Where’d you go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple

A largely epistolary novel, this comic, yet touching, story is set in Seattle and takes a satirical look at that fabled techy city, Microsoft, TED lectures, MacArthur Genius awards, and other cultural icons.  Bee, daughter of lapsed architect Bernadette and Microsoft team leader, Elgin, is finishing her last year at a progressive private school.  Receiving perfect grades, she demands that her parents make good on their promise to grant her heart’s desire, which she declares is a family trip to Antarctica.  This presents a particular problem for her mother, who has become a virtual recluse and fears both going out of the house and being surrounded in close quarters by other people which has resulted in her using a “virtual assistant” in India to relate with the world.  Bernadette also hates Seattle, her fellow parents at the school, and has a sorrowful past.  A series of misadventures and misunderstandings occur and Bernadette disappears.  Or does she?  336 pp.

Skios, by Michael Frayn

Noises off goes to the Greek Islands.  A romp and send-up of self-important cultural foundations and academia by the author of that hilarious play.  Dr. Norman Wilfred has been asked to deliver the keynote address at the world-renowned Fred Toppler Foundation, located in luxurious surroundings on the sunny isle of Skios.  Meanwhile, Oliver Fox, a foxy and attractive young man, has arranged a dirty weekend at a villa on the island with a woman he hardly knows.  How Fox becomes Dr. Wilfred, and other dubious characters are revealed to be not at all what they seem is aided and abetted by the comic duo of taxi drivers called Spiros and Stavros.  Fun.  257 pp.

Wilson

Wilson by Daniel Clowes  77 pp.

This is the tale of a man who is loner who really loves only his dog. He is socially inept at making relationships with others. The rediscovery of his ex-wife and knowledge of a teen-age daughter he never knew he had turns his life upside-down for the worse. Quite frankly, this is a pretty depressing story but their just might be hope for Wilson in the end.

What in God's Name

What in God's name/Simon Rich 227 pgs.

Turns our poorly run businesses are everywhere...even Heaven Inc. which is the corporation run by God.  Lately God has been kind of bored and letting things slide.  It gets to the point that he is going to resign and destroy the earth.  Two over achieving angels in the department of miracles (Craig and Eliza) love their jobs and don't want to see it go away so they work a deal with God.  If they can answer a prayer in a month, God will keep the business going (and save earth).  Craig and Eliza pick 2 people who have prayed for a relationship with each other thinking it is the easiest to accomplish..  When they meet their subjects, they quickly learn they may be the two most socially awkward humans on the planet.  They are practically home bound and hardly ever vary from their routine of being alone.  Craig and Eliza go to work and try to get Sam and Laura together for the sake of humanity.  This is a funny premise and Simon Rich has a way with dialog that often delights.  Seems like a lot of cussing happens in heaven.  Cute book and a fast read.

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Red Robin: Collison/Christopher Yost

Red Robin:  Collision by Christopher Yost; graphic novel; 192 pages

In his quest to prove that Bruce Wayne is alive, Tim Drake has crossed some lines--most notably allying himself with Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins.  But Tim hasn't forgot Batman's ethics, and he uses his inside knowledge of the League to do serious damage to its worldwide operations.  Now Ra's al Ghul himself is out for Tim's blood, and he intends to get revenge by destroying everything Tim Drake and Red Robin hold dead. 

This is part three of the arc begun in The Grail (as far as I can tell, part two, Council of Spiders has not been collected).  This book is cool in that it manages to be a somewhat self-contained story (Red Robin angers the League, then fights them off all in this volume), while still providing a really satisfying conclusion to the story begun in Grail.  Tim really comes into his own here, managing to be both Batman's protege and his own brand of superhero (seriously, the way in which Tim *spoiler* wins *end spoiler* is so great I had to go back and read it a second time).  The ending hints at an interesting new direction for Drake, and I'm curious to see where it goes.  There's not a lot of this series, as it launched just shortly before the New 52 reboot, but I hope to track down at least one more collection. 

Dreamland

Dreamland: adventures in the strange science of sleep by David K. Randall 290 pg.

I caught an interview with this author on NPR and am so glad I read this book.  Right from the beginning I learned about the historical sleep pattern of humans and how I am doing it right.  Before artificial lighting, people often slept in 2 phases.  In modern experiments when light is withheld, people revert back to this "first sleep", "second sleep" system.  If you talk to your doctor about this today, they will prescribe a sleep aid for you to try to get you to sleep through the night.

The science of sleep is fairly new and there have been many discoveries in recent years.  This book does a great job summarizing the latest information and the history behind it.

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Gettysburg

Gettysburg: the Graphic Novel by C.M. Butzer  80 pp.

This brief graphic novel presents the basics about the Battle of Gettysburg, including the horrific death toll. It also shows the building and opening of the national cemetery that was completed in just a few months. The book ends with the opening ceremony for the cemetery and includes brief excerpts of the speech by former Secretary of State Edward Everett and the complete text of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address. The illustrations during a portion of the address include a "timeline" of different rights marches from the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, unions, the civil rights movement, the American Indian Movement, United Farm Workers, through gay rights. The author's notes in the back explain a little more about the battles, the construction of the memorial, and Lincoln's speech. This would be a useful resource for American History teachers.

The Sandcastle Girls

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian  320 pp.

"How do a million and a half people die with nobody knowing? -- You kill them in the middle of nowhere." So says the narrator of this story about the Armenian genocide. I know I learned nothing about it when in school. In 1915 the Ottoman Empire began the systematic elimination of the Armenian people, some killed outright, others marched into the desert to die of thirst and starvation. This novel chronicles the events in the lives an American aide worker, Elizabeth Endicott, and an Armenian engineer named Armen Petrosian during that time period. That story alternates with that of novelist Laura Petrosian, the granddaughter of Elizabeth and Armen as she researches her grandparents' story through diaries, letters, and photographs as well as the secret her mother kept until her death. This is a riveting story which, while fiction, may help to spark more recognition of the horrific events of the early 20th century. Bohjalian is a very talented writer.

I knew nothing about the Armenian genocide until a high school friend told me about his Armenian grandmother being smuggled out of Turkey in a hay wagon as a child to escape the Turks. She was a sweet little lady who spoke no English but still attended all the school events her grandchildren were in and especially delighted in the musicals her grandson often starred in. I'll never forget Grandma Haroian.

Poison

Poison: a Novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole  392 pp.

After the death of author Ariana Franklin, which ended the Mistress of the Art of Death series, I was looking for another book with a strong woman in a position not usual given to women. This one comes close.

Francesca Giordano is following in her father's footsteps. She is a poisoner's daughter. Her murdered father was an expert on poison's and protecting people from being poisoned. She takes on his position in the household of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, mainly to protect him from his enemies, but also to discover her father's killer and exact revenge. Pope Innocent is in poor health and Borgia wants to be his successor. There is also the problem of the Jewish refugees who have escaped from Spain and the evil Torquemada's Inquisition. One faction waits for Pope Innocent to sign a document evicting the Jews from their Roman ghetto. If Innocent dies and Borgia becomes pope, that will not happen. Francesca is enlisted to kill Innocent. He dies but was she the one responsible? Borgia is elected Pope but has many enemies who would gladly see him dead. What of her affair with young Cesare Borgia? And will she ever get her revenge on the one who killed her father? On to the second book in the series.

Gone Girl

Gone Girl/Gillian Flynn 419 pgs.

Linda beat me with a great review of this book so don't miss what she says.  I have to agree with everything.  This is an amazingly fun book.  Currently the leader for most holds in 2012 here at UCPL (The Help was the winner in 2011), I can understand the popularity.  If you like twisty plots and characters that you can love and hate, click the link "check our catalog" and put it on hold for yourself right now.

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