Pauline's Reading

Under the Banner of Heaven: a Story of Violent Faith, by John Krakauer (2003)
	Krakauer explores Mormon fundamentalism. Setting out to understand what would drive a man to kill a young woman and her infant daughter in the name of God, Krakauer spent months in Utah interviewing members of the faith. His revelations are deeply disturbing, more so in the context of Mormonism as the fastest growing religion in America. His interviewees represent rape, pedophilia and incest as common experience to the girls of this sect who have no more personal freedom than the women of the Taliban.
Also avaiable on CD

The Librarian, by Larry Beinhart (2004)

After passage of the Patriot Act, librarians found themselves in the uncomfortable position of standing up to the Attorney General with regard to turning over borrower records for library patrons. Beinhart has made his hero in this humorous political thriller (a la Carl Hiassen) a librarian. A DC college librarian takes on the job of organizing the paper of a wealthy powerful) businessman. His lust for the wife of a Homeland Security operative leads him into a role in thwarting a plot to steal the presidential election. Librarian as historian, spy and super hero? (Homeland Security find it hard to believe also).The lead political players are clearly recognizable. Your enjoyment of this romp may be affected accordingly.

Case of Lies, by Perry O'Shaughnessy (2005)
	This is the latest Nina Reilly novel. Nina has returned to Lake Tahoe, having ended her affair with PI Paul Wagoner. Now if she can get past her need for a man, the series might really be free to move ahead. Her new case involves an unsolved murder, three missing witnesses and an unstable client. Gambling casinos, a math whiz, and a contrived witness flight to Germany (conveniently close to the home of Nina=s ex) all move the plot along. How many mysteries do you read that have long discussions of mathematical theory (as related to card counting in blackjack)? A fast paced read, which might have added benefit to the gamblers among us!
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Cross Bones, by Kathy Reichs (2005)

Move over Dan Brown! Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan and Montreal cop Andrew Ryan are off to Israel with an unidentified skeleton, found hidden in a Quebec monastery. The skeleton seems to be tied to a dig which uncovered the tomb of the family of Jesus. The skeleton's identity has ramifications for the Vatican and the Jewish leaders alike and Tempe once again finds her life in danger. Having read Dan Brown, I have to say he did it better. I did not consider this Reichs' best effort.

Chatter: dispatches from the world of global eavsedropping, by Patrick Radden Keefe, narrated by Robertson Dean (2004)

Essentially an exploration of the concept of privacy, Keefe explores, through interviews with key players, the role of the National Security Administration (NSA) in intelligence gathering. It leaves no doubt that they are listening (phone) and reading (e-mail) and are overwhelmed with the volume of information collected - intelligence then has proven more useful in hindsight (as evidence for litigation) than in prevention. Are American nationals under surveillance? Yes. Is this invasion of our privacy making us more secure? No. Are the whistle blowers who have exposed the NSA simply paranoid. No. Keefe ends with a thought provoking appeal from the director of the NSA to Congressional committee members calling for a dialogue among citizens on privacy and the implications of surveillance in regard to personal freedom. That is the stuff of which this nation was made.

His Excellency: George Washington, by Joseph J. Ellis, narrated by Nelson Runger (2004)
	We know all about George Washington don't we? He was the father of our country, lived at Mount Vernon and never told a lie. This biography reveals the depth of Washington's character as Ellis contends that we would not have had a nation without Washington's stature (both physical and integral) to keep the Republic on course. A do-er among thinkers (Adams, Jefferson, Franklin. Madison), his integrity was unimpeachable and lent weight to any endeavor he supported. He shines through as the ideal American whose deeds supported his words - unlike his more political colleagues (Jefferson and Madison particularly are found wanting when measured by the standard Washington set). This book is required reading!
Also available in Large print.
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Doctor Zhivago, by Boris Pasternak
	I recently viewed the PBS miniseries of Pasternak's 1960's masterpiece which I found oddly flat. It didn't measure up to the David Lean film adaptation starring Omar Sharif, or so it seemed, so I checked out the movie again. Then, dissatisfied by my inability to recollect the novel sufficiently to tell which adaptation was closer to the original, I determined I had to re-read the book. As it is lengthy, and I spend as much time in the car as on the couch, I found a Sterling Audio version, read by Philip Madoc. The novel is very much the story of Russia in the early 1900's through World War I and several stages of the revolution. The film and TV adaptations are love stories, telling the tale of star crossed lovers caught up in the political upheaval of their times. I generally find that if the film is good, the book is almost always better; and if I loved the book, the film rarely measures up. In this case, there are three very different experiences - all worth the time.
Also available in Large Print, on CD, and VHS.

With No one as Witness, by Elizabeth George (2005)
	This latest in the Inspector Lynley series finds Barbara Havers stuggling to reclaim her career and rank, Winston Nkata struggling to accept his promotion to sergeant, and Lynley struggling to fill the shoes of Superintendent Wetherly, now recovering from a nearly fatal hit-and-run, and impending faterhood. The discovery of the body of a nude teenaged white boy posed on a tomb leads the CID to connect it with a series of murders of young black boys. A serial killer is on the loose and the chief superintendent works to divert media attention from the racial bias of the CID by parading Nkata before the cameras and embedding a tabloid reporter in the murder team with disastrous consequences. Lynley fans like me are left wondering where George will go from here.
Also available in Large Print.
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The Ivy Chronicles, Karen Quinn, read by Julia Gibson

On the same day Ivy Ames, corporate vice president and mother of two daughters, loses her job to a fellow VP and finds her husband in the bathtub with his naked wife. Shortly thereafter the acquisitive couple also buys her prime location Park Avenue apartment.

Ivy sets out to make a new life for herself with an apartment over a knishery in the East Village and a new business as a kindergarten admissions counselor. If you thought that the college admissions process was competitive, you will blanch (or convulse with laughter) at the ploys that parents will use to get their children into the "junior ivy". You just know that Ivy's better nature will triumph, and those who should will all live "happily ever after".

Vastly entertaining, for those who enjoy the antics of the shallow super-rich, readers of Bridget Jones or The Nanny Diaries.

Julie Gibson does wonderful voices, from the Jewish grandmother, to the Pakistani cabdriver, and Ivy herself. If you have a short commute, you may find yourself sitting in the garage because you want to hear the end of the chapter.

Out of the Deep I Cry, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Army helicopter pilot turned Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson, and married Sheriff Russ Van Alstyne, work together for the third time. Redirection of the endowment funds from the local clinic to roof repairs for St. Albans Episcopal Church in Millers Kill, NY sets off a chain of events that leads to the solving of a 70-year-old murder. This fast paced story, switching between the past and the present, keeps you reading on into the night, waiting to find out what happened to Jonathan Ketchum and how the relationship between the reverend in the cop is going to progress. A new take on “detectives” that brings freshness to the plotting. I can’t wait for number four.

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