Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy Halloween!


One summer (many moons ago), I went to a temp agency seeking a short term job. The agency in turn sent me to a candy factory. For two months I put biscotti into plastic trays, wrapped Santa Claus shaped chocolates in foils, and put ribbons on holiday candy boxes. People kept telling me that by being around candy so much, I would no longer want to eat it. Didn't happen! Chocolate peanut butter cups still top the list of favorite foods- and I wouldn't sneeze at some fine dark chocolate or a box of truffles either. I'm still waiting for an incredible craving for carrots to kick in. Maybe next year.

A man completely unabashed about his love for candy is Steve Almond, who authored Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America. Within the first pages, he tells you he eats a piece of candy "every single day of his entire life," "thinks about candy at least once an hour" and "has between three and seven pounds of candy in his house at all times." Denied access to the likes of Hershey, Mars and Nestle, Almond visits the independent candy makers: Pittsburgh (Clark Bars), Sioux City (Twin Bing), Nashville (Goo Goo Cluster), Boise (Idaho Spud). Warning: the imagery of "the enrober" pouring chocolate may make you break out in a sweat if you don't have something sweet nearby!

Another candy lover is Hilary Liftin, who chronicles her sweet obsessed life in Candy and Me: A Girl's Tale of Life, Love, and Sugar. Or if you're interested in the more corporate world of chocolate, you might try The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars by Joel Glenn Brenner. For more history and trivia check out Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum.

Happy Halloween everyone! May all your candy wishes come true!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Exorcist


I'm in a Halloween kind of mood. My socks have pumpkins on them, I'm getting ready to get out my Norman Bates "Psycho House" t-shirt, and I am definitely ready to be frightened. Last week's Shirley Jackson book is decidedly creepy, but today I will take it a step further and go into the world of scary. Just so you know, I am a fan of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, as well as books about vampires, zombies, and many other things that go bump in the night.

Potentially the scariest book I've ever read is The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. After watching the fantastically horrifying film, I sought out the book to find out if it could possibly be as frightening. Answer: Yes it is! Apparently the story of the young girl considered to be under demonic possession is loosely based on a true account from the 1940s. Chris MacNeil watches as her 12 year old daughter Regan becomes sick, deteriorating from something that cannot be diagnosed by doctors. She curses in evil voices, thrashes violently, and claims to be the devil. When Chris makes the desperate choice to have an exorcism performed, Jesuit priest Father Karras exhausts all options before bringing in Father Merrin who thought he had defeated the demon years ago. But the dramatic exorcism must take place. The Exorcist delves into both the the religious and the demonic, and the result is quite shocking.

I don't recommend this for those who are easily offended, or who don't like to have the living daylights scared out of them. But if you've seen the movie, I think you'll like the book, and vice versa.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

We Have Always Lived in the Castle


Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?
Oh no, said Merricat, you'll poison me.
Merricat, said Connie, would you like to go to sleep?
Down in the boneyard ten feet deep!
~Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle

I can't believe I had forgotten about Shirley Jackson! In high school, we read Jackson's short story called The Lottery, which provoked quite a bit of discussion among my classmates. It is a disturbing tale in which it is definitely not a good thing to be the "winner". In addition to being very well written, I liked it because it unnerved me in it's subtle horror, and gave me chills with it's startling ending.

Recently, I came across and read another wonderful Shirley Jackson title. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is narrated by 18 year old Merricat Blackwood, who tells us about her life with her sister Constance and Uncle Julian. We learn that she and her family are shunned in their town because 6 years earlier, Constance was suspected of poisoning their mother, father and brother by putting arsenic in their food. However, this strange family has stayed together and lives mostly in solitude, until their cousin Charles arrives. Charles deceptively plans to steal their father's fortune, but Merricat is not fooled and uses drastic and questionable methods to deter him. The story is creepy and may cause your spine to tingle- just great for Halloween!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Rapid Reads


Fall is an active time, and that means looking for books that read fast. I mean page-turning, don’t-bother-me-I’m-busy fast. Harlan Coben really delivers. Tell No One (2001) features a New York physician who is quite surprised to receive an email with a webcam image of his wife. Problem is, she’s been dead for eight years, and the doctor actually witnessed her murder. Any more tips would ruin the book, which would be a shame. Tell No One was adapted as a satisfying and very much page-by-page retelling of the book in 2008. Only one thing was changed: the setting. The movie was set in Paris, with the French countryside as a stand in for upstate New York action in the book.

In other rapid reads recommendations, I really enjoyed Blue Heaven (2008) by C.J. Box. Two young children witness the execution-style murder in the Idaho wilderness. Oops, then the killers spot them and give chase. (2008) by Lots of local color plus many different sleuths (amateur and professional) and bad guys rolled into one. Harlan Coben’s Just One Look (2004) is terrific, too. The book opens with a convicted killer confessing to the arson murder of a U.S. Attorney’s sister 15 years earlier. Oh, just one thing. Her death had been ruled an accident long ago. That’s just the first chapter. I dare you to read just that much and stop. Can’t be done! Just One Look features martial arts assassin Eric Wu. Wu is one of those only-takes-yes-for-an-answer kind of fellows, a character Coben also used in Tell No One.

And speaking of book vs. movie, consider the “Reel Reads” book club in Covington. Join us the first Saturday of the month as we watch a movie and discuss the book on which it was based. Popcorn anyone?

~ Contributed by John Graham, Adult Services Coordinator at the Mary Ann Mongan Branch