BOOK REVIEW: March

Author, Geraldine Brooks has used the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women as her main character in her novel, MARCH. While Louisa May Alcott based her series on growing up with her sisters, Brooks has based her story on what is known of Bronson Alcott, Louisa May’s real father. From Alcott’s books, all we know about Mr. March is that he is away, fighting for the Union during the Civil War.  Brooks takes a deeper look into his life.

As a young man, Peter March toured the South as a peddler. From these journeys he met with Southern gentlemen as well as their slaves and ended up a very wealthy man. He returned home to Connecticut where he met and married Marmee, an avid abolitionist involved in the Underground Railroad. The March family eventually lost their wealth supporting John Brown and his plans to settle run away slaves in their own communities.

Having spent much of the pre-war advocating the freedom of all people bound in slavery, March feels obligated to enlist in support of the Union. Too old to enter as a soldier, he enlists as a chaplain, leaving his family close to poverty. His idealistic nature has not prepared him for the realities of war and he is almost destroyed.

Much of the story is told through letters March writes back home. He had promised to always be truthful with Marmee, but too many times the circumstances of war were too dreadful to share.

Having read Little Women I found the people in the story as familiar as old friends. For people who enjoy history, the real characters, such as John Brown and Henry Thoreau, help the reader to remember that this time in history actually happened.

The book is brilliantly written. Geraldine Brooks does her homework and her books are always well researched. She keeps us involved with her ability to use descriptive language, whether she has March telling us about the sun setting on the river or telling us of the horrors of a military hospital.

This book will be of interest to fans of the March girls as well as to Civil War buffs. Be prepared though. This is first of all a war story, not pretty or romanticized. I found it hard to put down, but also a little hard to watch this idealistic man come face to face with the ugliness of war.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
And in 2011, may
All of your books be page-turners,
All of your plays be SRO, and
All of your hands be Royals.
 
Pat

BOOK REVIEW: Mennonite In A Little Black Dress

Rhoda Janzen is probably best known as a poet. She was the University of California Poet Laureate in 1994 and 1997 and has previously published several collections of poetry. After being asked so many times about growing up Mennonite and leaving that community for the sophisticated world of art and academia, she decided to write her memoirs. The result is MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS.

Rhoda had turned her back on the Mennonite community, married an atheist, and became a college professor. Two decades later, while recovering from a bad automobile accident, her husband of fifteen years has left her for a guy named Bob, whom he met on Gay.com. Rhoda feels that it is time to go home.

Home is a conservative Mennonite family. Her father is an internationally known speaker for the Mennonites and her mother, a nurse, has the practical answers to help Rhoda recover. Her most often suggested advise is for Rhoda to marry her first cousin. He has a tractor and would be a good catch.

The book was very informative about the Mennonite life style. Rhoda had grown up without dancing, drinking alcohol, radios, eight-track tapes, Barbies, and unsupervised television. She had been surrounded by love, laughter, and tradition that now she has come to appreciate these things as well as having family to support her.

The book is humorous at times. Rhoda makes light of her present problems, especially the ex-husband. As with all of us, what was embarrassing in our teens can be funny to look back on. Most of the humor comes from the mother’s ability to bring inappropriate subjects into conversations. As a nurse, Rhoda's mother found nothing wrong with talking about pus at the dinner table while the family ate their mashed potatoes.

Even though this book gave me a better understanding of the Mennonites and I am not sorry that I read it, I did not like it. It was a #1 bestseller and the reviews promised a laugh out loud book. I found the humor to be forced and Rhoda a little hard to take. At times I felt that she was using four letter words just to show us how far she had moved from her strict religious past. Memoirs are tricky; the author walks a fine line between telling us the facts and sounding egotistical or whiney. Rhoda was the latter.

THEATRE REVIEW: Nuncrackers

Millbrook Playhouse, located in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania, is a true summer stock venue. Imagine the thrill when I learned that Millbrook was extending their season by doing a Christmas production at the Lock Haven Elks. To make things even more exciting, this play included the characters from Nunsense, a very popular, funny show.

Nuncrackers is the story of the first televised Christmas concert put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken. In Nunsense the nuns were trying to raise enough money to bury the deceased sisters still being stored in the freezer. Through a hilarious twist of events, a large sum of money fell into their laps. That money was used to build WCON-TV, the cable access television station.

Sister Mary Regina, the Mother Superior, was played by the multi-talented Marc de la Concha. The role demands a lot of stage time and Marc -- or Mother Superior-- does his/her best to hold the varied cast together.

The sisters, Mary Hubert, Robert Anne, Mary Paul "Amnesia", and Mary Leo are played by Amelia Lang-Wallace, Tiffany Green, Melissa Mabus, and Kali Haines respectively. Sister Mary Annette played herself. Nicholas Wilder joined the sisters as Father Virgil Manly Trott. The children were played by Derek Grove, Olivia Hanna, Brian Lose, and Tori May. These names should sound familiar to regular Millbrook supporters.

Some of the sketches were laugh out loud funny and the audience did, regularly. “In The Convent”, with bows to The Village People, was my favorite. Even the body gestures were correct. The harmony in “The Three Kings” did the Andrew Sisters proud.

Father Virgil had to fill in for Sister Julia Child of God, the convent cook, and the rum for the fruitcake seemed to end up in the good Father. It was his shining moment.

The star of the show is definitely Mother Superior. Every member of the cast is extremely talented, but Marc de la Concha can do it all. It was worth the price of admission to see him and Father Virgil do a Sugar Plum Fairy dance-off.

I am hoping we see this group of actors on the stage at Millbrook this coming summer. I have heard some hints of their upcoming productions, so watch for more information. It is always fun to watch talent working hard to entertain us, and talented this group is.

The Mother Superior, a.k.a Marc de la Concha, and three of the Loosely Lutheran Literary Ladies:
 Pat Park, Genevive Robine, and Lynn Dankanich

BOOK REVEIW: When Will There Be Good News?

It is true. Sometimes a book is judged by the cover. I picked up WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS? by Kate Atkinson based on the cover as well as the title. This is an author I am very glad that I found.

The first chapter introduces us to 6-year -old Joanna and her family walking down a country road to their home where Joanna witnesses a horrific crime.

Thirty years later, we again meet Joanna. She is now Doctor Hunter, married, and with an infant son who is the most important thing in her life. Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe comes to warn Dr. Hunter that the criminal who had changed her life thirty years ago has been released from prison.

When Dr. Hunter goes missing, the only person who believes that some thing is horribly wrong is Reggie, Dr. Hunter’s “mother’s helper”. Reggie has more problems of her own than a sixteen year old should have to handle. Reggie's mother is dead and friends of her brother Billy are threatening to kill her.

Reggie is responsible for saving a man’s life at the scene of a massive train accident. The man, Jackson Brodie, private detective, is an old friend of Louise Monroe’s and may be more involved with the Hunters than is evident at first.

As with any good mystery, to give you more information might ruin the story for you. So as complicated as this must sound, Atkinson cleverly intersects all of the characters’ lives in a way that might surprise you.

Kate Atkinson may be considered a crime novelist, but she is a writer that is hard for me to pigeon hole. Her development of characters is superb; her ability to unravel complex plots never feels contrived, and her dark sense of humor is a refreshing delight. This is an author that I hope to find again.

BOOKS: Auntie Patty Claus' Shopping Guide

Once again it is time for Auntie Patty Claus to help you with your Christmas shopping. Here is a list of books that will make terrific gifts.

 
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Although written for the Young Reader, this is
my pick for anyone who enjoys a good book.

Read My Review

Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
 This is for the fans of Moby Dick,
and for those who weren't.
Read My Review

American Gospel by Jon Meacham
If your list includes a buff of U. S. history, this
will be appreciated.
Read My Review

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Vampire-o-phile on your list?  Give them this
historical background on Vlad, The Impaler.
Read My Review

Peace Like a River by Lief Enger
If you are looking for a gift for a person who
would enjoy a beautiful, spiritual story, this is it.

Read My Review

The Passage by Justin Cronin
Evil government experiments, vampires, the end
of civilization as we know it!  Need I say more?
Read My Review

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
We may have found a best seller to
make us think.

Read My Review

Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald

This story about a young woman's adjustment

to life in America is Chick-Lit at its best.
Ready My Review

Redfield Farm by Judith Redline Coopey
Anyone interested in the Underground Railroad,
Quakers, Southwestern Pennsylvania and/or
American history will love this book.

Read My Review







In case my personal Santa is reading this, I will be happy with the new Greg Iles, a recent Sandra Dallas, or anything by Kate Atkinsons.

I hope that this helped to make your yuletide shopping a little easier.

BOOK REVIEW: The Passage

If Stephen King’s The Stand and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend were to have a love child, it would be THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin. In a near future setting, The Passage tells of how the United States went from the world we know to a world of fear and darkness -- of a fate worse than death.

FBI agents Brad Wolgast and his partner have been collecting men from death rows in penitentiaries around the country. The men that they rescue have no families and no chance of ever being set free. All that the agents know is to take the men to a secret government location and to make sure that no trail is left behind. About the time that Wolgast is aware that witnesses are being killed to insure that there is no trail, he is asked to pick up a six-year old girl, Amy Harper, at a convent.

At the secret facility where he takes the child, he discovers that he may be considered a “ witness” by the people in charge. As he escapes with Amy, the men who have been used in the experiments also escape and within thirty-two minutes civilization changes into a land of horror.

Almost one-hundred years later, the people of the Colony are living behind tall walls believing that they may be the last people alive. Bright lights burn all night to help protect them from the enemy. The enemy, or “Smokes” as the people call them, only attack at night and have a strength and powers unknown by the humans.

One evening Amy appears at the gate and her appearance starts an other type of terror and an odyssey to take her and her companions back to the place that started the horror.

Author Justin Cronin has given us not only a suspenseful adventure, but an epic story of how man can endure through unimaginable danger. The story is so full of unexpected turns and suspense that it is hard not to tell too much in a review. I hope that I have whetted your imagination, but not ruined the suspense.

If you want to take a chance on a style that borders somewhere between science-fiction, horror, human drama and suspense---or if this is already your reading pleasure--Cronin is an author to watch for.

THEATRE REVIEW: A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance has just closed in the Studio Space above the State Theatre in State College. Directed by Ron Siebert, this is a production that proves that Edward Albee is one of America’s top playwrights.

Examining the delicate balance that goes into keeping relationships on an even plane, Albee and a very talented cast provide the audience with an enjoyable evening.

Cary Anne Spear and Lloyd Short play the couple, Agnes and Tobias. Their scenes together show the mild affection that has become routine in their marriage.  Ms. Spear has most of the longer speeches at the beginning of the play and she handles the beauty of Albee’s language with great skill. Her dialogue gives the audience a hint of the conflict that is to come. As Agnes holds the family together, Ms. Spear holds the play together.

Lloyd Short, as Tobias, seems at times too meek, too mild. I was not sure if it was the case of an actor not too sure of himself on stage or how the part was directed. Later in the big dramatic scene between Tobias and his best friend, Harry, Mr. Short shows his acting skills. I wish that I had seen some indication of that passion earlier.

Susanna Ritti has the fun of playing Claire, Agnes’s alcoholic sister. Ms. Ritti plays the part with all engines running. Never does she play her part as the laughable drunk. Her comments wisely point out the frailties of the human condition giving most of the comedy relief to the play.

The daughter, Julia, is played by Rhiannon McClintock. Her need for the safe haven of home is balanced with an ambiguous feeling toward her parents. Ms. McClintock does most of her early scenes with a face that shows her bitterness and unhappiness. Her big scene in the second act shows what a talent this woman is.

Margaret Higgins and Tom McClary are the best friends, Edna and Harry who seem to have moved in to Julia’s room to stay. Again their early scenes do not completely prepare the audience for their outbursts later on.

I like Albee. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for A Delicate Balance, but it is probably Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf that has become better known play. His use of language is almost Shakespearian and his understanding of the undercurrents of relationships may be ugly at times, but very real.

I can not finish this review without mentioning The Next Stage, a non-profit corporation that produces plays that need to be done. The production company’s history includes some of America’s greatest playwrights and shows that may not be the commercial success of the big musicals, but classics for the true theatre lover.

This was my first visit to see one of their productions and I loved it. Located above the main stage at the State Theatre on College Avenue in State College, the venue is small and intimate. The atmosphere was of being an invited guest and witnessing true drama in a private home.

This terrific production showed why Edward Albee is worthy of his acclaim and that we are a valley that can be happy about our theatre community.

BOOK REVIEW: You Have The Right To Remain Silent

Barbara Paul is a delightful mystery writer and the person who gave me a copy of one of her books will never be allowed to leave my circle of friends.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT is not the first in the series about Sergeant Marian Larch, but it is the first that I read.  It did a good job of introducing Sergeant Larch and her co-workers.

Four corpses have been found, hand-cuffed together, in Manhattan. Each man is well-dressed, white-collar, unidentified, and shot through the right eye. Marian recognizes the murders as a warning, but to whom and about what? It turns out that all four men had worked for Universal Laser Technologies and were heavily into government contract work.

While working on this increasingly dangerous assignment, Marian is dealing with her personal life and the murder of a mother of three young children. Her present boyfriend is obnoxious and on his way out. Marian, and the reader, have reason to worry that the new men in her life may be more involved with the four dead men recently found in Manhattan. Marian's use of a woman from the young mother's case to help catch the guilty person in the Universal Laser case is this side of brilliant.

As in any series from this genre, each book adds to the development of the regular characters. The next book I read from this series was Fare Play. I am very glad I didn't read this first, because Marian’s life had taken a turn that might have ruined the suspense of YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT. It was another lesson to read any series in order.

I will be reading more Marian (now Lieutenant) Larch stories. If police detectives are on your list of must read mysteries, this is a series that you will enjoy.

BOOK REVIEW: Peace Like A River

PEACE LIKE A RIVER, by Leif Enger, is proof that good literature is still being written.

For all of his eleven years, Reuben Land has heard the story of how his father, Jeremiah, had saved him when he was born. He has no doubt that his father can do miracles; he has seen them happen. His older brother, Davy, and younger sister, Swede, do not completely agree. They do know that they have been raised by a loving and wise father.

Jeremiah works as a janitor at the local school and when he stops some bullies from viciously attacking a female friend of Davy’s, he puts the rest of his family at risk. Davy ends up shooting the young thugs when they break into his home one night and stands to be committed for murder. Davy escapes from jail before Reuben and Swede can break him out. What follows is a journey across country, a story of family, good vs. evil, and some surprising miracles.

The adult Reuben narrates the family’s adventures and we watch him grow as well as meet the people who come and go in his life. Because of Reuben’s age the characters are described from his point of view. As most younger brothers would, he looks up to his older brother . Davy is an expert hunter and everything a younger brother would want to be.

Swede is the kid sister who needs to be protected. She is bright and a big aficionado of the Old West. The poetry that she writes features Sunny Sundown, a cowboy always in search for justice and at times follows Davy‘s adventure. She quickly became my favorite character. (Any one who can make a reference to “ Natty Bumpo” is all right in my mind.)

All of the characters are well done. Because of Reuben’s youth, he can recognize the woman Rebecca’s goodness when she comes to their aid. He knows that she could be “home“. On the other hand, Jape, the man where Davy is hiding, is evil, but Rueben and the reader are not sure why. Rueben has had experience with goodness, not with evil.

This book is well worth reading. It has touches of Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye, Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and even McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. The title is perfect. Not only is there a reason in the story for Peace and River to be mentioned, but that was the feeling that reading the story gave to me. It is a story of the miracle of love with a rich mixture of adventure and healing. I may have to put it on my Best of the Year List.

BOOK REVIEW: Slapstick

It is hard to believe that I went through my Kurt Vonnegut period without reading SLAPSTICK. Fortunately, I found out this month that this is an author who did not lose his charm.

We enter the world of Wilbur Daffodil Swain, King of Manhattan, landlord and tenant of the vacant Empire State Building, genius idiot, pediatrician, twin, and the former tallest President of the United States, on his 100th birthday. It is important to know all of these things about Wilbur because they are important to the tale that he is about to tell us.

He and his twin sister, Eliza Mellon Swain, were born and christened in the hospital, not with loving family and friends surrounding the happy new parents. Because, the parents were embarrassed by how ugly the twins were, they had them rushed to a mansion in New York to be cared for by a very well paid staff.

Wilbur and Eliza learned very early in life that the staff expected the two of them to be as stupid as they were ugly. Thus these two geniuses learned to act the part of drooling idiots and to mask the fact that their two brains worked together to solve very complicated puzzles. By the time their talents are discovered, the world is still not ready for them and their parents are embarrassed by their weird behavior.

The world has changed by the time Wilbur reaches his 100th birthday. Eliza has died while helping to set up a colony on the moon and Wilbur has led a very full life that included being President--for a short period. He now lives in an almost deserted Manhattan writing his memoirs.

Vonnegut needs no explanation if you also are of an age to have considered him cool a few years back. He, himself, was bigger than life and had become a delightful curmudgeon in his later years. I heard him interviewed once and he seemed to be truly upset with the tobacco industry. He had been smoking for years and it did not seem to be killing him. He blamed the cigarette companies that he was still alive.

One reviewer referred to his plots as “ a saucy spaghetti of ideas”. That seems to fit when you think of how hard it is to track one strand of spaghetti through the bowl.

SLAPSTICK may not be the best of Vonnegut. That honor belongs to Slaughterhouse-Five. Still, it is an exercise in inventive writing and a peek into one of the most creative authors of our time.

BOOK REVIEW: Outer Banks

OUTER BANKS by Anne Rivers Siddons seemed the perfect book to take along on our yearly trip to Avon, North Carolina. Siddons has not been on my list of favorite authors, but the title made it a logical choice.

Katherine Stuart Lee’s story starts as a married woman living among the dunes of Long Island. She is recovering from a serious battle with cancer and the death of her young son. As a result she has isolated herself with her backyard garden. An unexpected invitation to a reunion with her suitemates from college starts her memories of the three women who had once been so important in her life.

While in college, Ginger had invited Cecie, Fig, and Kate to her summer home in Nag’s Head, North Carolina for several spring breaks. This beautiful, isolated, strip of barrier islands had become a symbol of youth, friendship, and idyllic beauty. Now, thirty years later, the women have decided to see if the magic from that time can be recaptured.

The strength of the book is in the ability of the author to develop her characters. Even the people around the girls are well done, but it is the four women who stand out.

Ginger is rich, vibrant, and aware of her sexual powers. Fig is brilliant, extremely poor, and hopeless socially. Cecie is sensible and self-contained and the closest of the friends to elegant, aloof Kate.

The decision to meet with her college friends is not an easy one for Kate. Thirty years earlier, she had been cruelly betrayed by one of the members of the group and has had no contact with any of them during this time. Therefore, she is not expecting the changes in her former friends and not ready for the emotional confrontations that result.

The best part of this book for me was going back in my mind to my own all night junk food and gab fests that included quoting Dorothy Parker and T. S. Eliot with people who enjoyed reading both poets. (Side note: the Eliot line, “ I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.” is well used as a theme of the book.)

I also enjoyed the scenes that took place on the Outer Banks. Nags Head may have become more popular since this book took place, but on down Hatteras Island it is still beautiful with remote areas. It is always an extra treat to be able to picture the settings of a book.

This was my second Anne Rivers Siddons’ book. She makes good beach reading.

BOOK REVIEW: The Help

So little has been written about the people in the South during the early 1960’s, at least not of the people who did not make the headlines. Kathryn Stockett has done so in THE HELP.  THE HELP has been on most best seller lists for almost a year, and has been very popular locally. To me, it portrayed a completely foreign lifestyle.

The story centers on three women who live in Mississippi in 1962. Two of the women are black maids working for white, fairly affluent, households. Their job consists mainly of taking care of the children, cooking, and general housekeeping. The third is a young white woman who is expected to marry and follow in the footsteps of her family and friends.

Aibileen is taking care of her seventeenth baby. Her other jobs were finished when the children became of school age and no longer had a need for a nanny. She is no longer as content in her job. Her own son has died while the white boss looked the other way. She is devoted to her new charge but getting impatient with the parents who ignore the child.

Aibileen’s best friend is Minny. Where Aibileen is regal and wise, Minny is short, fat, and has a tendency to be sassy with her employers. As a result the white women have banded against her and she has a hard time finding jobs. She finally finds a position with a newcomer to the area, a woman on the outside of the close knit society and who also has secrets.

Skeeter is part of the established social set and has just received a degree in journalism from Ole Miss. She is trying to fit in with her married friends who, along with her parents, only want her to marry and fit in. Skeeter, though, has become curious about how the black help feel about their employers.

These three women seem, on the surface, to be very different from one another, but when they band together to help Skeeter write a book on the conditions of black maids in Mississippi, they put themselves in real danger. Not only is there the big chance that they will lose their jobs and therefore their family’s only source of income, but blacks are being killed for standing up for their rights.

The individual stories of these three women make for fascinating reading and their stories were heartbreaking at times. Skeeter started her mission very innocent of what the consequences would be. Minny and Aibileen were too aware of what could happen.

This is a book that is hard to put down. I felt that the author knew her subject and she has written a timeless story. She has done a good job of mixing historical events of the time with her fictional characters. Those of us who did not live through this period in this location, as portrayed in the book, need to be reminded how the 60’s changed all of our lives.

BOOK REVIEW: Veil of Roses

I love taking a gamble on debut novels. VEIL OF ROSES is Laura Fitzgerald’s first offering and I think that we may hear from her again.

Tamila Soroush has been living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. She is a teacher of young girls and wants them to dream of freedoms that they will probably never have. She knows that her parents had lived in the United States when she was a very small child, but for some reason the family, Tamila, her mother, father, and older sister, had returned to Iran. She has had to give up her personal dreams and prepare to marry the man chosen for her.

On Tamila’s twenty-seventh birthday, her parents give her the gift of a ticket to America. She vows never to return to Iran, but her visa is only good for three months and in order to stay, she must marry a citizen of the United States.

Her introduction to all things American is mixed with humor and the realization of how much we take for granted in our country. Tami is lucky that she has a sister who helps her to meet perspective grooms, friends in her English-as-a-second language class, and the sympathy and support of her brother-in-law.

The story is fairly predictable and some of the characters slightly stereotypical, but it is told with so much feeling that you get caught up in it. I wonder how I would react to my first Victoria’s Secret visit. (Tami felt that what Victoria had was not being kept much of a secret.)

The contrast of life in Iran, especially for women, and our life in the United States makes this a fascinating read. Tami’s fear of the police and her confusion about free samples are such small things to us but are truly real to someone who has lived in the confines of a repressive state.

I recommend it highly for women’s book groups. It should open doors to all types of discussion. We hope to see more by Ms. Fitzgerald.

BOOK REVIEW: This Is My Best

Oh, the treasures that can be found in used bookstores! The anthology, THIS IS MY BEST, edited by Whit Burnett was published in 1942 and is a really great find for the reader of American classics.

The authors represented in this collection were chosen by readers of books and magazines. Polls were taken among subscribers to The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers’ Magazine, and The New Yorker. Ballots were sent to libraries, literary critics, and persons connected to the writing world such as teachers, publishers, etc.

These individuals were asked to vote on the top living authors. The list was narrowed down to ninety-three authors. Burnett said that it was interesting that the public, editor, and publisher were all in agreement of the first fifty names receiving the most votes for inclusion .

The book is a representation of our country before the Second World War. Since each author gives us a glimpse of his or her world, we see the New England of Frost, the South of Rawlings and Faulkner, the Middle West of Tarkington, and the Far West of Steinbeck.

I was delighted to find what some of my favorite authors considered to be his or her best work. John Steinbeck has a beautiful short story titled The Leader of the People, a story that I had never read before. ( I guess Of Mice and Men was too long.) Ernest Hemingway’s choice was The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, a story about big game hunting in Africa--no big surprise there.

Dorothy Parker has always been a very special writer for me. If you know her only as a poet, her short stories are warm and touching. Here she has listed her favorite, the story The Standard of Living.

Anthologies are always hard to review and this one is especially difficult. My space would be filled with just a listing of who is included. Believe me, all of the known authors are represented, plus some that I had never heard of. (I may have to do some research on Wolcott Gibbs.)

I am not finished reading the book yet because I have been forcing myself to read the stories in order, when what I really want to do is rush to my favorites first.

This anthology should be on the library shelf in each serious reader’s home. It is a delight.

BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Who Played With Fire

Any author who has three of his books on best seller lists at the same time has to be researched. It is not that I trust such lists, but three at once should mean something. Therefore, when Stieg Larsson’s THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, the second of the trilogy, fell into my hands at a used book store, I figured, “Why not?”

Lisbeth Salander is a very troubled young woman who has a genius talent for hacking into any computer system and has helped crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the past. In fact, she had saved his life once. Now, Blomkvist is investigating a sex trafficking operation.

Three murders happen in one evening and Salander has been found to have a link with all three of them. Two of the victims were investigating the sex operation. She had been to visit them earlier and her fingerprints were found in the apartment and on the murder weapon. The third victim was her legal guardian and her reasons for killing him were valid.

The fact that Salander has a history of violence and been in a psychotic ward at thirteen causes the police and the media to put on a national search for her in the name of public safety. In true cat and mouse style, Salander is pursued by the police, the media, a motorcycle gang, various other thugs, and Blomkvist, who believes her to be innocent.

Once the book got to the actual plot, it moved fairly fast. I could not help but care what happened to Lisbeth Salander. The problem was that it took almost two hundred pages to get to the action. Don’t get me wrong, I want enough details in a story to establish character, locale, etc. but either Larsson was paid by the word or he had an agreement with some big name brands to mention them in the book. At one point Salander is getting ready to move into a new apartment. She goes to IKEA and several pages are spent telling the reader what she bought, including the brand names.

Throughout the book the author bogged me down with too many details about too many characters. At times it interrupted the flow of what could have been a good thriller.

It is also obvious that he did not have good feelings for government. Salander’s treatment by the “system” is the worst of nightmares for any young girl.

The book could have been half as many pages and been a good read. I am sorry that we will not get a chance to see Larsson develop as an author but, I think that I will skip the other two books in this series.

BOOK REVIEW: The Postmistress

THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake is a book that I really wanted to like. There seems to be a glut of books on the Second World War and this one sounded as if it would give a woman’s perspective of the period before the United States became involved. It almost did what I wanted it to do---almost.

Emma Fitch has just arrived in the small town of Franklin, Massachusetts as the new wife of the town’s doctor. Emma has never felt that she belonged anywhere or has had anyone to care for her. Now she has a husband and the hopes that she will make friends in her new home. Not long after her arrival, her husband Doctor Fitch leaves her to go to London to help those injured in the German Blitz.

Iris James is the postmistress of Franklin. She is a woman whose life depends on order and details. She takes great pride in seeing that the mail is properly handled, that the flag of the United States is up each morning at the same time every day and taken down each night, at the proper time. Doctor Fitch has left a letter for her to give to his wife if he is killed.

Frankie Bard works for Edward R. Morrow in London. She is one of the few women reporters doing live radio broadcasts during the Blitz. Her desire is to get people in the United States to care what is happening in Europe.

Frankie meets Doctor Fitch in a bomb shelter in London and, as a result of their conversation, she decides to travel through Germany and France interviewing the displaced people. Mostly Jews, these are the people who had to leave their homes in the middle of the night with only what they could carry.

Most of the book, as you probably have guessed, reads as typical “chick-lit”. The language is over blown and distracting. The characters are not well developed and hard to get to care about. I came close to giving up on it. ( Rarely do I not finish a book.)

The chapters describing Frankie and her travels, however, are different. In these the action is real, the language sharp and businesslike. This is a reporter telling us of the people killed in front of her, of children left alone to find safety, a story filled with the truth of people and war.

I wish Ms Blake would have stayed with Frankie‘s character. We could understand how her interviews changed her, but I wanted to know her background, how she became a reporter at a time when women did not cover wars.

Overall, the book lacked focus. Parts of it were too long (the ending, for example) and I wanted more closure on some of the characters. There are better books out there on the subject.

Meanwhile, keep reading.

THEATRE REVIEW: Coral Springs SOS!

Marc de la Concha -- Marc de la Concha -- Marc de la Concha -- Marc de la Concha -- Marc de la Concha. That should help you to remember his name.

Millbrook Playhouse presented an original play as a fund raiser this week. Coral Springs SOS! was written by Marc de la Concha and Mary Catherine Burke and was not only a perfect show for making an audience aware of the financial considerations of theatre, but it highlighted the talents of this up and coming young man.

Deloris Rabinowitz, played by Marc de la Concha, is on a one woman crusade-- to save her beloved Coral Springs Theater from being turned into a movie multiplex theater. In doing so , she relives some of her favorite parts and some of her favorite actresses doing her favorite parts. This of course, gives the audience a chance to see Marc de la Concha be everything from a nice Jewish lady trying to talk the “board members” into raising the money, to a young Hispanic girl in her best scene from Footloose, Jr., to a very butch set designer paying homage to Stomp -- trashcan lids included.

Well, you get the picture. It was a fast paced, funny show. I hope that members of the audience left the theater realizing how important it is to support live theater and with respect for the talent that Millbrook Playhouse has brought to the area over the years. Oh, and did I mention Marc de la Concha’s name?

Marc can be reached at www.marcdelaconcha.com and for more information about Millbrook see www.millbrookplayhouse.com.

BOOK REVIEW: Fahrenheit 451

Rarely do I reread a book, but several exceptions have been made. Recently, I convinced my “anti-science-fiction” book group to try Ray Bradbury. I had remembered enjoying FAHRENHEIT 451 back when it first was published. (That was about sixty years ago if you are counting.) Back then my first impression was a book about censorship and the good guy running from the bad guys. I am so glad that I reread it as an adult.

451 degrees is the temperature that paper burns. This is an important fact to Guy Montag who is a fireman. The difference between Montag and the firemen we know is that Montag’s job is to start fires. In his world, books have been outlawed and the citizen found with hidden books has the books, as well as his house and his belongings, burned to the ground.

One evening, going home from work, Montag meets Clarisse whose conversation opens his eyes to the wonders around him and she tells him of a past when people were not afraid. Later he meets Professor Faber who tells him of a future when people could think.

Montag starts to be aware of how empty the lives around him are. Conversations are about television shows that do and say nothing. Attempted suicides are commonplace and neighbors and family members are quick to report hidden books. Soon he is a rebel running from the authorities, hunting a safe haven outside of the city.

This book has been controversial since it was published. Ironically, considering the subject, it has been banned in many areas and even though it is now on most high school required reading list, it has been the subject of recent court cases.

While reading it this time, I became more aware that it was not the government that originally outlawed books. It was the apathy of the people. Books became more and more condensed until they no longer existed. Then the authorities discovered that a public that did not read did not think and, therefore, was much easier to control. Montag’s world bears a frightening resemblance to our world.

Good Science Fiction should always be a warning of things that could happen. Ray Bradbury is among the leaders in this category. In 1953, before most homes had television sets, he was writing about TV screens that filled the wall of a room. Add his excellent use of language to his ability to see where society could go and it is easy to understand why he has stayed on top of his field for so many years.

FAHRENHEIT 451 will remain a favorite among people who love books for generations to come. I will probably read it again in another sixty years.

BOOK REVIEW: American Gospel

The struggle between religion and state has been a big part of the history of the United States. Since our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, the country has met with the problem of “all men are created equal” and that all “are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights”.

Jon Meacham explains how religion has shaped our country, without controlling it, in his best seller, AMERICAN GOSPEL. From our Founding Fathers through our modern presidents, Freedom of Religion has been woven throughout our history. Meacham’s book shows how the Founding Fathers worked to create a nation in which belief in God is a matter of choice.

Less than one hundred years after the work on the Constitution was finished, our nation was at war over the right of a state to own slaves. Each side firmly believed that God was on their side during the Civil War.  Since that time, debates over religion and politics have proved to be more divisive than illuminating. Meacham shows us that no extreme is right. He quotes men of strong faith on all sides of an issue, including the men of no faith.

The men who shaped our nation were a group of diverse religious conviction. What Franklin called “public religion” was a belief that all humans have inalienable rights in a nation that protects private religion from government.  Lincoln later called on “the better angels of our nature” to help recover the spirit and sense of the Founding Fathers.

I found it interesting how some of our modern Presidents used religion. There was much fear when John F. Kennedy, our first Catholic president, took office. His detractors were sure that our country would be run from the Vatican. While Jimmy Carter was president, his faith was of concern. These two presidents probably worked harder to keep the wall between religion and government intact than most public officials have done.

On the other hand many presidents have used the office to further their own beliefs. Teddy Roosevelt once remarked that the office was “a bully pulpit”.

Meacham has written an informative, well researched book. It is a hard book to review without putting too much of myself into it, though I would like to make the last chapter mandated reading-- if that doesn’t go against the spirit of the book. In this chapter, Chapter VI - Our Hope for Years to Come, he opens with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: Our particular principles of religion are a subject of accountability to our God alone. I inquire after no man’s and trouble none with mine; nor is it given to us in this life to know whether yours or mine, our friend or our foe’s, are exactly right."

AMERICAN GOSPEL helps to keep a perspective on right, wrong, and the government during a time when faith and freedom have become increasingly polarized.

BOOK REVIEW: Redfield Farm

Our book group knew that the author of this month’s book would be joining us. This is a scene that can be very uncomfortable ---- what do I say if I really thought the book was terrible? However, once I started reading, I could not wait to meet her, especially in the company of women who enjoy a good book.

REDFIELD FARM, by Judith Redline Coopey, is a novel about the Underground Railroad in Bedford County, Pennsylvania in the 1860's. The story is told by Ann Redfield, a Quaker woman who grew up on a farm near Dunning Creek with her brothers and sisters.

Ann is nine when the story opens and devoted to her eleven year old brother, Jesse. When she learns that he is involved with helping escaped slaves get to Canada, there is no question but that she will help in any way. After all, it is easy for a young Quaker girl to transport the passengers; no one would suspect her.

Her life is complicated by the local authorities and there is reason to think that the brothers of scrawny Pru Hartey may be working with the slave catchers. Pru is always sneaking around the farm and when she leaves, something is usually missing.

One night Jesse comes home deathly ill  and with Josiah, a very sick run-away. Ann nurses both of them back to health, but Josiah has been too ill to move on. Over the winter, Ann teaches Josiah to read and write and when a disappointment almost crushes Ann, Josiah is there to comfort her. They develop a life-long relationship to each other and the cause that brought them together, the Underground Railroad.

Ann’s story is told in a calm voice and it is easy to see why she is the rock of her family. The tragedies of her life are serenely accepted. As she ages and loses those who are so important to her, our admiration for her grows.

A very strong part of this book is the descriptions of the other characters in Ann’s life. We feel that we know them. Even Pru Hartey becomes real and finally a figure of sympathy.

I really enjoyed REDFIELD FARM. I understand that Ms Coopey is already to have another book published. I hope that I can get it right off the press as I did this one because this is an author to watch.

NOTE:  Ms. Coopey is currently doing a book tour for REDFIELD FARM.  If you would be interested in having Ms. Coopey come to your area, please contact me and I will forward you her information. 

BOOK REVIEW: I'm Too Young To Be Seventy

Recently I was given a copy of Judith Viorst’s I’M TOO YOUNG TO BE SEVENTY, AND OTHER DELUSIONS. I am not sure why the book was given to me because I am way too young for it.

Each decade Viorst publishes the perfect birthday gift for readers - a collection of poetry that is age appropriate. The first on I received was It's Hard To Be Hip Over Thirty And Other Tragedies Of Married Life. The books have been coming to my house like clockwork and each one hits the bull’s eye.

It is hard to admit, but she has done it again. She understands that erotic options may be limited at seventy and that the grandchildren are not children any more. She understands that not only are we our husband's life companion, but his driving coach as well.

Maybe the best advice in the book is contained in the poem, "If I Should Die Before I Wake".  We ladies know that if our husbands remarry, we want the new wife to make our him happy. We just don’t want her be quite as perfect as we are.

Her poem “Still Dieting After All These Years” reads as if she has been in my house. I think I will take her advice on this one-- wait until I’m ninety to worry about it.  I hope that Judith and I are both around to enjoy whatever she writes for that glorious occasion.

Whether Ms. Viorst is writing children’s books, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, or a great discussion book about how we change as we grow such as Necessary Losses, she has an eye for the human experience with just the right amount or humor. I am waiting to see how we both handle turning one hundred.

EVENT: 136th Grange Fair

For those of you who don't live in Centre County, let me tell you a story about one of our local treasures.

When our son-in-law first came to Centre County to visit, he came through Centre Hall and over the Centre Hall Mountain. He told us that he had passed a steady stream of pick-up trucks and trailers filled to overflowing with furniture and what appeared to be a family’s whole worldly possessions. He was afraid that the county was being evacuated and nobody had told him.

We had to explain to this fellow from New York that no, there was no disaster, it was set up time at Grange Fair, as the old timers call it ( Granger’s Picnic, to the really old timers). Now it is known as the annual Centre County Encampment and Fair. It is the only county fair like it in the country.

What started out as a fair for the farmers of Centre County to exhibit their livestock and crops has turned into an event that brings nearly 2,500 families that will live on the grounds for a week.

Originally, the fair provided tents for the week. Now the fields include all types of motor homes and campers. The original tents are still so much in demand that they are passed down through the generations within the family.

It is still an ideal place to see exhibits ranging from garden and field produce, to farm animals, to handwork such as quilts, paintings, and wood carvings. Last year they had nearly 8,000 exhibits.

A carnival atmosphere is provided by food vendors, amusement park type rides, and, naturally, local politicians kissing babies and shaking hands.

My favorite part is definitely the food. Funnel cakes, hot sausage sandwiches, real French fries, and ice cream, Oh, My. It seems as if my eyes are bigger than my stomach every time I visit.

Fair entertainment can be a little too country for my taste, but I have been lucky to see some good acts there. Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, and Brad Paisley have made appearances before they were super stars. You just never know who is on their way up and starting at local fairs.

The point of this article is two fold: One, if you are coming through Centre County between August 26 and September 2, do not be frightened by the traffic, and Two, stop by for a funnel cake.



In 2008, PBS did a fabulous documentary on the Centre County Grange Fair, which is now available on DVD. 







For more information about this year's fair, please visit:  http://www.grangefair.net/

BOOK REVIEW: Blood Memory

Greg Iles dedicates BLOOD MEMORY to all of the women who realize in the dead of night that something is wrong and has been for a long time. Thus the dedication becomes an introduction.
The protagonist of BLOOD MEMORY is not your typical female detective. Cat Ferry is a manic depressant alcoholic who is having an affair with Sean Regan, a married homicide detective with the New Orleans Police Department. Cat is a forensic odontologist and has helped Sean solve several murders in the past.
The case they are working on at the beginning of the book involves a series of brutal killings of middle aged men who have been shot and had their bodies covered with savage bite marks. Cat has had several panic attacks at the crime scenes and with her reputation of alcohol and mood swings, she is taken off the case.
Cat goes home to her family in Natchez, Mississippi and as we meet the people who were responsible for her early years we get feelings of what went wrong in her childhood to cause her promiscuity, alcoholism and depression. As we learn about her family, we feel that the murder cases in New Orleans may have a connection to her own life.
Because a Greg Iles book typically grabs you from the very start and keeps you running, I hate to give too much away. In all of his books the action is fast with lots twists that you may or may not see coming.

This is not a happy book. It is about hurt people who spend their lives paying for the vicious acts that were committed to them as children. Iles explores the meaning of childhood memories and how sometimes we have to repress them in order to live.
Greg Iles is an author that I read any chance I can get my hands on one of his books. He has been compared to William Faulkner for his ability to capture the Southern soul. I think his characters are much more universal than that. His people would be found anywhere.
BLOOD MEMORY was definitely written to pay respect to all the adults who live with memories, repressed or otherwise, of being abused as children. As a result the book is a little longer than it needs to be and some of the scenes require the reader to “suspend disbelief” and go along with the action. Still, it is a hell of a ride.

THEATRE REVIEW: Rumors

Millbrook Playhouse is running the last show of their summer season and what a fun show it is. The Playhouse was smart to end an outstanding season with Neil Simon’s RUMORS. They followed the old theatre rule of “always leave them laughing”.

The cast reads as a list of my favorite Millbrook actors: Tim Dietrick, Amy Temple, Marc de la Concha, Dax Valdes and Ali Kresch. I am torn between selfishly hoping to see them next summer or wishing that they are signed to big contracts that make super stars out of all of them.

Laura Jo Schuster, David Hudson, Amy Windle, Matt Kuhlman, and Sue Arter rounded out the cast. I suspect that several of these new comers may be on my favorite list next year.

It goes without saying that the show is funny. Neil Simon’s talent for fast, funny lines is well known. The problem is getting a cast to keep that pace and timing going throughout the play. This cast did it to perfection and added their own little quirks as well.

I can not mention the scenery and costumes too often this season. RUMORS takes place at a party in a upscale house with very successful friends. The evening gowns and jewelry set the mood and characters as they made their entrances. Without a doubt, this was the year of outstanding costumes.

We all would be very sad this evening if we thought that Millbrook Playhouse was finished until next year. Just when we think that we will have a long winter, it is announced that a special show will be held September 15, 16, 17, and 18. Marc de la Concha will be doing a one man show, Miss Margarida’s Way. Marc has played such a variety of roles at Millbrook and I can not wait to see what he does this time.

BOOK REVIEW: Prayers For Sale

Reviewers have called Sandra Dallas “ the quintessential American voice”. I tend to agree. I just finished her most recent offering, PRAYERS FOR SALE and could not wait to share it with friends.

Seventeen-year-old Nit Spindle sees the sign advertising “PRAYERS FOR SALE” on Hattie Comfort’s fence. Actually, Hattie has never sold a prayer, but she invites the skinny girl in and a friendship develops that helps both women in the small town of Middle Swan, Colorado. The year is 1936 and life in a worn out mining town is tough. The shared hardships help to form a bond and soon dark secrets are shared.

Both women love to quilt and it provides time for talking. Hattie tells stories from her own life and of the people who have lived in Middle Swan over her years there. She knows that this is the way to make Nit adjust to the hard life.

Through these stories we get to know Hattie as a young bride and mother in Tennessee during the Civil War and how she lost her husband and daughter. We get to know the husband that she traveled to meet for the first time in Colorado. Each person, in her past and present, comes to life to us as we quilt with her and her friends.

We know that one thing has been bothering Hattie for all of her years in Middle Swan and it has to be resolved before she leaves town. Hattie's daughter does not want her to spend another winter in the high country, but to come to the city and live with her. Time is running out for Hattie. By the end of the book, the reader has gotten to know Hattie well enough to not be surprise that she has done the best that she could for everyone, including herself.

Sandra Dallas creates unforgettable characters in normal settings. These are people that you know, or wish you knew. Her stories have surprising twists and turns, but you always care what happens to these new friends.

If you have a chance, try ALICE’S TULIPS and THE CHILI QUEEN. These two books are connected to PRAYERS FOR SALE by telling the stories, respectively, of a sister back East during the Civil War and her brother who escapes to the West and gets involved with a house of prostitution.

                                 

Quilters will especially enjoy Ms Dallas’s books because quilting seems to be a favorite theme. This is one author who should be a leader in “ Women’s Fiction”.

BOOK REVIEW: This Time Together - Laughter and Reflection

Carol Burnett is either what she seems to be or she is a much better actress than she has received credit for. THIS TIME TOGETHER--Laughter and Reflection is the story of her rise in show business and the people that she met along the way.

Up until Ms. Burnett the job as host of a variety show had belonged exclusively to men. The Carol Burnett Show lasted eleven seasons and won twenty-five Emmy Awards. The same talent that made that show a success, makes THIS TIME TOGETHER a delightful read.

The chapters are very short and most of them are reflections on the people that Carol has met. Her long time love affair with the movie stars is evident in the respect that she shows when writing about them. She writes about Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Cary Grant, and other stars in a refreshing, honest way.

Carol’s sharp eye and self-deprecating humor make you forget that she ended up meeting these superstars as an equal.  (I could identify with getting tongue tied if I had had a chance to meet Gary Grant.)  It is easy to forget that the author of this book has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center Honors. She never seems to see herself as a “big thing”, although she does tell the story of her great talent for doing a Tarzan yell scaring off a mugger in New York City late one night.

I enjoyed the chapters on each of the regular cast members of her show.  (It is a little known fact that the only celebrity to appear in an erotic dream of mine was Harvey Korman, a fact that my daughter finds extremely funny.)  The scenes between Harvey Korman and Tim Conway have to be some of the funniest bits on television. Just think “Dentist Office”.

Carol gives credit to Bob Mackie for making some of the sketches even funnier. For example, he designed the dress for their spoof of Gone With the Wind.  (Remember the green dress with the curtain rods still attached--the one that she saw in the window and just had to have?) That dress is now in the Smithsonian.

If you are a Carol Burnett fan or if you enjoy reading an insider’s story of show business, you will enjoy this book. It is a fast read, filled with anecdotes both hilarious and touching. I wish that the pictures had been more clear, but that is a minor point when the book was so enjoyable.

THEATRE REVIEW: You Never Know

Millbrook Playhouse is almost finished for the season and Cole Porter’s YOU NEVER KNOW was a fun choice for the last production in the Cabaret. This rarely done show is just light and fast moving enough to keep a summer audience entertained.

Director Stefanie Sertich mounted the show as a period piece with a fine eye for detail. Edward K. Ross did his usual good job with a set that was believable. Building a set on a small stage that convinced the audience that they were in a luxury penthouse in the late 1920’s takes talent.

My favorite part of theatre has always been costuming and I can get very critical, especially in a period piece. I wish there were room to go into detail about the lovely, and character perfect, dresses in this show. Two dress in particular stood out. Whitney Brown as Ida wore a red creation with lots of feathers and sparkles that identified her character the moment that she walked on stage. In contrast, Madame Baltin, played by Emily Yates, appeared in the last act in an elegant purple dress that was perfect. Jonathan Southwell has done most of the costuming this season and he has done an excellent job.

The ensemble cast was well balanced. The role of the Baron suited Thom Caska exceptionally well. One of the reasons that I love doing a season at a place like Millbrook is a chance to watch actors like Thom develop over the years. Ryan Halsaver and Lauren Lucksavage will be worth watching in the future. I can not wait to see what Millbrook does with Bobby Underwood. His part in the show was small, but he was very close to me at the curtain call and I want to hear him sing again.

The theatre was full and I went with a large group from our church so I ended up in the worst possible seat. As a result I missed some facial expressions. Still I could hear the great voices and watch the energetic dancing.

Cole Porter is on my list as one of the top three lyricists of all time. His play with words and rhyme can be a challenge to an actor. (Check out the fun word usage in Let’s Misbehave.) This cast must have practiced tongue twisters for weeks. If they messed up any lines, it went unnoticed.

I really enjoyed this show. Of course I love Cole Porter’s music, grew up watching old Ginger Rogers/Fred Astair movies, and enjoy watching a crew and cast who know what they are doing and are having fun doing it.

BOOK REVIEW: The Frugal Gambler AND More Frugal Gambling

Now that Pennsylvania has opened table games in its casinos, it is time to talk about my third vice.

If you combine my number one vice with my number three vice you get books on gambling. The number of books on how to win in a casino is astronomical. Texas Hold-em has become extremely popular and I feel that more money is being made on publications than is being made at the tables.

What players like me need to know is how to stay in the casino for long periods of time without spending a lot of money. In other words, I enjoy casinos but am very cheap. Jean Scott has come to my rescue with her books, THE FRUGAL GAMBLER and MORE FRUGAL GAMBLING. Believe me, she speaks with authority.

If you follow the Travel Channel, you may recognize her name. She is also known as the "Queen of Comps” and the "Gambling Grandma”.  Her books are packed with information on how to get in on the casinos’ "give aways“.  This is advice for frugal, recreational gamblers who want to cash in on the freebies that the high rollers enjoy--- on a more realistic level. You may not eat at the up-scale restaurants or stay in the penthouse suite, but you will get the occasional free room and meal.

Jean tells the low-level player how to make use of slot clubs, cash-backs, bounce-backs, and comps. To translate -- cash-back is the money the casino will pay you back for gambling, not par with what you spend but it helps. Bounce-backs are the offers that the promotion office sends to you to get you to return to their location. Comps are the complimentary offers that should keep you from going to the casino across the street. These vary greatly from casino to casino and require some research.

Slot clubs are the secret to it all. Think of it as joining Sam’s Club except with no fee. (I recommend joining even if you are walking through the casino to catch a bus and not spending a dime.) The membership card then tracks your play and tells them how important you are to them. Believe me, the small gambler is important.

In MORE FRUGAL GAMBLING, Jean’s daughter speaks for the beginner or casual player. I found the second book to be very informative. It covers tipping, how to ask for your comps, and how to pick a casino. Most people know when they are in a place that feels out of their financial league, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded.

So far my experiences in Pennsylvania have been so -so.  Hollywood Casino, at Penn National, charges for things that out of state places provide for free. I also avoid the big flashy casinos. I figure somebody has to be paying for all the electricity to keep those light going and I do not want it to be me.

My husband and I have played from coast to coast and met some interesting people, had some fantastic meals, stayed in some very nice rooms, and generally have had some great times. Authors like Jean Scott have helped make this a “frugal” vice.

VOLUNTEER: Retired & Senior Volunteer Program Pen Pals

It is getting close to the start of the new year for school students and therefore time to put a call out for the RSVP Pen Pal Program. This is something that I am very opinionated about.

If you are not familiar with the program, allow me to explain.  RSVP,  the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, sponsors a letter writing project between an elementary student and a senior citizen. The term “senior citizen” is taken very loosely here, younger adults may apply.

The students work on reading, writing, and social skills while building a relationship with an adult outside of their family. The adult gains the experience of mentoring and helping a student improve his/her communication skills.

Last year was my first time as a Pen Pal and I loved it. I had forgotten how delightful a fifth grader can be. If you want more information call Brenda Reeve at 814-355-6816 or e-mail Brenda here. Because there is a required “meet and greet” date at the end of the school year, it is probably helpful to live in the central part of the state.

THEATRE REVIEW: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Millbrook Playhouse is having a terrific season. Last night we saw A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM and it had to be one of the best shows that I have seen there. All of the big musical talent in residence this summer is on the arena stage, but I will get to the actors later.

A special standing ovation goes to Dax Valdes, who was both director and choreographer. All seats in the house had a chance to see the dances, action and facial expressions of everyone on stage. In an arena stage that does not always happen. Believe me, you want to see faces. (Michael Bradshaw Flynn as Hysterium deciding that he really is “ Lovely” is priceless.) Watch for Dax’s name. He may be our next Gower Champion. He dance, sings, acts, directs, and shines as a choreographer.

Most of my favorite actors at Millbrook are in this show and they do not disappoint. The true “stop the show” number has to be “Everybody Ought To Have A Maid” with Tim Dietrick, Marc de la Concha, Michael Bradshaw Flynn, and Ted Cockley as Senex, Pseudolus, Hysternium, and Marcus Lycus, respectively. Their body language should have received at least an “R” rating.

Speaking of “R” rated body language, the courtesans have no speaking lines, but you notice them. Although all of the costumes in the show are out-standing, these girls really “ stood out”! They prove the old theater truism that there are no small parts only small actors. You will notice that some of these girls did not have “small parts” at all.

If you are anywhere near Mill Hall in the next two weeks, go see …FORUM. You will see all of the musical talent that I have been exclaiming over this summer and have yourself a very good evening.

P.S. I am going back on Sunday!

BOOK REVIEW: House Rules

For several years I eagerly awaited each new Jodi Picoult novel. The first one that I read was Keeping Faith and I was hooked. The last was My Sister’s Keeper.  If you have read it - and seeing the movie does not count - you understand why I did not pick her up for awhile. It is a very intense book. HOUSE RULES is Ms. Picoult’s latest and for personal reasons I felt that I had to read it.

HOUSE RULES tells the story of Jacob Hunt, his family, his lawyer, and the police detective involved in the disappearance of a young woman who had been Jacob’s social skills instructor. Told in alternating first person chapters we see the same scene through various eyes, giving us an inside look at the different emotions involved.

Jacob is a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. Typically with AS, though very intelligent, a person has great difficulty with making any type of social connection, but becomes very obsessed with one subject. In Jacob’s case, this focus is forensic analysis. He sometimes shows up at a death scene offering valuable help for the police.

Now Jacob is being questioned about the murder of someone close to him. This time though, it is not for his expert ability to analyze the crime scene, but for his involvement. He admits that he was there and what is normal behavior for someone with Asperger’s can look like guilt to the police.

Because the story is told from different points of view, we see how Jacob’s condition affects the people around him. While other people interpret Jacob’s actions, we see how his thought process works. As a result, our sympathies are engaged by many of the characters.

Emma, his mother, has spent years devoted to finding ways to make life a little easier for him and to prevent emotional meltdowns. His younger brother, Theo, is torn between love and resentment. Oliver, the inexperienced lawyer is way over his head with a losing case and Rich, the detective, feels sympathy for Jacob and Emma, but sees the signs of a guilty young murderer.

The story moves well. I found myself really caring what happened to each member of this family. Knowing that the author is famous for her unexpected endings, I could not wait to see what her twist would be. The ending was not a big surprise. You can see it coming but in this case that was not a really bad thing.

HOUSE RULES left me with the felling that I had read an entertaining book that also taught me about a little known subject. Jodi Picoult stays on my list of favorite authors.

THEATRE REVIEW: Eleemosynary

Every summer theater season needs at least one drama on its schedule. Millbrook Playhouse choose well with ELEEMOSYNARY, a warm poignant story of three generations of remarkable women.

Echo is a young, intelligent girl who has been left in her grandmother’s care. She loves her grandmother, Dorothea, but needs her mother’s love as well. Echo attempts to gain the affection of her absent mother, Artie, by winning the National Spelling Bee.

The play is introduced by Echo and in flashbacks we learn so much about these three women. Dorothea had been an intelligent young woman who wanted to go to college. The times and a dominating father force her into a marriage and thus into a boring existence. At a party someone suggests that eccentricity is fun and she adopts it with great enthusiasm. As she says, “ Eccentricity saved my life.”

Dorothea’s projects and a personal tragedy end up driving a teen-aged Artie away, but when Artie finds herself with a child of her own, Dorothea is there to take over. Artie still has to find a life of her own and Echo is left in Dorothea’s care.

What I found fascinating about the play was how three generations of women of extraordinary intelligence had to handle life. Dorothea had no chance for an education. Artie fought for hers and it seemed taken for granted that Echo would have her chance.

It is hard to get across the power of this show. The director did an excellent job of making use of limited space that once was a milk barn. The set was minimal and in no way distracted from the action and the costuming was perfect for each character.

I am one of those people who does an audience check now and then during a play. This audience was caught up in the story. The woman sitting next to me paid the ultimate compliment, “ I forgot that they were actors.” Eileen Glen played the eccentric Dorothea with just the right touch of warmth. Shana Wiersum was the torn daughter Artie. She quietly made us feel her confusion about her love for her daughter.

Most of the weight of the show fell on Erin Long’s young shoulders. Erin is another actor who has been a regular at Millbrook for several years. Her future in the theater seems assured.

Go see ELEEMOSYNARY. By the end of the evening you will know how to pronounce the word (and lots of others) and you will have had a good time.

BOOK REVIEW: The Historian

With all of the interest in vampires today, it might be time to go back five years and have another look at THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova. This is not a book written for young, romantic readers, but rather a well researched novel exploring the history of Vlad the Impaler. Mixing fact and legend, the story covers 30 years during Cold War Europe and the search for Prince Vad’s burial place.

Late one night in 1972. A sixteen-year-old girl discovers a box of letters and a mysterious book in her father’s library. These letters lead her to the story of her father’s search for a missing friend and the story of the mother that she never knew.

The quest takes us on a search for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Prince Vlad.

The combination of fascinating historical facts and a moving suspense story hold us captive. We learn much about the Ottomans and the Christians and their war for Istanbul. We travel from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Cold War Eastern Europe.

There is good proof that Vlad the Impaler did exist during Medieval times. The ironic fact seems to be that this man who has come down through history as the ultimate evil, was a fierce warrior for Christianity. Now the question addressed in this book is whether he still lives and how hard will his followers go to protect him.

It is probably no surprise to those who know me, but the temptation offered in this story would have made me think at least twice. Vlad has had centuries to build his personal library. If I had been the one offered the job as his librarian, well that would have been a tough decision. It gave me more sympathy for Doctor Faustus and his deal with Mephistopheles.

Be prepared to make a time commitment for this book. It is long. Bram Stoker may be responsible for starting our fascination with vampires, but Elizabeth Kostova has helped keep the legend alive.

THEATRE REVIEW: Triumph of Love

It is very tempting to review the play TRIUMPH OF LOVE at Millbrook Playhouse with, “Loved the cast, didn’t care much for the play”. It deserves more.

Think AS YOU LIKE IT meets PRINCESS BRIDE with an interesting score and you have the play. It almost worked.

Ah, but the cast! Each member of this well balanced group was excellent. The energy alone made up for the weak book, but then the voices, choreography, sets, and costumes were added.

The first thing that jumps at the audience was the set, a formal garden and elegant country manor. The fact that the “trees” were movable gave a hint to what was coming later. The costumes were an attempt at “fairy tale” medieval and were perfect for each character… the wristwatches and other anachronisms were also a sign not to take the action too seriously. Edward K. Ross was the set designer and Jonathan Southwell was head of costumes and they deserve special recognition.

I hope that I have left room for the outstanding cast. Each demands space of his/her own. Believe me there were no small parts. Marc de la Concha as the gardener and Ali Kresh as the servant with an active libido were as great as I expected. These two have become two of my reasons for going to Millbrook.

Michael Bradshaw Flynn and Elizabeth Hake as the romantic leads and Rachel Flynn, the rather prim aunt, have terrific voices. Both of the women had impressive ranges and should be able to carry a variety of roles in the future.

Young Johnny Haussener (Harlequin) and Kyleigh Barler (a servant) should have been small parts, but they were noticed. It has been fun to watch these two actors mature at Millbrook. Both voices are turning out to be impressive.

Now to my favorite part of the evening - Dax Valdes. The name was familiar because Dax has played some small roles and been choreographer for several shows in the past. His choreography is always great; his acting, O.K. What a surprise he turned out to be. He can sing. He can do broad comedy. And, of course, he can do pratfalls with the best of them. He should make a name for himself in one of these areas.

It will be fun to watch these talented actors go on with their careers. Most of them will be in A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM later this season. I can not wait!

BOOK REVIEW: The Footprints of God

The name Greg Iles will be appearing often in this space. He is very prolific and always surprising. So many popular authors seem to get a formula and stick with it. I have read at least six books by Iles and never know what to expect. THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD is his walk through a tech/nerd/ science fiction/thriller---to put it simply.

“My name is David Tennant, M. D. I’m a professor of ethics at the University of Virginia Medical School, and if you are watching this tape, I’m dead.” Thus the book takes off running and never slows down.

Dr. Tennant’s co-worker on a highly secretive project has been found dead. The evidence says that he died of natural causes, but Tennant has reason to believe that the head of the program had him killed. On learning that his own life is in danger, he takes off with his psychiatrist, Rachel Weiss. Rachel had been treating him for unusual dreams, dreams in which he seems to be living the life of Jesus Christ only with more detail. She believes that his explanation for running is delusional and that he is mentally unstable.

The project goes by the code name Trinity and, having the potential to be a true form of artificial intelligence, will be able to control all other computers. As a professor of ethics, Dr. Tennant can see the opportunities for someone to control the finances as well as the military power of the world. In other words, to play God.

Each person on the inner team has gone through a type of MRI that has affected his or her psyche. Dr. Tennant has been able to see what is going to happen in real time as part of his bizarre dreams. Unfortunately, it also allows the bad guys to stay a step ahead of him.

This was the weakest of the books that I have read by Iles. The ending is fairly predictable and the characters are a little “cardboard cutouts” at times. Still, as I said, it is a ride that never slows down. He is a fantastic story teller and even a weak attempt by him is hands down better than most action books. I have several more books by Greg Iles on my nightstand so you may hear more of him in the future.