A Little Bit Wicked / Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth is perhaps best known for originating the role of Galinda in the smash-hit Broadway musical Wicked -- a performance that earned her a Tony nomination in 2004. Prior to that, she had won a Tony for playing Sally in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. She has also appeared in numerous television shows and movies.

One review I read of this book questioned why Chenoweth released a memoir so early in her career, but from reading the book I can assure you she has accomplished enough and had enough life experience to make for a great read. What I most appreciated was getting to look behind the curtain so to speak, to see what the life of a performer is really like. It may sound glamorous, but it's hard work, day in and day out. At times it seems that Chenoweth takes care of herself and her voice in much the same way an Olympic athlete would take care of his or her body.

Another thing this book has going for it is Chenoweth's upbeat attitude and her sense of humor. This is a woman who knows how to turn lemons into lemonade. Like the hilarious "Cooter Smash" incident I read aloud in class, about how Chenoweth fractured her coccyx while performing at Opryland and ever since has had the ability to predict the weather with her "hoo hoo." You get a sense while reading this book that Chenoweth is quite the comedienne.

Lastly, there are some amazing stories of serendipity in this memoir. Like how she was placed in her adoptive family and how she ended up on Broadway instead of studying opera at a prestigious school in Pennsylvania. For people of faith (and Chenoweth is one), these are encouraging stories of how God puts everything together behind the scenes.

With all these appeals, this book is definitely one I would recommend, but probably only to Broadway musical enthusiasts at this point in time. Chenoweth has the potential to become a household name, but until that day comes, this book probably appeals only to a niche audience.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue / Elizabeth Berg

Recently, I've been interested in finding out what it was like to live in the 1940s, so when I read a description of this novel in our textbook, I decided I had to read it right away.

It's about an Irish family -- the Heaneys -- who live in the Chicago area during WWII. The story is told in third person from the point of view of Kitty, the second of the five children who all live together with their parents in a three-bedroom house, and the plot really focuses on Kitty and her two sisters, who range in age from around 16 to early 20s. The book begins with Kitty and her elder sister, Louise, saying goodbye to their men who are going off to war. Since letter-writing is a daily activity in their lives, the narrative includes numerous letters as the plot unfolds.

I enjoyed this book overall. It does provide a sense of the sacrifices people made during the war. Imagine having to go without sugar, for instance. Margaret (the mother) is as creative as can be, but at every meal there's an awareness that they miss the meat they used to have, etc. That so large a family lives in a three-bedroom is another period detail, as are things like nightly letter writing and adult women living with their parents. (I love my parents, but I've lived independently since fall 1998 and can't imagine living in a society where the norm is you live with your parents until you're married.) Oh, and receiving the label "spinster" even though you're still in your 20s. Yikes.

The book also has some great romantic elements. A soldier named Hank meets Kitty at a USO dance and begins pursuing her despite the fact that Kitty has a boyfriend. This wooing is a gripping story because it becomes clear that Kitty never was really "into" her boyfriend, but in getting to know Hank she has an awakening of desire that's exciting to witness.

However, I really felt gypped by the way this novel ended. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice it to say that not every character gets a happy ending. That's okay in certain kinds of books and when the author prepares you for it, but in this case what happened felt like a curve ball that hit me from out of nowhere. It was enough of a letdown that I sort of threw the book (tossed, more like) across the sofa when I finished it. So, in the end, I would not recommend this book to others.

Four to Score / Janet Evanovich

For the first several weeks of this semester, it seemed like the name Janet Evanovich came up every class. I had never read her, so I picked this book in order to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn't disappointed.

For the uninitiated: Four to Score is book 4 in Evanovich's mystery series starring bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Following Stephanie's hunt for yet another person who's jumped bail is kind of like watching the Three Stooges on a paint crew -- you know it's going to be a big mess. Because this likable but not-quite-put-together heroine manages to get into one scrape after another. Her house catches fire, her car blows up ... you name it, it's probably happened to Stephanie. But she always manages to overcome such obstacles and snag her bail-jumper in the end.

This is not a gentle read -- it contains obscenities and some sex. I'm not easily offended, but I was not sure I was going to get into the book when on page 3 Stephanie describes having caught someone "bare-assed on my dining room table, playing hide-the-salami with my husband." That's not an image I want in my head. But it didn't take much longer for her sarcastic narrator voice to grow on me, and once I reached that point, I was hooked.

One of this book's big appeals is its humor -- I literally did laugh out loud several times while reading it. And it has a lively cast of characters -- like Lula the retired prostitute (a large African American woman), Sally the professional transvestite (a dude who looks like a lady), and Stephanie's 73-year-old grandma. You can imagine Stephanie and her entourage turning many heads as they look for bail-jumpers around Trenton, on the Jersey shore, in Atlantic City, and elsewhere.

Above all, perhaps, reading Evanovich is a great escape. Doesn't matter much what you're escaping from. So, for me, the next time I'm feeling tired of the tediousness of everyday life, I might just crack open a book and hang out in Stephanie's world -- because there's never a dull moment there.

Pleasantly Surprised

Over lunch today, I stood next to the reference desk at the West Lafayette Public Library and read a Dewey Decimal System sign while working up the courage to ask for help. The librarian working the desk asked, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I said. "I was wondering if you could help me find a good book to read."

A sarcastic smile came to her face, which I didn't know how to interpret, but she followed it with a question: "Do you know what you're looking for?

I told her I liked women's lives and relationships type of books. That one of the books I liked recently was called Dixieland Sushi. She asked if this was fiction and I said yes. Then I told her another book I liked recently was called Hotel Riviera. At that point she said I was looking for light reading. I sensed a bit of judgment, but I agreed with that summary.

"Have you read Jennifer Cruise (sic)?" she then asked. I said no, but my answer was enthusiastic so she did a search for the author in the library catalog. There was a bit of a delay, and she kind of mumbled things to herself like, "There are only so many ways you can spell that name." But eventually she discovered that the last name was Crusie and told me that the library had at least a dozen of her titles in regular fiction. I asked where that was, and she said downstairs.

"If you're looking for humorous fiction," she added, "you could do a search in the catalog for that." I asked her how to do such a search, telling her I'd only used the new catalog once and it overwhelmed me, so she showed me.

Then suddenly I thought of Four to Score, so I told the librarian I also had enjoyed a book by Janet Evanovich recently.

"Those would be in mystery," she said.

"Are there any other authors like Evanovich?"

"Not now, but probably there will be soon."

We had reached a roadblock, but I continued to stand there, and the librarian was still typing things on her computer ...

"There are lots of funny mysteries written by women," she said. Then she told me there was an author whose last name was Davidson whose books were very popular. They featured a detective named Goldie something, who works as a caterer. Diane Mott Davidson. All of the books have food titles.

The foodie in me was getting excited, so I asked where the mystery section was. I then did a quick summary of her recommendations to make sure I had understood and that I knew where to find the titles. She confirmed everything, so I thanked her and then went downstairs to comb through the titles by Crusie and Davidson. I ended up checking out four books. The Crusie ones I'm not so sure about yet, but I'm excited to read Catering for Nobody and then, if I get hooked on Davidson, Dying for Chocolate.

Sure, I could pick apart the way the librarian answered my question. She shouldn't have given me the feeling that her reading tastes were above mine. She should have turned to face me more often and focused less on her computer. She probably shouldn't mumble things to herself. But I had gone into the situation expecting to get nothing out of it, and instead I left the library a happy customer. So overall, I'd say the librarian did her job.

"In a better, saner world …"

I just read Bob Lamm's "Reading Groups: Where Are All the Men?" for the second time, and my reaction is still, "You have got to be kidding me." I could go in a number of directions with my rant, but for the sake of brevity I'll focus in on one particular statement:

"In a better, saner world, men would look forward to Amy Tan's next novel, to the next Hollywood version of Little Women."

I'm sorry, but he did just imply that there's something wrong with the world because men don't go in droves to see the latest chick flick, or read voraciously from the Women's Lives and Relationships genre?

This seems both ridiculous and clueless to me. From what I've observed, men tend to be drawn to movies like Saving Private Ryan and books like Dune or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. In other words, there are certain genres that men tend to gravitate to, such as adventure and science fiction. So what if those genres don't happen to be the same ones that women tend to gravitate to?

I can't help but imagine what Lamm would be like if he were working as a reader's advisor. I can picture him trying to force feed Jane Austen to the male patrons -- thinking he was making the world a better place -- when all he was really doing was frustrating readers.

I say no to Lamm's vision of a better world. I would much rather live in a world where men and women are free to read (and watch) whatever they please. Sometimes their choices are going to be different, but that's okay. In fact, I would argue that people's differences are part of what makes life interesting. We should appreciate or at least respect those differences, rather than yearn for a culture of homogenized readers.

The Most Shocking Thing About the Pilgrims

Here is my attempt at a Kirkus-style review -- of the work that my bookclub is discussing next week ...

Philbrick, Nathaniel
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Penguin (463 pp.)
$16.00
ISBN: 978-0-14-311197-9 (pbk.)

Nathaniel Philbrick previously garnered respect for his New York Times bestseller In the Heart of the Sea, winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2000, and Sea of Glory: The Epic South Seas Expedition, 1838–1842. Now, the author further cements his reputation with this eye-opening look at the Pilgrims’ settling on Cape Cod and their unfolding relationship with the Native Americans.

Philbrick the narrator gives neither a Hallmark-like view of the Pilgrims nor a modern picture of evil Europeans abusing an innocent native population. Instead, he shares the findings from his meticulous research with us and let’s us decide. The book features the kind of dense, historical narrative that readers of nonfiction love. Philbrick depicts all of his real-life characters as fully human with varying degrees of good and bad in them. He also doesn’t take sides, as the evidence seems to indicate that both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans showed kindness to, and committed atrocities against, one another.

Amidst all of the fascinating and shocking details in the Mayflower is the revelation that in 1675, after living together in peace for over 50 years, the Native Americans and the English went to war with each other. King Philip’s War, named for a sachem known as “King Philip,” claimed 5,000 lives, which was approximately seven percent of the population of New England at the time. Philbrick writes in his preface, “In terms of percentage of population killed, King Philip’s War was more than twice as bloody as the American Civil War and at least seven times more lethal than the American Revolution.” Yet few people seem to know about this conflict. Philbrick himself told Publisher’s Weekly (April 24, 2006) that he was surprised about what he found out while doing his research. Mayflower has much to contribute to the annals of history, but if it makes a lasting impression on us, it will be in raising our awareness of King Philip’s War.

Me and My Reading World

About Me
Emily Hunteman, a 34-year-old single gal who grew up on a quasi-farm one hour west of Indianapolis, got a bachelor’s in English literature from DePauw University, and has worked for nearly 10 years (nonconsecutive) as a writer/editor at Purdue University. (Picture the array of colorful brochures that prospective college students receive in the mail from universities. Some of those are written/edited by me!)


My Reading World
Genres that I most enjoy reading:

· Nonfiction

I’m a sucker for quirky nonfiction titles focused on someone doing some “crazy” experiment like trying to read the encyclopedia all the way through or trying to eat only food that came from within 50 miles of home. Or like The Pluto Files, which focuses on the history of Pluto and the giant uproar in the United States generated from its demotion from planet status. I read about it on a blog and thought it sounded hilarious. As for more serious (meaning nonhumorous) nonfiction, I enjoy American and European history works -- especially when they have a strong narrative – and biographies/autobiographies of famous singers, chefs, and other people I find interesting. My favorite is probably Girl Singer by Rosemary Clooney.

· Graphic novels

I’m ga ga for this genre and have felt that way ever since I first heard about graphic novels. My favorites of the few I’ve read so far are American Born Chinese, Persepolis, French Milk, and To Dance: A Memoir. I think the use of both text and pictures to tell a story really heightens the clarity of a work. And among other benefits, the genre somehow enables and catalyzes discussion about serious topics such as ethnic/cultural differences.

· Christian spirituality books

I like reading true stories about people’s relationships with God and their efforts to reach out to people. Good examples are Blue Like Jazz and Traveling Mercies.

· Classic works of fiction, especially those that would be called chick lit if written today.

I don’t want to over generalize, but it seems that most women love a good love story, and I am one of those women. So books like Persuasion and Jane Eyre have a “Calgon, take me away” type effect on me. I also like clever revisions of classic stories, like Bridget Jones’s Diary.

· Food books

I love to cook and to read about food. Thus, I have a subscription to Bon Appetit and a small bookshelf full of cookbooks, plus a handful of food narratives that I’ve fallen in love with, ranging from Cooking for Mr. Latte (a light love story told through food) to The United States of Arugula, a richly detailed history of the rise of gourmet food in America since World War II.