Mr. Decimal, I presume

I'm a huge fan of libraries. Until the day I left for college, I was on a first-name basis with all the librarians at Lepper Library in Lisbon, Ohio. I spent copious hours in the college libraries first at Bowling Green and then at Kent State. As I moved into my mid and late 20s and found myself with some disposable income, I decided that I would build my personal library instead of patronizing a public library.

Now, I'm not talking about about rare and collectible books, instead just my favorite authors (which have changed vastly over the years) sitting on my bookshelf and available at my beck and call. It took me until hitting about 30, going through some major life changes and downsizing my possessions during a couple of moves in a short period of time - to come back to the public library.

When I started living in Lakewood, I made a visit to the Lakewood Public Library.I made my initial visit, checked out some books, read them and then returned them late. It took me another about another two years to make my way back in and pay my fine, which I did tonight when I was there for a Society for Professional Journalists Cleveland meeting. Much to my joy, they took my $2, told me I was back in good standing and happily helped me find a couple of books I was looking to check out.

Now, for years, my book-finding experiences have been focused on bookstores, which are neatly organized by type of book - History, Psychology, Mystery, Fantasy, etc., etc. Wasn't I shocked when much to my chagrin, I was reminded this evening that public libraries are organized according to the infamous Dewey Decimal System.

It only took a matter of seconds for me to determine that Mr. Decimal and I are definitely not on a first-name basis. On a superficial level, it makes zero sense to me. But when I sit and actually think about it, with the hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of books that exist on library shelves around the country, I see more clearly the need for an organized, methodical organizational system. My gracious thanks to the librarians who are the dedicated keepers and protectors of books...while I'm able to just walk in, ask for your assistance and immediately find the book after which I was lusting.

Mr. Decimal, I tip my hat to you. Oh, and dear Lakewood Public Library, I plan to return these books on time, and you'll be seeing a lot more of me - 'cause, hey, buying 100 new books in a year for this challenge is just plain cost prohibitive. I'm happy to be back in the public library fold.

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman = 24 down, 76 to go

Other nonfiction
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
Jon Krakauer
416 pages

This is my fourth Jon Krakauer book, and once again, he has done an outstanding job of juxtaposing history against a compelling current story. I haven't read any books surrounding 9/11, and though this doesn't directly talk about it, 9/11 was the catalyst that for Pat Tillman to abandon his NFL career and sign up for the U.S. Army, along with his brother Kevin.

This book navigates the land mines of the Army's lies, betrayal and conspiracy after Tillman is killed by friendly fire during his deployment in Afghanistan. From the beginning, the Army, and soon the Bush administration, go to extraordinary lengths to cover up how Tillman was killed. This book - which also details the history of Afghanistan and how its landscape was impacted by the United States, Soviet Union and other parties - uses interviews with Tillman's wife, Marie, mother and other family members and Tillman's own journals and letters, as well as interviews with his Army buddies and extensive research to tell his story.

Tillman was a rare person who was unbelievably dedicated and loyal to his family, his friends and his principles. One example of this was that when the Rams offered Pat a five-year, $9.6 million contract, which he turned down to continue to play for the Cardinals with a one-year contract worth $512,000. He declined the offer because of his loyalty to Arizona and the Cardinals. Tillman's agent, Frank Bauer, said in the book, "In twenty-seven years, I've never had a player turn down that big of a package in the National Football League...You just don't see loyalty like that in sports today. Pat Tillman was special. He was a man of principle. He was a once-in-a-lifetime kid."

And after his first tour in Iraq, Pat could have left the Army on a technicality that would have allowed him to rejoin the NFL. But without hesitation, he decided to stay and fulfill his three-year commitment. Krakauer capsulizes Pat's philosophy:

He was one of those rare individuals who simply can't be bought at any price. Although he had no qualms about making a boatload of money if it happened to mesh with his master plan, Pat was impervious to greed. His belief that other things in life took priority over amassing wealth never faltered. But if Tillman was uncommonly resistant to the temptations of the baser human appetites, and was thereby well defended against attempts by others to manipulate him into doing their bidding with such enticements, he found it nearly impossible to resist appeals to his sense of decency and justice. Paradoxically, this latter trait would ultimately prove to be his downfall.

The level of tragedy that the Tillman family had to deal with seems insurmountable to me. It wasn't just that they lost a beloved member of their family, it's that the U.S. Army and Bush administration increased the family's pain exponentially with its conscientious decisions to lie to the family and the American people.

This was a powerful book, one that I highly recommend. Here is a quote from one of Tillman's journal entries that I found powerful:

Passion is what makes life interesting, what ignites our soul, drives our curiosity, fuels our love and carries our friendships, stimulates our intellect, and pushes our limits...A passion for life is contagious and uplifting. Passion cuts both ways...Those that make you feel on top of the world are equally able to turn it upside down...In my life I want to create passion in my own life and with those I care for. I want to feel, experience, and live every emotion. I will suffer through the bad for the heights of the good.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes = 23 down, 77 to go

Classic
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
246 pages

Reading this book brought the same joy as watching a great episode of my one of my favorite crime shows (NCIS, Criminal Minds and Fringe). Now, I'm not a devoted student of classical literature, but I imagine that Sherlock Holmes was perhaps one of the first archetypes of what has become the ever-popular detective novels.

I have to say, though, that I enjoyed this book more thoroughly than many modern day crime/detective novels. There is a level of storytelling and character development that many of today's novels seem to treat superficially.

One assumption that I had was that Watson was more of a sidekick than a true contributor to the Sherlock Holmes storyline. Kind of like an Ed McMahon to Johnny Carson - just there for the comic relief. He is an interesting counterpart and a very necessary dichotomy, which is required for us to see and understand the Holmes character. Watson's recounting of Holmes and his unique approach to crime solving very much makes this book. It makes me strongly desire that I could be a fraction as observant and perceptive as Holmes is.

Here are a couple of passages that I particularly enjoyed:

He was still, as ever, deeply attracted by the study of crime, and occupied his immense faculties and extraordinary powers of observation in following out those clues, and clearing up those mysteries which had been abandoned by the official police.

I trust that I am not more dense than my neighbours, but I was always oppressed with a sense of my own stupidity in my dealings with Sherlock Holmes. Here I had heard what he had heard, I had seen what he had seen, and yet from his words it was evident that he saw clearly not only what had happened but what was about to happen, while to me the whole business was still confused and grotesque.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland = 22 down, 78 to go

Classic
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
94 pages

I'm not sure how I escaped my childhood without reading this book - one that tells the adventures of a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole.

I enjoyed sharing Alice's adventures as she went from one to the other, interacting with characters like the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts (which seem to reflect some people that I know in real life).

I'm definitely looking forward to Tim Burton's adaptation of the movie due out later this year.

The Navy Justice Series = 21 down, 79 to go

JAG is one my favorite TV dramas, so I when I found this series - The Navy Justice Series - I was intrigued. It also didn't hurt that they were free downloads on my Kindle for iPhone app.

The books follow the trials and tribulations of Navy JAG officer Zack Brewer. He becomes the Navy's star prosecutor with his winning performances in two trials. The first is the result of three radical Islamic clerics who are members of the Navy Chaplain Corps being charged with inciting other service members to commit acts of terrorism. The second is against a Muslim Navy aviator who bombs the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a Muslim holy site, as part of a worldwide plot by an Islamic terrorist network to create one united Islamic state in the Middle East.

All three book are good reads, though they didn't contain the depth of character that I typically prefer. The books also have a definitive undertone of Christian values, as many of the characters rediscover God as part of the storyline. I was halfway through book 2 before I realized that was a major point to the series. By that time, I felt that I was committed and wanted to see it through.

But these books portrayed Islam in a very negative light, which was completely unwarranted. For certain believers, I fear that these books could potentially reinforce existing negative perceptions of Islam - those that have already caused enough division and misunderstandings between Christians and Muslims. For that reason, this series disappointed me.

Just for the hell of it
Treason
Don Brown
325 pages

Just for the hell of it
Hostage
Don Brown
352 pages

Just for the hell of it
Defiance
Don Brown
336 pages








It seems additionally ironic that these books fulfill my "just for the hell of it" book genre. I wanted to classify them under "historical fiction," but that felt dishonest and not true to the mission of the original list.

Fireflies in December = 18 down, 82 to go

Historical fiction
Fireflies in December
Jennifer Erin Valent
362 pages

Jessilyn Lassiter finds the summer of her thirteenth year to be one of seemingly insurmountable challenges and tribulations. The book - which was a free Kindle for iPhone download - takes place in a small Virginian town in the 1930s where racism still runs rampant.

Her best friend, Gemma, is an African-American girl whose parents work for the Lassiters. When the parents die in a fire, Jessilyn's father takes Gemma into his home to be raised as if she were his own daughter. The result is hatred and consternation among the townspeople, who are unable to comprehend his actions. During a summer where she is growing up and coming into her own, Jessilyn finds herself caught up in suspicious happenings at ever turn, including a cross burning and a murder trial. Additionally, she spends the majority of the book believing that she killed a man when the KKK attack her home and she used her father's shotgun to chase them off.

The book does a good job of capturing the challenges faced by most 13-year-old girls. She can be stubborn, short sighted and unable to see the impact of her decisions on the situation and others. But she is a fierce friend to Gemma in the face of the threat of harm to them both. It demonstrates the power of love and loyalty in the face of hatred and racism by Gemma, Jessily and her parents. This quote - from which I'm assuming the book is named - captures our purpose in this world succinctly.

The light is bright enough to light up a little speck of the night sky so a man can see it a ways away. That's what God expects us to do. We're to be lights in the dark, cold days that are this world. Like fireflies in December.

Driving with Dead People = 17 down, 83 to go

Recommendation
Driving with Dead People
Monica Holloway
336 pages

This book is one of the many recommended to me by friend and fellow bibliomaniac, Robin. In the realm of books (and possibly life), she's never steered me wrong.

Monica Holloway led anything but a typical childhood. In a small Ohio town, she lived with a tyrannical father and a mother seemingly absent in all things mother. Monica's childhood and adolescence were filled with adventures that would make the basis a fun, lighthearted movie. Her best friend's father owns a mortuary, so they spend much of their free time running around the funeral home, laying in coffins in the showroom and similar mischief. When they acquire their driver's licenses, he throws the the keys to the hearse, and they get to cruise down to the Cincinnati airport to retrieve dead bodies.

The theme of death in her life continues as her father carries a movie camera in his car so that at a moment's notice, he can capture grizzly accidents or an extreme tornado. When Monica is around 6 or 7, she also reads about a girl her age that lives in her town (but attends the local Catholic school) that is run over by a motorist and killed. She becomes obsessed with this girl, and she pops up on a fairly regular basis in Monica's life.

Though not the typical childhood, you throw in a little death, and as its base, you have a very unique and differentiating childhood. However, she shares her fear, as well as her Mother's and siblings' fears, of her father, who is well respected in the community and owns the local hardware store, but extremely verbally abusive. Monica throws herself into school activities in high school and college, trains to become an actor and dates a long line of losers, including one that holds her at gun point when she tries to end their relationship and one that thinks she's attempting to entrap him when she becomes pregnant.

She's often keeping extreme depression at bay, just out of arm's reach, and after college, she learns what the primary catalyst from where her erratic and often self-destructive behavior originates. The catalyst is that her father sexually abused her older sister, for which the memories come flooding back to her sister as an adult. This discovery comes after Monica had actually made some peace with her father starting in late high school after her mother abandoned her for a college education and a new boyfriend.

This knowledge changes everything -- it puts many things from her childhood in perspective, challenges her on how to deal with/interact with each member of her family (from a brother medicating himself with alcohol and pot, to a middle sister who denies everything, to her mother who also denies everything and says she had no idea the abuse was occurring).

Through tenacity, and sometimes luck and a sense of humor that serves as a most excellent defense mechanism, Monica pulls through and eventually begins to build a normal life with an adoring husband and little boy.

In reading this book though, while you are often incensed by what has happened to her and her siblings, the storytelling is engaging and often uplifting. Towards the end of the book, she shares these poignant words that remind you that happiness is an action verb:

I'll always be damaged in a way. I had hoped that I could completely heal those cracks, but I'm starting to think the real trick is learning to live a full life in spite of them. Cracked people are everywhere, and so I can forgive myself for being overly anxious or easily frightened. But I will no longer allow myself to be swallowed by my past. I insist on having the happiest life I can muster, and I am in control of that now.