November 28, 2014 Currently Reading

Long Life: Essays and Other Writings
by Mary Oliver
Of all the books that I read and review, I approach Mary Oliver's with the most humility and respect.  I feel that there are no words to express the beauty and spirituality of her writing.  All of Oliver's books have the ability to transport and transform. Her intimate connection with the immediate natural world around her resonates strongly with me.  As I sat reading in my bed at night, Long Life: Essays and Other Writings took me back to a childhood of being outdoors on an island in Michigan.  Her words create universal images, whether in poetry or prose. Through her eyes, I reclaimed the visions of my childhood.  The turtles in Provincetown could be the turtles on the shore of a Michigan lake, some sixty years ago.  Both her poetry and essays open the part of my heart that loves and longs for wilderness... both within and without.  Although I always feel that Oliver's latest book is my favorite, Long Life: Essays and Other Writings is definitely one of her best.  

Currently Reading:

The Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture

By David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim

It’s the end of November and we’ve just begun The Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture.  Reading two entries a day, it should take us six to seven months to complete.  The books in this series are always a shared read that my husband and I do during mealtime, usually at breakfast or lunch.  It’s one way we try to grow together, rather than apart.  We’ve enjoyed two others in the series: The Intellectual Devotional (first book) and The Intellectual Devotional: Biographies.  More will follow as we get into the book…

Middlemarch (Audible Edition)

By George Eliot

I’m almost 10 hours into the 25-hour Audible version of Middlemarch by George Eliot.  It’s definitely not what I expected.  I assumed that it might be somewhat Avant-garde, and maybe it was at the time.  It was unusual for a woman to be an author at that time, hence the pen name George Eliot taken by Mary Ann Evans. 

In 2014, however, the book would not be considered eccentric or Avant-garde.  It reminds me a lot of books written by Louisa May Alcott, who was born about twenty years after Evans.  I just found a graduate paper titled: Louisa May Alcott and George Eliot on Class, Gender and Marriage written by Elizabeth Michelle Meyers in December 2010.  I’m going to read it on my iPad.  I think it will be an interesting read, and may help me better understand the works of both authors. 

I’ve also purchased the Audible version of My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead.  In this book, the author writes about the influence Middlemarch has had on her life.  Although I did not read Middlemarch as a child, which was Mead’s experience, I did read and reread all of Alcott’s books.  It will be interesting to learn how Middlemarch influenced her life, and perhaps, reflect upon my own experience with books written during that period of time.  More will follow…

November 23, 2014

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting

Edited by Ann Hood

I loved Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting!  While I’m not a knitter, I enjoyed reading the essays written by writers who were knitters and those who were not.  Each writer shared an experience that had something to do with knitting.  The styles of writing were as varied as the experiences, ranging from technical to sentimental.  There were even a few non-knitters advocating for their side of the story.  I have to admit that it inspired me to give knitting a try.  There are patterns included in the book, but I think I’ll start with a simple knitted swatch or dishcloth.  I think it’s a great read for knitters and non-knitters alike. 

The Yarn Whisperer

By Clara Parkes

I found The Yarn Whisperer sitting on the shelf right next to Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting.  After taking a brief glance through the book, I decided to take it home, too.  I’m really glad that I did because I liked it as much, if not more than the other book.  In Yarn Whisperers, Clara Parkes presents essays about the role knitting has played in her life.  I loved her reflections about the journey that led her and her partner to an old family home on the coast of Maine.  Stories of knitting and the restoration of the house were woven together into this lovely book.  I thoroughly enjoyed The Yarn Whisperer.  I’d highly recommended it for knitters, non-knitters, and those who love memoirs.

Be Happy: a little book to help you live a happy life

By Monica Sheehan

I discovered this awesome little book while researching for a lesson on happiness to use with my ESL conversation class.  I first found videos of the book on Youtube, which I shared with my class.  Then I searched for the actual book and purchased several copies for myself and to share with friends.  All who have received it have loved it.  It’s a small book filled with line drawings and short sayings to motivate and inspire.  I keep it by my bed and have reread it on several “gray” days.  It’s a short, but inspirational read and a great gift.

Nov. 22, 2014

The Intellectual Devotional: Biographies

By David S. Kidder and Noah D. Oppenheim

It’s the end of November and we finally finished Intellectual Devotional: Biographies.  It’s our second book by Kidder & Oppenheim, and it took less than a year to read.  I think we started last April 2014.  We read at mealtime, usually breakfast.  It gave us food for thought and discussion.  We often found ourselves looking up more information on our iPads.  Some of the biographies were like a history review.  Others were people we’ve never heard of.  It kept our minds working and gave us something to discuss besides the daily barrage of depressing world news.  Reading together also gives us a reason to interact with one another, instead of looking at our glow-boxes at mealtime.  All of the Intellectual Devotionals are definitely a good intellectual, nonreligious books and great to share with a partner.  We’re moving on in the series to Modern Culture.

Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny (Audible version)

By Garrison Keillor

Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny was a great audio book.  Read by Keillor himself, it was nonstop FUNNY!!!  There are more than a few one-liners that kept us laughing all the way from New Jersey to Virginia.  The Audible version is four hours and eight minutes.  The time goes very quickly as Guy Noir finds his way through a series of misadventures with a very unusual cast of characters and a tapeworm.  Very entertaining!!!

Wrecked ( A Reagan Reilly Mystery Book 13) (audio book)

by Carol Higgins Clark

I think we may have been at a slight disadvantage by starting the Reagan Reilly Mystery series with Wrecked: Book 13.  I didn’t discover that it was a series until well after we had finished the audio book.  I was surprised that Reagan Reilly was the MAIN character in the mystery.  She definitely seemed like one of the main characters, but that there were others that were close to her in importance.  There were several interesting storylines, which were woven without graphic violence.  All ended well without too much spine-chilling suspense.  It was a ‘cozy’ mystery.  At 10 hours, it is a good audio book for a long road trip.

October 27, 2014

 The Poets’ Wives: A Novel

By David Park

The Poets' Wives: A Novel was actually a book I listened to by mistake.  Someone on Goodreads recommended The Poet's Wife, as a book I might enjoy.  I didn't look carefully enough and chose the wrong book when browsing Audible.com.  It turned out to be a very serendipitous mistake.  After listening to the Audible version of The Poets’ Wives: A Novel, I have to disagree with the other reviews that I’ve read.  I really enjoyed it.  I found it to be an interesting and entertaining audio book.  

Each of the three sections was a distinct story about the marriage of a poet, as told through the voice of his wife.  Two were actual poets’ wives: Catherine Blake, wife of William Blake and Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife of Osip Mandelstam.  The third story involved the wife of a fictional poet in modern times.  When picking the story, I was very aware that the stories would be about the lives and relationships of the characters, particularly the wives, and was not expecting a lot of poetry.

The three stories were similar in style: first person narration told through flashbacks into the past. Perhaps that’s why I liked it so much.  All of the three women were older, looking back through their lives.  Their personalities and experiences were all different, as were their partners’.  Perhaps having a narrator give life to their individual voices made the story more appealing and coherent.  I thoroughly enjoyed the audio version and would definitely recommend it.  For me, it was very good listen.  Now onto finding The Poet's Wife, which I do intend to read.  

The Orchid Thief

By Susan Orlean

The Orchid Thief is one of the books that has been beside my bed for quite a few years.  It wasn’t what I was expecting and turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. 

The book is nonfiction research done on orchids and a particular orchid hunter, John Laroche.  Susan Orleans was intrigued by a short newspaper article she had read concerning the arrest of Laroche and three Seminoles for stealing orchids from the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve.  What Orleans presents in The Orchid Thief is her journey to Florida and into the world of orchids.  It’s more of a memoir than a mystery.  Orleans made the real world of orchids interesting, engaging and, at times, very funny.  Definitely a good read!

Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones

By Paul Trynka

The life of Brian Jones, as told by Paul Trynka in Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones, is a sad story.  Brian Jones was an extra special person who didn’t know how to handle life.  From start to finish, people were horrible to him.  The fact that his own parents wouldn’t even mark his tombstone with love says it all.  Brian Jones was extremely talented.  He just wanted to be loved and to follow his passion, music, which he did.  He was a great musician, but a tragic young man.

Trynka was definitely sympathetic toward Brian Jones and his challenges in life.  The book is filled with stories of Jones’ pain and suffering.  It also gives new perspective to Jones and to his relationship with the Rolling Stones.  The impact of that relationship and of their exclusion of Jones is explored in depth.  While he encountered much sorrow throughout his life, it’s likely that rejection by the Stones caused him the most pain.  Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones is definitely an interesting read.  After reading the preview copy from Goodreads, I highly recommend it to fans of Brian Jones and/or the Rolling Stones.

There Was and There Was Not

By Meline Toumani

What an interesting book!  There Was and There Was Not WAS simply fascinating.  I eagerly awaited a preview copy from Goodreads, as it’s a topic that is very relevant to me.  Living in New Jersey, I’ve been in classes and have taught classes where there has been obvious tension between Armenian and Turkish students.  I knew that there was some kind of historic problem, but I had no idea how deep and serious the divide actually was. 

Meline Toumani shares her journey to Turkey doing research as an Armenian American journalist.  She explains the source of the conflict, the Armenian genocide of 1915, as objectively as possible, considering she is of Armenian descent.  Her writing is engaging and does look at the issue from both sides.  She actually lived in Turkey for four years, during which time she explored the genocide issue from all perspectives. 

I liked Toumani’s writing style, which seemed personal and sincere, while still journalistic.  She achieved her objective of exploring Turkey, Armenia and the genocide issue.  Her conclusions made as much sense as possible, considering the unresolvable nature of the conflict.  There Was and There Was Not gave me the background about the conflict I was looking for.  I now feel that I will be able to approach both Armenian and Turkish acquaintances and students with more understanding and sensitivity.  Definitely a great read and highly recommended as a resource for teachers!

September 29, 2014

The Blood of an Englishman by M. C. Beaton

What a surprise… Agatha Raisin has an iPad and a cellphone!  I haven’t read or listened to an Agatha Raisin in a while and was pleasantly surprised to find that she has moved into the new millennium.   The Blood of an Englishman had all of the elements that I would expect in an Agatha Raisin mystery, including the rural English villages and Agatha’s quirky personality.  I listened to and loved the Audible.com version of this M. C. Beaton mystery.  Definitely a good listen and I’m sure it’s an equally good read.

Currently Reading

There Was and There Was Not  by Meline Toumani

I was thrilled when a Goodreads First Read Selection; There Was and There Was Not arrived in the mail. The topic of historic and current conflicts between Turkey and Armenia is of great interest to me.  I, like the author Meline Toumani, live in New Jersey, where there are both Turkish and Armenian communities.  I’ve had personal experiences that have involved dealing with people from both communities and recognize that there is a serious, long-standing conflict between the two cultures.  When I saw that there was a book that dealt with these conflicts and was written by an Armenian-American, I was immediately interested.  Setting all other books aside, I started reading it last night.  The book is very engaging and enjoyable reading so far.  More to follow…

The Intellectual Devotional: Biographies  by David S. Kidder

My husband and I found the Intellectual Devotionals several years ago, in a Barnes & Noble sale bin.  Intellectual Devotional: Biographies is our second book by Kidder and we’ve been reading it for less than a year.  We’re on page 262+… on track to finish by the end of the year.  We read at mealtime, usually breakfast.  It gives us food for thought and discussion.  We often find ourselves looking up more on our iPads.  Some of the biographies are like a history review.  Others are people we’ve never heard of.  It’s educational and keeps our minds working.  It also gives us something to discuss besides the daily barrage of depressing world news.  Actually, reading about history helps to put some of the current events into a different perspective.  Definitely a good oral read to share with a partner… more to follow.

September 28, 2014

The Moonlight Palace by Liz Rosenberg

The Moonlight Palace by Liz Rosenberg was another one of Amazon Prime’s First Read Kindle books.  I enjoyed the Singapore setting and culture that was woven into the story.  I would classify it as another young adult fairytale, complete with an aging castle.  There was no graphic violence and nothing I would consider gruesome.  It was just a sweet story about a young girl’s coming of age in Singapore, with a happily-ever-after ending.  Definitely a quick, but good read.

 Have a Nice Guilt Trip by Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella

I’m going to have to give this an unusual review, because I love Lisa Scottoline for a variety of reasons.  I love her Rosato & Associates mysteries.  I love that she lives in and uses the Philadelphia area in her books.  I love her daily posts to Facebook, with her darling King Charles Spaniels.  I loved the Giveaway that she had with the release of Have a Nice Guilt Trip.  All of that being said, I didn’t love the Audible version of Have a Nice Guilt Trip.  I think that it’s possible I might have enjoyed reading it more than listening.  I’m definitely anxiously awaiting the release of Betrayed: A Rosato & Associates Novel on November 25, 2014.  Sorry, but for me, Have a Nice Guilt Trip was not a great listen.