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Shelf Life

Our Shelf Life Blog features the latest recommendations chosen by library staff and volunteers.

folk and fairy tales -- history and criticism, Grimm, John Gaines, LibraryPoint Blog, Shelf Life Blog, Nonfiction

03/26/2013 - 8:18am

Modernized versions of traditional fairy tales have become popular in recent years, with television series such as ABC’s Once Upon a Time and graphic novels such as Bill Willingham’s Fables providing creative and original narratives utilizing characters and concepts from old folk tales. Although popular, these newer variations on older fairy tales have created controversy for altering the traditional characterizations and stories that many people grew up with. This exposes a major flaw in many people’s understanding of fairy tales and traditional folk culture—which versions are the “most correct” version of the story, and why? Maria Tatar’s The Grimm Reader is a collection of many of the traditional fairy tales recorded by the Brothers Grimm, providing an English translation of some of the oldest written versions of these stories. Notable for being far more violent than the “traditional” versions of the fairy tales popularized in the Victorian period (and later, by Disney films), the typical Grimm story is a combination of children in jeopardy, adults that range from neglectful to destructive, and flat narrative that is driven by plot rather than by characterization.

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I Heard the Owl Call my Name by Margaret Craven

Beth Solka, British Columbia -- fiction, Catholic Church -- Fiction, Death and dying -- fiction, Indians of the Pacific Northwest -- fiction, LibraryPoint Blog, Pacific Northwest -- fiction, Shelf Life Blog, unRequired Reading Blog, Guys Read Too

03/25/2013 - 3:31am

My favorite book when I was in high school was I Heard the Owl Call my Name, by Margaret Craven, so I decided to reread it to see how I related to the book now. Even though it is almost 50 years old, the book is still just as timely and beautifully-written as it was in the 60’s. Perhaps its message is even more important in today’s world. It is about a young Vicar, Mark Brian, who has been diagnosed with only a few years to live. His Bishop has been told his diagnosis, but the Vicar has not.

When the Bishop learns of the young Vicar’s diagnosis he says, “So short a time to learn so much? It leaves me with no choice. I shall send him to my hardest parish. I shall send him to Kingcome on patrol of the Indian Villages.”

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If you like The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Book Match, John Gaines, LibraryPoint Blog, Shelf Life Blog, Literary Fiction

03/22/2013 - 3:31am

This readalike is in response to a patron's book-match request. If you would like personalized reading recommendations, fill out the book-match form and a librarian will email suggested titles to you. Available for adults, teens, and kids. You can browse the book matches here.

The Cider House Rules by John Irving: "First published in 1985, The Cider House Rules is John Irving's sixth novel. Set in rural Maine in the first half of this century, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch--saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. It is also the story of Dr. Larch's favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted." (Book description)

If you enjoyed this book, here are some other titles you may enjoy:

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
Macon Leary hates to travel. He is someone who travels through life accidentally. Things just happen to him--the senseless death of his child, the baffling desertion of his wife, even his involvement with Muriel, the frizzy-haired, stiletto-heeled, non-stop talker from the kennel where he boards his dog. (worldcat.org)

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
A classic tale of an orphan growing up in the 1800's of England. Intimately rooted in the author's own biography and written as a first-person narrative, "David Copperfield" charts a young man's progress through a difficult childhood in Victorian England to ultimate success as a novelist, finding true love along the way. (worldcat.org)

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Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

Angela Critics, Civil War, LibraryPoint Blog, Underground Railroad -- fiction, Virginia history for kids, Shelf Life Blog, Book Buzz Blog, Kids Blog, History & Historical Fiction, Picture Books

03/21/2013 - 3:31am

Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole

On a Southern farm during the Civil War, a young girl finds a runaway slave hiding in the family's barn. She is frightened but must make a difficult decision. What does she owe to the runaway with frightened eyes? Unspoken, by Henry Cole, is the story of a choice she makes and the bond that forms between the two of them.

Throughout the book, the reader never sees the runaway slave's face, just an eye peering fearfully from among the stored corn stalks. The girl and the slave never speak. In fact, there are no words in the book. But though all communication is unspoken, the message remains powerful. Detailed graphite drawings convey the tension and emotions, as well as the strong connection that grows between the girl and the runaway.

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Roman Blood by Steven Saylor

Ancient Rome -- fiction, Detective and mystery stories, Historical mysteries, LibraryPoint Blog, Virginia Johnson, Shelf Life Blog, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers

03/20/2013 - 3:31am

In Steven Saylor’s debut hard-boiled historical mystery, Roman Blood, Gordianus the Finder is an intrepid soul, living in a seedy section of long-ago Rome. All roads lead here and all the up-and-coming politicians--along with displaced, often enslaved people from war-torn lands--make for a sea of trouble in an atmosphere that is by turns torrid, glittering, and dangerous.

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The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

1960s -- fiction, Classics, John Gaines, LibraryPoint Blog, surrealism, Shelf Life Blog, Reading Room Blog, Literary Fiction

03/19/2013 - 3:31am

What was it that defined the 1960s and made it one of the most important decades of the 20^th century? This question is often asked, even by those who lived through its tumultuous events. Many classic novels portrayed and influenced the counterculture of the 1960s, including Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, and Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another classic novel indelibly linked the culture of the 1960s was The Crying of Lot 49, one of Thomas Pynchon’s earliest works. Supposedly the story of a woman seeking to sort out the estate of her dead boyfriend’s will, The Crying of Lot 49 is a kaleidoscopic narrative that ventures through centuries-spanning conspiracies, bizarre characters, and an American rock band desperately pretending to be part of the British Invasion. One of Pynchon’s earliest and shortest novels, The Crying of Lot 49 is a surreal whirlwind of 1960s literature.

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