Book Review: THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry

Posted by Dana on 07.12.2010 at 11:45 am

When the first thing a narrator tells you is that she lies you know you’re in for some odd twists and turns.  So begins THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry; the story of the prophetic Towner Whitney who returns to her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts when the great aunt who helped raised her disappears.

Towner, a self described liar and crazy woman had vowed never to return to Salem after witnessing the suicide of her twin sister as a teen.  Following the tragedy she spent time in a mental institution complete with electro-shock therapy that has left her memory of the incident and her teenage years spotty at best.

Back in Salem, Towner stumbles through the returning memories of her past and into some present day craziness between her Great Aunt Eva’s disappearance and the disappearance of a young pregnant girl Towner meets on her first day back in town.  Both situations seem somehow tied to the creepy uncle, Cal Boynton who helped raised Towner’s twin.
Are you confused yet?  The Whitney family relationships are maybe a bit unnecessarily complex, or are they?  Remember, our narrator is both crazy and a liar.

Now… on to the witches.  I said Salem, Massachusetts…you knew they were coming, didn’t you?  There are witches in the book, though not in a goofy Bewitched kind of way.  There is a clear religion vs. spirituality theme running throughout the book along with some psychic stuff (i.e. the lace reading) and host of characters who either embrace or deny these philosophies for various reasons.

Perception vs. reality also plays a huge part in the book.  The very act of reading lace has everything to do with how you look at it and who is on the other side.  Each character in the book is written with purpose and with quirks that I think would make for some good book club discussion.  Take the missing Aunt Eva for example, she is a strong defiant woman who embraces her gift of lace reading, holds the family and the town together in many ways and speaks in clichés.  Then there’s Rafferty, the possible love interest for Towner, who is a local police officer, a former alcoholic and a single dad.  And May, Towner’s mother, is a gun-toting recluse who has revived the art of lace making while rescuing battered women.

The book is complex, and though you may realize a plot twist is coming, you’re not really sure what it’s going to be, which to me is masterful.  I mean, don’t you hate when you’re reading (or sitting in a movie) and you’re like “Oh – okay, I know what’s happening here… that guy is already dead…” (or whatever).

I think the beauty of a book like THE LACE READER is that you could read it on the beach for the story alone, OR you could really dive in and discuss and debate the characters and themes.  For me, the beauty is also that I’ve found an author that I’d be happy to read again.  And the good news is her next book THE MAP OF TRUE PLACES just came out!

– Dana Barrett, Editor

Have your say » | Tagged Book Reviews, Brunonia Barry, massachusetts, Salem, The Lace Reader, The Map of True Places

Lilith Stop in Seattle: The Gorge

Posted by Abbey on 07.12.2010 at 9:48 am

The show at the Gorge was the second US date on the tour and it was explosive!  I’ve never been to the Gorge before (or any outdoor amphitheater, honestly) and the views were absolutely breathtaking.  The entire venue was packed from the first seat all the way to the back of the lawn, and trust me; that’s a long walk.  One of the cooler aspects of the day was a rare and up-close photo-op with Erykah Badu who was doing a special signing of a car hood for Chevy right in front of our tent!  The signature on the hood was awesome, not just her name, but she drew a picture and used symbols and all sorts of loveliness and really spent her time on it.  If someone asked me to sign the hood of a car, they’d get a very poorly written signature, but Erykah Badu doesn’t just half do anything.

The Gorge was an awesome place to see a show and I hope to get back there sometime.  The place is just filled with so much energy; you can feel it, the crowd feels it, the artists feel it- the finale was one of the best yet!

Check out some more pics of the venue on Flickr http://alturl.com/j6r25!

Have your say » | Tagged Company News, Erykah Badu, Gorge, seattle

Better World Books + Room to Read @ Lilith

Posted by Abbey on 07.10.2010 at 8:43 am

The Lilith tour recently stopped in San Francisco for a great concert. What do you know! One of our non-profit literacy partners, Room to Read, is based in San Fran. I had a chance to sit down on camera for a chat with Sonia Torres from Room to Read right in the i4c Campaign tent. (Please pardon the background noise, our tent was *packed*)

Have your say » | Tagged Company News, Our Partners, Company News, Lilith, Lilith Fair, Lilith i4c Campaign, room to read, San Francisco

Africa Trip: Day 1, Maura

Posted by admin on 07.09.2010 at 1:29 pm

In today’s guest post, Maura Varian, the Managing Director of our UK operation shares her thoughts as she participates in the Better World Books Africa Trip.

The Journey

Most of us started in the states, and it has been a multi-leg excursion.  South Bend – Chicago-London-Emtebee-Gulu.  All total 15 hours over two days, will it be worth the trip?

I don’t know about all the others on this journey but there are some of us that had no idea what lay ahead or what to even expect.  What will the people be like, what will the temperature be, what will the places we visit will be like and what will folks think of us are all questions that were going through my mind.  I know for me I had no point of reference whatsoever.  Yes, I’ve seen the charity advertisements on late night TV, but that couldn’t be what it is ALL like?  Yes, I’ve seen movies like Out of Africa, but come on – that is just a movie and not about current times.  I’ve seen the videos our literacy partner Invisible Children has produced, but that can’t be what it is like now, things have changed, right?

So for some of us, we had no way to be prepared for this trip.  I chose before coming not to think about that.  I chose to realize that this was an opportunity of a lifetime and I was taking it.  For me this was fulfillment of a life-long dream.  I always said I wanted to go to Africa before I was fifty…I only missed it by a couple of days!  (OK now everyone knows how old I am)

The journey was topped off with a 5 hour drive from Kempala to Gulu.  We travelled through several villages, passed many primary schools, crossed the Nile and even saw monkeys.  I have to say by the time yesterday ended…I felt complete and the actual trip hadn’t even really started.

On the Ground

I can only say that this has been so far an amazing experience and I am only 3 days into it.  I can only equate it to other places I’ve been by saying it is like some of the less developed islands I’ve been to in the Caribbean.  However, for most of those trips one had the resort to Read more…

3 Comments » | Tagged Africa 2010, Literacy Trips, invisible children, maura varian

Africa Trip: Day 1, Audrey

Posted by admin on 07.08.2010 at 10:40 am

I am a student at the University of Wisconsin studying Hydrogeology and water chemistry so taking a trip to Africa with Better World Books is a pretty big change! Despite classes that focus on advanced calculus, advection/dispersion math equations and contaminant flow physics, I have a feeling (even after the first day!) that I will learn more on this trip than any former class or job has taught me.

As the service chair for the UW-Eau Claire chapter of Golden Key International Society, I coordinated my campus Better World Books book drive this year.  My  responsibility is to coordinate volunteers to collect and box books, and ensure those books go to our bookstore to be shipped.  In the last few days, I have learned what happens after our textbooks are boxed, taped and shipped.  It is so inspiring to learn about the people that work to receive, scan, sort and ship our books to the non-profits that distribute them to schools all over Africa.  Some of those people are on this trip, and I am having a fantastic time getting to know them.

Each of us it different; some well traveled, some new to traveling, others who will try goat for lunch and some of us (including me) who are aren’t quite as adventurous just yet.  However, we are all enthusiastic about learning how Better World Books and Invisible Children have helped the local schools and students.

Today we visited four schools in the Gulu area.  Each of the libraries are modest but essential to the development of each student. I had the opportunity to visit with Phoebe, a shy teenage student who enjoys music, especially R&B. She’s studying to become an engineer with the goal to help children and the elderly. She loves to study, but recognizes that her school needs more books.  This touched me- and I really felt for the students who have never walked into a library where there are 1000 book shelves.  The library at Phoebe’s school had 5 partially-filled shelves of books.

I also spoke with a librarian at Gulu High School who brought us into a senior classroom (the average size which is 70 students, unheard of in the US!). When the librarian introduced us as the people that collect books to ship to their schools, the students broke out in a unanimous round of applause. It was an amazing experience, and really gave me an awareness of how fortunate I am to be educated in the States, and how many basic needs have not been met in much of the world, and how much room there is for improvement.  And this is only Day 1…

– Audrey Mohr, University of Wisconsin

Check out the earlier Africa trip posts:

On the ground in Africa

4 Comments » | Tagged Africa 2010, Literacy Trips, Audrey Mohr, University of Wisconsin

Lilith B Stage & BWB Stage

Posted by Abbey on 07.08.2010 at 12:00 am

A lot of Lilith happens on the B & C Stages in the Village where our booth is set up. Here are a few clips of some fun B Stage acts – just a couple minutes – interspersed with video and photos of the concert grounds and activity around our booth.

…yes, she really did sing that at the end of the song (see video).

p.s. You can follow me on Twitter at @BWBAbbey for more Lilith, or visit http://www.betterworldbooks.com/lilith for an overview of what’s going on.

Have your say » | Tagged Company News, Company News, i4c, i4c Campaign, Lilith, Lilith Fair, Sarah McLachlan, Vancouver, Week In Review

On the ground in Africa

Posted by David on 07.07.2010 at 3:10 pm

I am pleased to announce that seven Better World Books employees… along with our first-ever college student winner (Audrey Mohr from University of Wisconsin who ran the most successful college book drive this spring)… are heading to Africa in early July to work closely with three of our primary non-profit literacy partners (“NPLP’s”) and those whom they serve.

They will get to see and experience firsthand the work that our NPLP’s are actually doing on the ground in Africa and get a full measure of the impact that Better World Books’ cash contributions and donated books are making in Uganda (through Invisible Children) and in South Africa (through Books for Africa and Room to Read).  Over the course of two weeks, the team will be visiting schools and libraries and meeting with students of all ages along with librarians, teachers, administrators and local NGO partners.   We’ll be posting their adventures right here on the blog so expect great stories and even pictures and videos if internet access allows.  (If not, we’ll share all that good stuff when they get back!)

Without further ado, let me introduce you to the team:

Maura Varian, Managing Director of the UK
Paco Miller, Team Lead, Analyst Team and member of our Literacy Council
Paul Drake, Manager of our ARC Group
Joe England, Buyback Team
Ryan Van Plew Cid, ARC Team
Stephanie Williams, Scanning Team
Jason Staples, Customer Care
and Audrey Mohr,  Student Winner (University of Wisconsin)

I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about the trip and seeing through the eyes of Audrey and our staff how every purchase you make and every book you sell back or donate is making a difference!

5 Comments » | Tagged Africa 2010, Literacy Trips

2 Readers’ Choice Literacy Grant Winners Announced

Posted by Dana on 07.06.2010 at 1:11 pm

We here at Better World Books couldn’t be prouder to announce that two Readers’ Choice Literacy Grants have been awarded for $20,000 each!

The first award goes to our top vote getter Invisible Children.  They have  launched innovative programs that advance education and create lasting stability in war torn Northern Uganda.

Through the Readers’ Choice grant, Invisible Children will provide comprehensive literacy training to 400 individuals displaced by the conflict and now returning to their ancestral homes. These 400 participants will use their literacy skills, paired with micro-finance training, to help create and manage small businesses that will change the lives of their families, create opportunities for friends and neighbors, and advance the economic standing of their community at large.

And this year we wanted to make sure it wasn’t just about votes, so we put all of our applicants up for committee review.  And the winner of the second $20,000 grant goes to The Cooperative for Education (CoEd)!  They are a Read more…

2 Comments » | Tagged Uncategorized, Cooperative for Education, invisible children, Readers' Choice Literacy Grant