Short stories abound

Do you love to read but often find you don’t have the time? Keep falling asleep in the middle of a chapter? Do you put down a book only to finally be able to return to it 2 weeks later and you have forgotten the premise? Try reading short stories. Whether you like to laugh-out-loud, cringe or catch up on a classic the library has several short story collections worth placing by your bedside table, in the console of your car, or in your big bag/briefcase for those few stolen moments when you can sit and read.

I started with a fairly new release American Housewife by Helen Ellis. I found many laugh-out-loud worthy stories that made me think of Nora Ephron and Erma Bombeck. “The Wainscoting War” takes place with a series of emails that start off cordial but end... well, you’ll see. Reality TV show viewers will appreciate the tongue in cheek of “The Dumpster Diving with the Stars” story featuring John Lithgow and Mario Batali.

Like memoirs? Then David Sedaris’ Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim may be right for you. Sedaris regales us with tales of growing up in the 70’s with 4 sisters and a brother. He speaks of their love of Halloween candy, snow storms that last forever in Binghamton, the family move to North Carolina and the biggest question facing all families ... which child will get married first and have children?!?

If all this reading has left you little time to shop and cook for dinner then take the advice of Bailey White in her collection Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Other Dangers of Southern Living . White’s mom chooses her main course by what she finds on the side of the road in “Dead on the Road”. Her dinner guests didn’t mind and neither should yours. Southern charm comes through in her writing and allows the reader to enjoy the Georgia warmth and hospitality ... just be wary of the main course that kinda tastes like chicken(?). White’s “The Buzzard”, less than 20 sentences long, had to be read twice and then I sat and reflected upon those eye-opening words.

Of course, reading about birds reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe. “The Raven”, although a poem, is longer than the last short story I read. Our copy of Poe short stories has the bonus of select poems including “The Raven”. The master of terrifying has many famous short stories including “The Tell-Tale Heart” which never fails to get my heart racing but I found myself gravitating to his lesser known works like “The Power of Words” and “The Oval Portrait”, a sad tale of passion.

Check out the short stories listed here or others in our collection so at the end of your reading time you too can say “This it is and nothing more.” ~ Poe, the Raven.

~ Ann-Marie Sieczka

YET ANOTHER CONUNDRUM

I am considering starting a Conundrum of the Week Club.  No, I won’t volunteer to be president or secretary.  Last week I was puzzled by mystery readers and the great divide between preferring British or American authors.  
 

This week my confusion started with a weeding report of books, fiction and romance, which haven’t circulated for several years.  I want to know why these books have fallen from the public eye.  Have the authors overstayed their welcome in the publishing world?  Although I consider weeding the collection as necessary as weeding my flower garden – it provides space for growth and the general good health of the plants - weeding fiction is fraught with anxiety and must be approached more cautiously than uprooting dandelions.  Weeding non-fiction can be as easy as removing books which are no longer relevant or, in the case of science and medicine, contain inaccurate information.  Weeding fiction is more subjective and quickly veers into emotion and nostalgia.  Sometimes I look at a book and remember a vacation.  I remember the pleasure of reading an author for the first time and anxiously waiting for the next book.  Pat Conroy’s recent death made me think fondly of The Great Santini and The Water is Wide.  These two titles were not his most popular or best selling, but they were my favorites.

Random observations:

Fern Michaels has been popular for many years, but 17 of her titles have not circulated since 2012 and before.  Several titles were checked out over 25 times each before gaining wallflower status.  The sheer volume of her writing makes me think of LaVyrle Spencer, an extremely popular writer in the 1980s and 90s.  She had been very honest that she would stop writing  romances when she had earned $ 1,000,000.  A worthy goal!

Several books by Joyce Carol Oates are on the chopping block.  Years ago at a conference a member of the audience asked her how many books she had written.  She didn’t know.  I am not sure that she has a fan base of readers at BHPL who automatically reach for her next book. Philip Roth is slipping into the same category.

Perri O’Shaughnessy had been popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  The titles are now being re-released in audio format, but the hardcover books have been benchwarmers since 2010.  In a similar legal vein, Robert Tanenbaum’s early books are sitting on the shelf and he is not attracting new readers willing to go back and start reading from the beginning.

David Rosenfelt is a popular New Jersey author, but departed from a popular series with Don’t Tell a Soul.  The book only circulated 2 times before people realized that Tara, the world’s most brilliant dog, was not included.  Being tied to a book series must be as frustrating for authors as actors being identified by only one role played years ago in a TV series.

Burning questions:  how has Sue Grafton lasted from A to X and Janet Evanovich from one to twenty-three?  Do they each have a devoted audience and/or do they attract new readers?  Why do people read James Patterson when his books are co-authored?  I must go now and find my garden gloves.

-S. Bakos

The Mystery of Mysteries

One of the great puzzles in my library life is the divide between mystery readers who prefer British authors and those, including me, who stick closer to home.  Last week I tried a vaguely worded Google search and came away with the impression that British mysteries tend to be more cerebral and less gritty than American.  Also, that no respectable British writer would dilute a mystery with humor, romance or niche market appeal (scrapbook, quilt store, coffee shop, etc.).  I suspect that the entries I read originated across the pond.  Don’t misunderstand me – everyone should read everything and anything.  I just prefer Margret Maron and Julia Keller to Ruth Rendell and Martha Grimes.  This could all change by next month.  I could also develop a liking for pistachio ice cream.

I have recently discovered two new series.  The first, by New Jersey author Dave White, features Jackson Donne.  Donne has left the New Brunswick Police Department and is working as a private detective.  He burned all of his bridges when he left the PD and has enrolled at Rutgers.  The books (When One Man Dies, The Evil that Men Do, Not Even Past, and An Empty Hell) are set in familiar New Jersey locations and readers, especially those who attended Rutgers, will recognize the neighborhoods and restaurants.  It is best to read the books in order - advice I should have followed.  The stories are sufficiently convoluted, the action zips along, and the dialogue is reminiscent of hard-boiled detectives from the past. No words are wasted.  It does take a page or two to understand the punctuation.

The second series, by Janey Mack, is Jersey-like.  In Time’s Up Maisie McGrane has been booted from the Chicago Police Academy and ends up a Traffic Enforcement Agent, a.k.a. meter maid.  She thinks she is a complete disappointment to her large and very vocal family of policemen and attorneys.  Maisie will remind you of a well dressed and accessorized Stephanie Plum.  The meter maid job and uniform are good for laughs until a dead body appears.  Like Ms. Plum, Maisie is being romantically pursued by a policeman and an ex-army ranger with a dangerous and highly questionable career.  The second book, Choked Up, is much darker, steamier, and more violent. The third book will be a make or break for me to continue reading the series.  The important thing is that Maisie remains well dressed and accessorized as she plays both ends against the middle.   

An even greater to puzzle to me, aside from the British/American schism, is people who don’t read any mysteries.  That is a mystery.

-S. Bakos