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June 2007 Reviews
1.
Book: Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie
An informative
look into Ancient Egyptian culture and customs. This story
illustrates how the characteristics of people in ancient cultures
are similar to ours. It provides an insight into the motivation
of someone who represses anger until it festers into an urge
to kill.
--
2.
Book: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander
McCall Smith
This book is the first in a series of lovely stories about Botswana and the life of Precious Ramotswe interacting with her family and friends. Today, with so much written of terror, disease and global warming it is refreshing to read a clever book about gentle people. There are several books in the series, and I recommend them all.
Rating:
Highly
Recommended
--
3.
Book:
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
It has all the elements of unbearable melodrama: A hunchbacked, claw-handed painter, an awkward young girl, a lost goose, and a war. Fortunately for us, Paul Gallico has combined these elements into a sad and glorious story of love and loss and acceptance.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
4.
Book: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
This collection of stories is at times gritty, satirical, painful, entertaining, hopeful, and humorous. One memorable and unsettling story in this collection follows a troubled African American female student at Yale. In another story, a teenage girl runs away to track down her mother in the big city, but finds herself amongst prostitutes and a shady character named Dezi. This book is for readers who are not looking for light-hearted fiction.
Rating:
Recommended
--
5.
Book: Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie
A charming, old-fashioned country house mystery with a surprisingly modern slant. In this very early story, Agatha Christie explores the world of undercover agents. She portrays them as patriotic people who undertake grave risks (and sometimes lose the gamble) in their careers. You are taken in by their humor and charm; their real pursuits are not exposed until the end.
Rating:
Recommended
--
6.
Book: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Reading this book will guarantee sudden bursts of laughter! Sedaris, who is a regular contributor to NPR’s This American Life, recalls his childhood, family, relationships, and embarrassing moments in this hilarious yet introspective collection of essays.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
7.
Book: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
I CANNOT believe this book was written in 1973. Vonnegut's critique on the materialistic, grasping nature of American society and bitterness at a war that could not be won is even more pertinent in 2007. In addition, he is able to drive his point across in an easy-to-read and very funny novel. Read it NOW!
Rating:
Highly Recommended
8.
Book: Ask a Mexican by Gustavo Arellano
Arellano's book isn't nearly as funny as I had expected it to be, and wasn't as informative as it could have been. However, there are some flashes of humor and an occasionally interesting observation on the clash of cultures around us. The chapter on music is good.
Rating:
Somewhat Recommended
--
9.
Book: To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
One of Steinbeck's early works, this is the powerful and complex story of Joseph Wayne, who homesteaded a farm and ranch in California with his brothers. There, Joseph saw the embodiment of his dead father's spirit in a huge oak tree, performed modest rituals to the tree as the farms thrived, and saw the land suffering from famine and drought after one of his brothers cut down the tree. Looking at pagan and Christian traditions at the same time, this story explores humans' interrelationship with their immediate natural environments, especially as it pertains to the western American experience, and considers a pertinent lesson -- take care of the land and the land will take care of you.
Rating:
Recommended
--
10.
Book: The Monk Upstairs by Tim Garrington
Rebecca finds out that when you marry an ex-monk, your life will never be quite the same. Tim Farrington spins a delightful tale that reminds us all to stop and smell the roses and not take life, or ourselves, too seriously.
Rating:
Recommended
--
11.
Book: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to
the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson
This semi-biographical account of Dr. Thompson and his lawyer in Las Vegas in 1971 focuses on their search for the American Dream during a highly charged time in American history. Each time I read this book I have a better understanding of the message that the Good Doctor was trying to convey to his readers. Keep in mind that the drug use in the story is only secondary to the "mission" being carried out, all in the name of journalism.
Rating:
Recommended
--
12.
Book: The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie combines her intellectual acrobatics with the spice of the supernatural and a charming romance. In this story she examines the concept of the "death wish": whether a person can die of natural causes merely by a death mindset. However, the "Pale Horse" does not gallop to the tunes of death wishes; stronger spurs are needed.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
13.
Book: Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi
Dr. Noguchi was the Chief Medical Examiner for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. He was first employed by the office in 1960 and left in a storm of controversy in the early 1980s. During his tenure he worked on some of the most interesting and mysterious cases, including the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Robert Kennedy, Natalie Wood, Sharon Tate, Janis Joplin, William Holden, and John Belushi, as well as the fiery demise of several members of the radical SLA group that kidnapped Patty Hearst. This book introduces readers to an extraordinary individual.
Rating:
Recommended
--
14.
Book: Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
This is the third in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series (earlier recommended by Charlene Baldwin). For me, the charm of the series, and of this book specifically, lies not so much in the writing (though it is wonderfully evocative), nor in the characters (though the redoubtable Precious Ramotswe, and the deadpan Mma Makutsi are a dandy detective duo), but in the gentle reminders that respect, responsibility, and kindness are universal virtues.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
-- 15.
Book: Love @ First Site by Jane Moore
Love @ First Site proved to be quite a surprising read. The book traces Jess Monroe's trials and tribulations of online dating, friendship, and family life. Even though the book is a VERY light read and far from being a "classic," I found myself enjoying every bit of it.
Rating:
Somewhat Recommended
--
16.
Book: The Mistress’s Daughter: A Memoir by A. M. Homes
I found this book mesmerizing and expertly executed. Author Homes was adopted shortly after her birth. At the age of thirty-one, her biological mother contacted her, causing an avalanche of emotions and psychological turmoil. Homes explains, with brutal honesty, the impact of encounters with her birth mother and father, as well as what becomes her obsession to search for her true identity.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
17.
Book: A Fool and His Money: Life in a Partitioned Town in
Fourteenth-Century France by Ann Wroe
Welcome to Rodez, the Minneapolis/St. Paul of medieval Europe. Here you’ll meet people from The City and from The Bourg: people owing allegiance to different masters, being taxed (and taxed again) for different things and at different rates, maintaining a wall between the two parts of the town, but also working on both sides of that wall, marrying each other, conducting business with each other, and just trying to be part of a community. Wroe’s well-researched and entertainingly written book affords a peek into an interesting slice of the 14th century.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
18.
Book: The Overlook by Michael Connelly
L.A. crime beat journalist turned novelist Michael Connelly returns with another Harry Bosch novel to add to the mix. L.A. homicide detective Bosch is more renegade than by-the-numbers cop when you throw in murder, terrorism, missing nuclear “stuff,” and his ex-lover and FBI agent on the case. Although, you may figure out some of the plot before Harry does, there’s always an entertaining twist or two. L.A. insiders will enjoy the detailed ambiance. This high velocity and fast-moving thriller will take you over the edge…beyond the Overlook!
Rating:
Recommended
--
19.
Book: The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
The earlier Agatha Christie books experiment with different detectives. This may be the first one with Miss Jane Marple, the gossipy, sharply observant, but ditsy-appearing country lady as the puzzle-solver. Another memorable character is the vicar, who is a tolerant confidant with very human emotions.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
20.
Book: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman
Alexie
This is a creative, honest, direct, and sometimes ironic collection of short stories that depict contemporary life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Alexie does a good job of interconnecting the themes and characters throughout the book. The stories are very humorous, dealing with such folks as modern day storytellers and fry bread makers, and also very sad and tragic, often dealing with the alcoholism and poverty that plague life on the rez. They are about relationships, societal distances, and above all hope.
Rating:
Recommended
-- 21.
Book: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by
Barbara Ehrenreich -- 22.
Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude explores the chronology of the Buendia family and how their lives are interwoven with events that take place in the town they founded, Macondo. Gabriel Garcia Marquez treats magic as commonplace and sometimes the ordinary becomes mystical. I don't recommend this book to someone who wants a passive reading experience. With one hundred years worth of characters, many with the same name, I guarantee you'll make use of the family tree on the inside cover.
Rating:
Somewhat Recommended
--
23.
Book: Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
I did not read the book THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET written before this one and this may be the reason that I found this book to be a slow read. The story, which is centered around two shops, the flower shop and the knitting shop on Blossom Street, was a somewhat interesting story of the people (their lives and their challenges) who frequented these shops. There were a few unexpected twists along the story's path which helped to make the story interesting.
Rating:
Somewhat Recommended
--
24.
Book: One Day at Teton Marsh by Sally Carrighar
Originally written in the mid-1940s in narrative form, this book is the story of the animal life that thrives in a beaver pond in Grand Teton National Park. Each chapter describes the ways in which a different animal experiences a single day, the autumnal equinox. The level of detail is impressive, describing the interactions of many different creatures, from the menacing mosquito to the majestic moose. While there is a very small amount of anthropomorphism, Carrighar explains the instincts of the animals, leading the reader to appreciate a sense of place and the intrinsic value of wilderness.
Rating:
Somewhat Recommended
--
25.
Book: Paula by Isabel Allende
In December 1991, novelist Isabel Allende’s daughter Paula became gravely ill and fell into a coma. While caring for her ill daughter for an extended time, Allende began writing her family’s history. The final product is the memoir Paula, which is a fascinating read against the backdrop of Chile, Venezuela, and California. Although it is a non-fiction work, it reads much like an elaborate novel with political intrigue, romance, despair, tragedy, and personal transformation.
Rating:
Recommended
--
26.
Book: Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Absolutely delightful! A paternity claim involving her recently deceased husband leads Maggie McElroy to China where she discovers her husband's dark past and the lush history of Chinese cuisine.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
27.
Book: Wild Steps of Heaven by Victor Villasenor
If you are a fan of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende, you've got to start reading Villasenor. This volume is a magical retelling of his grandfather's life in revolutionary Mexico. The tale contains elements of both action and romance, and gives the reader a colorful glimpse into the history of our continent.
Rating:
Highly Recommended --
This is an extraordinary heartfelt journey into the world of Daniel Tammet. Born on a blue day allows you to discover how a boy diagnosed with Asperger syndrome perceives the world around him. Daniel experiences sequences of numbers as beautiful, colorful and calming shapes, which he often uses to help him feel and understand other peoples emotions. Among other aspects covered of people diagnosed with Autism, this book also reminds you that we should embrace and respect their differences.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
29.
Book: Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie
One of the best--a study in reconstructing a crime from memories (she wrote several of these). What interested me was her examination of the question whether someone with a chronic serious mental illness, with possibly dangerous aspects, can live in a normal setting. I have thought about this question often, since my daughter has paranoid schizophrenia, so it was fascinating for me to see how a sensitive writer like Agatha Christie deals with the issue in this story.
Rating:
Highly Recommended
--
30.
Book: Fancies and Goodnights by John Collier
A collection of short stories; macabre, eerie, and yet humorous, poetical and wistful, all at the same time. "Evening Primrose" and "Thus I Refute Beezley" are probably the two most famous stories. For Collier, the mundane world has, just under its surface, more than most people are ever aware of, or appreciate. His stories deal with the consequences when someone from the ordinary world finds themselves within that numinous realm.
Rating:
Recommended |
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