Lethal Legacy written by Linda Fairstein, read by Barbara Rosenblat

I listen to mysteries or adrenaline reads—titles and authors that I probably wouldn’t choose to read while sitting in my living room or in the doctor’s office—while walking or driving. My murderous listens occupy my brain and motivate me with their engaging plots lines to get listening and moving.

Lethal Legacy certainly filled this need for me. The story line follows Alexandra Cooper, NYC Assistant DA, and her detective sidekick, Mike Chapman, as they seek a murderer within the rarified world of rare map collectors and NYC Public Library’s collection of priceless maps.

A lot of plot development in Lethal Legacy takes place within Manhattan’s 42^nd Street Library. I was fascinated to learn there was once a seven room duplex apartment for a staff member’s family in the library and that the library was build on the foundations of the Croton Distributing Reservoir, a large above ground reservoir built during the 19^th century. Fairstein describes the library’s conservators (who care for and mend the oldest and most valuable items in the collection using their very specialized and personalized tools) duties and introduces us to some of the library’s (fictional) curators of maps and rare books.

Fairstein’s plot arcs are not what attract me to her books. It is her in-depth research into NYC’s social and architectural history that fascinates me. One of her books centered in the Museum of National History (The Bone Vault), another used Gracie Mansion as a location (Hell Gate). Last trip to NYC, I enjoyed walking through the Museum of Natural History. Now I can hardly wait to get back to NYC so I can walk through the 42^nd Street Library, locate the old well near Gracie Mansion, and peek at the New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue (not to be confused with the Marble Cemetery on Second St.).

A side note on the narrator: Barbara Rosenblat’s voices are varied and convey the personalities of each character. Her timing is excellent, her reading professional. If you haven’t listened to any of her recorded books, make sure that you give her a try. She has narrated books for Kathy Reichs, Diane Mott Davidson, Elizabeth Peters, Nevada Barr, and Lisa Scottoline, among others. You can find all of her audio work by typing her last name in the catalog’s “Author’s Last Name Begins With” search.

If you love New York, check out some of Fairstein’s novels. I think you’ll be as eager as I am to explore the Big Apple.

Reviewed by Anne Shirako, Reference Librarian, Ukiah Branch, Mendocino County Library, 12/2012

Treasures from the Crypt: An Exaltation of Larks or, the Venereal Game by James Lipton

  I stumbled upon this book while looking though the basement collection of nonfiction. What a delight! A bouquet of three word poems accompanied by 250 beautiful, apt, and sometimes hilarious engravings.

                     

Just to be clear, “venereal” in this context describes collective nouns, rather than sexual activities, and is an adjective the author uses with great teasing pleasure. Some of these terms are familiar to everyone—a litter of puppies, a school of fish, a band of men (think Robin Hood and his merry…).

Many have long histories in our language. In fact, there were 164 venereal terms in The Book of St. Albans, printed in 1486. Seventy of these referred to groups of people—how about “a herd of harlots," a “converting of preachers,” or, “a goring of butchers?” According to Lipton, knowledge and use of these 15^th century terms marked the difference between an educated man and a common man., which makes me think of American spelling before Noah Webster compiled his first dictionary in 1806—before which, it’s said, a learned man knew many ways to spell a word, and a churl, well, wouldn’t know how to spell at all.

Lipton insists that the real venereal game is poetry, not jokes, and sets rules for playing along. For me, I’m satisfied knowing that “an unkindness of ravens” lives in my neighborhood.

So—"an exaltation of larks," a "murmuration of starlings," a "bouquet of pheasants," a "paddling of ducks." Rich visual language brings laughter and joy to my heart—having once been a member of a "rage of maidens" (for clarity on this one, see page 76), and then matured into a member of the "impatience of wives," now I can only wish I could join a "worship of writers."

CALL NUMBER: 427.09 Lipton. Ask us and we’ll run to the basement and retrieve it for you, or you can reserve a copy through our catalog.

Reviewed by Anne Shirako, Reference Librarian, Ukiah Branch, Mendocino County Library, 12/2012

Divergent by Veronica Roth

'Tis the season of dystopian YA fiction--chasing the success of The Hunger Games trilogy--just as volumes upon volumes of vampire romance bled off Twilight (thank god that trend has peaked). Divergent tries to follow in the footsteps of THG, with a strictly divided society and lots of teen violence, but unfortunately, it gets lost.

Like all 16 year-olds in her society who must choose their future faction or community in a public ceremony (echoes of The Giver here), Beatrice must decide whether to stay with her family's self-effacing Amish-like group, or leave her family behind and choose one of the other four factions. Adding pressure to her decision is that no faction feels totally right for her. When she chooses Dauntless (the brave, the warriors), she signs up for a surprisingly brutal initiation period tempered by thrilling exploits that test her courage and determination to succeed.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much all there is to this book--fights, brutality, some thrills, and a very "Twilighty" romantic subplot. Add to that a dull heroine, one-dimensional supporting cast members, and a schizo love interest and what do you have? Third tier YA fiction. By the time the climax approaches, the thrill is gone, and the author's overly-contrived machinations toward some sort of real crisis are quite frankly beyond belief.

If you loved The Hunger Games trilogy, follow it up with The Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. Ness creates a more creative and engaging world for his young characters, and  develops believable, likeable protagonists and three dimensional bad guys. Or read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow or the Unwind trilogy by Neal Shusterman--all three are great authors worth following. Unfortunately, I can't recommend Divergent.

 I look forward to "divergent" viewpoints on this book. Your comments are welcome.


Anne Shirako, Reference Librarian, Ukiah Library