Laurel Bookmarks

by Robin Stevens

An evocative exploration of Japanese-American family ties set amidst the redwoods comes recommended as a classic in the making by several Laurel Bookstore customers this month. In Gail Tsukiyama's Dreaming Water, the main character is dying of Werner's syndrome, which has caused her to age twice as rapidly as is normal. Over the course of two days, she examines her life and memories of her father as her mother does the same. "It's a family love story," says Oak Knoll resident Renee Santos-Bundy. "The interactions between the daughter and her mother and father are just so loving."

"You'll find yourself slowing down so the book won't end," adds Laurel/Mills resident Julie Bernstein. "The characters and the writing are intriguing and honest and will stay with you long after the last page."

Santos-Bundy, a 50-year-old neighborhood nursery school teacher, also enjoyed the history of the northern California town in which the story is set and the insight into World War II Japanese American internment.

Santos-Bundy, who juggles several books at a time, is also reading A Match to the Heart, by Greta Ehrlich (one woman's experience of being struck by lightning!), and A Mind at a Time. In this book, Dr. Mel Levine takes a look at the many ways children learn and suggests that teachers and parents can adapt their communication styles to make absorption of knowledge possible in spite of individual differences. She's also reading biographies of Ray Charles ("too detail-oriented, but I'm enjoying it") and Quincy Jones.

Ninety-year-old Helen Malkerson likes biographies as well. She describes her reading taste however as "rather eclectic" and dependent on her subject of interest at any given time. "I do like biographies a great deal," she says. "The people themselves are interesting! It's probably a natural curiosity."

Her recent biography of choice is One Last Time, by John Edwards of TV's Crossing Over fame ("I'm a skeptic, but while I'm watching I find it absolutely mesmerizing"), which she says is a good read from beginning to end. "His sincerity is evident," she adds, "as is his self-confident belief in the work to which he is dedicated."

Malkerson is a writer, "a poet principally," whose most recent work, Spring and Other Seasons: Where Tree Beard's Shadow Falls, was published in 2000 by Small Poetry Press of Concord. She recently added Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (edited by Caroline Kennedy) to her collection. The edition, she says, is a solid selection of childhood classics with broad appeal, its charm enhanced by carefully chosen photographs.

Two novels set in Manhattan recently captured the attention of 14-year-old Laurel District resident Talia Gonzalez, who, in general, likes to read novels about characters in a high-school setting. Gossip Girl, by Cecily Von Ziegesar, chronicles the gossip chains of an upper-east-side Manhattan high school's popular crowd.

"I would highly recommend this book to teens who enjoy gossip and juicy stories!" says Gonzalez. Just after finishing the gossip tome, she picked up a copy of Shopaholic Takes Manhattan "because I really like shopping, and I really want to go to New York one day." The book was a window into the world of young married life and responsibility for Gonzalez, who admits it wasn't as fascinating as the teen worlds of books like another of her favorites, Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen.

Gonzalez is not all shopping and gossip. Her favorite subject in school is social studies American history to be exact. "Finding out how this country came about isinteresting."

What have you been reading lately? Stop by Laurel Bookstore at the corner of 39th and MacArthur and fill out a customer book-review card. I'll be choosing several of the reviews to feature each month.

[sidebar if there's space:]

Laurel Bookstore June Bestsellers

Spider-Man: The Movie Storybook, by Shane Coll

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby, by Dave Pilkey

This Side of Doctoring, by Eliza Chin

A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine

Bad Beginnings 1, by Lemony Snicket