Recent Reading

Lately, I have been doing a lot more reading than writing! My iPad is always in my purse so it's like I'm carrying around a bunch of books, the latest New York Times and all my email wherever I go! During the last few months, I have read a number of interesting books (and a few duds). Here's a description of most of them:

Non-Fiction

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexander Fuller- At first, I did not "like" the author's mother as she was described in this book. However, after a while, you begin to see the daughter's point of view and the humor of the family's travails in Africa.

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller - By the time I finished the second book, I was completely won over by the author and her family. I wish there was more!

Eiffel Tower by Jill Jonnes - This book was recommended to my daughter Sasha by her English teacher. I really liked it, too. It covers the history of France while the Eiffel Tower was being built and continues the history of France and Americans in France written by David McCullough in The Greater Journey. In addition, the author writes a lot about Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill. There is a great PBS American Experience episode about Annie Oakley, and I enjoyed reading more.

The Colonel and Little Missie by Larry McMurtry - Okay, I wanted to read a full history of Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill. However, this book was not very well-written, and I would only recommend it to someone who was as interested as I was in learning more.

The Nazi Officer's Wife by Edith Hahn Beer with Susan Dworkin - Finding this little gem never would have happened if I had not been able to download a free sample first. After I read the first couple of chapters, I just wanted to read more. Edith tells her story of being a young Jewish woman in Vienna and Germany during the 1930's and '40's. She does end up marrying a German man who becomes a Nazi officer during the war. She keeps her idenity hidden and survives.

The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen - I do not think people in the United States understand the control and power that Putin wields in Russia. While I was not interested in the author's personal experiences and feelings, I was very interested in Putin's almost dictatorlike status. I tried to find out more by reading reviews of the book on Amazon and on Wikipedia but both places are so filled with biased writing and arguments that it just confirmed how the Russian propaganda machine works.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - While I still think Seabiscuit is one of the best books I have ever read, this was a very interesting story, too, about a track star who becomes a WWII prisoner. For me, it was a little long, but I could recommend a condensed version.

Class Matters by Correspondents of The New York Times - It was an okay book. I did not learn much that was new to me, however. Yes, class does matter and few people successfully change their class. The rich are getting richer, yada, yada, yada.

The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman - This is a biography of Mitt Romney. I suppose if you were a big supporter you would find this book biased against him, but I'm not, so it was interesting to me.

100 Yards of Glory by Joe Garner and Bob Costas - Why did I read this book? Why do I care even one iota about professional football? Is it the Packer game parties during the regular season and playoffs? Do I just like the voice narration of NFL Films? Is it the 1960's Packers with Lombardi and the Ice Bowl? Is a history of anything and everything interesting to me? I really cannot defend my interest. While the writing is subpar, I did like the video clips (for whatever reason) that were included in the iPad version of the book.

A Bad Idea I'm About to Do by Chris Gethard - Every once in a while, I look for a book listed under the category of "humor". This was one of those books. There are some funny sections that I could relate to because I, too, was once a stupid, risktaking teenager. However, as an adult with a husband and kids, I could not relate to his stories once he finished high school.

You're Not Doing It Right by Michael Ian Black - Okay, this was another humor book I chose based on reading a free sample, and the fact that Phil is always telling me I am not driving, loading the dishwasher, vacationing, and starting a fire the "RIGHT" way. After finishing the full book, I would recommend downloading the free sample and sticking with that.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brains by Nicholas Carr - The author's premise is that we just skip around and can't write or finish a long book or detailed article because of the Internet. Enough said.

Slavery By Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon - This was so heartbreaking to read. The book was nominated for the National Book Award because it is so well-researched that no one could deny how millions of African-Americans were denied freedom AFTER the Civil War and for many, many years after Reconstruction.

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker - The author proves his thesis, but I am not at all convinced he needed a whole book to do it.

While America Sleeps by Russ Feingold - It was kind of boring. I gained more insight into Russ's perspective as a Wisconsinite who came from a political family than I did about the lead up to the Iraq War.

The Afghan Wars: History in an Hour by Rupert Colley - It was like an expanded Wikipedia article. Everything you wanted to know in 89 pages.

King Peggy by Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman - I liked this autobiography of a single woman in her fifties who is working at Ghana's Embassy in Washington, D.C. when she hears that she has been chosen as the next king of a small area of Ghana with approximately 7,000 people. Her journey, decisions, experiences and life as king was something both exotic and mundane, fantastic and believable.

Fiction

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James - This is a continuation of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy, Elizabeth, and many of the original characters try to solve the mystery of Wickham's death. Unfortunately, while P.D. James might be a good mystery writer, she is no Jane Austen.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell - I loved the originality of the setup for this story. The characters and the theme park are almost too strange to be fiction! For me, the last few chapters were a little too "literary" and symbolic. I like good storytelling more than allegory.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich - I thought this would be like Smilla's Sense of Snow; A book with a strong, kickass heroine, but it just seemed stupid to me.

Apex Hides the Hurt by Colin Whitehead - This was a strange, but compelling book by a very good author. It took me almost the whole book to figure out the "meaning", but the story was worth reading anyway.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn - My older daughter had to read this fiction book for her world history class. After she (and I) started reading it, I realized I had read it for a book club years ago. While I initially hated the book, my book club members convinced me it was an interesting topic to discuss. I cannot believe how much more mature my daughters are as students and readers than I was at the same age!

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - This was a fiction book recommended to my younger daughter, but I enjoyed it, too. Very interesting! A great story that also makes you think.

New Books (for me) - Otherwise known as The Start of My Summer Reading List!

Imagine by Jonah Lehrer

The Evolution of God by Robert Wright

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anne Quindlen

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel