Fred

 
Hi,  I'm Fred Besteman.  I hail from Rudyard in the Upper Peninsula.  I moved back to the US this year after living in Japan for a few years.  I'm new face at McLean and Eakin although I've worked at bookstores in the past.  I guess I just can't stay away from books!

I like doing stuff outdoors especially swimming in the great lakes.

I primarily read fiction but like to read a bit of everything.  Some of my favorite authors are Henry Miller, Jim Harrison, Haruki Murakami, and David Foster Wallace.

The past few years I've really enjoyed reading about food and drooling over cookbooks.
A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One By George R. R. Martin Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9780553573404
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bantam - August 4th, 1997

In “A Game of Thrones”, the first of Martin's epic A Song of Ice and Fire series, we are introduced to the land of Westeros. A land were summers and winters last decades. Martin immerses the reader in a complex land with it's own history, cultures, mythology, and political struggles. The central story revolves around these political struggles with three families vying for control of the iron throne.

What sets Martin's series apart from others in the fantasy genre are the multidimensional characters he presents. Knights are rarely valiant and women don't need rescuing. His characters are full of appetites and are often of a questionable morality.

His fantastic characterization also plays into the structure of the novel. Each chapter is a particular character's story. The plot unfolds as their lives intertwine.

This engrossing series appeals to wide range of readers, even those who normally don't read fantasy. They're the most addicting books I've ever read and are true page turners.

This is the first in an ongoing series which can be found in section 902 downstairs.


The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death (Vintage International) By Jean-Dominique Bauby Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780375701214
Availability: Backordered
Published: Vintage - June 23rd, 1998

While Jean-Domique Bauby was driving with his son he suffered a massive stroke leaving him with locked-in-syndrome. Locked-in-syndrome left him trapped in his own body. His intellect was intact although he was only able to blink and move a few muscles in his face. This left him feeling like he as trapped in a “diving bell”. Luckily Bauby still had his “butterfly”; his imagination which he uses to escape his prison and show us the joys and tragedies of his life.

One of the most amazing things about this book is that Bauby wrote it with his eye lid. A speech therapist recited the most common letters in the french alphabet while Bauby blinked to indicate the correct letter. In this way he formed words, then sentences and finally “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”.

Bauby takes you on a journey through his senses and reminds us what is important and beautiful about life in this memoir. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is easy to read in a day but well worth reading over and over again.
The movie is excellent too!


White Noise By Don DeLillo Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780140077025
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Penguin Books - January 7th, 1986

Don DeLlilo is best known for the novel Underworld but it's White Noise that put him on the map. White Noise takes place in a medium size college town. Much of the novel revolves around professor Jack Gladney and his wife Babette who helm a dysfunctional family. Jack and Babette are obsessed with staying young and will go to any lengths to get the experimental drug Dylar which may let them live forever but has some dangerous side affects

The hilarity of this novel unfolds as we see the length that Jack and Babette will go to to stay young. In White Noise all of the characters have odd interests and obsessions which drive their lives. Lives that are shaped by television and other parts of contemporary culture; all the while “The Air Born Toxic Event” looms over these lives.

White Noise is a contemporary classic and deals with mortality, consumerism, obsession, and family although the genius of it lies within it's style and humor.


Staff Pick Badge
The Gods of Gotham (A Timothy Wilde Novel #1) By Lyndsay Faye Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780425261255
Availability: Special Order
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - March 5th, 2013

I'm not usually one for historical fiction but Lindsay Faye's novel, Gods of Gotham sucked me in from the first chapter. A huge fire that burned 345 buildings in lower Manhattan and the beginning of the Irish Potato Famine, both of which happened in 1845, provide a backdrop for the chaotic cityscape of mid-1800's Manhattan. Faye brings us the tale of the Wilde brothers and the formation of New York's police department. Timothy who is scarred and thoughtful and Valentine who is charismatic and driven by his vices. Together they become members of the first New York police force. Their first real case is to hunt down a serial killer among the turmoil of their surroundings.
This novel has a little of everything, political intrigue, sibling rivalry, humor, murder-mystery, and an engrossing setting. What makes Faye's first novel great though is its' use of language. She uses the slang of the time throughout the novel. Slang can make a book cumbersome to read but Faye pulls it off. It compliments the characters and atmosphere making the book a lot of fun.


Staff Pick Badge
Ten White Geese: A Novel By Gerbrand Bakker Cover Image
$15.00
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780143122678
Published: Penguin Books - February 26th, 2013

Gerbrand Bakker, winner of the Dublin award, is a famous dutch writer although not very well known outside of Europe. In Ten White Geese he brings us a mysterious novel about a dutch professor who leaves her job and moves near Caernofon in the Welsh country side after a scandal. She calls herself Emilee and is an Emily Dickinson scholar. We don't learn her real name until near the end of the book. Most of the the characters are like this, they remain unnamed or go by false names.
Mystery pervades the novel, the natural world and characters don't wholly reveal themselves or connect with one another. When they do there is usually tension between them, in their gestures as well as words. This is a novel about identity whose players are secretive and complex.
Emilee wants to connect with the natural world. The town folk are downright menacing and interfere with the solace she is trying to seek. The natural world rarely cooperates as well.
Bakker writes beautiful poetic prose. His writing is precise and contains skillfully rendered imagery. This novel has many layers and is hard to put down.
Is she really there to start over? What is the real reason she left? Will her husband find her? Why are the geese disappearing?
This menacing pastoral raises many questions that are masterfully resolved by it's conclusion.