That Stack of Books listeners, I am back with an interview with none other than Nancy Pearl.
Nancy has written her first novel, "George and Lizzie." It's a love story, with one partner, Lizzie, trying to figure out just how committed she is to George, who seems to be going along with a heart full of love and a head full of patience.
We met in Seattle at the Bryant Corner Cafe, our ongoing book club haunt, to talk about her foray into fiction.
Don't Be Afraid of Science Fiction or Why Nancy Hates Lumping Books Into Categories
May 31, 2016
Classic cover of a classic book
Don’t Reject Science Fiction or Books That Take You Outside The Box or Why Nancy Hates Categorizing Books!
Again we are dealing with the basic issue that rankles Nancy Pearl. When you put books into categories or label books as this but not that, too many readers skip over wonderful reading experiences.
She knows some people just can’t relate to the science fiction genre. We had a lot of folks around the table who felt sort of “meh” about sci-fi and fantasy.
We were interested in what people enjoy or don’t enjoy about sci-fi and fantasy.
Robert Heinlein’s book, “Space Cadet” turned Nancy on to science fiction and fantasy back when she was just a wee lass.
Not sure about the genre? Maybe don’t think of it as a genre.
Perhaps start with a classic Clifford Simak like “Shakespeare’s Planet.” A colorful cover that captures the joys of 1950’s science fiction and a story Nancy Pearl says everyone should read.
If you are interested in Science Fiction, Nancy says you can sign up for a daily sci-fi email from Tor.com
We touched on some women in science fiction, but not enough. Check out theselists.
Non-English Sci-Fi, look here. Asian writers of science fiction, here.
Teens Eating Pizza and Reading Books
May 25, 2016
Nancy and Steve had the opportunity to spend some time with King County Librarian Aarene Storms and a great group of young readers at the Teen Pizza and Books group at the Lake Forest Park Library meeting room. You should drop by. The next one at the Lake Forest Park Library is scheduled for June 7th.
By the way, there are numerous reading groups for teens offered throughout the King County Library System
On a separate note, applause for the King County Library locating in the basement of a shopping mall. Great use of space, great notion to bring the books to the people, and what a way to enliven a mall. Thank you.
And upstairs you can wander Third Place Books.
Teens, Books and Pizza.
compiled by Aarene Storms
Here is the long and extremely eclectic list of books we talked about on Tuesday. Links are to the KCLS catalog unless otherwise noted. Whew!
Pizza and Books @ LFPMay 2016
Lumberjanes v.1, Beware the Kitten Holy By Stevenson, Noelle (graphic novel) Friendship to the max! At Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hardcore lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together-- and they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way!
The Graveyard Book Volume 1 and Volume 2 By Russell, P. Craig (graphic novel) Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard. Sadly, this graphic novel isn’t as wonderful as the print novel OR the audiobook.
Saga [Volume One] By Vaughan, Brian K. (graphic novel) When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe.
Godspeed: Kurt Cobain graphic novel by Legg, Barnaby (graphic novel)Writers Barnaby Legg and Jim McCarthy have constructed their story using biographical fact interwoven with references to the singer's tortured self image with vibrant art by Flameboy. KCLS does not own this book, the link is to Amazon.com
Steve Jobs Insanely Great By Hartland, Jessie (graphic novel) This biography in graphic format presents the story of the ultimate American entrepreneur, who brought us Apple Computer, Pixar, Macs, iPods, iPhones and more, this unique and stylish book is sure to appeal to the legions of readers who live and breathe the techno-centric world Jobs created.
Heavier Than Heaven A Biography of Kurt Cobain By Cross, Charles R. Published on the 10th anniversary of Nirvana's album "Nevermind", this in-depth biography includes new information from over 400 interviews and exclusive access to Cobain's unpublished diaries. eBookeAudioAudio CD
The Raven King By Stiefvater, Maggie (book 4 in the series) Blue never thought the warning that she will cause her true love's death would be a problem, but as her life is entangled in the world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore. Audio CD
Unleashed By Korman, Gordon (series) Luthor, a former attack dog, is supposed to be on his best behavior now that he's in the care of Savannah, a girl who's easily a dog's best friend. But every time a certain truck passes by Savannah's house, Luthor goes into attack mode and chaos follows.
Divergent By Roth, Veronica (series) 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five factions to define her identity for the rest of her life. Then, she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all. KCLS does not own this book in Spanish, however, it is available in Chinese as well as eAudioeBookDVDAudio CDPlayer
Charming By James, Elliott (series) John Charming, formerly a member of the modern Knights Templar and sworn to protect mortals from supernatural threats until he was infected by a werewolf, now tends bar under an assumed name in a small Virginia town. When a blonde and a vampire create havoc enter his bar, he is forced to confront his true nature as well as his destiny. eBook
The Princess Bride S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure By Goldman, William Although the authorial voice claims that this is an “abridged” story, the whole thing is made up entirely (and convincingly) by Mr. Goldman. I libraried this to verify it. If you want, you can library it yourself! And then, you can watch the movie. DVD
Bloody Jack Being An Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy By Meyer, L. A. (series) Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates. Awesome audiobook! eBookAudio CDeAudioWild Rover No More is the last in the series.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell By Clarke, Susanna In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging, the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight. Soon, another magician comes forth: the young, handsome, Jonathan Strange. eBookAudio CDeAudioDVD ßthere’s a DVD?!?!?
How to Train your Dragon By Cowell, Cressida (series) Warrior chieftain, awesome sword-fighter, and amateur naturalist, he was known throughout Vikingdom as 'the Dragon Whisperer' on account of his amazing power over these terrifying beasts. TOTALLY DIFFERENT PLOT FROM THE MOVIE. And the audio is read by David Tennant! Audio CDeAudioPlayerDVD
Reckless By Funke, Cornelia Caroline (series) Jacob and Will Reckless have looked out for each other ever since their father disappeared, but when Jacob discovers a magical mirror that transports him to a warring world populated by witches, giants, and ogres, he keeps it to himself until Will follows him one day, with dire consequences. eBook
Cry Baby By Martinez, Melanie this link is to the music CD. The library doesn’t own the picturebook that isn’t for kids—but you can view it on Youtube HERE.
Go the F**k to Sleep By Mansbach, Adam The bedtime book for parents who live in the real world ... profane, affectionate, and radically honest, it captures the familiar, and unspoken, tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. Samuel L. Jackson reads the audiobook perfectly. eBookAudio CD
The Supernaturalist By Colfer, Eoin Fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites. eBookeAudioGraphic Novel
Tess of the D'Urbervilles By Hardy, Thomas The life of a simple country girl in nineteenth-century England is destroyed by her father's determination to use her in order to regain the family's former social standing.
The Invasion By Applegate, Katherine (series) Endowed by a dying alien with the power to morph into any animal they touch, friends Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco investigate the wonders of the world with their Animorph powers. eBook
Stewart O'Nan, "City of Secrets," and the Work of Writing
May 05, 2016
Stewart O'Nan's newest novel.
“In post-World War II Jerusalem, a concentration camp survivor becomes involved in the underground resistance movement against the British.”
That is the straightforward description of Stewart O’Nan’s newest novel, “City of Secrets.” Brand, the camp survivor navigates between loss and hope in violent Jerusalem.
Stewart O’Nan is an award winning American novelist. Beginning with the release of his 1993 debut novel “Snow Angel,”O’Nan’s spare, precise storytelling has garnered praise and awards.
Before he turned to writing full-time, O’Nan worked as a test engineer for Grumman Aerospace.
O’Nan’s engineering background serves him. To teach himself how to write, he would take apart the best American short stories in order to figure out how they were put together.
This interview is both a discussion of O’Nan’s latest novel and a generous class in writing from a master storyteller.
This interview was recorded at our favorite spot for talking books The Bryant Corner Cafe. We will be back at the cafe May 10th at 3. Nancy Pearl will be leading a discussion about science fiction and fantasy. Do you read that genre, or do you avoid it? Join us with your thoughts at the cafe, or weigh in on twitter @thatstack or on Facebook, That Stack of Books with Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher.
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Sad Books For A Summer Read
Apr 30, 2016
Last week we talked about books that make us happy. For balance, we take up books that make a reader sad, that take the reader into the darkest places of the human experience. Here are some books that are such an emotionally tough read, they might best be read In the sunny days of summer.
The Bryant Corner Cafe is a warm and cozy place. The sunshine comes streaming the big south facing windows. Steam rises from fresh baked goods and hot off the grill meals. The world looks pretty good.
We had a nice sunny day, hot coffee, iced tea and a plateful of tasty cookies as we discussed murder, rape, mass shootings, imprisonment, genocide and the disintegration of democracy. You can see why we thought these are books that might lend themselves to a summer read. You could look up from the page every once in a while, feel the sun on your face, listen to a few birds sing, watch the leaves rustle in a cooling breeze. Take a deep breath. Tell yourself that it isn't all so tragic. It's summer. Then dive back in.
Here are a few of the books we talked about.
Nancy says “The Honorable Schoolboy,” by John Le Carre just broke her heart. She can’t imagine ever picking it up again.
“The Book of Lamentations” is a modern novel by Rosario Castellanos, about the Mayan Spanish conflicts.
“The Bedside Book of Bastards,” Dorothy M. Johnson and R.T. Turner, a light tone about the terrible things people do to one another.
“Democracy For Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government,” Larry Bartels and Christopher Achen. One reviewer called it brutally depressing.
The novels of Thomas Hardy. His topics are timeless.
“Please Look After Mom,” by Kyung-sook Shin is a novel of Dickensian extremes that had South Korean readers weeping.
“The Divide,” by Matt Taibbi, is about the gaping divide between the haves and have-nots in America and how that reality affects health, justice and opportunity for all Americans.
We have had some remarkably wonderful spring days here in Seattle. Record April high's in the 80's have put smiles on our faces and have us thinking happy thoughts and reaching for books that make us happy.
We have tasked ourselves, those of us sitting around the table at the Bryant Corner Cafe and those of basking in the weather in our homes, on the bus, secretly listening at work ( oh we know you are. Keep it up.) We are tasked with coming up with a short list of books that make us happy.
Now this is a topic that lends itself to wide interpretation. Google it. You will see.
And just what is happiness anyway. It's all so personal.
Nevertheless, we made a start at it.
How about adding to our list? You can write us on Twitter @thatstack, post on Facebook, or write us at thatstackofbooks@gmail.com.
What books make you happy?
Here is the list of books we shared on this episode.
A shout out first, though. One of Nancy’s favorite books this year, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
No Biking in the House Without a Helmet, by Melissa Fay Greene. It's been called a brilliant book about a household full of kids, reminiscent of Erma Bombeck or Jean Kerr.
Praying for Sheetrock , Melissa Fay Greene's 1991 National Book Award Finalist that Coretta Scott King called, "An inspiring and absorbing account of the struggle for human dignity and racial equality"
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante. Shortlisted this year for the Man Booker Prize. Here is a nice interview she gave about the books.
The Black Count, by Tom Reiss, a compelling history of the man who served as the model for The Count of Monte Cristo.
And if you like history books that focus on little known figures, Nancy also recommends Dancing to the Precipice by Caroline Moorehead
Steve always gets happy when he reads one of James Thurber’s short stories or when he looks at his cartoons. Check out The Thurber Carnival for some laughs.
Toure: What is it Like to Be Black In America Now?
Apr 17, 2016
Here is a short excerpt from the interview. For the entire conversation-from Trump to Fox news, go to At Length with Steve Scher.
Toure had a reality TV show from 2008-2011. You can find it on YouTube. In "I'll Try Anything Once," Toure is introduced to a variety of sports and activities and has to master them.
The program illustrates the message of his book. We are all unique, made up of our ancestry, our ethnicity, our race, our experience. But any one of us can do anything we want. There is no right way of being. Just be.
Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher will be back with at the Bryant Corner Cafe this Tuesday , April 19th, 2016, at 3 pm to talk about books that make us happy.
What the book that makes you happy?
Love to have you join us at the table, get a cup of coffee and a half price cookie and tell us about that book..
Nancy is also recommending books by Lewis Norden, a southern white writer. She says that his books are hard to describe. His novel, loosely based on the death of Emmett Till is called, “Wolf Whistle.” She calls it hilarious and heartbreaking. She invites readers to read it and write to us with your reaction. Maybe post your thoughts on our Facebook page.
Who was Rasputin? (Audio- author interview extra)
Mar 27, 2016
Why do we know the name of an early 20th century Russian mystic? Why is it that the story of Rasputin has become a mini-industry of myth and folklore, well into the 21st century?
Here is a That Stack of Books Extra, an author interview about a forthcoming book. Steve Scher talked to historian Douglas Smith at Folio, the new independent library and cultural center in downtown Seattle.
So why do we know the name Rasputin?
Oh, right, it may have something to do with the story that he had to be poisoned, stabbed and shot and dumped into a freezing river by his murderers before he would die. Or that he had a momentous appetite for food and wine and women.
Turns out, these stories are part of the apocryphal tales that arose about the monk. They were usually spread by his court enemies.
Russian scholar Douglas Smith has a new book coming out in the fall. It may well be the definitive history of the man and the myth. Smith's previous books include "Former People: The Final Days of the Russian Aristocracy," and "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catharine the Great's Russia."
For his work on Rasputin, he was given access to Russian archives as well as the papers of some of Rasputin's contemporaries.
We will be back at the Bryant Corner Cafe soon with more conversations about books.
Where Were You When Mount St. Helens Blew?
Mar 23, 2016
When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18th, 1980, 57 people were killed. What were they still doing in harm's way on the mountain, after months of warnings by scientists and rumblings from the volcano? Steve Olson has gone back to tell their stories in his new book, "Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens." We spoke at Town Hall, in Seattle.
If you haven't been to the mountain in a while, it is well worth a visit. The recovery of nature is an incredible sight.
The political season is in full throttled shout now. So we figured this might be the time to pick up some books to put our American system into some context.
A few of the books we discussed in this episode.
All The King’s Men, by Robert Penn Warren
Advise and Consent, Allan Drury
Lincoln, Gore Vidal
Burr, by Gore Vidal
America, by John Stewart
All The Truth is Out, Matt Bai
The Making of The President, Theodore White
All The Presidents Men, Woodward and Bernstein
Wilson, by A. Scott Berg
The Paranoid Style in American History, by Richard Hofstader
1912:Wilson, Roosevelt Taft and Debs, by James Chase
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The People’ Choice, by Jeff Greenfield
Open Veins of Latin America, by Eduardo Galeano
Noam Chomsky’s books
Confessions of an Economic Hit-man, by John Perkins
The Plot Against America, by Phillip Roth
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon
The Worm at the Core: On The Role of Death in Life, by SHELDON SOLOMON, JEFF GREENBERG and TOM PYSZCZYNSKI
American Theocracy, by Kevin Phillips
Escape From Freedom, by Erich Fromm
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, by Hunter S. Thompson
The Boys on the Bus, Timothy Crouse
New Books From Northwest Writers.
Mar 05, 2016
Steve had the chance to talk to a few Northwest based writers who have new books on the way. That prompted Nancy to share a few new books by Northwesterners that she is reading right now too.
“Lovecraft Country,” by Matt Ruff. Nancy says Ruff takes the thriller into new and surprising territory. This story begins as a very realistic novel, set in 1954, when a young black man is stopped by a white policeman and told to leave town. But soon enough we are sucked into a story of horror, power and racism. Nancy says Ruff does amazing things with his novels. Check out his earlier novel, “The Mirage.”
“The Immortal Irishmen: the Irish Revolutionary Who Became American Hero,” is best selling writer Tim Egan’s engrossing story of the 19th century Irish-American leader Thomas F. Meager. It too is a story with modern echoes. Here is the nativism of the anti-Irish movement. It will remind many readers of today’s anti-immigrant hysteria.
Jim Lynch is another Northwest author with a new book coming out. Nancy admires the author and expects “Before the Wind,” will be a high point of her spring reading.
“When Breathe Becomes Air,” by Paul Kalanithi. This book is an account of the death of the author, a surgeon who wrote about his late stage cancer. Nancy says the writing is magnificent.
This book belongs with the other recent great books on dying, “ Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande and “How We Die,” by Sherwin Nuland.
Mysteries.
Throughout this show we debate the difference between thriller and mystery and crime novels and end up suggesting, like always, that maybe we should stop categorizing every thing. But, really, how can we stop. It is what we humans do. Well actually there are two categories of humans, ones who make categories and ones who don’t.
Nancy tells us she is looking for a new favorite mystery author. Maybe she will find one in this list of books we brought up this episode.
“Gaudy Night,” by Dorothy L Sayers, who our special guest, dance writer and broadcaster Marcie Sillman calls the first great feminist mystery writer. Her books are full of romance and suspense.
Marcie has been enjoying what she says is the page turning series by Julia Spencer Fleming, the Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne series. Nancy and Marcie say these books have to read in order to really appreciate.
Carolyn Heilbrun (writing as Amanda Cross) created an erudite and literary series featuring Kate Fansler. The first, and Nancy’s favorite is “In The Last Analysis.”
Books featuring the character Martin Beck and really all the mysteries written by the Swedish couple, Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö. Back in the 60’s and 70’s.
The author Robert Crais, who Marcie says, like Ross MacDonald, features a detective who wants there to be good in the world.
Good Reading!
Cocoon Of Cancer Author Abbe Rolnick Talks with Steve Scher
Feb 21, 2016
You get that dreaded phone call from your loved one, who tells you, “I have cancer.”
How do you share the pain and the fear?
Nancy is off this week and we have an interview Steve did with a northwest author.
In a sense it is following up on last week's episode about romance and love.
Here is a true love story.
For writer Abbe Rolnick, the love and sharing over that dreaded diagnosis took the form of words, essays and poems written in the moment, day-to-day, hour-to-hour.
Cocoon of Cancer is a collection of those moments between Abbe and her husband, Jim Wiggins, an ecologist.
For links to their readings and appearances, you can start at her homepage or on her Facebook page.
Join us there at 3:15 for a lively discussion. Oh, it gets lively. Half-price cookies gets everyone on a sugar jag and we start spouting off about the great books in our stack.
You know you can find us at ITunes –where it would be great if you would take the time to write a review-- follow us on twitter @thatstack or on our Facebook page.
This Is The Love Story List You Need For Real Romance.
Feb 13, 2016
What is the difference between a love story and a romance?
Which do you prefer?
We sat down at the Bryant Corner Café to talk about love. Valentines Day had everyone thinking about it, but we got into a pretty substantive discussion about the difference between love stories and romances. Finally, different kinds of love, between different people emerge as our main theme.
Nancy started out, however, by calling our attention to a recently published novel she found remarkable by an author she follows.
“A God In Every Stone,” by Kamila Shamsie, is the story of a young English woman who goes on an archeological dig in what would become Pakistan just before WW1 just breaks out. Nancy says, “What we get in this wonderful, wonderful novel is a perspective on WW1 from the Indian soldiers who went to fight for the British and died in great numbers.” It is also a story of the beginnings of the fight for independence on the sub-continent. She says it opens up a period of history as only fiction can, bringing new insights and revealing the roots of our present turmoil in the struggles of the past. It is a challenging book for the way the story is told and for the subject matter, but she says it fabulous.
Here are the books we talked about. Some are romances. Most are love stories.
“Soulless” by Gail Carriger, a romance about a young woman who is rudely attacked by a vampire. Nancy loved it.
“Astrid and Veronika,” by Linda Olson. Sharon says two women, one young, one old, share a love, but not a sexual love.
“Me Before You,” by JoJo Moyes. A young woman takes care of a wheel-chair bound man. Nancy loved it because JoJo Moyes doesn’t give into the easy way out andturned what mighthave beenaromance into a love story.
So now, when defined so broadly, what book isn’t a love story?
“Angle of Repose,” by Wallace Stegner, in which Nancy asks, who loves whom? ( well, she said “who loves who,” but you know how autocorrect can be.) Another love story by this definition can be Stegner’s “Crossing to Safety.”
“Chocolat,” by Joanne Harris is Roz’s choice. That prompts Nancy to plug her other books, which she says don’t get the attention they deserve. She recommends “Gentlemen and Players.”
“Bettyville,” by George Hodgman is the story of a son who leaves his life to take care of his 90 year old mother. Susie says it is funny and delightful.
“Love Again,” by Doris Lessing. Not about romantic or erotic love, but about the trembling between them says Elwyn. He also loves the episode in Tom Sawyer where he explores his passion of Becky Thatcher.
Wrapping, we had shout outs for Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache mysteries, Dorothy Sayers’ romance between Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane and to get into the western genre, “Shane,” by Jack Shaefer about the love of a young boy for his father and the man who rides in to help.
"While The City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and A Young Man's Descent Into Madness," is a compassionate and clear-eyed account of the 2009 murderous attack on Seattle residents Jennifer Hopper and Theresa Butz. Teresa Butz was killed. Isaiah Kalebu, a mentally ill man who had spent much of his life in and out of underfunded courts and deficient mental health programs, is now serving life in prison with no parole for the crimes.
Eli Sanders won a 2012 Feature Writing Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on Jennifer Hopper's testimony during the trial. He called her the bravest woman in the world.
The book follows the paths of these two women, who were getting ready to be married when they were attacked. It tracks Kalebu's path as well and digs into the mental health and criminal justice systems that failed to serve families like Kalebu's and the thousands of others like him.
This a story about forgiveness and compassion.
Jennifer Hopper works with the Angel Band Project on a music therapy program for survivors of sexual/domestic violence.
“And on the other end we have dressing turkey and fried chicken”
McDaniel is driving the bus for a group hailing from Puget Sound and Logan, Utah. They are traveling through the south on a civil rights pilgrimage. They have stopped at Martha’s Place to eat good food and to hear from owner Martha Hawkins.
“I like to welcome you the Martha’s Place. It is not every day you get a chance, an opportunity to live out your dream. When I started my restaurant I was on welfare. But what I realized that it doesn’t really matter where you come from. What matters is where you want to go in this life. “
Hawkins had 11 siblings growing up in Montgomery. Her family was poor, but she says her mother would cook wonderful meals from their vegetable garden. She learned from her and dreamed of opening her own restaurant. Eviction, bad relationships, ruptured appendix, the loss of a kidney, severe mental illness and attempted suicide brought her low. She writes in her book, “Martha’s Place,” once you hit bottom, there is nowhere to go but up.
“I used to look in the mirror and hated who I was. But after awhile when I realized I found out, hey, girl you alright, you ain’t so bad. Cause I had to learn to love me.”
Hawkins was broke and living in a housing project when against all odds, she had the chance to open her restaurant in 1988.
“Owning a restaurant, never cooked in a restaurant before in my life, on welfare, been in a mental institution, now here I was talking about owning a restaurant, they thought sure enough I had lost it. So I start tearing down wallpaper, I start painting; I went to rent a buffer, buff all my floors. I went to the yard sales. If I clean up somebody’s house, If I backed a cake or pie, I put it right back in the restaurant. Cause you see it was my dream, my vision. To the young generation I want you to know that hey, the sky’s the limit. The only limitation you have is what you place on yourself. “
Martha Hawkins is speaking to group of people that don’t often come together in America. These people, black and white and brown, gay, straight, rich and poor are on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage sponsored by the University of Washington, Bellevue College and Utah State University. One goal for the people on the trip is to connect the struggles of the civil rights era to today’s struggles for equal justice.
Martha Hawkins makes that connection every time she makes a dish. She was inspired by Georgia Gilmore, a midwife and cook, who helped fund the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the 1950’s by organizing women to sell their baked pies and chicken dinners to boycotters at churches, Laundromats and beauty parlors. Gilmore served meals in her home.
“Dr. King used to go to her house to eat. And everybody that came to town, Robert Kennedy, all of them, they came to town they went to her house. So she had a restaurant and it was in her house. So that’s why I wanted a restaurant in my house cause you would always read about the people that came to her place and everything so. It’s my house now. It is. I’m enjoying it.”
Martha Hawkins is a successful restaurateur and speaker. In 2004, she received the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award for own success and her work with Martha Hawkins Ministries, helping single parents and low-income children. Her book, “Finding Martha’s Place: My Journey Through Sin, Salvation and Lots of Soul Food,” comes with recipes for catfish, fried green tomatoes and the other dishes that still connect her to her community.
Like green lima beans.
“When you cook them, they are hard. Once you start cooking them, there’s so much juice. Fried Chicken, strong stable food and it is just southern, like I am. And I like the collards, cause it’s something you add to it to give it that extra…you know”
You can sample that something extra for yourself the next time you are in Montgomery Alabama.
When Nancy wrote the first “Book Lust,” she included a section she called three-hankie reads. While we might not agree on books that make us laugh, it seems that books that make you sad touch many of us equally.
Then we started to wonder why it is that so many of the books we read in high school are so sad. What do we want kids to learn by assigning those books? One consensus, books teach children how to deal with sadness as well as happiness.
Pretty soon, the discussion turns very personal. Such is the power of literature.
Tom said that it is interesting that fiction can make you cry and yet we can love that experience, while with non-fiction a sad book can just make us angry.
Oh and we talk about a few very popular books that some found too manipulative. They go without a mention here. You know who you are.
Then there is Charles Dickens, who could really tug at your heart strings, yes, but a little manipulative, don’t you think?
Nancy Pearl is the special guest at the Seattle Channel, Crosscut and City Club TV show Civic Cocktail February 3rd. Steve Scher will be on the panel asking her questions. Just like our podcast.
“Island of Dreams,” Dan Boothby’s memoir of his time living in lighthouse on an island off western of Scotland. Cathy found it filled with an overwhelming sadness.
“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold, Laura said it was horrifying but compelling
“The Working Poor: Invisible In America,” by David K. Shipler. Bob says it is full of devastating individual stories.
“La Celestina,” by Fernando de Roja, a book from 1498 written by a Jewish Converso. “Gone with the Wind,” by Margaret Mitchell, which Judy cried over in 6th grade and still does.
TSOB Extra- Author Interview with Nick Licata
Jan 16, 2016
Nick Licata set out to be a citizen activist long before he took his politics into the Seattle City Council. He continues the work now that he is retired, writing, raising alarms and encouraging the next generation of activists.
Licata believes you can fight city hall, and you can join it. Elected politicians respond to citizens who organize, rally and compromise. Licata fought and lost a lot of battles during his 5 terms on the council but his voice shaped many debates and policies. He wants more people to step up and enter the battle and to that end he has written “Becoming A Citizen Activist: Stories, Strategies and Advice for Changing Our World.” We sat down to talk at the Greenlake coffee shop, Revolutions Espresso.
Nick Licata’s book, published by Sasquatch Press, is available online and at bookstores. He is taking the stage at Town Hall January 19th to talk about his book and through stories, inspire to get involved.
With so much turmoil in the world, sometimes a reader just wants to reset before plunging back into the intellectual fray. Nancy Pearl is calling the books you might turn to as palate cleansers.
Pretty quickly, though, the readers around the big table at the Bryant Corner Café started putting their own spin on the notion.
First off, though, mark your calendar. Don Delillo has a new book coming out May of this year. Nancy Pearl says “Zero K” is a cause for celebration.
Palate Cleansers From Nancy
The author Elinor Lipman. Nancy loves her books. She calls the frothy. She rereads “The Inn at Lake Divine” and “The Way Men Act” from time to time. She finds the writing appealing in all her books.
Leslie turns to her favorite mystery writers including, “Second Watch,” by J.A. Jance.
We had a lovely group of folks both onstage and in the audience at Town Hall talking about the books they might like to give around the holidays and offering suggestions for new books to add to their stacks.
“Too High and Too Steep,” (NF) by David Williams, the story of how Seattle came to look like Seattle when men with shovels and pressurized water remade the topography of the city.
“Hamster Princess: Of Mice and Magic,” (F) by Ursula Vernon, a middle grade children’s book with a sparkly pink cover and an endearing story about a cliff diving young girl. It has great vocabulary, thought ballons and something a boy would like.
“Listen, Slowly,” by Newbury award winner Thanna Lai, feels fresh, accurate and believable as we journey with a 13-year old girl to Vietnam to find out what happened to her Grandfather.
From audience questions:
“Mother Bruce” by Ryan T. Higginsmight just appeal to the 3-5 year old in your gift-giving circle. Clever, tongue and cheek play on Mother Goose.
“Strictly No Elephants,” by Lisa Mantchev is a nice story about kids who start a club for pets of all varieties.
“Bubble Trouble” by Tom Percival is a tale about a young girl that is full of tongue twisters that kids love.
“Aurora” by Kim Stanley Robinson is a new book from the science fiction writer that is always great on the science. The novel takes us on a journey with space colonists to Tau Ceti.
“Luna: New Moon,” by Ian McDonald is about the people who are fighting the moon’s corporate run near-feudal society.
“Seveneves,” Neal Stephenson’s look at the end of the moon and the struggle to survive on the International Space Station.
“Pandora’s Star,” by Peter Hamilton is an older Sci-Fi that still holds up after 10 years.
“ The Oregon Trail,” by Rinker Buck is Nancy Pearl’s go-to non-fiction book of the year. It is an account of a man following the trail more than a century later. It is Rich with history and great stories.
“Winter Wheat” by Mildred Walker. This is a book for people who love Willa Cather. It is a story for folks who grew up on the land in the mid-west.
“The Worst Hard Time,” by Tim Egan. Along with Winter Wheat, a book that gives a sense of the farming life in the U.S.
And if you want to know more about "Radio Sketches" by Steve Scher and Katy Sewall check out our new Facebook page. It has a bunch of doodles. Add your own. And you can buy it on Amazon.
Children's Librarians Share Their Favorites
Dec 10, 2015
We convene a panel of elementary school librarians. They join our table at the Bryant Corner Café to share some of their favorite books of the year and talk about encouraging reading in the age of the always-distracting cell phone and Internet.
Their favorites:
“The Best Pet of All,” by David LaRochelle. Wonderful story with lovely illustrations by Hanako Wakiyama that Audrey Rahm has read to children at Olympic Hills Elementary many times.
“Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude,” by Kevin O’Malley, Carol Heyer and Scott Goto. Librarian Amy Young from View Ridge says it is a fun book that shows the power of illustration.
“The Book with No Pictures, B.J. Novak. Amy says can’t keep the book on her shelf. It is a plain white book with no pictures, but it is full of ridiculous things to say and read.
Anne Aliverti, teacher/librarian at Bryant Elementary, likes local author Joshua Kriesberg’s “Horatio's One Wish: A Tale of One Heroic Hedgehog, Two Loyal Hamsters, and a Missing River Otter” has a perfect balance of humor and some scary moments. She read it to 5year olds as well as 3-5th graders.
Anne Aliverti is also emphasizing non-fiction to young readers, since the common core is asking teachers to bring more non-fiction to children. She likes the author Steve Sheinkin and his book “Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon.” It is a Newbery Honor Book.
Also, the author Kathleen Krull has a good book with illustrations for grades 3-5, “The Beatles Were Fab (and They Were Funny)”
Nancy Fisher-Allison from John Rodgers Elementary School brought a stack of books of trickster stories, including, “Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains,” by Barbara Knutson. Trickster tales from every culture are stories in which the trickster is tricky for his own benefit or for other people’s benefit.
LeAnn Miller from Cascadia Elementary likes the author Jennifer Nielsen for upper elementary children who loved Harry Potter or The Lightening Thief. Both “Mark of the Thief,” is about a slave in Rome who finds an amulet that has a special power.
Also check out the non-fiction “Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear,” by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall.
She also says anything by Kate Messner is great for young readers, including “Capture the Flag.”
Tom Brown from Laurelhurst Elementary shared some graphic novels for children, including “Smile,” “Drama,” and “Sisters,” by Raina Telgemeier as well as novelist John Flanagan’s The Ranger’s Apprentice series.
Here are a few other book suggestions from our librarians.
“Turtle of Oman” by Naomi Shihab Nye. This is a lovely slow moving tale that is wonderful for in class reading and reading out loud.
“Okay for Now,” Garry D. Schmidt. It takes place during the Vietnam War and combines many different ideas about families and learning. He is a boy with learning disabilities whose father drinks too much. Many things are woven in to this modern story.
“Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Sarah Edmonds Story,” by Marissa Moss and John Hendrix. This is a fast-paced picture book about Sarah Emma Edmonds. She came from Canada to fight on the Union Side during the Civil War.
“Apple Blossom the Possum,” by Holly Goldberg. A sweet read that young kids like for read aloud. Older kids and adults will laugh along.
“Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave,” by Laban Carrick Hill. Another wonderful biographical picture book with a revelatory story and pictures loaded with social and cultural detail.
“The Great Green Heist,” by Varian Johnson. This is a fun book about saving the school one con at a time. It is a great book with many diverse characters that kids can identify with.
“Star Girl,” by Jerry Spinelli is a nice book for middle and high-school children. It follows a girl who comes to a new school and tries to be herself.
What attracts you to a book? What are you looking for when you are seeking out a book? We learned quite a few interesting things this time around.
For instance, the difference between a mystery and a thriller. Mystery writer Lisa Scottoline says in a mystery the detective’s life is not under personal threat. In a thriller the detective’s life or the life of family member or a friend is under threat.
What do you think?
Books we talked about December 2, 2015 at the Bryant Corner Café
Nancy recommends:
Seek out prolific mystery writer Jane Haddam. “Not a Creature Was Stirring” was her first book. Her main character is retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian.
Also, for the map lover, “Transit Maps of the World: Expanded and Updated Edition of the World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth” by Mark Ovenden
What books are folks around the table attracted too?
This simple question led to a deep discussion of taste, styles and relationships.
Bob likes books with a demotic style, Elmore Leonard, George Higgins, and Scott Simon’s “Windy City.”
Susie is predisposed to books that are set in a place that she likes, she reads the blurbs on the back and then reads a few paragraphs. She is drawn to books reviewed by authors she knows and newspapers she admires.
Kate picks up tips from interviewers she admires. She heard Bill Moyers talking to Marilyn Robinson and picked up her book. She is also drawn to a covers but then starts to dig.
Many of us like to read books suggested by family members. Then they can discuss them. Others join book clubs just to read books they might not otherwise never be attracted too.
Some of us just like to read around, a reference in a book suggests the next read. A curious mind takes you on a wonderful journey.
Robin likes to get recommendations from Nancy Pearl. So do a lot of us.
See you at Town Hall December 13th at 6:30 when a panel of book lovers will share suggestions for books to give as gifts. Hope to see you there. And drop by Tuesday December 8th at 3:00 when we are visited by a panel of children’s book librarians. They will talk about new books, classics and how they choose books for their shelves.
Happy Thanksgiving- What We Are Reading
Nov 25, 2015
We met at the Bryant Corner Café for cookies, coffee and a survey of what’s on everyone’s stack of books.
Nancy also had some news about the finalists for National Book Award Short List for Young Adult Novels
Laura Rubey “Bone Gap”
Neal Shusterman, ”Challenger Deep”
Noelle Stevenson, “Nimona”
She also had news about the finalistsfor the Carnegie Award given by the America Library Association
(Fiction)
Viet Thanh Nguyen, “The Sympathizer”
Hanya Yanagihara, “A Little Life”
Jim Shephard, “The Book of Aron”
(Non Fiction)
Sally Mann, “Hold Still” A Memoir in Photographs”
Helen Macdonald “H is for Hawk”
Andrea Wulf. The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt’s New World
Others Readings from our stacks.
John Irving, “Avenue of Mysteries” and maybe reread “The World According to Garp.’
Peter Guralnick, “Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n Roll
Sophie Blackall and Emily Jenkins, “A Fine Dessert”
Jon Meachum, “ “Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey George Herbert Walker Bush.”
Robert Jackson Bennett, “City of Stairs: The Divine Cities.” – Nancy just finished this science fiction book– she calls it entirely original world building. First of a trilogy, “The Divine Cities.” The 2nd installment, “City of Blades is coming out January 26th, 2016.
Ona Russell, “O’Brien’s Desk”
Louis de Bernieres, “Birds Without Wings”
Orhan Parmuk, “My Name is Red” ,“A Strangeness In My Mind”
Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, Doctor Mutter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine.”
Jamie Holmes, “Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing.”
Isabelle Allende, The Stories of Eva Luna”
Stacy Schiff, “The Witches”
Doris Kearns Goodwin, “The Bully Pulpit”
Lincoln Steffens, “The Autobiography of Lincoln Steffens.”
Kent Haruf, “Our Souls At Night.”
Political Books For a Political Season
Nov 14, 2015
Political Books for a Political Season
We recorded this episode on November 3rd. All the off year electioneering had us thinking about the books that delved into political issues, both fiction and non-fiction. But let's face it, so many books are tinged with politics.
The Books we discussed this episode.
Alan Drury, “Advise and Consent.”
Robert Penn Warren, “All The King’s Men.”
Dale Russakoff, “The Prize: Who’s In Charge of America’s Schools?” – "Education isn’t separate from quality of life." - Nancy
Geoffrey Canada, “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun.”
Ari Berman, “Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.” (Noble story about the passage and the legacy of the voting rights act. It is one that can fill a reader with despair. “I don’t want this history to be forgotten” - Nancy)
Kay Mills, “This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer.”
John Lewis, “Walking With the Wind.”
Duong Van Mai Elliot.“The Sacred Willow: Four Generations In The Life Of A Vietnamese Family”
Robert Caro’s “Passage of Power.”
Larry Ceplair and Christpher Trumbo, “Dalton Trumbo: Blacklisted Hollywood Radical”
Dalton Trumbo, “Johnny Got His Gun.”
Tony Judt, “Ill Fairs the Land.”
Best Books of 2015 (So Far)
Nov 07, 2015
We are back at the Bryant Corner Cafe with a tough task from Nancy Pearl. What has been the best book of 2015. Some of us chose books published this year- which is what Nancy was aiming for, in fiction and non-fiction. Others just mentioned their best read so far.
In addition, we offer an excerpt from Steve's interview with Patrick Kennedy about his book "A Common Struggle." We will post the entire interview in a That Stack of Books extra soon.
Here is the list of The Best Book(s) We Have Read (So Far This Year)
Nancy was aiming towards best books of the year so far in fiction.
Non-Fiction
Christian Appy, American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity. (Nancy’s Pick)
Other books we liked this year.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin ( Katy’s Pick)
Nathaniel Philbrick, The Last Stand: Custer Sitting Bull and The Battle of the Little Big Horn (Tom Bird’s Pick)
William Maxwell, FB Eye’s: How J. Edgar Hoover's Ghostreaders Framed African American Literature (Robin’s Pick)
Denise Kieman, The Girl’s of Atomic City (Ros’s Pick)
Claude Steele, Whistling Vivialdi ( Steve’s Pick)
Randy Spelling, Unlimited You: Step Out of Your Past and Into Your Purpose (Jenny’s Pick)
Bee Wilson, Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat ( Keith’s Pick)
Patrick Kennedy, A Common Struggle ( Steve’s choice for getting on more lists soon.)
Jonas Jonasson, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window And Disappeared (Becky’ s Pick)
Black Hills, Dan Simmons
Lou Berney, The Long and Faraway Gone ( Katy’s Pick)
Lucia Berlin, A Manual For Cleaning Women: Selected Stories Betsey’s Pick)
We Spill Puns and Grammar all over Town Hall
Oct 24, 2015
That Stack of Books at Town Hall,October 18th, 2015. Puns, grammar jokes, a festive audience great guests and prizes galore. Our guests, Martha Brockenbrough, founder of National Grammar Day and author of "Things That Make Us (Sic)", and Frida Clements, artist and illustrator, author of "Have a Little Pun."
Hope you enjoy our show at Town Hall. Love to see you at The Bryant Corner Cafe November 3rd for the show. We will be talking about political books, both, fiction and non-fiction. See you are 3 pm.
Nancy Pearl has some book news for October, we hear about a whole bunch of great books and author Amy Stewart talks about her first novel, "Girl Waits With Gun." It is a novel of strong women living in the early 20th Century who do not suffer the depredations of bullies silently.
Live From Town Hall July 23rd ( Well Taped Now, of course-but we were Live then)
Sep 23, 2015
That Stack of Books, the Town Hall Summer Edition.
Nancy Pearl, Katy Sewall and Steve Scher were at Town Hall July 23rd, helping celebrate 15 years of great programs at the young, robust and august cultural center.
We hope you like this show. If you do, please join us at Town Hall Sunday October 18th at 6:30- after the Seahawks game. Tickets are just $5. Invite your friends. Win fabulous prizes.
We told a few book jokes to start the show. Nancy shared book suggestions with audience members. We played a trivia game which was way too hard.
Our guest was author Jason Schmidt whose memoir A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me, chronicles growing up poor in Seattle in the 1980’s. His mom had left; his single Dad was a gay petty thief, a drug dealer and an addict. A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me is tough and honest story that takes place in a town some of us may not recognize.
Here are a few of the books we talked about on this podcast.
“Cold, Cold Ground,” Adrian McKinty
“Hans Christian Andersen Complete Fairy Tales and Stories”, Hans Christian Andersen
“Hold Still: A Memoir,” Sally Mann
“Unbecoming: A Novel,” Rebecca Sherm
“Angle of Repose,” Wallace Stegner
“Jayber Crow,” Wendell Berry
“The Passion.” by Jeannette Winterson
“Why Be Happy When You Can be Normal,” Jeannette Winterson
“Things Invisible to See,” Nancy Willard
“Me Before You, “Jojo Moyes
“Refuge”, Terry Tempest Williams
“A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me,” Jason Schmidt
We will be back at Town Hall October 18th. We would love to fill the seats with book lovers and language aficionados. Our guests will be of National Grammar Day founder Martha Brockenbrough, author of Things That Make Us [Sic] and graphic designer Frida Clements, , whose new book is Have a Little Pun: an Illustrated Play on Words.
We will be back next week with another episode, taped at the Bryant Corner Café, 32nd and 65th in NE Seattle. Drop on by. We tape on Tuesdays about 3. Check our Facebook page for updates. Find the podcast on ITunes, Stitcher and at thatstackofbooks.com
A great armchair travel book can take you to places you just might not ever want to go to in person, too cold, too hot, too many snakes.
Armchair Travel Books from this episode
Bill Bryson, “A Walk In The Woods”, “In A Sunburned Country”
(Jan) James Morris, “Coronation Climb” and others by Morris
Jon Krakauer, “Into Thin Air”
Redmond O’Hanlon, “Into the Heart of Borneo” and his other travel books.
Robert Van Gulik, “The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee” and others in the series (China)
Collin Cotterill, “The Coroner’s Lunch” and others in the series (Laos)
Janet Wallach, “Desert Queen.”
Scott Anderson, “Lawrence in Arabia”
Vivian Russell, “Monet’s Garden.”
Christina Thompson, “Come on Shore and We Will Eat You All”
Richard Flannigan, “Wanting”
Matthew Kneale, “English Passengers”
Biographies
Aug 18, 2015
We discuss biographies this episode.
Their power resides in their place in history. New facts emerge, new understandings reshape our understandings of the person. Biographies remind us the ways the present influences the past.
Biographies we mentioned in this episode
“Steve Jobs, Insanely Great” by Jesse Hartland
“Jonas Salk, A Life,” by Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs
“Daughters of the Samuri: A Journey From East and West and Back” Janice P. Nimura
“Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage,” Vincent Carretta
“A Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames,” by Kai Bird
“The Bully Pulpit,” Doris Kearns Goodwin
“Bolivar: Aerican Liberator” by Marie Arana
“The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government,” by David Talbot
“Crazy Rich: Power, Scandal, and Tragedy Inside the Johnson & Johnson Dynasty,”
by Jerry Oppenheimer
“Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America's Most Powerful and Private Dynasty” by Daniel Schulman
“King of the World: Muhammed Ali and the Rise of an American Hero,” David Remnick
“Catharine the Great: Portrait of a Woman,” Robert K. Massie
Author Interview- Jesse Goolsby
Jul 18, 2015
“I’d Walk With My Friends If I Could Find Them,” is the first novel from writer and Air Force officer Jesse Goolsby. Wars impact lingers. It shapes a nation’s life. It also shapes the lives of the combatants, their friends and family. Goolsby wrestles with the ways the war in Afghanistan has shaped his characters and how their characters are reshaped by the experience.
Jesse Goolsby has published a number of short pieces of fiction and non-fiction. He holds an English degree from the United States Air Force Academy and a Masters degree in English and Creative Writing from the University of Tennessee. He is working on his PhD from Florida State University.
Here is an interview I conducted with Goolsby when he was in town in July for a reading at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, which is where we talked.
-Steve Scher
Found In Translation
Jun 29, 2015
People who translate between languages make books accessible to those of us who might otherwise never be able to enjoy the literature of the whole world. Many of us, probably way too many of us, don’t speak, let alone read, a language other than the one we were born into.
Nancy Pearl talks about a translator who has done award-winning translation. Carol Brown Janeway translates almost exclusively from German to English and Nancy Pearl says you could do well just reading her translations.
We discuss other books we can enjoy in translation and ponder the translators relationship to the author.
A few of the books discussed:
Lost, Hans Ulrich Treichel (Author) Carol Brown Janeway (Translator)
Rue , Kim Thuy (Author), Sheila Fischman (Translator)
The Bookseller of Kabul, Asne Seierstad(Author) and Ingrid Christophersen (Translator)
Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Author), Lucia Graves (Translator)
The President, Miguel Angel Asturias (Author) and Frances Partridge (Translator)
Snow, Orhan Pamuk (Author) Maureen Freely
Words vs. Pictures.
Jun 14, 2015
Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and the folks at the Bryant Corner Cafe talk about graphic novels and our imaginative powers.
Now here is a contentious episode. Really, you wonder, contentious? Yes, because we discuss the value of the graphic novel and the comic strip and the comic book.
The contention comes in when we start to debate whether or not words release our imaginations in a way that the pictures, drawn or filmed do not.
Does the book, words on the page, give the readers' imagination the freest flight, the deepest expression?
Does the artists rendering constrain our imaginations? Do their pictures force out our own mental pictures?
I guess it’s just the same argument that people make about movies. Do the movies ruin the book?
It’s a bit of a rambling conversation among the folks around the table, but stimulating. What do you think? Are books simply inherently better than graphic novels, comics, movies? Are the pictures in your head stimulated from radio different, better, richer than a TV show?
We agree the experiences are different and it is a mistake to conflate them. Yet, by the end, we were down to debating the relative value of the different art forms.
Rather than list the many books, here are a few references to check out.
More Favorites From Off the Shelf At Home
Jun 05, 2015
Nancy Pearl talks to Steve Scher and the folks around the table about their favorite books.
We had such a good time asking this question a few weeks back, we thought we'd ask folks again to bring in a favorite book they'd saved on the bookshelf at home. We thought asking for a favorite would be a much easier choice then asking a reader to pick the favorite book, but it turns out still to be a tough choice.
Nancy’s favorite book of all time is the novel A Gay and Melancholy Sound, by Merle Miller. It’s a long book about young man recounting his life through a series of reel-to-reel tape recordings. It is a great for book clubs and was the first of her Book Lust Rediscovery Imprints available on Amazon.
Amazing that she can even answer that question, considering the thousands of books she reads. She loves the voice of the narrator, a young man who grew up with very difficult parents and had to come to terms with childhood in order to live a good life. She says, though, that it is the writing that always blows her away, and still does, after many re-reads.
Favorites From Other Folks Around The Table
The Five Languages of Appreciation In The Workplace, Gary D. Chapman
Anthill, E.O. Wilson
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Love Medicine, Louise Erdrich, also, A Plague of Doves, The Roundhouse- Nancy finds them strong books that illuminate a group of people and a place. And she finds her writing just stunning.
The Tiger’s Wife, Tea Obret
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, H.W. Brands. Nancy calls Brands one of our best contemporary historians.
Mysteries for the Summer Reader, 2015
May 28, 2015
For some readers, the love of mysteries started with Nancy Drew.
Here are some suggestions for mystery readers from Nancy Pearl and the folks around the table at the Bryant Corner Cafe.
Nancy Pearl says her enjoyment of mysteries is limited by some wince-worthy writing. But she avoids those writers.
The books Nancy recommended and some suggestions from the rest of us around the table at The Bryant Corner Café, 32nd and 65th in the Bryant neighborhood in Seattle.
We will be there next Tuesday, June 2nd at 3:15. Drop on by.
William McIlvanney, The Laidlaw Trilogy
McIlvanney was the founder of what’s now being called Scottish Noir, and inspired writers Denise Mina, Val McDermid, Ian Rankin
Israeli novelist Batya Gur and her Michael Ohayon series
Tana French, Dublin Murder Squad series
The authors of the sub genre, mediaeval mysteries (suggested by Judy)
Ellis Peters
Margaret Fraser
C.J. Sansome
Henning Mankell, Inspector Wallander series (suggested by Bill, though sometimes a little to gruesome for Nancy)
Sue Grafton, Kinsey Milhone (we are up to X in the alphabet.)
Faye Kellerman, (a few books featuring the Orthodox Jewish Rina Lazarus and police detective Peter Decker. These were a favorite of Nancy’s father.)
Peter Temple (we can’t leave a mystery discussion without Nancy touting the Australian writer and the book, “The Broken Shore.)
H. R. F Keating, Inspector Ghote series.
Rose liked S.J. Gazan, The Dinosaur Feather
Robin likes Alexander Mccall Smith, The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. (Though Nancy finds them less mysteries than character driven stories. She isn’t sure they even belong in the mystery section and are an example of why she chaffs at putting books into different categories. )
Judy calls out Sherlock Holmes for re-reading. Nancy calls for Agatha Christie, even if, as she says, all the characters are just collections of ticks.
For good mysteries with Roman themes, Keith enjoys the Flavia Alba mysteries by Lindsey Davis
For good writing and good mysteries with contemporary themes, Nancy recommends Walter Mosley and his Easy Rawlins series.
Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti series and Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series are Steve’s favorites. Also, he suggests Pierre Magnan, “Death in the Truffle Woods.” Of course that takes us to Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police novels, also set in France.
We mentioned that Soho Press has a Soho Crime imprint of interesting translated foreign mysteries. Also, here is a page from Dartmouth College that list mysteries from other lands. Other than the U.S. that is.
What are your favorite mysteries by non-American writers? Share some titles with us, so we can read the mysteries folks across the world enjoy.
The Books on The Shelf
May 18, 2015
Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and folks at the Bryant Corner Cafe share some of the books they just couldn't part with.
The Lions of Al Rassan , Guy Gavriel Kay
The Wright Brothers, David McCullough
A Canticle For Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland:The Essential Guide to Fantasy Travel, Diana Wynne Jones
A Thread of Grace, Mary Doria Russell
The Wild Braid , Stanley Kunitz
Darwin and the Beagle, Alan Morehead
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon
The City & The City, China Mieville
Cannery Row, John Steinbeck
84, Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff
The Next Big Book. We Are Talking Harry Potter Big! That Big!
May 07, 2015
Nancy Pearl brings a book she says is going to be the book all the Harry Potter fans will flock to.
"The Iremonger Trilogy, written and illustrated by Edward Carey. "Heap House" is the first of the trilogy. Nancy says that ever since the Harry Potter books, she has been looking for the next book that will appeal to Potter fans with a story that is new and fresh. Here it is. Carey is telling a tale not of good versus evil, but of humans doing what they do to our little world.
Also, "Battle Lines: A Graphic History of the Civil War," by Ari Kelman gives a reader a different way to look at a history that is still in dispute in this country. She says it also gives her a renewed respect for the power of the graphic book.
Funny Books
Apr 30, 2015
The past, present and future walk into a bar. Bartender says, "you need a drink. You're tense."
Here is a discussion offering some funny books to read. Here also are some satires. Here are some books that are laugh out loud funny and some that might need some historical context to truly get the jokes.
“Comedy and satire are different in that comedy is a much broader genre. All satire is comedy, but not all comedy is satire. Comedy includes everything from intelligent, witty repartees and dark humor to slapstick and baseline jokes. Satire, on the other hand, is a literary genre primarily focused on highbrow social criticism. “
Though even here, the lines sure seem to blur. What is the difference between highbrow and lowbrow these days? Isn’t there lowbrow satire? Southpark comes to mind. The Daily Show is a mix of highbrow and lowbrow that often offers trenchant social criticism. And who is to say what is laugh out loud funny? It’s all so personal.
Anyway, here are a few of the books we discussed.
Won’t you add to our list of comedy books?
Inherent Vice, by Thomas Pynchon
The Bear Went Over The Mountain, by William Kotzwinkle
The Evolution Man or How I Ate My Father, by Roy Lewis
Bossypants, by Tina Fey
The One Hundred Year Old Many Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared, by David Lodge
Vanity Fair, William Thackeray.
Where’d you go Bernadette, Maria Semple
Cheaper by the Dozen, Frank B. Gilbreth, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Candide, by Voltaire
Gracie, A Love Story, by George Burns
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Hitchihiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Some other funny authors we mentioned too.
P.G. Wodehouse
Mindy Kaling
Amy Poehler
James Thurber
Anthony Trollope
Jane Austen
David Sedaris
Recent Books and Remembering Ivan Doig
Apr 24, 2015
We sat down at the Bryant Corner Café after a few weeks away, so we took a survey of what folks have just completed. We also remember the great and generous writer, Ivan Doig.
Books from this episode:
The Belly of Paris, Emile Zola
Days of Rage, Bryan Burrough
The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro
The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman
The Circle, Dave Eggers
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, by Jon Ronson
Winter Brothers, Ivan Doig
All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
The Memoir These Days
Apr 15, 2015
Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and the big table of readers at the Bryant Corner Cafe talk about the status of the memoir these days.
We all lead lives that generate stories. Do these stories only have credibility when they are shared with others? Do we need to try to get them published to feel good about our efforts? Some critics are wondering whether this self-congratulatory age is producing too many memoirs.
When author Ryan Boudinot published a critical article about fledgling writers, he struck a note so sour that he undermined support for efforts to get Seattle designated as a UNESCO City of Literature.
Among his quotes of note from the article:
“For the most part, MFA students who choose to write memoirs are narcissists using the genre as therapy. They want someone to feel sorry for them, and they believe that the supposed candor of their reflective essay excuses its technical faults. Just because you were abused as a child does not make your inability to stick with the same verb tense for more than two sentences any more bearable. In fact, having to slog through 500 pages of your error-riddled student memoir makes me wish you had suffered more.”
The folk at The New Yorker Out Loud Podcast are also thinking about memoirs. In particular they were wondering about the state of the memoir in the era of instant reportage thru social media.
Around the table at the Bryant Corner Café, we talk about some of our favorite memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, all the while musing on the state of the memoir in the modern times.
Do Awards Help You Choose The Books You Read?
Apr 08, 2015
Nancy Pearls tells Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and our table full of readers at the Bryant Corner Cafe her thoughts on book awards.
We get some behind the scenes glimpses of the awards process, and find out, among other things, that the publishers self nominate for some awards.
How do you use awards to help you find the next book to read? Nancy recommends reading the whole list of nominees and not just the winners, because there you will find books for many tastes.
Two Views of Empire Builders:"The Strangler Vine" and "American Reckoning"
Apr 01, 2015
Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher and Katy Sewall nibble at the Bryant Corner Cafe while talking about two books that offer different approaches to the same overarching theme- how empire builders move across the landscape into history.
We also touched on a couple of American crime writers, Ross Macdonald and Ross Thomas. Both worth a look and worth a whole show. That is coming soon.
We won't be at the Bryant Corner Cafe for a few weeks. We will be back with the live taping April 21st, 3:15. Love to see you there with books to share while we explore what books to add to our growing stack.
Southern Writers
Mar 26, 2015
Steve Scher's pilgrimage to the American South triggers a conversation with Nancy Pearl and all the folks around the table about southern writers. But pretty soon we are trying to define the essence of a region and describe the cover of "Mandingo."
If you are looking a place to start thinking about southern writers, here are a few websites to check out.
Nancy Pearl talks about the benefits of book clubs with Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and the rest of folks around the table at The Bryant Corner Cafe. Nancy says there are some rules to follow that can make the book selections and the book chats much more meaningful.
We will be back recording at the Cafe Tuesday, March 24th at 3:15. Please join us.
You can check in on Nancy's book picks and all the places where she is sharing her love of reading at Nancy Pearl.com
Katy Sewall hosts a very smart and funny podcast about living abroad, the bittersweetlife.
Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and our great readers are at the table at the The Bryant Corner Cafe again. We are talking about the books to read for March, Women's History Month.
We also get into a discussion of just whether or not these months set aside to particular groups are a positive or not.
If you want to donate some books the Seattle Literacy Council is looking for you. They hold a fundraiser soon and need your support.
Join us at the cafe next tuesday afternoon at 3:15. Hope to see you.
What Books Shaped You Growing Up?
Mar 05, 2015
Steve Scher and Nancy Pearl take up Katy Sewall's question, what books shaped you in high school? Our friends around the table have their own favorites. What are the books that shaped you?
Who Recommends Books To You
Feb 25, 2015
Who recommends books to you? We survey the different ways we try to sort through all our choices.
Do you get your ideas for your next book from newspapers, librarians, friends? Maybe you follow your book club lists, or listen to the radio. How do you decide what to read next? If you have other unique ways for finding the books you want to read, please write us at thatstackofbooks@gmail.com.
Happy reading.
The Pleasures and Perils of Re-reading Books
Feb 19, 2015
We gather again at The Bryant Corner Cafe to talk about books. Two new fiction works garnered glowing reviews from Nancy Pearl, the novel "Vanessa and Her Sister" by Priya Parmar and "Single Carefree, Mellow," short stories by Katherine Heiny. Then we take up the perils and pleasure's of re-reading books.
Find us on Facebook. We twitter @thatstack. Write us with your comments and suggestions for future topics at thatstackofbooks@gmail.com
Happy reading.
The Books On Your Shelf
Feb 11, 2015
What books sit on your shelf, waiting for you to finally pull them off and read them? For Nancy Pearl, it's Anthony Trollope. For Steve Scher, it's a number of natural history books. What's on your shelf?
Let's follow up with Nancy's suggestion and listen to her interview with the writer Stewart O'Nan.
You can find many interviews Nancy has conducted at the Seattle Channel, Book Lust.
Harper Lee's Second Book, John Vaillant's First Novel
Feb 05, 2015
Nancy Pearl , Steve Scher and friends talk about Harper Lee's 2nd novel, "Go Set A Watchman." Also, author John Vaillant, known for his award winning non-fiction, talks with Steve Scher about his first published novel, "The Jaguar's Children. "
Memorable Memoirs
Jan 29, 2015
Nancy Pearl tells Steve Scher she has become intrigued by a few new memoirs. Sometimes she finds the writing in memoirs swinging a little too close to wince-worthiness. But of course, the genre is also capable of producing truly memorable stories.
Charles Emmerson, "1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War”
Our sponsor this week is another podcast Steve is producing. If you like in-depth conversations with scholars visiting the university of Washington check out“At Length with Steve Scher.” You can find it on itunes or at The House of Podcasts.
The podcast is supported by University of Washington Alumni Association and you canhear them all here.
Dipping our New Year's Toes into First Novels.
Jan 22, 2015
It's a new year, time for throwing caution to the wind, time to carouse with wild abandon. Well, at least it's a good time to check out some new novels by first time novelists.
Among the books we discussed, S.M. Hulse's "Black River" and Emma Hooper's, "Etta and Otto and Russell and James."
Say, send us a picture. Perhaps a picture of that little free library near your home. Or, how about this. We are going to do a show soon on those books on your bookshelf that you've never read, but saved because you are going to get to them soon, real , real soon. Send us a picture of you holding that book.
Or, of course, we would love a picture of that stack of books that sits by your bed or your reading chair.
Love to see it. Post it on Facebook, That Stack of Books with Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher or Twitter @thatstack, or send it along to thatstackofbooks@gmail.com and we will post it for you.
Happy reading.
Choice Editions
Jan 15, 2015
We are off again this week, so some choice cuts from a previous show.
We are back again recording at The Bryant Corner Cafe, NE 65th and 32nd Ave Ne in Northeast Seattle at 10 am Tuesday the 20th. Drop on by.
Books Mentioned
Peter Mountford, “The Dismal Science: A Novel”
John Lanchester, “Capital”(F), “How To Speak Money” (NF)
Patricia Wrede, Caroline Stevermer, “Sorcery and Cecilia, Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot”
Georgiette Heyer, “Sylvester,” “The Grand Sophy.”
Max Egremont , “Some Desperate Glory: The First World War the Poets Knew.”
Karen Karbo, “The Diamond Lane”
Ian McEwan, “Amstersdam”
Dick Wolfe, “The Intercept”
David Quammen, “The Soul of Victor Tronko”
Charles McCarry, “The Tears of Autumn,” “The Last Supper”
Laura Schroff , ”The Invisible Thread”
Nancy Horan, “Loving Frank”
T.C. Boyle, “The Women”
Lydia Netzer, “Shine Shine Shine” ( Nancy’s November Book Club offering)
Rudolpho Anaya, “Bless Me, Ultima” (the December Book Club choice)
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Happy New Year!
Jan 08, 2015
The new year brings back our very first episode. Nancy is off for a few weeks, attending to her own writing. Here is our very first episode, with something added. A word from our sponsor. Sarah Swanson at The Bryant Corner Cafe is the person who has made us a space here at the cafe. So, we find out a little bit about why that is, and also, we taste their homemade hollandaise sauce
Write us at thatstackofbooks@gmail.com. Looking for a book suggestion? Have a thought about a topic we should cover? Give us some feedback to the show. Drop us a line. We love to hear from you.
Here are the books we discussed on this episode.
That Stack of Books Episode 1
Some of the books, authors and genre’s discussed by Nancy, Steve, Katy and our visitor’s
Welcome To Subirdia, John M. Marzluff
Richard Norton Smith, On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller
Garth Stein, The Sudden Light
Peter Temple, Truth, The Broken Shore; The Jack Irish Series
Donna Leon, Guido Brunetti Series
Andrea Camilleri, Salvo Montalbano Series
Manuel Vazquez Montalbon, Pepe Carvalho Series
Patrick Millikin, Phoenix Noir
Jon Talton, David Mapstone Mysteries Series
M.M. Kaye, The Sun In Morning, The Far Pavilions
Agatha Christie’s books
Paul Scott, The Raj Quartet
Emma Straub, The Vacationers.
Ian MacEwan, The Children Act, Atonement, Black Dogs
Adrian Mckinty, The Cold, Cold Ground
John Boyne, This House Is Haunted
Louisa May Alcott, Little Men, The Old Fashioned Girl, Jack And Jill
Nicole Krause, The History of Love
Jonathan Safron Foer, Everything Is Illuminated
Marie-Helene Bertino, 2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas
Cheryl Strayed, Wild
Julia Glass, And The Dark Sacred Night, The Three Junes
Anthony Marra, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
John Le Carre, A Most Wanted Man
Cea Person, North Of Normal
Kristin Hannah, Fly Away
Leanne Moriarty, Big, Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret
Elin Hildebrand. Various titles
Kathyrn Ma, The Year She Left Us
Fiona McFarland, The Night Guest
David Shafer, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
How Do You Choose A Book?
Dec 31, 2014
We are off for a few weeks, reading, writing, collecting ourselves. So, like re-reading a great book, have a re-listen to a great episode.
How do you choose a book? Do you follow the recommendations of friends, do you judge it by the cover, do you follow what Nancy Pearl suggests? We bat that idea around. We also hear what folks are reading.
Oh, by the way, if you are getting married, Nancy says she can now officiate. A literary wedding could be fun.
Books discussed this week.
“Deep Dark Down: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free,” by Hector Tobar “The Souvenir,” by Patricia Carlon “The Broken Shore,” by Peter Temple The Jack Irish Series, by Peter Temple “The Little Friend,” by Donna Tartt “All The Truth Is Out,” by Matt Bai “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” by Neil Postman “On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller,’ by Richard Norton Smith The Inspector Rebus series, by Ian Rankin “Jig,” by Campbell Armstrong ( and other books by the author) “Lanark: A Life in Four Books,” by Alasdair Gray
Finding Next Year's Great Reads
Dec 25, 2014
What kind of book are you really hoping you'll encounter in 2015? Nancy Pearl kicks a few ideas around the table at The Bryant Corner Cafe a couple of days before Christmas.
Happy Holidays, readers!
Episode 10 That Stack of Books
Dec 18, 2014
Time for the lists. No, not the best of lists, though we chat about those. Too judgmental, we've concluded. Rather Nancy Pearl, Steve Scher, Katy Sewall and all the folks around the big table offer their favorite books published in 2014. What are yours?
And next week, 12/23, when we again meet at the Bryant Corner Cafe at 10 am, what kind of book are you hoping to read in 2015? Maybe Nancy has already found it for you. Join us.
Episode 9 That Stack Of Books
Dec 05, 2014
Gift suggestions from Nancy Pearl and a big crowd of readers for this edition of That Stack of Books. Beside the great gift ideas, the folks at The Bryant Corner Cafe set down some homemade gingerbread men for us to taste. Drop by next time we tape the podcast, December 16th at 10 am. We would love to have your company.
Episode 8 That Stack of Books
Nov 19, 2014
Historical fiction, military history and African literature make up that stack of books this time, plus some info graphics and fantasy.
Episode 7 That Stack of Books
Nov 12, 2014
Veterans Day edition of That Stack of Books. The Bryant Corner Cafe was crowded. Kids were home from school happy for pancakes. We talked about Robert Heinlein among many authors. We talked about fiction and non-fiction books that are concerned with war and with veterans. Many books to give you good reading.
That Stack of Books Episode 6
Nov 07, 2014
Nancy Pearl's postman doesn't think fiction is worth reading. What! This prompts a discussion about the value of reading fiction, from romance, to historical to Shakespeare.
Drop by next Tuesday at 10 am at The Bryant Corner Cafe. Tables getting bigger, but there is room for you. We'd like to hear what's in your stack of books.
Say, take a picture of the books on the shelf of a Little FreeLibrary near you. Send it to our twitter, @thatstack. It will be fun to see what's folks are sharing.
That Stack of Books Episode 5
Oct 28, 2014
Nancy's small stack and a table full of folks with great books to share. Hope you drop by next time. We are at The Bryant Corner Cafe at 65th and 32nd in NE Seattle 10 am on Tuesday.
I don't have the whole list yet, but here are a few of the books we discussed today.
"The Broken Shore," Peter Temple
"F: A Novel," Daniel Kehlmann
"Aviary Wonders Inc. Spring Catalog and Instruction Manual," Kate Samworth
"My Favorite Things," Maira Kalman
That Stack of Books Episode 4
Oct 23, 2014
How do you choose a book? Do you follow the recommendations of friends, do you judge it by the cover, do you follow what Nancy Pearl suggests? We bat that idea around. We also hear what folks are reading.
Oh, by the way, if you are getting married, Nancy says she can now officiate. A literary wedding could be fun.
That Stack of Books Episode 3
Oct 15, 2014
Back again at the Bryant Corner Cafe, we sit down with a few readers. Nancy has a short stack this time, but they are select cuts.
That Stack of Books with Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher, Episode 3
Books Mentioned
Peter Mountford, “The Dismal Science: A Novel”
John Lanchester, “Capital”(F), “How To Speak Money” (NF)
Patricia Wrede, Caroline Stevermer, “Sorcery and Cecilia, Or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot”
Georgiette Heyer, “Sylvester,” “The Grand Sophy.”
Max Egremont , “Some Desperate Glory: The First World War the Poets Knew.”
Karen Karbo, “The Diamond Lane”
Ian McEwan, “Amstersdam”
Dick Wolfe, “The Intercept”
David Quammen, “The Soul of Victor Tronko”
Charles McCarry, “The Tears of Autumn,” “The Last Supper”
Laura Schroff , ”The Invisible Thread”
Nancy Horan, “Loving Frank”
T.C. Boyle, “The Women”
Lydia Netzer, “Shine Shine Shine” ( Nancy’s November Book Club offering)
Rudolpho Anaya, “Bless Me, Ultima” (the December Book Club choice)
That Stack of Books Episode 2
Oct 14, 2014
Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher settle in to Bryant Corner Cafe for another look through that stack of books. Also they are joined by readers and writers. You can join too. Tuesdays at the cafe at 10 am.
That Stack of Books with Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher Episode 1: Introduction
Oct 05, 2014
Welcome to our new show, "That Stack of Books." Nancy Pearl, extraordinary public librarian and Steve Scher take a look at the books you have by the side of your favorite reading spot- be it chair, bed or, well, somewhere else,
Nancy, with her encyclopedic memory, offers up some suggestions for the next book you might like. Steve is often reading the inside covers.
We recorded our first episode at The Bryant Corner Cafe at 65th and 32nd in the Bryant Neighborhood in Seattle. Hope you drop by next Tuesday, October 7th at 10 for our next taping.
welcome
Sep 29, 2014
Welcome to the first episode of our new show, "That Stack Of Books." This is a program where Nancy Pearl and Steve Scher find out about the books you're reading. Nancy will offer suggestions of other books you'll enjoy. Steve will have some suggestions as well, but let's face it, mostly he'll be finding out about new books to add to his own stack. And you'll be adding to Nancy's stack as well.
We can't wait for your input and your suggestions. We'll be sharing great books with each other. We don't need to tell you, that stack can get pretty high.
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