I liked this book.  It is a series of short stories about a small town in Maine called Crosby.  The inhabitants of ths small town are somewhat sad to see progress come to the village, including Olive, a math rteacher and her pharamacist husband, Henry.  The short stories revole around the town's people and the Kitteridge family.  Olive, a grumpy, frumpy stick in the mud type lady, has something to say about all the goings on in her town and most of it is not pleasant to hear.  She is  appalled at what goes on and the problems that seem to visit Crosby. 

Although each story is not about Olive and Henry, she plays a part in each section.  Although she is not an overly friendly favorite in the town, she gives sound advice and guidance and seems to at times, be the town guardian.  At the end of the book, the reader will find a softer, gentler side of Olive and she becomes more likable,

After I read the book, I saw a lot of Olive in me and in others.  Olive may have been an old, opinionate grouch, but her advice is usually sound and she is a strong shoulder to lean on.  I guess every small town needs an Olive to look out for it.

The author, a self confessed grump, sets out to travel the world in order to find out what happiness is and whether some countries or cultures have more happiness than others.  He travels to Bhutan, Denmark, Iceland, Moldova, Switzerland, Qatar, and India on a two year trip to measure the amount of hapiness that each country's residents have.  Some places are happy: Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Qatar.  Others are somewhat happy, and Moldova is not happy at all.  Moldova is a country of Russian transplants with few actual Moldovans living there.  He also finds that some of the poorest countries are not happy but not all are unhappy.

As a confirmed grump, I thought he wrote best about Moldova.  The only thing going for this country, say the residents, is the lovely variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and their wine, which is one of their only exports.  Weiner decides that the wine isn't that great, either.  Some countries like Qatar seem happy but they actually have no culture.  Could it be that money is the key to their happiness?  Is the United States happy?  What does it take to make each person happy?  These are some of the questions he asks. 

This book starts out slowly, but seems to gather some steam later in the book.  I hope the author got happier when he made money from this book!

Hannah Bryant is living secluded on a granite quarry island off Maine. She’s content to work on her paintings and other art on the island she inherited from her great-uncle Arlo.

Hannah is happy her artwork is selling and providing her with a good living.  She has lived like a hermit for six years but one summer day a dog washes up with the tide.  Next, a teenaged boy is sent to her by her half-sister.  Will is on the run from his abusive father.  With two living things dependent on her for survival, Hannah finds she must put her work aside and deal with the outside world.  With Will’s presence come more people intruding on Hannah’s isolation.  Hannah befriends Zee, the local boat delivery service girl and Zee’s father and grandfather.  The last to show up is Hannah’s half-sister Emily. She is pregnant by Will’s manipulative father and looking for a place to hide until the baby is born.  Hannah faces emotional challenges as a series of family secrets are uncovered that intertwine this group of people together.  Hannah begins to question the way she has lived her life and understands the difference between solitude and loneliness.

She weighs the solitude against the meaning of home and connection.  This is a story about losing faith and finding love.

The characters are not perfect but start to reveal him or her self, each becoming more realistic.  The island has its own personality and evokes the sights, smells and sounds of the ocean effortlessly.  This is a powerful well written novel that the library will be using for its July book discussion.  Come join the group.

This excellently written book details the friendship of LA Times Columnist Steve Lopez and homeless mentally ill classically trained musician Nathaniel Anthony Ayers.  The writer met Mr. Ayers when he heard him playing classical music on a two string, damaged violin near Skid Row in Los Angeles.  The author decides he must help Nathaniel, so using music as a bridge he attempts to get Mr. Ayers off the streets into his own apartment.  Nathaniel introduces the author to his world of madness and music. 

Many people help the author finally persuade Nathaniel to stay in an apartment.  Mr. Lopez's columns are well recieved and many readers donated musical instruments to Nathaniel.  He recieves a cello, violins, a bass and finally a piano.  While helping Nathaniel, the author learns about his early life, his scholarship to Julliard School of music and his descent ito madness. 

An interesting book about a talented musician, the story brings to light the stigma and concerns for the mentally ill.

This is the story of Ree, a young teenager, in the Ozarks where family feeling is intense – and you’re either with them or against them.  Her father cooks crank and is on the run, her mother has lost her mind, and Ree takes care of two younger brothers and keeps the household going. She feels this responsibility strongly, and is making sure that the boys can take care of themselves and their mother after she enlists in the Army. One day she’s hit with the news that her father has put up the house as bond for a court appearance, and if he can’t be found they will forfeit the house. How she goes about making sure they don’t lose the house is a gruesome story

I loved this book, right from the introduction. It follows the story of a group of women who have been friends since childhood: how each of them develops apart from the group and how they all come back together to support each other when needed. What I loved about the story was the sense they all had of who each other was as a person:  not as mother or sister or child, but as person.  A great read.

Yesterday the Brown Bag and a Book Group met to discuss the book,Enrique's Journey. The general consensus of the group revolved around the story's ability to augment one's views on illegal immigration. The book is the true quest of a young Honduran boy who makes the trek across all of Mexico riding secretively on the top of trains to reach the United States. He has seven failed attempts, and is almost killed in the process. Corruption and ruthlessness make his trip a virtual nightmare...but he perseveres. His one wish is to be reunited with his mother who left Enrique and his sister when he was 5 years old. Eleven years later he starts out to find her. Much has been written on the toll that illegal immigration has had on the United States. Not as much has been written about the human tragedy involved in this plight. Maybe we haven't been paying enough attention- particularly those of us who live away from the borders. Author, Sonia Nazario attempted to replicate Enrique's journey across Mexico by train top herself. She put her experience behind the pages of this book in hopes of enlightening us...those of us who feel entitlement and a little bit placated by our own life situations. One of the members of our book discussion works locally for Hispanic Ministries. She reiterated the author's descriptions of the atrocities that can befall children who are left behind when a parent makes the trek to America, as well as the problems plaguing those who actually arrive in the United States in (basically) one piece. She is part of the grassroots community effort to help assimilate those who arrive. Perhaps when we read a book such as this one, our hearts will expand along with our minds.

Yesterday we had a very interesting discussion of Anita Brookner's, A Private View.  I, myself, thoroughly enjoy the excitement when a book promotes such a diversity of opinions concerning the plot, characterization, and well....the likability of the book.  Sparks were flying (good sparks!) as participants illustrated their feelings about  the central character, George Bland.  George realizes, after his retirement, that he has wasted his entire life on "playing it safe."  When a new situation presents itself, George must decide to treat it in his usual manner by dismissing the intrusion into his world as quickly as possible, or stepping away from his predictable reaction to embrace something new...something that might wake him up to his life.

Half of the group felt the book was one big snore.  They couldn't get past the introspection and George's repeated self-admonishments that peppered the entire story.  Others felt that the book provided a melancholy journey of a man who desperately wanted to change, but was psychologically incapable of doing so- making this a heartbreaking cautionary tale.  The ending provides a glimmer of hope for George, and those who enjoyed the book grasped on to the  possibility with a vengeance.

Can you read between the lines and predict how I felt about the book?  That's right, a big thumbs up from me.  In my opinion, A Private View is not a quick snack.  It is a full course meal to be savored, digested and praised for the complexity and subtleties. I respect and defer to the opinions of my fellow book group members who would whole-heartedly disagree. 

How wonderful!!!!

Post Script: The discussion goes on!  One of our staffers commented that she continued to think about this book long after the book group meeting ended.  Her final thoughts on The Private View are as follows; " I think George never really decided what he wanted out of his life...and that is why he is so unhappy with himself."  (Some of us are rooting for you to take some action, George).

On March 17th at noon, we'll be discussing The Tender Bar by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer J.R. Moehringer. The Tender Bar is the author's memoir of growing up in a household of mostly women with an absent father. He tells about his search for a father in his life, and how the men of the neighborhood bar become surrogate fathers.

"The Tender Bar is a beautiful, gravelly love letter to [an] amorphous father, a melancholy romance between a boy and a corner saloon that's as smoky and heart-crackling as a Sinatra 78." - The New York Times Book Review

This best-selling and award-winning book is a fascinating, highly entertaining look at growing up with a big piece of your life missing. Come join us at noon on the 17th to learn more.