Just a few more amazing recent reads. Enjoy!
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I really dug this book about an anesthesiologist dealing with a malpractice lawsuit -- it was a refreshing change of pace. The author is an M.D. herself and the book was concisely-written, moving, and a great mystery all rolled into one. It was also a fascinating glimpse into the world of putting people under.
This book about race relations in the post-slavery South, as experienced in the voices of several different women (Jodi Picoult-style), blew me away. Started it, and literally had trouble putting it down. Hilarious. Satisfying in every sense of the word. Just amazing!
Speaking of Picoult. I finished this book about a girl with fragile bone disorder, which I'd just started at the time of the last Summer Reading blog. In typical form, it sucked me in, was an enjoyable read...and ended tragically. Of course.
Ditto for this Picoult novel, about a woman and her bloodhound (together, they track missing persons), who discovers she was actually kidnapped as a young child. I read it shortly after Handle With Care and could say almost exactly the same things about it.
This memoir of a biracial man's unorthodox -- but extremely engaging -- upbringing reeled me in from the first few pages and held me in a vise grip. In some ways, it resembled another fantastic memoir I read a few years ago about a somewhat-similar situation...
...but this book was even more thrilling! Both are top-tier reads, though, and truly transport you back through time and culture into another person's childhood experience.
Just finished this book about two Chinese sisters living in Shanghai in the 1920s who are married off to Chinese-American brothers and must emigrate to Los Angeles. I stayed up way too late on many recent nights, pound through these fast-turning pages. Another thrilling reader's ride by Lisa See!
Though I must say that I've enjoyed each successive book incrementally-less then the one before: I started with Snow Flower, Secret Fan (adored it); moved on to Peony in Love (loved it); and this one, though it was quite a lot of fun, I would have to say I just really, really liked. The ingredients were all there: engaging characters, fast-paced plot, intriguing historical references -- but something about the abrupt ending felt unfinished to me, and I have to admit I was left feeling a bit disappointed.
I'm a little over 1/3 of the way through this book about a Holocaust survivor and her experiences immediately after the war, and so far, it's been a really enjoyable read. The author's writing is simple and sparse, which works well given the often-difficult content she's dealing with. My only complaint so far is that Jenoff is partial to well-worn, overused phrases. But that's a minor complaint when you put that in context of the bigger picture -- she also has an amazing knack for getting you to experience the main character's emotions as though they were your own, like the feeling of being alone in a strange city. So far, so good. Can't wait to see what happens next!
Oddly enough, my random decision to pick up this particular book -- a Holocaust survivor's memoir about her life after the war, her immigration to New Jersey, and her experiences ever since -- had nothing to do with being immersed in The Diplomat's Wife. The cover gave no direct indication that the books covered similar material, so I was in for a surprise when I started reading. I'm just a few chapters along, but so far I really like the way the author has put together a piecemeal of various recollections of all shapes and sizes, in a somewhat declaratory fashion of, "This is just how I did it and so that's how it's gonna be. Deal."
Last but not least, this little tome about an adopted Native American girl has eluded me for some time. I read quite a few Kingsolver books in high school and college, my favorite of which was The Bean Trees:
TBT is essentially the first half of Turtle -- the little girl's -- story. Pigs in Heaven, as I understand it, is the second half. I was eager to read it, and even found a secondhand copy which I bought ages ago, but then it went missing and every time it would resurface, I would be reading something else. It resurfaced again as I was packing up more stuff to move to our house, and as usual, I'm in the middle of the two above books, but I have fast-tracked it to little wooden table by my front door so that it will be in prime position for reading as soon as I finish the others.
Excited and eager to see what happens now that Turtle is growing up.
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And finally, Ayize would like to nominate three selections as being contenders in the "Top Best Books Ever of All Time" category. In fact, he's miffed that I missed #2 and #3 the last time around, as they were already old standards by then!
So without further ado, cue the drumroll...
A revolutionary book about a little boy in an all-urban landscape who comes across a tiny patch of green growing things along some abandoned railroad tracks and takes it upon himself to nurture them into a garden. He learns from his mistakes, and he's persistent and patient. The book is graphically-gorgeous and the story is so charming, we can't put it down.
Best of all, the book was an awesome housewarming gift from our pals Liz and Greta, in honor of our new garden! So it has been a really nice "transitional" book for us on hard days when it helps to remind Ayize about all the good things that come with moving to a new place.
My nieces came over one afternoon and when they spotted the book, they were gleeful as all get out. They read it to Ayize, and then told me that my brother Jo Jo had gifted them with the same book awhile back, and that they loved it. And they are very discerning readers!
This book by Lynne Bertrand about some very powerful sisters with a very powerful problem has been a big favorite since I first checked it out on a whim from the library and read it to Ayize, replete with silly accents and accompanying hand motions. You just can't help yourself -- the language is so delicious, the story so hilarious, and the illustrations so infectious. We've taken it out so often that I'm seriously thinking of just buying a used copy online. A time-tested delight.
Again, I just need to get my butt on Amazon and try to find a used copy of this book because we went through a period around a year ago where we simply kept checking it out every couple weeks. Hit the library and see for yourself -- this awe-inspiring, woodblock-illustrated, telescoping tale of a home in its largest and smallest contexts is truly a treasure. A major favorite in the bedtime tale department. I'm happy that we spotted it at our little local library last week, and are revisiting it with much joy and nostalgia. Ayize loves it as much as he did when he was a way more wee one.
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Happy reading!
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