Kudos to Fred and Loretta Herro of Perry.
In case you missed it, today's News-Herald has a story by Jacob Lammers headlined "Teachers, librarians work to develop kids as readers." In it he talks to the Herros who brought their grandchildren to the Perry Public Library this week for its monthly Reading Patch Club.
Programs like these are marvelous ways to encourage children to read, to develop a love of reading and to learn how to read critically.
But the greatest program in the world won't help a child with any of those things without a caring adult to take them there.

I don't want to downplay the importance of talented teachers, many of whom influenced my own love of reading. And I'm certainly not going to knock libraries, when the smell of books can rivals the scent of new shoes as a cure for a bad day.
But let's not lose sight of the importance of parents and grandparents and siblings in this equation.
I've said it before and I'm sure I will say it again: Among the greatest gifts my mother gave me is the love of reading.
Not only because trips to the library were routine for us or because she was and still is a terrific recommender of reading material. But because she was always reading. She didn't tell me to read; she just read. While dinner was cooking on the stove, she sat at the kitchen table and read. At night while I was enthralled with "Happy Days" or "Fantasy Island," she was reading. On family car trips while some were arguing over the radio station (can you imagine the horror of pre-iPod road trips?!!), she was reading. She made a much more powerful statement through her actions than any words possibly could have.
I have tried to model this same behavior with my own kids. They don't read as much as I did at their age - perhaps because they're not as socially awkward as I was! - but they are both avid readers.
So, thank you, mom.
And thank you, Herros, and all the other parents and grandparents doing their best to instill a love of reading.
- Tricia Ambrose

P.S. Today's word at dictionary.com is lucifugous, which means avoiding light. Isn't that a great word?

1. Entertainment Weekly compiled something called “The New Classics.”

They listed the best 100 books from 1983 to 2008. (They published it in June, and I didn’t notice until Tuesday. Some reporter, right?)

Lists like this are subjective and only exist to so we can argue about them. (OK, they also allow us to smile smugly when somebody has read fewer of them than us.) But the list summarizes the last 25 years well. Cormac McCarthy, John Updike, J.K. Rowling, David Eggers, Louis Sachar, H.G. Bissinger, Margaret Atwood, Junot Díaz and Gabriel García Márquez all appear.

They even coerced Neil Gaiman to list his 10 favorite modern monsters (Swamp Thing, number one, not shocked) and Elizabeth Gilbert to name her 10 favorite short stories since 1983. (Díaz makes an appearance on her list, too.)

2. Apparently, Danielle Steel doesn’t write romances. Don’t tell my mother-in-law. She will be disappointed.

“I really write more about the human condition,” Steel told CBS News.

No, you write romances. It’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of people like your romances. You make millions of dollars from them. Just come out and say it.

At least she didn’t compare herself to Hemingway.

3. Mick Foley — my third favorite professional wrestler as a child; yes, I had a list — has written his fourth memoir. As Foley notes, that means he has one more than Winston Churchill.

I like Foley. Not just as a wrestler or a person, I think he’s a good author. Not “a good author for a guy who competes in barbwire matches” but a genuinely good writer. He has the ease of a natural storyteller, and that ease only comes from a lot of hard work.

If you don’t believe me, read this excerpt where Foley describes the impact Tori Amos had on his life.

4. ?uestlove, The Roots drummer and musical wunderkind, is also writing a book. Grand Central Publishing (the same publisher as Mick Foley) has not given a release date, so I’m not sure if you’ll have time to buy me Mommy, What’s a ?uestlove? for my birthday.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

The last week in September is Banned Books Week, which the American Library Association refers to as a celebration of the freedom to read.

Some links to consider:

• List of the top 100 Banned and Challenged Classics (more info about why 46 of those books were challenged)
• 100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999
• Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009

Are you doing anything to mark Banned Books Week? What are your favorite banned or challenged books? (N-H staffers will be weighing in Friday.)

-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

I need to stop writing about Jonathan Franzen, but people keep saying things about him that bear repeating.

Not that they’re really talking about Franzen — no, by now they’re discussing a concept Franzen has come to represent (perhaps, unwillingly.)

He’s the alpha dog. He’s the messiah. He’s the establishment.

He’s an icon, and every icon draws iconoclasts.

It was trendy to love Franzen. Now, it’s equally trendy to hate him.

It’s even a story when people don’t read him.

Jessa Crispin of Bookslut fame has declared Franz-abstinence.

I checked out of Freedom. I just didn’t care. But the build-up of attention, everyone in the literary world pretending that Jonathan Franzen on the cover of Time was as important as James Joyce’s appearance on the same magazine, and the debate about sexism, and the proclamations and the fuss... surely one should just get over it, read the book so that one can make an informed opinion on the matter. But I dug in my heels...

She notes that no classic author is infallible.

Of course there is no such thing as a must-read book. Maybe you should read some Tolstoy, but then again maybe not, if overly long descriptions of fields don’t really do anything for you, or if you have some problems with the whole woman-has-a-desire-and-so-must-die thing. Maybe you should check out some Jane Austen, but then again, Jane Austen is pretty boring and the whole marriage-as-life thing, I mean who really cares?

She concludes that no book is sacrosanct:

There is no such thing as a canon — what you should read or want to read or will read out of obligation is determined as much by your history, your loves, and your daily reality as by the objective merits of certain works. If anything, the homogeneity of the responses to Freedom proves only the homogeneity we have in people discussing books in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Leon Wieseltier writes an essay, defending his publication’s right to criticize Freedom. Wieseltier insists that The New Republic was trying to restore sanity after everyone else had decided to quit worrying and love the Franzen.

A negative review of a book is often not an attack, but a defense against an attack — a retaliation, or, if you will pardon the Begriff, a negation of a negation. The “hatchet job” is sometimes the second hatchet on the scene.

Wieseltier also invokes William Hazlitt’s “On the Pleasure of Hating,” which seems to have been written in response to the Franzen slobber mob.

The popularity of the most successful writers operates to wean us from them, by the cant and fuss that is made about them, by hearing their names everlastingly repeated, and by the number of ignorant and indiscriminate admirers they draw after them.

Franzen’s stature has peaked and, at least, a vocal minority has turned against him — some (like myself) without even reading him. I suspect that people are fickle enough that Franzen will become so disliked it will become fashionable to like him again.

I will say this in Franzen’s defense. It’s more difficult to dislike him when reading his interviews.

Salon asks, “Obama famously was photographed with a copy of Freedom. If he read it, what do you hope he took away?”

Franzen answers, “I hope he was so preoccupied with urgent national affairs that he wasn’t able to take away much more than a general enjoyment of the experience. I didn’t vote for him in expectation of his mooning around pondering literary novels.”

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Odds and Book Ends features activities and events in the area related to libraries, books and authors. Submit your events at www.News-Herald.com/Calendar, and check back to The Book Club every week for upcoming events and activities at your local library.


Parker Place Retirement Living, in partnership with Mentor Public Library and the Willoughby Eastlake Library System, will host a special book signing by Barbara Davis, author of "Roses to Retail" from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sept. 30 at Parker Place Retirement Living, 7960 Center St. Mentor. Davis will share her memories of growing up in Mentor when it was the rose capital of the nation. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP by Sept. 28 to 440-255-0828.


Preschool Storytime at Mentor Public Library is from Sept. 28 to Nov. 18, at the Children’s Theater at the Main Library, 8215 Mentor Ave. Storytime is for children ages 3 to 5 and takes place from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 7 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Children attend without an adult for a session of stories, songs and rhymes. A responsible adult must remain on the children’s floor during the storytime session. Registration is not required.


Jimmy Carter is scheduled to appear at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Legacy Village on Sept. 28 to sign his new book, "White House Diary." Line tickets are required, limited and available by purchasing a copy of White House Diary at Joseph-Beth. Carter, in addition to being a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former president, is a prolific author. He has written more than 20 books.


Geauga County National Alliance on Mental Illness Family Support Group will host a support group for individuals with a family member, loved one, child or those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at Middlefield Public Library. NAMI provides mutual support for persons diagnosed with serious mental illness and their families. Registration is not necessary for the free program. For more information, call the Mental Health Association at 440-285-3945. The group meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the library.


Girl Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners patch 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29, in the James R. Garfield Room at Mentor Public Library, Main Library, 8215 Mentor Ave. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register.


T.O.P.S. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) will be hosting an open house and reunion at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at Willowick Library, 263 E. 305th St., Willowick. Come and join the fellowship, support, encouragement and learning. New and previous members are welcome. T.O.P.S. meets every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the library. Visitors are always welcome.

Monday Night Book Discussion will be 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 4 at Mentor Public Library, Main Library, 8215 Mentor Ave. Join in the lively discussion of bestsellers, classics and more. This group meets the first Monday of each month from October through June. For this month's selection, contact Barb Hauer at 440-255-8811, ext. 210. Library provides books, and refreshments are courtesy of the Friends of the Library.

Morley Library, 184 Phelps St. in Painesville, will resume winter hours on Oct. 3. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For details, call the library at 440-352-3383.


Friends of the Wickliffe Public Library will again host Silhouette Productions under the direction of Angela Velotta when they present “Polter-Heist” Oct. 22. The audience-participation murder mystery-comedy will be open to the public, and tickets are $10 each. Tickets can be purchased at the library beginning Sept. 22. You must be 18 or older to attend the play. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7 p.m. Details: 440-944-6010. 


--Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

Johann Goethe said, “Men show their character in nothing more clearly than by what they think laughable.”

Maybe that’s why this feels so profound. Elisa Gabbert makes two lists — one of things she finds funny, the other of things she finds sad.

Without the benefit (or hindrance) of context, we learn something about Gabbert. I’m not sure what, but something.

Coincidentally, it has been awhile since I coaxed my coworkers into writing redactive poetry.

So, in the spirit of newsroom cooperation and creative exploration, I present The News-Herald Funny/Sad lists.

Jason Lea
Things that are funny:
Richard Pryor. Delonte West YouTube freestyle sessions. A Different World. Grandparents. Horace Grant’s goggles. Sherman Alexie. Actors when they play themselves.

Things that are sad:
Three-legged puppies. Darryl Strawberry. People who peak in high school. Infanticide. The Trix rabbit. Delonte West firearm charges. Richard Pryor.

Cassandra Shofar
Nose blowing. My dog, Lakota. Sneeze attacks. Conan O’Brien. My friend, Shawn McKinley. British curse words. My grandma. My shadow-boxing neighbor. 80s hair bands. Brat Pack movies. Daffy Duck. Stirrup pants.

Lonely people. Abused animals. Nursing homes. Poverty. Hospice. Outcast children. Obesity. Mourning widowers. Dilapidated buildings. Genocide. Balloons stuck to ceilings. Burned out wicks.

Brandon Baker
Coming to America. Sports talk radio. Co-workers. The burp chorus my cousins can perform. Ron Artest post-game interviews. ARRA fund recipients who deny being ARRA fund recipients. Chapelle Show reruns. Public Enemy’s “Cold Lampin’ With Flavor.” Off-target PR pitches for coverage.

Off-target PR pitches for coverage. Our fascination with crap like Jersey Shore. Giving money to an auto shop. The inability to accept change. Youth sports coaches who devise tactics to benefit themselves more than the children who suit up. Twenty-somethings who can’t seem to grow up. A depleted marriage that was once a union of two people you love and admire.

Jacob Lammers
Dave Chapelle. South Park. Really bad TV broadcasters. Water balloons. My roommate’s dog. My nephews. My oldest brother. Mother Goose & Grimm comic. Cheryl and Danielle’s pranks. Robin’s attempt at pranks. The plot of Zoolander. The fact that there will be a Zoolander 2. My childhood. The pitchfork story. The truck into the garage story. Sh*t My Dads Says. Columnist Dave Barry.

The state of newspapers. The departure of Tom Brokaw. Cold rain. The Lovely Bones. Child predators. Leniency toward career criminals. Covering the crime beat. Writing about crime/disasters involving children. The Cleveland Browns. The playing ability of any Browns quarterback. Watching the Steelers beat the Browns (almost always). Onions. The mullet hairstyle.*

*Could also be funny.

Tracey Read
Larry David. David Sedaris. Amy Sedaris. Jason Lea. My kids. My dad ripping his pants while chasing people who T-pee’d my house in high school. Strangers with Candy. Beavis and Butthead. Snoop Dogg’s TomTom directions. Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seinfeld.

People who brag. People who take Little League too seriously. Turning 40. The scene in Brokeback Mountain with the shirt. Hoarders. Me at 16. When my kids would rather play with their friends than me. Living paycheck to paycheck. People not buying newspapers anymore. Moms who judge other moms.

John Bertosa
Both Airplane! movies, otters, South Park, the Jesus twitter page, Monty Python, comedian Emo Phillips, Mystery Science Theater 3000, very drunk people, Tosh.0

Cleveland pro sports teams, that anti animal cruelty commercial with the mournful soundtrack and the dog looking pathetically from inside the cage,  “Everybody Hurts” by REM, dead animals on the side of the road who had just enough strength left to rest their heads on their paws, homeless people in plain sight

Angela Gartner
Random acts of people I know falling to the ground. The Hangover. The sasquatch from the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky commercials. Johnny Test. My son who believed me when I told him there was an elephant in grandma’s basement.  Vintage Louie Anderson. South Park. Stephen King – On Writing, the book made me laugh unexpectedly. Overheard in the Newsroom on Facebook.  Phone conversations with my mom.

Jock and Mackenzie, my Scottish Terriers that died. Atonement. Medical bills. Sirius Black’s death in the Harry Potter series. P.S. I love you. Doggy Heaven.com.  My Dog Skip -- last 15 minutes. Stories of child abuse. The Holocaust. Eight Below. Daycare payments.

Sandra Klepach
My three-legged cat Muppet. Three Amigos. Shared childhood memories. Grandmas. Safely falling in private. ‘70s high school yearbook hairstyles. Spoken words accidentally merged. Unicorns.

Weight gain. False impressions. Roadkill. Illiteracy. Teenagers without role models. 9 to 5. Native American history. My three-legged cat Muppet.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

1. Nathan Bransford (literary agent, blogger) asked what is the worst job to have in a novel.

Some of the answers, via the #BadJobsInNovels hashtag:

The villain’s horse in a western.
Food in The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The prince’s whipping boy (RIP Sid Fleischman.)
Laundress in an erotica.
Any one of the 100,000 French soldiers in War and Peace

My reply: Harpoonist on Pequod.

2. Imogen Russell Williams posits that those who have read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre can be divided into two groups — Rock Stars (those who love Wuthering Heights and hate Jane Eyre) and Librarians (the opposite.)

But the hypothesis falls apart on further analysis. For example, I prefer Eyre and I’m clearly a ^$#*(&)*(&# Rock Star.

3. Raymond Carver Madlibs.

You'll need to think of a lot of smokable things, alcoholic drinks and expletives.

4. Best pen name ever? Diedrich Knickerbocker.

Jason Lea, JLeaisarockstar@News-Herald.com

We blather on and on about what we like to read and why, who we should be reading and why, who you should be reading and why ... you get the drift.
But we seldom talk about where we read.
Sometimes it really is all about location, location, location.
I read in a lot of places. At the risk of proving myself an old woman (not that anyone was in need of further proof!) in situations where my children and most of my co-workers will whip out the ear buds, I am more inclined to find a book or magazine or newspaper to flip through.
As a side note: Why do so many air travelers and gym goers understand that ear buds are a "do not disturb" sign, but believe people reading will not mind if you strike up a conversation?
In any case, while I certainly can read anywhere, I do have my preferences.
I'll narrow it down to a top 4. (I know, five would have been so much better.)

No. 4: In the car. Nothing makes a long car ride fly by better than a good book. It's still family lore that on our trip to Yellowstone National Park, I read "Little Women" over and over again. I have since learned to pack more books when traveling long distances.


No. 3: At the beach. A cool drink, a beach chair and the sound of the water make for a great backdrop. Only danger here is losing track of time.

No. 2: In bed. While many folks I know find this puts them to sleep, I am the opposite. My exhaustion seems to fade when I snuggle in with a good read.

No. 1: And the No. 1 location ... the ultimate "do not disturb" spot:

Where's your favorite spot?

- Tricia Ambrose

Despite the fact that I write for a literature blog, I almost never post book reviews. If you click on the “book review” tab, most of the posts will be from Tricia.

There are four reasons for that:

1.) I only think critics are useful when they tell you about something new or make you look at something old in a new way. Most of what I read is at least 40 years old, often older than that, and I have nothing new or special to say about Emma, As I Lay Dying or The Souls of Black Folk. (The last three books I read.)

Compare this to Tricia, who is much more in tune with contemporary authors. I would have never read Maggie O’Farrell or Jim Fergus without her.

You all know who Jane Austen and William Faulkner are. If you have chosen not to read them until this moment, nothing I write will change your mind.

2.) Sometimes, I will read a book and have almost no emotional reaction. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. Won’t remember it but don’t plan to forget it. It just was.

But even when I do love or hate a book, I often have trouble explaining why. Usually, my explanation can be summarized as “because that’s how I feel.”

My review for As I Lay Dying would say, “I suspect this was a good book but I will need to re-read it later to be certain.”

That’s not substantiative or helpful.

3.) I don’t think my opinion is that important.

It’s funny to type that, because I am arrogance personified. (My co-bloggers will attest to this.) But I don’t think my opinion matters regarding most books.

If I stumbled upon a great, unknown author, I would write about him or her. But, in most cases, I’m reading authors you and I already know about.

If I were a braver or more selfless man, I would spend my time scouring the ignored stacks at libraries hoping to find the rare jewel. But I’m not that guy. My time on this earth is finite, and I want to read as much Thomas Hardy as I can before I die.

4.) I hate hurting people’s feelings.

I used to write book reviews for The News-Herald. My stomach would churn whenever I hated a book. I don’t mean those books that inspire mixed feelings. I mean the ones that felt like a waste of my time.

I may have hated that particular book, but somebody loved it. It might well be someone’s life work, and now a stranger is saying that the characters are clichés and the plot is predictable.

If I criticize a well-known author like Charles Dickens or Stephen King, it hurts nobody. Dickens is dead and a legend. King is rich and can write whatever he wants. But most review books come from little-known writers. And it doesn’t help anyone for me to tear them a new index.

It doesn’t help you as a reader because you weren’t going to check out their book anyhow, and it certainly doesn’t help the author who just saw his or her life’s work shredded.

But all of this omphaloskepsis is an introduction to my real topic.

A long time ago (at least months, maybe a year) Edward Stephens mailed The News-Herald a copy of his self-published book, Home Place: Gone but not Forgotten.

I was content to leave Home Place on the slush pile. After all, I don’t write reviews anymore.

But Stephens was persistent — polite, but persistent. Every few months he would call to ask if I had looked at his book. I tried to not promise anything but eventually agreed to write a blog post about it.

Then, I read Home Place, and my stomach started to twist.

I didn’t like it.

Home Place is partly Stephens’s memoir of growing up in small-town Kentucky and partly a compilation of his poetry. Neither part appealed to me.

Stephens tells stories that sound familiar. They begin with “Walking to school in the winter was always so cold” or “At the age of nine I wanted to start chewing tobacco.”

It’s not that Stephens tells bad stories. He has a few good ones. But his stories are not so astonishing nor his language so evocative that I wanted to read a book of them.

And his poetry?

They do not have meter or rhyme. Instead, Stephens writes them as a series of paragraphs.

Once again, his subject matter feels overly familiar. He writes poetry about his children, autumn and Hurricane Katrina. (“Katrina, you bad girl.”)

Home Place reminded me of Thomas Hardy’s admonishment. “The recent school of novel writers forget in their insistence on life, and nothing but life, in a plain slice, that a story must be worth the telling, that a good deal of life is not worth any such thing, and that they must not occupy the reader’s time with what he can get at first hand anywhere around him.”

Stephens’s friends and family will want to hear his stories, but I’m not convinced the general populace would. I wouldn’t mind being wrong. He seems like a nice guy.

So, now, I’ve kept my promise to Stephens and written something for the blog. But I’m not sure any of us are better for it.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

1. As you probably know, Oprah Winfrey picked Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom for her book club.

I guess this is a big deal if you’re Franzen or Oprah or a follower of Oprah. Personally, I like The Onion’s take.

And, yes, Jennifer Weiner has noted this on her Twitter page.

“Obvs it would be great if Oprah introduced a great debut lady writer who’s gotten no press. But if that won’t happen...”

Then, in response to another comment, she added, “Oprah hasn’t picked a female author for her book club since Toni Morrison in 2002. Why? No clue.”

Weiner has since proposed her own book club that she will run through Twitter.

Whether I agree with Weiner’s opinions or not, I think an author-run book club is a cool idea. This way, she can help raise the profiles of deserving authors instead of debating media outlets that are unlikely to change.

2. Kanye West asks, “What if Mark Twain had a Twitter? His quotes trump Warhol’s.”

This from the same mind that brought us, “You basically can say anything to someone on an email or text as long as you put LOL at the end” and “Man... whatever happened to my antique fish tank?”

But Kanye’s right. Twain’s quotes were Twitter-ready decades before mini-blogging.

Want proof? Here's a feed filled with Twain, and it's awesome. (Somebody needs to start an Oscar Wilde feed.)

3. Speaking of Twitter, Alison Hallett assesses the value of art criticism in a single tweet. (Hallett, by the way, is the Portland Mercury Arts Editor.)

4. And now for something that has nothing to do with Twitter...

Nitsuh Abebe explains why you don’t want to date a writer.

(Example #8: Writers are really passionate. About writing. Not necessarily about you. Are you writing?)

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

1. Joey Comeau analyzes five books you never want to see listed as a favorite on someone’s dating site.

His choices imply a libertine balance. He thinks anything by Ayn Rand and the Bible are red flags. (I couldn’t get through Atlas Shrugged with a thirty-aught-six, but the Bible has some lovely literature in it. Regardless of religion, I think everyone should read Ecclesiastes.)

He rightfully warns people of The Notebook. Comeau’s take: This is either the kind of (expletive deleted) guy who puts Nicholas Sparks on his profile to seem sensitive, or the kind of (expletive deleted) girl who falls for it.

I’d be nervous about anyone who likes Sweet Valley High or Kerouac. Also, it’s cool like to comics. (No, it is. Samuel L. Jackson said so at Comicon.) But I wouldn’t categorize “anything Batman” as one of my favorites.

2. Mental_floss lists seven things you might not know about Dr. Seuss.

Favorite fact: Seuss worked the word “contraceptive” into the original text of Hop on Pop to make sure his editor read it.

3. Apparently, people hate The Giving Tree.

What a shock. People don’t understand the concept of altruism.

4. Apparently, it’s Roald Dahl day or month or something. In honor of that, Philip Ardagh lists his ten favorite Dahl books. (My favorite, BFG, barely made the list.)

5. Speaking of Jane Austen (we’re always speaking of Jane Austen,) the Austen Fiction Manuscripts Project allows us to read Austen’s handwritten manuscripts. The site doesn't have her best known stuff (Emma, Pride and Prejudice) uploaded but it does have Persuasion.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Odds and Book Ends features activities and events in the area related to libraries, books and authors. Send your events to Community@News-Herald.com or submit it at www.News-Herald.com/Calendar, and check back to The Book Club every week for upcoming events and activities at your local library.


Digital photography classes, taught by Ron Surmick, will be Sept. 20 with the topic “Top Ten Travel Photo Techniques” and Sept. 27 with the topic “Digital Photography 101.” Classes start at 6:30 p.m. at Morley Library, 184 Phelps St. in Painesville, and take place in the library meeting rooms. Those interested can learn everything from composition and equipment to camera operation and image processing, or come for the award-winning photography. For more information, visit www.morleylibrary.org/programming.htm.


A program titled “There’s A Rabbit On The Couch: Hallucinations And Delusions In The Alzheimer’s World” has been scheduled at Mentor Public Library. Those interested can join Linda Bliss of Kemper House as she returns to Mentor Public Library to discuss the hallucinations and delusions that can be experienced by Alzheimer’s patients. Attendees will learn about strategies that can help them cope more effectively when a loved one experiences hallucinations or delusions. This event is free and open to the public and will be at 1 p.m. Sept. 21 at the library’s main branch, 8215 Mentor Ave. It will be in the lower level Garfield Room. Call 440-255-8811 to register, or contact Grace Sims for more details at grace.sims@mentorpl.org.


Cub Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners pins or belt loops 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Children’s Theater at the Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register.


Madison Public Library will off a free program to help prepare the students for the SAT/ACT tests. The program will be presented by Huntington Learning Center for students and parents at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at the library, 6111 Middle Ridge Road. To sign up, visit www.madison-library.info or call 440-428-2189.


The program, “Off to Never Never Land with Mary Martin,” will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at Middlefield Library, 16167 E. High St. From Weatherford, Texas, to Never Land, by way of Broadway, this show takes a musical tour with stops for "Sound of Music," "South Pacific" and "Peter Pan," all shows in which Martin starred in the original production. Martin (portrayed by Damaris Peters Pike) will appear in costume and answer questions. The program is possible through sponsorship by the East Geauga Friends of the Library. To register, call the library at 440-632-1961.


Gayle Deadwyler of AARP will explain the “New Health Care Law for Seniors” at 2 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Bainbridge Library, 17222 Snyder Road, on the corner of Snyder and East Washington. The new health care law brings a number of benefits to people age 50 and older. Some of these changes will happen this year. Others phase in over the next several years. The Friends of the Bainbridge Library will present the program, which is free and open to the public. To register, call the library at 440-543-5611


Madison Public Library, 6111 Middle Ridge Road, Madison, will host SOS & BYOB, "saving our seeds" and "blooming your own bulbs," Sept. 25. Learn how to select and store seed for future gardens and some easy steps to have beautiful blooms all winter long. For details call 440-428-2189.


Madison Public Library will host “The Fair Tax” with speaker Nancy Mills at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 as part of the library’s Public Issues Forum. The library is offering community members an opportunity to
bring in speakers on topics of interest, and will facilitate the sharing and civil discussion of public issues. Anyone who has a topic or issue they would like to explore should call Director Nancy Currie at 440-428-2189 or e-mail nancy.currie@madison-library.info.


Friends of the Burton Public Library will host a book sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 25 in the library basement. Books, magazines, vintage materials, maps, records, CDs, tapes, videos, and puzzles will be available. Burton Public Library is located opposite the Burton Park. Enter the sale through the white door located at the back of the building.


Perry Public Library will host a LEGO block party will be 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 25 at the library, 3753 Main St., Perry. The library is accepting donation of LEGOs, Duplos, Mega Blocks, K’nex, and Tinker Toys. Please do not bring LEGOs from home. All ages are welcome, and all creations will be put on display at the library following the program. Details: 440-259-3300.


Madison Public Library has received a 2010 Dollar General Youth Literacy Grant to fund six reading parties during the 2010-11 school year. The programs are for children ages 3 to 7 with their caregivers. The themed parties are Trucks, Trains, & Transformers; Elephant & Piggie; Princesses & Ponies; Fancy Nancy; Alphabet Soup; and Star Wars. Each child will receive a book that fits with the party’s theme to keep and take home. The first party, Trucks, Trains, & Transformers, is at 11 a.m. Sept. 25. For more information about this and other events or to sign up for the upcoming party, either call 440-428-2189 or go to www.madison-library.info.


Preschool Storytime at Mentor Public Library is from Sept. 28 to Nov. 18, at the Children’s Theater at the Main Library, 8215 Mentor Ave. Storytime is for children ages 3 to 5 and takes place from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 7 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Children attend without an adult for a session of stories, songs and rhymes. A responsible adult must remain on the children’s floor during the storytime session. Registration is not required.


Girl Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners patch 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29, in the James R. Garfield Room at Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register.


Friends of the Wickliffe Public Library will again host Silhouette Productions under the direction of Angela Velotta when they present “Polter-Heist” Oct. 22. The audience-participation murder mystery-comedy will be open to the public, and tickets are $10 each. Tickets can be purchased at the library beginning Sept. 22. You must be 18 or older to attend the play. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7 p.m. Details: 440-944-6010.


Morley Library, 184 Phelps St. in Painesville, will resume winter hours on Oct. 3. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For details, call the library at 440-352-3383.


--Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

One thing The News-Herald Book Club does better than Slate Magazine or The New York Times Book Review: gender representation.

First, Slate learned that about two out of every three authors reviewed in The New York Times and three out of four writers who received the preferential double review were men. (This is in the wake of the Picoult-Weiner-Franzen fracas.)

Then, Slate checked its own numbers, which is frankly the decent thing to do.

Since I haven’t been a bean-counter, I dug into the archives of pieces under Slate’s “Books” rubric in suspense. Between Jan. 1, 2009, and Sept. 6, 2010, Slate ran 34 reviews of fiction under the “Books” rubric. Nine of them were of books by women (I’m squeezing in Agatha Christie’s journals), for 26.5 percent of the total.

Slate noted that the discrepancy shrinks if you take into account DoubleX, the Slate spinoff that focuses primarily on women.

Add in DoubleX’s book-related pieces for 2009 and 2010 so far, and a grand total of 88 books by men were covered, compared with 72 by women, or 45 percent.

This can be read two different ways. If you want to be negative, you can say that Slate places most female authors in a ghetto. If you want to be positive, you can say that Slate recognized there was a need and created DoubleX, which is staffed entirely by women.

Inspired by Slate’s self-awareness, I checked the numbers for The News-Herald Book Club. Coincidentally, Tricia and I have reviewed 39 men and the same number of women since the blog’s creation. (One caveat: I used the “book review” tags to tabulate. If we reviewed a book and didn’t use the book review tag, then they wouldn’t figure into my numbers. That means my live blogs of Finnegan’s Wake and Moby-Dick wouldn’t count toward the totals, neither would Cheryl and Danielle’s countdown to Sweet Valley Confidential.)

As per double reviews, the numbers skew in favor of women. However, we do so few double reviews that I’m not sure these numbers mean much. In almost two years, only five books have been reviewed by both Tricia and I. Two were written by men (Jim Fergus and Junot Diaz;) three, women (Maggie O’Farrell, Daphne du Maurier and Stephenie Meyer.)

Then again, all of those Sweet Valley books that Danielle and Cheryl read should probably count as double-reviews also.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Unrelated postscript, Flavorwire classifies the five clichés of promotional author photos.

1. First, for Tricia, Daphne Kalotay revisits Rebecca.

Though I was in my early teens, already I could tell from the big, swirly letters on cover that this was “popular” fiction, not “literature.”  Indeed, I couldn’t stop turning the pages.  And yet the prose was attentive and measured.  Not only was the physical setting (a mansion by the sea) lushly depicted, but the psychological landscape, too, was achingly precise; I still recall the young protagonist’s yearning for her husband’s love—her longing for intimacy and affirmation, and her acute attention to what his every word or action might indicate about his feelings.  As much as the story is a gothic mystery, it is also realistic portrayal of the way that relationships sag under the weight of unspoken truths.  And this is just one of the reasons du Maurier deserves to be viewed—as she herself long desired—as a “serious” writer of talent and depth.

I never considered Rebecca “popular” fiction. I didn’t even think there were people who thought that. I didn’t know to think there were people who thought that.

I lumped Rebecca in with Jane Eyre (which I love) and Wuthering Heights (which I hate.) They are Gothic romances that became popular because of the violence and romance but stayed popular because of their quality.

Kalotay’s thoughts are a nice addendum to Picoult and Weiner’s opinions on popular versus literary fiction, and our own dual review of Rebecca.

2. Apparently, Google Books has hit some snags. Who knew that compiling a database of every book ever produced could be so complicated?

3. John Forgetta, the creator of The Meaning of Lila, gave us a nice shout-out after we mentioned him in a previous post.

It makes me sad that Forgetta’s comic strip, which is based in Cleveland, doesn’t get more local love. I guess newspapers only have one slot for local talent and it goes to Tom Batiuk. (Not that we have anything against Batiuk. We don’t.)

4. Finally, McSweeney’s presents As I Sat Writing, the autobiography of William Faulkner.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Why do we think of fairy tales as being for children?
I asked myself this, not for the first time after reading through "Irish Fairy and Folk Tales" collected by W.B. Yeats (thanks, Jason).
I've rediscovered a passion for all things Irish, and these tales sure fill the bill. But they're hardly stories for children.
Pat Diver in "Far Darrig in Donegal" can't escape the giants who follow him across the countryside. Mrs. Sullivan's baby has been replaced by a creature of a different sort in "The Brewery of Egg-Shells." And Teig O'Kane has one harrowing night before coming to his senses and choosing the straight and narrow in "Teig O'Kane and the Corpse."
Bedtime stories that will ensure no sleeping takes place, no doubt.
Yeats adds some delightful notes regarding placement of the stories in various sections and their translations from the Irish.
Got me to thinking about other favorite fairy tales.
I'm a bit partial to the Grimms' "Hansel and Gretel." But (when they were younger!) my kids would've been up all night after hearing how the two are led into the woods and left for dead because their family had too many mouths to feed, only to be captured by a woman who wants to fatten them up and eat them.
Or how about "Little Red Riding Hood," a young girl alone in the forest (who thought that was safe?!). She stops and talks to a wolf (bad idea number two) and then tells him where she is going (we've got a trifecta!). Does anyone over the age of 5 think this story is going to end well?
Got any favorite fairy tales? I'm back to more Yeats.
Slainte.

- Tricia Ambrose

P.S. Like libraries? Like Natalie Merchant? She's coming to town at 7 p.m. Oct. 11  to perform at the Ohio Theatre in PlayhouseSquare, 1511 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Proceeds  will benefit the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation. For tickets, call 216-241-6000 or visit: www.playhousesquare.org. Tickets range from $35 to $75.

Odds and Book Ends features activities and events in the area related to libraries, books and authors. Send your events to Community@News-Herald.com or submit it at www.News-Herald.com/Calendar, and check back to The Book Club every week for upcoming events and activities at your local library.

Madison Public Library is restoring some of the hours lost last year because of budget cuts. Beginning Sept. 13, the library will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Expanded hours are in response to a community survey taken this summer. “It’s taken a lot of reorganizing and the addition of self-check machines to make this work,” Library Director Nancy Currie said. “Library budgets have not increased and funding is still a critical issue.” The library is supplementing current operations with “rainy day” funds and money previously intended for a building project. Fall programs also begin the week of Sept. 13 and story time registrations are under way now. With the extended hours, the library has reinstituted morning story times and added “Rock-N-Roll Storytime” for children 18 months to 3 years old who are always in motion. Also in response to community requests, the library has brought back Blu-Ray discs and computer classes. Call 440-428-2189 or visit www.madison-library.info for more information.


Award-winning, bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter will attend a book signing from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at Sparrow Christian Bookshop in Middlefield. Brunstetter is promoting her newest release, “Lydia’s Charm,” which takes place in the Amish community of Charm, Ohio. The bookshop will serve coffee and maple nut cookies. The recipe is featured in the book. Sparrow Christian Bookshop is at the intersection of Routes 608 and 87. For more information, visit sparrowchristian.com.


Girl Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners patch 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29, in the James R. Garfield Room at Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register. Registration begins Sept. 15.


A Silly Bandz Swap will be 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Children’s Theater at Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Silly Bandz is a brand of silicone rubber bands formed to make shapes of animals, objects or letters. Come and trade your Silly Bandz for the rubber band shape you have been searching for to add to your collection. Games and a raffle for Silly Bandz products will take place. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register.


The Friends of the Geneva Library will host a used book sale Sept. 17 and Sept. 18. Both days the sale will be open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday books will be $1 a bag, except for specially priced books. The event will be at the Geneva Public Library, 860 Sherman St., across from the Geneva Junior High School. Money raised through the event will be used to benefit the Geneva Library. A large selection of good condition hard cover and paperback books will be available, as well as DVDs, VHS tapes and magazines. There are many new donations since the last sale of special interest to would be writers is a large donation of books geared toward prospective authors. Also available for sale will be the new Geneva Library Book bags for $2. Raffle tickets for a 70-by-60-inch Harry Potter quilt with matching pillow case will be $1 each or six for $5. For information, call the library at 440-466-4521.


Cub Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners pins or belt loops 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Children’s Theater at the Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register.


Madison Public Library will off a free program to help prepare the students for the SAT/ACT tests. The program will be presented by Huntington Learning Center for students and parents at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at the library, 6111 Middle Ridge Road. To sign up, visit www.madison-library.info or call 440-428-2189.



Morley Library, 184 Phelps St. in Painesville, will resume winter hours on Oct. 3. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For details, call the library at 440-352-3383.


--Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

I don't always pay attention to the author when skimming the library shelves. While there certainly are authors whose works I seek, much of the time I like scanning the titles and seeing what catches my eye.


I was intrigued by the title of "Bliss Remembered," even if Jason did scoff at it a bit when he saw the book on my desk.

And, now that I've read it, I am somewhat surprised it was written by a man. And I'm not quite sure why that is exactly.

Frank Deford's novel is set against the backdrop of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. At least that's when the bliss we're remembering takes place.

When we're introduced to Sydney Stringfellow she is an old woman recalling her youth to her son Teddy (who is no spring chicken himself!)

The most unlikely of promising young swimmers, she had found herself a bit of a fish out of water, no pun intended, in the world of international swimming.

A last-minute addition to the U.S. team headed to Berlin, she learns she cannot compete in the Games. Fortunately, she's not too disappointed because that leaves her plenty of time to spend with the dashing German Horst.

I was taken aback at the level of romantic detail she shares with her son, but maybe when you reach a certain age, you just don't care. And perhaps the reason I assumed the author was a woman was the description of their idyll. You know how the minutia of key times in your life is etched in your memory - I erroneously thought that was a girl thing.

But 'Bliss' is much more than the recollections of an old woman. Deford's novel has some twists and turns to keep you on edge. And he'll have you thinking back to your first love!

- Tricia Ambrose

1. Slate fact-checked Picoult and Weiner’s accusations and tabulated if The New York Times reviews more men than women.

They do, almost two to one.

Of the 545 books reviewed between June 29, 2008 and Aug. 27, 2010:
—338 were written by men (62 percent of the total)
—207 were written by women (38 percent of the total)

Of the 101 books that received two reviews in that period:
—72 were written by men (71 percent)
—29 were written by women (29 percent)

Slate hesitated to conclude that the paper treated certain types of literature differently when they were written by men.

2. Meanwhile, Lincoln Michel of The Faster Times rebuts the claims by Picoult and Weiner that commercial fiction deserves more respect.

Somehow it isn’t enough that we are inundated with mass culture work—that the subways are plastered with ads for the latest formulaic thriller or romance, that Hollywood blockbuster trailers play non-stop on TV, that corporate record labels get their artists constant rotation on the radio—or that such work, as its fans and creators are always quick to point out, makes the most money 99% of the time. We also need Michael Bay winning Oscars, Twilight getting the Pulitzer, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry reviewed in favor of Big Boi or Animal Collective, and probably McDonald’s being reviewed by NYT food critics instead of whatever new Keith McNally restaurant has opened. After all, McDonald’s is where people are “actually eating.”

I don’t disagree with Michel’s assessment, but Big Boi is an awful example. He sold more than 20 million records as half of Outkast.

(Then again, I rolled my eyes when The Dark Knight didn’t get a Best Picture nomination from the Oscars.)

3. Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series is in the early stages of development for a television series. I have four thoughts.

One, I love Sandman and would love for other people to love Sandman. Without Sandman, I would have never read Lord Dunsany, Hope Mirrlees or Italo Calvino.

Two, a television series is preferable to a movie. There is no way to encapsulate all that makes Sandman wonderful in a 2-hour movie.

Three, I really hope this doesn’t suck. I didn’t love Watchmen, so I was OK with the mediocre, hyperviolent movie. But if Sandman sucks... I don’t know. I’ll complain about it on the Internet.

Four, Gaiman’s name is not yet attached to the series. It should be. Even if it’s only a respectful consultant position.

4. Borders will be putting Build-a-Bear stations into its bookstores.

The decision smacks of desperation but it makes some sense. They want to get kids into bookstores, but kids can easily download books. So dangle a carrot to get them inside the store — for example, an adorable, customized stuffed bear — and hope they buy a book or two while they are there.

Borders CEO Mike Edwards talked about tweaking the stores in an interview with Publishers Weekly.

Edwards clearly articulated the reason for adding more nonbook product—as more books are sold in digital formats, retailers need to redeploy the space they have used to sell trade titles. For Borders, that means adding more educational children’s toys and games, more adult games and puzzles, plus high-end stationery.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Today I finished Sweet Valley High No. 9: "Racing Hearts." I might have enjoyed this book more than any other in the series because of the several literary and cultural gems throughout the book. A sampling:

• The dance was a big event on the Sweet Valley High social scene. [just like every other dance in the series so far ...]
• Olivia shook her head, letting her untamed curls cascade around her narrow shoulders. "But not too hard," she insisted. "School's supposed to be fun, too." Maybe for some people, he thought, but not when your mother's too sick to hold a steady job and your father's a drunk.
• Todd wasn't usually so testy; in fact, he was one of the most easygoing students at Sweet Valley. But when he was pushed hard enough, his anger ran deep, and he still had a good reason to hold a grudge against Bruce. The smooth-talking Bruce had tried to take advantage of Elizabeth Wakefield, Todd's girlfriend, when she'd been at her most vulnerable -- after an accident that had left her acting completely out of character for several weeks. Fortunately, Bruce had failed. But only barely.
• With an arrogance born of years of practice, Bruce Patman strutted slowly out of the dressing area and onto the track. His brand-new red running shorts were short enough to expose nearly the entire length of his long, muscled legs, while his white, sleeveless T-shirt emphasized his sleek, tanned arms.
• This wasn't the first time Bruce had treated him this way -- once he'd told Roger that the sweat shirt he wore in gym was so old it belonged in a museum -- and he was sure it wasn't going to be the last time either.
• "Now there's a class-A bod," Lila said, admiring the back of the lean, tall boy dressed in a blue running suit.
• "You can't even see his face from here," Jessica pointed out. "But I can see even in those baggy sweats that everything's in the right place."
• She just wanted some privacy to replay the evening with Dennis in her mind. It hadn't taken them long to dispense with the formalities and take up where they'd left off in Dennis's father's office. His kisses were as satisfying as Jessica could want, and he was eager to please her, though enough of a gentleman to realize when their passions were reaching the point beyond which they would no longer be able to control themselves.
• How can she do this? Jessica thought frantically. She's using one of my very own tricks to get to me! It was unlike Elizabeth to resort to blackmail, but nevertheless Jessica couldn't help but feel a reluctant sense of admiration of her twin's scheme. [Right, Elizabeth doesn't use blackmail, except every time she uses blackmail ...]

This book had it all: Jessica has a new love interest; Elizabeth saves the day; a minor character becomes the star of the school and goes back to being the same person he always was; Bruce Patman acts like a jerk.

And the end of the book provides quite a lead-in to the next one. Annie Whitman is introduced toward the beginning of the book as Bruce Patman's next potential conquest, and the last 20 pages of the book hammer home the fact that she really wants to try out for the SVH cheerleading squad -- which just so happens to be the topic of SVH No. 10. Once the readers can figure out how the book is going to end, I think writer Kate William is ready to give them a sample of what is coming next.

The Roger parts of the books were the best. I loved that he was such a good runner because he ran around the school frequently. I'm puzzled by this entire premise because the race Roger qualified for was one mile around a track ... which is a little different than being able to run through the hallway of a school, where human obstacles and short distances would limit your ability to actually run well. I also loved that he was a freakish outsider until he proved how fast he could run, and then Ms. Popularity Lila was fawning all over him. I don't know of any popular girls from my high school who would have instantly forgotten about an outsider's status just because he showed that he was athletic. Sweet Valley sure is a strange, strange world.




-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

My favorite newspaper comic has been canceled.

My Cage will print its last strip October 31.

For three years, writer Ed Power and artist Melissa DeJesus told the anthropomorphic tales of Norm T. Platypus and his soul-crushing office job at MacGuffin Inc. Norm quipped with coworkers, romanced his fiancée Bridget Dog and dreamed of writing the Great American Zombie-Alien Mash-Up Novel.

Now, the dream — for Norm and his creators — is over.

Ed Power is frank and graphic when discussing the cancellation.

“I feel like my childhood dream was shot point-blank through the eyes.”

For years, Power asked his fans to write newspapers in support of his strip. I never took him seriously. I disregarded it like when musicians remind us of their release date. It’s self-promotion, an annoying but necessary part of the business.

I work at a newspaper. When we stopped running 9 Chickweed Lane, I didn’t mention My Cage as a potential replacement to my editors. (Not saying that they would have listened, but the suggestion would not have offended them.)

Instead, I read My Cage online like most of its fans. I assumed it would run for 40 years after it ceased to be funny, like Marmaduke.

And, now, it’s cancelled. I’ll never get a satisfactory coda to the Norm-Bridget-Ashley Bengal love triangle. I’ll never read about Norm getting that dream book deal.

And it stings. It hurts in that way you hurt when a show you love gets canceled a season too soon. And you feel stupid because there are things more important than the fictional tales of an anthropomorphic, semi-aquatic mammal. In the last seven days, I’ve written about a killed toddler, a fire at an animal sanctuary and a young man who was stabbed; and I’m complaining about the abrupt end of a comic strip.

But that’s because stories matter. Stories are what keep me from going crazy when I write about infanticide, burnt cats and stabbings.

Perhaps, I’m being histrionic, but it was nice to read a strip that wasn’t rehashing some decades-old joke. By the nature of the business, newspapers are filled with legacy strips — Beetle Bailey, B.C., Dennis the Menace, freakin’ Marmaduke — none of which have made anyone laugh since Reagan was president. In hindsight, Gary Larson and Bill Watterson were brilliant for getting out when they did.

Even strips that have a spark like Dilbert or Fox Trot eventually collapse beneath the limitations of continuity and the medium. (It’s all but impossible to tell a good story three panels at a time.)

Meanwhile, you have strips like My Cage or The Meaning of Lila that have something new and funny to say, but they can’t break through because nobody wants to cancel Family Circus.

We live in age when nothing’s over until it’s over. Shows are resurrected years after cancellation. Who is to say My Cage doesn’t return as a television pilot or a series of self-published comic books? But, for now, my favorite comic strip has been cancelled and it stings.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com

Danielle and I are fast approaching the end of the Sweet Valley High books available at Cleveland Public Library and through CLEVNET. CPL only has Nos. 1-10 cataloged, and I just recently checked out No. 10 ("Wrong Kind of Girl"). So we have a plea for our fellow current (and former) Sweet Valley High readers.

We're looking for books 11-181, and wondering if any SVH fans would like to lend/sell/give them to us so we can continue our reading as we prepare for the release of "Sweet Valley Confidential: 10 Years Later". We're considering scouring Amazon and Half for the next 171 books, but I'm concerned shipping would get a bit pricey. If other SVH readers are looking for books not in their collections or libraries, maybe we can arrange a book swap (unfortunately, Danielle and I do not have any books to contribute to a swap, though neither of us are opposed to purchasing a few).

We would have to work out some logistics so my anal-retentive self can read the books in sequential order, but we could probably estimate when in the next six months we would want to read which books based on the progress we are making.

Interested in helping us out? Need to fill a gap in your SVH collection? Drop me a line and let me know.





-- Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

Odds and Book Ends features activities and events in the area related to libraries, books and authors. Send your events to Community@News-Herald.com or submit it at www.News-Herald.com/Calendar, and check back to The Book Club every week for upcoming events and activities at your local library.


A Silly Bandz Swap will be 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Children’s Theater at Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Silly Bandz is a brand of silicone rubber bands formed to make shapes of animals, objects or letters. Come and trade your Silly Bandz for the rubber band shape you have been searching for to add to your collection. Games and a raffle for Silly Bandz products will take place. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register. Registration opened Sept. 2.


Cub Scouts can earn requirements for their Good Manners pins or belt loops 7 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in the Children’s Theater at the Mentor Public Library, Main Library. Catherine Holloway of Etiquette Consulting Service will provide a presentation regarding first impressions, positive image, telephone manners, thank-you notes, etc. Come and learn lessons of courtesy, consideration of others and gain self-confidence. Call 440-255-8811, ext. 220, to register. Registration begins Sept. 8.


The Mentor Multiple Sclerosis Support Group will meet Sept. 8 at Borders Books, Music, Movies and Cafe’, 9565 Mentor Ave., Mentor. The group will host “Visiting Angels” Anyone who has MS, or is affected by MS is welcome to attend. Details: kathysoke@aol.com.


Perry Public Library will kick off its fall programs with a presentation by a garden author Sept. 9. Maureen Brown Heffernan, a Perry native, is the executive director of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and author of “Native Plants for Your Maine Garden,” “Hershey Children’s Garden, a Place to Grow at Cleveland Botanical Garden” and “Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast.” The presentation begins at 7 p.m. and will include books for sale and signing. The Perry Library is located at 3753 Main St. Visitors should register for the event by calling 440-259-3300 or visit www.perrypubliclibrary.org.


Anyone with hearing loss can attend the meetings of the Hearing Loss Association of America Northern Ohio Chapter. Meetings are 10 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month at Morley Library in Painesville. People can benefit from information on coping with their losses, hearing aides, listening devices and associate with others who have a hearing loss.
If you would like to give donations or sponsorship for the local chapter, contact President Dawn Lyons, president of the HLAA Northern Ohio Chapter, at sleepy36_44004@hotmail.com.


Madison Public Library is restoring some of the hours lost last year because of budget cuts. Beginning Sept. 13, the library will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Expanded hours are in response to a community survey taken this summer.


This month at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 24519 Cedar Road, Lyndhurst, 216-691-7000:

• Signings by Dr. Cynthia Koelker, “101 Ways to Save Money on Health Care: Tips to Help You Spend Smart and Stay Healthy,” 7 p.m. Sept. 7
• Lisa Black, “Trail of Blood: A Novel of Suspense,” 7 p.m.Sept. 9
• Katherine Miracle, “Discovering Your Dawn,” 7 p.m. Sept. 14
• Isabel Wilkerson, “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” 7 p.m. Sept. 16
• Robert Michael Pyle, “Maricopa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year,” 7 p.m. Sept.
• 20
• Karl Marlantes, “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War,” 7 p.m. Sept. 21
• Michael Grant, “The Magnificent 12: The Call,” 7 p.m. Sept. 22
• Lynn Powell, “Framing Innocence: A Mother’s Photographs, a Prosecutor’s Zeal and a Small Town’s Response,” 7 p.m. Sept. 23
• President Jimmy Carter, “White House Diary,” 1 p.m. Sept. 28
• P.L. Gaus, “Blood of the Prodigal: An Amish-Country Myster,” 7 p.m. Sept. 29

Non Author Events:

• Magic School Bus Party, noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 18
• Family Movie Night, 7 p.m. Sept. 24
• Knit-Out and Crochet Event, 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 26

--Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

I'd heard a lot about "The Council of Dads" by Bruce Feiler but apparently hadn't paid too much attention to that info.

What I got was not at all what I expected.

Following a cancer diagnosis, Feiler writes of his decision to gather a council of men to father his daughters. He chooses six men who each can speak to a particular facet of his personality or time in his life for high daughters should he not survive long enough to be there for them.


He details why each man was selected and what he hopes they will shares with his girls.

And he chronicles a bit of the struggle he and his family undergo in the months following his diagnosis.


He certainly does tug at the heartstrings, but not in an overly sentimental way. In that sense, I enjoyed the book.
But I guess where it would have helped to have paid more attention to that chatter is that I expected to read how these men interacted with his family. And they really don't. I also thought there'd be more reaction from the men themselves.

I know it's a first-person account and all, but what would your reaction be if a friend of yours asked you to be there for his kids if he dies? I know what I think a reaction would be, but perhaps the reality is different.

The move to create councils has grown, and that's certainly not a bad thing. We can all use a few more people looking out for us in the world.

Find out info on forming a council here.
-Tricia Ambrose

1. Andrew Wylie and Random House have settled their e-book tiffle.

For background on the smackdown, click here and here.

The New York Times is promoting this as a win for Random House. They get the e-book rights to 13 popular backlist titles. However, “win” is a strong word, seeing as they will be paying a royalty rate that can reach as high as 40 percent. (The industry norm is 25 percent.)

So, yes, they get their e-books and Wylie’s Odyssey Editions lost more than half of its titles. But Wylie also negotiated a significantly higher royalty rate than the norm.

That doesn’t sound like a win. That sounds like compromise. (Not that there is anything wrong with compromise.)

Publishing houses that own the print rights to other Odyssey Editions titles, which still include novels by Evelyn Waugh and Saul Bellow, have remained tight-lipped.

2. Apparently, Roald Dahl was a bad student.

How bad? One teacher called him “indolent” and “illiterate.” Another had this to say: “A persistent muddler. Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. He reminds me of a camel.”

A camel? What does that even mean? Is the teacher saying that camels are bad writers? I suppose that’s true. I mean, I’ve never read anything worthwhile from any ungulate, so why single out camels?

(While stinging, this is not the best “camel” diss of all time.)

This information comes from Penguin’s The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets, which also will include an alternate ending to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

3. Richard Allen of We Who Are About to Die is writing poetry in the style and cadence of Rick Ross.

(If you don’t know who Rick Ross is, he’s a mediocre rapper who succeeds because of his accomplices.)

Rick Ross’s original stanzas:
I feel like Big Meech.
Larry Hoover.
Whippin’ work.
Hallelujah.

One of Allen’s takes:
I feel like Harry Crews.
Barry Hannah.
I want to be your dog.
Svanasana.

My own try:
I feel like Descartes.
Francis Bacon.
Think Deeper.
As-Salamu Alaykum.

-Jason Lea
JLea@News-Herald.com

I have to address a few things from Jason's previous post about commercial vs literary success.
Why do we assume they must be mutually exclusive? I would think most writers want readers to appreciate their skills, for critics to laud their talent and for their work to actually reach a wide audience.
And I have read Jennifer Wiener's works (In Her Shoes, Good in Bed) and really enjoyed them. She's definitely a cut above in the genre. Her characters are well developed; her writing is solid; and her topic matter speaks to a lot of women.
To their concern about male writers garnering more critical acclaim than female writers, I haven't done any kind of analysis, but I wouldn't be surprised. I wonder how far we've come since the days of George Eliot and the Brontes.

And now for something completely different...

Do you like song lyrics? Do you like reading?
Me too.
So I was drawn to "The Song Reader" by Lisa Tucker.

The premise: By knowing which song lyrics a person find themselves fixated on, this young woman can help them get to the root of their problems.

Mary Beth believes her gift is helping people, even as she involves her younger sister and adopted son in her own problems.

Gets you thinking, though, about why it is that at certain times in your life you are drawn to a particular artist or type of music.

I am a big fan of the Smiths and adore lots of their lyrics "I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, but heaven knows I'm miserable now." "There's a club if you'd like to go; You could meet somebody who really loves you; So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own." Or "Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me; No hope, no harm, just another false alarm."

But, I gotta be honest: Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for such heavy lyrics, no matter how upbeat the music.

Perhaps there's something to this song reader after all.

Get a sense of what Tucker was thinking here.

- Tricia Ambrose

Well, we've made it through eight books in the Sweet Valley High series. Danielle and Cheryl have several similar thoughts about what we've read so far, so let's just get into it.

1. The "updated" versions of the books started out super cheesy, but are now preferred to the originally published versions.

Danielle: I mentioned in the original Sweet Valley Confidential post here on the Book Blog that the books were re-released with updates to make them more appealing to today's young girls. The first six books in the series that Cheryl and I read were the updated versions. Initially I thought the updates were super cheesy. It seemed like they were forcing changes in the original storyline to include references to cell phones. There was one particular part that sticks out, in which the girls were preparing for a dance contest which was becoming more popular with the students of SVH because of the recent surge of reality dance programming on television.(I can't remember which book; oops! I read 5 in one night, though, so forgive me if I've got the details all jumbled.) As I started reading, each of these references seemed outrageously forced, and totally unnecessary. However, books 7 and 8 that Cheryl and I read were the original versions... and Oh. My. Gosh. They are so different. In "Heartbreaker," the eighth book of the series, Jessica is starring in the school play and believes she is going to get her big break. She starts dreaming of starring opposite Sylvester Stallone, and I am immediately lost. So I guess now I see the benefit of updating the books. At least in that respect.

Cheryl: Danielle and I talked about this the other night, and I think she sums it up pretty nicely. I guess I sort of found the updates in the books annoying until I returned to the originals and realized how necessary they modernization is.

2. The dramatic subplots are taken so lightly. Almost too lightly. The books are very "soap opera-y," as Cheryl so eloquently put it.

Danielle: I once told a coworker who was unfamiliar with the Sweet Valley series that the books were pretty much soap opera smut for teens. I was definitely not mistaken. As I said before, the subplots throughout are incredibly intense. Teachers accused of having affairs with students, attempted rape (which happens multiple times in multiple books), shoplifting, drug use, drinking, driving under the influence ... So many things that are a really big deal are handled so lightly. It's shocking! And then, to really amp up the soap opera-y-ness of the whole series, Liz is left in a coma and comes out of it seemingly having switched places with Jessica! She goes around flirting with boys, partying, shopping, and generally misbehaving. Then, in a scene in which she is almost raped by The. Bruce. Patman., she bumps her head and awakens having forgotten that she was ever any different. It's impossible to keep up with the lives of the characters in these books! And it's hard to identify with the situations, because my high school experience was NOTHING like that. (I was in marching band; 'nuff said.)

Cheryl: I was in marching band too, but I think there was some element of soap oper-y-ness to my high school experience. And I know that in high school, what's going on with the boy you like is kind of a big deal ... but probably not a bigger deal than getting stuck in the wilderness with a group of drunk college kids after one tried to rape you (and P.S. why in the heck did all the Sweet Valley parents think it was OK for their high school kids to be dating college kids?!?!?). That would be the bigger gossip than who was talking to whom at Casa Del Sol (or the Dairi Burger in the original books). I've read on Wikipedia the summaries of the books to come, and, without spoiling much, stuff gets deathly dramatic without consequences.

3. The books recap the dramatic subplots from previous books in an even more cavalier fashion.

Danielle: Cheryl pointed out how awkwardly some of the serious situations are recapped as the series progresses. For example, Liz's best friend, Enid Rollins, confesses to a history with drugs and alcohol, a secret which eventually gets out to the entire school. Yet, days later, she is able to get a super hot new boyfriend and act like she was never mortified the secret got out in the first place. Then, a few books later, it is summed up like "Yeah, so Enid once did bad things, but it's OK now." Yeah, OK. Because mixing pot and Ecstasy and alcohol while driving, and hitting a young boy who was left paralyzed for LIFE is really only worth a passing mention.

Cheryl: Ditto.

4. Jessica is a total ... well, you know. Mean girl.

Danielle: Jessica sucks. She shops all the time, only cares about herself, plays with the emotions of every guy she meets, expects her sister to constantly cover for her, and is pretty much just a meanie. Why does anybody like her? I doubt anybody really does, but I suppose nobody would be as interested in reading about two Liz-like girls who were dedicated students with nice friends who had little to no scandal in their lives.

Cheryl: My favorite Wakefield twin was always Elizabeth. The more I am reading, the more I am wondering how in the heck anyone could ever like Jessica? Also, why is Jessica the "hot" twin if she and Elizabeth look identical? And for as much as Jessica seems to put herself out there, if you know what I mean, when it comes down to it, she really seems like she doesn't want to be putting herself out there, if you know what I mean.

Summary:

Danielle: I guess what it all boils down to is making the books compelling. If both girls were total sweethearts, if there weren't crazy plot twists and ridiculous situations, nobody would want to stick around. Of course, the books take things a little over the top, but Francine Pascal obviously knew how to sell books: You can't go wrong with a combination of scandalous scenarios and crush-worthy boys to flirt with.

Cheryl: Francine Pascal really created an addicting series here. I've noticed with the older books that each ends with a lead-in to the next, asking the question for the next topic. Of course I want to know if Roger will melt Lila's icy heart!

One more burning question:

WHY IS THERE A DANCE IN (almost) EVERY BOOK??? We both had three annual dances at our high schools: homecoming, winter formal, prom.

Random trivia we have noticed from reading so many books back to back:

When Jessica is embellishing how many times something has happened, she always uses the number 137.

How far are you in your Countdown to Sweet Valley Confidential?

Happy reading!
Danielle Capriato, DCapriato@News-Herald.com
Cheryl Sadler, CSadler@News-Herald.com

One more thing about Franzen, then I promise to leave him alone (at least, until I read Freedom.)

First, back story: Jonathan Franzen wrote Freedom. Critics fawned. They called it a masterpiece, genius and an epic.

Jennifer Wiener, an author of commercial women’s fiction (sometimes called “chick lit”) became sick of the fawning. She and Jodi Picoult claimed that critics unfairly favored certain authors and those authors are usually male.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Wiener said, “I think it’s a very old and deep-seated double standard that holds that when a man writes about family and feelings, it’s literature with a capital L, but when a woman considers the same topics, it’s romance, or a beach book - in short, it’s something unworthy of a serious critic’s attention.”

The writers wanted to clarify that they were not grousing at Franzen. Instead, they were concerned about gender favoritism and the perceived schism between commercial and literary fiction.

Picoult said, “There’s that unwritten schism that literary writers get all the awards and commericals writers get all the success. I don’t begrudge the label of ‘commercial writer’, because I wanted to reach as many readers as I could. I read a lot of commercial fiction and a lot of the same themes and wisdoms I find in commercial fiction are the same themes and wisdoms as what i see lauded in literary fiction.”

Weiner went so far as to create the hashtag #franzenfreude, which she defined as, “Franzenfreude is taking pain in the multiple and copious reviews being showered on Jonathan Franzen.” (I thought franzenfreude was when you wanted to kill Jonathan Franzen and marry your mother. Also, what’s the difference between “multiple” and “copious?”)

As in most good debates, both sides have worthwhile perspectives.

Yes, the reviews for Freedom have verged on obsequious. However, without reading the book, I can’t tell you if it’s the emperor’s new clothes or justified praise. (Bear in mind, I didn’t like The Corrections; so Franzen’s charm is, at least, partly lost on me.)

Next, each artistic circle has its superstars. Music critics love Vampire Weekend and don’t understand why they don’t sell Katy Perry numbers. Millions of fans love Katy Perry and don’t understand why she doesn’t get Vampire Weekend respect.

Readers are no different. The majority of critics love Franzen and find most women’s commercial fiction interchangeable. Those who enjoy “chick lit” (my co-blogger, Tricia, for example) think it is unfairly maligned because of its subject matter and target audience.

These superstars can come from any gender, race or even sexual preference, though it might be easier for certain demographics to climb the mountain. Yes, Franzen gets a lot of love, but so do Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker and David Sedaris.

(It might be worthwhile to look through the New York Times’ book reviews to see what representation different genders and genres receive.)

Now, as per the differences between commercial and literary fiction, I’ve never read any Weiner. I can’t tell you if she’s a hack who sells a lot of books or an auteur whose merits are unfairly ignored.

I have, however, read some Picoult. While I can’t vouch for all 17 of her books, I enjoyed My Sister’s Keeper more than The Corrections.

This reminds me of when Amy Tan told Stephen King that nobody asked her about the language in her stories. (King relates this anecdote in the prologue of On Writing.) It’s great to be successful, she mused, but it would be better if people appreciated the handiwork, also.

Then again, how bad should we feel for these commercially successful writers? Bestselling authors are already a blessed and lucky few. It’s not enough that they have the job and royalty checks that everyone wants. Now, they want your respect.

Well, some deserve it. Dickens and Shakespeare were two of the most commercially successful authors from their respective eras, after all. But let’s make this clear, there is a difference between Katy Perry and Vampire Weekend. Moreover, there’s a difference between Katy Perry and Prince.

One wrote music that was designed to be popular. The other wrote music that became popular because it was so good.

-Jason Lea, JLea@News-Herald.com