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New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Published on Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
Cuyahoga Falls native Patti Donahue met Jennifer MackInday on the Internet, but they weren't on a dating site, nor were they job seekers. In Friends for Life: Strangers Brought Together by the War in Iraq, the women tell of the e-mail correspondence they began through an Internet bulletin board for families of soldiers in an infantry regiment called Deuce Four.
Donahue's son Jon, a medic, and MackInday's brother, James, who drove a Stryker combat vehicle, were deployed to Iraq in 2004 to suppress insurgency in Mosul. They witnessed the suicide bombing of a mess tent near a U.S. airfield in Marez, and James was later injured when his vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device.
The book prints texts of conversations between the men and their relatives, describing food and equipment shortages and discussing the 2004 election. The section about the process of mailing packages is interesting and may encourage readers to send items themselves (there are tips and addresses in an appendix).
The authors have taken a challenging format and found a workable solution: MackInday's contributions are in regular print, Donahue's in italics, texts of e-mails in bold; this provides clarity without excessive explanation.
Friends for Life provides insight into the lives of soldiers on the front and their supportive, anxious families. The 222-page softcover costs $15.95 from http://www.sandyislandpress.com. Patti Donahue lives in Amado, Ariz., and in Ontario, Canada; MackInday lives in Indiana.
Eat your veggies
The Story of Candyland by Akron native Carole DeBaer-Levoy has nothing to do with the children's board game, but it does have a little of the flavor of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. DeBaer-Levoy is putting to paper a story her father told her as a child; it's about Petey, a little boy who won't eat his vegetables. Tired of being confined to his room, he runs away and finds Candyland.
Just as in Mr. Wonka's factory, everything is edible and delicious. The flowers and trees, mountains and rivers are made of candy, ice cream, butterscotch and shortbread. Petey, of course, eats his fill and more, with predictable results: He soon realizes that home is the best place, even if peas and carrots are part of the deal.
The Story of Candyland (40 pages, softcover) costs $13.95 from online retailers. Carole DeBaer-Levoy lives in Hawaii.
'Island of Aphrodite'
The island in On the Island of Aphrodite: Where Love was born and worshiped, strife, war and turmoil prevail by Stow author Chrystom G. Horattas is Cyprus, unsettled by violence between Greek and Turkish ethnic communities. The long, complex novel is a sort of Romeo-and-Juliet story about two families with longstanding connections whose children fall in love and suffer the prejudices of their time.
Part of the action is centered around Nicosia General Hospital, where Katina, a nurse, represents the Greek side of the story; her father has forced her to break up with Kemal, a Turk, and her brother, Nikos, has been in a Turkish prison. The characters struggle with their personal lives and the divisive tension.
On the Island of Aphrodite (341 pages, softcover) costs $25 from online retailers.
Events
Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Legacy Village, Lyndhurst) — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals President Ingrid Newkirk signs The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; poets Loren Weiss and Meredith Holmes sign the anthology Awake at the End, which also includes the work of Mary Weems, 7 p.m. Wednesday; Mosetta Penick Phillips-Cermak signs Rajah and the Big Blue Ball, Paul Lubianetsky signs Homeland Security and Patrick Moore signs In the Shadow of Exile, 7 p.m. Thursday; Robert L. Sheeley signs Rainbow Plantation Blues, 1 p.m. Saturday, and Rakesh Satyal signs Blue Boy at 2 p.m. Saturday, both as part of Cleveland Pride Benefit Day.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers (4015 Medina Road, Bath Township) — Lima author Michelle Houts signs The Beef Princess of Practical County, recommended for ages 9 to 12. 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (7335 Ridge Road, Parma) — Cuyahoga Falls author Jennifer Hanselman discusses her books Party of Nine and Return of the Party of Nine. Registration preferred; call 440-885-5362. 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Hudson Farmers Market (Clock Tower Green on North Main Street) — Russ Vernon will sign The West Point Market Cookbook while the store's executive chef demonstrates recipes with ingredients from the farmers market. 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Borders (335 Howe Ave., Cuyahoga Falls) — Firestone High School alumnus Lawren Farber signs Portage, a novel that incorporates early Akron history with a 1972 plotline. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
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