One silent sleepless night - Spencer W. Kimball

I bought this book about 8 years ago at DI, and despite the fact that it is really short (only about 30 full pages), it has taken me this long to get around to reading it.

This was a very fast read - taking about 30-45 minutes to read it slowly.

In this book, President Kimball wrote about his experiences one night after he had part of his vocal cords removed. He was unable to sleep, and found his mind wandered over various experiences, particularly his childhood in Thatcher, AZ. When his mind came back to the present, he discovered only a few minutes had passed each time. He felt he had to be quiet to avoid waking his wife who had been through a few difficult days of her own while worrying about and caring for him.

I enjoyed this short story and found I could easily relate. There have been many times when I have been unable to sleep with no one to talk to and feeling the need to be quiet. It can be a very lonely and frustrating feeling.

This was also an easy and enjoyable way to learn a bit about his life.

Into the Light - John Lerma, M.D.

Into the Light: Real life stories about angelic visits, visions of the afterlife, and other pre-death experiences.

This book is written by a hospice doctor who has worked with many people who have experienced angelic beings and near-death experiences. Amazingly, the people he has spoken with all describe very similar beings and scenes.

Each described a life review, some lasting longer than others, in which they were able to see their entire life and work through things that were unresolved. Dr. Lerma was skeptical at first, but was amazed that some of his patients relayed personal messages to him from the beings which visited them. The details in these messages were sometimes so personal that the patient would have had no way of knowing these details.

Each chapter is an account about working with a different person. Some of these people are lifelong Christians, but others are atheists, agnostics, and believers from other faiths. Some of them lead lives which they believed would keep them from heaven. Those who felt unworthy describe their life reviews, but that they were able to work through the things that were unresolved and they felt reconciled before they died.

Works of Willa Cather 1873-1947

12 Novels

Alexander's Bridge - 1912

O Pioneers! - 1913

The Song of the Lark - 1915

My Antonia - 1918

One of Ours - 1922

A Lost Lady - 1923

The Professor's House - 1925

My Mortal Enemy - 1926

Death Comes for the Archbishop - 1927

Shadows on the Rock - 1931

Lucy Gayheart - 1935

Sapphira and the Slave Girl - 1940

6 Short Stories

"The Troll Garden" - 1905

"Collected Short Fiction" - 1892-1912

"Youth and the Bright Medusa" - 1920

"Uncle Valentine and Other Stories" - 1915-1929

"Obscure Destinies" - 1932

"The Old Beauty and Others" - 1948

1 Poetry Book

April Twilights - 1903

1 Book of Essays

Not Under Forty - 1936

Miscellaneous

Willa Cather on Writing - 1949

Willa Cather on Europe - 1956

Recommended Biographer: Mildred Bennett

Provided by The Willa Cather Foundation, 413 North Webster Street, Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970, 402-746-2653, 402-746-2641, www.WillaCather.org

The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright

This book begins with the deaths an elderly couple. Jack Cooper has an inoperable brain tumor and has been close to death for several months. His wife, Laurel, seems to be in good health and is caring for him. However, one evening as they lay down for bed, Laurel has a heart attack. Jack is too weak to reach the phone and call for help, and he passes away shortly after Laurel.

Their three children gather, along with a few close family friends, as they prepare for the funeral. They discover several boxes in the basement which are filled with letters from Jack to Laurel - one written every week for the entire time they were married.

These letters reveal many family secrets and the motivation behind many of the decisions Jack and Laurel made.

Matthew, the oldest child, is dealing with a troubled marriage. Samantha is a local police officer, and a single mother. Malcolm returns from Brazil after fleeing two years earlier to avoid jail.

Malcolm's story seems to be the most troubled. He and Jack never got along well, and he resented that. He got in several fights, the last of which was to protect Rain, his former girlfriend and an adopted member of the Cooper family. He almost killed a man who had forced her to leave a bar and was trying to take off with her. In the process, he punched Rain's current boyfriend, Nathan, who is a county prosecutor, when Nathan said, "Leave it alone. She's not worth it."

The two biggest secrets that come out during the book are that Malcolm was fathered by another man when he got drunk and followed Laurel home, breaking into her house. It bothered me that Laurel was raped by a random homeless man, since this kind of thing can perpetuate the myth that sexual violence is usually perpetrated by strangers who attack people in the night.

It turns out that the homeless man who raped is mother is now one of the local preachers. This information comes out slowly through the letters, sending Malcolm on a roller coaster ride. This to me was very far-fetched, and I think the book would have been better without this.

It also turns out that Nathan set-up the bar scene two years before, clearing Malcolm of all charges so he doesn't have to run anymore.

Overall, this was a good book detailing the lives of good people. It was interesting to see how their choices affected themselves and each other.

The Innocent - Harlan Coben

This book was okay. It was a quick read - I believe I finished it in one day - but I didn't feel I got a lot out of it.

SUMMARY

"The protagonist is Matt Hunter, a young man who gets involved in a fight at a frat party in college, winds up going to prison for manslaughter when one of the people he was fighting with dies, and then tries to rebuild his life after being released. He seems to be doing so: he has a good job as a paralegal, and he’s married to a beautiful woman who’s now pregnant. And then, of course, everything goes haywire as all sorts of trouble from the past crops up. Before you know it, Matt is on the run from the cops, suspected of two murders, and somebody wants him dead." (copied from here)

It turns out that his wife has lied about her past. Rather than involving an idyllic childhood on a Southern farm/ranch, it was lived in Idaho and Nevada in foster homes, and eventually as a slave and a dancer.

She faked her own death after finding a fellow dancer had been murdered, and used that opportunity to escape to a new life. However, her past began to catch up with her despite her own innocence in all of it. To top it all off, a child she placed for adoption years before turns out to be her sister-in-law's live-in nanny.

The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters is written from the perspective of an experienced devil, Screwtape, trying to teach his nephew, Wormwood, how to tempt. It is composed of letters from Screwtape to Wormwood regarding the man the nephew is responsible for tempting.

Thinking about spirituality from this opposite perspective gave me new insights into ways I can change. I learned a great deal throughout the book. One of my favorite chapters centered on where we have our focus, in the past, present, or future:

"The humans live in time but our Enemy [God] destines them to eternity. . . . The Present is the point at which time touches eternity. . . . He would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity or with the Present . . . bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.

"It is far better to make them live in the Future. . . . thought about the Future inflames hope and fear."

Black Like Me - John Howard Griffin

Black Like Me is the story of a Texan journalist who, in 1959, decided to undergo heavy medication to turn his skin dark and live as an African American man in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. He wanted to see for himself if all of the rumors about the superiority of Whites were true, as well as to experience what life as an African American man was like at that time.

He spent time in the same cities as a white man, and noticed a dramatic difference in the way he was treated by Whites.

For some reason the most poignant part of his experience, for me, was that he often had to walk blocks or even miles to find a restroom, water, or food he was allowed to use as an African American. Seeing this experience from his perspective gave me a greater understanding of a lot of the problems we still face regarding poverty.

While is style of writing is not necessarily compelling, his whole experience and bravery helped me to gain a better understanding of the inequalities faced by so many people. I think it would be interesting for someone to undertake a similar experiment regarding other groups which are discriminated against today.

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

I have been wanting to read this book for over two years. I heard about it right before we moved away for graduate school, and so I finally got around to checking it out from the library, or at least trying to check it out, in April or May. I couldn't understand how the Lincoln library could have over 50 copies, and yet it was still a long waiting list. The following week, I saw the first preview for the movie adaptation. Ah-ha!

So, I finally broke down and bought it when we made a visit to Vernal in early August and I had already finished the only book I brought with me for the trip.

I LOVED this book. It is broken up into three sections detailing Liz's experiences spending four months in each of three locations: Italy, India, and Indonesia (Bali). She is healing from a terrible divorce and a long bout of depression, so she decides to go on a journey of self-discovery.

While I loved the descriptions of Italy and the things she learned about herself there (all focused around food - hence the "Eat" in Eat, Pray, Love) and her time in Bali (focused on finding balance between the physical and spiritual - the Love part), the section detailing her spiritual journey in India is what made me love this book.

Say You're One of Them - Uwem Akpan

Apparently graduating and moving severely limit my time to review the books I read.

Say You're One of Them is a collection of 5 short stories about the resilience of children based in various African countries. None of the stories, however, are uplifting. They are fictional accounts of real suffering in these countries.

In "An Ex-Mas Feast," a mother, father, and several children all live in a shanty. As a prostitute, the oldest daughter brings home the only real money the family gets. She is saving to pay for her younger brother to go to school. The family looks down on her and frequently criticizes her for the way she earns her money even though their only other source of income is begging, which usually in unproductive. In the end, she pays off her family's debts, brings home a feast, and prepares to leave the house to work full time. Her younger brother threatens to run away and not go to school if she follows through with it.

"Fattening for Gabon" is the story of a young boy and girl who are sent by their parents to live with an uncle in a distant city. They are happy with him, but soon new people appear in their lives and say they are going to take them away to give them a better life. Even though they are both about 10 years old, their new "mother" changes their names to European names and they are forced to be called by these new names. As time passes, it becomes clear that their uncle sold them to these people. He becomes remorseful, but he has already received part of the payment for them and so he is killed by those who plan to take the children away. The older brother manages to get a spare key to allow him and his sister to escape. His sister screams and refuses to come as they try to escape, and he runs away without her.

"What Language is That" is the story of two little girls, one Christian, the other Muslim. They enjoy playing together and their families have no problem with their friendship until tensions break out. Neither of them understands why she is not allowed to see the other.

"Luxurious Hearses" is the story of a Muslim teenage boy who is trying to flee south to escape his fellow Muslims who are planning to kill him for being the son of a Christian father. He spends an exhausting couple of days trying to hid his religion from a bus full of Christians who are fleeing the same violence. However, upon reaching the south, they realize that tensions are just as bad there with the Christians persecuting the Muslims, and the southern Muslims are trying to flee north.

Set in Rwanda, "My Parent's Bedroom" is about two young children who find themselves in the middle of a conflict because their parents are from two different tribes. Their father's family is demanding that he kill their mother, which he refuses to do. In the mean time, he is hiding injured Tutsis in their ceiling, causing it to sag all over. The children are barely able to escape. Their father's family kills their father, and drags away their mother after setting their house on fire.

One Book - One Lincoln Books

One Book – One Lincoln

Past Finalists and Selected Titles

2009

 People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

What is the What by Dave Eggers

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

The Color of Water by James McBride [305.8 McB]

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard [Biography Roosevelt]

2008

Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson [915.491 Mor]

 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2007

Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean

 The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan [973.917 Ega]

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor

2006

Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos [Nebraska Author]

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

 The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson [364.152 Lar]

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls [B W1547]

2005

 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

The Green Mile by Stephen King

Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps by Ted Kooser [917.823 Koo] [Nebraska Author]

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

2004

 Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Old Jules by Mari Sandoz [B Sa54s] [Nebraska Author]

2003

The Weight of Dreams by Jonis Agee [Nebraska Author]

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg

 Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

2002

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

 Plainsong by Kent Haruf [Nebraska Author]

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger

Montana 1948 by Lawrence Watson

 – indicates the selected title for this year

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother - James McBride

This is a biography about the author's mother, Ruth McBride Jordan (born Ruchel Dwajra Zylska, raised Rachel Deborah Shilsky). She was born in Poland in 1921, and two years later her small family (father, mother, and younger sister) immigrated to the United States, settling in Virginia.

Her family was Jewish, and her father was sort of a Rabbi. He, however, was abusive to her as well as to her mother. She was white, and began dating an African American young man when she was a teenager. Through various difficulties, their relationship fell apart.

Over the years, her mother sent her away each summer to live with her mother's family in New York City. Only her grandmother really ever accepted her.

When she graduated from high school, she moved to New York City. A few years later her mother was admitted to a hospital in NYC, but Ruth was not allowed to visit because she was considered "dead" to the family who had already performed her Jewish death rites, by reciting the kaddish and sitting shiva for her.

During her time in NYC, she mete and fell in love with Dennis McBride, an African American man. They lived in a few very small apartments together, and had 8 children. During that time, Dennis also went to school and became a preacher, and they started their own church out of their home. They moved this church twice as it grew.

When Ruth was pregnant with their 8th child (the author of this book), Dennis died of lung cancer without a penny to his name. Ruth had lived the previous 15 years in African American neighborhoods with Dennis (who she insisted marry her when she converted to Christianity), and being accepted more than she ever was among her white peers. In fact, even before she met Dennis she hung out more in Harlem than anywhere else.

Awhile later she met another man, Mr. Jordan, who was older than her, and he asked to take her to a movie. She told him she liked to go to movies and so did her 8 children. He immediately stepped into their lives and cared for them as well as their biological father had. They had 4 more children together.

None of her 12 children knew anything about her past, but James became very interested when he realized she was white but he had never met any of his white family.

She would push aside his questions about her skin color and her past. Eventually, as an adult (and over many years) he pieced together her story and even brought her back to Virginia for the first time to see her only childhood friend.

Amazingly, Ruth's 12 children all graduated from college, many of them with graduate degrees. She always stressed the importance of Jesus Christ and school, which somehow helped every one of them find success.

The title of the book comes from a conversation James often had with his mother:

"When I asked her where she was from, she would say, 'God made me,' and change the subject. When I asked her if she was white, she'd say, 'No. I'm light-skinned,' and change the subject again."

Then he would ask her what color God is, and she would tell him, "The color of water."

Night - Elie Wiesel

Night is a simple, straightforward memoir of Elie's experiences during WWII. He grew up in Hungary, and relates his experiences relating to the Nazi invasion, and his family and neighbors being forcefully relocated first to the ghetto, and then to various concentration camps.

His story, like all stories from the Holocaust, is tragic and inspiring at the same time. He and his father are separated from his mother and sister early on, and he expresses that the two are each other's strength through the remainder of their experiences.

This is a short (just over 100 pages) book describing more factually than in detail what millions experienced in the 1940s.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

What a perfectly delightful and clever story. This one was recommended to me by several people, but I finally picked it up from the library when my mom (who knows my reading tastes quite well) told me I would love it.

There are many stories which I enjoy reading once, and then they are quickly gone from my life, making only a small impact. Actually, that is why I started this blog - I can't remember much about the books I read unless I discuss them with someone. Since I haven't had time for a book club in the last couple of years, I decided to record my readings here. I digress.

The Guersey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will be one of the few books I want to read over again through the years. The language, oh the language! I am such a sucker for beautiful words and sentimental phrasing. This book has both.

I was curious from the beginning why it had two authors, and it turns out Mary Ann is Annie's aunt. Both are writers, so when Mary Ann grew ill and knew she could not accomplish the final editing, she asked Annie to be her voice. She must have done a good job, because everything in the book fit so well together. What a precious gift they were both able to give each other.

Set in post-WWII England/Guernsey, it consists entirely of letters between and among Juliet, her publisher Sidney and his sister Sophie, and various members of the, yes, you guessed it, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

I am amazed at the character development which emerges from these letters. Character descriptions all come casually in letters from other people, which gives a glimpse into the life of the subject, as well as the writer. I'm still processing how this is possible.

Juliet wrote satirical articles throughout the war, and when the book begins, those letters have just been published into a book.

Meanwhile, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, member of the GLPPPS (I had to shorten it somehow, although it's a shame to do so) who has been reading a volume from Charles Lamb which once belonged to Juliet. He engages her in a correspondence which quickly turns into a friendship and an opportunity for Juliet to write about the formation and activities of the GLPPPS and their experiences being occupied by the Germans during WWII.

My favorite quotes from the book:

p. 37 (Amelia Maugery describing Dawsey Adams to Juliet Ashton)

"Dawsey has a rare gift for persuasion - he never asks for anything for himself, so everyone is eager to do what he asks for others."

p. 39 (Juliet to Amelia) "I have asked the Reverend Simon Simpless . . . to write to you. He has known since I was a child and is fond of me. I have asked Lady Bella Taunton to provide a reference for me too. We were fire wardens together during the Blitz and she wholeheartedly dislikes me. Between the two of them, you may get a fair picture of my character."

p. 40 (Juliet describing Markham V. Reynolds - her suitor)

"He's used to ordering people about - though he does it so easily they don't notice. He's got a way of believing his opinion is truth, but he's not disagreeable about it. He's too sure he's right to be disagreeable."

"Before I knew it, I was basking in his attention, utterly charmed."

p. 47 (Susan Scott to Juliet)

"Was that you I glimpsed in this week's Tattler doing the rumba with Mark Reynolds? . . . You can purchase my silence with torrid details you know."

Reply

"Dear Susan, I deny everything. Love, Juliet"

p. 97 (Dawsey to Juliet)

"Sometimes I think of Charles Lamb and marvel that a man born in 1775 enabled me to make two such friends as you and Christian." (This is SO true about books!)

p. 101 (Will Thisbee quoting Thomas Carlyle Past to Present to Juliet)

"Does it ever give thee pause that men used to have a soul - not by hearsay alone, or as a figure of speech; but as a truth that they knew and acted upon. . . . but yet it is a pity we have lost the tidings of our soul."

I normally like to summarize books a bit here for my own sake, and I have been debating about doing that for this book because it is so good I would hate to spoil it for you. If you have not read it, please stop reading my blog now and pick up a copy at the library.

I'm serious, you'd better leave if you don't want some things to be spoiled.

Are you still there? I hope you've already read this book then.

Okay, here comes a spoiler-filled summary.

Juliet has a close relationship with her publisher, Sidney, who is the brother of her dearest friend from boarding school, Sophie. Their relationship, although neither Sidney or Juliet are married, is purely friendship.

Juliet is trying to settle on her next writing project when she receives her first letter from Dawsey. They begin to correspond and slowly the story of the GLPPPS comes out. Once Dawsey and his fellow society members begin to trust that Juliet's intentions are pure, they freely share their story.

During the German occupation, food of all kinds was scarce and the Germans confiscated livestock, poultry, etc.

However, occasionally someone was able to hide an animal, such as a pig, by claiming their animal was dead. The Germans would come to see the dead animal, and then they would pass it along to a friend who also had a pig and the Germans would check again, but this time, the individual was able to hide the live pig somewhere.

Isola did this on one occasion, and she invited her friends and their friends for a dinner to enjoy it with her. They had such a good time that all of the visitors had to go out past curfew. They were seen by Germans soldiers, and Elizabeth quickly came up with a story about how they were meeting as a Literary Society and were so into their discussion they lost track of time. They soldiers told them all to go to their homes and report to the commandant the next morning. The commandant was so interested, he asked if he could occasionally attend their meetings, and they agreed. However, they had to quickly form a society, and find enough books to make it seem feasible. Out of these difficult circumstances, many deep friendships were formed.

Juliet also receives some letters from others on the island who think the society and its members are inappropriate for her story.

Juliet is also being courted for marriage by the owner of another publishing company. When she decides she must visit Guernsey, he proposes to her. She goes anyway.

Not surprisingly, Juliet forms powerful friendships with the islanders right away. It quickly becomes clear that she and Dawsey have a special bond. The more she talks to people, the more she realizes she has enough for a book rather than a newspaper article.

Eventually, she decides to tell everyone's stories through a biographical account of Elizabeth, who sadly, was taken to a camp for nursing an injured slave worker. She died there, but everyone's stories on the island go back to her.

During her time in Guernsey, Elizabeth also cares for Kit, Elizabeth's daughter through a kind and sympathetic German officer, Christian. Christian was killed (in battle?) earlier, which left Kit an orphan (although it doesn't come out until later that Elizabeth was killed in the camp). Kit has been raised by various members of the society. Though she was welcome in all of their homes, she never had just one home.

Toward the end of the story, Juliet proposes to Dawsey, and is in the process of adopting Kit.

The Female Brain - Laura Brizendine

This is an excellent book which I think should be read by females and males alike. It's companion, The Male Brain, was recently released and I plan to read that soon. Both books are written in a very accessible style, and both emphasize the effects hormones have on making women unique from men or vice versa.

The Female Brain talks through the development of the female brain from conception through old age. With my Early Childhood Education background, those chapters particularly stuck out to me, but I would recommend that if nothing else, you read the chapter which applies to your current age (for women) or the current age of your significant other (for men).

The Chapter on the Mommy Brain (all the changes that occur in the brain for both biological and adoptive mothers) was especially fascinating. I have heard a lot of moms say their brains when to mush while they were pregnant or when they brought the baby home, and their are biological causes and reasons for that.

The book is broken up into the following chapters and appendices:

What Makes Us Women
The Birth of the Female Brain
Teen Girl Brain
Love and Trust
Sex
The Mommy Brain
Emotion: The Feeling Brain
The Mature Female Brain
The Future of the Female Brain
Hormone Therapy
Sexual Orientation
Postpartum Depression

By reading this book, I gained a great deal of insight into myself and many of the women I know at all stages of life.

Here are a few things that stood out to me:

-Girls brains are ready for emotional connection at birth. In general, infant girls are more skilled at gazing at people and reading emotions. This ability for mutual face gazing and eye contact increases 400% in the first 3 months of life, while this ability does not increase at all for infant boys in the same time period.

-Girls seek approval in facial expressions. They do not tolerate flat faces and will keep trying to elicit an expression. Thus, if a mother is depressed, her daughter will think her straight expression is a form of rejection of the daughter's self.

-Girls can hear more vocal tones than boys, which makes it easier for them to obey instructions and heed warnings.

-Girls talk to see if they are being listened to and they use this information to determine if others take them seriously.

-Girls calm more easily than boys because they can "absorb" their caregivers emotions and empathize with him/her.

-Infantile puberty lasts 24 months for girls (9 mo. for boys) and bathes the brain in estrogen which makes girls emotionally adept and into caregiving even as toddlers.

-"The 'nervous system environment" a girl absorbs during her first two years becomes a view of reality that will affect her for the rest of her life." Even being raised by the same parents, 2 girls born at different times could absorb nurturing if born in good times or fear if born in unsettling times, thus shaping their world views. "If you're a mom-t0-be carrying a female fetus, take it easy so your daughter will be able to relax." (p. 20)

-When teenage girls talk, it increases the intimacy of their relationships which releases dopamine in the brain (pleasurable) making the reward for talking with friends even greater, thus encouraging them to keep talking.

-Women's self-image is based largely on the quality of their relationships.

-Fear of conflict and end of relationships can make girls willing to sacrifice anything in order to maintain a relationship.

There were plenty of other interesting things in the book. There are some things in the book with which I completely agree and others of which I am skeptical. I recommend you take a look at it to better understand yourself and the women around you.

The Learning Tree - Gordon Parks

The Learning Tree tells the story of Newt, a young African American boy growing up in the Midwest in the 1920s. During this period, racial segregation was still accepted by many. He has a group of friends with whom he has many adventures including trapping animals in the winter and swimming in the river in the summer.

While Newt is extremely innocent in some ways, his experiences with being discriminated against force him to function beyond his age. He is very smart, but does not have the access to resources some of his white peers and friends have.

He must face the death of loved ones through natural causes, as well as because of racial and economic circumstances of his time.

Throughout the book, Newt has to make several decisions far beyond his age and often decide between telling the truth and protecting himself and his family from harm.

The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros

Using a minimalistic style, Cisneros tells this story from the perspective of Esperanza, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago. It is clear from the series of vignettes that Esperanza lives in a poor neighborhood. Each word has clearly been carefully selected and each paints a powerful picture with creative and unique metaphors which evoke a full array of emotions. To give you a good idea of the style of the book, here is one of my favorite vignettes:

Bums in the Attic

"I want to work on a hill like the ones with the gardens where Papa works. We go on Sundays, Papa's day off. I used to go. I don't anymore. You don't like to go out with us, Papa says. Getting too old? Getting too stuck up says Nenny. I don't tell them I am ashamed--all of us staring out the window like the hungry. I am tired of looking at what we can't have. When we win the lottery . . . Mama begins, and then I stop listening.

"People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth. They don't look down at all except to be content to live on hills. They have nothing to do with last week's garbage or fear of rats. Night comes. Nothing wakes them but the wind.

"One day I'll own my own house, but I won't forget who I am or where I came from. Passing bums will ask, Can I come in? I'll offer them the attic, ask them to stay, because I know how it is to be without a house.

"Some days after dinner, guests and I will sit in front of a fire. Floorboards will squeak upstairs. The attic grumble.

"Rats? they'll ask.

"Bums, I'll say, and I'll be happy."

The Accident - Elie Wiesel

Told in a unique style through Eliezer's voice, The Accident narrates the struggles the living experience after witnessing and being surrounded by death. His companion throughout his adulthood, Kathleen, tries to bring him back from the "living dead." The book weaves the past with stories of his grandmother, mother and father, all killed in concentration camps, and the present, with his desire to die after he is hit by a cab. Several people try to convince him of the utility and joy that can be found in life.

How Good Do We Have to Be? - Harold Kushner - 1.2010

This book gives a thought-provoking and inspiring look at God's unconditional love for us, and how understanding that love can shape our lives. It takes a look at the Garden of Eden and posits that perhaps God was blessing Adam and Eve by sending them out of the Garden, and not punishing them to a life of misery. This could have signaled the beginning of their true humanity, because by having knowledge of good and evil, they could choose to act, rather than just acting as all other animals do. Thus, God becomes a Being who does not punish us for our mistakes, but gives us a full measure of His love in all things as we are ready to receive it.

This idea of unconditional love is then applied to our personal relationships, allowing us to not expect perfection from ourselves, our parents, our siblings, our spouses, our children, or our friends. This releases us and allows complete acceptance of one another, free from disappointment, since disappointment comes from unmet expectations. By not expecting perfection from each other, we are more likely to see each other's actions in a pleasant light.

One great quote from the book: "When we do something wrong, because we are human and our choices are so complicated and temptations so strong, we don't lose our humanity. But we lose our integrity, our sense of wholeness, of being the same person all the time. We create a situation where a part of us, our good self, is at war with another part of us, our weak and selfish side. We lose the focus, the singleness of purpose, that enables us to do the things that matter to us. That is when we need the religious gift of forgiveness and atonement (making our split selves at one). But should we ever conclude that there is no point in trying to be good because we can never be good enough, that is when we lose everything. Being human can never mean being perfect, but it should always mean struggling to be as good as we can and never letting our failures be a reason for giving up the struggle" (p. 174).

This is one of the best books I have read in a very long time.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne - 1.2010

This story is told through the eyes of Bruno, an 9-year-old boy whose father is a German army officer. As seen through Bruno's eyes, his father is a very important and very good man. Bruno barely notices the inconsistencies when his family moves from Berlin to a place he calls, "Out With" (Auschwitz). He quickly becomes bored without his friends, and begins exploring the area, wondering why all of the people on the other side of the fence wear pajamas all day, and why he isn't allowed to play with them. He meets one boy, Shmuel, and begins a daily discussion with him through the fence, far from Bruno's home.

Bruno sees many parallels between his life and Shmuel's: they share a birthdate, they were both forced to move from homes they loved, etc. He also notices that he does not like the way the family's butler and others of "those people" are treated by the soldiers. He is especially confused when the butler, Pavel, claims he is actually a doctor, a soldier beats Pavel for spilling wine, and Shmuel complains about life on the other side of the fence. Bruno thinks he is lucky to have other children to play with since Bruno is alone. Bruno is also confused why and guilty that he claims he's never seen Shmuel before and denies sharing food with him, claiming Shmuel stole it.

Tragedy strikes when Bruno crosses the fence to help his friend search for his missing father.

This is a creative interpretation and voice on a frequently-explored tragedy. This is a quick read, which I highly recommend.

My Mortal Enemy - Willa Cather - 1.2010

Summary courtesy of Wikipedia

"Myra and her husband return to their fictional hometown of Parthia, Illinois, to visit their relatives. Nellie and Aunt Lydia then leave to spend the Christmas holiday in New York City with them. They live on Madison Square. They dine with Ewan Gray, a friend who has an infatuation on another actress, Esther Sinclair. Oswald receives silver-buttons for his shirt from an old Western acquaintance, and asks Lydia to pretend she gave them to him to thwart his wife's jealousy. Later Myra and Nellie go to the opera; in a loge they spot an erstwhile friend of Myra's, which makes her sad. Later they take a hansom around a park and chance upon a rich acquaintance of Myra's, which leads her to be scornful over her own poverty. They spend Christmas dinner with friends of the Henshawes - both artists and people of privilege. Later they spend New Year's Eve with artists again. A few days later Nellie witnesses the Henshawes argue; the husband takes her out to lunch. Soon after, she and her aunt are to return to Illinois. On the train, they are joined by Myra, who has argued with her husband again and is going to visit a friend in Pittsburg for a change of scenery.

Ten years later, Nellie moved into a shabby flat in a little town on the west coast, and bumps into the Henshawes. Myra is now bedridden and Oswald works fulltime; their upstairs neighbours are atrociously noisy, regardless Myra's illness. Nellie takes to visiting her at tea-time; she also takes her out by the sea. Myra expresses her regrets over her husband. (If she had not married him, her great-uncle would have bequeathed her his fortune. Instead, she eloped and he gave it away to the church.) Oswald takes to having lunch with a young woman Once, Nellie asks her why she is so harsh on her husband, and Myra dismisses her. Shortly after, her condition gets worse. She dismisses everyone and runs away; she is found dead by the seaside the following day. Her husband expresses no remorse about his wife; he loved her despite her difficult conduct. After her death he moves to Alaska and later Nellie hears about his death."

The People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book is a wonderful story woven between reality and fiction.

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

"The story focuses on an imagined past of the still extant Sarajevo Haggadah, one of the oldest surviving Jewish illuminated texts.

The novel tells the fictional story of Hanna Heath, an Australian book conservator who is responsible for restoring the Haggadah. The story alternates between sections set in the present day with Heath and other sections showing the history of the Haggadah.^[4]

Told in reverse chronological order, the story follows the Haggadah backward in time as it travels across Europe, from war-torn Sarajevo to the book's origins. It also explains such clues as missing silver clasps, preserved butterfly remnants, and various stains and spots, which are all eventually explained as part of the manuscript's long history."

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield

Perhaps the best book I have read in awhile.
Characters (courtesy of wikipedia)

• Margaret Lea: a bookstore owner's daughter, whom Vida Winter asks to write her biography
• Vida Winter: a famous novelist who has eluded reporters as to her true past, and is now ready to reveal her secrets to Margaret
• Isabelle Angelfield: the younger of George Angelfield's two children and the mother of twins Emmeline and Adeline
• Charlie Angelfield: Isabelle's older brother, who harbours an obsessive passion for his sister
• Emmeline March: the less violent, more complacent twin
• Adeline March: the angrier, more aggressive twin
• Aurelius Love: a resident of the Angelfield area who befriends Margaret
• John Digence/"John-the-dig": Angelfield's longtime gardener
• The Missus: Angelfield's aged housekeeper
• Hester Barrow: governess to Adeline and Emmeline
• Dr. Maudsley: the town doctor who attempts to help the twins
• George Angelfield: Charlie and Isabelle's father, who ignores the former and dotes on the latter after his wife's death
• Mathilde Angelfield: Charlie and Isabelle's mother, who dies giving birth to Isabelle
• Judith: Vida Winter's housekeeper
• Dr. Clifton: Vida Winter's doctor

SPOILER ALERT: Contains summary of book.

Margaret is the adult daughter of the owner of a rare-book store in (London?) sometime near the present. As a young girl she was playing at home (alone for the first time) and discovered a small tin of important documents under her parents' bed, including 2 birth certificates for the same day: one is contains her name, the other is accompanied by a death certificate. Upon discovering that she had a twin, Moira, who died when the two were surgically separated, she begins to understand the incompleteness she has always felt.

Since that time, her relationship with her ailing mother has been strained, and her father is her boss, co-worker, and only friend. When Margaret's birthday rolls around, he always presents her with a store bought cake, a card signed "Love, Dad and Mum," and a few books he has picked up specifically for her at auction throughout the year - all within the bookshop where she both lives and works now. When she was a child, he would whisper "Happy Birthday" to her and play a game or two, while intermittently caring for her mother upstairs who always got one of her "headaches" on this day.

Margaret has begun writing brief biographies of obscure people. At the opening of the book, she is contacted by Vida Winter, the most prolific writer of novels at the time, in the form of a letter. Miss Winter, who has never told an honest story regarding her origins, is now dying and wishes Margaret to write her biography. After a great deal of complications, Margaret agrees. She temporarily moves into Miss Winter's home, and Miss Winter begins to tell her story, from the beginning, in pieces each day as time and her health permits.

Miss Winter begins by describing her family's gothic and mysterious past in their estate - Angelfield. Her grandmother died during childbirth, leaving her grandfather to grieve her with an infant daughter (Isabelle) and son (Charlie) basically orphaned. When he refuses to eat or leave the library, the housekeeper/cook (The Missus) decides to bring Isabel to him. He begins to dote on her unfailingly, and things seem to improve. However, Charlie has a terrible habit of torturing animals, and he soon begins to torture Isabel with her permission.

When their father dies, Isabelle is courted by and marries Mr. March, and they move away. Charlie is furious, and he begins taking advantage of multiple women from around Angelfield. Before long, Isabel returns home with twin baby girls after the death of her husband. She is mentally unsound, and stays at all times in her room, which leaves the twins to be raised by the Missus and John-the-Dig, the gardener. It soon becomes clear the twins are not like most children. They speak only to each other in a made-up twin language, and they create mischief throughout the area by stealing from people's kitchens and gardens. Eventually, they steal a pram with an infant inside because they want to play with it. When the mother turns around to find it missing, the whole neighborhood comes out to find her baby. They find the baby lying in the weeds, and this incident becomes the final straw.

The townspeople approach the doctor and ask him to intervene. He visits the home to assess the situation, and has Isabelle institutionalized. Charlie refuses to leave his room after that.

Dr. Maudsley decides to hire a governess for the girls. When Hester enters the home, she brings order and cleanliness with her. The Missus is quite elderly and unable to keep up with all of the housework since most of the staff has been fired over the years. Hester cleans the entire house, finds the keys to each room and locks those that are unused, and establishes regular meal times.

After a few months there, she consults with the doctor and they decide to separate Emmeline and Adeline. The doctor takes Adeline home with him, and Emmeline stays at Angelfield. Their experiment fails miserably - initially they are both silent, but soon Emmeline begins to improve. As Hester and Dr. Maudsley consult with one another one day, the doctor's wife catches them kissing. Hester leaves Angelfield immediately and the twins are reunited.

Not long after, Isabelle dies in the institution, and Charlie leaves the nursery for the first time and disappears. Vida finds him dead in an overgrown gazebo one day, having shot himself. She, however, keeps this information to herself to avoid having Angelfield taken over again by outsiders.

Soon after this, we discover that Ms. Winters is not one of the twins, but their nameless cousin, illegitimate child of Charlie. Her impoverished mother abandons her at Angelfield, and the househelp take her under their wings. Hester never realized there were 3 girls.

The Missus dies first, and John-the-dig is murdered when someone (Adeline) tampers with the latch on his ladder.

Before his death, John-the-dig hired a neighbor boy to work in the gardens, and this boy and Emmeline fall in love and have a child, although the boy leaves without knowing Emmeline is pregnant. When Emmeline begins to give all of her attention to her son, Adeline becomes jealous and violent, and tries to burn the child in the library fireplace. Vida finds the child and saves him, running him to a neighbor's house and leaving him on the doorstep. She then goes back to the house which is engulfed in flames and drags one of the twins out, believing it is Emmeline. She, however, never finds out which twin it is. The other twin perishes in the blaze.

Throughout the time she is gathering the story, Margaret makes a couple of visits to Angelfield, where she meets Aurelius. Eventually, they discover that Aurelius is Emmeline's son.

This story was filled with plenty of suspense and miraculous style.