The reviews published here have been submitted by Everett Public Library readers.  We are interested in hearing from you about the books you feel are most deserving of a wider audience.  They may be older or neglected favorites, books by up-and-coming authors, or any other remarkable, surprising or noteworthy titles you have found in the Everett Public Library.  To send us your review, click on the "Submit a Review" link from the left column.  

Reviews appear in order by author. If you prefer, you can see the reviews arranged by order added.

Inés of My Soul

by Isabel Allende, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden (2006, Harper Collins)

This is the somewhat true story of Inez, her husbands and her lovers. Allende writes beautifully, lyrically and with powerful voice. I felt as if I was sitting at Inez's bedside being dictated to myself. The structure is artful also: going in to the story, Allende blows the ending! But I spent the remainder of the book furiously reading and flipping pages to find out how she ends up married and to whom. How did those men die? And where did this daughter come from? As an added bonus, as if one was necessary, there is some history to be learned -- geography too ---without even trying.

Anonymous

Letters to a Young Artist: Building a Life in Art

by Julia Cameron (2005, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin)

The book is organized in a series of letters to young artists - it addresses many of the concerns, conflicts and doubts that young artists face in pursuing a life in the arts. It is very easily read and personal. Almost like reading a diary. Very inspiring for anyone who is trying to pay attention to their inner creative voice. 

Anonymous

Mary Higgins Clark Presents The Plot Thickens

compiled by Mary Higgins Clark (2000, Center Point)

The eleven short stories in this thin volume are thick with mystery, mayhem, suspense, and treachery. The authors, superstars all (including Seattle's own Ann Rule), plot the exploits of a few serial killers, a reluctant hit man, a thug of a mummy, a body-snatching bail bondswoman, and a dallying dentist, among other nefarious characters. If you can identify the theme, which runs through the stories, give yourself a gold star. But don't check the back of the book cover - that would be cheating!

Anonymous

Haunted Heart

by Linda Dahl (2006, University of Michigan Press)

Non-fiction. The life and death of Susannah McCorkle, a famous jazz singer. Raised in a wealthy, dysfunctional family, she traveled widely, graduated from college, and was a writer/poet. Astonishing and disappointing her parents, she found a voice and "became a performer of great success." Never satisfied. She had such self-doubt and mental problems that she ended her life at the height of her career. 

Sharon Bayne

One Bullet Away

by Nathaniel Fick (2005, Houghton Mifflin)

This memoir of the beginning of the war in Iraq was written by a Dartmouth Liberal Arts grad. He was a Marine lieutenant and this book focuses on his thoughts, feelings, motivation and decisions. He writes with admiration of each and every one of the men under his command and describes their personalities and areas of expertise in such detal that I feel as if I know them by book's end. This book sticks with you -- I often wonder what "Gunny Wynn" is up to now. Another excellent takeaway -- Fick is totally quotable. When an admissions officer for a graduate school told Fisk that she had read the Rolling Stone article (written by an imbedded reporter) and was troubled by a statement that Fick had made he told her something to the effect of, "I don't need to explain myself to you or anyone else." I wish I had said that...

Anonymous

A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women

edited by Elizabeth George (Harper Collins, 2004)

A fascinating collection of well written short stories. The authors write what they want and write it well. Besides the page turning bits compiled for our enjoyment, Elizabeth George included bits on each author. She has a keen grasp of the material having written several novels of psychological suspense set in England. For anyone who enjoys crime stories this is a good book to pick up.

Book Raven

Memoirs of a Geisha

by Arthur Golden (Knopf, 1997)

Rich read full of lustrous detail. The intriguing tale of a woman who
grows up from a lowly fishing serf to be one of the most renowned
geisha in Japanese history.

Book Raven

The Edible Container Garden

by Michael Guerra (Simon & Schuster, 2000)

This book is great for those without access to a big garden. With this book I was able to successfully grow vegetables and herbs on my small patio.

Lizzy Warner

A Round-Heeled Woman

by Jane Juska (2003, Wheeler)

This is the true story of the author who, while in her 60's took out a personal ad in the New York Review of Books indicating that she A.) enjoyed discussing Trollope and B.) would like to have a lot of sex with a man she liked before she turned 67. The book discusses the success of her ad -- yes and yes -- and the unexpected feelings that her foray into results-oriented dating generated. As Ms. Juska describes what her ad hath wrought, she intermingles discussion of her life as a teacher, a wife, not a wife, a mother, a sister, a college student, an ostensibly retired person and a daughter. Not exactly a "page turner," A Round-Heeled Woman is a more savory book, the language interesting, unusual, profane and undeniably honest. I felt as if Jane Juska had written to me directly as a friend, and had not left out any of the good parts.

Anonymous

The Woman Who Waited

by Andrei Makine (2006, Arcade Publishing; trans. by Geoffrey Strachan)

Set in the 1970s, Makine's novel about an educated young man, who leaves Leningrad for the provincial village of Mirnoe, confronts a truth: although the Soviet Union lasted but 70 years, the Russian culture is ageless. While in Mirnoe, the young man meets, falls in love, and eventually leaves a woman, twenty years his senior. And from this seemingly mundane experience, what did the young man learn? That in Russia, what you want is never what you get, but you always get more - even if you never have to have a reason just to be yourself.

Anonymous

Caesar

by Colleen McCullough (1997, Morrow)

The epic story of Caesar's rise, against many obstacles. The
infighting and double-dealing by all in the senate was amazing. Their
lives were lonely most times, with many hardships.

Anonymous

Morgan's Run

by Colleen McCullough (Simon and Schuster, 2000)

Story of the penal system in England, and the many unfair verdicts that
were found for death or transport to a far off land (Australia). The
hardships of prisoners and those that survived. Very inspirational.
Their strength to survive and settle a new land.

Anonymous

Cat Biz

by Amanda O'Neill (2006, Barron's)

Beautifully illustrated book for all "ailurophiles," aka cat lovers. A colorful celebration of the world of cats. Intriguing, entertaining, full of information and history, facts and figures about cats all over the world.

Anonymous

The Street of Crocodiles

by Bruno Schulz, translated by Celina Wieniewska (Penguin Books, 1963)

Published in 1934, this book could be considered an early example of linked short stories. The book focuses on the life of a family in a small eastern European town. The father in the household is gradually succumbing to madness, and the scenes with him are both touching and humorous. Schulz’s world is rich with sensory images and these pages are informed by a boy’s worldview, but accompanied by reminders of transience and decay. Things are not quite what they seem in Drogobych – rooms in the family home go so long unused as to disappear; elsewhere, the narrator turns a corner in the familiar town to find himself disoriented and overwhelmed with both dread and wonder. In the title story, even the part of the city in which the seedy Street of Crocodiles is located is barely acknowledged on his father’s map, and its carnival-like character promises enticement and satisfaction that never come to fruition. This is visual storytelling in which Schulz masterfully weaves dreamlike images around his narrator’s everyday surroundings. This creative, whimsical and somewhat philosophical little book is a genuine delight.

Scott Condon, Main Library Reference

Occasions of Sin

by Sandra Scofield (2004, Norton)

Memoir. This book was interesting to me on various levels. The setting, in the fifties, and with the author attending Catholic schools, was parallel to my life. An award winning poet, debater, and storyteller, she recounts her growing up with a critically ill mother who finally dies. 

Sharon Bayne

The Soy Solution for Menopause

by Machelle M. Seibel (Simon and Schuster, 2003)

This is a "must read" for women wanting options to traditional hormones
for menopause. As I am pre-men, I have applied many of the solutions -
especially the herbal remedies and of course soy products. Excellent
charts of herb-usage and concerns. Easy to use.

Lizzy Warner

Eat Well, Live Well

by Pamela M. Smith (Creation House, 1992)

Title says it all. I copied the 10 commandments of great nutrition.
Explains why getting vitamins and minerals from food is better than
pills. Plenty of tasty recipes in healthier versions. Explains simple
and complex carbohydrates in a way I could understand.

Lizzy Warner

The Little Friend

by Donna Tartt (2002, Knopf)

This book was a mystery thriller, set in the south. A long read, but I finished it quickly as it was a riveting account of a boy's death and the search to find the killer. The characters were so finely wrought and believable that you forgot that you were reading fiction. Highly recommended. 

Sharon Bayne