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Lightning is not supposed to strike twice in the same place, but, guess what, it has. It was almost exactly a year ago that our webcam, CAMERASCOTTA, was knocked out by a close lightning strike. And it has happened again! Please bear with us while our camera is sent off for repairs. |
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Last month’s Free Concert with singer/song writer Peter Yarrow and illustrator, Melissa Sweet, was a howling success. The Lincoln Theater was packed to the gills, and everyone had a terrific time. Peter Yarrow was one of the most generous, giving, attentive and tireless performers we’ve ever hosted. |
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Melissa Sweet & admirer |
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Faithful Place, by Tana French [$25.95 hardcover] – French's emotionally searing third novel of the Dublin murder squad (after The Likeness) shows the Irish author getting better with each book. In 1985, 19-yearold Frank Mackey and his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, made secret plans to elope to England and start a new life together far away from their families, particularly the hard-drinking Mackeys. But when Rosie doesn't meet Frank the night they're meant to leave and he finds a note, Frank assumes she's left him behind. For 22 years, Frank, who becomes an undercover cop, stays away from Faithful Place, his childhood Dublin neighborhood, but he learns that perhaps Rosie never left Dublin at all. A seamless blend of suspense and familial drama.
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 Red Hook Road, by Ayelet Waldman [$25.95 hardcover] – In her latest novel, Red Hook Road, Ayelet Waldman has nailed the indelible mark that the state of Maine leaves on all visitors who fall for its subtle, insinuating glamour. Waldman (Love and Other Impossible Pursuits) delivers a dense story of irreparable loss that tracks two families across four summers. After John Tetherly and Becca Copaken die in a freak car accident an hour after their wedding, their families are left to bridge stark class and cultural divides, and eventually forge deep-rooted bonds thanks to the twin deities of love and music. This is a writer with a captivating command of language and an ability to forge arresting characters. |
What Is Left the Daughter, by Howard Norman [$25.00 hardcover] – Set on the Atlantic coast of Canada during WWII, Norman's latest (after Devotion) is an expertly crafted tale of love during wartime. The orphaned Wyatt Hillyer and his family serve as the focal point for this consideration of love during wartime, and Norman's writing is effortless, his plot is grand in scope but studded with moments of tenderness and intimacy that help crystallize the anxiety and weariness of life on the home front. That this story carries such a weight of sorrow and yet escapes being depressing is a fine testament to Howard's finesse as a writer.
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 The Disappearing Spoon, by Sam Kean [$24.99 hardcover] – Many of us recall our experiences with the much-dreaded periodic table as being colored by bewilderment and dismay, but Kean views it differently. The reporter sees it as an "anthropological marvel," and this entertaining and humorous account makes a lively case. Kean emphasizes our ties to the physical world by exploring the elements and their oftentimes unexpected properties, as well as the equally offbeat qualities of the scientists who have explored them. It's not easy to infuse chemistry with wit and verve, but Kean cheerfully does so, and this book should appeal to general readers and chemists alike. |
 Zoo Story, by Thomas French [$24.99 hardcover] – It's not abundantly obvious that zoos, while one of the country's most popular destinations, are also the subject of ongoing controversy. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist French goes behind the scenes at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo in this absorbing and balanced account that reveals extinction, conservation, and captivity issues in all their moral complexities and featuring a very memorable cast. The limits of freedom on an overcrowded planet serve as a thematic background, but it is the personalities of the animals involved that shine here, as well as those of the handlers who share their lives. Infused equally with elements of Darwin and Dickens, this is an illuminating read. |
 Spies of the Balkans, by Alan Furst [$26.00 hardcover] – Set in Greece in 1940, this powerful WWII thriller from Furst (The Spies of Warsaw) focuses on Costa Zannis, a senior Salonika police official known for his honesty and ability to settle matters before they got out of hand. As the Nazis' intentions for Europe's Jews becomes clear, Zannis goes out of his way to aid refugees seeking to escape Germany. Furst captures in brilliant high-definition the roiling, contradictory emotions that flare when in wartime, and fans of his work should be intrigued by the less-familiar side of Europe on display here. |
 Extra Lives, by Tom Bissell [$22.95 hardcover] – Video games are probably the most lucrative form of entertainment today, regularly out-grossing films and books, but they are also the most maligned, with many cultural and artistic commentators refusing to acknowledge them as legitimate objects of criticism. Bissell, a journalist, perfectly captures the dilemma of a thinking gamer- that of being sort of ashamed of being one while also ashamed of being ashamed- and he effectively conveys an intellectual attitude to gaming as well as an evocative presentation of the experience itself. He manages to do the improbable by narrowing the gap between readers and gamers, and a self-deprecating and charming voice help.
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 American Dreams, by H.W. Brands [$32.95 hardcover] – Any popular overview of modern American history must by definition be condensed, but anyone looking for a history of their living memory could do worse than to pick up Brands's crisp and informative book. His central thesis- that the collective dreams of the American people have been put on hold in favor of individual ambitions- tends to get overshadowed by the historical narrative, but that's forgivable due to the vast amount of material presented here, and it does provide food for thought, particularly when viewed between the brackets of the social and political unity of 1945, the book's starting point, and the current antagonism on those fronts. A fast-moving and comprehensive history. |
 Hitch-22, by Christopher Hitchens [$26.99 hardcover] – Hitchens, who, in his earlier books, has expressed contempt for both God and Mother Teresa (although not in that order), is often described as a contrarian. But whatever else he might be, few could claim that he's not an expert storyteller. This memoir touches on a wide array of subjects, but the most intriguing stories are the personal ones. Those who bristled at the mere title of Hitchens's previous book (God Is Not Great) may be forced to revisit their opinions of the author, who discovers that his mother was Jewish and that much of his family was in fact killed during the Holocaust. Religious and political identity are key examinations for Hitchens, and while few may rile quite so easily as Hitchens, there are similarly few who are as witty, piercing, and facile with language.
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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender [$25.95 hardcover] – Taking her very personal brand of pessimistic magical realism to new heights, Bender's second novel (following An Invisible Sign of My Own) careens splendidly through an obstacle course of pathological, fantastical neuroses. Bender's narrator is young, needy Rose Edelstein, who can literally taste the emotions of whoever prepares her food, giving her unwanted insight into other people's secret emotional lives—including her mother's, whose lemon cake betrays a deep dissatisfaction. This coming-of-age story makes a bittersweet dish, brimming with a zesty, beguiling talent. |
 Mr. Peanut, by Adam Ross [$25.95 hardcover] – Ross's inspired debut explores the proximity of violence and love and begins with the death of Alice Pepin, whose lifelong struggle with depression, insecurity, and obesity comes to an abrupt end at her kitchen table when she is found dead with a peanut lodged in her throat. Suicide by anaphylactic shock? Ross's depiction of love is grotesque and tender at once, and his style is commanding as he creates a unique book that is at the same time creepy, fearless, stark and sublime. A must for anyone not put off by the darker end of the literary spectrum. |
 I Love Macarons, by Hisako Ogita [$14.95 paperback] – We don't often put cookbooks on this page, but this delightful collection of French recipes was too beautiful to pass up. Ogita demystifies the buttery confections and presents fool-proof methods for baking colorful and delicious macarons. Augmented by graphic and elegant photography, this is a must for any serious baker. |
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Ambassador Carolina Castillo, Costa Rica |
She reports, “These pictures were taken on Father´s day (June 20th). I was in a recreation place with my family. One is of me with one of my sisters, and the other shows one of the "cows" created by a Costa Rican artist who was part of the "Cow Parade" here in Costa Rica. I´ve been reading the Spanish version of a book called Hands of Light by Barbara Anne Brennan. A friend of mine recommended it to me. It is a guide to healing through the human energy field. To me it is very interesting and is based on a study of the human energy field and how it is connected to a person's health and well being. The author becomes, with this book, a scientist and also a spiritual seeker and, according to what I read, it is in the mingling of the two worlds (scientific and spiritual) where wisdom is born.” |
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Ambassador Oscar Jonhede reports some big news from London. He has a new sister.
Her name is Lily Marie Jonhede, and he’s reading to her already.
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