The Crow Road

Iain Banks

Family, love, religion, career, death, and chance are all tackled in this engrossing novel where the characters, family relationships, and the highs and lows of life are brought alive in language and the structure of the novel itself. Banks weaves a lovely tale, moving around in time, changing the voice of the narrator, but never becoming confusing, or overwhelming. Incredibly readable, the novel's first line draws you in, wondering where on earth this story can be going: "It was the day my grandmother exploded."

A boisterous tale focusing on one man's search for himself, but intertwining his family's past, building the characters' histories, enchanting the reader with their lives, this book will draw you in and take you on a most satisfying journey. 

"Nine Parts of Desire"

Geraldine Brooks

Brooks has traveled the world as a corespondent for various news outlets, spending a significant amount of time in the Middle East. She made the effort to get to know women in order to see their inner lives, find out what they believe, and why. 

Her exploration of Islam's view of women and how that has translated into culture, law and tradition is fascinating. I started this book thinking it might be a little dry - not so! She weaves history, personal stories, and her own insights in such a wonderful way. 

I learned much, feel like I have a better understanding of the issues facing Islamic women, and might even know better how to befriend one! A short, very interesting book. Well worth the read. 

"Two-Part Invention"

Madeleine L'Engle

How do two people come together, form one life, and live that life to the fullest? How do we love across the years, the struggles and triumphs, the complications, the joys and sorrows?

L'Engle's story of her own marriage documents just such a journey with tenderness, honesty, and unmistakable love. This book is funny, moving, challenging, and sad. Are you a human? Are you in love, seeking love, already weaving the tapestry of a marriage? Pick up this book and read a remarkable story that will touch you deep inside. 

"I Should Be Extremely Happy In Your Company"

Brian Hall

Step into the amazing adventure of Lewis and Clark as they make their way across the continent, charting their course as they go. Take into your mind their personalities and all that this journey meant to them. Add a most unusual cast of characters: their Shoshone guide - Sacagawea, a young girl whose world is turned upside down, Toussaint Charbonneau, her fur trader husband, the expedition's crew, and the native peoples they meet along their way. Voila! A story fit for the telling!

This compulsively readable novel is told in four voices - Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, and Charbonneau, each taking their turn, adding to the tapestry of this tale. These lives and their journey - all of which had an effect on our own lives - are filled out as history class never managed. 

Hall tackles a tale whose ending we all know, but it is in the lyrical and precise prose of his telling that the wonder of this story occurs. His use of language is supreme - a unique and creative style that immediately won me over. Written almost in stream of consciousness, the book requires the reader to relax, and just go along for the ride. Let your eyes do the work. A wonderful journey!

It's Getting Hot Out There!

The temperatures outside are heating up, so here are two books to keep you cool...

"One Day the Ice Will Reveal All Its Dead" is a beautiful and poetic book by Clare Dudman that novelizes the true-life tale of German scientist Alfred Wegener whose theory of continental

drift would eventually revolutionize our perception of the world. His tale is one of unbelievable courage, endurance and perseverance against his peers who derided him, the scientific community which doubted him, and Nature herself who fought him every step of the way. One critic described this book: Dudman has clearly done her research, presenting a thorough, as well as a thoroughly intriguing, novel that beautifully portrays one truly fascinating man. Give this strange novel/biography a try. You'll learn something, you'll be transported to one of the coldest places on earth, and you'll feel for this extraordinary man who pursued his goals with great nerve and energy. 

Not in the mood for non-fiction? "The Tenderness of Wolves" by Stef

Penney is a great mystery, set in the frigid isolation of the 19th century Canadian frontier. The characters are finely drawn and Penney pulls you into this world with her amazing story. A young man disappears; that same day his mother discovers the scalped body of her son's friend. The murder draws newcomers to the small settlement, and suspects slowly begin to emerge. A journey takes place through cold and misery, and the truth is illuminated in wondrous prose and beautiful descriptions. Penney's writing is absorbing, convincing and complex. A great, many-layered story.

Recommendations from a Friend

I have this lovely and wonderful friend who has lived an interesting life, albeit not a very long one...yet! ;-)  She has wonderful taste...in clothes, music, men, and literature. I would trust a book recommended by her. Now, that isn't to say that everything she likes I would like, or vice versa, but I would certainly give anything she suggested a good try. 

In light of that, here's a link to her blog, on which she has recently reviewed several books. I, for one, will be checking several of them out - in both senses of the word (exploring and from the library!).

Enjoy!

http://whitesparrow.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/books-worth-your-time/#comment-144

"The Lobster Chronicles"

by Linda Greenlaw

Remember the movie "The Perfect Storm"? Remember what a hard life

those fishermen had? Do you remember the one female swordfish-boat captain who gave a report on seeing the lost ship? Well, that was Linda Greenlaw - a real swordfish-boat captain. My goodness, has she lived a fascinating life!

She decided, after many years of swordfishing, to go back to the small island on which she was raised, and get into lobster catching (fishing? farming?) with her dad. Thus she launches into quite a lovely tale of  hard work, family, crazy neighbors, going back home (can we ever, really?) and love for the life around her. 

This is a fun book to read - easy on the brain, yet stimulating and wonderful. A great balm for a busy and crazy life. 

Even lighter fare!

Crave something really simple, but of high quality? Read the mystery series by Craig Johnson that surround the maincharacter of Walt Longmire, an agin, modern-day sherrif cut from good cowboy cloth who finds himself in the midst of some gruesome mysteries. Johnson makes full use of his prodigious talents bringing all of his characters to life in an engaging and authentic manner. He draws you in to the details of their lives, works the magic of good fiction and gets you to care, then resolves his stories in believable ways. Fun, light-hearted mysteries that won't leave you bored or confused!

The Cold Dish

Kindness Goes Unpunished

Death Without Company

Another Man’s Moccasins

Two books for early summer reading

What would you like to read this month, to kick off your summer? Adventure, drama, simple tales of mystery?

Why don't you try a tale that will woo you, challenge you, break your heart, and draw you in like the most seductive of scents. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund is just such a book. I can say with firm resolve that this is one of the best books I've ever read. Truly. The protagonist is based on the barely mentioned character of Captain Ahab's wife in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Naslund weaves for us a tale so gripping, so human, so real that you will find yourself totally engrossed. Naslund's use of language is extraordinary, and her story-telling is masterful. I cannot say enough about this book. A must read!

Want something simpler, a little lighter for summer reading? How about Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain by Michael Paterniti. This true and odd story is just what it says, with a little introspection, a little history, and a little comedy thrown in. Yes, Einstein's brain was driven across America in the trunk of a sedan. Check out this odd but true tale.

"Long Way Round"

by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Ok, so I haven't read this book (but the picture was better than the one on the DVD!). I know - that's a strange way to begin a review, but bear with me. This DVD (of the same title) is well worth watching! 

Actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, both of whom are avid motorcyclists, decided they wanted to make an epic journey. They gave themselves the challenge to ride around the globe - eastward from London across Europe, then through the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, eastern Russia, flying across the Bering Strait to Alaska, down through Canada, then east across the northern U.S. to New York City. 

This is a true-life adventure, a once in a lifetime trip for two very good friends who undertake a journey not for the sake of reaching the destination, but for the joy and the pain of the journey itself - meeting people as they wend their way, relying on the kindness of strangers, absorbing the cultures as they daily encounter individuals; the hardships of deep sand tracks, swollen rivers, broken machinery, and terribly missing their families. 

All these elements are brought together in an amazing adventure tale - one almost too great to be true. Two friends who smile and joke their way across continents, help each other through the hard times, take the time to interact with the people who cross their path, and stop to smell the proverbial roses. 

Take the time to watch this DVD, and you will laugh, cry, gasp, hold your breath, and long to join in on an adventure as wondrous and soul-satisfying as theirs! It is funny, moving, exciting, beautiful to the eye, and inspiring. I say again: It is well worth watching.

"We Took to the Woods"

by Louise Dickinson Rich

Seldom has a more delightful book passed through my hands! Louise Rich tells her own story - of a young woman who meets a man while on a canoeing trip in Maine, begins a correspondence with him, decides to marry him, and moves to his home...deep in the woods of Maine. "We Took to the Woods" is a tale of transition, of falling in love with a way of life and a man, all at once. Read this book with an open mind and you'll find yourself in a place of great relaxation and joy, following the seasons as they pass in simplicity and hard work, joy and beauty. This simple tale, filled with beautiful language and amusing stories, is well worth the read. If your life is complicated, filled with hard choices and stress, read this book! 

"Complications: a Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science" and "Better: a Surgeon's Notes on Performance"

by Atul Gawande

Gawande is a young surgeon seeking to do better. He is asking questions and putting his thoughts out there in order for us to join him in the discussion. These two remarkable books invite us inside a world that to many is hidden behind a white coat.

"Complications" 'gently dismantles the myth of medical infallibility' with thoughtful, engaging prose, discussing not only the mistakes that medical professionals make, but the truth of their necessary self-confidence and their continual learning on the job. Gawande tells wonderful stories, but interweaves intriguing suggestions for improving medicine, some of which

might make health providers 'nervous or even angry.' This is a powerful book that will not only give you new understanding of your doctor and his struggles, but will open your eyes in a new way to the medical profession in general. A quick read - but well worth it. Excellent!

Gawande followed-up "Complications" with "Better", an exploration of

specific situations within the medical community: how often should doctors wash their hands, the fight against polio in India, U.S. military triage doctors, etc. Each situation is handled with candor, tenderness, and honesty, once again asking tough questions, and pushing his profession to do better. Gawande's message is clear: doctors are only human and, therefore, must always be diligent and resourceful in fulfilling their duties. This books begs the question of all of us: What do you systematically do in your life, and how could you do it better? A great read...a great question to ask!

"Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival"

by Anderson Cooper

So, we all know Anderson Cooper is maybe the cutest news guy on TV, even if we've never paid any attention to his show 360' on CNN. He also did the New Year's Eve special with Kathy Griffin the last 2 years. Very good stuff, that (I heard).

Really, though, I didn't know any of this when I chose this book from the library's "New" shelf several years ago. All I knew was the Anderson Cooper/CNN bit. I began the reading of this book quite biased, being a rather conservative Republican. I was expecting a lot of liberal yuck that I was going to have to wade through.

Not the case! 

This is a remarkably touching, transparent human story of loss, struggle, deep emotion and resolution of some of life's greatest questions: Who am I? How do I survive this loss? How do I reconcile what I see and what I believe to be true?

Cooper grabs you with his stories of the terrors of life he has seen and experienced first-hand, those we usually only see from the distance of our television screens, and somehow molds them into an intimate portrait of his life. The intertwining of his personal story and the stories he has covered for CNN makes for an amazing read - one that I count as significant in my life. If two of the purposes of reading are entertainment and learning, this book fulfills both. I cried, I gobbled up the words, and when I put it down, I felt awash in the truths of life. 

"The Known World"

by Edward P. Jones

Imagine a story you know nothing about. Imagine a history you thought you understood, at least pretty well. Now imagine stepping into a world that is foreign, yet familiar in setting, landscape, language. Touch the character's lives and trust the author to show you just as much as you need to know in order to expand your understanding and move your heart. He doesn't lay it all out, exposed like a newly stripped bed, but peels the layers back, one by one, word by word, giving you a taste, drawing you in, then finally tying the knot on a story wonderfully and masterfully told. 

This is a story of southern America I did not know needed to be told. I confess my ignorance. Jones takes us on a journey, telling us the story of a black farmer and former slave in Manchester County, Virginia, who runs his affairs with unusual discipline. When death takes him unexpectedly, his widow can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues. Jones takes a footnote of history and turns it into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities. (credit ppld.org for this paragraph...)

Try this amazing book!

"Such a Pretty Fat..."

"One Narcissist's Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big or

Why Pie Is Not the Answer"

by Jen Lancaster

Pie might not be the answers? Ok, how about french fries? No?

Listen, sisters (and brothers), this might just be the funniest book I have ever read. I enjoyed this book so much that I am going to read the author's previous two books. Yes, this hilarious memoir has quite a bit of bad language, which was at times distracting to me. Other than that, however, it was uproariously funny. Jen Lancaster takes a fascinating and entertaining journey down the road to better health. If you've ever thought you needed to lose some weight, get more exercise, or get yourself to a healthier place, this book just might be the place to start!

"Home Another Way"

by Christa Parrish 

I am the first person to admit that most "Christian" fiction is poorly written, seemingly devoid of all those things that make great literature. This has been a frustration of mine for quite some time. Well, hold your breath ladies, because here is a book worth reading. Don't get me wrong - it isn't any "Pride and Prejudice", but it is a story with compelling characters, written in an enjoyable, draws-you-in style. A quick read, an enjoyable read, and one worth reading! No sex, no bad language, a good strong message, and good writing. A winning combination!

Welcome...

...to my new blog! I can't seem to stop starting blogs, and I'm  having a good time doing it. This is for all of you out there who can't seem to find a great book to read. I LOVE to read, as you'll soon find out - fiction, non-fiction, books about history, medicine, science, heroes, villains, murders, love, weight-loss, comedies, dramas. I love it all!! Here you will get those real-life, down-to-earth reviews you've been looking for. 

And after you read the book, let me know what you think!

P.S. Is this template too stodgy? I mean, we may be talking about literature, but we don't want to be boring!