22 books. Book club started late in the year.
Title
|
Author
|
Review
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Lit
|
Mary Karr
|
The memoires of a recovering
alcoholic about her young adulthood and later child-rearing years told in a
brutally honest and wonderfully lighthearted way. Mary finds her way to the Catholic Church
as part of her journey, which is difficult for her, as she self-identifies as
a rational academic. This is a story
of redemption and love and forgiveness.
And yet, the voice is so compellingly human that you feel the drama
and the pain enough to almost miss the continual positive slope of the
storyline.
|
The Liar's Club
|
Mary Karr
|
The first memoire by Mary Karr,
whose writing knocked my socks off in Lit.
This one is engaging, but it's jumpier, and the voice is not as mature
as the voice in Lit. Many of the
stories in this memoire weren't even alluded to in Lit -- she left some of
the biggest topics in the Liar's Club unexplored in Lit, which made for some
good surprises. A very engaging tale
of a crazy childhood full of love
|
Cherry
|
Mary Karr
|
Mary Karr's second memoire. Adolescence and sexual awakening and
drugs. Darker and more sullen than the
other two memoires, just like a teenager would be.
|
China Road
|
Rob Gifford
|
A narrative of driving west on the
Old Silk Road from Shanghai to Korgaz in Kazakhstan. This book did more than anything I've
encountered so far to help me understand the enormity and complexity of
China. There is no 1 Chinese
perspective, except, perhaps, a shared commitment or resignation to
"economic progress" and globalization. Definitely the most informative book on
China I've encountered in my studies thus far.
|
Running the Hanson's Way
|
Luke Humphrey
|
Simple, straightforward. Very similar to the information in Running
for the Hansons, but with more regular mid-pack runner info.
|
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
|
John Perkins
|
Facts you probably knew existed
all strung together in a persuasively written indictment of American culture,
consumerism, and the corporatocracy that rules the world. Educational. A bit unbalanced and biased. But a good read, nonetheless.
|
The Lazrus Project
|
Aleksandar Hemon
|
Descriptive and vague interwoven
tale of a Basnian-American immigrant and his struggle with the conflict of
his past and present told through his research into a 1908 murder of a Jewish
Immigrant. Etheral and dark but
fascinating and beautiful, nonetheless.
|
The Weight of All Things
|
Sandra Benitez
|
Yet another in the pile of "depressingly
beautiful stories of human struggle" from Arvay. Glorious language tells the sad and
desperate story of a young boy whose mother is killed at the funeral of an El
Salvadorean Archibishop. He returns to
his grandfather to find their homestead co-opted by the rebels. Briefly free, he is conscripted by the army
and put to work for them. Eventually,
after witnessing much carnage and base humanity, he returns home to his
grandfather.
|
White Rose (Una Rosa Bianca)
|
Amy Ephron
|
Short, well-written chapters
telling a fictional account of the true story of William Randoff Hearst's
journalist's rescue of Evangelina Cisneros from a cuban prison.
|
The Redfoot Manual
|
Mike Pingleton
|
The most detailed resource I've
encountered so far re: care, husbandry, and general info about Redfoot and
Yellowfoot tortoies. Funny Note: Flying home from my sister's baby shower, a
nearby flight seat occupant asked, "are you a doctor?" "No." I said, "I'm a lawyer." Huh.... "Why would a lawyer be looking
at anatomy diagrams and diseases...?"
The *obvious* answer is because she has a new tortoise and needs to
learn basic veterninary and husbandry skills for her new baby... Duh...
|
You (Only Faster)
|
Greg McMillan
|
One of the more advanced running
books I've read. Discusses types of
training, feedback and how to structure a personalized training plan for
yourself that actually works. I suspect
I'll be returning regularly to this one in the years to come.
|
Silver Linings Playbook
|
Matthew Quick
|
I'd seen the movie before this
book was selected for our newly formed book club. I don't usually like reading a book after
I've seen the movie, but in this case, it was actually quite interesting. The movie was such a different story, that
comparing and contrasting the two was a fun exercise. Different timelines, character development,
plot and more made for the book actually containing many surprises. Overall, my book club agreed that this book
was simplistic and had some flaws that were eliminated by the changes to the
movie script. Some things were lost,
of course, but overall, this seems like a rare case where the movie did a
better job on most fronts than the book.
|
My Name is Asher Lev
|
Chaim Potok
|
Powerful vivid tale of a gifted
artist who is born a Hasidic Jew in Brooklyn.
Conflicts between the art world and the world of conservative Judaism
make for a complicated life for the young genius.
|
The Fault In Our Stars
|
John Green
|
I cried. I've lived cancer, but it was my dad. This is a book of love and life and the
horrid realities of cancer, but from a teenager's perspective. We are all aware of our own mortality, but
not as much as those who live on the edge, and this book made the stark
contrast of teenagery and the edge of cancer-death very clear with its
descriptions. Gorgeous. But so sad.
|
The Gift of Asher Lev
|
Chaim Potok
|
So complex and beautiful -- human
realities on the conflict of life, art, religion, principle, and commitment
to self. I wish I could send this book
back to the friend who sent it to me as a gift as if she'd never read it.
|
Self Made Man
|
Norah Vincent
|
Fascinating tale of a lesbian
woman's experience passing as a man for one year. Full of all sorts of stereotypes as
observed from a true outsider, I found much of what she said to be
insightful, and the bits I disagreed with forced me to think hard about why. Overall, this book made me to
think more critically about gender, culture, and sex more than any book I've read
in years. In particular, after reading
this book, I found myself much more sympathetic to and understanding of some
stereotypically common male behavior traits that I used to find frustrating.
|
Kafka on the Shore
|
Haruki Murakami
|
Symbolism, magic, and lonely
japanese protagonists living in dreamlike worlds told only the way the
Murakami can tell it. Supremely
enjoyable.
|
The Bette Davis Club
|
Jane Lotter
|
Breezy easy brain candy rom com
fun.
|
Dandelion Growing Wild
|
Kim Jones
|
Honest and real tales from one of
America's best female marathoners.
Inspirational and poignant.
|
14 Minutes
|
Alberto Salazar
|
Fine. Not great. Not terrible.
|
The Gods of Guilt
|
Michael Connelly
|
Fast, suspenseful, and just
overall enjoyable. Michael Connely has
become my favorite law thriller writer, easily.
|
The Great Gatsby
|
F. Scott Fitzgerald
|
The Great American Novel. An excellent book to do with book
club. Even better after listening to
the audiobook.
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