Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Marriages aren't easy. Sometimes when the going gets rough, one may wonder whether they are meant to be with this person. After becoming well known for her novels for young adults, with Landline Rainbow Rowell examines a marriage at such a turning point.

Georgie McCool lives in Los Angeles with her husband Neal and their two daughters. For Christmas, they planned to go to Neal's childhood home in Omaha, Nebraska. But Georgie, a TV writer, has to stay in California to write for a new show, so Neal takes the girls himself. Georgie doesn't want to stay in their house alone so she decides to stay with her mother and 18-year-old sister. Georgie's mom keeps asking why Neal "left" her, and Georgie begins to believe her marriage is in trouble despite repeated verbal denial.

To make matters worse, Neal won't answer his cell phone, so Georgie uses her mother's landline to call Neal's mother's house. Neal answers, but something seems off; he doesn't mention their daughters and he speaks as if his father is alive despite the man dying three years prior. Eventually Georgie realizes that she is talking to her husband 15 years in the past, during a similar Christmas week before they got married. She makes excuses to herself at first, believing this to be a persistent hallucination, but comes to realize she may be able to affect her present by changing her past.

The mystery of the phone is a compelling through-line, but what will keep you reading Landline is the relationship between Georgie and Neal. We get flashbacks to how they met and the tension caused by Georgie's close friendship with her co-worker. She also worries that Neal resents living in Los Angeles since that was for her career and there's nothing there for him. This may seem like some heavy drama, but considering Georgie is a comedy writer and Neal used to draw a comic strip, there is plenty of levity to be found between them as well.

Landline is a good depiction of a realistically flawed marriage with an imaginative, thought-provoking fantasy element. Most people have imagined the possibility of going back to correct past mistakes, but usually it's better to learn from them since that's the better way to use our time.

For more information about this book or the author, visit Rowell's website.

Born with Teeth by Kate Mulgrew

Kate Mulgrew is perhaps best known as Star Trek's first female captain and I really enjoy watching Star Trek Voyager so I made a point to put this on in my reading queue. A lot of things impressed me about it; perhaps most is that she wrote it herself and that it is well written; it reminded me of Arthur Golden's style in Memoirs of a Geisha. And I identified with her because she emphasizes “the work” (for her, acting) to make it through the most difficult times in life. That really resonated with me and my life.

I learned things about Ms. Mulgrew's like that she gave a child up for adoption when she was 22. That series of passages, the pregnancy written into the soap opera she was on and the part when she glimpsed her child in the bassinet, were powerful. I felt a lot of empathy for Ms. Mulgrew and I credit that to her writing. The same holds for her chapters detailing her adventures with her two sons. I like that although work is important to Ms. Mulgrew, family is also very important to her. And I like how well that was communicated in her memoir.

If you are looking for a tell-all about Star Trek Voyager, you'll be disappointed. Likewise if you are looking for insight into Orange is the New Black, her memoir stops before getting there. She actually stops before Voyager concluded. That being said, it is still a really engaging and interesting book and I think you ought to read it.

Visit Kate Mulgrew's site for more information about the author and how to purchase her book(s).

Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers by Nick Offerman

For his second book, Nick Offerman wanted to bring attention to some of his favorite Americans, some of whom have been long dead and others he has had the enormous pleasure of meeting in person. In Gumption, each chapter is dedicated to one of these individuals, giving a brief biography of where they came from and what they're known for, followed by Offerman's personal reflections on the person's significance and how their ideas can make our country better.

The first section, "Freemasons," brings up founding fathers George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison, as well as slave-turned-orator Frederick Douglass. The second part is titled "Idealists" and runs the gamut from two separate Roosevelts, to a few great authors. Then the third section, "Makers," has the widest scope, from woodworkers to entertainers. The book is sprinkled with several mentions of Offerman's show Parks and Recreation and his wife Megan Mullally but this doesn't overshadow his point. He also uses humor to make the pill of biographical insight go down easier, though the repeated joke in the Jeff Tweedy chapter that the singer is his husband, is one bit that falls flat.

Even as a fan of Offerman and his writing style, I struggled to get into this book at first, as historical figures aren't usually something I find fun to read about. When he profiles Thomas Lie-Nielsen (owner of a tool company), Nat Benjamin (maker of wooden boats), and woodworker George Nakashima, I couldn't help feeling that Nick was being self-indulgent (he actually admits that one of the reasons for writing this book was to meet some of his heroes), and to be honest I largely skimmed those chapters.

In contrast, his words about Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan and George Saunders made me decide to seek out the books written by those fine gentlemen. One may find themselves with a newly evolved opinion of Yoko Ono, and a realization that Willie Nelson has more to him than his love of marijuana. I also learned about a few notable Americans I'd never heard of, like the Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmstead, and Laurie Anderson, a performance artist with an incredible array of talents.

I think this book turned out exactly as Offerman intended it, even if it does fall a bit outside mainstream interests, and for that I admire his gumption. He clearly feels strongly about the issues he raises and that these people deserve recognition, and with that I agree. However, I think implying via the title that all of them are "gutsy troublemakers" is a bit misleading. They are simply Americans who each did something worthwhile, and were modest about their accomplishments.

Except Conan O'Brien, that blowhard.


For more information about Nick Offerman, his books, or his woodshop, visit offermanwoodshop.com.

The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Two years after the events of The Glass Magician, Ceony Twill is ready to take her magician's exam. Things are going well for her: she can switch materials at will, Folding's a cinch, and you get the impression early on that Emery Thane is going to marry her. Enter conflict: the Excisioner, Saraj Prendi, escapes from prison! Then, because of her relationship with Thane, she is reassigned to another Folder for her exam (Pritwin Bailey, who appeared briefly in The Paper Magician as a memory in Thane's heart).

This book was a good conclusion to the trilogy but as a standalone novel, it lacked depth. I find most of the characters one dimensional. In this novel, we meet Pritwin Bailey and his apprentice, Bennet Cooper. Pritwin is a grumpy perfectionist who is not satisfied with Ceony because she does not give him her undivided attention (which, as an actual Folder, shouldn't she?) but we never get into why or anything else about him. And where Prit is unfriendly, Bennet is so friendly that Ceony assumes he's in love with her (and I'm not sure he is) and he does not develop further.

I still really like the world and the mechanics that Ms. Holmberg has created but I think her characters are a bit underdeveloped. Sometimes they seem more like props than actual people. In the previous novels, where you can be distracted by the mechanics of Paper or Glass magic, this one focuses on Ceony's ability to change mediums which, I'm sorry to say, isn't that interesting. And then after everything's all nice and tidy, she ends on a (albeit weak) cliffhanger! It was disappointing. I hope she writes more novels in this world.

Visit Charlie N. Holmberg's site for more information about the author and how to purchase her book(s).