If you go to the library these days, it's easy to get confused. For instance, if you're looking for the new book by Glenn Beck, do you check non-diction, fantasy or horror? Or, say you've decided to try reading some stories by Chekhov. Is that the Russian lit or Star Trek sections?
And how disquieting will it be if the librarian wonders the same thing?
So, the Wilton Library has made it easier for all concerned. They have some good Recommended Reads for you. Books that people conceived painstakingly and then wrote as carefully as possible. There's also some stuff by Chelsea Handler.
Here are a few choice ones.
Non-Fiction:
The Dukan Diet: This book asks a lot of non-judgemental questions about your family history, age and gender, while helping you diet. The author also asks, rather judgmentally, if you've ever pulled off the highway and taken yourself to the Weigh Station. Generally, The Dukan Diet encourages a "common sense" approach to weight loss, encouraging a low-fat, high protein eating regimen. Still, there are some truly controversial ideas here. Meaning, no matter how small they are, White Castle burgers should not be considered finger foods!
Blood, Bones and Butter: I'm not sure, but I think this is a chef's memoir. Not to mention Chapter II of "The Dukan Diet." Is this fare what they mean by a "common sense" approach to dieting? If so, I hate to imagine what they suggest you eat when you want to go a little crazy.
Coming soon, the 3rd part of the trilogy, entitled, "All The Fine Young Cannibals."
She Walks in Beauty: Caroline Kennedy has selected a number of poems for women in this new volume. Most of them are famous, but a few are by anonymous writers. This is a lovely gesture, but did Ms. Kennedy really have to reprint that one written on the Ladies Room wall at Friday's? The one that starts, "There once was a maiden named Molly"?
Sideways on a Scooter: All I can say is this: Lindsay Lohan, how smart was it to actually publish your "Driving Tips"? And put it out at the same time as your most recent sentencing?
Fiction:
The Land of Painted Caves: This new book by Jean Auel is again set during the Ice Age. How accurate is it? Pretty close. Still, having read the last one, I can tell you the time-frame is unrealistic. Meaning, compared to the book, the actual Ice Age just went flying by.
Caleb's Crossing: Tells the amazing, fictionalized tale of the first Native American to go to Harvard in the 1600s. Mirroring today's economically troubled times, he graduates, moves home with his parents and slacks off. The details are historically accurate, except for a few biggies. Like, even I know they didn't have Xbox back then!
The Snowman: This is story of the first official serial killer in Oslo, who seems abducts his victims after the first snow has fallen. Apparently, in its native Norway, this book was originally about a mild bookkeeper and his love of cats. That's the last time, the author states, he's going to give the translator such a free hand.
I'll Walk Alone: Not only the newest Mary Higgins Clark thriller, but what will happen if you don't follow the rules of "The Dukan Diet."
Still, this thriller tells the story of a gifted interior designer, who has her identity stolen. Not only is the impostor showing up at this designer's appointments, but she's doing a much better job. And giving the clients incredible discounts.
And it just gets scarier from there.
Sixkill: Is Robert B. Parker's latest novel about his great Private Detective, Spenser. Mr. Parker, who has been deceased since early 2010, has been getting more work done dead than most of us have alive. It's a humbling thought. And, as far as excuses to publishers, for being late with a manuscript? Well, there goes another one.
