2006 Books
"Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Fall, 2006). A just-turned thirtysomething pulls herself together after a bad divorce by devoting 4 months to pleasure in Italy, 4 months to spirituality at an ashram in India and 4 months to balance (which turns into love) in Bali. The author is a terrific writer and her journey is interesting and compelling. Well-paced, insightful, just a tad long. Recommended.
"Agents, Editors, and You: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published" edited by Michelle Howry (Fall, 2006). Well presented, unbiased, useful information from Writer's Market Library folks. Slightly dated. Recommended if there is a need.
"Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink (Fall, 2006). Short, informative, scientific book on what leads to mindless (over)eating. Major points are backed up by studies which convincingly establish principals. Entertaining and practical. (Drink out of tall, thin glasses, replace see through breadbox, eat only in one room with no distractions, etc.) Highly recommended.
"Veronica" by Mary Gaitskill (Fall, 2006). Took six months to read this short but still too long novel, a finalist for National Book Award in 2005. The author can write crackling prose but the plot, pace, and subject matter were below par. Finished book out of admiration for writing prowess. Not recommended.
"The Hill: A True Story of Tragedy, Recovery, and Redemption on North America's Highest Peak" by Ed Hommer with Daniel Paisner (Fall, 2006). Necessary reading for me. Not recommended.
"Cross Country" by Robert Sullivan (Fall, 2006). The subtitle, "Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark, a Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids, and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant," tells the subject matter. The actual trip in a rented Impala is from Portland, Oregon to New York City. The author's style is reflected in the subtitle and, fortunately, he is amusing. Along the way, he provides details and background about Lewis and Clark, the building of the Interstates, the development of motels, etc. Like the journey, the book was a bit long and I was eager for it to end. Recommended.
"Wake-Up Call: The Political Education of a 9/11 Widow" by Kristen Breitweiser (Fall, 2006). Bought this book on impulse at the politics table at Barnes & Noble primarily b/c the author is stunningly attractive. Read it in two days. The author recounts her education (law school graduate), courtship by her husband, the events of 9/11 (she was watching television as the second tower was hit, knowing her husband was on the 94th floor), the aftermath (she was suddenly a 30 year old single mother), and her conversion from a Bush Cheney Republican to an opponent of the Administration. The details of the 9/11 politics are disturbing. Readable, a little long at the end, but worthwhile. Recommended.
"I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen: Coming to California in the Age of Schwarzenegger" by Amy Wilentz (Summer, 2006.) Overall, not worth reading. The author likes to hear herself write and some of this book struck me as an attempt by the mother of three young sons to keep herself from going nuts. She writes well and I learned things (origin of Salton Sea, background on Arnold), but this is too breezy to amount to anything. Do not recall the author having positive things to say about anyone who invited her to a party at their house. Not recommended.
"How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It" by Arthur Herman (Summer, 2006). The lengthy title accurately describes the contents. In its 7th printing, the book chronicles the effect of Scotland's merger with England in 1707 and the dramatic improvements and opportunities arising from preexisting universal education in Scotland (so the populace could read the Bible firsthand.) A substantial book that is surprisingly interesting and easy to read. Recommended.
"Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream" by Barbara Ehrenreich (Summer, 2006). Modeled after "Nickel and Dimed," a wonderful book, this thin volume should have been only a magazine article. The author seeks employment in corporate America as a PR person. She gives up after 6-9 months without so much as an initial interview. Too much is made of too little. Not recommended.
"Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert (Summer, 2006). Educational, insightful, interesting analysis by a Harvard psychology professor of how the mind interprets present happiness (well), forecasts future happiness (poorly), and buries and rationalizes past unhappiness (constantly). Lacks penultimate section dealing with the title or how to more often be happy in the future. Not a self-help book. Recommended.
"I Feel Bad About My Neck and other thoughts about being a woman" by Nora Ephron (Summer, 2006). Light book (4 hours to read) aimed at women but enjoyable for all. Insight and humor throughout. Better than Caitlin Flanagan essays below. Recommended.
"Beloved" by Toni Morrison (Summer, 2006). Voted "Single best work of American fiction in the last 25 years" by New York Times survey, but not recommended. Very tough to read because of grizzly plot. Well-written. Try "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones instead.
"The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece" by Jonathan Harr (Summer, 2006). The latest by the author of "A Civil Action." Detailed, interesting, short. Some insights into the art world and higher education in Italy. Recommended if you like art.
"Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" by Charles J. Shields (Summer, 2006). Pleasant, informative, mostly well-written biography of author of "To Kill A Mockingbird." The only below standard part is the lengthy introduction where the author details his research techniques. This can be skipped without loss. Good treatment of Lee's involvement in "In Cold Blood" research with Truman Capote. Subject of unfair unfavorable review in The New Yorker recently. Appropriate length. Recommended.
"Uncommon Carriers" by John McPhee (Summer, 2006). Typical (and hence enjoyable) McPhee true stories of folks who drive 18 wheelers, coal trains, huge river tugs and barges and the like. Almost all previously appeared in The New Yorker. Recommended unless previously read.
"Let Me Finish" by Roger Angell (Summer, 2006). Varied recollections by noted New Yorker baseball writer and fiction editor and son of Katharine Sergeant White (fiction editor of New Yorker) and stepson of E.B. White. Several pieces previously appeared in the New Yorker and were not new. Interesting, insightful, well-written, humane, seldom about baseball. In short, pleasant, but a slow read without a unifying purpose, so marginally recommended.
"John James Audubon: The Making of An American" by Richard Rhodes (Spring, 2006). Very detailed, somewhat tedious life of Audubon. Gives a too full account of his wonderful marriage to Lucy and recounts their innumerable and necessary separations (so Audubon could go into the woods) using lengthy excerpts from his journal and their letters. Audubon was marginally recognized in America before going to England, where his genius was immediately celebrated. Includes full story, complete with finances, of production of engraved "Birds of America." Second American (after Franklin) to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London. While inspirational, took an inordinately long time to read. Not recommended.
"The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" by Michael Pollan (Spring, 2006). The fourth book I have read by this author. There is a bit of a slapdash feel; some overlooked typos add to the concerns. Is this book more of a commercial venture than its predecessors? Fine by me but let's keep the standards up. The four meals are instructive. The first, industrial, is corn-based, occurs at McDonald's, and is eaten in a car. The extent to which America's overproduction of corn has influenced our food chain is well-brought out and alarming (though not as shocking as "Fast Food Nation"). The second and third are "organic"--one from Whole Foods (industrial lite) and one from a sustainable grass farm. Whole Foods organic, sadly, is a minimal improvement over industrial. The final meal is the result of the author's hunting (wild pig) and foraging (fungi) and is not applicable to modern life. I will remember the information presented more than the pleasure of reading this volume, the reverse of the first three. Recommended.
"Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present" by Peter Hessler (Spring, 2006). The second book by the author of "River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze" and just as good as the first. The author recounts his life in Beijing after completing his tour as a Peace Corps Volunteer and teacher of English at a teacher's college in Fuling on the Yangtze River. He stays in touch with his former students after graduation, recounts life in China's capital, and engages in interesting and worthwhile sleuthing about Oracle Bone scholars, archeologists, and Chinese linguists. He rises from "clipper" for the Wall Street Journal bureau to published author to the New Yorker's Beijing correspondent, but still sleeps on the couch of a Uighur friend in Washington, D.C. This volume covers only 1999 through June, 2002, so there is probably another volume coming. I look forward to it. Highly recommended.
"To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife" by Caitlin Flanagan (Spring, 2006). Initially this seems to be a collection of delightful and insightful magazine pieces, entertaining to read but not worth a book. The core, the author's relationship with her mother and, in turn, her own children, is always evident, but it is not until the author writes briefly about her battle with breast cancer that the raison d'être becomes apparent. The author's talent is ever on display and one hopes that she revisits these topics when her children are grown (her twins are seven at this writing). This material should appeal to men as well as women. Perhaps my wife will now understand that I am a generic male re housework. A short, easy read. Highly recommended.
"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote (Spring, 2006). Not a courtroom drama, but exactly as I remembered it. A chilling, detailed account of an awful crime. "A seminal work" to quote K. Dedicated to Harper Lee. Highly recommended.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee (Spring, 2006). Read the book under the mistaken assumption that it is a courtroom drama. Not so. It is a classic, however, and an exceptional read. The narrator, Scout, is up to Mark Twain's standards. Word is this book is now standard reading for junior high school students. Highly recommended for any age.
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