Rabb Recommends

Spiral Jetta
by Erin Hogan
$15.00
The University of Chicago Press
978-0-226-34846-9

Part wild west art pilgrimage with unlikely unrugged city girl. Part Art History and Aesthetic Theory discussion with striking insight into land art pieces of Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Hogan is funny, neurotic (in a charming, self-deprecating, nasally Woody Allen sort of way), and insightful.

Bruce Recommends

Travels with My Aunt
by Graham Greene
$16.00
Penguin Classics
978-0-14-303900-6

Auntie Mame with Attitude, a coming of age novel for the Middle Aged, a kaleidoscope of intrigue, suspense, a thriller for those who love to think while they are laughing and laugh while they are thinking, a book you will enjoy re-reading.

Liz Recommends

Whip It
by Shauna Cross
$8.99
Square Fish
978-0-312-53599-5

Roller Derby comes to the rescue for Bliss Cavender, a small town Texan who's sick of participating in beauty pageants. This is the basis for the recent film, Whip It, starring Juno's Ellen Page.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I think I first read about HeLa cells in my random science readings when I was a teenager. I remember being fascinated (as I still am) with the idea of an immortal human cell line and the fact that the cancer lived on even after the death of Henrietta Lacks. But there was a huge blank in the story—I couldn't find any information about the woman herself.

In 1951, a sample from Henrietta Lacks' cervical cancer was taken without her consent or knowledge and cultured. It became the world's first immortal human cell line and one of the most important research tools in medicine. The cells helped develop the polio vaccine, point out the causes of cancer, and lead the way to cancer cures.

Her family found out about the cells 20 years after Henrietta's death. They were devastated by the revelation. They had just read about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, and the news of their mother and wife's living cells conjured a similar horror in their minds. Even later they found out that millions of dollars have been made off of HeLa, while most of her family could not (and still cannot) afford health insurance.

Rebecca Skloot spent 10 years getting to know the family and researching Henrietta's life. She has written an amazing work in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, detailing Henrietta and her descendants' lives. She brings to life the family, their emotions, and the science in her wonderfully clear and fascinating writing. Finally, Henrietta's story is told.

I Heart Books Sale! Feb. 4-6!

25% off new books! 50% off used books! 30% off rare books!

Some exceptions apply. Sale does not include special orders, staff recommends, best sellers, and bargain room books. Does not combine with any other sales or discounts.

Best Wellers Selection for February and March

Every other month Sam Weller's buyers choose a book that they are particularly excited about. We feature it all over the store and discount it 20%. This month's selection is Stitches by David Small.

Here's Liz's review from the February/March issue of BookTalk:

I’ll start by saying I don’t enjoy most memoirs. The ones I have enjoyed, most of them at least, have been in graphic format. Illustrator David Small presents the story of his childhood with images and few words making Stitches a very quick read. The black and gray images flow so smoothly and are so interesting in their unconventional composition that it feels as if you’re watching a silent movie as you flip the pages. Small’s father was a radiologist and, before the knowledge of how dangerous x-rays could be, exposed him regularly to heavy doses of radiation to treat his respiratory problems. A large lump formed on the side of Small’s throat, but he was told he was fine and not to worry. When Small woke up from surgery at age fourteen to find a vocal cord removed and a line of stitches down his throat, he realized things were much worse than he had been led to believe. This unique coming-of-age story is one that will stay with you, even if it’s just to remind you that maybe your family isn’t as bad as you think.

Chekhov's Shorts

Hello lovers of books and literature.

I am posting today to inform anyone who appreciates the pleasures of hearing stories or poetry read out-loud, that i will be reading four of my favorite short literary pieces at the Salt Lake Main Public Library at 210 East 400 South next week.

The library hosts readings modeled on National Public Radio's Selected Shorts program on the last Wednesday of each month. They occur under the series heading, Chekhov's Shorts, which always makes me think of old Anton recreating in warm weather, though it really refers to the length of the stories. It is coordinated by Paul Reynolds and i was happy to receive his invitation a few months ago, since i love great stories and enjoy sharing them. And the experience of hearing stories in a group is very different from the experience of reading them silently, alone.

The reading will be held on Wednesday, January 27th on the fourth floor of the library, at 7:00 p.m.

I was glad to learn that i had great liberty to select what i would read and spent a lot of time looking over my favorite books to find excellent pieces that would conform to the time frame and present well out loud. After making my first choices, possibly, though not evidently, to Paul's frustration, i kept looking and revised my selections after library media had been produced so what is published only half represents what will really occur.

Here's my line-up — i will not revise it again.

First i will read A Serious Talk by Raymond Carver from his wonderful 1981 collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

Next i'll warm your heart with an odd but touching story from a 1985 collection by John Fante called A Nun No More. I'm not sure when this was first written but it was certainly much earlier than its appearance in print within The Wine of Youth.

Then i'll accost you with America by Allen Ginsberg. I really like this poem which was published in Ginsberg's best known collection, Howl. I told Paul i was going to read Howl but changed my mind upon re-reading. But the time the switch created left room for...

A Way of Yankee Knowledge by meta-fictional writer Donald Barthelme. This deep philosophical tale will open all your perceptual filters so you better watch out. I read it in the 1974 collection, Guilty Pleasures though it was first unleashed by the New York Times in 1973.

I'm already having fun just thinking about the reading, and i really hope you'll join us.

That's all for now.

Bone