Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: 2 Great Audiobooks and a Book in Print

The joys of getting a new computer spilled over in other improvements. I now have a second monitor (swoon, why did I wait so long to do this?) and new computer speakers. I think that's going to be it on acquisitions for the office for a while.

In other news, we're starting to feel the hints of fall, with cooler weather and some changing leaves. The garden is winding down as well, though I'm keeping the annuals on the deck well watered, so they should last until the first frost. We took advantage of the beautiful Saturday afternoon to hike at a local nature preserve.

As I write this, we're looking forward to watching Ken Burns's newest PBS series on the Vietnam War, which premiered last night. I hope it's as good as the behind-the-scenes video.

What I Read Last Week

A Column of Fire by Ken Follett (Viking, Sept. 12). If you like really well written and well researched historical fiction with characters you can fall in love in with, then you really need to read Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series. The first two books were set primarily in England in the 1100s and the 1300s, respectively, and this installment takes us to Elizabethan times, where we see how the town and cathedral have fared over the centuries. Follett seems to know his history, and I love the details of daily life. The intertwining of local families through love and hate, cooperation and competition plus the seesaw of Protestant, Catholic, Protestant trends (including the violence of the St. Bartholomew massacre and the failed Gunpowder Plot) drive the many-layered novel. From Bloody Mary through James I, English family fortunes and prospects hinged on the monarch's religion and level of tolerance, often influenced by the politics of Europe. If you're an audiobook fan, then you must spend 30+ hours with John Lee (Penguin Random House Audio). His consistent accents, solid characterizations, and impeccable sense of timing bring the book alive. I fully recommend this book in whatever medium you pick. (review copy provided by the publisher)

Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone (Disney-Hyperion, Sept. 5). This contemporary middle grade novel is about a young girl who attends a summer educational camp, where she develops a friendship app while perfecting her coding skills. Impressed with Allie's creativity and initial success, the judges of a teen coding competition invite her to enter the contest. While preparing for the competition, Allie decides to test her app during the first week of middle school by encouraging her classmates to download the game, which promises to find each player ten perfectly matched friends. The app takes off like wildfire, until a damaging flaw threatens to reveal private photos from participants' phones. Can Allie fix the code before she's barred from the contest and loses her best buddies? I enjoyed getting to know Allie and found the lessons she learned about friendship, asking for help, and facing setbacks to be nicely presented. The geeky girls were well-rounded: they were smart and capable but still giggled about their early teen crushes. I'm not quite sure the technological details of the app are realistic, but I still wanted to see if Allie was able to set things back on track. Middle grade readers will like this book more than adults. (review copy provided by the publisher)

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore (Knopf Books for Young Readers, Sept. 19). I don't claim to be any expert in what it's like to live in Harlem, but Moore's debut novel for older middle grade and young adult readers left me with a deeper understanding. At just 12 years old, Lolly has already experienced a lot of life's harshest realities: his older brother was killed as a result of gang violence; his parents are divorced; he's afraid to walk along certain streets, even in his own neighborhood; and he and his mother live in the projects, complete with broken elevator, urine-scented stairways, and unexplained power outages. The story begins at Christmas, just six weeks after Lolly's brother's murder, and follows the boy as he comes to terms with his grief and makes choices that will either pull him deep into gang life or offer him a way out of the projects. The characters speak in dialect, and the level of help (or not) that Lolly receives seems to be realistic. My heart went out to him, and I hoped the young boy would find a safe path. Other themes are friendship, creativity, LGBTQ, learning disabilities, and coming of age. This is a powerful story with wide appeal across the generations. Moore, who spent some time in Harlem as an adult, writes with authority and frankness. The audiobook (Listening Library; 6 hr, 19 min) was brilliantly read by Nile Bullock. His youthful voice and respectful rendition of Harlem dialect pull the listener into the story, and the emotional impact of his performance makes this a must-hear audiobook. (review copy provided by the publisher)