Paul Takushi is a friend of mine. For fun he plays jazz drums. For a living he buys "trade" AKA "regular, everyday, non-textbook books" for the UC Davis campus bookstore in Sacramento.

Buying new books before publication is what I used to do, in the decades when I owned a bookstore. Paul and I therefore have lots in common, and over the years we've met, and talked, and exchanged endless communications, mostly of the email variety.

For a long time I've wanted to work Paul into this program, and now I have a way to do it -- I'll read to you some book reviews Paul originally wrote for his store newsletter.

Altogether, Paul reviewed Smashed by Koren Zailckas, The Diary of Ma Yan, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey,The Lost Night by Rachel Howard, Devil in the Details by Jennifer Traig and A Dangerous Place by Marc Reisner.

We only have space here for the first couple of reviews.

Book buyers such as Paul face a mind-boggling dilemma when deciding on which books to stock in a store: How can you be true to yourself and still find books that might interest anyone shopping in your store?

It's definitely not easy. In these book reviews Paul takes a book buyer's holiday -- reading for personal pleasure, and expressing his reactions from a personal point of view.

I hope you enjoy Paul's take on these books.

Smashed by Koren Zailckas.

Paul writes:

This book scared the crap out of me -- and I don't even have kids of my own. Zailckas traces her relationship with alcohol in a matter-of-fact tone that starts with a fourteen-year-old's innocuous experience of doing something 'that only grownups are supposed to do' and ends with her, at age twenty-two, waking up in an apartment that she doesn't recognize or remember entering. One might ask, where were her parents? Her friends? Someone, anyone, to call her out on her alcohol abuse? This is perhaps the most insidious revelation of the book. Despite the presence of family and friends, Zailckas was still able to engage in some heavy drinking binges with no one the wiser. Or maybe they saw her binge drinking and just thought that it was acceptable behavior, or that it was just a stage in her life. In other words, getting smashed happens all too frequently to thousands of 'average' girls all across the country and there's usually no one around who comes to the realization that she's slipping into alcoholism. How and why does this happen? Here you'll find that the answer lies within the typical life experience of teenagers in today's America.

The Diary of Ma Yan by Ma Yan, edited and introduced by Pierre Haski.

Paul writes:

It's been quite some time since I've read a book that actually moved me to tears, both in sadness AND in joy. This book took me far away from the relative comfort of my life to a place where crushing poverty and deep disappointment are common facets of everyday life. The diary made me re-examine the things in my life that I take for granted, and it also showed me that the bond between a mother and child can be an omnipresent and inspiring link to one's past, present, and future. The Diary of Ma Yan is a powerfully moving narrative that is bound to profoundly affect everyone who encounters this heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting saga of contemporary life in rural China.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey.

Paul writes:

Alfred is fifteen, very big for his age, shy, overly sensitive, and very smart. He's never met his father and his mother died when he was twelve. He lives with his uncle Farrell whenever he can stand to suffer through another round of his uncle's badgering and whenever his uncle can stand to have Alfred lounging around the house. Alfred leads a fairly mundane life until the day that a mysterious stranger offers Uncle Farrell a million bucks to steal a sword -- and not just any sword. This is a great adventure yarn with a wry sense of humor that seamlessly mixes the ancient elements of medieval knighthood with all the trappings of a contemporary spy thriller. Kid alert: there are people who get killed quite graphically in this book. Swords clang, heads roll, bullets fly, and blood spurts -- ya know, the usual PG13 fare. It's nothing that any sixth-grader hasn't already seen or read these days.

Aired Sunday August 5, 2007 at 10:55 am and Wednesday August 8, 2007 at 1:00 pm

Orders/Information:

Paul Takushi interviewed by the campus paper: http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/071902/dl_breaktimept.html

Smashed by Koren Zailckas. Viking paperback $14.00. ISBN 9780143036470.

The Diary of Ma Yan by Ma Yan, edited and introduced by Pierre Haski. HarperCollins paperback $15.99. ISBN 9780060764968.

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp by Rick Yancey. Bloomsbury paperback $7.95. ISBN 9781599900445.

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