February Reads

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society/Mary Ann Shaffer
Audition/Barbara Walters
Call Me Ted/Ted Turner

(Click on book title for online review)

January 09 Reads

James Tiptree, Jr/The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon/Julie Phillips
The Senator's Wife/ Sue Miller

December 08 Reads

Come Ashore and We Will Kill You and Eat You All/Christine Thompson
The History of Love/Nicole Krauss
Chosen by a Horse/Susan Richards
Loving Frank/Nancy Horan


(Click on book title for online review)

Recent Reads

Click on title for online review.

The Banker to the Poor/Muhammad Yunus
The Reluctant Fundamentalist/Mohsin Hamad
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down/Anne Fadiman
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin/ David Quammen
Exiles/Ron Hansen
Crossing to Safety/ Wallace Stegner
The Snake Charmer/Jamie James
Ladies of Liberty/Cokie Roberts
Life Class/Pat Barker
Touching History/Lynn Spencer
Song Yet Sung/McBride
Bridge of Sighs/Russo
The Other/David Guterson
Bonk/Mary Roach
The Book Thief/ M. Zusak
Things Left Unfinished on the Last Day of Creation/Santos
The Double Bind/Chris Bohjalian
Chosen Forever/Susan Richards

Another Holocaust Story, but Different

Oh, man! I hate to put this library book down and here I am writing about it before I have even finished it. It is by Diane Ackerman and called "The Zookeeper's Wife", a war story. It takes place at the Warsaw Zoo during the Nazi occupation. Ackerman doesn't just tell a tale, she embelishes each event, each person, each place, with descriptive information that brings home all the ramifications of the unfolding drama. It is more than a story, it is a discussion of what it means to be alive for every living thing, including the earth. I like the way she weaves the science of many topics into the fabric of the story. There are some elements that make me want to revisit what I had previously known about some scientists, like Konrad Lorenz. I will read more of her writing and I will have to purchase my own copy of this book ... then I can lend it to you, but only if you remember to return it, have a cup of coffee, or glass of wine, and talk about it with me.

http://www.dianeackerman.com/work1.htm - the author's site

A critical review -http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091301895.html

A Good Summer Read from the Past

My husband borrowed a new paperback from Katie this summer. While reading he kept telling me I would really like it. We read a lot of the same books and like a lot of the same books and like most of the same things that make a good read - style, descriptive language, history, setting. After he had finished the book, it disappeared. We were traveling and the book must have parted ways with us along the road. Luckily, he was able to remember the title and found an original publication at the Bridgton Public Library. We had guests this week and beautiful weather at the beach, but I had to read it late at night and up early in the the morning. He was right - I did really like it. It had great character development, interesting and thought provoking insights into marital relationships and the mysterious magic of friendships and a setting I could relate to. The book "Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner was published in 1987. It is the story of two couples who meet early in their marriages on a college campus in Michigan and summer together in Vermont. Their backgrounds are individually very different, but there is a chemistry that draws them all together and they become in many ways a "chosen family". It is written from the point of view of one of the men, a writer who is fascinated by the development of the friendships and the individuals involved. Here is how he describes the other man at a critical time.

He was a man in a briar patch. So long as he kept still he was comfortable, but every time he moved he found thorns. Or put it the other way around. Busy, he could forget where he was. The minute he paused, he was reminded.

You will find lots to think about while following the lives of these four freinds that you will recognize about your own relationships. I found it so.

Time to Read Again

The days have gotten longer and the weather nicer, so time to read has gotten shorter. Here are a few of my recent reads that competed with the spring flowers and bird activity for my attention.

Here are my top two -
Elephanta Suite/ Paul Theroux
Just 3 chapters in this book each telling the story of a different person or persons who at some point in time stayed in the titled suite in Mumbai. Intriguing stories of each situation contrast our American life with modern Indian life. If you read it, please share your insights and comments. This would be a great book club selection.

Dog Man/Martha Sherrill
Nonfiction account of Morie who rescued the Akita breed in postwar Japan. Here's an example of what I loved about this book: : "No Name was a small fork in a trail that became a path, then a road, then a highway that took Morie to a place he never returned from." (No Name is a dog)

Others you should try- (Click on title for online review)

The Friday Night Knitting Club/Kate Jacobs
Lost in the Forest/Sue Miller
Take Big Bites/Linda Ellerbee
3000 Degrees/Sean Ferguson
Leap of Faith/Queen Noor
The Emperor of Scent /Chandler Burr
The Blue Bear/Lynn Schooler
A Dangerous Beauty/Mark C Ross