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The Odyssey Bookshop |
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The Odyssey Bookshop |
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Order Books Here! |
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The Odyssey Bookshop is one of five independent
bookstores participating in WAMC's Roundtable on Tuesday mornings,
just after the 10:00 news. People from the Odyssey will be on about once a
month, talking about our favorite books. The Odyssey Bookshop 413-534-7307 email odysseybks@aol.com
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Darcy's picks Click on any title to order Back to staff list Nowtopia: How Pirate Programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists, and Vacant-Lot Gardeners Are Inventing the Future Today! by Chris Carlsson
 City
of Thieves by David Benioff
What a great story! I
couldn’t put it down. City of Thieves is the story of a
17-year-old Jewish boy from Leningrad during WWII. The story is
linear and quick, but it has many facets.
At times adventure, coming of age, wartime/winter survival, and
character exploration, this book contains scenes of great horror mixed
with moments of joy, and flashes terror and sprinkled with laughter.
Benioff introduces us to a less familiar aspect of World War
II, and it is a compelling story. Bonk – The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach  Now
this is entertaining non-fiction.
Roach is so good at finding topics that are captivating and
somewhat taboo, then presenting a comprehensive and entertaining
compendium of scientific research on the subject. In this newest book
Roach takes us through a history of scientific research into sexual
physiology, and it is a thrilling and educational ride. Somehow Roach
manages to avoid any sense of vulgarity, using a splash of cheerful
naughtiness to diffuse possibly uncomfortable discussions (artificial
insemination of livestock, for example) and clear language to keep the
narrative focus on the scientific research at hand.
It is not a dry read, though, as Roach is wicked funny and quite
direct. The book is totally captivating, hilarious at
times, respectful yet adventurous, and ultimately charming.
Generation
Dead by Daniel Waters.
 Salvation;
Black People and Love by bell hooks.
I love bell hooks (such an insightful social critic, such an activist, and she writes with such pointed clarity…*sigh*), and who doesn't love love? hooks is very clear about defining love as a force that does not bring an end to difficulties, rather it is one that makes them easier to bear, and the book is a passionate plea to bring love to the forefront of social action. She reflects on the role of love in various factions of the civil rights movement, and calls out the dangers of action, and life, without love. Martin Luther King Jr. consistently advocated loving thy enemy, but hooks highlights what was lost by not advocating self-love with the same vigor, and what may be gained by addressing both aims now. bell hooks is a wonderful writer, a fantastic activist, and someone whom I am constantly in awe of, and this book is truly elegant.  Lives
of the Planets by Richard Corfield.
This book is about space exploration as much as it is about the planets themselves, and I totally dig it. Corfield's writing is engaging and interesting and full of information. He offers a historical perspective for our understanding of the solar system by framing the things we know (or have believed at some point) about the various celestial bodies with the discoveries which brought us to them, from Stonehenge to Spudnik and beyond. This is a fun read, and I care much more about space exploration than I did when I started it.  King:
Pilgrimage to the Mountaintop by Harvard Sitkoff.
This
book is great. I learned so much about the American Civil Rights
movement. Sitkoff offers a solid historical framework for King's life,
and clearly addresses the many civil rights groups at work at the time
without seeming to lay judgement on any one group's goals. At first I
was surprised at how harsh Sitkoff seemed to be about describing Dr.
King's school years and early career, but then I re-read Sitkoff's
Preface commitment to addressing the life of Dr. King as a man. An
amazing man, yes, but a human still, with flaws and doubts as well as
dreams and skills, and that complexity makes him all the more
impressive. Sitkoff's opening notes wisely remind us of the dangers of
canonizing the man and ignoring the struggle's messages, which are
still so relevant
The human race has been hunted almost to extinction, tracked by the energy signatures of their technology. The remaining leaders enact a last-chance re-colonization effort, shipping a group of volunteers far far away, brainwashing them and seeding their culture with memories, and a totalitarian religion intended to keep them safely luddite. Luckily a splinter group saves everything necessary to build a resistance with an android with super-human powers and one of the planners' personalities/consciousnesses. Weber explores politics between church and state, kingdom and warfare, medieval technology and artificially introduced advances, and the experience of this protagonist replicant/android/superhuman, the only one to know humankind’s true history. I enjoyed submersing myself in this world, and did not want it to end.
This is the brilliant, poignant chronicle of Jimmy Corrigan’s life. This novel is absolutely gripping both for Ware’s characteristic drawing style and for the depth and clarity of our protagonist’s sadness. My heart ached for Corrigan through the whole thing, and I recognized the complexity of his struggles. Make no mistake, Corrigan as an adult is a shadow of the man he could have been, but his story is also so familiar, so current, and so honest. Corrigan could be any of the thousand strangers you pass on the street, and Ware holds his story gently, but looks honestly at it. This book is beautiful.
Bechdel’s award-winning autobiographical graphic novel is stunning. She uses the experiences of her childhood and young adult life to explore her relationship with her father, both before and after his suicide. Their relationship rested heavily on their shared literary experiences, so Bechdel’s exploration of it is likewise littered with literary references and discussions. Their relationship was also heavily, albeit indirectly, shaped by their sexual orientations, and Bechdel explores these themes with a sharp literary eye and a powerful sense of clarity. She also applies her fierce honesty to the experience of loss, and of absence. If you have never read a graphic novel, this is an excellent place to begin.
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Wow,
this book knocked my socks off!! What an amazing summary of deeper
social movements that are changing lives and living philosophies all
around us. Forget political campaigns and policy changes (for a
minute), this book is about movements that are directly addressing the
fundamentals of how we live. From our food sources
(community/vacant-lot gardens feed many) to transportation methods (biofuels
are covered, but aren't you wondering what makes an 'outlaw bicyclist'?)
to employment choices (how does work become valued, and what role does
unpaid work play in your life?) even down to software options (learn how
the internet's creators fought to keep it an 'open commons', and how
'open source' works in practice) this book is an enthusiastic
exploration of somewhat radical movements aimed at changing the way we
live for the better in immediate, concrete ways. Even more than
'changing XYZ' it is about shifting your perspective on what choices are
possible in your life. I love this book.
This
book is a zombie teen flick of a story that totally kept my attention
and wasn't actually about horror or gore. Written from the perspective
of a goth girl with an unorthodox crush, this is the story of a high
school struggling to meet the needs of growing numbers of undead (erm,
living impaired) students. The book is as much about coming to terms
with difference and prejudice as it is about reanimated corpses, as
these zombies actually don't eat brains, don't know why they came
back, and retain varying degrees of the personality and awareness they
carried as living teenagers. Some zombies play football, some listen
to death metal, all are trying to come to terms with their unexplained
and incomplete reanimation, and all are fighting to fit in and not get
killed by spooked people with old-fashioned notions of what makes
someone evil.
JIMMY
CORRIGAN THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH
