B oo k s h e l f
September Books By Kimberly Daniels The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest by Martin J. Smith The only juried art competition run by the U.S. government was the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. These stamps have been around since 1934 and are purchased by hunters (for their hunting licenses) to generate money to preserve the wildfowl. Martin Smith’s book takes us into this world using the microcosm of the 2010 art competition to shed light on the urban birder conservationists and the rural hunters who fund the conservation through the stamps and the wild world of competitive duck painting. A wonderful book that lets me know what exists behind the duck stamps my father always had framed on the wall. The Queen of Katwe: One Girl’s Triumphant Path to Becoming a Chess Champion by Tim Crothers There is a Woman Candidate Master of Chess who dreams of becoming a Grandmaster. Phiona Mutsdi met Robert Jatende, a war refugee turned missionary who wanted to empower kids in a Katwe slum through chess, a game so foreign there was not even a word for it. While first the kids came for food, eventually Phiona showed immense talent and was her country’s junior champion by the age of 11. This book is Phiona’s story, but even more than that. According to Robert Hess, U.S. Grandmaster, it shows how Phiona’s story trancends the limitations of the chessboard. What’s So Funny? My Hilarious Life by Tom Conway, Jane Scovell and Carol Burnett Comedy Hall of Fame star, most know for his characters on The Carol Burnett Show, brings us this funny memoir with the help of Jane Scovell (who has helped Elizabeth Taylor and Ginger Rogers, among others with their memoirs). To Be a Friend is Fatal: The Fight to Save The Iraqi’s America Left Behind by Kirk W. Johnson At age 24, in 2005, Johnson, the idealistic Arabic speaker, joined USAID and worked alongside idealistic Iraqis who were excited for America’s initiative to rebuild Iraq. This did not work well, as violence escalated and the Iraqis employed by the U.S. coalition found themselves subject to grave violence. On his first vacation, Johnson fell deep into PSTD and a “fugue state” and spent the next year devastated by our failure in Iraq. One day he received an email from an Iraqi friend, “People are trying to kills me and I need your help.” This email launched Johnson’s mission to get the U.S. government to help his friend and thousands of others abandoned and targeted in Iraq. He started the the List Project, which has helped more than 1,500 Iraqis find refuge in America. This is his story.
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Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi by Fred Burton and Samuel Katz I read the exerpt of this book in Vanity Fair and I was floored. This book is informative and good and causes me to ask more questions even as I understand what happened that day. Well written and tells us what we need to know. Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen This is the fictional telling of a true woman’s life, the life of Frances Osgood, who was attempting to be a writer in New York in 1845. She met the mysterious Edgar Allan Poe and became entangled in an affair with him even as she became an unwilling confidante of his much-younger wife.
At the King’s Table: Royal Dining Through the Ages by Susanne Groom The curator of collections at historic royal palaces in London has written a fascinating book that takes a look at the history of royal dining from the bustling kitchens of the Middle Ages to the informal dinner parties of today. From a 48-day picnic to the manic suppers for Charles II and his mistresses and the gluttonous royal table manners — this book looks at it all! There are plenty of beautiful pictures and loads of information. Deceived by Randy Wayne White This is the second novel in Randy Wayne White’s new series about Hannah Smith. I was first introduced to the books of Randy Wayne White by a customer and absolutely fell for Doc Ford, the scientist cool man who is the subject of his other Florida thrillers. Randy is from Rockingham and has climbed his way to the top . . . pick up this book or one of his others. They are thrilling reads with wonderful characters. Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain This is a wonderful book about a small North Carolina town fifty years ago and the darkest — and most hopeful — places in the human heart. Fifteenyear-old Ivy Hart is running her family’s small farm, taking care of her sisters and her grandmother when Jane Forrester takes a position in the county’s social work office. The two are worlds apart, but both are haunted by tragedy and must ask themselves, “How do you know what is right when the rest of the world says it is wrong?”
September 2013P���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills