tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7535630264722391052.post3482469862814040872..comments2023-09-01T05:37:52.573-04:00Comments on Richmond Public Library Staff Picks: What Are You Reading?Natalie D Librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019776736869647049noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7535630264722391052.post-12507975384618177222010-11-23T12:28:53.985-05:002010-11-23T12:28:53.985-05:00I just finished reading The League of Frightened M...I just finished reading The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout. So the question is: what will I read next? I've been thinking George R.R. Martin or maybe The School for Fools by Sasha Sokolov.Kirstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04897457795192911795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7535630264722391052.post-71919120162501693232010-11-20T11:21:31.439-05:002010-11-20T11:21:31.439-05:00A friend in Washington loaned me a book I've s...A friend in Washington loaned me a book I've seen out of the corner of my eyes, but have neglected to approach - in part because I considered if merely "about Richmond", and because I can be an intermittent nonfiction snob. (I consider it superior when I try to do it myself and below-the-water-line when I move onto other things.)<br /><br />However, I think every Richmonder who has encountered the insolence of office should consider diving into Southern Lady, Yankee Spy by Elizabeth Varon. As a Yankee myself, I was not surprised to learn (or, rather, observe for the umpteenth time) that social and political views that run contrary to local predjudices can not only change history, but leave people on the wrong side of it high and dry. It has taken a century and a half for prideful Southerners to even consider acknowledging the heroism of their foes. Until recently, the legend of "Crazy Bet" (a nickname that stuck) was given lip service in the press. Ms. Varon's book is a corrective to local perceptions and is well worth the trouble. Anybody who is interested in where we are today would be well to sit with this "crazy lady" and watch her go.<br /><br />Should the book ever be fictionalized, it will need to hew very closely to the events that came out of an increasingly radicalized political consciousness - which is precisely what happened when Elizabeth Van Lew, a well-born Richmond lady, started to think about the conditions that gave some people the opportunity to pursue happiness while shutting others out of that pursuit. Which is to say: slavery was dead wrong and it had to be overthrown. Such moral absolutism is rarely on the side of the angels, as we can see today in all of the brouhaha about denying health care to every citizen; tossing money down the flue of a devouring war machine; discrediting dissenters at every turn. <br /><br />I don't think it's possible to know too much about what a ruthless majority can do to a few people who are trying to make a better life for those who can't agitate for themselves.<br /><br /><br />On a lighter note, I'd recommend Steve Stern's The Frozen Rabbi. If it is possible to be a Jewish Mark Twain, Steve gets the prize.Brett Busanghttp://www.brettbusang.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7535630264722391052.post-48172157650426607332010-11-16T16:18:32.542-05:002010-11-16T16:18:32.542-05:00I'm also reading a few different things at onc...I'm also reading a few different things at once: <br /><br /><i>The Cranford Chronicles</i> by Elizabeth Gaskell--so funny. <br /><br /><i>Phantoms in the Brain</i> by VS Ramachandran<br /><br /><i>The Post-Birthday World</i> by Lionel Shriver<br /><br /><i>Prince Caspian</i> by CS Lewis--I'm reading the Narnia books with a four-year-old I babysit. I thought she might be too young, but she LOVES them.Lydiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390376126287197067noreply@blogger.com