Deadline and Field of Prey by John Sandford

Yes--a two-for!  I enjoy John Sandford's books.  I'm a midwestern gal--born and raised in Iowa, just a bit south of the settings of his books.  It may be that I "get" some of the regional quirks and references that others might miss.  Every book takes me back to what is wonderful, and odd about Iowa/Minnesota.

These two books particularly appeal to me.  They unfold in a concurrent time frame.  Lucas (Field of Prey) and Virgil (Deadline) are talking with each other throughout both books.  Sandford does a masterful job of flirting with the reader without creating any road-blocks to understanding or appreciating both books.

Of the two I probably enjoyed Deadline a bit more, but I read it most recently so it may just be a matter of immediate recall.  Virgil is called by his friends in southeastern Minnesota (close to my last location in Iowa!).  He gets pulled into a triple--dognapping, meth manufacturing/distribution, and school board malfeasance.  It is this last that really got me.  As I near the end of my career in education I am more and more aware of the roll of greed and opportunism in our schools.  I don't know if it has always been this way--but I am very aware that public education is at the center of some very unpleasant financial dealings.  Hopefully Sandford has created a fiction way beyond the realities of any real situation. 

Meanwhile, I get a laugh out of the characters and relish the appreciation Sandford has for the finer qualities of many small town midwesterners.  With a few exceptions they are wonderful people who really should be the "heart" of our American values.  Sandford's characters are as flawed and as wonderful as my neighbors and friends. 

If you're looking for great entertainment spend some wonderful hours with Virgil and his collection of interesting characters in Deadline.

Field of Prey  is the stronger thrilling sort of read on which Sandford originally built his writing career. It is a well crafted detective story continuing the tale of Lucas Davenport, his family, and team.  In the last several books in this series he has also been adding a bit about politics.  I appreciate his perspectives and insight on the political process.  He does a good job of avoiding flat characters and helps me think about the effects that politics is having on our national life. 

Both are good reads and compliment each other quite nicely. 

The Circle, by Dave Eggers

I need to change the way I record book recommendations.  A friend recommended this book to me but I didn't write down who it was.  Now I wonder about who it was and am curious about whether it was someone criticizing my involvement with technology or if they thought I'd simply be interested.  Whichever was the motivation, my response is perhaps different that they might have anticipated.  I am reading this not so much as a morality tale about technology but instead a reflection on assessment.

The book has received mixed reviews.  The writing has been criticized as lacking in literary merit.  The criticisms may be justified, but still the book offers opportunities for discussion of the new mania for measuring everything and then rewarding or punishing based on the numbers.

I also had to laugh at the images created of the multi-tasking demands made on The Circle's employees.  I'm about half way through and the protagonist is now having a fourth screen installed on her desk.  (Which makes me wonder if the author doesn't know about tiling windows on a screen.)  But still...

I'm close to several customer experience employees and know the pressures on them to produce high "numbers" are ridiculous.  The "metrics" being produced each day to evaluate their work are dizzying and oppressive.  In contrast I consider Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of flow.  Based on his work, being focused on numbers actually probably makes it impossible to work within a state of flow.  In my own professional life I am drowning in data and assessment (including huge pressures to "raise" numbers).  Last night some of my World of Warcraft guild members and I were discussing the effects of assessments on the abilities of teachers to include innovative, engaging, relevant activities/content in this instruction.  One of us retold a story of teachers energized by ideas of game-based learning and inclusion of student created machinima (or movies) in the curriculum.  But the teachers quickly shut down when they realized that they wouldn't be able to create multiple choice tests to measure achievement of standards connected to these exciting curriculum/instruction ideas.  We then discussed the problems several of us were seeing in young adults/adults being successful in completion of post-secondary education (or graduation from high school).  I have to believe that there is a link between the difficulty many are having with completing school and our increased emphasis on test scores.  (This would be a side-effect of attempts to reform/improve education that we forget to measure.)

Maybe a random connection (this is the way my mind works) but it perhaps helps build my case--
Act Two. Is That a Tape Recorder in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Unhappy to See Me?, a segment from This American Life first aired on 9/10/2010.  In the second segment of the show the story surrounds the effects of assessment numbers on policing  in New York City.  In short, it was not good!

There's a principle in science "by measuring you distort."  I think it's time in our era of easily obtained numbers that we go back to this fundamental idea.  Another principle that I haven't heard recently is "garbage in--garbage out."

I know I am swimming upstream trying speak out against "data collection"  (especially since that is part of my work responsibility) but I think we need to take a moment to pause and consider if we're guilty of putting the cart in front of the horse in much of our assessment plans.  I'm not convinced that we have learned how to identify data that will actually measure the critical factors leading to success or excellence in most of our endeavors.  Not only that, but I am concerned that focusing all this human capital on getting "the numbers up" instead of working on actually doing/producing something is going to have long term disastrous effects on our economy.

There's also a risk that in search of  perfect ratings that we are in danger of eliminating creativity and genius.  When we become preoccupied with numerical ratings, particularly those from rubrics, we can easily miss the unexpected or creative.  For example, I'm pretty certain that if O'Keeffe's, Van Gogh's, Monet's, or Kadinsky's works had been measured using a rubric developed by a committee that they would have been identified as "does not meet standards."

Harry Hole novels by Jo Nesbo

It looks like I've been deep in detective fiction this fall/winter.  Indeed--that is the case.  Shortly before I fell into Louise Penny's work I discovered that of Jo Nesbo.  Nesbo is a Norwegian author.  In the past I have read Stieg Larsson's books (Swedish).  It appears that Scandinavian detectives/editors are generally pretty miserable.  Harry Hole is a rather desperate alcoholic who is however, a loving brother to his sister with Down Syndrome.  He also cares deeply for his father, but has some difficulty with that relationship.

Through all his drinking and drug binges Harry manages to solve terrible crimes.  Unfortunately, in most cases he leaves a trail of destruction on his way to the solution.  The plots are well crafted and move forward with a sense of urgency.  They are not, however, for the faint-hearted.  There is graphic violence and some relatively explicit sexual scenes.

 Hole solves murders through inspiration.  It can be hard to follow the clues that get him to the solution.  Sometimes it is as if his drinking and drugging are necessary to put him into a state that allows the subconscious to work.

Although Hole is not a character that you will like, he is fascinating.  I will finish the series and also pick up his children's books, the Doctor Proctor  series.

Reading these alternately with Louise Penny's books has been quite a study in contrasts.  The Nesbo's rough, grimy tales alternately with Penny's comparatively gentle, refined works have perhaps counterbalanced each other.

Chief Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny

Everyone once and a while I run across a new-to-me author who has a substantial body of work.  That means I start at the beginning and read!  (And why I can be quiet for so long on this blog.)  I picked up Louise Penny's books because of coverage on NPR.  I'm delighted I did.

Penny's detective novels are richly written.  In each she brings in themes connecting to art, history, literature, and nature.  The solutions to the mysteries typically are nuanced and subtle portraits of communities, families, and minor psychological problems.  She does not typically include "mass-murderer" psychopaths as the antagonist.  Instead, they are the flawed human beings we run across in our lives who have just gone a step further than do most.

Gamache himself is a fascinating character.  He is physically imposing, loving toward his wife and family, but with some weaknesses and flaws that make him believable and admirable.  The approaches he uses to solving the murders are patient, methodical, and thoughtful.  Penny also uses a device in which the characters discover something, but she does not reveal the discovery until later in the book.

I have not visited Quebec, the settings of her novels, but will as soon as life permits.  In fact, I believe my first retirement trip will be to Quebec with books in hand.  Of course I will plan the trip for fall so that I may continue southward through the fall colors in New England and to Boston to visit Reverend, Doctor Nancy Taylor at Boston's Old South Church.

The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, by Christie Golden

This is one of a series of books that elaborates the narrative behind the MMORPG, World of WarCraft.  I was delightfully surprised by the quality of writing in the book.  Golden is a talented author, worthy of the awards and recognitions she has received.  In the past when I've read books associated with TV series, movies, and  now computer/video games  (although this is the first book of that sort I've attempted) I have been disappointed.  Often they are just commercial products to profit from the popularity of media phenomenon.  I'm delighted this is different!  It reads very well and is an engaging story.  I think that even if you were not a player in WoW you could read and enjoy the story.  It is about leadership, power, corruption, and good intentions; all universal themes in literature!

As a WoW play I found this affecting me in two ways--first, I have begun to observe and understand more as I am "in game."  Now much of the landscape and "decor" have significance that I was overlooking.  As a reader I was able to read the book with much greater depth--understanding the gaming experience upon which the story is built.  I found myself flying around Orgrimmar looking for the skull and armor of Mannoroth. 

As a teacher/reader I am convinced about the value of knowing about this body of literature and seeing out similar titles for other games.  The young people in our schools are passionate about their games.  We need to use this passion in helping them to develop advanced reading skills.  It is also likely that we can help them move into other literature, perhaps some more aligned with the accepted canon, if we prove ourselves trustworthy.  Having familiarity with these sorts of titles will provide those sorts of credentials.

I must note the experience I had in real life while reading this book.  I was in Pagosa Springs, Colorado relaxing in the hot springs (strongly recommend you plan some time here if you are in the area!) and had this book with me.  Multiple individuals and families initiated conversations with me because of the World of Warcraft logo on the front of the book.  Two teen-aged boys and their parents were the first to initiate a conversation.  They boys were elbowing their parents in the pool--I'm assuming because they saw me as an example of an adult sanctioning WoW.  We talked about their game play.  Both boys had fallen away from WoW and were now more interested in Minecraft and other games.  (I could only think that probably the problem here was related to not having a spectacular guild like mine!  Inevitable Betrayers--you're the best!)  In every pool I ran into others who wanted to talk about the WoW phenomenon.  This included a woman of my age (nearing retirement) who talked about her friend who played almost every moment outside of work.  The power of books!!!  It never occurred to me that simply carrying a book with a WoW logo would open the way to multiple conversations and entry into a rich community of human citizens as I moved casually through the world.

I recommend this as a good choice for anyone who has contact with gamers.  Grandparents--it will open the doors into understanding the virtual lives of your grandkids, teachers--it will help you in multiple ways as you try to encourage your charges in their literacy development, parents--it will help initiate lively conversations with otherwise reticent children, citizens--you'll develop casual conversations and be granted entry into a community that is astonishingly large!  At it's height there were approximately 12 million players.  Currently there are approximately 6.8 million (http://www.statista.com/statistics/276601/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter/).  It still remains the most popular PC game in the world (also from statista).  There is real power here that all of us need to understand and appreciate.  This novel will help the non-players do so.

Flight, by Sherman Alexie

Once again Sherman Alexie has challenged me but ultimately delivered a profound reading experience.  The book addresses our foster care system in this country, contemporary and historical Native American/Indian issues, and the power of the individual to make decisions about their own life's journey. I read this as our world is being challenged by the conflict/genocides in Iraq/Syria and the Ukraine.  Flight offered a perspective for me to think about these events.

This is listed on NoveList as an adult/YA cross-over book.  I found the beginning of the book, as sometimes happens with Sherman Alexie's writing, a much too graphic/violent for my tastes.  I almost put the book down.  But, I'm glad I stuck with it.  Ultimately I think the book offers invaluable insights into violence and conflict.  Yes, it's very hard to read at times--but ultimately it helps us understand the causes of and actually offers a possible path to healing wounds and reducing  violence and conflict.

I'm not certain that I would use this as a book in a high school class, but it is certainly one I would want to have available in my classroom/school library.  It's also a book I would recommend to study groups who are trying to come to grips with violence, conflict, and the challenges of our foster care system. 

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

I picked this up because of a review I heard on NPR. A Fatal Grace is second in a series about Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of the Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec.  The series is technically "detective fiction" or a "murder mystery" but the writing itself is literary.  I will be reading other titles in this series and hope to continue to be delighted with the artful weaving of the arts with mystery/detective work.  

A Fatal Grace is set in a lovely village in the Canadian province of Quebec.  The cast of characters include a poet, two artists, and several other interesting folk.  The poetry included in the book is lovely and inspired me to return a volume of poetry to my "to read" stack.  Inspector Gamache is a particularly compelling main character.  He is intelligent, sensitive, and wise about people.  Unlike many other detectives he appears not be to plagued by major personality quirks or haunted by demons from his past. 

If I'm reading her home page correctly I have quite a bit of reading to do.  I appears there are 11 titles in this series to date. 

http://www.louisepenny.com/