Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (CBR Book #21)

Do you know why "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a well-known phrase? It's a panagram...or a phrase that contains all the letters of the alphabet. A quick look at wikipedia reveals the phrase's earliest known appearance is in the late 1800's, but its author isn't mentioned.

Well...look no more! Mark Dunn has the story of its creator in this cleverly written book, which is presented as a collection of letters. Most of the letters are written to or from Ella, and other members of the Pea family. Ella lives on the fictional island of Nollop, off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop derives its name from Nevin Nollop, the supposed creator of the panagram.

Everything in Nollop seems pleasant. It has a small town feel with a council that governs the island's business. There is even a monument to Nollop including the famous phrase. Everything is business as usual, until lettered tiles begin to fall off of the monument. The town council interprets this as a sign from Nollop himself; it appears that Nollop wishes the letter to be removed from speech and writing, they surmise. The first letter to fall is relatively harmless enough, a Z. After the council decrees that each letter is not to be used anymore, the use of the letter is removed from the book as well. As the characters write their letters to each other, they struggle with avoiding certain words. As more and more tiles fall off the sign and their use is banned, the writings become more and more ludicrous.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when the D falls off the sign. As each message written has the day listed, it becomes necessary to assign new names to each day. Tuesday becomes Toes, Wednesday becomes Wetty, Thursday Thurby. During the month of November, as more and more letters fall off the sign, the name of the month changes accordingly until each note has a new word for November, "nosegay," "no-trump," "norepinephrine" and "noopers" are just some of them.

Eventually, speaking and writing becomes so difficult, the council passes a provision that states, in written form only, "hear twins" may be used as a proxy for certain letters. In other words, words may be written phonetically with the remaining allowed letters. So "farewell" can be written as "pharewell," "you" as "ewe" and so on. But even this proves difficult as creative substitutions must still be made. "Phrents" becomes the closest thing to the words "friends," "achieve" becomes "asheeph." Here's an example of a sentence near the end of the book, "Tee otts are not goot," which is "the odds are not good." Of course "hear twins" can only be used in writing because when spoken, one wouldn't know if you were actually using the banned letters or not. Eventually, more and more lettered tiles fall off the monument until only 5 remain, LMNOP.

Is your head spinning? The good news is, this progression is gradual, and although the book becomes harder and harder to read, it also becomes sillier and sillier. And you get used to it. And by this time, you're invested in Enterprise 32. This is the task assigned to those who oppose the council. In an effort to prove Nollop isn't divine, as the council has come to believe, the remaining townspeople work to create a panagram in 32 letters. This would beat Nollop's panagram by 3 letters, proving that any mere mortal could do what he did, and better.

At this point, you may have some questions, like, "what do you mean by remaining townspeople?" and "how could they work on a panagram if there are letters banned from use?" Well...all those questions and more would be answered if you read the book! And I definitely recommend it if you have an interest in words, word play, word puzzles, or anything related to that. Even if you don't, it's a great book, adeptly written, and entertaining.

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger (CBR Book #20)

How would you react if you visited a library that consisted only of books, magazines, and anything else that you've ever read or written? Maybe you see the Little Golden Book you treasured as a child, or you glimpse your favorite mystery novel. Even a textbook for your college biology course finds its way to the shelves...and then you spot your diary!

This is what happens to Alexandra one night, when she goes for a walk. She sees an old Winnebago on the street playing her favorite music. Going against her better judgement, she enters to find a library that is definitely special, but when she finds her diary, it becomes magical as well. The library, whose hours are from dusk until down closes before she's ready to leave it. After her visit, she obsesses about the Night Bookmobile and goes for long walks at night to find it again.

Eventually, Alexandra runs into the Night Bookmobile at different times in her life. Each time, she notices it has new shelves filled with the material she has read since her previous visit. Her obsession with the Night Bookmobile grows and grows and she even goes to school and becomes a librarian, hoping that someday, she can be a librarian for the Book Mobile. Eventually, Alexandra thinks she understands what she must do to fulfill her life's dream, but is the price she has to pay worth it?

This book was a serialized graphic novel that appeared in the London Guardian. You may recognize the author for her books like the Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry. I checked out her website that also has some of her paintings and drawings on it. They have the same dark, eerie quality that her short graphic novel has. You can click here, if you're interested in seeing some of her work.

So my opinion on The Night Bookmobile? It literally took me just a few minutes to read and was an interesting story. I'm not sure I'd tell someone to run to the library to get it, but I can imagine if it were slowly told in a newspaper, how people would be into the story. I'm not a fan of Niffeneggar's drawings, they're not really my style, so that kind of distracted from the story. But the story itself is great. It's a cautionary tale of how someone can love something so much, it becomes an obsession and takes over her entire life. I guess if you're a Niffeneggar fan, check it out. Otherwise, don't obsess about it.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (CBR Book #19)

Never Let Me Go is about life, death, love, acceptance of one's circumstances, and all of those emotional aspects of the world around us. There are a million different ways to tell a story about these things, right?

The problem I had with Never Let Me Go, is that Ishiguro uses a sci-fi premise to tell his story. In fact, it's a great premise. But, and here's the downfall, this is NOT a sci-fi book. If it were, Ishiguro would do more explaining of the mechanics of his premise - how things came to be, how they work, and what exactly happens. But he's not really concerned with that. And that's where I'm left frustrated.

Never Let Me Go is the story of three individuals who grew up together at Hailsham, a boarding school they attended in England. All the students at Hailsham are special, set apart from society for a specific purpose, which is slowly revealed throughout the book. Kathy, our narrator, takes us through her life at Hailsham and beyond.

The tone of the book is introspective, like we're inside Kathy's thoughts. She remembers events in the past and wonders how they have affected her present. As Kathy examines her past, we relive events in her life. We learn snippets of what makes her "special" as she does. But, and here's where I'm different from Kathy, I question things she doesn't. Kathy has accepted her lot, I haven't. But this is HER story, not mine. For her, life is as it is. She doesn't question her circumstances but tries to understand the relationships around her. Just like anyone would. And I guess that's the point. Even if you are "special," like Kathy, you still have to deal with love and longing just like the rest of us.

And I understood this as I read, but I couldn't help wondering more about each nugget Ishiguro would provide. "The students just learned they were meant to do WHAT?" "But why don't they ask more about THAT?" I'd think. Kathy would move forward in her story but I was still struggling what had just transpired, not ready yet to just forget about that and move on. But perhaps by creating this conflict, Ishiguro better makes his point. That regardless of your circumstances, some things in life are inevitable. The question is, how do you deal with them, and do you accept them willingly or not?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (CBR book #18)

The Help came out in 2009 and has slowly grown into its popularity. It's the story of women and their maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's. The book is written in three voices; Abileen Clark and Minny Jackson who are maids, and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, who was raised by a maid.

Skeeter's group of friends are young 20-something white women who all have maids of their own. But Skeeter realizes that she has less and less in common with them as she learns about their attitudes towards their maids. While Skeeter is haunted by loving memories of her childhood maid who disappeared without a word, her friends treat their maids like slaves, even insisting on having separate "colored" bathrooms" installed on their property for the help.

When I read the book, I hadn't heard much about it so I had no expectations. The story involves a lot of different characters who all have their own secrets, stories, and opinions. It kept me reading and was interesting. I think, however, had I heard all the hype about it, I might have been disappointed. I know books that deal with things like racism, stereotypes, and societal classes have the potential to garner a lot of attention. But I can't help but think that this is the only reason this book is gettting so much press. The story is good but beyond the social issues, it doesn't strike me as any more well written than other books I've read. It would be interesting to see if Stockett's next book gets as much attention.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (CBR book #16)

My dryspell is over at last! After several boring, disappointing, and simply "meh" selections, I have come across a solid nominee for the year's top five. This is one of those books I couldn't stop talking about so read it already!

Shades of Grey takes place in the future society of Chromaticia, after an event referred to only as the Something That Happened. Society, or The Collective, is run according to infallible rules set by Chromaticia's founder, Munsell. Not surprisingly, the rules don't always make sense, like why spoons are no longer made, or why bottles and jars are to be manufactured in one size only. There are other mysteries in Chromaticia as well, like why noone can venture into darkness, why all living things have barcodes, and why the two biggest threats to The Collective are swans and lightning.

If I'm starting to lose you, the first thing you need to understand is that a lot of Shades of Grey is tongue in cheek. Fforde is a master of the absurd and sets up a lot of silly situations that, sadly, remind me of work first, then a lot of other things after that. There's a great scene where our narrator, Eddie, goes to a library. Most books have disappeared over time, but due to a poorly drafted directive, staffing levels at libraries will remain unchanged forever. So Eddie is followed by seven librarians who have nothing to do. One, a ninth-generation librarian, shows Eddie empty shelves and describes the books they used to hold. "Murdoch on the Orientated Ex-Best," "The Complete Sheer Luck Homes," and other titles roll from her tongue like a bad game of telephone. Sometimes it's just the titles she gets right, like Catch-22, a "hugely popular fishing book and one of a series."

And we haven't even touched on the Colortocracy. Apparently people's ability to see color is severely limited and people are divided into classes based upon their color perception. If you see mostly red, you are a red. If you see yellow and blue, you are a green. If you see little to no color at all, you are a grey, and the lowest in society. Marriages are arranged based on how one's color perception may help maintain or raise your position in society. Are you a coveted violet who sees closer to the blue range of the spectrum? If so, why not marry a red to deepen your child's violet perception uprange?

Color also plays a role in health and well-being. Depending on your ailment, visualizing a certain shade may make you better...or kill you. Perhaps you need a little pick me up? Try lime, but don't view too much, it's a gateway they say that may lead to the more powerful lincoln green and before you know it, you're chasing the frog...

And I could go on and on. Fforde injects wit, humor, and fun in this story about Eddie Russett, a Red, who travels to the town of East Carmine on an assignment to conduct a chair-census. As Eddie learns about the people of East Carmine, he develops a dangerous habit of curiosity which leads him down a path that's part Alice's trip down the rabbit hole, but more Neo swallowing the red pill, if you ask me.

In all, a slightly slow start (mainly because I had no idea what was going on for the first 30 pages), a great middle, and an end promising two more books to come. And will I read them? Absolutely. I can't wait to see what Fforde has coming out and will make it a point to check out his other books in the Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series as well.

For some fun information on Shades of Grey, click here.

Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (CBR book #15)

Superfreakonomics is the follow up to Levitt and Dubner's first book, Freakonomics, which was a great book. Basically, Levitt and Dubner use economics theories to describe things more interesting than, well, economics.

For an idea of what Superfreakonimics is about, a quick look at the cover sums everything up nicely..."Global cooling, patriotic prostitutes, and why suicide bombers should buy life insuance." And if that doesn't catch your interest, the Steve-o's also discuss the following (taken from freakonomicsbook.com)

• How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
• Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
• How much good do car seats do?
• What’s the best way to catch a terrorist?
• Did TV cause a rise in crime?
• What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
• Are people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?
• Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
• Who adds more value: a pimp or a realtor?

I'm a fan of these books because they're accessible and thought-provoking. They are also fairly quick and easy reads. Talk about the art of taking technical speak down to my level (Marcia Bjornerud, eat your heart out)!

So a solid recommend if you're the non-fictiony type. Enjoy!

Tinkers by Paul Harding (CBR book #13)

Just because a book wins a Pulitzer Prize doesn't mean you have to enjoy it. There. I've said it. And now I feel better. You can probably see where this is going...

I decided to read Tinkers because it won the Fiction Pulitzer Prize in 2010. I figured by reading it, I would somehow become smarter, or at least seem smarter. Things started off well. As with a fine bottle of wine, I'm a sucker for good packaging and presentation. The book is only about 200 pages and comes in a compact form, great for holding. Sometimes I feel like I'm not reading a proper book when I get a large hardcover edition and I can't fit it snugly in one hand. You know the kind; when you put the book down, that bit of muscle (fat?) between your thumb and index finger hurts. But Tinkers fits snugly in one hand, like a well worn baseball glove, or peas and carrots, or well, a nice glass of cabernet. Let's go with that.

So I liked the feel. The cover, minimalist. A white backdrop with a few trees clustered in the corner. Simple, pleasing to the eye, artistic. Hmmmm....looking good so far. And the content? Well, like a great top note, Harding grabbed me with his first line, "George Washington Crosby began to hallucinate eight days before he died."

Harding writes stories from George Crosby's childhood, stories that center on his father. Crosby's father was a tinker (or, as Lemony Snicket would say, tinkers is a fancy word for traveling salesman). The stories themselves are interesting, but there is a lot of fluff in between. Okay, okay, it's probably called something other than fluff in the literary world, like transitional prose or corollary exposition (making stuff up right now). But to me, it was fluff. He'd go on for a page or two about how a clock worked or how something looked. I guess you have to have pretty mad skills to go on so long about something so simple but it kinda bored me.

Maybe if we took that glass of Cabernet and reduced the book to it's good parts, we'd have an engaging 100 page novella (do those win Pulitzer Prizes?). So I feel a bit contrary to not think this book is the bees knees. Clearly it was well received by many. But for me it just gets a "meh."