Marketplace of the Marvelous:
The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine
by Erika Janik

I like to read non-fiction that is about something I know nothing (or nearly nothing) about, that is entertaining, and is well-researched. Marketplace of the Marvelous is all of these things! The author has divided the history of medicine into two camps: "regular" and "irregular". As you might expect, the irregular includes the quacks. What you might not expect is that some of the irregular medicine practices are now recommended (like drinking water) and some of the regular medicine practices are now out of favor (like bloodletting).  I'm enjoying the book a lot! This is a Midwest Connections pick for February.

Stillwater
by Nicole Helget

This book is a Midwest Connections Pick for March. I really enjoyed Helget's last novel, Turtlecatcher, and Stillwater quickly reminded me what a fantastic writer she is!

I’m loving this beautifully written novel set in an interesting time in Minnesota history—post-Sioux Uprising, and before-during-after the Civil War. Add in a host of interesting and complicated characters, and I’m ready for a good read!
Here’s Helget’s playlist for this book: largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2014/02/book_notes_nico_3.html

Cell Traffic
by Heid E. Erdrich

I'm working my way through this wonderful collection of poems. "Cell" in the title refers to the scientific cells that make up human bodies. So far, the poems are short, dense, efficient, and beautiful. The poems are personal, yet universal. The book is also thick by poetry book standards (nearly 200 pages!) so I'll be savoring this one for a while. I read each poem at least two times before moving on and I don't typically read more than three poems in a sitting.

Triggering Town
by Richard Hugo

I'm still working my way through this book for an online Loft class with poet LouAnn Shepard Muhm. Hugo died in 1982, yet his writing feels relevant to modern times (amazing for someone who never used a cell phone or ever heard of Facebook or Twitter).

Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues:
Incredible True Tales of Mischief and Mayhem
by Paul Martin

This book is being released in paperback on March 4th. This is another non-fiction book, categorized as true crime, though I would call it history. The author has divided a list of thirty "bad guys" (not all male) you've probably never heard of into three categories: villains, scoundrels, and rogues. The list includes the drunk cop who abandoned his post at Ford's Theatre, giving assassin John Wilkes Booth unchallenged access to President Lincoln; a notorious Kansas quack who made millions by implanting billy goat testicles in gullible male patients; and America's worst female serial killer ever. While I was familiar with the Kansas quack because I've read Charlatan by Pope Brock, the others are new to me.

The Songs of Willow Frost
by Jamie Ford

I loved Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and eagerly looked forward to his second book, The Songs of Willow Frost. The setting is again Seattle and the main character is William Eng, a Chinese American boy who has been left in an orphanage. He believes the movie actress Willow Frost is his mother and embarks on a quest to find her. As William learns about his past, the reader learns about the treatment of children and Chinese immigrants and their descendants during the Depression. Best of all, The Songs of Willow Frost will be released in paperback in March. Contact Beagle Books to pre-order your copy.

The Invention of Wings
by Sue Monk Kidd

When my friends started raving about The Invention of Wings I moved my copy to the top of my stack—and I’m glad I did. The book is historical fiction, based on the life of Sarah Grimke, an early abolitionist and outspoken proponent of women’s rights. The chapters alternate between Sarah and Hetty, a fictional slave owned by Sarah’s parents. The two women’s lives are bound together in a complex relationship,  but each seeks freedom (wings) in her own way. Sarah and Hetty and the world in which they live come alive on the page. All this, and there’s quilting, too! It’s a must read. Here’s an interview with Sue Monk Kidd about the book.

Shotgun Lovesongs
by Nickolas Butler

Shotgun Lovesongs is set in a small town in rural Wisconsin. As I read it, I was stuck by the idea that the author seemed to have met people that I know from my own community. It is not a book about exciting, life changing events, but rather a well written, thoughtful account of love in its different forms and deep friendships which evolve over time. I recommend it.