| Cherry by Mary Karr Sep-2010 | This book picks up where The Liar's Club leaves off, telling the story of Karr's coming of age during high school. She did a lot of drugs, and this story is every bit as disturbing and ranchy as her previous book, but again, I found myself turning the pages to see what happened next. Definitely not a book for the faint hearted. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| The Liar's Club by Mary Karr Aug-2010 | A pretty depressing memoir about a white trash family in rural Texas. It's raunchy, the parents drink too much, and there are two disturing incidents of sexual abuse. The mother has a nervous breakdown and in the last five pages or so it becomes clear why. But knowing this was a true story, I couldn't put it down - knowing that somehow the author broke the cycle was enough to keep me reading. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| This Book Is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson Aug-2010 | Quite simply, a book about libraries and librarians. However, this book takes on the subject in the context of the digital age. The demise of libraries, librarians and books has been predicted for a while now, but after reading this book it's hard to believe it could ever really happen. A few chapters dragged on a little longer than I might have liked, but overall I enjoyed this book. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey Aug-2010 | This book makes my all time top ten list every time. Edward Abbey spends three six month stints as a park ranger in Arches National Monument, two of them back in the 1950's. In his own words, he's a true desert rat. He challenges the development of wild spaces, not just by business interests such as the oil and mining industries, but by the tourist industry as well. He also gives the National Park Service quite a thrasing. But he loves the land, and while part of the book is quite entertaining haranguing, much of it, the best of it in fact, is a beautiful description of the wilderness itself. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire That Saved America by TImothy Egan Aug-2010 | The story of the National Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot's leadership & vision for that service, Teddy Roosevelt's battle to save the nation's forests against the robber barons, and the big burn of 1910, a fire that swallowed up 3 million acres in Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The heroic actions of those first forest rangers, as well as the aftermath of the fire, had a major impact on the way this country has - and has not - managed public wild space. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Why I'm Still Married Karen Propp and Jean Trounstine, Eds Jul-2010 | A collection of essays by various authors about (obviously) why they remain married. A quick read, nothing earth shattering. My favorite line: "I almost left him when I disvoered that his enjoyment of yodeling - and country music - was not a passing interest, but a lifetime study." Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber Jul-2010 | A history of frugality in the United States, and an interesting one, I might add. Americans have always been liberal with their money and credit whenever times have allowed, and always been able to tighten their belts when needed (e.g. during the Great Depression, during WWI and WWII). The book included a great analysis of living cheap in the age of mass consumption, cheap money, and easy credit. If you think you're the only American left who lives within his/her means and feels content with the material things you own (I know I often do), then reading this book will reassure you that you have plenty of kindred spirits, and that there are folks out there living even more frugally than you. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Slow Love by Dominique Browning Jul-2010 | Subtitle: How I lost my job, put on my pajamas, and found happiness. A quick read, and quite funny too. The author was a big time editor at Better Homes & Gardens and when it folds she loses her raison d'etre. But slowly she gets it back, thru friends and learning to cook, gardening, and playing her piano. Oh and dumping her boyfriend which she should have done long, long ago. In fact, I found it quite intriguing that he was on the list of acknowledgements. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Love in Condition Yellow: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage by Sophia Raday Jul-2010 | Loved it. A little gem of a book that will likely stay under the radar, but deserves to develop a small but loyal following. If you ever wondered how a flaming liberal could hook up with and eventually marry a right wing West Point grad turned police officer, this is the book for you. Raday interweaves the story of their courtship and marriage with their conflicting views on various issues including drugs, race, and US foreign policy. When her husband, an army reservist, attends the Army War College and is later sent to Iraq for 12 months, she finds herself living on a military base (feeling quite out of place, and having to hide her John Kerry promotional materials). Through all of the conflict and struggle and adversity, Raday finds herself and she likes what she sees. I did too. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| The Game From Where I Stand: A Ballplayer's Inside View by Doug Glanville Jul-2010 | Based on an interview I heard with Doug Glanville, I decided I wanted to read this book. Glanville graduated from Penn with an engineering degree, and this book is a somewhat more intellectual view of the game. He played centerfield for the Phils, Cubs and Rangers between 1996 and 2004. He shares some interesting perspectives both on and off the field, including what seemed to me to be a rather well thought out and well rounded view of steriods in baseball (sidenote: he was never a proponent or user of steroids and serves on the board of Athletes Against Drugs). Worth reading if you like baseball. Comments: 1 | Add a Comment |
| Last Call: The Rise and fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent Jun-2010 | I heard this author interviewed and that made me want to read this book, which it turned out I really enjoyed. Prohibition had far reaching social, politicol, and individual consequences. The politicol movement that promoted Prohibition seemed to me like a predecessor to today's evangelical movement in many ways. The apportionment debate during Prohibition doesn't sound too different than the discussion around apportionment today (a few states with a fraction of the country's population were able to keep the country dry). And interestingly enough, an income tax was enacted which made it easier to justify prohibition - the new tax made up for the missing liquor taxes. The author's prologue perhaps says it best: "Prohibition changed the way we live, and it fundamentally redefined the role of the federal government." Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier Jun-2010 | Joan recommended this to me, and I enjoyed it. Set during the early 1800's, the story is loosely based on the lives of Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, two women who excel at fossil hunting. Women are not permitted in academic circles at the time, so when Mary makes an extraordinary find, she does not receive the credit she deserves. In addition, the idea of extinction is called into question and not generally accepted. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| The Once & Future King by T. H. White May-2010 | I read this back in high school and wanted to see if I still liked it as much now, and I'd have to say yes. The classic tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table told in wonderful T. H. White prose. It took me a while to get through it (600+ pages), but I enjoyed it, and White does a great job of character development and pointing out all of the ironies in the plot. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| March by Geraldine Brooks Apr-2010 | If you ever wondered what Mr. March was up to while his wife and four little women (Jo, Meg, Beth & Amy) were up to while he was off fighting in the Civil War, then this is the book for you. Geraldine Brooks fills this gap in Little Women in this wonderful work of fiction (recommended & then loaned to me by my mother). I love Brooks' prose, and I also love the twists and turns in this story. March's beliefs are strongly shaken through his war experiences, and he returns home a broken man. Brooks also portrays quite a bit of miscommunication between March and "Marmee" which seems entirely believable, although I never thought about it prior to reading this book. I have a hold on the movie at the library as I think it would be interesting to re-watch after reading this book. Two big thumbs up for this book. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead Mar-2010 | Michael got this for Christmas and highly recommended it, and I must say I think he has pretty good taste in books. This one was great, although if you've read Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, this book is much, much better. The 12 year old protagonist Miranda starts receiving strange notes. Long time friendships fade away while new friendships develop... and in the end it all makes sense, and there's a reason for everything that happens. Not to give it away, but don't be too worried about the laughing man. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| For the Relief of Unbearable Urges by Nathan Englander Mar-2010 | A collection of short stories by an author I found listed in the NY Times Book Review notable books section. Very ironic, very Jewish tales. As a Gentile, I am certain I missed a lot of nuances, however, I still liked the book. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President by Josh Lieb Mar-2010 | Hayley H. recommended this book to Michael, so I read it too. Michael thought it was really funny, and he was right (e.g. there is a footnote that describes Machiavelli as "A dead Italian who wrote an early self-help book"). Oliver Watson is decidedly not one of the most popular kids at his middle school, but in order to get his dad's attention he decides to run for class president. He also just happens to have his own blimp and a quite extensive group of henchmen (& women) who help him get whatever he wants (and also play head games with whoever he chooses). Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Piano Lessons by Noah Adams Feb-2010 | So this 51-year-old guy drops $10K on a new Steinway piano, then proceeds to flounder around off and on for the next twelve months trying to learn to play it. Towards the end, everything starts to click a bit. And then for Christmas, he pulls off his goal of slipping into his tux, setting up the candelabra, and playing Traumerei for his wife. I enjoyed this book ( a re-read for me) - although I admit to feeling jealous about his new Steinway 1098. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Feb-2010 | I've always said you have to read (or re-read) a classic every so often just to keep your literature bar raised high enough, and this has always been one of my favorites, so why not enjoy it once again? And of course I did. I love everything about this book: the way the moors act as another character, the irony of how Heathcliff & Catherine's love for each other ends up destroying so many of the people around them, and of course the bittersweet ending with Cathy hooking up with Hareton. All of it skillfully told to Mr. Lockwood by Mrs. Dean. A true classic. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Jan-2010 | I started this book with a bit of trepidation – the author sounded like a whiner when I heard her interviewed about her new book, a handful of friends said they started the book but found it rough going, and (usually the kiss of death!) it spent many weeks on the bestseller list. If you wrote a fairy tale story, you couldn’t script it better than this book: thirty-something year old goes through divorce, flirts with financial ruin, receives big advance to write new book, moves to Italy, then India, then Indonesia, meets romantic older Brazilian man, and remarries. In short, it’s a story about becoming a mature, content adult, and it took this author a bit longer to get there. I’ve heard folks say this book changed their lives, and I suppose I could understand that. But the folks I’ve talked to who already have their lives together felt the book was just ok (and had trouble getting beyond Italy). I liked the India & Indonesia sections much better than Italy. Was it a great book? Absolutely not. But it exceeded my expectations, and I may now have to read the author’s new book. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Population: 485 by Michael Perry Jan-2010 | Michael Perry shares stories about living in the tiny rural town of New Auburn, Wisconsin, including lots of tales of serving as an EMT and volunteer firefighter. During the annual 3-day Jamboree Day to raise funds, someone orders a draft at the beer tent at 8am, then looks out at the game that's just started and comments, "Little early for softball." And all of the snafus that happen on the 911 calls - too many good ones to mention here. Warning though: there's quite an unexpected ending to this book (I hadn't been expecting it anyway - no foreshadowing that I picked up on). Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid #4: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney Jan-2010 | The most recent book in this series to date, and every bit as good as the other three. A funny reminder of what it's like to be in middle school. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney Jan-2010 | The continuing adventures of Greg Heffley, middle schooler extraordinaire: "I didn't really know what to expect from detention, but when I walked into the room, the first thought I had was, 'I don't belong in here with these future criminals.'" We've all had experiences similar to Greg which is what makes these books so funny. That, and the pictures are just perfect. I will be borrowing book #4 from Michael. Comments: 0 | Add a Comment |