Thursday, December 30, 2010

The Justice Game by Randy Singer

The Justice Game An interesting book with a lame ending and tacked-on Christianity.

Kindle books are now lendable!

Here's a list of what I have that is lendable if anyone wants to trade:

Elizabeth Street



Between Here and April



So Brave, Young, and Handsome



In the Bleak Midwinter



Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot



Freedom from Fear



Freedom: A Novel



The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday



Mockingjay



Roma



Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury



One Second After

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Friday, December 24, 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Plastic by Susan Freinkel

Plastic: A Toxic Love Story Mildly interesting.

The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption So between the battles, plane crashes, being lost at sea, and the POW camp, it wasn't exactly a pleasant read, but it was absolutely riveting. And lest you feel that I have given the entire story away, there were a few turns of event at the end that absolutely took my breath away. This is a must-read.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

Caddie Woodlawn I read this to the boys. It was decent.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room: A Novel Absolutely stunning. A must read.

Note: Despite rave reviews, I avoided this book because the premise (woman kept in room for years on end by a sicko with her five-year-old as narrator) was not something I wanted to read about. But then I noticed that many reviews said "it's not what you are thinking." And it isn't. It isn't graphic, it isn't dark, it isn't exploitive. It is horrifying, but it is also the most profound meditation on mothering that I have ever read. I want to say a lot more but I don't want to give any plot points away.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Thursday, December 09, 2010

The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer

The Wet Nurse's Tale I loved, loved, loved this book.

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer Wow. Highly recommended.

SuperFreakonomics by Steven Levitt

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance Hard to avoid comparing this--unfavorably--with Outliers.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers: The Story of Success I realize this was idiosyncratic and anecdotal, but it was also fascinating.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon [FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON] The first third of this book is the most moving piece of literature that I have ever read. After that, it pretty much fell apart. But at the end, I suppose I realized that that was "the point."

(Also, I keep seeing this book on reading lists for 5th-8th grade. I'm really not a prude, but I think the quality and quantity of sexual content makes it more appropriate for high school students.)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Postville, U.S.A. by Mark Grey

Postville, U.S.A.: Surviving Diversity in Small-Town America Highly recommended for anyone interested in immigration issues, rural America, religious tolerance and/or the food industry.

The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

The Rise and Fall of the Bible by Timothy Beal

The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book I really wanted to like this book--it covers one of my favorite topics!--but he just didn't cover any new ground here.

The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

The Coffins of Little Hope Charming and quirky.



The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War First half: interesting. Second half: no way I would have read it if this wasn't for book group. It was a blow-by-blow of King Philip's War, and I don't do military history.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer

Saint Training Perhaps in some objective sense this book was lame, but I really liked it, most likely because it is set in the milieu in which my parents grew up.

Saturday, November 06, 2010

The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman

The Girl in the Green Raincoat: A Novel Great start, weak finish.

The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion by Seth Stern and Stephen Wermiel

Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion Absolutely fascinating.

The publisher provided me with a digital review copy of this book.

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Man Who Counted by Malba Tahan

The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures I read this to the boys; I consider it a must-read for middle-grade homeschoolers. So much fun! It isn't easy to find a fun book about math.

Nory Ryan's Song by Patricia Reilly Giff

Nory Ryan's Song Nathan said it before I could: the most depressing book we have ever read.

Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells

Lincoln and His Boys I read this to the boys. We all loved it.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

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