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Home > Services > We Recommend > January 2012 Reviews

Ring in a new year - Welcome to 2012! Wow - it is so exciting to have an entire year that we each can fill in with the most wonderful books, the most gratifying audiobooks, some terrific music on CD and, last but not least, some terrific DVDs. There is nothing quite like a new year!

BOOKS

This Glittering World, written by T. Greenwood, is a powerful look at loss, atonement and promises kept. A stark, taut, superbly written emotionally nuanced tale, Greenwood's disturbing novel deals with the troubled lives of Ben and Sara, an engaged-to-be-married couple who live in Flagstaff, Arizona. A young Native American is found beaten and dying on Ben's doorstep the first morning in November. What follows makes the slightly unhinged Ben devastated. Greenwood offers a good deal of the Navajo culture, the small-town feel of Flagstaff and the troubled past of Ben's life. What we have here is a story of sadness, cruelty, loss, as well as love and forgiveness - a compelling work. APBK GREENWOOD (paperback).  Here's an interview with the author.


Gus Lee's China Boy is a memorable, remarkable semi-autobiographical look at a young San Francisco boy of Chinese ancestry, who is unable to embrace Chinese or American culture. As seven year old Kai Ting finds himself the victim of yet another round of bullying, he determined that he is not going to take this abuse any longer. He finally finds salvation in the local YMCA, learning to box so that he can defend himself. However, Kai has not only suffered at the hands of his peers, his stepmother neglects and abuses him to such an extent that Kai literally has nowhere to turn. This timeless, terrific tale of a boy coming of age is an almost Dickensian look at the many wonderful heroes and rogues who take the steps to help make a young boy a man. FIC LEE

Into the Beautiful North is a wonderful saga of a group of young women from a small village, Tres Camarones, in Sinaloa, Mexico.  After watching the movie, "The Magnificent Seven", the women are inspired to cross the U.S. border to search and recruit men and smuggle them to their hometown.  You see, the young women have noticed their town is sorely lacking for men and bandidos are outnumbering the honest, hardworking citizens! This quest is packed with adventure, discovery, pain and love. Urrea's prose is as ebullient and lively as the trek these seekers take. Join this road trip novel - cover the ground taken by these young women. This tight-knit trio of teenagers tell their timely, tragic tale in this most effervescent, energetic novel. FIC URREA

AUDIOBOOKS

And while we're mentioning some great books, let's share a bit about some audiobooks that are unusual and quite inviting. Let's begin with On Whale Island, the remarkable memoirs of author Daniel Hays, who decides to take his wife and stepson to live in a remote area of Nova Scotia. The family's closest neighbors are a 30 minute boat ride away. Hays' tale is read by Bruce Altman, a  reader who helps to make the real-life rather Thoreau-ish adventure quite compelling. Hays has always felt he was something of a society misfit, so this small island suits him just fine. It is also a good experience for his wife and the pre-adolescent son.  Hays' idea is to live on this small island for one year and, we follow the rough going and family dynamics as told by the author, his wife and stepson's journal entries complete, with inconvenient mechanical breakdowns and indescribably glorious sunrises. SC B HAYS

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen, read by Hilary Huber, is a look at a forty-year old woman, who has just had a really bad week: she was involved in a debilitating car accident right after her husband left her for a man he met online. She decides to set forth and seek growth and healing, hopefully leading to a spiritual awakening.  She steps toward this while she is living once again with her parents, who encourage her to embrace the family's Mennonite culture. The author just might charm you with her caustic sense of self-deprecating humor, her unflinching honesty and her quirky look at life. Reader Huber's tone combines with author Janzen's story of coping and appreciating life and makes it a compassionate view, one of humor and introspection. SC B JANZEN

Richard Price's Lush Life is a terrific study of New York's Lower East Side and its urban world, separated by class and history. The area is one that is rapidly changing and, though the book is set in this vicinity, Price also covers nearby Brooklyn housing projects. The story begins with a crime that at first seems straightforward, but quickly expands into a thicket of troubled, complex narratives. This beautifully written, expressive well-reviewed novel with its gritty dialogue, its powerful street scenes, its compassionate view of inner-city life is earthy and realistically depicted. This, Price's eighth book, alternates between a view of the fallout from this single, unpremeditated early morning murder and a look at the daily drama of cops and drug peddlers. Complicated, fascinating and tragic: a thrilling novel. FIC PRICE
Here is an interview with the author.

DVDs

The documentary titled Babies is exactly that: an entire film focusing on babies. The four infants in question are from vastly diverse countries and cultures: Mongolia; Namibia; San Francisco and Tokyo; we see each as a spanking newborn. This lovely film has aboslutely no narrative or subtitles - the dialogue is mostly either indistinct or of an unknown foreign language. There is little music. The film invites the viewer to develop a very wide variety of interpretations. Director Thomas Balmès has a light touch capturing the captivating moments of early life. This 79 minute film is sure to put a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart: it is a delight to see the differences, as well as the similarities, in these lovely babies. What a way to start the year! (2010; DVD 305.232 BAB)
Take a look at this interview with the filmmaker.
 

Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, is a Spanish film with English subtitles. Far away from tourist attractions in Barcelona, Spain is a grimy, crowded area where Chinese sweatshop workers toil at creating counterfeit items that African vendors sell. The sweatshop is overseen by Uxbal, a mid-level mobster with two children and an estranged, mentally unbalanced wife. A compassionate, fair man who is trying to be a good person, he is also suffering from a terminal illness. This conflicted soul, who also has the gift of being able to commune with the dead, is also attempting to make a good life for his children, knowing that his time is limited. An emotionally harrowing experience - Javier Bardem is remarkably magnetic and complex.  (2010; DVD FIC BIU)

Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is a lively look at couples in London who find their lives turned upside down by their unfulfilled longings. This ensemble comedy is a cynical examination of infidelity, but also a sweet love story that rewards good people; it is a thoroughly enjoyable, very entertaining, wry, rueful study hinting that love makes fools of everyone. (2010; DVD FIC YOU)

CDs

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang combine their enormous talents and offer lovely songs on the CD titled A Wonderful World. They, naturally, include the song, "What a Wonderful World" which is lovely and warm with both voices blending perfectly.  Two of America's most distinctive voices, Bennett's and lang's are pure magic. "Dream a Little Dream" has that soft and easy swing, all honey; "That Lucky Old Sun" is pure bliss, incomparable. Listening to this terrific CD makes the listener wonder when we can have an encore! (2002; CD POP BENNETT WONDER)
Here's an interview with the duo.

It can be so enjoyable listening to some nostalgic, sentimental  songs we recall from movies. Many performers offer these; however, what a treat it is to hear that incomparable jazz stylist sing tunes, on this Songs I Heard CD, such as "Spoonful of Sugar"(from Mary Poppins) and "You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile" (from Annie)! These terrific selections, as well as "Candy Man" and "Edelweiss" are refreshing, lovely tunes. However, Connick's rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is an incomparable, enchanting delight. A crooner extraordinaire. (CD JAZZ CONNICK SONGS)