Staff Picks

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon [Audiobook]

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Michael Chabon’s mastery of language alone is enough to recommend anything he writes.  But the characters in Telegraph Avenue provide much more to enjoy. The story centers around two friends in Oakland, California who own a used record store that is “nearly the last of its kind.” Archy is black, Nat is Jewish, and their wives are also partners in a midwifery practice.  All of them are beleaguered by cultural and economic realities that endanger their livelihoods, but they keep doing what they believe in.  Meanwhile their children have their own troubles which are drawn sympathetically yet realistically.  The neighborhood, customers, relatives, friends and enemies are portrayed with a warts-and-all detail that makes them very multi-dimensional, believable and relatable.  The story unfolds at a deliberate pace but the humanness of the characters and the joy of Chabon’s writing will draw you in.  For music buffs, there’s an extra nostalgic delight in vintage vinyl.  Clarke Peters reads for Recorded Books in a rich, deep voice, delivering Chabon’s metaphors and dialogue with the power, humor and sly intelligence they deserve.

A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney by Martin Gayford [Book]

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Critic Martin Gayford has been interviewing David Hockney for many years and the two have developed a warm friendship that extends past their professional relationship. In A Bigger Message, Gayford collects several conversations with the famed British artist. Discussions range from new technology, photography, stage design, living in different parts of the world, various histories of classical art and Hockney’s own process.

Gayford frames each chapter with a theme that corresponds to the many phases of Hockney’s career. One very interesting segment discusses his attraction to creating work on an iPhone or iPad. The book exhibits several of these small scale works that look very much like detailed watercolors.

These pieces along with massive painted landscapes, stills of video installations and photographs of Hockney at work are weaved in and out of Gayford’s brief biographical information and extensive dialog with the tireless artist. Like many innovative, creative people, he is also very much a student of art. Hockney, and here I’ll sound redundant, is a thoughtful thinker and his meditations on artistic movements, motivation and life are extremely fascinating and inspiring.

Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo [Book]

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Widow Gabby Summerhill invites her 4 children and their families home to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to celebrate Christmas together, their first holiday together since their father died 3 years ago. Gabby announced in a video message to her children that she will be getting married on Christmas but the identity of the groom will remain a secret until the wedding. While the book is not a typical James Patterson thriller, it has many emotional twists and turns.

Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy [Book]

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East, West by Salman Rushdie [Book]

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I love short stories and I’ve made a resolution to read more of them this year. With this in mind, but as I haven’t yet read any new story collections this year, I’ve picked an old favorite for this post. East, West is a collection of stories by British Indian author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie’s writing here is witty and colorful, and these stories, are quick, enjoyable reads. Rushdie draws inspiration from a variety of sources, both classic (Shakespeare, the life of Muhammad) and modern (The Wizard of Oz, Rambo, Star Trek). The plots are not particularly memorable (I’ve read the volume several times but can never quite remember how the stories unfold), but the flavor of the stories, and the voice of the author will stick with you. (I’ve found that to be true of much of Rushdie’s writing—if you are going to enjoy Rushdie you probably won’t mind this in the least.) A good introduction to this important author.

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell [Book]

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Set in the Ozarks in the unforgiving winter. Ree Dolly, a 16-year-old who is the de facto head-of-household, has taken on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and caring for her mentally withdrawn mother. A knock on the door informs her that her father has skipped bail, and she will lose the house that has been in her family for generations unless he is found, dead or alive. This book is very atmosopheric, with the winter hanging over the story. It has an older feel, partially because of the poverty and living conditions that are treated as commonplace, until you realize that Jessup Dolly had been arrested for running a meth lab. Ree Dolly is a strong girl, old beyond her years, trying to fight for her family in an unforgiving landscape.

Collaborations by Ravi Shankar & George Harrison [Music CD]

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Widow’s War by Sally Gunning [Book]

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Set on Cape Cod (in the area which is now Brewster), in the year 1761 we meet Lyddie Berry, whose husband drowns while whaling. She defies convention and chooses not to live with her son-in-law (and who could blame her), and holds onto the law of being able to use (but not own) 1/3 of her husband’s property. She defies social, legal and religious strictures of her time, and makes her way through a world that is not made for independent women. Throw in some romance and intrigue with the details of daily life and you have a very captivating story. The author was led to the subject by her own historical research into her family, and her familiarity with the area is clear in the book.

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban. Pictures by Lillian Hoban. [Book]

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When I heard that the author of Bread and Jam for Frances had died, however, I wanted to share this book from my childhood. Bread and Jam for Frances tells the story of a young child (who happens to be a badger) who loves bread and jam and doesn’t want to eat anything else. With memorable characters, and great illustrations, I the Frances books will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

(Interestingly, the Wikipedia page on Russell Hoban reveals that he wrote books for adults as well. I didn’t know that! Forbes Library has one of them, Riddley Walker, and many more are available through interlibrary loan!)

That is All by John Hodgman [Book]

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Wild Flag by Wild Flag [Music CD]

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Submarine by Richard Ayoade [DVD]

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Olivier Tate (played by young actor Craig Roberts), the protagonist in Richard Adoaye’s quiet, quirky, charming, dark and thoroughly enjoyable film Submarine is a likeable precocious Welsh boy searching for an identity and direction in the stifling climate of small town coastal Southern Wales. He tries on affectations:”I’ve tried smoking a pipe, flipping coins – listening exclusively to French crooners, I’ve even had a hat phase”. This quote is immediately followed of course, with a shot of him at the family dinner table, wearing a Blue Stetson, looking fairly ridiculous. His teenage flailing about for identity finds its focus when he discovers the dark and indifferent charms of classmate Jordana (Yasmin Paige), who lures him into more and more morally reprehensible schoolyard acts. She is outwardly resistant to his charms except when he is misbehaving, and seems most allured by his taking part in the bullying of a fellow school girl. The cast is fantastic, both Paige and Roberts inhabit their roles fully and believably, while the adult characters (Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor as Olivier’s parents), are comically stuck in their own lazy unspoken despair, too wrapped up in their own ridiculous melodramas to offer guidance to Olivier. Paddy Considine appears as an almost incongruously broad comic foil and rival to both Olivier Tate and his father. Adoaye, most famous for his work on the UK sitcom “The IT Crowd”, who adapted the script from a novel by Joe Dunthorne, directs the film with care and fills it with beautiful shots of the beaches, woods and amusement parks of the Welsh Coast. There are aspects of the film’s plot, details and cinematic style which will appeal to fans of many other refreshingly offbeat comic films (Wes Anderson’s films in particular) but the unique characters, acting performances and Welsh character give it a charm all its own.