Guy Montag is a fireman. His job: erase the collective past by burning the books that record it. His wife Mildred is numbed to the world by the TV she spends all day watching. They could have continued like this forever. On an ordinary day at work, Guy is enjoying burning a house when the…… Continue reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Listening to Anne Lamott read Small Victories was like hearing a recording of my own snarkiest thoughts, edited for clarity, honesty and beauty. Don’t get me wrong: I marvel at her extended metaphors and am not a genius. Instead, I claim identification with Lamott’s deep humanity, which is on full display here. The chapters on…… Continue reading Small Victories by Anne Lamott
Dr. Siri Paiboun, a 1980’s Laotian coroner, is an unlikely Olympic hero, but he goes to great lengths no one can prove in order to be included in the Laotian delegation to the 1980 Moscow Olympics. My favorite quote: “So here he was in the cockpit of his large Soviet metaphor.” -Colin Cotterill, the Rat…… Continue reading The Rat Catcher’s Olympics by Colin Cotterill
I would not have expected any less from Michelle Obama’s book, but it was excellent. The book begins with her family and earliest memories, and I found her writing to be insightful and without sentimentality. Like other great memoirs, Becoming managed to to reflect upon the larger picture of history and its ramifications without losing…… Continue reading Becoming by Michelle Obama
Rebecca Serle’s The Dinner List starts with a great premise: choose five people, living or dead, you’d like to have dinner with, and your best friend will make it happen. Sabrina’s thirtieth birthday dinner is the fulfillment of the exercise, completed ten years earlier. Half the book is her dinner with her best friend, ex-boyfriend,…… Continue reading Don’t miss The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
We recently took a monster road trip (two, actually) and occupied nearly 4000 miles with good audio books. What a gift an audio book is! I especially love listening to a book I’ve read previously- hearing it in someone else’s voice always gives me a richer perspective on it. A few of our favorites were:…… Continue reading A few audio book favorites
My oldest son left for college this month. It has been a huge change for our family, and even as we’re all adjusting well, my own coping strategy has been to read Robert Crais novels the way I stress-eat carbs: by the fistful, late at night, one after another. Robert Crais writes a series of books about…… Continue reading How reading is an emotional thermometer
