What We Are Reading: Nonfiction, Thread Two

Any and all nonfiction welcome here!

Finished up 7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life: How To Live Well with the Money You Have by Michelle Singletary. It offered very practical advice for financial security.

Finished Three Cups of Tea, review here.

I found you. I'm just getting ready to start Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science by Marc Aronson because of the wonderful program he and his collaborative wife did on Book TV.

I am about 1/3 of the way into The Colony. It is an easy read so far, and very interesting.

I've got a good bite out of both The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature and The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report and an ongoing obligation to read The Federalist. They all are taking more time than a novel, even a long one, would take.

Robert

4 (Citizenjoyce): Oh, interesting. Added to the wishlist.

I've finished Writing with Intent by Margaret Atwood - essays, reviews, introductions to books by others, etc. I just read a little bit at a time over a few weeks. I plan to start Time Bites by Doris Lessing, in a similar vein, next -someone's wonderful posts here last year about this book made me want to read it too.

I'm also starting to read Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay - she had a white Scottish mother and a black Nigerian father and was adopted by a white couple along with another mixed race boy. She's now a poet, short story writer and novelist, and writes YA books as well. This is her memoir of travelling to Nigeria to meet her father. She's met him but is uncomfortable with his wanting to pray at great length, as she's not only not religious but is gay as well and felt that he might well be prejudiced about her sexuality. Also, he is praying about his sin of fathering her outside marriage.

Wow, elkiedee. It doesn't look like that relationship is going to go well. Nigerians seem to be having a powerful, and I have to think, destructively counter-evolutionary influence on modern Christianity. I don't see how it could work out well for Jackie Kay.

I finished Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science and learned quite a bit about the interactions of various parts of history. I hadn't realized that Napoleon reinstituted slavery in France after the revolution so that he could use sugar production to finance his armies. Even though the book is simple and direct and written for a YA audience I thought it was a good overview. Now, continuing along the same thread of slavery and freedom, I start Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.

I just finished listening to A Song Flung Up To Heaven. It was really good. Maya Angelou is very good with words, and she has had a very interesting life. She narrates, and I liked this narration better than her I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She seemed more relaxed I guess.

I'm about 100 pages into Summer of Shadows: A Murder, A Pennant Race, and the Twilight of the Best Location in the Nation. It's about the summer of 1954 in Cleveland where the Indians beat the Yankees to meet the Giants in the World Series and the city was wrapped up in the murder of Marilyn Sheppard, the wife of a young doctor - Sam Sheppard - who's case may have inspired The Fugitive, a TV series from 1963 - 1967.

So far, it's very good, one of the better ER books I've gotten.

I'm most of the way through Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan. It was an ER book and a sort of feel-good memoir without feeling beat over the head with the author's "goodness." I'm really enjoying it so far.

#12 Glad to hear that you're liking Summer of Shadows. I got that one, too, and will be reading it in March with my baseball reading -- just a few days away.

I'm currently reading Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America by Andrew P. Napolitano. You can pretty much deduce the subject matter from the title. So far, about 1/4 of the way in, I'm detecting a strong examination of the role of positive law ("human-made" legislation) vs. natural law ("God-given" law, or those truths we "hold . . . to be self-evident.") Obvious conflict in the Land of the Free, where the law of the land for many years allowed people to be kept in bondage.

Terri - you got me with Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America. I am adding it to my pile. It sounds very interesting.

I'm currently reading This Life is in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman. (sorry, touchstones only want to pull up something called Apx Alarm???) Anyhoo, it's a memoir written by a woman who grew up in a homesteading family in rural Maine, and it's about how that shaped her and her family. Coleman's little sister died at age 3 in an accident, and the blurb suggests that this will play a big role (as I'm sure it did), but I'm not at that point in the text yet. Right now she's talking about how her parents met and decided to take up homesteading.

For anyone who's into or has a read a bit on homesteading, the Colemans lived on a plot of land next to the Nearings.

I'm just starting The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Just from the first few pages it looks like it will be wonderful.

#15 Jenn, I'm finding the book a little difficult so far -- some of the positions Napolitano takes on issues seem a bit contradictory. And he clearly despises Abraham Lincoln, pretty much calling him a warmonger! I'm starting the chapter about the Civil War, and I will say that it puts a very different spin on events from that to which I'm accustomed!

#17 I listened to that book last fall on audio (the only way it was available through our library at the time) and thought it was excellent.

I just finished Hands and Hearts: A History of Courtship in America by Ellen K. Rothman. The book is based on the author's dissertation, but it is very readable for an academic work. It covers the period from 1770 to 1920, with an epilogue covering 1920-1980. It doesn't help with the social context for my family history (my family doesn't fit the social and geographical parameters of Rothman's research), but I thought it was good background reading for 19th century American lit.

Red Dust Road is a great read, though it's about far more than just the relationship with her biological father - her meetings with him directly only take up a few pages, there's as many about him avoiding meeting her, and more about her adoptive parents, who sound lovely.

I was impressed that her mum not only had Kay help her send Christmas cards to Nelson Mandela, but to all the other prisoners on Robben Island for opposing apartheid. I don't really do Christmas cards, but if you're going to, that sounds worthwhile.

I was amused and a bit disgusted that her dad when she reveals her sexuality starts pressing her for details on how she does it, a really cringeworthy scene.

Yesterday I finished Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure by Paul A. Offit, MD. I should finish two nonfiction books today, The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation Between African Americans and Hispanics by Earl Ofari Hutchinson, and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents by Ian Buruma.

I'm reading Hey, Waitress!. Eh, it's okay. I thought there would be more about waitressing, but a lot of it is biographies of waitresses.

I just read The Sands of Time: A History of Hilton Head Island by Margaret Greer. It's a short book whose market is definitely the tourist crowd. My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/5609826/reviews/62341462

I'm reading The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy and Way Out of Afghanistan. It's well-written though the author's bias about the war is clear. I'm enjoying it.

Touchstone isn't working.

Began The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene this week, though with work obligations increasing in March, I suspect it'll be awhile before I'm done.

I've made a start on City of Dust: Illness, Arrogance, and 9/11, another great Petermc recommendation. It's one of those books I find myself thinking about even when I'm not reading it.

A couple of touchstones:

This Life is in Your Hands
The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy and Way Out of Afghanistan

Robert

I read Inside the Natchez Trace Collection which tells about a special collection at the University of Texas. Most of the materials in this collection focus on the Natchez region rather than the entire Natchez Trace as the title of the collection would lead one to believe. A pretty good overview.

#14, 15, 18 I gave up (at least for now) on Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America. I'm finding it too much opinion and too little history. (What else can one expect from a judge?) At least we agree on the "slavery is bad" opinion, but his attitude toward Lincoln annoys me. He cites a lot of the same facts regarding Lincoln that other writers do, but draws the most negative opinions possible from them.

Working slowly on The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross. I'm planning on taking awhile reading so I can listen to several of the pieces mentioned as I go along.

I admire your efforts to listen to the music as you read. The book made me want to listen to a lot of music, but I was reading in bed away from my CD's. I ought to go back and maybe skim the book as I listen.

Robert

>31 Mr.Durick: Well, I'll certainly try to listen to some. I'm only on page 18, but I already had trouble following his descriptions of the music and wanted to be able to at least start out hearing it so I had a better idea of what he's talking about. I have Salome out of the library now and will try to listen to it today, maybe going back and rereading because those first 18 pages or so were so broken up. We'll see how long this attempt lasts, however, as it will slow me down significantly.

Good luck,

Robert

Just finished D-Day:The Battle for Normandy by Anthony Beevor

More on the Normandy campaign then on D-Day itself, highly recommended.

Emily Dickinson - listening to Lives like loaded guns and reading Dickinson: selected poems and commentaries. The first (and shortest) poem in the selection is this:

In the name of the Bee -
and of the Butterfly -
and of the Breeze - Amen!

(formerly published as the final stanza of The Genetian weaves her fringes, later determined to be a separate poem by Ralph W. Franklin from physical evidence)

ETA to correct capitalization.

In the name of the bee -
and of the butterfly -
and of the Breeze - Amen!

Perfect poem for today, though I saw birds and wasps and felt a nice breeze, no butterflies.

I finished The Colony today. It was really good. I reviewed it on my thread.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/105934#2557172

I'm reading Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and it's fascinating - this book is as much about the failure and problems of her ideas on how to bring up kids, especially with her younger daughter - it's been depicted here as some kind of textbook and it really isn't, I don't believe anyone could read this and think it a good idea.

Just finished The Good Man of Nanking - the diaries of a German man who lived in Nanking China from 1910 til 1938. A touch dry at times -but a very interesting piece of history. He was a supporter of Hitler - without really knowing what this meant -and when the Japanese attacked China - he remained in Nanking to shelter about 600 Chinese. That story makes up the bulk of the book - but imagine his shock when he returns to Nazi Germany and discovers that he has supported Hitler. Made for an interesting read.

I finished The Last Days of the Romanovs. I highly recommend it.

Just starting Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

Finished I Shall Not Hate - great read.
Next up, Unbroken

I just read The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen. Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses dueling (of all things), foot binding, and slavery and how they ended. Then he takes on honor killing and gives some suggestions on what might end them.

Lost track of this thread, but now I've refound it, I better tell you about my last read...

Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro
- The second volume in The Years of Lyndon Johnson series and it's a ripper! Anyone who read the first volume will not be disappointed in the second. In this volume, Robert Caro leads us through the seven years between 1941 and 1948 - from LBJs defeat in his first run for the senate, through his war service (you have to read that!), to his victory in his second senate race in 1948. And while we know the result of that election, Caro none-the-less keeps us on the edge of our seat - through the nail-biting week that gave Johnson his controversial victory, to the efforts of his adversary, Texas legend Coke Stevenson, to expose the truth. With a cast of extras that include ex-Texas Ranger, Captain Frank Hamer; the Duke of Duval, George B. Parr; along with bands of pistoleros; you have all the ingredients to a first-rate Western, and a series of court cases to rival the best of John Grisham. You just can't make up stuff like this! Read it!

43: Huh, interesting.

Began Nothing to Envy yesterday.

Peter, as I've mention before, I think: I love Robert Caro's writing and found all of the LBJ books to be great fun! But I do acknowledge that probably it is those of us who love history who will enjoy them the most. I think I can recommend them all to all readers, too.

I just finished The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine about the people (relatively few) who anticipated the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage bond bubble and invested accordingly. Interesting and a very good read. I am looking forward to starting 8112531::Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food was Seasonal. This has to be one of the longest titles I've ever seen.

I'm reading Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss, and Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents by Ian Buruma.

I'm reading incidents in the life of a slave girl by Harriet Jacobs and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas by Frederick Douglass. There for a class i am taking but I've found that even with the tragedy's that are shown in them they are very good reads so far and i am enjoying them more then i thought i would.

Working on Cleopatra:A Life and The Circus Fire this week.

I especially liked the last part of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. It showed me a side of the North that I didn't know.

I've just started I and Thou by Martin Buber translated by Walter Kaufmann. He writes a preface describing how he came to write this translation and why he thinks it's better than the one by Ronald Gregor Smith. I don't know enough about translation to have an opinion, but I am loving the book.

Finished Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick last night. Highly recommended, as others have noted. I haven't yet processed my thoughts enough to compose a review. Hopefully over the weekend.

Began The Discovery of Global Warming by Spencer Weart.

Apparently I am disinclined toward cheerfulness.

Just finished Pyongyang by Guy Delisle, the first graphic format book I've ever read, arrived this afternoon and I zipped through it this evening. Glad that I'd already read Nothing to Envy, for the context it provides, though I suppose in either order the two quite different perspectives complement each other.

53>

(about Pyongyang and Nothing to Envy)

I suppose in either order the two quite different perspectives complement each other.

Well, I read Pyongyang first, and I think they work well in that order too; I'm glad they work the other way around, as well! (I was actually quite surprised that nobody had already made the mutual recommendation for those two works when I made it after reading Nothing to Envy earlier this year.)

I've started reading World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethic Hatred and Global Instability by Amy Chua - I came across this one when looking up Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and discovered the library has a copy.

I was surprised to find it starting off with a very personal experience, the murder of her aunt, a wealthy ethnic Chinese woman living in the Philippines, by a servant. This prompted her to research into wealthy minorities in various countries around the world who prompt resentment.

30 pages in, it's more readable than I expected - I thought it would be denser and more challenging. It's very interesting.

I finished Unbroken. I really liked it. It's a great story on so many levels. I am always amazed at the things that people can live through and overcome.
It also made me think of The Survivor's Club by Ben Sherwood. Louis Zamperini's story fits perfectly.

I'm about to start Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer because I just can't resist the title.

I finished Great Philosophers, a simple entertaining book that didn't have much good to say about a bunch of misogynist, sex obsessed philosophers. Did you know that Rousseau liked to be spanked and enjoyed exposing himself to unsuspecting women? He also said it was integral to the cohesiveness of society to submit to the nuclear family; yet he had 5 children with a woman he considered his inferior and gave each up to a foundling hospital so they wouldn't interfere with his work.

Now I'm starting Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht.

Started Teta, Mother, and Me by Jean Said Makdisi today. Such a relief after grinding through The Portrait of a Lady and Pride and Prejudice simultaneously . . . How dumb was that!

Finished A long way gone which is filled with atrocities and violence. It's a sad story of children robbed of their childhood. Any reason to read? Well, to understand what it was like to be that kid and to understand what a few kind gestures meant to him. I'm glad I read it but don't think I'll read it again.

They Call Themselves the K.K.K. by Susan Campbell Bartoletti is a new YA book about the birth and subsequent history of this group. There are lots of woodcuts, photographs, drawings, and recreations of newspaper articles that add to the interest. The reader sees how the group tried to keep the blacks down by attacking them at the voting booth, their churches and religious leaders, their schools, as well as in their homes. The time line in the back of the book culminates in the election of Barack Obama in a fitting manner. I found this book a great way to learn about the KKK without pages of minute historic details and analyses. It was also moving to see the photographs taken in 1937 of men and women who had been slaves.

I just read and reviewed the brief and thought-provoking Iphigenia in Forest Hills: Anatomy of a Murder Trial by Janet Malcolm.

Who did she murder?

A doctor, who was a Bukharan Jewish immigrant, hired a hit man to kill her estranged husband, a dentist who was also a Bukharan Jewish immigrant, because a judge awarded custody of their 4-year-old daughter to the father. It was a front-page case in New York. Iphigenia is presumably the daughter.

That's a girl's name you don't hear too often! My daughter was not very enthusiastic when I teasingly told her she should keep the name in mind for any female progeny. She said that she was very happy that she had a short, four-letter name that no teacher ever had to hesitate pronouncing.

Sounds like a tense book, Rebbecca. I do like the name, mamzel, but I've read that children do better with more common names. I didn't follow that advice though.

I do recall the case, in Queens, NY. Quite harrowing.

I'm reading two nonfiction books at the moment: Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder by David Healy, and The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen by Kwame Anthony Appiah.

I have started to read The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey and am struck how interesting a life he lived. Evidently, every time he suffered a set back, tragedy, or disappointment his next choice was to challenge himself physically. This was the trip (Amazon River tributary exploration) he took after he lost the election to the Presidency as a part of the Bull Moose Party. What a lively time it was.

#66, 67 Just to clarify, the title reference is to the Greek Iphigenia, not the girl's real name, which is Michelle.

Oh, thanks again, Rebecca.

#71 - loved River of Doubt . . . hope you like it as much as I did!
Am starting The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors and Conservationists following a recommendation from a friend.

I am liking River of Doubt... so far. Very compelling early on...

I'm reading last month's ER book, The Wilder Life - Wendy McClure. Touchstone??

The author adored the Little House series of books as a child, and as an adult she re-reads them, visits Little House landmarks, sorts out facts, fiction, and myth, and tries to churn butter and cook the Ingalls' family foods.

It's very good so far - better than I expected. McClure is funny and her writing style is pleasant...a quick read.

I finished West with the Night today. What a great book! Interesting memoir written very well.

I'm struggling through The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat for the NY Times TIOLI challenge. I was expecting more of an essay quality. Instead it is more clinical notes with lots of medical jargon.

Started Lit by Mary Karr. This memoir came highly recommended by a member of one of my local book clubs.

78- My dog ate that book before I had a chance to read it. Perhaps he knew what he was doing, lol...

I've started A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 by Alistair Horne, and I'm still reading Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder by David Healy.

78 - I'm surprised. I've read other of Sacks' books and thought they were pretty readable. But I haven't read this one so can't really comment. I think this was one of his first though(?), so maybe that's why...

I finished Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht. Her premise is that people have throughout the ages tried to humanize the universe, to make it seem as if it somehow valued the ideals of justice, compassion and love and that doubters have shown the opposite to be true, that life exists, we live it, there are no rules and no rewards except those we make ourselves. Of course, some doubters go even further and say we have no way of knowing even if life exists or that we are living it. It's a great book that ends with Jewish humor, the essence of doubt. I highly recommend it.

Next up will be Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers by John Elder Robison

Finished The Discovery of Global Warming by Spencer Weart yesterday. Began The Emerald Planet by David Beerling today.

In the middle of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, and I'm enjoying it. I know he's something of a complainer, but so am I, so I'm on board with that.

Whoops! I didn't realize there was a new thread. I just finished Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand. I heard a lot of good about it, but I hated it. Or more accurately, I hated the author. See review for details. -.-

Started And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris by Alan Riding today.

I finished Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers by John Elder Robison. It's simply written and a very good guide for teenagers or anyone who has a loved one with asperger's about how one goes about living his life.

I am currently reading The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann.

I've just started The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester. I've only got to the end of the second chapter but so far his attitude seems to be that people in the eighteenth century were stupid and there are no references for any of his facts!

Is it worth carrying on?

#90: I have not yet read that one, Heather, so I cannot comment on it.

I am reading Whatever You Do, Don't Run in addition to the Grann book mentioned in post #89.

Just finished The Shadow of the Lynx by Victoria Holt and The Elusive Flame by Kathleen Woodiwiss. These are on my bookshelf and decided to re-read them.

I've been reading it in bits and pieces over the past few months, but I've finished and reviewed Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution by Caroline Fraser, an interesting look at the attempt to restore biodiversity around the world, for the benefit of ecosystem and human health, and the necessity of focusing on human needs when doing so.

Not including a ton of textbooks, here is a short list of some of the NF books I am currently perusing.

Note: Due to the demands of my studies I may not finish these books (this year) but I can't help but read a few pages from each, now and then, as pure escapism...

- Germany and the Second World War: Volume I by Wilhelm Deist
- An Uncompromising Generation: The Nazi Leadership of the Reich Security Office by Michael Wildt
- Contesting the Crusades by Norman Housley
- Master of the Senate by Robert A. Caro

I'm about to start Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. I've heard many good things about it.

#78 I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat many years ago and thought it was a good read back then, but then again, when I tried to read Sacks' Migraine a couple of months ago, I found that one to be filled with clinical notes and jargon more than anything. That left me wondering whether my willingness to read more essay-driven books back in my student days might have coloured my impression of it as being an easy read (very likely) and indeed, I'm now asking myself just how approachable any of his books are to the layperson. But I'd rather keep the great impressions his books made on me when I read them than revisit them and risk being disappointed.

I'm reading Plague by Edward Marriott. I nearly put it down yesterday because I just wasn't very into it, but I gave it a night's rest and tried it again today and am really liking it now! :)

>90 souloftherose: I have that one sitting in a pile at home but haven't touched it yet. However, based on my memory of reading The Professor and the Madman, Winchester isn't big on references in his text but he does have long lists of references in the back. My guess is it comes from his journalism background. So I guess continuing really depends on your reading preferences. I find his non-fiction enjoyable.

96>

For what it's worth, I like most of Sacks' works but found Migraine unreadable. I think that one may just not be as well-written as his others.

Just finished Doctor, Doctor by Lori Handeland. A good read.

I loved by >, but it lacked an index in the hardcover version. There is a free index for this book available at:
www.nancygerth.com

I loved by The Big Short by Michael Lewis, but it lacked an index in the hardcover version. There is a free index for this book available at:
www.nancygerth.com

The Elegant Universe by Brian Green. I used to love physics but I've become hopelessly behind since college so I'm enjoying my leap into 21st century physics.

>102 docnangee: Yolana, what a great site. I'm trying to think of which book I last read that I was so sorry didn't have an index. Who knew that there was someone out there who made them?

I am reading Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, first brought to my attention by Stasia and fit into one of my TIOLI challenges this month. I am finding myself quite fascinated by this book.

I found my copy of Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand last night while organizing my library, so I have started that one as well as The Concord Quartet.

I have totally neglected to read the next read for my RL book group, which meets on Monday! Holy moley: I need to read all of The Zimmermann Telegram this weekend. Luckily it is not too long a book.

Just finished The Power of Babel after being lackadaisical about it for two months. It's a good historical/evolutionary linguistics book for someone who has an interest in languages but doesn't want something too academic, if you've not heard of it before.

Starting My wars are laid away in books by Habegger. And perhaps Ratification: the people debate the constitution by Maier.

I finished Born on A Blue Day and am amazed at the courage of Daniel Tammet who, in spite of his Asperger's was courageous enough to travel to foreign countries alone learning new languages and being tested and filmed for his savant abilities.

I've finished Plague. I'm glad I decided to keep reading it! It wasn't the best book, but ultimately it was worth reading.

I'm now reading a memoir, Where the Sky Ends. We'll see how it goes.

#99 Thanks for the confirmation. I really wanted to read Migraine out of personal interest, since I've been afflicted with them all my life, but quite apart from the difficulties in reading such a scholarly work, there was the physical difficulty on top of it; the regular font size was really small to begin with, but when you add to that that half the book was in the annotations, which were even smaller of course, it was unreadable in more ways than one! And never mind that when I kept returning to it to try to get through a few paragraphs it always set off migraines to boot!

I just started reading Apollo's Angels : A History of Ballet by Jennifer Homans yesterday. I'd been wanting to get it since I read an excerpt in the New York Times Book Review (it's also a NY Times Best Books of the Year for 2010), and was finally able to borrow it from the library where it's in high demand. Apart from being a good read, it's so well researched and filled with fascinating historical references that I may end up purchasing it after all and keeping it for further perusal.

I have finished Autism and Asperger Syndrome edited by Uta Frith. It includes the complete translation of Hans Asperger's original 1944 paper. The readability varies between chapters, but overall a very informative and well-written book.

Finished A Modern Witch by Debora Geary I received from LibraryThing. I have written a review.

I'm reading a collection of reports on people's attitude to government policies etc in Britain during WWII, called Listening to Britain.

I finished The Ride Together 1/2 regular memoir and 1/2 graphic memoir by a brother sister team, Paul and Judy Karasik about their family and the way they interact with their brother David who is on the more severe portion of the autism spectrum. Some of the book deals with the "shows" he puts on, he spends much of his day putting on his own one person "television" shows like Superman and Face the Nation. He is very committed to routine and tends on occasion to become violent when frustrated, so part of the book concentrates on finding a place for him to live where he can give back to, and feel a part of, a community. There's also a rather distressing discussion of the presence of abuse in institutions that care for those who can't speak well for themselves.

Later today I plan to start The Bounty. It looks interesting!

I seem to be on a Korean thing, which is not what I expected when the year began. I have four other non-fiction books in progress, but the one that I'm on track to finish first is the one that I started last: The Koreans by Michael Breen.

I'm about to start Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism by Richard Grinker.

I am reading the Green Dragon's next group read: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which, lucky for me, is also my RL book group's next book. I am also reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption which comes highly recommended. Just so I can read in the bathtub, I am continuing to read The Discovery of France. And The Nook Book by Barnes and Noble. (I have no idea why this last book brings up the touchstone for The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer). I mean, really? Can anyone venture a guess?

That result is one of several odd ones coming up in a LibraryThing search for 'The Nook Book,' and yours doesn't come up. Have you catalogued it?

Robert

I'm in the middle of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and am loving it. I've also re-started Andrew Marr's A History of Modern Britain - got through the first 200 pages in 2009, then my husband packed it into a moving box and it vanished for 6 months, and I forgot what had happened.

Just started Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch by Kate Williams which ahs been really good so far.

Here's an idea new to me. When Leo Kanner established the diagnosis of autism he also theorized feral children might be autistic children who had been abandoned in the woods and found after a few days by people who assumed, from their autistic characteristics that they had been raised by animals.

I am starting chapter 13 in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I picked it for the tag mirror challenge for April's TIOLI. So, I have brenpike to thank for this gem of a book.

#125. I'm so glad you are enjoying the book. It was my favorite read from last year . . . I have talked about this book to anyone who will listen :)
and thought about it often since completing it. I am also intrigued by the story of the author and how she came to write this book.
A great book . . . I'm happy this is the one from my tags you chose to read!

I have been reading Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds; but have put it aside because my ILL arrived of Salem Witch Judge: The Life and Repentance of Samuel Sewall by Eve LaPlante.

I began Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. It is funny and self-aware. It is clear from the beginning that she is not intending this to be a prescription since early on it is clear her younger daughter is going to rebel. I'm intrigued with her idea that western parents approach their children as if they are fragile and weak while Chinese parents assume strength, capability and resilience.

I think Chua and the contents of her book have been largely misrepresented in the media. Although I think it may have been with her consent since the controversy probably sold more books than the truth.

I haven't read the book or anything, but I remember seeing Amy Chua on Jon Stewart (or Stephen Colbert, I forget) and she seemed pretty convincing about the book intending to be sarcastic.

Some of the quotes used from the book attempting to condemn it were pretty humorous. One was something about how American kids get rewarded for average grades, but a Chinese student would never do that poorly in school. It was obviously sarcastic, yet people somehow managed to take that seriously.

Like I said, I haven't actually read it, but she seems convincing... *shrug*

I'm about half way through The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier. . . and enjoying it very much.

I read that book a while back and also enjoyed it very much. I know very little about pianos and certainly even less about the history of their construction. It is fun to find a book which is both informative and enjoyable.

I'm currently reading Simon Sebag Montefiore's Jerusalem: The Biography which is both immense and hugely readable. So far I'm 25% of the way through and only up to 100AD.

I'm starting We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill.

#134 I read We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals last year after seeing the recently released movie. I liked the book and learned a lot in the process of it's reading.
I am starting My Reading Life by Pat Conroy this week. I am finally getting to this book after having it on my shelves since last November. The reviews were great so I'm expecting a great read.

#134 I read We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals last year after seeing the recently released movie. I liked the book and learned a lot in the process of it's reading.
I am starting My Reading Life by Pat Conroy this week. I am finally getting to this book after having it on my shelves since last November. The reviews were great so I'm expecting a great read.

I've posted a review for The Bounty. Took me awhile to read through it, but ultimately it was a satisfying read.

I'm reading The Wichita Divide: The Murder of Dr. George Tiller and the Battle Over Abortion by Stephen Singular. It's very well written but hard on the blood pressure. It's a good picture of the climate surrounding abortion providers in the US.

I just finished The Translator, which is not a huge reading accomplishment, considering it's short, simple prose. 'A disturbing, wonderful book. It has a concise appendix explaining the recent history of nightmarish Sudanese politics and policies.

>136 brenpike: I gave up on We Two, I didn't find the writing style to fit my tastes for this type of book. *shrug*

I just finished The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt. The book is a series of essays he wrote while suffering with ALS, but his illness is not the focus. These are an odd and intriguing combination of nostalgia and reminisince with opinion and sharp observation. There is nothing forceful or screechy here, but what he sees and the way he expresses himself make this very worth reading.

I particularly enjoyed the essay called 'Identity'. In which he laments the current focus on identity. He points out that with the academic acceptance of identity studies we end up studying ourselves which is contrary to the whole point of being educated. I learned about this one from chatterbox and kidzdoc and am grateful to have had it brought to my attention.

For anyone who may be interested: I created a non-fiction challenge group, where I intend to cross-post the relevant portion of my 75 (hah! maybe 60-ish) books. Seems that lots of people read some non-fiction, and some people read lots of non-fiction, but either way it's a minority that can get somewhat lost among the fiction.

I forgot to come back here and mention that I've posted my review of Apollo's Angels which for some reason was the hardest ever review for me to write. Maybe something to do with the fact that it's a great book about an art form that is always reaching for perfectionism?

>142 qebo: Could you please post a link to that group?

143: Huh. A history of ballet. I never woulda thunk. Nice that your review includes photos. Though my memories of ballet lessons are a little bit excruciating...

#144 maggie1944, here it is;

http://www.librarything.com/groups/nonfictionchallenge

144: Oops, sorry, brain dead. Thanks cushlareads.

Oh dear. I'm about to give Prisons of Light a shot. Astrophysics, here I come...

I've started Keeper by Andrea Gillies which won the Orwell Prize last year. It's her memoir of caring for her mother-in-law as she descends into Alzheimer's. She says Alzheimer's is a disease of the self, and makes a pretty good case that the disease if one full of suffering not just for the caregiver but for the person afflicted. She indicates that her mother-in-law knows constantly that there is something wrong but can't quite figure out what it is. I've just read the part when Gillies is horrified to find that her mother-in-law can no longer read. Can you imagine what that would be like?

Indeed, my mother has reached that point. She was always an avid newspaper reader, but yesterday she didn't remember who Osama Bin Laden was, or that there were tornadoes in the south a few weeks ago, or that the Mississippi was flooding. She said "why wasn't it in the Times?" when of course it was. I showed her the latest story on the flooding, which had a picture, but she was distracted by a headline she didn't understand. Poor Mom. Sometimes her speech is severely impeded as well - until she feels she needs to correct our grammar!

It must be backbreakingly, heartbreakingly hard to care for an Alzheimer's patient by yourself. My mother is in an exceptional place with wonderful professional caregivers, but there's no stopping the descent, alas.

Do you know how lucky you are, ffortsa, that you found such a place? Good for you.

oh yes. Very fortunate. I just wish it were half the distance, so I could see her twice as much.

In Keeper Andrea Gillies a writer who knows about as much about Alzheimer's as anyone who's done some reading but never spent much time around those so afflicted thinks she and her husband can buy a house in the ends of the earth Scotland, turn it into a Bed and Breakfast, care for her children and the afflicted mother-in-law and her physically disabled father-in-law (who keeps waiting for his wife to snap out of it) and continue her writing career. Her husband can do much of his work at home but still needs to travel. Such good intentions. Such disasters waiting to happen. The first time they have paying guests her mother-in-law comes down to breakfast wearing only a large pair of purple underpants. It hadn't occurred to her that such things could happen.

Currently reading a few nonfiction books including The Mitfords, Testament to Youth, and Tolstoy and the Purple Chair.

I picked up The Strawberry Letter by Shirley Strawberry. A co-worker loaned it to me. I want to be finished by Thursday and return it. I think it can fit the (repeating vowel) challenge.

I finished and posted a review for Prisons of Light. It was nearly as difficult to read as I had feared! In fact, it was quite comprehensible. I'm assuming it's because the author described everything in simple terms, and not that I suddenly understand astrophysics. :P

Starting Sir Sydney Smith's autobiography Mostly Murder.

Finished E.O. Wilson's novel Anthill, which has inspired me to read his autobiography Naturalist.

I am trying to read Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption while also reading the second book of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Book One is A Game of Thrones, currently also a TV series on HBO. Both books are gripping.

I'm listening to Unbroken right now and agree it's a gripping story. If Louis Zamperini were growing up now his outrageous actions would have lead to his being medicated while in school then probably incarcerated when he got out. In some ways a less kid-centric society was better for kids. He was not the ideal boy, but he sure learned some valuable survival skills.

I've finished A Clash of Kings so I can get back to my nonfiction books. I'll let you know how it goes.

I started Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone today.

I love Nina Simone and have ever since the 1960s! Her voice communicates like no other.

I'm in the middle of The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. It's a very good history of the times leading up and the first month of World War I.

I finished Cowhands and Cattle Trails by Margaret Moran. It was a quick read. it seems the Spanish brought the cattle to America in the 1500's. Due to the fact the cattle could not be fenced in, they wildly wandered over the Great Plains over a duration of about 300 years.

I finished Cowhands and Cattle Trails by Margaret Moran. It was a quick read. it seems the Spanish brought the cattle to America in the 1500's. Due to the fact the cattle could not be fenced in, they wildly wandered over the Great Plains over a duration of about 300 years.

That sounds quite interesting! Like I need more books for my wishlist! Thanks, a lot.

I finished Riddled with Life by Marlene Zuk. It was great, and I've posted a review for anyone interested.

I'll be moving from one nonfiction to another. Next up is The Wild Trees by Richard Preston.

Currently reading The Age of Faith by Will Durant. I suspect I will be reading it for a while since it is over 1000 pages long :/

Currently reading (finally I remember to post on this thread before I finish a book! I read a lot of nonfiction but never think about posting about a book until I'm done with it and it's no longer eligible for this thread) Talking Hands by Margalit Fox. Fascinating stuff.

170: I doubt the thread police apply the thread title so literally, and expect they'd allow an "I recently finished..." post. I read this thread to find other non-fiction folks and books, so appreciate mentions at any stage.

Indeed, I post on the 'what are you reading' threads between reads. My posts are always "I just finished ~~ and am about to start ~~" Nothing wrong with that, I hope. :)

I recently finished Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich. And I'm between non-fiction reads entirely.

So there.

I've just finished and reviewed the fascinating and thought-provoking The Eichmann Trial by Deborah Lipstadt, in which she revisits the famous trial from the perspective of 50 years.

I finished and posted a review for The Wild Trees... ...yestereday. :)

175: And the advantage of posting here after the fact is that we can click to see the review... which we might not be aware of if we are not following your personal thread because it is too insanely busy. :-)

Well, nobody's avoiding my thread because it's insanely busy, that's for sure; I'm still on my first thread for the year. But if this is really "What have we read", then I won't feel bad about posting recently-finished books.

176: Yes, and it gives me a chance to whore out my reviews without shame! :D

Not that I do that or anything, of course...*ahem*

I am in the middle of three non-fiction books at the moment: Moving Violations by John Hockenberry, a memoir, City: Urbanism and its End by Douglas Rae (a micro-history of the socio-economic forces that enabled the rise and decline of New Haven Connecticut), and The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein. I'm also in the middle of Maus, which I am thinking about as a graphic novel but probably would be considered non-fiction.

Well, since I know it's kosher, I also recently finished my April ER book, The Believing Brain. Here's the review.

Good review of The Believing Brain, lorax. I've read two other books that say the same thing in other words, though without the libertarian references.

I'm almost finished with Diane Ackerman's Rarest of the Rare. Her own fascinating experiences written in her very readable prose. A book I would recommend . . .

I am in the middle of Lost in Shangri-La.

Is this what Lost Horizons was based on? Have you read it? or seen the movie? Quite a marvel.

#184: No, Karen, the book and movie are not based on this book. The title of Zuckoff's book comes from a place in New Guinea that was nicknamed 'Shangri La' during WWII.

Yes, I have seen the movie and read the book.

I just finished Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. I enjoyed the audiobook overall, though I could've really used the phrase "This ends Disc __ " at the end so I didn't get super-confused when my car stereo restarted the CD.

Trying to finish 4 in-progress n-f books before the end of the month. Naturalist done. You are Here the current focus. Emerald Planet about halfway done. Chaos: A Very Short Introduction was in my winter coat pocket but winter ended before it did.

I just finished Gutenberg: How One Man Remade the World with Words. I've read some academic books on this topic that put me to sleep. This non-academic introduction packs in plenty of information, but the facts don't get in the way of the story.

I just read and reviewed the compelling and horrifying Gulag by Anne Applebaum.

I've just started The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler. It's very compelling so far.

Currently reading Carl Sagan's Billions and Billions, his last book. I believe he died while working on it, which might explain why I'm not loving it.

I finally wrapped up the The Strawberry Letter. I started it about mid-month but had no compelling reason to read it straight through. It was just like listening to her on the radio giving advice.
Maybe, I would of enjoyed the audio version better! Well I doubt I'll get to Baseball: An Illustrated History, but I see where I can fit in one of June's Challenges.

I am currently reading The Secret War by Brian Johnson about the role of technology in WWII.

Just finished The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance by David Herlihy. Interesting reading about "wheelmen" who in the 1890's rode their new bicycles around the world. Lots of information about the individuals themselves, the rise of popular bicycling, and what worldwide travel was like for singular tourists at that time. I would recommend it . . .

Lost Cyclist touchstone fairy...touchstones are currently touchy about certain words; I suspect The and And, and possibly An, are blocking the touchstone in #194. Yeah...'of' is another stop word. Though why it turns into a link to this thread...

I finished and loved The Girls Who Went Away, must reading for anyone involved in any way with adoption. A woman is told for her whole pregnancy that she could not be a good mother to this baby, is it any wonder that she might feel inadequate to mother later children?

Now I've started Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl. I'm hungry just looking at the book cover.

I've just begun Big Sex Little Death a memoir by sex radical Susie Bright. I've read and enjoyed her essays. Hopefully I'll feel the same about her life story.

I just finished The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper. After her family had to leave Liberia in 1980, the author spent a year in my hometown and attended a local high school. Her aunt still lives here.

I'm reading The Food of a Younger Nation about food in 1940s American. It's interesting so far.

I've read quite a bit of nonfiction this year, and it doesn't look like I'll be slowing down! Tomorrow I plan to start Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayer, which looks fascinating.

Mission accomplished for May: finished 4 in-progress non-fiction books. Now reading The Clockwork Universe by Edward Dolnick because it was given to me by my boss and I like having an income. Wouldn't've been my first choice otherwise, but it's fine, pleasantly anecdotal.

I'm reading The Cartoon History of the Universe Part 1 (which covers the big bang through Alexander the Great) by Larry Gonick. I'm almost 2/3 of the way through and have just made it through the old testament. Interesting reading.

>200 Ape: Yikes! If that book is anything like its title, I wouldn't sleep for a month after reading it!

Just started Zarafe: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris. Looks promising . . .

I am starting Newton by Peter Ackroyd.

Judy: Ha, well, I have a tendency to like books on, as others like to describe it, 'microbial doom.' So I also like a good book on biological weapons from time to time as well. This year I've been reading quite a bit of historical/military fiction set in the ancient world, so this book is sort of the perfect combination of the two. :)

I've started Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes by Victoria Clark, a recently published book about that embattled Middle Eastern Country. I'm also reading Miami and the Siege of Chicago by Norman Mailer, his journalistic account of the 1968 Republican and Democratic national conventions.

I've just started The Dionne Years: A Thirties Melodrama by Pierre Berton which looks at the cultural icons that were the Dionne quintuplets in the 1930s.

I'll bet The Dionne Years will be fascinating. They sure were.

I am really enjoying Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires her amusing memoirs of her time as a New York Times food critic.

When I got home from work yesterday, I sat down for 5 minutes to read and finished The Boy in the Moon later in the evening. Amazing, provocative, haunting, beautiful, elegant, poignant, lovely memoir of being the parent of a severely disabled child. Very highly recommended.

Finished and posted a review for Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs. It was interesting, but flawed. See review for details. ;)

Great review of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs. You get a thumbs up from me.

Just finished up Twitter for Dummies, the mini -editon. I don't think I learned anything new! I would say it was refresher of what I know about the social network. I did enjoy the fact that it was pocket size and could fit in the zippered compartment of my purse! I am going to add it the Short Works challenge since it was only 50 pages.

Finished and reviewed A Kingdom's Cost about Scotland and England by J.R Tomlin.
Fiinishing today The Quotable Rogue, The Ideals of Sarah Palin In Her Own Words, edited by Matt Lewis.
This afternoon back to A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith.

Sounds like fun. I have requested from my library. Thanks.
This is for the Garlic and Sapphires.

I am now reading Jeremy and Amy: The Extraordinary Story of One Man and His Orang-utan by Jeremy Keeling. It interesting how this man has built his life around his love of apes.

Yesterday I began reading Four Colors Suffice by Robin Wilson. Why? No particular reason. I was scanning my shelves and it caught my attention. It's been around for awhile.

I've started Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. She's certainly no Julia Child in that her life has been pretty rough. I'm enjoying it so far.

I'm 10 pages off finishing Dani Rodrik's The Globalisation Paradox (no touchstone unfortunately) - highly recommended if you're interested in international trade and finance.

I'm reading John Elder Robison's Look Me In the Eye. His account of living with Asperger's which went undiagnosed through his childhood. So far it is, as one might expect, matter of fact. For that, it is still quite compelling.

221 I recently read that, and I too found it compelling.

For my "June Justice" theme, I'm delving into the past and reading The Right and the Power: The Prosecution of Watergate, by Leon Jaworski. The whole Watergate affair and associated scandals fascinated me when it was all going on, and it's still fascinating (and horrifying) to read about it again all these years later.

I started Insatiable: Tales From a Life of Delicious Excess by Gael Greene, but I'm not so sure I'll finish. Rich people wallowing in their excess and dropping names of other rich people who do the same are pretty uninteresting. I've just got to her first recipe, so maybe I'll give it a few more pages just in case she develops any recognizable human characteristics.

LOL!

I posted a review for Aristotle Leads the Way. I don't know why my library had it listed in the adult nonfiction section. *Shrug*

I am about halfway through with Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, which I'm listening to via audio. I also just started American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, which is very interesting so far.

Oh, I did love that Tuchman book, many years ago. I hope the reader is engaging.

I am just starting House to House, David Bellavia's memoirs of his day in the infantry during the war in Iraq.

I'm reading A Distant Mirror - one chapter a day. I think I would miss the pictures and maps available in the book.

>229 Morphidae: In fact I have an audiobook and a print copy of A Distant Mirror, (which has languished partly read for a shockingly long time), so I do refer to it for maps and pictures (and I'd be lost without the map). Also place names, which often I don't quite catch when I hear them. Also any time I find my mind has wandered and I need to review a few paragraphs. (Come to think of it, I almost always read audiobooks with a hard copy in hand.)

I've just started To End All Wars:A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild. His King Leopold's Ghost is one of my favorites, so I am expecting great things of this book! Not disappointed yet . . .

Just finishing Ferling's Adams vs. Jefferson. Quite good and is recommended.

My question though is: do any of you know of a good history of early 19th C American politics - like from about the Jefferson through Quincy Adams administrations?

Okay. So I finished To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild the day after I started it! What a great read! So much information and written so well. Highly recommended . . .
Also read The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese. Another very good book.

#233 Glad you liked The Tennis Partner. I loved that book and thought it had a really powerful ending.

I've been hearing alot of good things about To End All Wars but never expected it would be a book that you'd read in two days. That makes it even more interesting.

Began 1491, planned for July but ahead of schedule!

I'm in the middle of The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn. It's the real story of the gunfight at the OK Corral and how it got blown up into the legend it became. Pretty good so far.

I just finished The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser and became quite caught up in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum theft. Such a shame...

I'm reading a little book of mnemonics, i before e except after c, and this one little tid bit is worth the read even if there were nothing else. StalaCtites come down from the Ceiling, and stalaGmites come up from the Ground. I'm 65 years old and had never devised a mnemonic to tell them apart. I can die happy now.

I've always loved that stalactites & stalagmites one (probably learned it in my college geology course). I'm going to have to look for that book; it sounds like fun.

That is better than my way of remembering them, which is that stalactites hold on tight. Sounds like a useful book!

By the way, Sally Made Henry Eat Onions - the 5 Great Lakes from west to east:Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. East to west it's Old Elephants Have Much Skin. What do you put on a sting? Use Ammonia for a Bee sting and Vinegar for a Wasp sting. B follows A and W follows V. ( I had no idea they were different bases of venom). I am having fun with this book.

I grew up with stalactites hold on tight, and stalagmites might reach the ceiling!

As for "i before e..." it should be "i before e, except after c and a few other exceptions"

But enough pedantry! I'm currently 193 pages into Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure and it is "excellent."

I learned the "i before e" as "except after c, or when sounded like a as in neighbor and weigh."

Here's a semi-poem about the spelling:

i before e, except after c
Or when sounding like a
As in neighbor and weigh.
Drop this rule when -c sounds as -sh. (efficient, species)

It's a handy rule with enough exceptions to show that spelling is a big guessing, or memory, game.

Here's my review for John Vaillant's The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. Of course, I had to include some pictures of these incredibly gorgeous beasts.

I've just finished and reviewed the thoroughly fascinating and delightful Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza by Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole.

Sacred Trash sounds wonderful -- so I immediately went to check for it in my library system and found not only it, but also another book Sacred Treasure, the Cairo Genizah: The Amazing Discoveries of Forgotten Jewish History In An Egyptian Synagogue Attic on the same topic. I wonder if there was a fight over the titles....

At any rate, I'll be reading one or the other very soon. Thanks for the pointer toward this unique discovery.

And the ultimate exception to the 'i before e' rule. "Weird...well...weird is just WEIRD!"

Interesting! I hadn't heard of the Glickman, but I can't recommend the one I read, Sacred Trash, highly enough. The writing alone is terrific.

True, Ape, weird is the perfect exception.

Finished Charlatan by Pope Broke. Fascinating book about the quack doctor, Jon Brinkley. See review on the book's page for details...although, I kind strayed away from the book for a couple paragraphs there... :)

242 That is what they say at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico.

I just finished and reviewed the lively and fascinating Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York by Luc Sante.

Rebecca --

Thanks for the review of Low Life -- you got a thumbs up from me!

I'm reading Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts. As is typical Larson, well researched and told in an interesting manner. Also Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall . . . The topic is certainly interesting enough, it is taking me a while to get it read! Too many books, too little time . . .

I've just started Alone in the Kitchen With an Eggplant an anthology of essays about cooking and eating alone. I never would have thought of doing all that with an eggplant.

I'm reading Wicked Bugs by Amy Stewart right now and I'm loving it. It's a very enjoyable read so far.

#254 Thanks, Dejah_Thoris!

About halfway through Dreaming in Hindi, sort of a combo of two other books I read this year, Japanland and Dreaming in Chinese.

Started Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto.

I finished and posted a review for Wicked Bugs. It was wonderful! Very readable, very fascinating, incredibly enjoyable. I gave it 5 stars, which I've been trying to do very little of this year.

I'm about to start Wicked Plants now. I hope it as good as the insect book. :)

261: I have Wicked Bugs, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it, someday, but I think I'll wait for things to be less tropical here. The creepy crawlies don't bother me so much in January.

Beginning Embracing Defeat, about Japan after WWII, which was recommended by our very excellent Japanese tour guide last year, and I now see won multiple prizes a decade+ ago. It's a dense thing of 550 pages, so I expect it to take awhile.

I just finished Triangle: the fire that changed America by David Von Drehle. I'm currently reading Indian Summer: the tragic story of Louis Francis Sockalexis, the first Native American in Major League Baseball by Brian McDonald; and Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans by David Rutledge.

I finished and posted a review for Wicked Plants, for those interested. I liked the insect one better but the plant book was good too. :)

So apparently I am easily distracted, and after finishing A Planet of Viruses yesterday, I was inspired to read more about the origin of life. What do I have on hand? Hmm, several books by Stuart Kauffman... Which one? Aha! The most recent is Reinventing the Sacred. A perfect choice after grumbling about The God Delusion. It's religion AND science rather than religion OR science.

I'm reading Dry a memoir by Augusten Burroughs. He manages to make rehabilitation and staying dry amusing . . . Enjoying it!

I liked Dry very much. I especially remember how disappointed he was to find he wasn't in a plush Hollywood resort rehab. It's a great book.

266: Oh! Carl Zimmer. I read Microcosm by him and it was terrific. I have A Planet of Viruses and Parasite Rex on my 'things to put on request from the library' list. :)

269: I read Parasite Rex a couple years ago and recommend it. It's creepy, but then you read the Wicked books so you're immune. A Planet of Viruses isn't as good.

I'll probably read them both soon, I'm a pretty big fan of anything morbid and microbial. The Demon in the Freezer is one of my all-time favorites, for example... :)

271: Yeek. Carl Zimmer actually mentions this... problem... of the missing smallpox in A Planet of Viruses, which has a chapter on smallpox.

Uh huh, it's pretty scary, and reading a whole book about it was even more so. I love reading about that kind of stuff though. In fact, of the 10 books under the "Librarything Recommends..." section on Demon in the Freezer's page, I've read 5 of them, started and never finished a 6th, and own but haven't gotten to a 7th. :)

I'm reading Gracefully Insane a chatty history of McLean Psychiatric Hospital. Since many Boston movers and shakers as well as literary and musical celebrities went there, it is both interesting as gossip as well as a history of mental illness care for the privileged. I'm enjoying it.

Very slowly working through Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore. I'm up to Clinton's first term.

New thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/121135