Map Of Ireland
by Stephanie Grant
[Book]
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Recently we had a display of books by Massachusetts writers and this particular book caught my attention. Set in the South Boston busing crisis of 1974, it is the story of Ann Ahern, a high school junior and her growing awareness of her surroundings as well as her personal coming out as a lesbian. Through her growing infatuation with her beautiful substitute French teacher Mademoiselle Eugenie who hails from Paris and is of African descent, she is drawn into the conflict of her times – both personal and political. An overall impressive view of a young woman caught in the struggle of identification as a Southie as well as her initial exposure to the world beyond her limited family and neighborhood.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: 1970s, Civil rights, Coming-of-age, Fiction, Lesbians
The Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens
[Book]
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This was the first novel by Charles Dickens and really a pleasure to read. It tells the story of Mr. Pickwick and his fellow Pickwick Club members as they travel the English countryside and describes their adventures in a very humorous manner but also with a keen eye into the social and political landscape of the time. It was a great re-introduction to Dickens for me and I am looking forward to reading many of his other works.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: England, Fiction, Literary fiction
The Rolling Stones: All 6 Ed Sullivan Shows
[DVD]
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Recently added to the steadily-growing Forbes DVD collection is this wonderful 2 disc set I recently checked out. It has all of the Rolling Stones appearances on the Ed Sullivan show. From black and white to color television shows, the quality is the best I’ve seen so far and to watch the musical performances was a treat. An added feature is being able to select single acts or watch the complete show (vintage commercials included). Seeing early Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield AND Tom Jones all on one evening’s show was a fun experience for me.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: 1960s, Rock music, TV shows
Maphead : charting the wide, weird world of geography wonks
by Ken Jennings
[Book]
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I like maps, I like geography and I mostly liked this book. Ken Jennings’ book had many interesting stories to tell; my favorites being the sections on early cartography, the London Map Fair and the National Geographic Bee. He lost me however with the couple of chapters devoted to GPS (games and navigation) and geocaching. I was disappointed that I did not love this book in its entirety but would recommend it nevertheless because of the author’s informative and witty writing.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Geography, History, Maps, Non-fiction
Sempre Susan: A Memoir of Susan Sontag
by Sigrid Nunez
[Book]
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This very short memoir of the association between Ingrid Nunez and Susan Sontag recounts their friendship/mentorship during the time that Sontag was writing “On Photography” and New York literary life in the 1970’s. Nunez was hired by Sontag to help sort out her correspondence. She then became involved with Sontag’s son, David Rieff, and for a period of time the three of them lived in the same apartment. There are many glimpses into Sontag’s writing life and habits which I found very interesting. Susan Sontag is often portrayed as a very difficult person and Nunez does show some instances of how that was true but she also rounds out the portrait with other details that showed Sontag as a complicated person with many aspects including vulnerability, conflicted and humorous and loving.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Biography, Manhattan, Non-fiction, Women
A Book of Secrets
by Michael Holroyd
[Book]
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A fascinating combined biography of a place, the Villa Cimbrone on a hill above the Italian village of Ravello, and the people connected to it throughout different time periods. The work of biographer Michael Holyrod reads like a detective story and features such characters as Alice Keppel, the mistress of both the second Lord Grimthorpe and the Prince of Wales; to Eve Fairfax, a muse of Auguste Rodin; to the novelist Violet Trefusis, the lover of Vita Sackville-West and daughter of Alice Keppel. Having read extensively about some of these people already because of my interest in Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, this book was a wonderful way to fill in some of the missing gaps and to add to my interest of this subject.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Biography, England, France, Italy, Women
Art 21
[DVD]
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The Forbes DVD collection is impressive to say the least. One of my favorite sections is the Art documentaries that I regularly check to increase my knowledge and for inspiration. Being an avid reader of art in general and artists biographies in particular, I looked at the DVD ‘s for some visual candy.
I checked out Art 21: art in the twenty-first century, seasons 1&2 originally aired on PBS. The artists are grouped loosely according to themes (i.e. Place, Spirituality, Identity and Consumption) and shows them discussing their work, themes, and working styles. Being able to see how an artist created a work I was familiar with or discovering a new artist really kept my attention, led me to find books and other materials on a few artists and in some cases provided inspiration and a little push to work on my own projects. Naturally I didn’t like all the works, came away with favorites – Kara Walker, Collier Schorr, Vija Celmins – and found that it definitely was time well spent watching the artists that I didn’t particularly like or yet don’t understand.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Biography, Documentary, Modern art, PBS
Sing You Home
by Jodie Picoult
[Book]
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Jody Picoult has always been a popular author with library patrons as evidenced by the number of requests I receive to place holds on her books. I had not read one of her books but decided that her most current novel which deals with some current “controversial” topics including gay rights, reproductive rights, the evangelical Christian movement among others would be one that would hold my attention. I enjoyed reading this book and it kept me interested through its fair treatment of the issues mentioned above. This book, whether you are on one side or the other of the issues or open to all viewpoints, will keep you wanting to read it because of its compelling story line and strong character development.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Divorce, Fiction, Lesbian couples, Music therapists
Return To Cookie Mountain
[Music CD]
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Return To Cookie Mountain (2006), by the Brooklyn-based quintet TV On The Radio, was my introduction to this group’s music and I quickly became a fan. I really enjoy the unique harmonies and vocal layerings of the two primary vocalists Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. The melodies are also exceptional and have been described as “atmospheric” and “spacious” Their music is not easy to categorize but some close approximations include: indie-rock, soul and trip-hop. Repeated listenings to this CD always reveal more pleasurable discoveries of their unique sound. Two outstanding tracks for me are “I Was A Lover” and “A Method”.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Indie rock, Rock music
Room
by Emma Donoghue
[Book]
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Having read some reviews of this book which described the harrowing situation of the two main characters, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to read it or not. I’m glad I did though because the characters of Ma and Jack were so well developed and held my interest so thoroughly that I read this book almost non-stop during a two day period. Emma Donoghue has written a wonderful character driven novel which is absolutely a must read. A previous staff review clearly explains the plot line (Nov.1, 2010)
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: Fiction, Literary fiction, Mother and child
Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide
[Magazine]
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The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide (formerly The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, 1994-1999) is a bimonthly journal centered around a conceptual theme with contributions from leading scholars and writers in the given field. Also in each issue are interviews, poetry and both in depth and brief book reviews which are great for either catching up or for keeping current of interesting literary developments. Some notable contributors have included Andrew Holleran, Emma Donoghue, Larry Kramer, Jewelle Gomez and Barney Frank.
Reviewed by Susana
Tagged: LGBTQ
