Sparks Fly in Old New York

Margaret Brownley’s “Buttons and Beaus” is the perfect combination of romance, intrigue, humor and beauty. The characters are wonderful, especially Miss Quackenbush, a pointy-faced spinster who gets herself elected to the Women’s Cycling Club though she can’t ride a bicycle to save her life.

The heroine is Amanda Blackwell, an independent miss who takes no guff from anyone. Since bicycle riders need licenses in old New York, Amanda opens a cycling school, which just happens to be adjacent to property owned by architect Damian Newscastle. Damian plans to build the highest skyscraper in New York. Since buildings were no higher than three stories, what he proposes is shocking. Everyone from the mayor to the clergy has an opinion as to why such a building would be impractical, unhealthy and even immoral.

Sparks fly from the moment Amanda and Damian meet. Amanda blames Damian’s father for the death of her own father. But when Amanda’s uncle tries to put her brother Donny, a “special” child, into an institution, Amanda and Damian join forces to save him. Be prepared for a wild ride as this talented author weaves these wonderful characters and fascinating historical details into a magical plot.

TRACEY FENNESSY

Canyon Country

I recently read “Lolita,” by Vladimir Nabokov, because the new movie version is about to be released and because it is on every list of “best books” and modern classics I have ever seen. Because of the subject matter, I approached it with trepidation but was immediately enthralled. It is a magnificent book--almost poetic, very funny and so very sad. It is a love story, a criminal’s confession, a legal defense, a story of a pedophile and a travelogue of the U.S. back roads in the 1950s. It is one of the most “American” books I have ever read, yet was written by a Russian emigre. I loved it and was tempted to reread it the minute I finished the last page. Instead, I bought Nabokov’s biography and read about it and about him. I am in awe.

ANNA SALAZAR

Long Beach

The book I want to tell you about is one I’d never have read if I hadn’t been urged to do so by a friend, because I never read “throwaway paperback science fiction” (which this is). However, I loved it.

It’s called “Commencement,” by Roby James, and it’s a love story / adventure story / mystery with strong spiritual overtones. In fact, if I hadn’t had trouble pronouncing the names, I wouldn’t have known it was science fiction.

The characters are really likable and well drawn. The hero is charismatic and wise. The main story is of a woman rediscovering a part of herself and learning to love, even as she is healing from a trauma she can’t remember. It kept me turning pages, but I read slower as the book went on, because I just didn’t want it to end. The book drew me into its world. It made me think, it made me feel and it really made me happy.

JANET F. KIRSHBAUM

Van Nuys

Semiretired and self-employed as a private teacher of music and tutor in English, I schedule individual pupils for hourlong sessions but leave a half-hour’s leeway between lessons. (One does not stop in the middle of an idea just because the hour’s end has surprised us. Clocks and calendars rule us too much as it is.)

I have the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976 edition. Since I must often wait for my next pupil, I randomly crack a volume and read whatever luck brings. I especially enjoy the short biographical sketches of people--authors, scientists, composers, ancient historical figures.

FRED SCIFERS

Downey

As a probation officer working in the Venice-Culver City area, where there have been more than 15 gang-related murders in the past year, I find it necessary to keep up with the latest information on the subject of gangs. I currently am reading Lewis Yablonsky’s “Gangsters: 50 Years of Madness, Drugs, and Death on the Streets of America.” I find it a very valuable book, in that it confirms theories I have found in the combat zone of gang violence and it provides new ideas for combating the problem, ideas I can put into use. Everyone living in L.A. should read this excellent book about this important social problem that pervades our lifestyle.

BRAD CARSON

Deputy Probation Officer

County of Los Angeles

Harold Dodge, the hero of Philip Reed’s smart car caper “Bird Dog,” isn’t the kind of guy likely to be invited home to meet the folks, but as knights-in-tainted-armor go, he’s an interesting fellow. A used-car salesman-turned-aerospace engineer, Harold relies on knowledge from his former trade to help a damsel in distress, feisty Guatemalan co-worker Marianna Perado. When Harold and Marianna try to get a sleazy salesman to give back her trade-in, they buy themselves a world of trouble. The resulting “ride,” both suspenseful and darkly humorous, employs deft characterizations, sharp dialogue and a keen sense of place to keep us rooting for this latter-day Don Quixote to retrieve his Dulcinea’s pink slip. Here’s hoping we get to see Harold Dodge battle a few more windmills.

ANNE BRAND SAULNIER

Los Angeles

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* Book reviews by Times readers will run every four weeks. Next week: Kevin Baxter on books for children and young adults.