Events Calendar
In This Section
'Witness for the Prosecution' keeps audiences guessing
Actor Gary Coleman pleads guilty in Utah court
Rich Heldenfels: 'Past Life' is unbelievable
Michael Jackson doctor charged with manslaughter
Gary Coleman scheduled for Utah court appearance
'Christmas Story' actor finds challenges behind camera
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
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.
Get the full article here.
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