans.

Luckily, every once in a while a book comes along to restores my belief that magic could be right around the corner. Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is one of these books, with beautiful prose that makes the reader falls into the language as well as the story.

A short novel written for adults (Gaiman also writes for kids and young adults), “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”  chronicles the memories that come back to a man upon visiting his childhood town. Many years before, the boy’s world was rocked by the suicide of a boarder staying with his family – a death which opened the boy’s world to an evil that turned his family against him as it used the boy to keep its foothold in the human world. The boy’s only aid against this terrifying presence is a not quite human girl from the farm down the road, who has been 11 years old for a very long time.

As a kid, one of the things I loved about fairytales was that even though the story would be completely impossible in my own life, there was always a bit of wisdom or familiarity that made the impossible feel not quite so out of reach. “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” gives me just this feeling with its strong message about human nature and the havoc desire can wreck.  It’s perfect for the adult reader who misses feeling the possibility of magic.

 

When not hiding out with a book (and waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter), Megan is a Youth Services librarian at Shirlington.

 

 

“Just as one does not simply walk into Mordor, one does not simply make their own plastic…”

New / Old Flames are our favorite books  – the ones we really think you should read too.

 

The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites
Reviewed by Jennifer

Inspired in part by a Douglas Adam’s quotation, Thwaites decided he should build a toaster for his thesis project in design. From scratch.

Think about it—a toaster is a ubiquitous object that sits on most people’s countertops, and gets a fair bit of use, but could you build one? Now you can go down to the electronics store and buy all parts, assemble it, and voila, toaster, but that’s not what Thwaites wanted. He wanted to be from “as scratch” as possible. He would mine his own iron and smelt his own steel. He would make his own plastic. His toaster would plug into a standard outlet and it had to have the lever to press down and the bits that make your toast spring up automatically when done.

Of course, just as one does not simply walk into Mordor, one does not simply make their own plastic. (Although it turns out you can smelt steel in your microwave. There are pictures and instructions provided.) Thwaites makes a toaster (you can see his result on the cover)—it takes 9 months and over a thousand pounds (he is English) and a lot of travel.

Not only is it an interesting look at where are things really come from, Thwaites’s easy-breezy style and ingenious work-arounds make it a very fun read. Plus, he majored in design, so it’s a beautifully designed book with a lot of full-color photographs documenting the journey.

 

When Jennifer is not reading about toasters, she is the manager at Cherrydale Branch Library.

 

“Within the first few pages, I knew this would be a new favorite…”

New / Old Flames are our favorite books  – the ones we really think you should read too.

 

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Reviewed by Karen

I have always been fascinated by folk tales and fairytales; they are the heart of a culture.  They influence so much of a person’s character and give life to cultures.  For that reason, I was instantly drawn to “The Golem and the Jinni,” and within the first few pages, I knew this would be a new favorite – a new flame.

Wecker weaves a beautifully whimsical tale.  It intertwines the immigrant experience in 19^th century New York with love and friendship.  Chava, the golem, is brought to life by a scandalously disgraced Rabbi.  Her life is meant to play out as one of subservience and submission.  But the death of her husband – the man who commissioned her, leaves her without a master.  Her voyage from Poland drops her alone and friendless in New York City.

Ahmad, the jinni, a creature of fire, is unwittingly released from a copper flask.  However, he is still chained to the flask by the curse that an ancient Bedouin wizard cast on him.  Fettered to the physical world and unable to gain the ethereal world he belongs to, Ahmad wanders the nights in search of freedom.

Chava and Ahmad are brought together by their loneliness. They instantly recognize each other as mystical creatures; finally, they have someone to share their true natures with. However, as a creature made of clay, Chava’s nature inherently clashes with Ahmad’s nature – fire.  Their friendship, at first tentative, grows stronger only to be shattered by a horrifying event. Can this unlikely friendship be repaired?  A fateful choice will have to be made.

 

Karen is our children’s librarian at Cherrydale Branch Library and when she’s not doing storytime, she also leads Lit Up’s awesome new Commuter Book Club.