We will select titles at the July meeting.
From Andrea:
1. Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach, 288 pages, non-fiction
"America's funniest science writer" (Washington Post) Mary Roach explores the science of keeping human beings intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested in the bizarre and extreme circumstances of war.
Grunt tackles the science behind some of a soldier's most challenging adversaries―panic, exhaustion, heat, noise―and introduces us to the scientists who seek to conquer them.
2. Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso: A Tale of Race, Sex and Violence in America by Kali Nicole Gross, 232 pages, non-fiction
Shortly after a dismembered torso was discovered by a pond outside Philadelphia in 1887, investigators homed in on two suspects: Hannah Mary Tabbs, a married, working-class, black woman, and George Wilson, a former neighbor whom Tabbs implicated after her arrest.
The trial brought otherwise taboo subjects such as illicit sex, adultery, and domestic violence in the black community to public attention. At the same time, the mixed race of the victim and one of his assailants exacerbated anxieties over the purity of whiteness in the post-Reconstruction era.
This book is sure to captivate anyone interested in true crime, adulterous love triangles gone wrong, and the racially volatile world of post-Reconstruction Philadelphia.
This book is sure to captivate anyone interested in true crime, adulterous love triangles gone wrong, and the racially volatile world of post-Reconstruction Philadelphia.
3. Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina by Raquel Cepeda, 332 pages, non-fiction
In 2009, when Raquel Cepeda almost lost her estranged father to heart disease, she was terrified she’d never know the truth about her ancestry. Every time she looked in the mirror, Cepeda saw a mystery—a tapestry of races and ethnicities that came together in an ambiguous mix. With time running out, she decided to embark on an archaeological dig of sorts by using the science of ancestral DNA testing to excavate everything she could about her genetic history.
4. The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, 336 pages, fiction
It is 1937 and Amabelle Désir, a young Haitian woman living in the Dominican Republic, has built herself a life as the servant and companion of the wife of a wealthy colonel. She and Sebastien, a cane worker, are deeply in love and plan to marry. But Amabelle's world collapses when a wave of genocidal violence, driven by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, leads to the slaughter of Haitian workers. Amabelle and Sebastien are separated, and she desperately flees the tide of violence for a Haiti she barely remembers.
5. Attachments: A Novel by Rainbow Rowell, 336 pages, fiction
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself. What would he say . . . ?
=================
From Janice:
FICTION
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Anthony Marra 384 pages
Chechnya has spent most of it's existence in a state of war, occupation or extreme instability. This book illuminates the lives of several people in a small Chechen Village during the Second Chechen War. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is an engrossing and powerful novel of human interaction in extreme circumstances
The Plum Tree Ellen Marie Wiseman 371 pages
A masterfully written story that follows a young German woman through the chaos of World War II and it's aftermath.
The Plum Tree is a story of heroism and loss, a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of love to transcend the most unthinkable circumstances
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto Mitch Albom 489 pages
Frankie Presto, the greatest guitarist to walk the earth - in this magical novel about the bands we join in life and the power of talent to change our lives. An epic story of the greatest guitar player to ever live and the six lives he changed with his magical blue strings.
This is truly my favorite Mitch Album book.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry Fredrik Backman 372 pages
I'm halfway through his first(?)novel, A Man Called Ove*, and I love it. Can't wait to read this one. Hope you'll join me.
(* also a suggestion for this year)
NON-FICTION
When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi/Abrahman Verghese 208 pages
A profoundly moving exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question. What make life worth living?
The Slave Next Door Kevin Bales 336 pages
This book exposes the disturbing phenomenon of human trafficking and slavery that exist now in the United States. In the Slave Next Door we find that slaves are all around us, hidden in plain sight.
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Jeff Hobbs 400 pages
A heartfelt biography of the short life of a talented young African American man who escapes the slums of Newark for Yale University, only to succumb to the dangers of the streets and ones own nature when he returns home. It is about poverty and the struggle to fine male role models in a community where a man is more likely to go to prison than to college.
Uncle Al Capone Deidre Marie Capone 201 pages
Deidre Marie Capone offers the portrait of an American family and her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century's most brutal killings
I know this is weird selection but its coming from me.
From Heidi Louwaert:
The Telling Room: A Tale of Love Betrayal, Revenge and the World’s Greatest Piece of Cheese
Non‐Fiction 368 pages Michael Paterniti
While proofreading a deli catalog in Michigan, Michael Paterniti is bewitched by a description of cave‐aged Spanish cheese; years later, disillusioned with modern life and his own “computer‐soft hands,” he travels to its Spanish back‐ country source, where he becomes obsessed with its larger‐than‐life maker and his story of soul‐stealing cheese‐related betrayal. This book is great even though there are TONS of footnotes – and Lori – the cheese is made from sheep’s milk!
The Wright Brothers
Non‐fiction 336 pages David McCullough
This book brings humanizing details to the unusually close relationship between a pair of brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who changed aviation history. Bicycle shop owners by day, Wilbur and Orville taught themselves flight theory through correspondence with the Smithsonian and other experts. But the brothers soon realized that theory was no match for practical testing, and they repeatedly risked life and limb in pursuit of their goal—including when Orville fractured a leg and four ribs in a 75‐foot plunge to the ground. McCullough’s narration of ventures such as this—their famous first flight at Kitty Hawk; the flight in Le Mans, France that propelled the brothers to international fame; the protracted patent battles back at home; and the early death of elder brother Wilbur—will immerse readers in the lives of the Wright family. Like other great biographies before it, The Wright Brothers tells the story about the individuals behind the great moments in history, while never sacrificing beauty in language and reverence in tone.
A Thousand Acres
Fiction 384 pages Jane Smiley
Aging Larry Cook announces his intention to turn over his 1,000‐acre farm‐‐one of the largest in Zebulon County, Iowa‐‐ to his three daughters, Caroline, Ginny and Rose. A man of harsh sensibilities, he carves Caroline out of the deal because she has the nerve to be less than enthusiastic about her father's generosity. While Larry Cook deteriorates into a pathetic drunk, his daughters are left to cope with the often grim realities of life on a family farm‐‐from battering husbands to cutthroat lenders. In this winner of the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Smiley captures the essence of such a life with stark, painful detail.
Started Early, Took My Dog
Fiction 400 pages Kate Atkinson
Semi‐retired PI Jackson Brodie goes back to his Yorkshire hometown to trace the biological parents of Hope McMasters, a woman adopted by a couple in the 1970s at age two. Jackson is faced with more questions than answers when Hope's parents aren't in any database nor is her adoption on record. In the author's signature multilayered style, she shifts between past and present, interweaving the stories of Tracy Waterhouse, a recently retired detective superintendent now in charge of security at a Leeds mall, and aging actress Tilly Squires. On the same day that Jackson and Tilly are in the mall, Tracy makes a snap decision that will have lasting consequences for everyone. Great writing and cast of characters.
Non‐Fiction 368 pages Michael Paterniti
While proofreading a deli catalog in Michigan, Michael Paterniti is bewitched by a description of cave‐aged Spanish cheese; years later, disillusioned with modern life and his own “computer‐soft hands,” he travels to its Spanish back‐ country source, where he becomes obsessed with its larger‐than‐life maker and his story of soul‐stealing cheese‐related betrayal. This book is great even though there are TONS of footnotes – and Lori – the cheese is made from sheep’s milk!
The Wright Brothers
Non‐fiction 336 pages David McCullough
This book brings humanizing details to the unusually close relationship between a pair of brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who changed aviation history. Bicycle shop owners by day, Wilbur and Orville taught themselves flight theory through correspondence with the Smithsonian and other experts. But the brothers soon realized that theory was no match for practical testing, and they repeatedly risked life and limb in pursuit of their goal—including when Orville fractured a leg and four ribs in a 75‐foot plunge to the ground. McCullough’s narration of ventures such as this—their famous first flight at Kitty Hawk; the flight in Le Mans, France that propelled the brothers to international fame; the protracted patent battles back at home; and the early death of elder brother Wilbur—will immerse readers in the lives of the Wright family. Like other great biographies before it, The Wright Brothers tells the story about the individuals behind the great moments in history, while never sacrificing beauty in language and reverence in tone.
A Thousand Acres
Fiction 384 pages Jane Smiley
Aging Larry Cook announces his intention to turn over his 1,000‐acre farm‐‐one of the largest in Zebulon County, Iowa‐‐ to his three daughters, Caroline, Ginny and Rose. A man of harsh sensibilities, he carves Caroline out of the deal because she has the nerve to be less than enthusiastic about her father's generosity. While Larry Cook deteriorates into a pathetic drunk, his daughters are left to cope with the often grim realities of life on a family farm‐‐from battering husbands to cutthroat lenders. In this winner of the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Smiley captures the essence of such a life with stark, painful detail.
Started Early, Took My Dog
Fiction 400 pages Kate Atkinson
Semi‐retired PI Jackson Brodie goes back to his Yorkshire hometown to trace the biological parents of Hope McMasters, a woman adopted by a couple in the 1970s at age two. Jackson is faced with more questions than answers when Hope's parents aren't in any database nor is her adoption on record. In the author's signature multilayered style, she shifts between past and present, interweaving the stories of Tracy Waterhouse, a recently retired detective superintendent now in charge of security at a Leeds mall, and aging actress Tilly Squires. On the same day that Jackson and Tilly are in the mall, Tracy makes a snap decision that will have lasting consequences for everyone. Great writing and cast of characters.
================
From Lori:
Fiction:
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The book opens helpfully with the following characterizations about its protagonist: “Ove is fifty-nine. He drives a Saab. He’s the kind of man who points at people he doesn’t like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman’s torch.”
In this bestselling and delightfully quirky debut novel from Sweden, a grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Ove’s history trickles out in alternating chapters—a bleak set of circumstances that smacks an honorable, hardworking boy around time and again, proving that, even by early adulthood, he comes by his grumpy nature honestly. The back story chapters have a simple, fablelike quality, while the current-day chapters are episodic and, at times, hysterically funny. In both instances, the narration can veer toward the preachy or overly pat, but wry descriptions, excellent pacing and the juxtaposition of Ove’s attitude with his deeds add plenty of punch to balance out any pathos.
Ove’s history trickles out in alternating chapters—a bleak set of circumstances that smacks an honorable, hardworking boy around time and again, proving that, even by early adulthood, he comes by his grumpy nature honestly. The back story chapters have a simple, fablelike quality, while the current-day chapters are episodic and, at times, hysterically funny. In both instances, the narration can veer toward the preachy or overly pat, but wry descriptions, excellent pacing and the juxtaposition of Ove’s attitude with his deeds add plenty of punch to balance out any pathos.
This one is easy to read, fun, and yes, a little predictable, but it's heartwarming. And, for discussion, there are lessons to be drawn and questions to be asked from Ove's history and his character, and from the current conflicts the situations that develop around him.
This is the only fiction book I read that was even close to presentable for the group. The rest of the time I 've been reading “dull, trite, and formulaic mystery genre books,” to quote one critic.
Non-fiction:
The Rise of the Rocket Girls - The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars, by Nathalia Holt
The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space.
In the 1940s, an elite team of mathematicians and scientists started working on a project that would carry the U.S. into space, then on to the moon and Mars. They would eventually become NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but here's what made them so unusual: Many of the people who charted the course to space exploration were women. Nathalia Holt tells their story in her new book.
After reading about 80% of the book, I can say this is a readable, interesting book about a bit of fairly recent history unknown to many. There are relevant comparisons and lessons we can draw from the opportunities, the contributions, the conflicts and the limiatations these women faced in trhe 40 -60's. Then there's the whole question of space exploration – is it abundantly worthwhile? Simply competitive? Useless and a waste of resources? It's certainly expensive and risky.
Sisters in Law by Linda Hirschmann
A “dual biography”, this is the fascinating story of the intertwined lives of Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first and second women to serve as Supreme Court justices. The relationship betweeen the two women, Republican and Democrat, Christian and Jew, Western rancher's daughter and Brooklyn city girl, transcend party, religion, region and culture. Strengthened by each other's presence, the groundbreaking judges hae transformed the Constitution and America itself, making it a more equal place for all women.
I haven't read this, but in view of the current 8-justice Supreme Court, the next two women named as justices, and the impact of the Supreme Courts decisions in guiding the future of the United States, I thought it might be interesting. The sample available on-line was quite readable.
A Piece of the Sun- A Quest for Fusion Energy by Danial Clery
The world has an insatiable hunge for energy and conventional sources are struggling to meet demand. Oil and coal are damaging our environment, nuclear poses long term safety risks, and solar, wind and water have cost and enviromental issues of their own. The solution, according to Daniel Clery, is to be found in the original source of energy – the sun, and fusion energy. This book chronicles the long history of unsuccessful, over-budget projects, and makes the case for the continued attempts to produce sustainable fusion energy.
This book seems like pretty deep science/tech. One review said it's for the layman who is interested in fusion energy and plasma physics. Hmmmmm. Another said it's a “surprisingly sprightly tour d'horizon of the pursuit of fusion energy.” Double hmmmmmm.
I became interested when I read a Time magazine article dated 22 October 2015, inside the Time issue of November 2. 2015, entitled Inside the Quest for Fusion , Clean Energy's Holy Grail, by Lev Grossman. This article quoted Clery's book, but detailed the science of 3 privately-funded start-ups' attempts to produce controlled fusion energy, with some success. And I finished it before the dentist was ready for me! There is also a New York Times article that appeared 3 days later, and a recent Science News article, although they both had less detail.
So, if the topic is interesting, but the book is intimidating (that's me), how about if each of us reads about fusion energy in any source – the book, these science-based articles, or any other source of info on fusion energy. The NYT and the Science News article are on-line, and I could pay the $2.99/month fee to read the Time article on-line, and share it with any and all who want to access that article. The discussion of fusion energy itself, of the differences in privately funded and government-sponsored science research results, the politics of energy production, and the discussion of science writing in general could be interesting. Basing a group discussion on various and multiple sources of info about a single topic would be an experiment for the group!
=============From Teri:
FICTION:
Game; a thriller by Anders de la Motte (trans. by Neil Smith; 2013, 386 p)
De la Motte makes his U.S. debut with the exciting first in a thriller trilogy. On a commuter train from Märsta, Sweden, to Stockholm, perpetually broke Henrik "HP" Pettersson finds an abandoned cell phone that's programmed to invite him to play "the Game," which will be filmed and uploaded to a protected server. He can earn lots of money according to how he is judged by the members of a secret community who view his performance.
The reviews had me at ‘Swedish’, ‘thriller’, and ‘game’. Sounds like geeky fun. Vol 2 is Buzz; a thriller and vol. 3 is Bubble; a thriller. Author was at the Bay Area Book Festival, but I did not get to that program.
Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (2015, 273 p)
Winterson (The Daylight Gate), loves The Winter's Tale so much that she's written a "cover version" of it in this, the first in Hogarth's Shakespeare series in which contemporary writers "retell" the Bard's plays. She replaces King Leontes with Leo, an arrogant English money manager; old friend King Polixenes becomes Xeno, a video-game designer. As in the play, Leo's conviction that the child his wife is carrying is not his but Xeno's results in broken hearts and ruined friendships, exile, and a daughter turned foundling, raised by a bar owner and his son in a New Orleans–like city. But Winterson doesn't just update the story: she fills in its psychological nuances. … but the book's real strength is the way her language shifts between earthy and poetic and her willingness to use whatever she needs to tell the story (angels, video games, carjackings). She makes us read on, our hearts in our mouths, to see how a twice-told story will turn out this time.
With its setting in London during the financial disruptions of the 1990s, this could be quite relevant.
[This is first book in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, a major global initiative the Guardian calls "The great rewriting project of the 21st century". The second book is Shylock is My Name by Howard Jacobson; a retelling of The Merchant of Venice]
[Further note: SF Shakespeare Festival is presenting The Winter's Tale in various locations during the summer ---FREE http://www.sfshakes.org]
Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler (2016, 237 p)
Anne Tyler's delightful Vinegar Girl features Kate, a socially awkward young woman, adored by the preschool children she teaches but misunderstood by her peers. Her father is a scientific genius, but not so great on emotions. About to lose his (equally genius, equally socially inept) research assistant, Pyotr Cherbakov, because of visa problems, and desperate to save the project that is his life's work, he comes up with a plan: Kate will marry Pyotr who will then be able to stay in the country and finish the project. The plan sounds perfect, except for one small hitch: Kate. A re-telling of Taming of the Shrew.
I’ve enjoyed other books by Anne Tyler for her well-drawn characters, and look forward to reading this one.
[This is third book in the Hogarth Shakespeare series; the fourth is Hag Seed by Margaret Atwood; a retelling of The Tempest]
NON-FICTION
Chain of Title; how three ordinary Americans uncovered Wall Street’s great foreclosure fraud
By David Dayen (2016, 385)
PW: Dayen, a contributing writer for Salon and the Intercept, elevates a muckraking exposé of fraudulent foreclosures to Hitchcockian levels of suspense. His absorbing account grabs the reader early on and doesn't let go as he describes how oncology nurse Lisa Epstein, car dealership sales manager Michael Redman, and insurance lawyer Lynn Szymoniak challenged the big banks. …. Dayen sympathizes with his characters' passions but maintains a professional distance from their quixoticism. His epilogue chronicles, sadly, the Lilliputian dimensions of their hard-fought victories. Meticulously researched, enthralling, and educational, this addition to the literature of the Great Recession calls out for its own big-screen adaptation.
I heard the author at the Bay Area Book Festival -- this sounds like a story a every voter should know about.
Hot; living through the next fifty years on earth by Mark Hertsgaard (2011, 239 p)
A fresh take on climate change by a renowned journalist driven to protect his daughter, your kids, and the next generation who’ll inherit the problem
For twenty years, Mark Hertsgaard has investigated global warming for outlets including the New Yorker, NPR, Time, Vanity Fair, and The Nation. But the full truth did not hit home until he became a father and, soon thereafter, learned that climate change had already arrived a century earlier than forecast, with impacts bound to worsen for decades to come. Hertsgaard's daughter is part of what he has dubbed "Generation Hot"--the two billion young people worldwide who will spend the rest of their lives coping with mounting climate disruption.
I heard the author at the Bay Area Book Festival and I’m impressed that he presents ideas for coping with climate change, as well as how to slow it down some.
Bravehearts; whistle- blowing in the age of Snowden by Mark Hertsgaard (2016, 164 p)
In Bravehearts, Hertsgaard tells the gripping, sometimes darkly comic and ultimately inspiring stories of the unsung heroes of our time. A deeply reported, impassioned polemic, Bravehearts is a book for citizens everywhere especially students, teachers, activists and anyone who wants to make a difference in the world around them.
Author’s latest title; last year we read The Snowden Files by Luke Harding. This seems like a good follow on to that title.
[Note --KALW podcast : Your Call -- discussion with Mark Hertsgaard 7/11/16http://kalw.org/post/your-call-whistle-blowing-age-snowden tt]
================================
From Doris:
The Killing of Ishi - The Death of the Last American Stone Age Warrior....by James J. Callahan Jr. 331 pages Kindle version 6 hours. February 2016.
A book about the brutal life and times of Ishi. This book is a combination of historical fact along with dramatic fiction. Chronicles the discovery of his family members still in hiding in Oregon.
Gilgamesh: The New Translation by Gerald J. Davis.
The epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story that has come down to us through the ages of history. It predates the Bible, the Iliad and The Odyssey. It is the tale of the 5th king of the first dynasty. Gilgamesh is a great king, strong as the stars in Heaven. There is Enkidi, his friend, who is a wild and mighty hero who is eaten by the Gods to challenge the arrogant King Gilgamesh. This is a story of friendship. King Gilgamesh reined for 126 years in Uruk, now Iraq. It is deemed to be the greatest work of literature in the recording of mankind's unending quest for immortality. I treasure it for its message regarding friendship.
====================
from Beverly:
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
2015 (152 pages)
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
by Irin Carmon
============In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
by Irin Carmon
2015 (227 pages)
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she has only tried to make the world a little better and a little freer. But nearly a half-century into her career, something funny happened to the octogenarian: she won the internet. Across America, people who weren’t even born when Ginsburg first made her name as a feminist pioneer are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she has only tried to make the world a little better and a little freer. But nearly a half-century into her career, something funny happened to the octogenarian: she won the internet. Across America, people who weren’t even born when Ginsburg first made her name as a feminist pioneer are tattooing themselves with her face, setting her famously searing dissents to music, and making viral videos in tribute.
It draws on intimate access to Ginsburg's family members, close friends, colleagues, and clerks, as well an interview with the Justice herself. An original hybrid of reported narrative, annotated dissents, rare archival photos and documents, and illustrations, the book tells a never-before-told story of an unusual and transformative woman who transcends generational divides. As the country struggles with the unfinished business of gender equality and civil rights, Ginsburg stands as a testament to how far we can come with a little chutzpah.
Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church
by Boston Globe
2015 (274 pages)
Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior Church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence--deeds that left millions of the faithful in the U.S. and around the world shocked, angry, and confused. Here as well is a vivid account of the ongoing struggle, as Catholics confront their Church and call for sweeping change.
[Note: companion movie: Spotlight tt]
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
by Robert Wright
Here are the devastating revelations that triggered a crisis within the Catholic Church. Here is the truth about the scores of abusive priests who preyed upon innocent children and the cabal of senior Church officials who covered up their crimes. Here is the trail of "hush money" that the Catholic Church secretly paid to buy victims' silence--deeds that left millions of the faithful in the U.S. and around the world shocked, angry, and confused. Here as well is a vivid account of the ongoing struggle, as Catholics confront their Church and call for sweeping change.
[Note: companion movie: Spotlight tt]
The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology
by Robert Wright
1995 (467 pages)
Warning: this book is really really long.
Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics--as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.
Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics--as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.
From Robert: (most recent added 7/7/16)
My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout. Ms Strout is the author of Olive Kitteridge. (193 pages; 2016)
An Amazon Best Book of January 2016: Do not be misled by the slimness of this volume, the quietness of its prose, the seeming simplicity of its story line: Elizabeth Strout’s My Name is Lucy Barton is as powerful and disturbing as the best of Strout’s work, including the Pulitzer Prizewinning Olive Kitteridge. In fact, it bears much resemblance to that novel-- and to Strout’s debut Amy and Isabelle--in that it deals with small-town women, who are always more complicated than they seem and often less likable than many contemporary heroines. Here, Strout tells the story of a thirtysomething wife and mother who is in the hospital for longer than she expected, recovering from an operation. She’s not dying, but her situation is serious enough that her mother-- whom she has not seen in many years-- arrives at her bedside. The two begin to talk. Their style is undramatic, gentle-- just the simple unspooling of memories between women not generally given to sharing them; still, the accumulation of detail and the repetitive themes of longing and lifelong missed connections add up to revelations that, in another writer’s heavy hands, might be melodramatic. In Strout’s they are anything but. Rarely has a book been louder in its silences, or more plainly and completely devastating. --Sara Nelson
The Forgetting Time: A Novel by Sharon Guskin. (357 p; 2016)
An Amazon Best Book of February 2016: To say The Forgetting Time is intriguing would be an understatement. Author Sharon Guskin opens her debut novel with a captivating story of a single mother's unstoppable desire to help her son understand his very real memories from another life that constantly haunt him. Later, after you have devoured the book, you realize Guskin has craftily and subtly drawn you in through an exploration of connection, regret, and the meaning of things. No matter your thoughts on the afterlife you will be engrossed by this story, and possibly left contemplating what you thought you believed before. -- Penny Mann
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar (357p; 2012)
"A compelling debut with a family drama centered on questions of religious and ethnic identity.... Akhtar, himself a first-generation Pakistani-American from Milwaukee, perfectly balances a moving exploration of the understanding and serenity Islam imparts to an unhappy preteen with an unsparing portrait of fundamentalist bigotry and cruelty.... His well-written, strongly plotted narrative is essentially a conventional tale of family conflict and adolescent angst, strikingly individualized by its Muslim fabric. Hayat's father is in many ways the most complex and intriguing character, but Mina and Nathan achieve a tragic nobility that goes beyond their plot function as instruments of the boy's moral awakening.... [The story's] warm tone and traditional but heartfelt coming-of-age lesson will appeal to a broad readership. Engaging and accessible, thoughtful without being daunting: This may be the novel that brings Muslim-American fiction into the commercial mainstream."―Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"There Are Things I Want You to Know" About Stieg Larsson and Me
by Eva Gabrielsson with Marie-Françoise Colombani (211 pages; 2011)
No one knew Stieg Larsson like his lifelong companion, Eva Gabrielsson. Here she tells the story of their 30-year romance, Stieg's lifelong struggle to expose Sweden’s Neo-Nazis, his difficult relationships with his immediate family, and the joy and relief he discovered writing the Millennium Trilogy.
The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir by Ruth Wariner
(342 pages; 2015)
Ruth Wariner was the 39th of her father’s 42 children. Growing up on a farm in rural Mexico, where authorities turned a blind eye to the practices of her community, Ruth lives in a ramshackle house without indoor plumbing or electricity. At church, preachers teach that God will punish the wicked by destroying the world and that women can only ascend to Heaven by entering into polygamous marriages and giving birth to as many children as possible. After Ruth's father --- the man who had been the founding prophet of the colony --- is brutally murdered by his brother in a bid for church power, her mother remarries, becoming the second wife of another faithful congregant.
Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez
275 pages; 2007)
275 pages; 2007)
In 2001, just after the fall of the Taliban, Deborah Rodriguez traveled to Afghanistan with a group of aid workers. While she felt inadequate to help in comparison to those she was with – doctors, nurses, therapists, etc. – she soon figured out that being a skilled hairdresser was a gift that she could and should share with the Afghan women. So not only did she start doing the women’s hair, she opened her own beauty school so that she could train women to open their own salons, helping their families and potentially propelling them financially in this society that is so closed to the idea of women achieving financial freedom. In Kabul Beauty School, Rodriguez details the time she spent in Kabul, getting close to the women there, attending weddings, making friends, and even getting married herself.
[Note: documentary film: Beauty Academy of Kabul tt]
The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens (312 pages; 2012)
“The Mountain Story is a feat of storytelling, sure to be one of the most memorable novels of the year, a skilled balance of thriller and domestic drama, of family secrets and struggle for survival. By its closing pages, it gains an almost devastating emotional force that accompanies the irresistible quality of its narrative drive: It’s a master class in fiction and its potential.” (The Globe and Mail)
The Girls by Lori Lansens (345 pages; 2006)
Rose and Ruby Darlen are born joined at the head with no possibility of surgical correction. They are twin sisters who will never be able to look into each other’s eyes. Lori Lansens has written a revealing, informative, and sensitive story about the lives of conjoined twins. Amazingly, the girls see themselves as separate beings and, as we get into their story, we too begin to see them as distinct individuals. The Girls tells the story of a set of twins who are seen in society as very different. Lansens explores how those differences affect the girls, their immediate circle of family, friends, and neighbors.
[ I am withdrawing Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs from my recommendation list.
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. (120 pages; 2007)
When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large.
This book is a novella and could be paired his book of short stories :
The Lady in The Van and Other Stories. by Alan Bennett (193 pages; 2015)
The Lady in The Van has been made into a movie starring Maggie Smith.
Now a major motion picture starring Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett's famous and heartwarming story "The Lady in the Van," and more of Bennett's classic short-form work
Alan Bennett has long been one of the world's most revered humorists. From his acclaimed story collection Smut to his hilarious and sharply observed The Uncommon Reader, Bennett has consistently remained one of literature's most acute observers of Britain and life's many absurdities.
In this new collection, drawn from his wide-ranging career, you'll read some of Bennett's finest work, including the title story, the basis for a new feature film starring Maggie Smith. The book also includes the rollicking comic masterpiece "The Laying on of Hands" and the bittersweet "Father! Father! Burning Bright," Bennett's classic tale of the tense relationship between a man and his dying father.
Another suggestion would be to review the movie and the short story. We need more humor.
Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji (348 pages; 2009)
In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran’s sprawling capital city, 17-year old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, joking around one minute and asking burning questions about life the next. He also hides a secret love for his beautiful neighbor Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. But the bliss of Pasha and Zari’s stolen time together is shattered when Pasha unwittingly acts as a beacon for the Shah’s secret police. The violent consequences awaken him to the reality of living under a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice…
In this poignant, funny, eye-opening and emotionally vivid novel, Mahbod Seraji lays bare the beauty and brutality of the centuries-old Persian culture, while reaffirming the human experiences we all share
A Bitter Veil by Libby Fischer Hellmann (297 pages; 2012)
It all began with a line of Persian poetry...
Anna and Nouri, both studying in Chicago, fall in love despite their very different backgrounds. Anna, who has never been close to her parents, is more than happy to return with Nouri to his native Iran, to be embraced by his wealthy family. Beginning their married life together in 1978, their world is abruptly turned upside down by the overthrow of the Shah, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
Under the Ayatollah Khomeini and the Republican Guard, life becomes increasingly restricted and Anna must learn to exist in a transformed world, where none of the familiar Western rules apply. Random arrests and torture become the norm, women are required to wear hijab, and Anna discovers that she is no longer free to leave the country.
As events reach a fevered pitch, Anna realizes that nothing is as she thought, and no one can be trusted…not even her husband
