This is another one of those subjects I had no interest in until a good book smacked me across the noggin (hurray for good books, and good authors).

Every year there is a Big Year, but there has never been a Big Year like 1998's epic battle between three very (very) different birders.  Mark Obmascik channels Howard Cosell as he narrates The Big Year:  A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession.

In one corner, a New Jersey roofing contractor.  In another, a corporate executive; and in the third, a nuclear power plant software engineer (all men - is it always guys who are this crazy?).  Obmascik follows the three on their wacky, sometimes hilarious sometimes tragic galavants around North America.  Like any good competition, it's neck and neck (and neck) the whole way.  I think readers of Bill Bryson will really enjoy this book, and I need to credit a co-worker for lobbing this one my way.

1910's worst wildfire in U.S. history was not just a tragic loss, but an event that galvanized citizen support for forest conservation.  Timothy Egan, National Book Award winner, chronicles the events leading to the fire, the heroic and tragic stories from those few horrific days, and the nation's response in The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America. 

Although Roosevelt is listed in the subtitle, Gifford Pinchot and, indirectly, John Muir, were the driving forces behind the development of the National Forest system, and Egan spends the first portion of the book summarizing this backdrop.  Pushed through by the force of Roosevelt's will, the expansion of the National Forests was vehemently opposed by some of the most powerful senators in Congress.  Backed by timber, mining, and grazing lobbies, Congress effectively gutted Forest Service funding.  Idealistic young rangers lived a meager existence in towns that made Deadwood look like a kindergarten, desperately trying to control illegal logging and mining in an ocean of graft and hostility.

When hurricane force winds hit thousands of small fires during a summer of no rain, a handful of these poorly equipped rangers (the legendary Ed Pulaski among them) walked into a maelstrom.  Egan, again, marvelously captures a landmark natural event that changed the West.

[ see Timothy Egan at the Redmond Library:  December 3, 7pm ]

The most intimate and complex of sentiments, grief and love, are explored through Faulkner's Tender is the Night and Edvard Munch's paintings after the death of his sister, Sophie.  As the examined works bear out, these emotions can be powerfully intertwined.  Themes of exposure, to plague (Camus's The Plague and Bergman's The Seventh Seal) to AIDS (Kushner's Angels in America), to smallpox (Dickens's Bleak House) allow authors to explore the objectification of the patient in modern medicine and the impulse to seek meaning through processes such as diagnosis.  Hamlet's "disposition turned heavy" echoes in Quentin Compson of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.  In an age more interested in banishing depression as quickly as possible, these two characters depict the depressed mind in great detail as a tragic melancholia, deeply compelling and ultimately deadly.

Weinstein is a professor of Comparative Literature at Brown University and is widely renowned for his teaching exellence.  This book reflets decades of study and refinement of his argumentation in dozens of classrooms.  The scream that goes through the house, Weinstein shows, is the primal, universal expression of feeling projected into the world through art and literature.  Even reformed English majors will enjoy his thoughtful, insightful discussions of how art can make us better people.

If you want the answers to these questions and many others, here's the book for you.  If you've ever wondered how some of your favorite books ended up getting published, here's the book for you.  If you like little-known facts about well-known novels, here's the book for you.

Who the H*** is Pansy O'Hara? takes 50 of what the authors call the "world's best-loved books" and gives you the back story.  They dish on Charlotte Bronte's unrequited love, on Emily Post's divorce (gasp),  and on the World War II intelligence work of Ian Fleming.

The authors include both classic and modern fiction from Pride and Prejudice to The Da Vinci Code as well as nonfiction works like The Origin of Species and even Encyclopedia Britannica.  It's a fun read for bibliophiles and for people who wonder how and where classic novels come from.  And even though some of the stories are a bit sensational and the title sounds a little flip, the scholarship of these authors is serious and their writing is top notch. 

By the way, here's the answers:  Lolita was too hot for American publishers until Olympia Press out of Paris put out a modest 5,000 copies.  Stephen King worked a variety of jobs until Carrie was accepted by Doubleday for $2500.  Margaret Mitchell originally named her fiery Gone With the Wind heroine Pansy, but after multiple revisions, decided Scarlett was a more fitting name.  Happy reading.

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And you can listen to Timothy Egan read excerpts from the book on this National Public Radio broadcast.

Pat Mora is the author of many beautiful bilingual books. This book is all about foods that are native to the Americas including: chile, corn, peanut, potato and pumpkin. Each food is presented with a haiku-style poem along with a side bar of information about the food. The colorful illustrations by Rafael Lopez are really a treat.

This is a Readers to Eaters pick!

Readers to Eaters is a nonprofit who's mission it is to promote food literacy from the ground up. They use books and a strong connection to the publishing world to promote knowing about food and where it comes from. They are currently working with schools and libraries to promote good eating and good reading.

His decision to take the leap and marry his cousin Emma Wedgwood is the subject of Deborah Heiligman's 2009 National Books Award finalist  Charles and Emma: the Darwin's Leap of Faith..

Darwin was a pragmatist, an agnostic, and a scientist. Emma was his intellectual match and yet devoutly religious. Theirs was a true love story--a match of wits and wills, of science and religion. Despite her reservations about Darwin's theories, Emma helped edit her husband's work. She honestly feared for his soul and at the same time bore him ten children, three of whom died before the age of ten.

Heiligman is a skilled nonfiction writer. The Victorian Era is brought to vivid life through the couple's letters and other primary sources. This setting is the backdrop for one of the great marriages of history. Although originally published for the teen market, Charles and Emma will equally engage adult readers, who will know something more about the ups-and-downs of married life than its intended audience.  

It is a story that might have turned out quite differently if Darwin had decided to settle for the company of that dog after all.

Break Into Fiction by multipublished authors Mary Buckham and Diana Love uses popular films to demonstrate the points of each technique they discuss. They've also provided templates for important story elements such as developing a story premise, creating believeable, motivated characters, strengthening conflict, and raising the stakes.

Many writers struggle with the beginning of a story, not knowing where to start. When facing the blank page, it can be a challenge. These successful authors suggest that the frustration can often be traced to a lack of preparation. If you have insight into the goals and motivation of your main character, it can be easier to get the words on the page. Taking the time to understand the story arc, how conflict must be escalated and the story question answered can help the beginning writer move beyond fear and into the flow of the narrative.

If you are interested in learning more about Power Plotting, NaNoWriMo programs offered throughout the library system will include workshops with Mary Buckham.

It is easy to find ideas on home décor and stores are relentless in their push to sell you the latest thing that you absolutely need for your home. Create the Space You Deserve takes a different  approach  by tapping into the emotional process of designing space. This book inspired me to look at my living space with a fresh eye. Your living area can be a powerful expression of who you are and in these hard economic times I find myself in the nesting mode more than ever. For me it is the little things that tend to make me happiest...like sitting at home in a comfy chair, sipping tea and watching the clouds.

Considered to be the most prolific mathematician in history, Erdös co-authored nearly 1500 scientific papers.  During most of his adult life, he traveled from university to university, or conference to conference, living out of two suitcases.  He never owned other possessions, did not have a home, and gave away money he didn't need.  Often, he would simply show up on a colleague's doorstep unannounced, spending a few days or weeks solving research problems before moving on to another city.  

Hoffman's interviews in the math world uncovered some great stories.  Later in his life, Erdös apparently needed an operation to correct his dimming vision, but delayed surgery because he was reluctant to lose precious work time.  He finally agreed to the procedure only when he mistakenly believed that he would be able to work during surgery.

In honor of his work and life, mathematicians humorously developed the Erdös number.  Erdös himself was awarded the number 0.  Erdös co-authors are awarded the number 1.  Co-authors of co-authors, the number 2.  And so on.  A low Erdös number is considered to be a great distinction (Steven Hawking, Bill Gates, Noam Chomsky and J. Robert Oppenheimer are 4's; Einstein a 2).  Hank Aaron jokingly has a 1 after co-signing a baseball with Erdös.  And, of course, a few mathematicians have tried to auction their Erdös numbers on Ebay.

In 1946 Mr. Nichols longed to escape post-war London, so he went looking for a small Georgian House, not too far from the city, with about 5 acres of land where he could create a garden.  He found Merry Hall.  It fit all his requirements, and he bought it, even though the Georgian lines of the building had been ruined by remodeling and additions, the interior was in shambles, the five acres were mostly weeds and nettles, and the gardener who came with the house was devoted to all the mistakes of the former owner.  With the help of his incredibly efficient factotum, Gaskin; the reluctant but expert aid of the gardener; the company of his cats, One and Four; and the occasional interference of neighbors, he turned Merry Hall into his dream house and garden.  He tells the story with classic deadpan British humor.

You don't have to be a gardener to enjoy this book.  (My favorite garden activity is to recline gracefully in the shade on a hot day with a cool drink and a good book.)  You do need to be prepared for strong prejudices, mostly about plants, but also about women and what Nichols considers the lower classes, and accept that he was a creature of different times.  He brings the best of those times alive most enchantingly.