The Camel Bookmobile  by Masha Hamilton

A librarian travels to a remote village in Northeastern Kenya to bring books by camel to the nomadic bush people.  Their reaction to Fiona “Fi” and her escort and the camel-toted library ranges from avid curiosity and excitement, to caution and suspicion.  The reader understands her struggle to communicate and behave appropriately within the cultural mores of the bush people. The books are few and the villages are many and the organizers of this resource set a heavy fine for not returning books, the camel bookmobile will stop coming.  There is great shame wrought on the village of Mididima when “Scar Boy,” does not return his books and the book mobile ceases to come.  Fi decides to visit Mididima to retrieve the books. An unlikely love affair, a vivid sense of place and Fi’s effort to bring literacy to the “bush” is touching in its sincerity and make this an unforgettable journey.

Read-Alikes

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Out of Africa (memoir) by Isak Dinesen

Green City in the Sun by Barbara Wood

                                                                                                          Peg McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library, Commack

Dine and Die on the Danube Express by Peter King

Not much detecting in this first-person detective mystery.  Pages are filled with detailed descriptions of the scenery that the train passes through and the food and wine that is prepared and consumed for the riders, but there is no detail as to who has been murdered or why.  After the initial shock at the death of a Hungarian actress, the travelers move on to other topics.  They don’t seem to be upset that there’s a dead body on the train or that the murderer is also still on the train.  

In this eighth and final book in the series, the Gourmet Detective is aboard the Danube Express for its 25th anniversary run.  He is to relax and enjoy the ride, while he reviews the food, wine, and service for a competitor.  When Hungarian actress Magda Malescu is found dead in her compartment, our amateur detective is invited to help solve the crime (apparently, he once lent a hand to Scotland Yard).  However, it turns out that Malescu hasn’t been murdered at all—it was a celebrity stunt.  But a little later, another rider is poisoned—but lives.  Still, no one on the train seemed worried about this and Karl Kramer, the security chief is determined to keep these incidents quiet, lest the papers start writing about the safety issues aboard the Danube.  Then, Malescu’s understudy is indeed murdered—she doesn’t come back from the dead.  Towards the end of the story, yet another woman is poisoned.

In between the murders and near-murders are lovely descriptions of the countryside, the castles, the meals, and the wines.  Also, the gourmet detective (who remains nameless throughout) enjoys a little fling with fellow rider Irena between the murders.  There are too many characters to keep straight and none are well developed.

Neither Kramer nor the Gourmet Detective figures out who the murderer is.  The detective’s mode of investigating is simply chatting with other riders in the hopes that someone will confess.  They only find out the truth when the killer comes to them.

Read-Alikes:

Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Rex Stout:  Fer-de-Lance

Auguste Didier Mysteries by Amy Myers:  Murder Makes an Entrée

Eugenia Potter series by Virginia Rich:  Cooking School Murders

Goldy Bear series by Diane Mott Davidson:  Dying for Chocolate

                                                                                                                                        Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

Smithson “Smithy” Ides has just lost both his parents in a car accident. He is a 43 yr. old, overweight, hard-drinking, chain-smoking misfit working in a dead-end factory job. On the day of his parents’ funeral, he finds a letter addressed to his father concerning the death of his long lost and deeply troubled sister, Bethany. Drunk and full of grief and despite a house full of mourners, Smithy goes to the garage for another drink and cigarette where he notices his old Raleigh bicycle. Though all its tires are flat, Smithy takes it out and right then decides to bicycle from his home in Maine to California to claim his sister’s remains, penniless and still wearing his ill-fitting funeral suit.

This novel is about Smithy’s odyssey across the country, the characters he meets, and the situations he encounters which give him the last chance to become the person he always wanted to be.

                                                                                                                                 Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

Otto Ringling is a middle-aged editor living a comfortable life in an affluent New York suburb. When his parents are killed in a car accident, Otto and his sister plan a road trip out west to settle the estate. The plan is dramatically altered on the day of departure when Otto’s sister opts out of the trip and sends her guru, flowing robe and all, instead. Otto reluctantly sets out on a journey across the country accompanied by his sister’s friend, the monk. How these two men coexist and influence each other over the course of their trip is the basis for this humorous and enlightening novel. Restaurant fare, bowling, miniature golf, and other mundane travel situations set the backdrop for the simple, yet profound, life lessons which gradually transform our travelers. Who is enlightening who becomes the focal point of the story—and helps to make this novel a hilarious, and often poignant, read.  

If you enjoy reading about the ambience of locations throughout the American Midwest; take pleasure from scrumptiously-detailed descriptions of various restaurant cuisines; and can appreciate an on-going, jocular philosophical debate on the meaning of life, Breakfast with Buddha will make for a most delightful read.

Additional titles about a spiritual journey include: Roland Merullo’s Golfing with God; Alice Walker’s Now is the Time to Open Your Heart; Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist; and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. An extensive list of philosophical works is included in an Author’s Note at the end of the book.               

                                                                                                                            Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library 

 The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club by Jessica Morrison

Twenty eight year old Cassie Moore’s perfect life in Seattle falls apart when she loses her job and her fiancé in the same day.  Cassie had always been diligent, doing the expected, plotting her Life Plan on a sequence of (revised) spreadsheets. Distressed, she impulsively books a ticket to South America, and takes a six-month lease on an apartment in Buenos Aires.  Cassie’s gracious landlady welcomes her into her family circle, she studies Spanish, makes friends at the local bar, starts a blog and falls in love.

This is really affirmative “chick-lit”, with terrific local atmosphere and color. It will appeal to many who will also enjoy the author’s kind and wise perspective on life.

                                                                                                                                       Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

 Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish

Five women follow the wishes of a dear friend who recently passed away by going on an all-expenses-paid traveling funeral to places that were special to the deceased Annie.  The women drop everything to learn about Annie’s past and in doing so also learn how to slow down in order to enjoy life and to come to grips with their friend’s death.

Complete with late night chat sessions and enough tears to fill an ocean, Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral is a little far fetched and annoying with all of its girl power preaching.  It was not uncommon for one of the main characters to utter, “It’s because we’re women, that’s why we can get through this…” at least once each chapter.  Although the concept was interesting, who wouldn’t want to go on a free trip celebrating their friend’s life, the things that happen to them become hard to take after the third, fourth, tenth time. 

Read-Alikes: 

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg 

                                                                                                                                                               Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

The End of the Alphabet  by C. S. Richardson

Alphabet-obsessed Ambrose Zephyr is a happy, sensible, unassuming man.  He is married to Zapporah “Zipper” Ashkenazi, who not only complements him alphabetically, but emotionally as well.  They have a wonderful devotion to each other even though they seem unexceptional.  Then the doctor tells Ambrose he has one month to live.

Instead of doing what would be sensible, Ambrose and Zipper embark on a whirlwind journey, visiting places they have always loved or wanted to visit.  Beginning with Amsterdam, Berlin, Chartres and so on, they come to realize the meaning of true love and devotion, and the painful and seemingly unfair turns life can take.  In a mere 119 pages, Richardson captures the essence of life and love without sounding cloying.  It is a truly masterful use of the art of fable and storytelling.  Similar themes of life and love can be found in Erich Segal’s Love Story.

                                                                                                                                                                    Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library