By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
When Betty Mahmoody’s story first came to light, the United States was confronted with a problem of epic proportions: international parental abduction. Countless parents around the county were finally heard. Author Livingstone wrote Rescue My Child to help inform an entire generation of the cruelty these parents face every day.
Livingston focused on Corporate Training Unlimited (CTU), an organization composed of ex-Delta Force commandos, who would intervene in international cases. This book tells of four such cases. The stories detail the rescues of five children and one mother from various countries and situations. Laurie Swint Ghidaoui and her daughter Leila were rescued from Tunisia. Lauren Mahone was recovered in Jordan. Brittney Chowdhury was located in Bangladesh while Jeremy Hefner and his sister Amy were rescued in Ecuador.
Rescue My Child endeavored to alert the world about international parental abduction at a time when such a crime was hardly imaginable. CTU risked much to be able to help these families: prison, injury and even death. Had these men and women been discovered while on foreign soil and in possession of a child of a citizen, the United States could not have helped them. It is a reminder that some children do come home and also a reminder that some are still missing.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
Artemis Fowl has done many things in his short life. He has mastered criminal enterprise. He has taken on Russian mobsters to save his father’s life. He has even saved the entire faerie world from a master criminal pixie. What a teenager! In this adventure, Artemis has met his match in a girl named Minerva, who kidnaps a demon, one of ten families of faerie, from an opera house in Italy.
Author Eoin Colfer is a former educator who had amazing success with the first Artemis Fowl novel and has continued to toss the boy genius into exciting adventures. Colfer’s stories have been compared with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia as well as J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter series. Children around the world love the way Artemis uses technology, education and logic to expose the faerie world, endanger it, and then ultimately save it.
Artemis has always been a lonely, unique boy. Minerva is his ultimate competitor.
The Artemis Fowl series contain enough world travel, fantasy and mystery to intrigue any child. Who knows, it may even give the grandchildren some ideas! Start with the original Artemis Fowl and end the series with The Lost Colony. Your grandchildren will love them!
While Rich Robinson is in no way forgetting his past roads travelled, or the musical legacy he and brother, Chris, formed with the Black Crowes, he is moving on musically with a new journey and a new band, The Magpie Salute.
Among other proofs is the name of his new band, which will make a stop at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
“I’ve always loved the element of crows, but they have a dark connotation,” Robinson said in information supplied to WKTV. “Magpies are revered by ancient and indigenous cultures around the world, because they walk that bridge between dark and light. A magpie is also a cousin to a crow. This band (is) a cousin to the Crowes.”
Robinson, in an interview with WKTV, dug a little deeper into the relationship between his past with the Crowes and his present with Magpie.
“The music I wrote for the Black Crowes, with my brother, was what it was, you know,” Robinson said. “The way I write music is the way I have always written music. I do not believe in changing the way you write music, or to try to sound like something or to try to not sound like something. I think it should just be natural. That being said … I think there is a little bit of both, but hopefully it comes down the listener, what the listener choses to hear and get out of what you do.”
Pulled together in 2016 by guitarist/songwriter Robinson, Magpie Salute includes Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford and bassist Sven Pipien, vocalist John Hogg, and keyboardist Matt Slocum and drummer Joe Magistro, both of whom have played with Robinson before.
Together they have recorded their full-length debut of original material, High Water I, released this year, with High Water II to come in 2019. The band’s debut recording, in a twist on the usual sequence of recording events, was actually recorded live, The Magpie Salute (Live), last year.
Forming Magpie Salute “was really like a bunch of friends getting together to go on tour and have fun, to celebrate some of the songs and the music we have made in the past, covered, and even ones that we have made individually,” he said. “That is really what it was. It was a very natural process. We just put this band together … there wasn’t a master plan. We did not necessarily know what it would be in the future. What I like about it is that it is pretty unconventional. You don’t overthink anything like that.”
As far as the songs on the new album. Those, too, came naturally.
“Towards the end of the tour, last year, we started writing songs knowing that we wanted to make a record, to become a band, and that is ultimately what happened,” he said. “Toward the end of last year, we just started messing around with some ideas that Marc, John and I had. It was really cool at that time. As the tour came to an end, we knew what we wanted. … and we took some time in January to make that happen.”
For now, Robinson said, doing something new — performing with Magpie Salute and with the guys in the band — is where is he at right now.
“Everything is new and everything is going to go in the way it chooses to go,” he said. “Ultimately, this is what I have done since I was 19 … 30 years later I am still doing this. It is always cool to find different avenues, different contexts to play in, with different people. Those elements are what I am interested in and why I continue to choose to make music.”
At one time in China, a woman’s value was judged by her marriage and children. For Imperial wives and concubines, this could mean life or a secret death. Author Anchee Min introduces Tzu His who became China’s last empress. Orchid, as she was known in the Forbidden City, began life as an innocent country girl who became the Emperor’s fourth wife.
While others have told Empress Orchid’s story, author Min uses her own childhood in China to tell this story of a girl turned goddess. Orchid rises above all other women in the Forbidden City to become her Emperor’s favorite wife. She gives him an heir and, when enemies threaten China, leads her people as regent for 46 years.
Min’s native tongue helps give the story its scope. Her descriptions tell a tale of a time when the Boxers were gaining power and the Imperials were losing it. It was a time when the wives and concubines of an emperor fought for the chance to have an heir and the power and security that a son could bring. Orchid is the Cinderella of 19th century China: a woman who had to become more than a simple country girl to rule her people in peace and justice.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
The Commissario Guido Brunetti Series
by Donna Leon
Your plans for a trip to Italy fell apart? Until you can visit Rome or glide through Venice’s canals, do this: Take up with a policeman.
Donna Leon, an American living in Italy, has just brought out the 15th book, Through a Glass Darkly, in her mystery series set in Venice. Commissario Guido Brunetti is patient, principled and long suffering in the pursuit of justice in a bureaucracy that is often corrupt. He is married to Paola, who cooks wonderful meals and provides shrewd commentary. You finish a book feeling you’ve had a privileged homestay and seen sites far from the tourist track.
It’s best to begin the series with the first book, Death at La Fenice, since the author often refers to earlier incidents. Here, in the celebrated opera house, the world-famous conductor Maestro Helmut Wellauer, is poisoned during a performance of La Traviata. Brunetti, accustomed to the mazey corruptions of Venice, is surprised at the number of enemies Wellauer has made on his way to the top. That title is followed by Death in a Strange Country, in which the body of an American soldier is found in a canal. Next in the series is Uniform Justice, in which a cadet from Venice’s elite military academy is found hanged. The investigation leads to a wall of silence and hostility.
The series is very popular throughout Europe, and is gathering lots of fans in the U.S., many of whom also couldn’t vacation in Venice this year.
By Bill Hill, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
March of the Penguins
by Luc Jacquet and Jerome Maison
It is a strange life.
The Emperor penguins are born into darkness at the coldest end of the earth. To get to their mating territory 70 miles inland, they must waddle in short steps for a week through a hazard of up thrust ice scored by crevasses. As deep winter comes on, the females hatch one egg each, pass it to their partner and make the long march to the shore to feed and recover. The male Emperors stay behind cradling their precious eggs on the tops of their feet. They will huddle together through the long Antarctic winter going without food for as much as four months.
The darkness and terrible cold ease as the sun climbs higher. Shortly after the eggs hatch the females return, ready to spell the exhausted males who now must totter to the sea. The parents take turns shuttling to the sea for food till their chicks are old enough to make the journey themselves, and the cycle begins again.
Despite its billing as the “Official companion to the major motion picture,” this book is a distillation of the movie in 160 pages of photos with the movie’s narration for text. There is a short end chapter on the making the film. The publisher, National Geographic, has produced a handsome and fascinating book, one that could be shared with the rising generation.
By Bill Hill, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Dakotah Treasures Series (Ruby; Pearl; Opal; Amethyst)
by Lauraine Snelling
Hearing that her father is dying, Ruby Torvald takes her little sister Opal and leaves New York City for the wilds of Little Missouri in Dakota Territory. When they arrive in this pioneer town, they are shocked to discover their father is very near death and owns Dove House — a sordid bar, complete with barmaids. Before he dies, Per Torvald makes Ruby swear she will “take care of the girls” — the soiled doves in residence. Ruby finds herself suddenly faced with life on the frontier in a barely-there town.
Over the course of four books, Snelling tells the story of Ruby Torvald and Little Missouri. The author focuses on each of four women: Ruby Torvald, Pearl Hossfuss, Opal Torvald, and Amethyst O’Shaunasy. These women find themselves in circumstances often beyond their control in a time when women were not considered strong in body or emotion.
Ruby finds herself taking on the reform of Dove House while her younger sister Opal confronts societal views of women in the West. Pearl goes from riches in Chicago to a one-room schoolhouse in Little Missouri, and Amethyst comes to find her lost nephew Joel in Medora. The four women learn something about themselves and about God in this Inspirational Fiction series.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
No back-to-school season would be complete without Kevin Henkes’ wonderful picture book, Chrysanthemum. This book tells the story of a young mouse’s first experience at school and the confusion she feels over having a unique name. The story touches on teasing and self-confidence in a gentle and humorous way. Although targeted at pre-school and kindergarten readers, it appeals to slightly older children as well through the universal experiences of Chrysanthemum. A nice family read with a fun twist at the end.
Shugby Jenny Han, follows Annemarie “Shug” Wilcox through the perils of seventh grade: new friends, first crushes and a new school. Han appeals to a wide audience through a main character who is not your average girl. Shug is believable—a real person with real problems, normal family issues and less than perfect solutions. While some of the situations seem more likely to happen to a slightly older girl, Jenny Han is right on with the details, and readers will empathize with Shig’s experiences.
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar uses humor through the viewpoint of a geeky kid named Scott who approaches high school with a very different perspective than his older brother Bobby. Scott sets out to win a classmate’s heart by joining the school newspaper, running for student council and auditioning for a play. Although Bobby is popular with the girls, Scott becomes invisible. Many of Scott’s difficulties appear as hilarious lists dedicated to helping his unborn sibling make it safely through high school. The situations Scott encounters are realistic, and Lubar has a superb comic sense.
Bass Ackward and Belly Up by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain looks at four girls embarking on their first year of college. Written in chapters that feature each of the characters (similar to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares), the story covers four months of their lives as they follow their various dreams. At first, this book appears to be somewhat predictable, but the authors stay true to the characters Harper, Kate, Sophie and Becca in developing the story and keeping it real.
By Laura Nawrot, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Grand Rapids—Community and Industry by Thomas R. Dilley
A second book by Tom Dilley, one of Grand Rapids premiere postcard collectors, has just been released by Arcadia Publishing in their Postcard History Series. This volume covers aspects of Grand Rapids History between 1900 and 1960. Intended to supplement the themes developed in Dilley’s first book, Grand Rapids in Vintage Postcards 1890-1940, the book features 116 postcards, most from the author’s personal collection.
Dilley gives us glimpses of life in Grand Rapids in the first half of the 20th Century. Postcards portray street scenes, scenic views, recreation and local events, such as the flood of 1907 and John F. Kennedy’s visit to the city in 1960. The book features businesses of Grand Rapids, including formerly prominent establishments such as Herpolsheimers, the Pantlind Hotel and Joppe’s Dairy Company.
The earliest postcard views of neighborhoods portray Heritage Hill streets and homes. As the city grew outward, neighborhoods such as Madison Square, Eastown and Ottawa Hills are shown. Ramona Park and Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids became favorite amusement spots, as evidenced by many postcards.
Different types of postcards are reproduced in the book, including rare leather cards and double or panoramic postcards. Dilley also included two collectible series of cards: the Mr. Rover cards and the 1910 Homecoming postcards. Dilley’s book will interest postcard collectors, historians, researchers and anyone who might enjoy taking a stroll down memory lane.
Tom Dilley will be a presenter at the Grand Rapids Public Library’s annual Celebration of the Book on Wednesday, October 18 at 7:00 pm in the Ryerson Auditorium, Main Library.
By M. Christine Byron, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
By Laura Nawrot, Grand Rapids Public Library, Ottawa Hills Branch
When I picked up this book, I was looking for something light to read that involved characters that I could relate to—and I was not disappointed. In The Hot Flash Club, Nancy Thayer introduces the reader to four very diverse women ranging in age from fifty-two to sixty-two. The only things they have in common are a mutual acquaintance and the process of menopause.
I found my self quickly drawn into the world of Faye, Alice, Shirley and Marilyn, characters who give the term “aging gracefully” a whole new meaning.
As the four women plunge into an unexpected relationship with each other, they explore many current women’s issues with gentle humor, honesty, and nerve. Rather than viewing menopause as the end of childbearing years, Thayer suggests it is the launching point into late middle-age. Her characters are far too busy living their lives and following their dreams to focus on things that might hold them back, like arthritis, divorce, retirement and widowhood. Those topics are simply a part of their lives, not the main focus, and this positive approach works well within the framework of the story.
While the story holds a lighter tone than works by authors such as Elizabeth Berg, it is an entertaining and positive look at women and aging, as well as being a gentle reminder that life is a journey, not a destination, and our perception of the process is vital to how much we enjoy the ride.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
In February, 2004, three criminals sit together at a courthouse. They decide to play an innocent game: name three people you would kill if you knew you couldn’t be caught. Then the twist: they exchange lists.
Mariah Stewart’s Dead Wrong is the beginning of a four-book series which tells the tale of this horrid game and the lives threatened by it. In this first book, Mara Douglas is a Child Advocate for the Lyndon courthouse. She stands for those who have no voice: the abused, the neglected, and the lost. One of her cases has earned her a place in the game. The prize: her death.
When someone begins killing women in Lyndon, the police and the FBI get involved. What truly haunts them is that all the women so far have one similarity: their name is M. Douglas. Mara finds herself saddled with a former FBI agent as a bodyguard because her own sister, another FBI agent, fears something bigger.
As events unfold and two more die, Mara makes the connection. Once upon a time Mara advocated in court on behalf of the Giordino children. She helped their mother Diana take them away from their father Vincent. Vincent didn’t like that idea and decided that if he couldn’t have them no one would. In jail for murdering his family, Vinnie also happens to have played that game in the courthouse. And the man who took his list is after Mara.
Dead Wrong is full of twists and turns. It is both romance and thriller, genres that Mariah Stewart blends convincingly. But what may be the Dead Wrong’s best promise is that there are still two more lists out there with two more killers waiting.
By Stephanie M. White, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
A good ghost story never hurt anyone, and this ghost story is up there with the best of them. Henry James’s famous tale of a governess, her charges, and a big, scary house is wrought with mystery and suspense. Even after you’ve finished the last sentence, you’ll still be wondering on whose side you should be.
James weaves the story from the point of view of a young governess whose first position is in a large, country house with only two children and a few servants. She is given strict instructions never to bother the master of the house, who lives in town. When the governess begins seeing strangers around the house, she quickly learns that they are the ghosts of the children’s last governess and the master’s valet, who may have been involved in a scandalous pregnancy. As the governess determines a plan of action for keeping the children safe, the plot thickens.
James’s readers, on a first reading, are likely to trust the governess when she tells us of the apparitions. As the story continues, though, it becomes more and more difficult to understand whether she is really seeing ghosts, whether the children are trying to trick her, or whether she is trying to trick them. The less their governess trusts the sweet children, the less readers trust the governess.
While this short novel will leave you wondering about who’s seeing ghosts, it will also leave you amazed at James’s talent for weaving a tale with such ambiguity and suspense.
By Kelly Helder, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
So you’ve been watching your diet and eating all the right foods in the hopes of keeping the weight off and your cholesterol down. You’re walking every day, getting out in the fresh air, working those leg muscles. “But,” you say, “that’s not enough; I need more” (and more not being cardio boot camp!). What could you do that is low impact, practiced by millions, and could improve your blood pressure while relieving symptoms of arthritis?
Yoga, of course! It doesn’t matter if you are over 50, can’t cross your legs or don’t know a word of Sanskrit. Yoga doesn’t discriminate.
Mary Stewart, author of Yoga Over 50: The Way to Vitality, Health and Energy in the Prime of Life, has been teaching yoga for over 20 years (and is herself over 50). After a brief introduction about yoga and its history, there is a section on the healthy body and how it works. Then we dive into the meat of the book — yoga poses. All of the classics are here, such as Triangle, Warrior and Downward Facing Dog.
Accompanying each pose is a brief description, which includes instructions on how to get into the pose and why it is beneficial to you. Step-by-step color photographs of each pose give an idea of what you are eventually aiming for (remember, the models in the book have been practicing yoga for years).
Through bringing together body, mind and spirit, we are shown how to relax and let our tensions dissolve. Photos and text illustrate the techniques of proper breathing, meditation and Savasana, or the relaxing Corpse pose. Beginner to advanced routines round out the book. There are also short programs for people who want to target specific problem areas of the body, such as stiff hips and backaches.
According to statistics, over 19% of US yoga practitioners are over 50, so come on, join the fun!
If you’re looking to take a road trip this summer but you don’t have the gas money, this is the book for you! A. Lee Martinez’s Helen & Troy’s Epic Road Quest follows two teenagers on a cross-country road trip with mythical pit stops.
While working together at a fast food restaurant called Magic Burger, Helen and Troy are forced into a quest that requires them to travel together in search of special relics in order to help an outcast god. Along the way, they stumble into magical tourist traps and outrace an angry group of ‘orks’. Sound farfetched? It’s not. The tourist traps are trying to survive in these hard economic times like any other business. The orks work as accountants to make ends meet when they aren’t called upon by the gods to do their dirty work. The government agency, the National Questing Bureau, offers just enough vague advice to be frustrating.
Will Helen and Troy find all the magic relics they need to save their lives? Will the outcast god be satisfied? Will Helen and Troy survive their quest without destroying half the country?
You do not need a love or knowledge of mythology to enjoy this. The mythology adds a fun twist to life as we know it. This is a fun read that’s perfect for an afternoon in a hammock or at the beach. It
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Ottawa Hills Branch
Originally published as Ten Little Indians, And Then There Were None invites ten complete strangers to a weekend getaway on a fictitious island outside of Devon, England. The host of the weekend is a millionaire who is nowhere to be found. Each guest was invited by the host under a different name.
Sounds like a classic mystery novel from Christie. Wait. It gets much better.
While most murder mysteries feature one crime, And Then There Were None tells the story of murder and mayhem over an entire weekend. The story is set to the tone of a nursery rhyme called Ten Little Indians. In the rhyme each little Indian meets a horrible fate. It’s no coincidence that there are only ten house guests.
Agatha Christie was no doubt the Queen of Crime when it came to the modern murder mystery. Her narrative style is enough to hold the reader by itself. Each of the ten characters is completely developed and faces their own demons as the weekend continues. Wicked pasts cannot be hidden. The rhyme ends with, “One little Indian left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”
Take a look at And Then There Were None to find out who survives the weekend.
By Amanda Bridle, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
An initial glance at the cover of Jennifer Haigh’s novel The Condition might lead you to believe the book tells the story of Gwen McKotch, a woman diagnosed with Turner’s syndrome. However, the “condition” of the title is so much more than Gwen’s genetic condition. The book instead explores the conditions each member of the McKotch family finds themselves in as they struggle with the complexities of family relationships.
Haigh dives deep into the minds of each character, first setting the scene in 1976 when Gwen is diagnosed and then fast forwarding us ahead twenty years to the state of each of the three siblings, now adults, and their parents, now divorced. The characters each reflect on the current state of their lives. Through dramatic circumstances they are forced to confront the unsettling realization that their lives, even their very own selves, are not what they wanted or expected. The real story begins as each decides what, if anything, to do about his or her own “condition”.
If you enjoy family dramas and books full of introspection and internal debate, you will appreciate getting to know the McKotch family. My heart ached for each of them as the story unfolded. I wished for each of them to find their own happiness, both as individuals and as a family. Don’t miss your chance to meet and love this family and cheer them on as they discover their own happy ending.
By Will Miner, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
In the waning months of the Second World War, the city of Budapest was placed under siege for 108 days. Krisztian Ungvary utilizes previously unavailable records and interviews to illustrate, from military and civilian perspectives, the misery and drama that ultimately cost 180,000 soldiers and civilians their lives.
Great detail has gone into a sparsely documented chapter of the war. Ungvary quickly describes the events leading up to the siege, followed by a detailed account of the battles throughout the city, the politics and intrigue of the German and Hungarian defenders, their Soviet and Romanian opponents, and the city’s populace caught in the middle. He remains remarkably objective throughout and documents the atrocities committed by the Nazis, Hungarian fascists, and Soviets in equal detail and remains focused on describing the drama of events.
Ungvary’s work is not without criticism, however. The detail becomes dense at times; particularly when describing the battles that rage through various neighborhoods of the city. This may have been helped by the use of maps but the maps provided are small and often unreadable. Also, the story is told primarily from the Hungarian perspective and it would have been better balanced with accounts from the Soviet side.
In the end, this is an excellent story that describes the bitter disrespect war has for the human condition. It captures the suffering and ultimate survival of the people of Budapest masterfully and illustrates how the strength of a people’s spirit can overcome the horrors and challenges of war.
Detroit poet and activist M.L. Liebler has compiled a collection of writing on working by, about, and for the working-class. The 563-page volume features fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir and song lyrics that chronicle the lives and times of workers over the last 100 years.
Ben Hamper states in the foreword “poets, rock stars, filmmakers, activists, novelists and historians lend their voices to this landmark collection about the daily grind.” Eminent American literary figures include Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Willa Cather among others. Activists include Woody Guthrie, Dorothy Day and Daniel Berrigan. There are 24 Michigan writers featured in the collection including Anne-Marie Oomen, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Michael Moore, Lolita Hernandez and Dudley Randall.
A teacher at Wayne State University, Liebler was inspired in part by his own working-class upbringing as well as classroom necessity. Instead of photocopying pages and pages for his Labor Studies class, he has gathered a rich compendium of Working Words in a single volume.
As Michael Moore has stated, “M.L. Liebler is the poet laureate of America’s working class. The collection he has assembled rings out with truth, intensity and love.”
By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
“Fourteen years ago, I was stabbed in the throat. This is kind of a long story and less interesting than it sounds…”
Ack! Quite an opening…
So, the author’s humor can be a bit dark at times as he illustrates a wide selection of intriguing people, unusual situations, and their moral ambiguities. Cartoons compliment the essays, adding unusual layers. The tone is deeply funny, but in a compassionate way, as he tears into the foibles of human nature. Oddly, with each chapter I felt I liked people more — that in life it isn’t so much “how could this happen?”, but as he wonders, “why doesn’t this happen all the time?”
Like the NASA astronaut who drove cross-country in a diaper to confront and dispatch her rival. Initially, the author’s “unhealthy empathy” for her, seems farfetched. But as he leads us along, revealing more and more similarities to our own lives, we’re willing to agree that in some way, “We’ve all worn the diaper.”
Kreider says, “turning pain into laughter is my job, and it’s the best you can do sometimes, but it’s a sad impotent sort of solace…”. He does more though, in these thoughtful essays, by revealing the thinness of the line between us and them.
It could be the Mennonite upbringing, but for a man who tries for a secular outlook, he seems grounded in “family values”. Proustian themes of time, community, and family, are the backbone of his writing, and the question of how can we truly “know” anyone, even ourselves.
It’s a cliche story often told — 15-year-old blues guitar prodigy’s debut goes platinum — but it has been 20-or-so years since Jonny Lang first invaded headphones and loudspeakers with the album Wander This World and its earworm single by the same name.
Now, at age 36 and with his latest of six studio releases on the streets, 2017’s Signs, Lang is, as Muddy Waters once sang, “a man, I’m a full-grown man, I’m a man, I’m a rollin’ stone.”
Jonny Lang will be rollin’ into Grand Rapids to play 20 Monroe Live on Friday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available.
“I got married, had kids, and that arc has been recorded on albums along the way,” Lang describes his life and music, in supplied material. “There is a lot of personal history in there, and also some things that relate to world events.”
With Signs, he says, he is not merely returning to his guitar-based beginnings, but an embodiment of an even more elemental sound. Beyond focusing attention on his soloing prowess, it is about recapturing the spirit of the early blues, where the guitar was front and center, “leaping out of the speakers,” he says.
“A lot of my earlier influences have been coming to the surface, like Robert Johnson, and Howlin’ Wolf,” Lang said in supplied material. “I have been appreciating how raw and unrefined that stuff is. I had an itch to emulate some of that and I think it shows in the songs. Still, I let the writing be what it was and that was sometimes not necessarily the blues. … Some of the songs are autobiographical, but not usually in a literal way.”
Now a year into his living with taking Signs onto the road, some of the songs have made their way into his set lists, most notably “Signs” and “Bring Me Home”, but a scan of his latest concerts on setlist.fm show he looks backwards, forwards and sideways on a nightly basis.
Lang also reportedly breaks out the slide guitar for “Signs” — maybe my favorite single instrument — and blurs a personal story with the strange, strange events of today’s America and world.
“I try to disregard politics as much as I can, but it seems like every day when you wake up there is something else crazy going on — not normal crazy, but more like movie script crazy,” he said in supplied material.
20 Monroe Live is located at 11 Ottawa Avenue NW, in downtown Grand Rapids. Tickets range from $35-$60 and can be purchased at livenation.com .
By Diana Wenger, Grand Rapids Public Library, West Leonard Branch
Have you been hanging on to that old window because you know it can be used to create something special, or the few pieces of tile left over from your last home improvement project “just in case”? Then this is the book for you. This Old House Salvage-Style Projects by Amy Hughes, editor of the magazine This Old House provides some wonderful ideas and projects to keep you busy for seasons to come. Projects range from re-purposing a medicine cabinet to making a headboard out of an old door. Great photographs illustrate the step-by-step directions.
The 22 ideas for using old house parts have the potential for keeping you occupied for many hours. Ideas include using old metal door handles to create a coat rack, making a stained glass window into a door for a wall cabinet, and creating a picture frame out of a salvaged wood window. These projects show you how to create new functional pieces for your house. Each project includes a list of resources needed to complete the project.
If you’re ready to re-purpose some of the items you have been holding on to or just like to recycle what you find, this book offers ideas to get you started on salvage-style projects that you can use in and around your house. Included in the book are tips for installing your own vintage house parts, tips for finding pieces to re-purpose at salvage yards and reuse centers, and what you need to set your own workshop.
“The Kids”, an American indie folk duo consisting of Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, are from California, have been performing since 2011 and are what one reviewer called “absolute geniuses in close-harmony.” (Supplied)
When St. Cecilia Music Center announced last week the addition of The Milk Carton Kids to its 2018-19 folk series concert lineup, I remembered the duo’s brief appearance on the concert film “Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis” but, embarrassingly, realized I knew practically nothing about the duo.
Then, in researching the group’s latest release — All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do, which came out June 29— I found out the new music was produced by Joe Henry.
That was all I needed to know.
The Milk Carton Kids will appear as part of St. Cecilia’s impressive and not-done-yet Acoustic Café Folk Series on Feb. 28, 2019.
“The Kids”, an American indie folk duo consisting of Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, are from California, have been performing since 2011 and are what one reviewer called “absolute geniuses in close-harmony.”
Nominated in 2015 for a Grammy for Best American Roots Performance, Best Folk Album of the year in 2013, and winner of The Americana Music Association for Best Duo/Group of the year in 2014, the Kids have just started touring in support of All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do.
“Musically we knew we were going to make the record with a bigger sonic palette,” Ryan said in supplied material. “It was liberating to know we didn’t have to be able to carry every song with just our two guitars.”
And if you want to change our sonic palette, whether your a musician or a listener, there may be no better producer than Henry — in the last 10 years he has worked with the likes of the Madonna, Rosanne Cash, the Carolina Chocolate Drops (Rhiannon Giddens one-time band), Over the Rhine, Bonnie Raitt and Billy Bragg (one-time with Wilco); to just scratch the surface.
And Henry’s own musical work is not shabby either, as evidenced by last year’s Thrum. (Although my favorite is 1999’s Fuse.)
But we were talking about the Milk Carton Kids …
The Kids have proven in-demand collaborators, including musical partnerships with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Dar Williams, and Chris Hillman, as well as teaming with T-Bone Burnett and the Coen Brothers for the acclaimed concert documentary “Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis” — the concert documentary derived from the final Coen Brothers film “Insider Llewyn Davis”. In 2016, the band joined forces with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and Robert Plant for the sold out Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour.
The new project marks the first time that the acoustic duo, Ryan and Pattengale, have brought a band into the studio with them.
“We wanted to do something new,” Pattengale said in supplied material. “We had been going around the country yet another time to do the duo show, going to the places we’d been before. There arose some sort of need for change.”
The Kids’ trademark two-part harmonies “ride acoustic guitars high above the haunting landscape created by the presence of the band, as if Americana went searching for a lost America,” according to supplied material.
Produced by Henry, All the Things … was recorded in October 2017 in the Sun Room at House of Blues Studio in Nashville. Musicians who joined them there included Brittany Haas on violin and mandolin, Paul Kowert and Dennis Crouch on bass, Jay Bellerose on drums, Levon Henry on clarinet and saxophone, Nat Smith on cello, Pat Sansone on piano, mellotron, and Hammond organ, Russ Pahl on pedal steel and other guitars and Lindsay Lou and Logan Ledger as additional singers.
“By extending that language to a band and reimagining the boundaries around what acoustic-centered two-part harmony can sound like, All The Things That I Did and All The Things That I Didn’t Do carries listeners down a river and out into the open sea,” Pattengale said.
Can’t wait to catch up with the Kids, but, must admit, that title sounds like a line from one of Henry’s trademark unfathomable songs.
The new announcement of The Milk Carton Kids brings the St. Cecilia folk series to four concerts, with more to be announced: Pokey LaFarge on Oct. 4, The Lone Bellow on Nov. 29, and Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn Feb. 9, 2019.
Tickets for The Milk Carton Kids are $40 and $45. All tickets can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org.
By Lisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Winner of the 2012 National Book Award, Erdrich’s novel works as a mystery, a thriller, and a psychological study.
Out in North Dakota in the ’80s, a terrible crime has been committed against the wife of a tribal judge, but she is either unable or unwilling to name her attacker. The husband and her only child are determined to obtain justice, but are blocked at every turn by arcane jurisdictional issues involving non-Indians committing crimes on tribal lands.
Unlike much of Erdrich’s earlier, postmodern works, combining anachronistic events and multiple perspectives, this follows a linear path with a single narrator. Joe is a man now, and has followed his father’s path into law; and he is looking back, telling the story as it was seen and felt by him when he was just 13. Joe is one of Erdrich’s most engaging protagonists; striking that unusual chord — the sound of a character coming to life.
The author flawlessly weaves the threads of the reservation community into her plot, as many locals provide a crucial piece of the puzzle. I chose the library’s audio version, and the excellent reader, combined with Erdrich’s prose, make for an unforgettable read. I felt like I was listening to a Shakespearean play– beautiful language, lingering images, and hilarious bawdy humor interspersed throughout, (most coming from the geriatric relatives).
The loss of innocence is a universal theme, suffered by all, and Erdrich brings a new poignancy to these wounds. Her books always involve the clash of nations, the loss of connections, the devastation of a people’s culture, and the whirlwind that follows. Against these epic traumas, Erdrich brings out her people’s love of family, their strength, and the power to endure.
Those who like Amy Tan may love Erdrich, and The Round House offers a wealth of discussion points for book clubs.
By Drew Damon, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Dave Eggers offers us a very interesting new take on the Dystopia genre with his most recent novel, The Circle. The plot follows Mae Holland, a recently hired employee of the world’s most powerful internet company, The Circle (think Google and fFacebook combined), and their desire to create a more honest and just society. Mae’s experience at the company grows very complicated when the company’s innovations become more intrusive, and mantras such as “Secrets are Lies – Sharing is Caring – Privacy is Theft,” begin to be taken more seriously.
What I enjoyed most about the book, was that I had a very difficult time figuring out if the choices being made by the Circle were beneficial or detrimental to humanity. The entire book revolves around the tension between social justice and human rights, and whether constant access to anyone’s life would be worth it if everyone also had access to yours.
Unfortunately, the book felt like it was written in a bit of a rush, and I can see why some fans of Eggers are disappointed. However, the ideas and concepts he engages with still made it a very compelling read, and I for one couldn’t put it down. He also references Grand Rapids on page 411!
I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the future impact of the internet.
ByLisa Boss, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
A coincidence? I think not. In March, before spring begins in Michigan, I was out admiring some Hen & Chicks succulents out in the rock garden, that I’d only planted last year, delighted with their liveliness when everything else was still asleep.
Then I opened Planthropology later that day, and the book fell open to page 172, where the author discusses Sempervivum (Semper = “always”, vivum = “live”), thus in Latin, “live forever” plant. Yay! The perfect plant for me, who like the reptilian mother, loves to give birth (or plant) all kinds of trees and perennials, only to then walk away and completely forget about them.
Wherever you happen to open this gorgeous book there is something surprising and interesting to read. It’s full of natural history, design, philosophy, myth, and of course plain old growing tips. Reading about Skunk Cabbage alone involves Thoreau, physics, history. It’s one of those odd little facts that Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is able to metabolize starch to raise the interior temperature of the spathe up to 70 F., which is why you often see a little melted snow patch around them. Well, who knew? This is just a great book, whether or not you plan on taking shovel in hand this year.
And in case you are going to look up the name (as I did)– “Planthropology” is a name that the author made up to reflect a combination of “anthropology” and “plants”. Or, in the author’s own words:
Planthropology= plăn’thrə-pŏl’ə-jē, The study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of plants.
Ken explains further:
“I invented the word Planthropology to tell the stories about the plants we appreciate and even those that people take for granted. I felt that I needed to communicate to both gardeners and non-gardeners just how remarkable plants are. Every plant has a story to tell, and they are often sensational. Stories about plants that were once worth their weight in gold; others that are potential cancer cures; some that were thought to be extinct; and a few plants that gave rise to wars.”
By Michelle Hannink, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
This New York Times bestseller is not another fad diet book. Roizen and Oz use simple language, humor and comical diagrams to help the reader understand the chemical and hormonal biology of food and fat metabolism within the human body. The authors present the “You Plan,” a diet and healthy lifestyle with recipes, and the “You Activity Plan,” an exercise regimen.
The human body has amazing and intricate systems for the processes of hunger, food consumption and satiety. The authors use a competitive sports metaphor for the eating/hunger signals as the offense and the satiety/satisfaction signals as defense. They explain the interaction of the brain, stomach, hormones, muscles, heart, genetics and daily stresses together to influence the waist and body size. The waist size has become more significant to medical practitioners than weight as an indicator of health risks associated with poor diet and lack of exercise.
A particularly interesting chapter explains the relationship of feelings and food. The authors explain the chemical relationship of emotions and stress on the brain chemistry of appetite and eating responses.
Little boxes of illustrations and facts give sideline explanations. Throughout the book, the reader will find practical tips and tidbits to help establish healthy eating habits. For example, eating a cup of soup or handful of nuts shortly before a meal will help appease the appetite and prevent overeating.
The book continues with the “You Turn” chapter, the presentation and encouragement towards a new lifestyle. It is all about gaining knowledge, changing your behaviors regarding eating and health, and gaining a permanent healthy lifestyle. The reader will continue on to the “You Activity Plan,” the 20-minute physical exercise program which does not require a gym membership or expensive equipment. The book is complete with the “You Diet,” the waist management eating plan and recipes.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
Lucinda and Jessie Ryder have always been close. The only two daughters of a golf tour pro, they find themselves living a life of constant upheaval. They go to new schools, conquer new stepfathers, and raise each other to become beautiful young women.
Lucinda, called Luz, finds a release from her frantic life in the form of photography and she shares her new love with her younger sister Jessie. But when Jessie’s life takes a turn after meeting a handsome law student, Luz steps up to be what their mother has not ever been: a parent.
Jessie’s fling ends with her pregnant and alone. She makes the decision to give up her child to her older sister and then flees Texas. Jessie follows her lover/professor around the world to photograph the most beautiful places on earth for sixteen years. Until a doctor’s diagnosis sidelines her hopes of a further career. She suddenly yearns to return home to see her sister Luz and the daughter they share. Lila has only ever known Jessie as her eccentric aunt who does anything she wants.
From the beginning, Jessie’s ways cause tension in her sister’s family. As Jessie meets and begins to fall in love with Luz’s neighbor, she sees that her two largest secrets could tear her family apart. One secret is not hers alone and traps her sister and brother-in-law in a veil of lies. One man only knows the other secret, her former professor, so that she can live her life on her terms rather than allow Luz to swallow her up.
By Karen Heeringa, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
Rob Gordon is a music lover in London who has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He’s relieved, but miserable at the same time. As his usual way to cope with anything, he and his two socially inept co-workers spend their time making ‘Top 5’ lists of movies, music and books that they love while working at a record store no one visits. Rob, of course, makes a list of his all time biggest break ups, which leaves him in the same state as when he was first dumped. He learns to look at things differently in life, while learning he can’t change the past, and ultimately things seem to work out for him.
Throughout the book, Rob discusses heartache, hardship, lost love, and even songs he wants played at his funeral. He looks back at when he used to DJ at a club (where he found Laura, the woman who just broke up with him), and where his life has led him since.
Born in 1947, in the vanguard of the “Boomer” generation, Barry’s journalistic work has long provided a humorous slant to that demographic lump in the American loaf. As he’s gotten older it’s worthwhile reading to see what Barry makes of how the overly self-absorbed generation has come to terms with its time on the field.
The chapter that resonated with me the most was the one where he is looking back on three generations, with a fourth one just coming onstage, and decides that his parents had more fun than he did.
“That’s not how it was supposed to be. My parents belonged to the Greatest Generation; they grew up in hard times. My mom was born in Colorado in an actual sod hut, which is the kind of structure you see in old black-and-white photographs featuring poor, gaunt, prairie-dwelling people standing in front of what is either a small house or a large cow pie…”
Dave speculates that the Greatest Generation may have triumphed by not realizing all the mistakes they were making — mistakes that the Boomers rectified by turning “parenting” into a verb, among other things. The laughter has a poignant bite to it, as Barry admits that “The harsh truth is that happiness is an elusive thing.”
But that does not slow the author down, as he travels to Brazil with his daughter for the World Cup, and goes to Russia with Ridley Pearson for a literature tour (the State Department tapped them to go). He meets David Beckham, tries Google Glass, and reveals a stunning secret confided to him by Johnny Carson about do-it-yourself home improvements. Great stuff!
Going back to a Dave Barry book was like meeting an old friend for lunch — you realize how much you’ve missed them, and wonder where the time went.
If you enjoy going to the Fulton Street Farmer’s Market, stopping at roadside vegetable stands, and “eating local” at restaurants, this is the book for you. Written by Jaye Beeler, former food editor and restaurant reviewer for The Grand Rapids Press, who aims to eat locally shares her favorite Michigan foods with us in this mouth-watering book. The stunning photographs are by Dianne Carroll Burdick, a veteran local photographer, whose work has appeared in six books and over fifty art exhibitions.
Jaye and Dianne’s year-long journey took them all over the state, driving 2,500 miles and taking 8,000 photographs. Michigan is the second-most agriculturally diverse state in the country. Jaye and Dianne visited small family farms growing everything from asparagus to zucchini. They sought out orchards that produce peaches, cherries and antique apples. They stopped by fisheries, meat markets, bakeries and restaurants. They tasted fresh milk, goat cheese and ice cream from dairies.
Some of my personal favorites in the book are the thimbleberry jam from the Jampot in Eagle Harbor, the Raclette from Leelanau Cheese in Suttons Bay, and smoked whitefish from John Cross Fisheries in Charlevoix. There are 26 pages of delicious recipes — don’t miss Zingerman’s Roadhouse macaroni and cheese, Christmas Cove’s apple pie and Rob Burdick’s roasted squash. This book is a perfect companion for any Michigan roadtrip.
So buckle your seat belt and loosen a notch in your belt and savor our state’s fine homegrown food.
Listeners who know Kaleo know the band is much more than simply “Way Down We Go”; but others know the band mostly via the 2016 single played almost to the point of no return on alt/pop satellite and terrestrial radio stations.
Either way, the haunting, infectious tune — anchored by lead singer JJ Julius Son’s mesmerizing bluesy voice —was undeniably a hit tune that announced the presence of a new band with maybe unlimited potential.
Both casual and dedicated fans of Kaleo will get a chance to see and hear the group’s range when the band hits the stage of 20 Monroe Live Sunday, July 1.
Kaleo comes to Grand Rapids from Iceland via either Austin, Texas, or Los Angeles —depending on where you hear/read the band now makes its home — after coming to America to seek a wider audience if not rockstar fame and fortune.
“It has obviously been a big change coming from a small country of 300 thousand people in Iceland to the USA with over 300 million people,” Julius Son (actual, but probably always mispronounced, name: Jökull Júlíusson ), says on the band’s official website. “We’ve learned a lot, and we are more experienced now than when we first came. Overall it’s been a great adventure.”
That great adventure — for lead singer and guitarist Julius Son as well as drummer David Antonsson, bassist Daniel Kristjansson and lead guitarist Rubin Pollock — includes the well-received, Nashville-recorded, 2016 release A/B, which included “Way Down We Go”; the first single off the LP and clearly country influenced “All the Pretty Girls”; as well as the Grammy nominated rocker “No Good”.
The concept behind A/B comes from Julius Son’s love of the split sides of vinyl records and their ability to showcase an artist’s different sides, according to the band’s website.
“I write very different songs that many would like to label into different genres,” he says. “The idea of A/B is to show the diversity and the two sides of the band.”
The “A” side is more rock ’n’ roll and blues, with “No Good”, “Way Down We Go” and “Hot Blood”. The “B” side, in contrast, is more mellow ballads including “All the Pretty Girls”, “I Can’t Go On Without You” and proof that the band is not hiding from their Icelandic home, “Vor I Vaglaskogi” (“Spring in Vaglaskogur”, I read), and the name of a forest in the north of Iceland.
While “Vor I Vaglaskogi” is a traditional Icelandic love song, and the only one sung in the band’s native language. However, looking for too many personal connections to Julius Son’s life is probably not productive.
“I prefer to let the listener decide what each song means to them instead of me telling my own personal connection,” he said on his website. “Some of the songs are very personal for me, though — some more than others. But it seems that different people connect to songs in a different way, often based on personal experiences or things that you are going through at that time.”
A/B was primarily produced and recorded in Nashville with producer Jacquire King, who has worked with artists as varied as Tom Waits, Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Buddy Guy, James Bay, and (fellow Icelanders) Of Monsters and Men.
20 Monroe Live is located at 11 Ottawa Avenue NW, in downtown Grand Rapids. Tickets are $49.50 and can be purchased at livenation.com .
By Sarah Bruursema, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main
Some of the most amazing books can be enjoyed by all ages. The release of director Spike Jonze’s adaptation of the beloved children’s book Where the Wild Things Are offers an opportunity to revisit why both adults and kids alike are so captivated by this classic read. No matter if it’s your first time entering Max’s world, introducing the story to a child, or reading the book for the third, twelfth, twentieth time… mischief will certainly ensue!
From the very beginning we get to know the playful, misbehaving main character Max as he is sent to his room without dinner. While sulking in his bedroom wearing his infamous wolf suit we are lead into Max’s imaginary land full of Wild Things and adventure. The brave young boy rules over his new world, displaying his recently acquired magic skills, and creating all sorts of wild rumpus. The wonderful quality this book contains is that the story can morph into something new for each reader.
The detailed illustrations make this a book that can be enjoyed by all. The carefully crafted, minimalist storyline is transformed by the images of giant, yellow eyed creatures that manage to create a scary excitement without crossing the line into real fear. You may even find that each page turned just makes them more endearing.
In the end, no matter how you experience the story the resounding call for home gets whispered into each reader’s ear. Although we may all want to crawl into an imaginary land, there’s nothing quite like coming back to a place we love.
By Jean Sanders, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main
I find myself continually drawn to fiction by Asian writers such as Julie Otsuka and Anchee Min. Their books give me the opportunity to experience life through the eyes of someone from another culture and at the same time savor the details I learn about life in Japan or China. It is for these reasons that I recommend The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.
The book, which was first published in Japan in 2003, won a prestigious award in 2004, and was adapted to film in 2006, centers around the housekeeper, the math professor she cares for and her son “Root” who is so nicknamed by the professor because the shape of his head and hair remind the professor of the square-root sign. She is a single mother who has never been married, has always been a housekeeper and finds herself assigned to a new client who has already fired nine housekeepers. She soon learns that the professor has an unusual disability that was the result of a long ago car accident—his short-term memory only last 80 minutes.
Through the book the reader sees a friendship and relationship grow among the woman who must re-introduce herself each day (sometimes several times a day), a man who must pin notes to his suit to remind himself of the things he would otherwise forget, and the boy who shares a common love of baseball with the professor.
Nothing very dramatic happens in this story—there is little conflict. Instead we learn and come to care about these characters by observing their lives. While the housekeeper prepares meals the professor works on math puzzles in his study or shares his wonder and enthusiasm for numbers with the housekeeper. After school Root comes to the cottage and does his homework and talks about baseball with the professor. Together they work to find unique ways to adapt to the professor’s disability.
Everything about this novel is so deceptively simple but the end result is a story that is deeply touching. This is one of those books that quietly seeps into your being and leaves you with a feeling of peace and serenity.
Alison Krauss with Union Station and the Cox siblings, with Steve Delopoulos opening, June 17, at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Mi.
I will admit up front that I’m not much of a “classic country” kind of guy; nothing personal, just not much for a lot of Appalachian hymnals and broken-hearted love affairs.
Alison Krauss, with Union Station. (Supplied)
Actually, I made a Meijer Gardens concert series date with Alison Krauss on Sunday night primarily on the expectation of hearing a couple songs from her stunning, now 10-year-old, pairing with ex-Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant on the T-Bone Burnett produced Raising Sand, one of my favorite albums in recent years.
And while my expectations were met — with her offering fine versions of Raising Sand’s “Let Your Loss be Your Lesson” and “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us” as part of her 23-song, 95-minute set — Krauss’ mostly mellow mixture of country comfort and country sass was perfect for hot, steamy Michigan summer evening.
With the sterling vocal assistance of siblings Sidney and Suzanne Cox, Sidney’s excellent work on the dobro, and the tight accompaniment of the core of Krauss’ long-time band Union Station, the sell-out crowd clearly enjoyed a night of … you guessed it … Appalachian hymnals and songs of broken-hearted love affairs.
Krauss’ voice, one of the most unique in all music, not just country music, was sonically sweet, her violin work was fine in ensemble and, when she felt so inclined, very strong in the lead, as she relied mostly on songs from her 2017 release Windy City and her last release of originals with Union Station, 2011’s Paper Airplane.
My favorites of the night were unique covers of Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”, Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on my Mind” (actually written by John Hartford), and, as part of her 3-song encore, Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing at All.” Ya, I know: all classic country. But, hey, good is good.
I guess the biggest compliment I can give Krauss is that her songs from Raising Sand will simply be pleasant afterthoughts.
May I have more, please?
One of the best things about well-known performers breezing through Meijer Gardens is the sometimes unknown performers they bring as opening acts. In the case of Ms. Krauss: Steven Delopoulos — a New Jersey singer/songwriter who took the stage with only his acoustic guitar, his pleasingly sparse vocal range and often raw, occasionally nonsensical, song lyrics.
Steven Delopoulos
Almost from the moment he took the stage during an 8-song, 40-minute set, I saw Delopoulos as the physical and musical reincarnation of one of my favorite 1970s singer/songwriters, Harry Chapin. (If your old enough, remember “Taxi” and “Cats in the Cradle”?) I liked that a lot.
I loved it, however, when, either responding to a request from the crowd or pulling it out of his regular set list, Delopoulos offered up a stripped-down version of fellow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”.
Marched right down after the set and put down some cold, hard cash for the singer’s Straight Jacket LP. I figure Jersey Steve will go perfectly with a hit of Jamison Irish whisky on a soon-to-come cool fall night.
Also, a quick glance at the ongoing Meijer Gardens concert list, and concerts with originally-priced tickets still available, finds 10 of the remaining 23 shows have not yet sold out, including Seal this week, June 20, as well as three I’m looking forward to: Joe Jackson on July 20, Lyle Lovett on Aug. 27, and +Live+ to close the season on Sept. 3.
By Amisha Harijan, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch
The $12 vintage lace tablecloth was a must-have. But you questioned the bargain once you got it home and noticed discoloration along the edges. What now? Don’t panic. Jenny Wilding Cardon offers smart and fun ways to remake great finds (and the not so great) into head-turning pieces in her book ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs.
The pages are filled with detailed instructions accompanied by color pencil drawings, there are also color photos of before and after transformations give glimpses of Cardon’s inspirations. For example she re-purposes men’s and women’s shirts to create the Diner Dress, “reminiscent of those worn by diner waitresses.” There are plenty “re-tips” to get you started and keep you going.
This book is perfect for novice and experienced sewers, and those searching for fun projects to work on with children and teens. ReSew will have you rethinking what to do with an old fitted sheet, sweatshirts that your teenagers have outgrown, or a creative solution to a certain vintage lace tablecloth.
Upon opening this book, I expected to find the typical chapters challenging the reader to identify personal shortcomings when it comes to diet, how to foster changes in behavior, and a slew of recipes containing specialty ingredients that are impossible to find in most grocery stores. There are a few recipes and the occasional multiple-choice test, but somehow it seemed to be less abrasive than other books I’ve read that promote this type of self-improvement.
What I actually found was a fairly practical approach to achieving balance in daily life. According to this book, like others of its kind, if you change your lifestyle good things will happen. While this is pretty much common sense, Dr. Cooper offers suggestions and explanations for changes that take the reader into consideration with his overall theme appearing to be based upon reaching a balanced state in daily life. He makes several recommendations in each chapter which are centered on research and practicality with an emphasis on improving the reader’s overall outlook and attitude toward life.
Instead of feeling like a failure before I began, High Energy Living offered me enough incentive to actually read beyond the first chapter and consider taking some of the recommendations to heart. I also had most of the ingredients for the recipes already in my cupboard… including those found in the recipe for Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Biscotti.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
Mary Boleyn, brought to court at fourteen, soon catches the eye of the lecherous Henry VIII. She begins a dashing affair with England’s king and begins to love her role as the unofficial queen. After the birth of two children, Mary begins to see her family for what they really are.
Her own uncle begins pushing Mary’s own sister Anne at the king. Soon, Mary is forced to step aside as her best friend and worst rival begins an affair with Henry. The world knows the story of Anne Boleyn—a young girl who twists a marriage out of King Henry VIII. But many do not know how she got there.
Mary is forced to find a life for herself and her illegitimate children while her uncle demands her support in bettering Anne’s position at court. She is present for all of Anne’s triumphs: Henry’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon, her marriage to the king, and the birth of Elizabeth. She is also present for the disasters: Anne’s miscarriage of a prince, her brother George’s arrest for treason and Anne’s execution.
Sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning between the Boleyn girls. Author Philippa Gregory takes the story and fleshes it out. She brings a morality tale to a historical event. This book is a real treat for any history buff.
The Decemberists, with Eleanor Friedberger opening, June 4, at Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, Mi.
About half way through The Decemberists 16-song set Monday night, I had the feeling I had missed the boat on this band — that I just did not get them. By the band’s final encore, the crowd-anticipated and enjoyed “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”, complete with a whale balloon swimming above the sold-out audience, I was all in and on board.
I should have signed up a little earlier, probably. I mean, if Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss (who, either her or her clone, was sitting directly behind my wife and I) had already kicked off her shoes and was sippin’ dark beer while she was rockin’ out, I had to believe I was missing something here.
The Decemberists is songwriter/lead vocalist/guitarist Colin Meloy, guitarist Chris Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query, and drummer John Moen. (Supplied photo by Holly Andres)
Immersed in the often mesmerizing, but sometimes a little slow, early part of the band’s set — a situation possibly, partly explained by Decemberists front man Colin Meloy’s warning that his voice was fragile and the “special” set would include “more love songs” — the tone of the evening changed mid-way with rousing, rocky renditions of “Sucker’s Prayer” and “Starwatcher”, both off the band’s just released I’ll Be Your Girl.
Then, The Decemberists slid into a surprisingly good version of the band’s current hit, “Severed” — surprising because the studio/radio version is so high energy, so techno/synth driven, and such songs often don’t quite translate to stage.
This discussion so far is not to say that the Portland, Oregon-based band’s softer music is not good stuff. In fact, it is probably its ability to shift from rock ’n’ roll into an almost alt-folk mode is apparently part of what keeps its fans loyal.
Two of my favorite songs of the set, truth be told, were “Cutting Stone” from its latest release, and “Grace Cathedral Hill”, from the band’s 2002 debut release: Castaways And Cutouts. Both songs — as does much of the band’s catalogue — offered sly, stylish, sarcastic stories of simple lyrics but enigmatic meaning.
“Whether wild or whether won, though I travel far from home, I will always have my cutting stone.”
And The Decemberists, with their genre-blending musical spectrum, evidently will always have their local fans.
May I have more, please?
Eleanor Friedberger (Supplied)
The crowd at Meijer Garden received a hint that Meloy and his voice were a little “severed” during an opening set by Eleanor Friedberger, who mostly sang with only her own electric guitar backing but was joined by a member of The Decemberists on two songs after announcing that she had been asked to extend her set that night.
And the union with Decemberist multi-instrumentalist Jenny Conlee, on accordion and on a stripped down, exquisite version of Procol Harum’s now 50-year-old “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was, to me and with all due respect to the music from ex-Fiery Furnaces lead singer’s new Rebound release, the most memorable song of her set.
Also, a quick glance at the Meijer Gardens concert list, and concerts with originally-priced tickets still available, finds 11 shows have not yet sold out including Brandi Carlile — whose new single “The Joke” is on everybody’s song of the year short list — on June 13, Seal on June 20, Herbie Hancock on June 27 and Blondie on June 29.
This is a big, long book! But the author is so skillful and the subject so interesting that I was sad when page 754 brought Team of Rivals to an end. Author Goodwin has brought together the lives and careers of Lincoln and his three major Republican rivals William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase and Edward Bates in a highly original work, one that added a whole new dimension to my understanding and appreciation of our 16th President.
Nominated only because he was the most acceptable second choice of various party factions, Lincoln went on to win the presidential election and then took a most unusual step. He invited his former adversaries to be his advisors and brought the three Republican contenders plus three high profile Democrats into his Cabinet. Together this “Team of Rivals” would face the greatest crisis in America’s history. Every member of his administration was more well-known and more experienced in public life than the prairie lawyer from Illinois, yet Lincoln was somehow able to lead this diverse group of ambitious men to save the Union and restore the peace. How did he do it? That’s where his “political genius” came in to play.
At first, many of his rivals held Lincoln in low esteem and their comments behind his back could be scathing. When Lincoln was asked why he had surrounded himself with such a contentious group, he responded that these were the strongest men and the country needed them. The president refused to answer personal attacks and rose above personal slights and maintained a steadfastness of purpose. His skill in combining a dedication to the greater good with a suburb sense of timing enabled Lincoln to harness the talents of these strong men.
What lessons can be learned from Lincoln’s success? Be magnanimous in both victory and defeat. Take almost nothing personally. Keep your sense of humor. Be patient and kind. Put away resentment and forego revenge. Keep checking your moral compass. Speak from your heart and tell the truth.
This is a big, long book but well worth the effort. Goodwin’s research was exhaustive, her writing style engaging, her analysis insightful. Lincoln’s example can inspire us to face the crises of our generation by working together.
By Megan Andres, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch
