Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

 

Do you have a favorite banned book?  A LOT of my favorite books have been banned at one time or another.  In honor of banned books week this past week, I’m finally posting a review of a book I read and loved in August.

Lula Dean has never read the books she wants to ban, but she has heard that they contain dangerous ideas.  She takes her outrage out by getting many, many books banned.  She becomes a local celebrity for “saving” the children.  She puts a little library of books she deems appropriate in front of her house.  Her lifelong nemesis, Beverly Underwood, has a daughter named Lindsay.  Lindsay goes to Lula Dean’s little library and puts banned books within the slip covers of the appropriate books.  What will the town readers think when they read the banned books?

My thoughts on this book:

·       Different characters in town read different banned books that open their eyes to a wider world view, and it changes their lives.

·       This was a well-crafted social satire novel.  It was very engaging and humorous.

·       I enjoyed all the different characters and subplots.

·       It was fun seeing what different books that have been banned in the US were found in the little library and how they changed lives.  For example, the wife of Nazi sympathizer reads a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank.

·       This book is very timely and deals with current issues.  Do not read this if you don’t like to read about politics.

·       The citizens of the small town have different politics, but they can explore their differing opinions and change their perspectives.

·       There is a great author’s note at the end that discusses her inspirations, being from the South herself.  There is also a list of the books named in the chapters and whether they are banned.

·       This book is very inclusive in the types of characters that live in the small town.

Overall, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is a timely social satire that was a great read.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety by Zachary Auburn

 

What is the last funny book that you read or what is your favorite funny book?  I love funny books and they are really needed during stressful times or after reading a heavy book.

I received a hilarious book as a Christmas gift titled The American Association of Patriots: How to Talk to Your Cat about Gun Safety and Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers that Threaten Their Nine Lives.  With a title like that, how can you go wrong?  I loved this synopsis of the book from Goodreads:

“The cats of America are under siege!

Long gone are the good old days when a cat’s biggest worries were mean dogs or a bath. Modern cats must confront satanists, online predators, the possibility of needing to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and countless other threats to their nine lives.

For over four decades, the American Association of Patriots have stood at the vanguard of our country's defense by helping to prepare our nation's cat owners for the difficult conversations they dread having with their pets. Written in a simple Q&A format, How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety answers crucial questions such as, “What is the right age to talk to my cat about the proper use of firearms?” and “What are the benefits of my cat living a lifestyle of abstinence?” and especially “Why does my cat need to use the internet? Can’t he just play with yarn like cats used to do?”

Our country—and our cats—stand at a precipice. It will take courage, and it will take hard work, but armed with the knowledge within these pages, we can make our cats—and America—great again!”

The book is set up like a series of pamphlets that a zealot would give out warning you of the terrors you cat could face from a wide variety of sources.  I love the near constant puns and the pictures of cats holding guns.  I found it better to read a section at a time and not the entire book at once.  My fourteen-year-old son also found this book to be hysterical.

Favorite Quotes:

“…if there is one hard-and-fast rule on this topic, it's this: under no circumstances should you provide your cat with a gun equipped with a laser scope, as your cat is likely to be more interested in the dot it makes than in the deer, burglar, or communist in their sights.”

“It is frequently said that curiosity killed the cat, but what is often left unsaid is that the actual cause of death was the improper discharge of a firearm by a poorly trained feline.”

Book Source:  Christmas present from my friend Jen.

Heart of Junk by Luke Geddes

Title:  Heart of Junk

Author:  Luke Geddes

Read by:  Samantha Desz, Arthur Morey, George Newbern, Rebekkah Ross, and Jacques Roy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 43 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank-you!

The Heart of America is an antique mall in Wichita Kansas and the inhabitants are a motley crew whose personal possessions have taken an outsized roll in their lives.   Keith is one of the owners of the mall and he has its future hinging on Mark and Grant of “Pickin’ Fortunes” stopping by and showcasing the mall on his show.  The great recession has gripped America, and is leaving an impact on everyone.  His wife has squandered any money they had collecting pottery including the money saved for their daughter Ellie’s college education.  Ellie is attending the local community college, working at Heart of America, and dreaming of leaving Wichita.  When a local child beauty contest contestant goes missing, Mark and Grant’s trip may be cancelled.  Where is Lindy Bobo and how will the Heart of America tenants deal with this setback?

I loved the humor and quirkiness of this novel. It was dark humor and satire, and very different from other novels I’ve read, and I loved it.  It is not for everyone.  The various tenants narrated different chapters and the audiobook had a different voice narrator for each one.  It was perfect.  I come from a family of collectors that loves antique stores.  My mother has had an antique booth.  I understand the fever of collecting.  My weakness is collecting books.

Margaret collects glassware and is very strict about the rules of the antique mall while pining for her friend Pattie who has left the mall.  To make things even worse, a couple, Lee & Seymour have taken Pattie’s old booth, and have filled it full of knick knacks, some of which are vulgar and others that don’t follow the rules, like an M.C. Hammer doll.  Lee & Seymour have returned to Lee’s hometown after going bankrupt out east.  Lee was once in a boy band in the 70’s.  Besides their shared vinyl collection, the spark has been lost in their relationship.  Delores collects Barbies and they speak to her.  Ronald has lost his wife.  The Heart of America and his postcard collection are all he has left.  Will this motley crew find Lindy Bobo and maybe themselves?

Overall, The Heart of America is a unique audiobook filled with quirky charters.  I loved the dark humor.

Northanger Abbey and the History of England by Jane Austen, Read by Alison Larkin

Title: Northanger Abbey and the History of England
Author: Jane Austen

Read by:  Alison Larkin

Publisher: British Classic Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 25 minutes
Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

I’ll admit, when I first read Northanger Abbey as a teenager, I wasn’t sure what to think of it.  It didn’t fit the mold of Austen’s other novels. As I’ve reread it over the years, I’ve grown to love it more and more.  It is a great satiric novel about the rise in popularity of the Gothic novel.  I can just imagine Austen and her family reading many a Gothic novel and Austen deciding it was time to make fun of the genre, which she does perfectly in Northanger Abbey.

Although it is a satire, Austen writes wonderful characters that are true to life in Northanger Abbey.  Catherine loves Gothic novels a little too much, but is able to learn her lesson through the book that Gothic novels are entertaining fiction, but woefully untrue to life.  I especially love her underlying lesson about friendship – is there more of a perfect frenemy in literature than Isabella Thorpe?  Henry Tilney is a great male character and so different than Austen’s other heroes.  He is very witty and not afraid to talk about novels or muslin.  He doesn’t put on fake airs to impress people – he is who he is.

I loved the conversation between Catherine Morland and John Thorpe.  John dismisses “novels” much to Catherine’s dismay.  In the course of their conversation it becomes very apparent that John actually does read and enjoy novels and doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about.  It was hilarious and so perfectly Jane Austen.  You can still have this conversation with people today who are dismissive of “romance,” “sci-fi,” or a variety of other genres and items that really don’t know what they are talking about.

Bath is a great location for this novel and you can feel Catherine’s excitement when she visits with the Allens and gets to be a part of the social whirl.

I have listened to Alison Larkin narrate other Austen novels and I am a huge fan.  She has a light British accent and gives the characters all of their own voices.  She is a perfect narrator for Austen novels and makes them sound just like I could imagine them sounding if they were being read aloud and acted out by the Austen family by the fire.  This edition also contains Austen’s delightful satire, A History of England, one of her juvenile writings.  This was the first time I’ve listened to it on audio and I greatly enjoyed it.

Overall, Austen is a classic author with six of the finest novels ever written. Northanger Abbey is a delightful satire of the Gothic novel that also manages to tell a great character story about the true meaning of love and friendship.