Tag Archives: Kristen Krueger-Corrado

On the shelf: ‘Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette’ by Sena Jeter Naslund

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

 

I am new to the world of historical fiction, having assumed that it would be similar to a very dry history course full of esoteric facts and dates. I selected Abundance to read because I was interested in seeing the recent film about Marie Antoinette and thought this might be a good primer. Imagine my surprise when I read the entire book (over 500 pages) in one day, dragging myself away from the engrossing story only to eat dinner or to tell my husband to stop talking to me while I was reading. For days afterwards, I delighted him with interesting facts I had picked up until he begged me to stop.

 

Marie Antoinette gets a bad rap in history textbooks — the frivolous young queen who cares little about her subjects, an attitude that ultimately leads to her demise. But in Abundance, the queen is portrayed in a much more flattering light. The story begins with her marriage to the Dauphin, Louis August, at the age of 14 and chronicles their 22-year marriage, the births of their four children, the fall of their monarchy and their beheadings.

 

Marie Antoinette was a devout Catholic, dedicated to her family and friends, determined to keep her marriage together and lived to serve the people of France. The book is told in the first person, and it is very evident that while Marie Antoinette had good intentions, she could not even begin to understand the plight of her people. And although I knew how the story would end, I was rooting for her to succeed. Abundance is a good read, but not one to lose your head over.

On the shelf: ‘The Dirty Life’ by Kristin Kimball

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

 

You’re a vegetarian journalist living in New York City. You are assigned to write an article about an organic farmer working in Pennsylvania. Within 24 hours of meeting the farmer, you are eating sausage, working the fields, slaughtering a pig and falling in love.

 

Author Kristin Kimball’s life changed when she interviewed that farmer. As their relationship bloomed, so did her understanding and respect for agriculture. Soon, she gave up her career, cute shoes, and NYC apartment and started an organic farm, Essex Farm, with Mark in upstate New York.

 

This memoir chronicles the first year of getting the farm off the ground—from buying plow horses to till the fields, hand milking the cows twice a day and developing a sustainable CSA—all while planning a wedding. Kimball brings to life the daily back-breaking work of running a farm, the cycle of life and death, and how community can support and uplift one another.

 

Her writing is rich and you feel that you are on the farm with her. When I was done with the book, I missed Essex Farm and Kristin and Mark. I wanted to know how their story continued to unfold. This book will make you appreciate what you buy at the farmers market even more.

 

On the shelf: ‘Stiff’ and ‘Spook’ by Mary Roach

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library

 

Eventually, we are all going to die. But what happens to our bodies and our spirits after we pass on? Well, apparently there are a lot more options available than you might have realized. Author Mary Roach explores the subject in her two books, Stiff and Spook.

 

Roach’s first book, Stiff, examines what happens to our bodies after we die. She looks at the traditional embalming and funeral route, but also looks at the alternatives that a person can choose. For example, if you donate your body to science, you could become an anatomy lesson for a medical school student, or you could be involved in other types of research. In one chapter, Roach looks at cadavers that are used in car crash tests. Researchers have found that by using a real body rather than a crash test dummy, they can more accurately see how a person is injured in an accident. This has led to the development of technology that helps save lives.

 

Before reading this book, I would have never considered donating my body to science, but after reading about all the cool things your body can do after your spirit has passed on, (Help real-life CSI investigators solve a case! Get a post-mortem facelift!), I’m all for donation.

 

In her second book Spook, Roach investigates what happens to our souls after we die. She travels to India to talk to a newly reincarnated person; she opens the last existing box of ‘ectoplasm’ used by mediums at the turn of the century; visits a haunted castle in England; and talks to researchers trying to determine the weight of our souls. She attends séances, ghost hunts and even enrolls in medium school.

 

Roach uses a journalistic eye to explore death. She is never disrespectful of the dead or of a person’s beliefs and she presents various aspects of dying and the afterlife with a dead-on combination of irreverent humor and informative respect. Both books are fascinating reads.

On the shelf: ‘The Customer is Always Wrong’ edited by Jeff Martin

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library, Main Branch

 

Ever work a customer service job? Then this book is for you! Twenty-one authors have written short essays about their experience in working in retail. The book starts with a piece from Saugatuck-based writer Wade Rouse, who describes in all-too-painful detail his sales job at Sears. From his lisping manager to bratty kids, his tale makes working in a mall as about as appealing as gum in your hair, and yet it is easy to see ourselves as both the customer and the worker. It is hard to admit, but we’ve all been the ‘bad customer’ every now and then.

 

Other authors talk about working in a video store, restaurant, liquor store. Customer service jobs abound and almost every author references how happy they were to have their career in retail end. Stewart Lewis describes his stint working in a high-end spa and Wendy Spero reminisces about the summer she spent selling knives door-to-door. Some stories are funny, others make you wince and still others make you feel a little melancholy. Yet all the stories remind us that people are behind those counters and they are underpaid, under-appreciated, and take a lot of abuse.

 

This is a great book for everyone who has ever worked a cash register, taken an order, or shelved merchandise. To quote the film Clerks, “I wasn’t even supposed to be here today!”

On the shelf: ‘The Rook’ by Daniel O’Malley

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, Grand Rapids Public Library

 

It is not very often that I finish a book and want to run out and tell the world about it. When I finished The Rook a year ago, I immediately encouraged everyone I knew to read it. I am still talking about this book. It is that good.

The book starts Myfawny (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas waking up in a body that is not her own. In a park. During a rainstorm. Surrounded by dead people wearing rubber gloves. Luckily the former owner of the body left her a letter instructing her on where to go and what to do. Ultimately, Myfawny is given a choice—to start a new life or to continue to live the life of the body’s former owner. Choosing the later, she discovers that she is a high ranking official (a Rook) in the Chequy, a secret government agency that protects Britain from supernatural threats.

O’Malley, a MSU graduate, deftly combines science fiction and humor. Even if science fiction isn’t your thing, read it anyway. The writing moves quickly and the story and characters are completely engaging. By the end of the book, I wanted to call him up and yell at him for not having the next book written. So what are you waiting for? Go read this book.

On the shelf: ‘The Devil in the White City’ by Erik Larson

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By Kristen Krueger-Corrado, GRPL-Main

When I started to read The Devil in the White City, I was surprised to discover that it was a nonfiction book. Larson skillfully alternates between two stories about the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair: the story of the men who built the Fair, and the story of the serial killer who used the Fair to lure young women to their death.

I have always been fascinated with the Chicago World’s Fair, however I found the chapters on its creation to drag a little, and I often found myself skimming them so that I could get back to the fast-paced chapters about H.H. Holmes, the charming serial killer and his evil doings. I understand that the author was using the juxtaposition of the light and dark sides of Fair to create tension, but I found the dark side of the story more compelling.

The Devil in the White City is a fascinating read for history buffs and true crime fans alike. The book brings to life turn-of-the-century Chicago, the growth of a nation, and a frightening tour inside the mind of a killer.