The art of fielding, by Chad Harbach

Having little interest in baseball unless the home team is in the World Series, I resisted reading this popular title for quite a while.  But, like Shoeless Joe, Field of Dreams, and The Natural, it is about much more than “just” baseball – and also once again demonstrates that the game somehow inspires good books and movies as well as great fans.  One critic said, "The Art of Fielding is mere baseball fiction the way Moby Dick is just a fish story" (Nicholas Dawidoff), and indeed, Moby Dick figures prominently in the book and the team is known as the Harpooners.  Engaging and beautifully written.  528 pp.

Last child in the woods: Saving our children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

I’d grabbed this copy off the gift shelf at the library at least three years ago meaning to get to it someday as the title spoke to a concern I had long had about children growing up today and our own grandchildren in particular.  They live in a new subdivision in Texas, not long removed from being an open pasture. Outside their house are only a couple of young trees in a small fenced in yard and a play structure under the baking sun.  A rec center down the road offers a bigger play area and a nice pool.  But where I’d love to see Zack and Emma explore and play, safely of course, is down by the little stream that runs at the end of their block.  There are plants and little animals, tracks and fossils.  Like so many kids, much of what they know about the natural world is what they see on TV programs.  The book points out the children know more about the dangers to far-away rain forests than the environmental challenges in their own part of the world.  Parents are fearful about letting children play outside unattended.  This book reinforced my belief that a great deal is lost when children have little interaction with nature and offers some suggestions as to how to reverse this trend.  356 pp.

Firefly summer, by Maeve Binchy

Running out of reading material while on vacation (at least of the cheerful variety – I couldn’t face another depressing  book….), I picked this paperback up at the Grand Rapids MN library’s book sale at “Tall Timber Days.”  I had never read anything by her and she had just recently died.  I was taken by her self-depreciating assessment as quoted in the obituary, “I’m mainly an airport author, and if you’re trying to take your mind off the journey, you’re not going to read ‘King Lear,’ ” she told The Irish Times in 2000. “I’ve seen a lot of people buy my books and then fall asleep on the plane soon afterwards.”  Although I found the first 150 or so pages of the book a bit saccharine and slow, I soon was caught up in her storytelling and the tale of an Irish-American businessman coming back to Mountfern, Ireland, the town that his drunken ne'er-do-well father was forced to leave, to buy up and restore the burnt out remains of the mansion belonging to the town’s gentry.  His dream of opening it as a fine hotel has unintended, and sometimes tragic, consequences for the rural townsfolk.  I will consider her work for future plane trips!  662 pp.

Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail, by Cheryl Strayed

When I put this book on reserve I was #124 in line, so actually paid to put it on my Kindle for our trip north.  Not only was it well-reviewed, but the author grew up in the wilds of Aiken County, MN, next to Itasca County, where our cabin is located.  I was really looking forward to reading it. What a disappointment….  I was annoyed by the author’s “wild” previous life (promiscuous sexual encounters and heroin use); her blithe lack of realistic preparation for her journey on the Pacific Coast Trail; and her self-absorption throughout.  Yeah, I know it is supposed to be about her growth and enlightenment during this adventure, but I just wanted to shake her.    I’m happy it turned out well for her and she got through it alive.  And even happier that volunteers didn’t have to risk their lives rescuing her like some dumb mountain-climber ignoring the “Danger! Avalanche!” signs.  I suspect I’m in the minority here, and will be interested to see what others think about this memoir.  336 pp.

Batman: Hush vol. 2

Batman: Hush vol. 2 by Jeph Loeb, 185 pages

This is the second chapter in the Batman: Hush story, in which a mysterious villain keeps Batman guessing through the manipulation of his friends and foes alike. After this second trip through a superhero graphic novel, I feel a bit more comfortable with the noir-ish writing style, though it's still not my favorite style. I like the story though, so I'm sure I'll read more of these.

Reading my father, by Alexandra Styron

Yet another example of how difficult it is to grow up with a “great writer” as a parent.  The combination of alcohol abuse, depression undiagnosed until late in life, and the ego necessary to produce his writings made Styron the dominant and domineering figure in her life.  Only while researching his papers after his death does the author, his youngest child, begin to understand her father.   320 pp.

Throne of Glass/Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas; young adult, romance, fantasy; 416 pages

Eighteen-year-old Celaena Sardothien was once the most deadly assassin in the world--until she was caught and sentenced to work in the salt mines of Endovier, where no one lasts more than a month.  A year later, though, Celaena is still alive, and surprised to receive an offer from the crown prince:  fight as his champion in a series of games for the nobility, and she could win her freedom (after serving four years as the king's personal assassin).  But if she loses, she'll be sent back to the mines, this time for good.  Once she arrives at the castle, however, Celaena faces another problem:  something is killing the champions in gruesome, brutal ways.  Celaena has to recover her strength, figure out who's behind the killings, and who she can trust.  She also has to wrestle with her own conscience:  can she really serve the same king she fought against for so long?

I had a lot of fun with this book.  I liked Celaena as a character, and while there was a (yawn) love triangle, it didn't dominate the story as they sometimes can.  Celaena was far more interested in winning her freedom and solving the many mysteries of the palace than she was in either of the men in her life (though there were enough swoony moments that I don't think this book will disappoint romance fans).  The action scenes and elimination process was vaguely reminiscent of The Hunger Games, while the evil king felt like something off the pages of Graceling.  For overall tone and feel, though, I would have to pair this with Grave Mercy as a good readalike (full disclosure:  lots of other people have already made that comparison, including Kirkus, so I might be letting that color my judgement).  While the writing is a little rough at the beginning of the book, stick with it:  it's a fun read.  I'm looking forward to really seeing Celaena's skills in future books and the four prequel novellas (she didn't get much of a chance to show off here, as she was posing as someone-not-herself to keep from giving the game away). 

How to be a woman

How to be a woman by Caitlin Moran 305 pgs.

Thank God for books like this one.  Like so many other things, I learned that I've been doing the woman thing all wrong.  Now that Caitlin Moran has tutored me, I'm sure things will be better.  Caitlin herself started out a friendless teen with the nickname "fatso". She has built herself into a very successful woman, wife, and mother.  That in itself is impressive and that is before you figure out just how damned funny she is.  I like the way she does not apologize for who she is or how she thinks.  Well stated Caitlin!


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