Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Seven Kinds of People You find in Bookshops


 One of the perks of being of being a  bookseller is that I know readers - lots of different kinds of readers - and each and every one has a story to tell, a joke to share, a plate of homemade cookies, or a simple smile to remind me stop, breathe, and take in the day.  This may sound counter intuitive, but many of these readers  give me books. I am surrounded by books both at LaDeDa and at home, still, nothing tops a book that has been selected with care just for me.

My most treasured book-gift came from friends Jim and Susie Miller.  On our opening day of business, the Millers were among our first customers.  I was nervous, unsure if I had made the right decisions.  On top of that, taking money from friends felt awkward, and  embarassing.  The book they chose happened to be one I had read several times.  In fact, I owned a copy,  It seemed logical to say, "Hey, I have a copy of this book at home.  I'll drop it off at your house and you can return it when you're done."  They proceeded to school me in Bookselling 101,  Lesson #1 --sell the  book if you want to keep the doors open.

Susie then handed me the most wonderful edition of Flowers from Shakespeare's Plays. With a tattered cover faded to a quiet sage green, the book bloomed with page after page of watercolor paintings, descriptions of each flower (and sometimes weeds) along with a quotation from the play in which the flower was mentioned.  

Even better than that was the hand written note on the inside cover from gifter to recipient, followed by a note from Jim and Susie.  If that isn't special enough, in the margins near most of the pictures were dainty notes on when, and where each flower had been planted, along with the temperature on planting day, and whether or not the flower thrived.  Each February, I page through and begin planning for spring.

I began this blospost with the intention of focusing on the book pictured above. This, too, was a gift, nicey inscribed by customer-now-friend, Jim. "Bev, how often does a person run across a book that they give to their favorite bookstore?"  The post was to offer desciptions of the seven types mentioned in the title in hopes that you would find yourself among the list and send us a note.  Clearly, that didn't happen.  But it will.  I know this has gotten long. I have missed my moments pounding these keys; time flew as the words spilled.  Check back next week for those promised descriptions.

You're wondering where the blog has been, right?  Honestly, I don't know.  In part, I was playing with other formats, hoping to create a weekly newsletter for the store.  I enjoyed designing and writing short somethings in that form for a number of organizations and purposes.  But, do you know how short those news items are? I created columns,stuck in some artsy icons, leaving little to no room for my scintillating commentary on books.  And heaven forbid that my wisdom on universal truths would have to omitted.  So, back to blogging it is.  It is nice to be back and I am trying to figure out how to make commenting on here possible so you can add your own scintillating universal truths for our thousands of readers. 

Thanks for stoipping by.  (Please give the comment button a whirl so we know if it works or not. Thanks.)

Be happy

LaDeDa Bev

 


Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Cat's Cafe Book Signing

 


Ralls Melotte, retired from his architectural firm in 2019, sat down at his computer and began his first novel, Cat’s Café.  Meet and chat with Melotte, Saturday, November 11, 10:30-12:00 at LaDeDa Books, 1624 New York Ave., Manitowoc.

The book takes readers back to pioneer times when American settlers moved westward into the Rocky Mountains and beyond.  In 1879, in the small rural town of Eagle Rock Idaho, Cat and her husband Patrick run a saloon.  Patrick thought the saloon would be suited to the laborers who lived and worked there; Cat has other plans. When a new bridge connects the two sides of town and the population grows, Cat’s dream of opening a café could become reality.

However, on the morning of July 4, Patrick goes missing, and it appears he may not return.  Cat finds herself running the saloon, navigating challenges once handled by her husband, and forsaking her dream. Complicating matters is a corrupt sheriff who stirs up trouble at every turn.

Commenting on Melotte’s novel, the Kirkus Review stated “The dramatic center of the story – Catherine finding the inner strength to take on a pile of problems – is handled with an engaging sense of compassion…A zesty and occasionally touching story of a woman confronting the crude realities of a new life.”

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Events like this offered free to the public, and help sustain the health of small, independent bookstores.   Individuals not able to attend can have a book reserved by emailing bdenor@lsol.net.

 

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Judy Blume...banned again!

 





Let’s Talk About — Gasp! — Sex in Classic Novels

MARCH 23, 2023

By Christa Protano

When the trailer for the film-adaptation of Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret dropped in early February my social feeds were all abuzz. Mom friends were counting down the days until the film’s release so they can take their daughter and make it a generational event. But I couldn’t help but wonder … (cue Carrie Bradshaw’s sex-columnist voice): Were the morality police going to descend upon movie theaters everywhere come April?

After all, Judy Blume is one of the most frequently challenged authors of our time, with Margaret and four other of her novels challenged or banned in the nineties alone.  And since signs of this edgy decade are popping up in current fashion and music trends, is it possible that Blume’s popular coming of age tale will soon find itself back on a banned book list? Well, if Florida has anything to say about it, it just might.

According to the American Library Association (ALA), the rise in book bans and book challenges is unprecedented, with more than 1,200 challenges being filed in 2022. And while LGBTQ+ themes and characters of color are the top two reasons for these challenges, sexual content comes in third, as reported by the non-profit PEN America.

Now, we know you can’t really compare a 1970s book about puberty and teen sexuality to, say, a modern-day Fifty Shades of Grey, but the reason for both books being banned is the same: most people are still afraid to publicly talk about sex (unless you are a member of a certain 90s rap duo). But just because something is banned from the classroom or your local library, doesn’t mean it’s going to go away. In fact, because of the increased media coverage of current book bans, many challenged titles actually see an increase in sales.

 At the end of the day, sex definitely sells. So if like me, you want to know what all the fuss is about, consider adding these provocative — and once banned — classic novels to your TBR list. 

The Great Gatsby  As if an extramarital affair were not enough to raise eyebrows, Fitzgerald’s backdrop of drinking and excess landed this classic novel on the top of the challenged list many a times, according to the ALA. Most recently, Gatsby was challenged at the Baptist College in Charleston, SC, in 1987 because of language and sexual references.

 

 

Tess of the D’Ubervilles  When English author Tom Hardy wrote what is now regarded as his greatest work, the Brits were not pleased. Upon publication in 1891, Tess of the D’Ubervilles was immediately censored by the British government for its disconcerting take on Victorian society’s moral code. 

Leaves of Grass  Another classic work that managed to offend those of the Victorian Age is Walt Whitman’s collection of poems and essays. Published in 1855, libraries dismissed the work because of its sexual overtones and Whitman lost the respect of critics and peers for many years.

 The Sun Also Rises  Hemingway’s very first — and some say finest — novel was published in 1926 and banned in Boston, MA, less than five years later. The story, which follows a group of ex-pats as they travel around a post-WWI Paris and Spain, was last banned in California in 1960s due to the characters decadent behaviors and use of profanity.

So there you have it:  We live in a society that suddenly fears words and the ideas they convey.  The thought police exist in every community, challenging books available in libraries and school boards, and in doing so, they limit what some think, and above all, learn.  What can we do?  Read banned books. Seek out and discus controversial ideas. Watch the news with a critical eye and listen between the words.  Together we can push the pendulum back to a time before the growth of the lemming population.

Be sure to check out our events tab.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay happy and keep reading stuff you aren't supposed to.

 

 


Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Where are the Children Now - by guest reviewer Christina Brown

 


This was a a fast read for me, with well described characters and interesting details to set the scene, as is typical from Clark. Immediately prior to reading this, I reread Where are the Children? but found that I didn’t really need to as this book had plenty of context/back story for Nancy and her children’s history included - which was primarily meant to highlight how bizarre (and traumatic) it was for this family to be dealing with another missing child case in their lifetime. 


While I found myself suspicious of a few characters even early on, I was still surprised by the story’s twist in the end for who was actually behind Riley going missing. Which is what usually happens when I read Clark’s books- her character and intricate scene development leave you wondering who is truly to be trusted and what is even true. 


I found a few style differences in how the book was written as compared to other Clark books but it wasn’t anything bad per-say (just different) and I couldn’t quite discern if that was due to Alafair Burke’s contributions, the current/modern time period references or something else entirely. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and found it on par with Clark’s other books! Oh, and the original Where are the Children? still holds up as a really great book- only some references and details (ex: commonplace cigar/cigarette use in public) felt dated despite this being written in the 1970’s. My suggestion: read them both!


My two cents...


I agree...this is vintage Mary Higgins Clark. I totally enjoyed reading a traditional mystery where the plot is linear and the clues logical.  Predicting the ending is half the fun or reading mysteries, isn't it?  I never - and I mean NEVER - get it right, be it a novel or a TV show.  The trend in twister mysteries, started with Gone Girl, I guess, frustrate me.  They jerk me around, lead me hither and yon, and then, in the last twenty pages, they tell me they were just kidding,  Hidden clues, minor characters, and tons of red herrings make it nearly impossible to solve the mystery.  But they sure are popular so it's probably just me...too old fashioned for these new fangled styles.


Christina Brown has joined us as a now and then reviewer.   Let me know if you are interested (Steve? we miss you).  The marvelous perks include Advance Reader Copies (ARC) of books, continued pressure to get your review to me, and of course, a review on our blog is sure to make you famous.  Thank about it. 


Spring...yes, we see hints that it will surely arrive soon.

Stay safe, Stay healthy, Stay happy. Stay groovy.


Thanks for stopping by.


Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Women Talking by Miriam Toews


Eight Mennonite women have two days to decide their next move.  Will they run -- leave the settlement and the only life they have ever known?  Will they stay and remain subservient to a culture in which women are all but invisible?  Might they take unspeakable measures and risk their relationship with God in a superb effort to claim their freedom and search for independence and identity?

In two days, the men who have been systematically sexually abusing these women, as well as several young children, will be released from jail.  Gathering in the hayloft of a senile community member, the women meet secretly to discuss their future.  The fear of leaving sickens them, as does the fear of staying.  

For the past two years, the women have been repeatedly violated, and were told evil spirits came to them in the night to punish them.  The women believe these lies until one of them fights off the belladonna depressant used to sedate her, coming face to face with her attacker.  No spoilers here...suffice it to say the agonizing realization of what has been happening paralyzes some of the women while mobilizing others.

Since most of the women cannot write, they enlist the help and the skills of an expelled Mennonite man to keep minutes of their meetings.  There is no wonder this based on truth book has become the subject of a much talked about film.

On a Happy 2023 note...each year I choose a reading theme and try to wedge in as many books as possible that fit that mold.  Last year I chose tween books that I had somehow missed along the way, books like Black Beauty and Mary Poppins.  Books for the 9-12 year old age group are playful, imaginative, and --in my opinion -- too often sad.  But with the plethora of fine writers in that category, it is easy to circumvent those tear jerkers.  

2023?  I'll be checking out all sorts of mysteries -- cozies, police procedurals, locked rooms, supernatural, local color.  FB me with any suggestions you have for me please.

Thanks for stopping by.
Stay healthy. Stay safe. Stay happy.

 

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Wintering by Katherine May...reprint from 2021





  In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

― Albert Camus

That Camus quote nicely sums up what Katherine May discovered as she wintered through some tough times.   Categorizing this book challenges...part memoir, part self-help, part commentary on ritual...and then there's all the history, and quirky details about things we (or at least I) just don't think about.  Winter is May's metaphor for quietly working through troubling times, no matter when, where or how long he working through takes.

May takes us along as she winters through a full year filled with doubts, fears and high anxiety.  At times she frustrated me with her Debbie Downer routines, and just like that, a smooth transition would begin.  In the process of allowing herself to drift away from the darkness, she learned, she grew, and she accepted her life in the moment.

New age thinking took center stage at times, not quite unicorn thinking, but close. New age has never been my genre of choice but,  stepping aside from that, May filled the book with stories past and present.  She offered insights into the Druid religion, the feast of Saint Lucia (that story was a doozie), and took me to the sauna culture of Scandinavia.  Like May, I'd take a fast and hard pass on that one.  No way I am going to sit sweating with a bunch of naked strangers, plunge into icy water, and declare myself renewed.   

Oh, but the wolves stories and the bee keeping - mesmerizing.  Embedded in all her experiences was the warmth and strength we get from ritual.  Weekly coffee with friends, game night, or perhaps something bigger like religious celebrations...rituals keep us close to what is important to us, to what grounds us, and to what brings us together.

This is a book to share.  It will resonate with each reader differently.  My copy will find its way later today to a friend's front porch with the hope that, after reading, she will do the same.  Maybe, in a couple years or so, it will find its way back to me, battered, highlighted, written in, and questioned.

For some reason, after reading May's closing words...

"It often seems easier to stay in winter, burrowed down into our hibernation nests, away from the glare of the sun. But we are brave, and the new world awaits us...we have a kind of gospel to tell and a duty to share it. We, who have wintered, have learned some things"

...I wanted to walk to my dog on this cold January day, and the let the bitter cold air surround me...just to see what is has to say.  

Pleasant wintering to you all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.

Only ten Mondays till spring. 

Friday, December 16, 2022

It's a Wonderful Woof by Spencer Quinn

 


You all have been keeping us busy the past few months here at LaDeDa.  Thank you for that.  We sure do appreciate your continued support by purchasing books, and recommending our shop to your friends.  But more than that, there is nothing better than hearing the bell ring, watching the door open and seeing your smiling face.  This has become a second home for me, and your visits...well, I wish I had the word's to tell you how much they brighten my day.

During these brisk months, I usually kick back with some fun, easy reads.  I have missed a couple Chet and Bernie book over the years and, when this holiday title popped up I took it as a sign. Time to get reacquainted with an old, favorite series.  If you haven't' read a Chet and Bernie book, here's the scoop: Bernie is a washed up cop with some crazy habits, but still well connected to people in his previous world.  Bernie open his own PI business and  takes on random, and quirky cases.  Chet, his obnoxious, insightful, and mixed-up breed dog and constant companion, helps solve Bernie's wack-a-doodle cases.  Oh, Chat narrates all the books and I sincerely believe that Spence Quinn was a dog in a former life.  He nails dog ways and wags on every page.

In this special edition book, Bernie Little and Chet are enjoying a joyful holiday in the Valley.  Despite the dismal shape of the finances in the Little Detective Agency, Bernie passes on a case and refers it to a fellow PI.  But when Victor doesn't show up at his mother's house to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.

They soon discover that Victor's clients have also vanished, and the trail leads to whispers of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries..

No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but soon he and Bernie are dashing through a Christmas blizzard with danger closing in around them.

You can pick up the books any where in the series, but starting with Dog On It will introduce you to Bernie, Chet, and Chet's little friend, Iggy.  Such fun.

Thanks for stopping by.
Stay safe, Stay healthy. Stay happy.
Read silly stuff one in a while. 

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Killers of the Flower Moon

 


In May of 1921, Mollie Burkhart's family members began to disappear. People adjacent to her life became ill. Many died.  The "coroners" and other officials shook their heads, and then turned their heads - away from the issue. After all. Mollie, her family, and friends were Osage Indians. Murdering them seemed to be the only way white men could get possession of the valuable land owned by this tribe.  Eventually there were arrests and a series of questionable trials.  One reporter wrote "It is a question in my mind whether this jury is considering a murder trial or not. The question for them to decide is whether a white man killing an Osage is murder -- or merely cruelty to animals."

The complexity and shame of this piece of American history if finally coming to light.  The stories of murders and rapes of indigenous women throughout history are finally being told in numerous showcases.  Recently the Manitowoc Public Library hosted an compelling exhibit - much of it with appalling details, hard to read, and even harder to believe.  "Alaska Daily," a new network tv series focuses on missing indigenous women in Alaska --  women authorities simply don't care to spend time searching for.  And Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire series tells us the story of a missing Indian youth in Daughter of the Morning Star,

The more I read books like this, and books like Radium GirlsThe Woman They Could Not Silence, and historical fiction pieces such as Before We Were Yours the more  I am grateful for the happy bubble where I can retreat to a space filled with friendly, honest, and ethical people.  But I can't stay there too long; outside the bubble, there are more people in need than we can imagine.  Our own community may not be hosting the type of atrocities we read about, but there are needs.  Now is the time we begin to think about our neighbors in need, our fellow citizens,  and we donate time, goods and money.  Moving into 2023, let's think about year long awareness, giving and helping. 

Thanks for stopping by
Be aware. Be grateful.  Be happy.

Oh...forgot to mention, this story of Mollie Burkhart is made into a streaming movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  He will play Mollie's husband. A white man who married Mollie with a specific plan in mind.
  

Friday, October 21, 2022

The Hacienda

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Like it or not, pumpkin spice season has arrived. That warm scent drifting though every conceivable airspace signals me that the time has come to get scared.  Can't explain why. As I kid I spent hours
working up the courage to watch one of the corny Vincent Price movie spin-off of Poe tales.  I also spent many hours with eyes covered in fear of seeing something I would never forget...and  fingers in my ears to not hear the woman scream (it was always a woman being terrorized, wasn't it?).

That was all too much for me and eventually I turned to scary books. Not much better. I found myself  warning the sweet young thing not to open the door, or to go down into the basement.  The Hacienda is one of those books.  Chapter one.  Right out loud.  I asked Beatrix "What were you thinking?"  Stir up a potion of Rebecca and Mexica Gothic and you have this book

During the overthrow of the Mexican revolution, Beatrix's father was executed and their home was destroyed.  When handsome Don Rodolfo Solorzano proposes, Beatrix ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife's sudden death.  Marry Rodolfo - live in a lavish estate with servants.  Yup...sounds like trouble...and it is. 

There are visions.  There are voices. There are threats.  And there is Rodolfo's odder than odd, sister, Juana.  Beatrix has nowhere to turn so she clings to the village priest, Padre Andres, who...well, he has his own bag of disturbing tricks.

I warned her again and again....
Great Halloween read.
Thanks for stopping by.
Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy..,and get a little scared.
 

Friday, October 14, 2022

Author Meet and Greet

Susan Fink and Mary Schmal will be visiting us for an author Meet and Greet 

Saturday,  October 29, 10:30 -12:00.



Manitowoc author, Susan Fink, has written an accessible guide for anyone struggling with a number of life's stressors such as time management, parenting, social media use, and alone time.  Each chapter looks at a myth about self-care, shares the author's personal challenges, and identifies misconceptions. Scriptural explanations, questions, and prayer prompts are included with blank spaces for interactive use.  The book's easy to use format is conducive to personal and group study.


Mary Schmal, Milwaukee teacher and writer, hopes that her Children of the Light Series inspires readers to acknowledge and embrace, as do her character, all nine Fruits of the Spirit. Nine kids, Nine gifts. Nine blessed.

Each book in the series focuses on a different Fruit of the Spirit.  The stories tell of the many adventures, challenges, and experiences of nine children and their lives in a remote lighthouse in 1884.  Each child learns about the importance of a specific Fruit of the Spirit meant not just for him or her, but for everyone. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing on the day of the event.  Author signings such as this help independent bookstores stay alive and thriving.  Therefore we respectfully ask that you not bring in books to be signed that have been purchased elsewhere.  If you would like a signed book but cannot attend,  we will happily reserve one for you.  Pre-payment required.