Books

Men read on Mars, women on Venus

mkehe — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:32:04 +0000

In yesterday’s Guardian novelist Eli Gottlieb offered a “top ten battle-of-the-sexes” reading list. Its offerings range from Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” to August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie.” It’s a feature designed to make us all smile, albeit rather nervously.

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

picks — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:39:02 +0000

I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. It is important to read as 51 percent of our carbon footprint is related to food, and this is a true story of a family that unplugged from making their share of that footprint for a whole year. The book is not only a well-written, enlightening read, but it is also fun to hear how the author’s family meets up with the challenge of changing all their eating habits to local and organic food. There is a full range of information to interest and engage the reader, from environmental information to seasonal recipes, written by a bestselling author and her family.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

reviews — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:34:51 +0000

“The decision to return to any early scene in your life is dangerous but irresistible, not as a search for lost time but for the grotesquerie of what happened since.” (more…)

The Last Wild Wolves

picks — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:26:12 +0000

The Last Wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Rain Forest by Ian McAllister with DVD The book has beautiful pictures and video on the DVD that transports you to this pristine environment where wolves have evolved and prospered. Your imagination will soar, allowing you to be there without inflicting any possible damage. The authors have shown great respect in their contact with the world around them as they go about describing it.

What happened to Anna K.

reviews — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:20:55 +0000

All happy heroines resemble one another, each unhappy one is unhappy in her own way. Although, actually, readers of Irina Reyn’s debut novel, What Happened to Anna K. might notice that her heroine’s brand of unhappiness bears certain similarities to a tragic figure of classic Russian literature. (more…)

Expensive college textbooks

mkehe — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:30:21 +0000

Every year there seems to be a bit of news buzz in the first weeks of August about how expensive college textbooks have become. To help ease the burden, Congress has enacted new legislation mandating that institutions of higher learning be more transparent about college costs. (more…)

The Underneath

reviews — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:44 +0000

Puck and Sabine’s mother warns her kittens never to venture outside the dark space beneath the porch where they live, the Underneath. There they are protected from Gar Face, a hard-edged, bitter, drinking man who lives in the falling-down house. But kittens are naturally mischievous and curious. (more…)

George III: America’s Last King

picks — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:10 +0000

I am reading Jeremy Black’s George III: America’s Last King. George III considered himself a patriot, taking pride in being an English king, though he was always threatening to abdicate and return to Hanover if he became displeased with his ministers and the House of Commons. George III wanted to reign above partisan politics, considering himself not the titular head of a powerful country, but, indeed, one of three “branches” with equal weight in the formation of English policy both at home and abroad. At the point I am now, George III is standing his ground.

White Heat

reviews — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:00:56 +0000

The Boston neighborhood in which I live encompasses an almost undisturbed patch of Victoriana. Huge, sleepy mansions line streets that stretch from a Unitarian church of somber stone up to a dark Episcopalian basilica set on a hill. Were Emily Dickinson to turn up on our block tomorrow – apart from the cars and utility poles – there would be almost nothing to surprise her. (more…)

Travels of the mind

mkehe — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:23:50 +0000

It’s raining here (again), in New England and even for those of us breaking free of “staycations” and actually going somewhere, a stack of books is still required for the packing list to help pass the days indoors. My suggestion: Read a travel book. At least you can go somewhere sunny in your imagination. (more…)