I am not one to read in themes, so the following books cover a variety of topics — I hope you find something of interest here.
• Saved by Cake by Marian Keyes: This lovely little cookbook is not only stuffed with delicious dessert recipes, it also weaves a bit of a story. Marion suffers from depression and, in her attempts to battle her disease, she turns to the kitchen. Reading through, it becomes clear that Marion is a courageous, witty woman who manages to write a lighthearted book about a very serious topic. (Also, the baklava recipe is amazing!)
• Rush of Blood by Mark Billingham: Three English couples meet while on vacation in Florida. They don’t have much in common but they bond over good times in the warm sun. Tragedy strikes on the last day of their holiday as a young girl staying at the resort with her mother goes missing. All three couples are shaken my the mother’s understandable fear and, on that note, their vacation ends. Because they got along so well while away and because they all live near each one another, the three couples decide to meet for a dinner party a few weeks after returning home. Inevitably, the subject of the young girl comes up. They each discuss their memories and talk about where they were when she went missing. Over the next couple of months, they meet two more times. Each time they discuss the crime and each time new evidence is revealed.
• Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff: This book has received a fair amount of publicity already but, as I liked it so much, I thought I would give it a little bit more. Cleopatra is of course about Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, with a focus on her intelligence and her abilities as a ruler. The book mentions her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, of course, but it’s mainly about Cleopatra as a person and not Cleopatra as a seductress. She was amazingly intelligent, spoke five languages and her teachers were the most learned men of the day. She used her intelligence to rule Egypt and she managed to keep her nation out of Roman hands for many years — not something that was easy to achieve as Rome had its eye on Egypt’s fabulous wealth. Cleopatra was a multi-faceted person and I enjoyed reading a book that highlighted something other than her ability to attract men.
• Beat the Band by Don Calame: This hilarious young adult novel is about three teenage boys: Coop, Matt and Sean. The story centres around Coop and his attempts to become one of the cool kids. Coop suffers a major setback as soon as the school year starts when he is paired with Helen for a semester-long Health project. It wouldn’t be so bad if Helen were a nobody but, no, she is the least popular person in Coop’s grade. Coop decides that he and his two best friends need to counteract his association with Helen by competing in the school’s Battle of the Bands contest. Everyone loves a rock star and Coop is pretty sure he has what it takes. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t know how to play an instrument and neither do his friends. But whatever, they have a couple of months to practise and what possibly could go wrong? This story is funny and heartwarming, and is a fun and occasionally painful reminder of what life in high school was like.
--A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Sharon Visser Araujo works at Terry Fox Library in Port Coquitlam.
