August 2009 Book Challenge - Page 3

[fremontmama]

#49 Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

The story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney and their love affair. A fictionalized account but based in truth, this book follows their story from the beginning. I didn't know anything about Frank Lloyd Wright before this book, except a cursory knowledge of his architecture, so it was very interesting to learn more about him. It was also quite intriguing to read about the feminist perspective pre-suffrage. A wonderful read that I would recommend. I couldn't put it down.

#50 Living Simply with Children: A Voluntary Simplicity Guide for Moms, Dads, and Kids Who Want to Reclaim the Bliss of Childhood and the Joy of Parenting by Marie Sherlock

I enjoyed this book on voluntary simplicity. It kind of just reaffirmed a lot of our lifestyle philosophy for me. I did find some interesting ideas and suggestions and tips on living simply though. And for those considering switching over to the slow lane, this would be a great overview for you. Big thumbs up.

#51 Linen Wool Cotton by Akiko Mano

I thought the instructions seemed nice and simple. However, I wasn't all that inspired to take up any of her projects. I kind of like the idea of the wool mary jane slippers, and maybe the pocket wall organizer, but that's it. I think I need more patterns in my fabric. I liked her little essays though.

[cathe]

A Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier

Several people have already reviewed this this month so I won't repeat. I thought it was well done but but didn't absolutely love it. It's staying with me, though. The virus kept invading my dreams all night.

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by friendtoall

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Amazing that Wells was so openly pro-evolution back in 1895.

Not just that, but it's also a Jeremiad against industrialization and class differences and warns of open revolution if things do not change.

[kbond]

#57 The Passion of the Hausfrau: Motherhood Illuminated by Nicole Chaison

Picked this up because someone here recommended it, and I liked it. The story itself wasn't necessarily earth-shattering or new--it tread the "let's share the real story of motherhood, warts and all" path. But, there was still a lot to identify with, and I really liked the dual comic/straight text aspect of the book.

[Bufomander]

#84 The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious -- and Perplexing -- City by David Lebovitz

Funny and fun. He has a blog that I now want to subscribe to. After the sudden death of his partner, he moves from San Francisco to Paris. Lots of fun observations of both Parisians and his own countrypeople. Recipes.

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by kbond

#57 The Passion of the Hausfrau: Motherhood Illuminated by Nicole Chaison

Picked this up because someone here recommended it, and I liked it. The story itself wasn't necessarily earth-shattering or new--it tread the "let's share the real story of motherhood, warts and all" path. But, there was still a lot to identify with, and I really liked the dual comic/straight text aspect of the book.

I'm glad you liked it. I agree, not a new tack on genre, but good nonetheless. I thought she was really funny.

Originally Posted by Bufomander

#84 The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious -- and Perplexing -- City by David Lebovitz

Funny and fun. He has a blog that I now want to subscribe to. After the sudden death of his partner, he moves from San Francisco to Paris. Lots of fun observations of both Parisians and his own countrypeople. Recipes.

Oh, that sounds intriguing! I'm adding it to my list.

[cathe]

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Got an advance copy of this to review. It's sort of a Roald Dahl style book about 4 12-year-olds with intense phobias. They are sent for the summer to the School of Fear which is run by a very bizarre staff with very unconventional teaching methods.

Okay book.

[BaBaBa]

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

A short book, as modern novels go but a rich, many layered, contemplative read.

Excellent review here http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/bo...w/McGuane.html

[Jenifer76]

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

A Mormon housewife and a A-list celebrity heartthrob form an unusual friendship. I want to write a more inspired review but I don't have it in me. (Going through some emotional upheaval right now.) I'd give this three out of five stars at best.

[kangamitroo]

The Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea

this novel follows 4 young Saudi women friends through their romantic ups and downs. 2 of the women were interesting to me, but the other 2 were not drawn strongly enough. i found myself interested to learn about life in Saudi Arabia, but i was not thrilled with the style of the writing. i can't quite pinpoint the problem to describe it. i wanted it to be excellent, but it was only ok.

[kofduke]

The Known World, Edward Jones

Set in Manchester County, Virginia, 20 years before the Civil War began, Edward P. Jones's debut novel, The Known World, is a masterpiece of overlapping plot lines, time shifts, and heartbreaking details of life under slavery. Caldonia Townsend is an educated black slaveowner, the widow of a well-loved young farmer named Henry, whose parents had bought their own freedom, and then freed their son, only to watch him buy himself a slave as soon as he had saved enough money...After his death, his slaves wonder if Caldonia will free them. When she fails to do so, but instead breaches the code that keeps them separate from her, a little piece of Manchester County begins to unravel.

Morally complex and beautifully written. The contrasts between the beauty of the countryside and the joy of community are stark next to the abuses of slavery. Overall, very well done.

As an aside, why did I not know that there were black slaveowners, and a varied view of slavery within the community? Guess it's one of those things they never taught you in school...

#1 Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, #2 Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, #3 Autobiography of God, #4 The Ghost Orchid, #5 The Poe Shadow, #6 Knit One Kill Two, #7 Citizen Girl, #8 The Fourth Bear, #9 The Third Secret, #10 Change of Heart, #11 Guardian Angels, #12 The Gore, #13 The Undomestic Goddess, #14 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil T. Frankweiler, #15 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, #16 Blood Memory, #17 A Thousand Splendid Suns, #18 Then we Came to the End, #19 - Feed, #20 - Paper Towns, #21 - The Sparrow, #22 - Swim, Bike, Run, #23 Field Notes from a Catastrophe, #24 Pillars of the Earth, #25 The Geographer's Library, #26 Lady Killer, #27 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, #28 The Abstinence Teacher, #29 Under the Banner of Heaven, #30 Duma Key, #31 The Portrait, #32 Dirty Blonde, #33 Death Gets a Time-Out, #34 Kiln People, #35 Baudolino, #36 Memories of my Melancholy Whores, #37 Sculpting Her Body Perfect,#38 Property Of, #39 A Brief History of the Dead, #40 Jane Austen in Scarsdale, #41 The Known World

[fremontmama]

Originally Posted by BaBaBa

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

A short book, as modern novels go but a rich, many layered, contemplative read.

Excellent review here http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/bo...w/McGuane.html

Oh, that book is on my list. Can't wait to read it.

#52 Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China by Fuschia Dunlop

I will admit, I checked this book out from the library because I liked the title and the cover (which you can't see here unfortunately) and the author's name. But I ended up liking it quite a bit even though I picked it up for such superficial reasons. It's a memoir of her experience in China while researching the food and cooking there. She has written a few Chinese cooking books and from what I gather, the books are organized by region. This book is all about her travels through China, what she ate, how she assimilated her tastes to authentic Chinese food and quite a bit of information about China itself. I found it all very fascinating.

[Bufomander]

(typing 1 handed agaun)
#85 a happy marriage by rafael iglesias
can i admit to you all that knowing something is an 'autobiographical novel' tends to be distracting for me? the merging pf the genres, or something. this was interesting, though... main character's wife is dying of cancer and it alternates between that and a retelling of their (not always 'happy' marriage) reading stories abouy relationships over the long haul is good for me.

[kangamitroo]

my review of The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map can be found here

[ollyoxenfree]

The Cruelest Month - it's a cozy mystery that was a quick read while I was on vacation. It's the third in a series, but I liked the first book best.

She does a nice job with setting and has some interesting characters.

[Jenifer76]

The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark

1666: The Great Fire of London sweeps through the streets and a heavily pregnant woman flees the flames. A few months later she gives birth to a child disfigured by a red birthmark.

1718: Sixteen-year-old Eliza Tally sees the gleaming dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral rising above a rebuilt city. She arrives as an apothecary’s maid, a position hastily arranged to shield the father of her unborn child from scandal. But why is the apothecary so eager to welcome her when he already has a maid, a half-wit named Mary? Why is Eliza never allowed to look her veiled master in the face or go into the study where he pursues his experiments? It is only on her visits to the Huguenot bookseller who supplies her master’s scientific tomes that she realizes the nature of his obsession. And she knows she has to act to save not just the child but Mary and herself.

[kofduke]

Disarming the Playground

Anger and violence in school and at home destroys trust and relationships. Disarming the Playground provides a movement-based curriculum of activities that promote non-violence and anger management in hopes of removing this unnecessary detriment to child development and welfare. Based on the idea that physical action can healthily expresses emotion without harming others, the author encourages body-awareness and a deeper understanding of internal physical sensations, as well as social skills for coping with and diffusing violent situations.

I really liked the ideas contained in this book, and if I ever went back to working at an elementary school I think I'd use it quite a bit in preparing my curriculum. I plan on keeping this book at hand to design activities for groups.

#1 Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, #2 Moosewood Restaurant New Classics, #3 Autobiography of God, #4 The Ghost Orchid, #5 The Poe Shadow, #6 Knit One Kill Two, #7 Citizen Girl, #8 The Fourth Bear, #9 The Third Secret, #10 Change of Heart, #11 Guardian Angels, #12 The Gore, #13 The Undomestic Goddess, #14 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil T. Frankweiler, #15 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, #16 Blood Memory, #17 A Thousand Splendid Suns, #18 Then we Came to the End, #19 - Feed, #20 - Paper Towns, #21 - The Sparrow, #22 - Swim, Bike, Run, #23 Field Notes from a Catastrophe, #24 Pillars of the Earth, #25 The Geographer's Library, #26 Lady Killer, #27 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, #28 The Abstinence Teacher, #29 Under the Banner of Heaven, #30 Duma Key, #31 The Portrait, #32 Dirty Blonde, #33 Death Gets a Time-Out, #34 Kiln People, #35 Baudolino, #36 Memories of my Melancholy Whores, #37 Sculpting Her Body Perfect,#38 Property Of, #39 A Brief History of the Dead, #40 Jane Austen in Scarsdale, #41 The Known World, #42 Disarming the Playground, #43 Little Bee, #44 The Sustainability Revolution, #45 Darling Jim, #46 Not Buying It, #47 Snow Crash, #48 What I talk about when I talk about running, #49 Knit One Kill Two

[cathe]

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

I really liked this book a lot--great mystery for the reader and the characters to unravel which isn't revealed until the end. It all has to do with a four year old girl who arrives in Australia on a ship from England all alone and nobody knows where she came from or why she is alone. Very well done.

[Jenifer76]

Originally Posted by cathe

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

I really liked this book a lot--great mystery for the reader and the characters to unravel which isn't revealed until the end. It all has to do with a four year old girl who arrives in Australia on a ship from England all alone and nobody knows where she came from or why she is alone. Very well done.

That's in my pile from the library. Glad you liked it.

A Little Pregnant: Our Memoir of Fertility, Infertility, and a Marriage by Linda Carbone

Between 1986 and 1995 Linda Carbone and Ed Decker suffered three miscarriages, endured numerous surgeries and high-tech medical procedures, and spent thousands of dollars in a fruitless effort to bring a child into their home. This poignant and refreshingly honest account of a husband and wife struggling, over the course of a decade, to have a child is as much about the promises and pitfalls of modern medicine as it is about the vicissitudes of love.

[Bufomander]

Originally Posted by kbond

#55 Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
This was a great book! I loved how the author hints about the backhistory so let's you speculate about it but doesn't get bogged down in it. I'd love to actually read a prequel to this story or a sequel even.

this is my #86. i enjoyed, though it definitely felyt like work sometimes, i think b/c i wanted tomake sure i really understood the backstory. dh is just starting it abd i think he;s going to love it.