If you’re an avid reader, you know there are lots of books about libraries and librarians. “Personal Librarian.” “The Librarian of Crooked Lane.” “The Librarian of Burned Books.” “The Librarian Spy.” “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians.” “The Invisible Library.” And, for children: “Ronan, the Librarian.”
Today, reading books is like golf: a specialized “sport.” If you’re ready to tee-off, here are some suggestions:
Out of Time by Lynn Segal (non-fiction). When I first picked up this book, I thought it meant out of the space/time continuum. No. It means something more basic to the here and now: how to continue living well when time is running out. Anyone who lives past 80 is thinking about this.
One problem for the reader might be Segal’s left-wing philosophy. She’s a longtime feminist, and many of her quotes come from feminist writers. Another problem – for me – was the fact she did not include a biography separate from the footnotes.
Still, this book is worth reading. Segal is not trying to “make nice” about being old with prescriptions for vitamins, exercises and hair dyes. If you do all the right things, you are still going to get old and die. Will “Out of Time” solve your dread? No. But it helps to think along with the bright people who have devoted their words to it.
At Eighty-Two by May Sarton (Journal). Sarton was already famous as an author and poet when she wrote “At Eighty-Two.” She could do no wrong at that point. But I found this book, a journal, boring. I stopped reading to avoid any more name-dropping.
This House is On Fire by Rachel Beanland (historical novel). The fire at a Richmond, Va., theater actually happened on Dec. 26, 1811. It killed over 70 people, including the governor and some of Richmond’s more prominent citizens.
Beanland imagines the lives of four survivors: Sally Campbell, a widow and the daughter of Patrick Henry; Cecily Patterson, a slave woman; Gilbert Hunt, the slave hero who happened to be passing the theater; and Jack Gibson, 14, a crew member who wants to be an actor and is blamed for the fire.
There is no confusion over the factors that caused the fire. The story reveals what happens after people create false stories and confusion in the aftermath. Sally mourns the loss of her best friend and blames her friend’s husband who ran for the exit, leaving his wife at the mercy of the fire. Gabriel stands at the base of a third-story window and catches over a dozen prominent white ladies who are forced to jump for their lives. Their husbands ran over them to get to the exits, too. Cecily was sitting in the slave seats, the safest place in the house because it was farthest away from the stage and closest to the exits. She decides to fake her death and run away. Jack is forced to tell lies to escape the threat of jail if his boss and fellow crewmen blame the fire on him.
This novel is beautifully written and a page-turner.
Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman (literary mystery). This is a fascinating book because of its character development. The plot is supposedly a twist on “To Kill a Mockingbird.” But the plot is almost incidental to the weaving of incidents in the lives of people who were once classmates at Wilde Lake High School. Someone does turn up dead, and there’s a rape case that unfairly accuses a black student. The ending suffers from a common malady: a weak ending.
Lippman has won prizes for crime fiction, but Wilde Lake is bigger than crime fiction. The writing is top-notch. This novel could be called “literary fiction,” whatever that means.
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni (novel). If you haven’t guessed, the main character’s name is Samuel Hill. He was born with a rare eye condition that makes his pupils red. So he got teased unmercifully with name-calling: Sam Hell, Devil Boy.
Sam Hell’s story reminds me of Temple Grandin’s story. Temple Grandin is the world’s most famous person on the autism spectrum. She is an animal behaviorist, a professor and an author. She achieved much of her success because of a mother who convinced her she was special in spite of school administrators, student bullying and lack of understanding her condition.
Sam Hell’s author, Robert Dugoni, says in the Afterward that the idea for Sam’s story came partly from the relationship between his mother and her Down’s Syndrome son, Dugoni’s youngest brother. The other influence was a newspaper article about a boy in Australia who was denied admission to a Catholic school because of his red eyes.
San Hell’s mother believes he is extraordinary and never takes “no” for an answer. In between threats and rosaries, she gets him admitted to a Catholic school and almost manages to convince Sam that he is more than a Devil Boy. Even though Sam has his doubts, the reader will be convinced.
Planet Funny: How Comedy Ruined Everything ) by Ken Jennings (non-fiction). If the author rings a bell, it’s because he was a Jeopardy champion. He’s also a comedian, but he argues that comedy has been taken too far. Toothpaste, TV shows, even politicians advertise with comedy skits. On dating sites, the quality most prized is “sense of humor.” Everyone wants to be a funny guy.
Jennings’s point is this: There are times when being serious is not a sin. Voting for president is one of them. Jennings argues that we voted for a comic figure in 2016 because we didn’t want to listen to serious debate. Being funny was the candidate’s winning trademark.
Not many people have thought about this; we just go along with the gags. Jennings throws in some funny lines to keep us laughing. Maybe he wouldn’t like me to say that.
Above the Fire by Michael O’Donnell (novel). This is a “soft survival story.” There is no wandering around in a world made primitive by nuclear explosions, collisions with asteroids, chase scenes, sex scenes, shootouts, political rant.
So . . . does ANYTHING happen?
A widowed father takes his 7-year-old son on a backpacking trip in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. While making their way to the top peak with a hiking group, they see in the distance a huge fire that appears to come from a shopping center. What is happening? WiFi is out and cell phones don’t work. Rangers are unable to get through to their base camp. Whole areas appear to be deserted.
The hikers and rangers who leave, promising to get back soon, are never heard from again. The father decides to stay the winter in a mid-point cabin in the park to protect his son from whatever is happening down below. They have beds to sleep in. They have sleeping bags for warmth. There’s an outhouse when it’s reachable. The two of them can live there as long as they need on park-service canned and dried food. The major threats are bears, low temperatures, blizzards, possible raids from other hikers and cabin fever.
Is this even a survival story? YES! It’s what anyone would face if suddenly marooned in the mountains, without survival skills and not knowing if it will be safe to return. What happens to their bodies, their minds, their relationship with each other and other people makes a tantalizing read.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (literary science-fiction). Everyone is worried about the apocalypse. Writers especially. “Station Eleven” was made into a TV series but got bad reviews because of its “moodiness.” It’s difficult to translate deep thoughts about the past, modern life, Covid-type plagues, and survival into a medium that expects chase scenes and explosions.
Mandel’s book is an amazingly honest look at how people would react to a sudden plague that leaves 99% of the population dead. The survivors are scattered about in small villages with the usual percentages of charitable people, thieves, murderers, rapists and victims. There are no super-heroes here – just folks who have no choice but to survive in spite of their human quirks.
The plot analyzes the past of the main character, a famous Hollywood actor, his unexpected death and the mysterious connections between the people in his life before and after the plague. There is an intricate weaving of time periods, characters and plot. Mandel must have had a detailed outline in front of her at all times. Yet she managed to make the tale hang together.
This is a book worth reading – even if you don’t like science fiction.
