Talking Leaves Books Staff Book Recommendations

Doug

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton is a fast-paced mystery with a fair dise of humor but also a touch of nightmare. A policeman/poet accidentally infiltrates an anarchist group whose members and mission are cloaked in layers of disguise, The answers are both absurd and profound, as one might expect from Chesterton.

Alicia

Satiristas! By Paul Provenza, with photographs by Dan Dion is a joyful, angry, rabble-rousing celebration of some of our greatest satirists. Not limited to stand-up comics, this incredible collection of interviews includes everyone from Robert Klein to Henry Rollins, as well as George Carlin in his last interview. Provenza, a long-time stand-up veteran lends his immense wit and intellect to in-depth discussions about the very nature of humor and satire as they relate to the human condition. You will undoubtedly laugh, but you will also shake your head in disbelief, nod in fervent agreement, and be shocked at the candor and passion that these incredible performers display in their performances and in their day-to-day lives. Dan Dion, comedy's preeminent photographer, has provided the reader with intimate, powerful portraits of people who spend their lives shining a blinding spotlight on the silliness, joy, and even rage that makes us all laugh.

The Magicians, by Lev Grossman is the perfect novel for grown-ups who have loved the worlds of Harry Potter and Narnia. This novel presents magic in the real world, with all of our adult complications, passions, and shortcomings. When young, brilliant Quentin Coldwater finds himself accepted to the mysterious Brakebills, a college of magic, he finds that magic can be much more complicated than in his childhood fantasies of the enchanted land of Fillory, a Narnia-like kingdom of children's literature. When he and his friends discover that Fillory is a real place, all he has believed about himself and the study of magic is thrown into question. This is a realistic fantasy about what happens when magic becomes real and reality turns to magic.

Lucy

Matterhorn : A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
Starred Review. Thirty years in the making, Marlantes's epic debut is a dense, vivid narrative spanning many months in the lives of American troops in Vietnam as they trudge across enemy lines, encountering danger from opposing forces as well as on their home turf. Marine lieutenant and platoon commander Waino Mellas is braving a 13-month tour in Quang-Tri province, where he is assigned to a fire-support base and befriends Hawke, older at 22; both learn about life, loss, and the horrors of war. Jungle rot, leeches dropping from tree branches, malnourishment, drenching monsoons, mudslides, exposure to Agent Orange, and wild animals wreak havoc as brigade members face punishing combat and grapple with bitterness, rage, disease, alcoholism, and hubris. A decorated Vietnam veteran, the author clearly understands his playing field (including military jargon that can get lost in translation), and by examining both the internal and external struggles of the battalion, he brings a long, torturous war back to life with realistic characters and authentic, thrilling combat sequences. Marlantes's debut may be daunting in length, but it remains a grand, distinctive accomplishment.

Point Omega by Don DeLillo
In a house in the desert, two men play a waiting game: Jim Finley waits for his host, Richard Elster, to decide whether he will appear in Finleys planned film. Elster is to stand in front of a wall and explain his role in planning the war in Iraq. Finley believes that Elsters unedited defense would be self-revealing, that the unblinking camera eye would elicit some truth larger than words. Elster, wary, toys with Finley. Gazing at the desert, he thinks in terms of geologic time, justifying himself with theories about humankinds longing for extinction. His ability to find consolation in pure theory, however, is flustered by the arrival of his daughter. Although readers will suspect early on that Finleys film will never be made, the direction of this drama is still hard to predict. Framed by an account of a man obsessed with Douglas Gordons art installation, 24 Hour Psycho (Alfred Hitchcocks film slowed to glacial pace), this slim novel is rich with ideas about objectivity and complicity, and time and transformation. Its subject is a satisfying next step from DeLillos 9/11-themed Falling Man (2007), although, compared to the devastating conclusion of that novel, this one feels almost bloodless. Its spare topography will prompt close analysis, but, ultimately, its no more self-revealing than its war-architect subject. --Keir Graff

Why This World : A Biography of Clarice Lispector by Benjamin Moser
This pioneering biography of Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (19201977)a genius of character as much as a literary magiciancaptures the luminescent and singular author for an English-speaking audience that may not be familiar with her. She was born Chaya Pinkhasovna in 1921; soon after, her family left pogrom-torn Ukraine, arriving in Brazil in 1922. She became a law student seeking justice for prisoners and then a journalist, and in 1943, around the time of her marriage to a career diplomat, Lispector published her first book, the critically esteemed Near to the Wild Heart. The life of the roving diplomatic wife took its toll on the visionary and strikingly beautiful Lispector, who also had a longtime love for the homosexual poet Lcio Cardoso among others. One of her sons was diagnosed as schizophrenic, which further fostered Lispector's sense of isolation. Among her champions was Elizabeth Bishop, but Lispector remains under the Anglo-American literary radar. This well-researched biography by Moser, New Books columnist for Harper's, should send readers in search of this indescribable author, whose work in many ways is closer to cabalistic writing than to more contemporary modernists like Woolf, Kafka or Joyce.

36 Arguments For the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein
An atheist with a soul is in for a lot of soul-searching in MacArthur genius Goldstein's rollicking latest (Mazel). Cass Seltzer, a university professor specializing in the psychology of religion, hits the big time with a bestselling book and an offer to teach at Harvardquite a step up from his current position at Frankfurter University. While waiting for his girlfriend to return from a conference, Cass receives an unexpected visit from Roz Margolis, whom he dated 20 years earlier and who looks as good now as she ever did. Her secret: dedicating her substantial smarts to unlocking the secrets of immortality. Cass's recent success and Roz's sudden appearance send him into contemplation of the tumultuous events of his past, involving his former mentor, his failed first marriage and a young mathematical prodigy whose talent may go unrealized, culminating in a standing-room-only debate with a formidable opponent where Cass must reconcile his new, unfamiliar life with his experience of himself. Irreverent and witty, Goldstein seamlessly weaves philosophy into this lively and colorful chronicle of intellectual and emotional struggles.

Melissa

Ballad of the Whiskey Robber : A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein

This story of a bank robber who captured a nation's sympathy in post-Communist Hungary is a rollicking tale told with glee and flair. Attila Ambrus sneaked over the border from Romania into Hungary in the waning days of Communist rule. After talking his way onto a Hungarian hockey team, he turned to robbery to make some cash in the Wild West atmosphere of the early 1990s in Eastern Europe. As journalist Rubinstein shows, Ambrus was quite good at it. Taking advantage of poor police work, he took in millions in Hungarian currency and became a headline-grabber. He managed to stay at large for several years while continuing in his role as a back-up goalie on the ice. Rubinstein has a knack for telling a good story, and he captures well both Ambrus's appeal and the atmosphere of the first few years of capitalism in Hungary. Along the way, he introduces readers to memorable characters in addition to the appealing, alcoholic protagonist: the women Ambrus attracts and a Budapest detective driven out of office by the crime spree. While Rubinstein (whose work has been collected in Best American Crime Writing) overwrites at times, he has a rootin'-tootin' style that's a perfect fit for this Jesse Jameslike tale, which has the chance to be a sleeper that transcends nonfiction categories.

Katie

Wary Meyers' Tossed & Found : Unconventional Design From Cast-Offs by Linda & John Meyers
What some view as trash, Linda and John Meyers see as raw material. The wife-and-husband teamsubscribers to the reduce, reuse, recycle ethoshave perfected a design strategy that will save you money, help the planet, and provide hours of DIY fun. The strategy? First, visit a yard sale, construction-site dumpster, or even your own attic. Select something that somebody (even you) thought had outlived its usefulness. Then, transform that castoff into a piece thats interesting and usable.
In this witty book, they apply their ingenious approach to seating (a chair made from pool noodles), lighting (a lamp from discarded pastry bags), storage (an umbrella stand from industrial steel pipe), tables (a wall-mounted table from a rusty basketball hoop), and all manner of decorative objects (Astroturf pillows, a pickle-jar terrarium). These super-clever authors show you that with a little ingenuity and elbow grease, everything old becomes new again.

Christine

Anthropology of an American Girl by Hilary Thaye Hamann:
This novel is a coming of age story about a young girl growing up in America. It highlights the human experiences of love, loss and growing up, all in a narrative that borders on poetry. This book was an indie cult classic before its mainstream publication this summer and has popularly been compared to The Catcher in the Rye.

The Book of Other People edited by Zadie Smith:
A collection of fictional short stories by some of the most prominent young writers in the world (Dave Eggers, Zadie Smith, etc...) The assignment was this: Write a story about a character who does not exist... That's it. This compilation is random and has only the one common thread holding the stories together, however I found each one to be unique and intriguing in their own right. Proceeds from the book benefit 826 New York, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting young students in their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts:
This book is amazing! Even if you aren't crafty at ALL it contains gorgeous full color photographs and glossy pages that will inspire you to run to Hyatt's and DIY 'till you die! The projects range from beginner to advanced levels of experience, but all are equally wonderful.