Book Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen has slowly become one of my favorite authors. Her books feel good to read, they have been a perfect in-between book, especially after I finish a book I’ve struggled with. Kind like a breath of fresh air. They are also the perfect summer read. Something about the way this author writes always strikes me with the same satisfaction as eating homemade pie, you can taste the sweetness.

This particular book, The Peach Keeper, takes place in a small town in North Carolina. The story primarily centers around two women: Willa Jackson and Paxton Osgood. Both come from prominent old families who helped build the town and whose grandmothers used to be best friends. The families became estranged after the Jackson family lost their fortune and their estate, The Blue Ridge Madam, when Willa’s grandmother was still a teenager.

The two women lead very different lives on the surface: Paxton is a socialite and president of the local Womens’ Society, and Willa runs a small business that caters to tourists. Just beneath the surface lies a key similarity: both struggle to live the life their family expects. For Willa, this means a quiet, uneventful and responsible existence; For Paxton, this means being the perfect southern belle.

However their worlds begin to collide after Paxton decides to restore the Blue Ridge Madam. During the reconstruction of the site, a skeleton is dug up at the base of an old cherry tree. Brought together through the discovery of the seventy-five year mystery, their lives will forever change.

Like many of this author's books, it is about friendship between women. How those friendships are so important because of what they provide for women. No one knows what a woman needs, better than another woman. Especially, when it comes the dangers that men can pose to their safety and their hearts.

I think that is one of the reasons that I love these books so much. There is just an honesty about the many relationships between women. Family and friend relationships. Too often women are depicted as being too catty and backstabbing to be friends with each other. In my experience, female relationships are so often depicted that way, that many women have actually started to believe it. So it’s great to see the importance of those relationships played out.

However, my one fault with this book, and nearly all of the books I've read, is that they aren't exactly diverse. The cast tends to be all upper to middle class white people, and the world is definitely not made up quite so uniformly.

For, me this is a big problem. It makes it hard to relate to the story. So while the story is utterly enchanting, it isn't exactly the whole story. And the readers can tell.

Current Mood: The Last Minute Panic

Aaaaannnndddd we have survived the summer reading program, people!
Now all that's left is to survive the rush of kids who put their reading off until the last minute, and their angry parents because there are no copies of that book they need left in the state. This should be fun.

Passive Programming: Sports Themed Rebus Puzzles

The Book in a Jar was extremely popular! we had 24 entries, and most of them were correct. (The one that were incorrect were kids) So now it is time for the new passive program! I actually came up with this all by myself. I had been trying to figure out a way to incorporate sports, and this was what I came up with!

This one is also already pretty popular, I really liked how it came out.

The answers:

Helpful Hint!

If you work in a library (or public service in general) the phrase "I need help," is code for do it for me.

Passive Programming: Book in a Jar

My new passive programming display is up and running! my boss had heard about book in a jar, and after a quick google search I totally agreed that it would be something super cool that we could do.
And after three days slicing up a book, I really like how it turned out.

To make all of this work, I had to cut up a few of the pages myself because our shredder does a really good job and all that was really left of each shred fit one or two words on it. And since I wanted people to be able guess I put a few of the key pages to the side.

I know a few people already entered the correct answer, and at least one of my coworkers got it as well, can you guess the book? If not, here's the answer. 

I would also just like to add that I had to work on this project at the reference desk and cannot truly describe the odd looks I got putting all this together. I can say that no one freaked out even as I was literally tearing the pages out of the book. I had to tell people what I was doing fairly often, and luckily they all seemed pretty excited about it. Although I did have one person attempt to through a piece of trash in the jar as I was filling it. 

Either way, this project was definitely worth all the work. 

Book Review: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

It was a book I could not put down. I started it on a Saturday evening and was finished the following Tuesday. It has been years since I finished a book that quickly.

The book starts out during Mr. Bennet’s recovery from a heart attack. Elizabeth and Jane have returned from NYC to help with the recovery. But what they return home to is more than just a sick father: the entire household is in disarray. On top of that, Mrs. Bennet’s only concern to get her daughters married before they turn forty. To Mrs. Bennet’s utter delight, two doctors just moved into the neighborhood, a Chip Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy; and better yet, Chip is immediately attracted to Jane.

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice especially. I have read many modern retellings that I usually end up putting to the side, because it isn’t what I wanted. This retelling, however, was almost exactly what I wanted. I have never read a more accurate retelling than this book. The pacing, and the writing style (even with a modern language), even the book’s chapter layout, it is all eerily spot on. I think that all of the characters were modernized seamlessly. In a way that better lets a modern reader understand their flaws, strengths, and personality.

We can better see Elizabeth’s pride in this retelling. She is presented, only seeing what she wants to see and we get to observe the progress she makes of slowly understanding and then seeing what is actually there. Good examples of this are the state of her parents house, or her relationship with Jasper.

I also totally loved that she is kind of a stereotypical white upper-class feminist. She believes she is a great “Activist!” and an “Ally!” When she doesn't actually know as much on the subject as she thinks she does. Which shows when an event calls her home abruptly, and she struggles to react appropriately.

I think the other characters were just as well channeled. How they talk to one another, and their chosen professions, or lack thereof, were all excellently written.

My one problem with this book, was that I was not completely sold on the reality T.V. element of this book. While I absolutely loved reading this book, I was left with a bitter after taste. I think using reality television to portray Chip Bingley as flaky, was an easy way out. It almost read as if the author was desperately trying to show just how modern and up-to-date this book really is. It didn’t sit well with me, and I don’t think it tied in all that well to the rest of the book. Although, I’m sure to be in the minority with that opinion.

Ultimately, I would absolutely recommend this book to any Austen fan and to all Pride and Prejudice fans.

Passive Programming: Guess the Book from the First Line

I must have done a good job with the last program I ran because I was given charge of all the passive programming during summer reading.
I just finished my first attempt.

I think it came out pretty good if I do say so myself.
I went with "Can you Guess the Book from the First Line?" Each square on the poster board is numbered and contains a quote from the opening line of a book. I included classics and more recent popular books. I also created the submission forms because they can get entered to win a Marylou's gift card! I also included an answer key with all the titles plus one extra.