BookList 

26.2 Things Booklist

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler

Peter Hessler brings China alive in the words he writes about his experience as a Peace Corp teacher in one area of China. His words invoke the sights and sounds of one little part of a massive country that is in the flux of change and yet stays the same. The people that he meets who have never met an American and the freedom that he seems to have in traveling the country have a gritty reality that reaches out and captures the interest. It is not an easy book to put down once you start reading and it is not an easy book to forget.

-- Kathy G.

Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

This lyrical memoir of travel, food and personal fulfillment reads like an evening of storytelling with your best friend. Gilbert shares her experiences and insights with grace and wit, and gives you the chance to find your own truths in her words. A lovely read, full of warmth and deep humanity. Highly recommended.

-- Jennifer K., aka "Coach"

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

This work of fiction traces four generations of African-American women and the Louisiana farming community of Cane River. Tademy left her corporate vice presidency behind to trace her family history. She spent two years in library basements, nursing homes and and anywhere else a clue would lead her. Cane River brings the reader from the plantation, through the Civil War and into what was termed 'emancipation', through the eyes of four of Tademy's ancestors. 

--Carin O.

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina

Dr. John Media, molecular biologist, creates 12 principles on how the brain works.  His goal is for us to apply these "rules" to the way we educate our children and live our lives. He synthesizes complicated brain research and produces a book that is very accessible and entertaining to read.

--Millie G.

The Pact by Jennifer Sturman

Young and successful Rachel Benjamin finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery while attending the wedding of a college friend.  Although predictable at times, this book is quite entertaining and reads quickly.  This debut novel of author Jennifer Sturman is the perfect mix of mystery and chick lit.  If you enjoy The Pact, check out the other Rachel Benjamin books - The Key, The Jinx, and The Hunt.

--Amanda E.

Echolalias: On the Forgetting of Language by Daniel Heller-Roazen

This beautifully written history of languages explores the evolution of our speech from "children's babble" to poetic claims of eternity. Daniel Heller-Roazen is a Princeton professor, but his latest scholarly book reads almost like a mystery. Invoking mythology, poetry, religion and psychoanalysis, Roazen tells amazing stories of lost letters and marks, animal sounds, speech disorders and games that memory tends to play with words. Despite a fair amount of linguistic jargon, the lively presence of Ovid, Heine, Swift, Poe, Dostoyevsky and Freud makes this book a pleasant and unforgettable read.

--Olga U

An Unquiet Mind by Kay R. Jamison

An insightful and inspiring biographical account of Dr. Jamison's struggle with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder), and how she learns how to live with her illness.  What is unique about this story is she is a clinical psychologist who treats people with her illness, and is one of the United States' leading experts on this disorder.  Highly recommended.

--Joanne G

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost

No, this is not really all about the sex lives of cannibals.  Well, maybe initially in retelling the past history of the people of the Republic of Kiribati, an atoll in the South Pacific.  It is more an attention getting title, for a book that caputures your interest from the first page until the end.  Troost delivers a very funny account of living on the island for two years.  It is humor tinged with empathy for a small republic that would definitely not qualify as a Pacific paradise.  Troost gives an insightful look into the harsh realities of living on an island where the people fight evironmental pollution,  disease,  poverty,  and interference by outsiders, and still retain their cultural identity.   Susan V.

The South Beach Diet Cookbook by Arthur Agatston, M.D

I myself have had great success with this diet and with the holidays fast approaching, it's nice to know  

that I have an eating plan on hand to get me back on track should I over do it. These recipes are not only interesting and delicious, but easy to prepare also. Trust me, you will never feel deprived as you sample dishes such as Oatmeal Pancakes, Buttermilk Salmon Chowder, Red Snapper with Avocado Salsa and even Chocolate Pie with Crispy Peanut Butter Crust. Highly recommended. This author is an expert on effective dieting cuisine.

---Nancy V.  

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This novel is a charming tale about a young London author named Juliet, tasked with writing a regular column about the lighter side of life just post World War II. She connects serendipitously with residents of a small town on Guernsey, one of the the islands in the English Channel, near the coast of France. The story is told by way of letters written to and from the various characters, nuanced in a way to make these people real for the reader, and reveals in part what life was like on the island during the WWII German occupation. A community struggling as many did during the war and neighbors who come together for safety and sanity and find friendship, family, confidences, and camaraderie. Drawn by their letters, their stories, Juliet travels to Guernsey, convinced she has found inspiration for her next book. She is rewarded with such and much more.  Shaffer, unable to complete the writing on her own due to illness, garnered the assistance of her niece, well known children’s book author Annie Barrows (the Ivy and Bean series) to finish it. Sadly Shaffer died before seeing the book published. I recommend this title as a light, entertaining read and think it is a great choice for a book group discussion. -- Mary C.

I am in Fact a Hobbit by Perry C. Bramlett

This is my favorite book of "literary criticism" (read "analysis" for "criticism") of the works of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.  After a breif summation of his life and career, the author uses different chapters to analyze different aspects of Tolkien's voluminous literary scholarship and output.  Did you know that if he had done nothing else, Tolkien would still have been famous in literary circles as the scholar who single-handedly brought "Beowulf" back into the canon?  Or that it was he who conviced Clive Staples Lewis to give up atheism, through his insightful analysis of Christianity?  Not simply about "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", this book deals with Tolkien the letter-writer, Tolkien the Oxford don, Tolkien the religious philosopher, Tolkien the serious student of myth and human psychology.  And it does it all in a style that is entertaining and engaging.  I highly recommend it if you have enjoyed his other works and you want to know more.

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---Dave W. 

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane

This epic novel provides a glimpse of Boston in the aftermath of World War I and revolves around three characters, Boston cop Danny Coughlin; Luther Lawrence who is on the run and ends up working in Danny's family home and Babe Ruth. Danny is a street cop from a lace curtain Irish family and becomes involved in the creation of the police union, much to the dismay of his father and his brother. Luther not only works in the Coughlin's home, but is also involved in the creation of the NAACP having sought shelter from its founders in the city. Babe is bigger than life yet feels underappreciated by baseball management. Their lives intertwine as the reader gets a real taste of the elements of change in a little known period of Boston history which begins with the Spanish influenza epidemic, includes the Molasses Flood in the North end, and culminates with the 1919 Boston Police Strike. Along the way, Lehane shows us baseball, anarchy, immigration issues, class division and racism all shown to us from the perspective of the three main characters. A few historical figures also appear in the book including Calvin Coolidge, as governor of Massachusetts and W.E.B. Dubois. Much to the dismay to some of his fans, Lehane has departed from his gritty detective series but has provided us with fictionalized accounts of important periods in the history of Boston from a native's eye with Mystic River, Shutter Island and now, The Given Day. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical family epic with its rich characters and local flavor and highly recommend it.---Joanne L.

Anya by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer

Anya Savikin lived among well-to-do Russian Jews in Poland, in a world more like Tolstoy's, until the first bombing of Warsaw and the chaos that ensued. Her story incarnates the strength and love of eastern European Jewry, before and after their decimation. Written in 1974, this story rightfully left a lasting impression with a 30 anniversary paperback edition by W.W. Norton in 2004.  --Clara's List

Arundel by Kenneth Roberts

This is an old novel set during the outset of the American Revolution.  Residents in a small town in Maine get caught up in the politics and the war, and a good number of them take part in the disastrous military campaign to seize Quebec from the British (not too long after they were all celebrating wildly that the British seized it from the French).  The characters are given depth beautifully, with Native Americans and the colonials portrayed realistically as full of ambivalence about the war. Benedict Arnold is just one of many complex characters.  The characters' knowledge of weather, the sea and tides, the outdoors and of living off the land make the setting come alive.  Where is the movie?  I'd cast Christian Bale. --Karrie Peterson.

Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler

A teen book by the author of The Earth, my butt, and other big round things, this author really does a good job getting into a teen's head and being true to the conflicted soul of someone trying to figure out who they are in relationship to their family, friends, and the world. In this book Mara's a tightly wound, very sheltered model student who's home is invaded by her cousin who's rebelious and experienced. Both grow a fair amount over the course of the book and its fun to be with them for the ride. The dialog never feels forced and the characters are rich enough to keep your interest for all 228 pages. Not preachy, nor moralistic, I'd recomend this as others have recomended it to me. -- Clayton Cheever

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

A YA book that is the literature version of a mixed media painting. Selznick has reinvented the art of storytelling by combining narrative with still frame shots from films, old photographs, and personal pencil drawings. While some might think this could detract from the story, Selznick has managed to only inhance the story of a young boy who is trying to discover the truth about his past, the story of his friends family, and the art of magic. 

Esther's Inheritance by Sandor Marai

Have you ever been lucky enough to be in love with Don Juan? Have you been under the spell of a con man, an addict, a "charming Billy?"  How crazy and exciting does being entangled with a liar make you?  Darn you want to be right and him wrong.  It is a struggle.

What is moral character?

This lovely little book takes on the archetypes, with well-drawn characters - the liars and the liees- and seesaws you back and forth again.  You become aware of what you cling to, and it finally teaches you what is true.

 Cecily G (Beatrice)

Hungry Planet What the World Eats  by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio

One of my favourite books, offering up an interesting and beautiful perspective on how people from different parts of the world eat. I've always loved glimpses into how others live and this book offers it up with beautfiul photos of 30 different families from 24 countries. Each family is photographed with their groceries for the week and facts are given about the country and budgets. The differences of course are striking as are the similarities. I love love love this book and their other, Material World!

Stacy...Bruinsgrrl

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Possilby retitled The 13th Warrior now because of the film based on the book, both of which I love. I confess to an unending interest in anything to do with Beowulf.

Based on the writings of an Arab courtier Ahmad Ibn Fadlan and told from his viewpoint it is a very interesting take on the epic Beowulf. Ibn Fadlan was an Arab aristocrat who resided amongst the Rus' in 921 and recorded many of their rituals, most famously a chieftain's longboat-funeral on the Volga. A great look into Viking culture from his Muslim point of view as he struggles to understand these Northmen from what he sees as their heathen ways to their undeniable bravery. Terrific book!

Anthony Thunder and Consolation