My Summer Book Report

Have lots to catch up on, but for now, I've finished my reviews for Cherry Hill Library's Summer Reading for Adults program.  Will hand it in today - we'll see if they use any of them.  I hope you will be tempted to read any one of them - loved them all!

The Kitchen God’s Wife

Amy Tan

Find yourself identifying with the young wife and mother – frustrated and stressed with two daughters, a husband, a mother from another time and place – rushing about and attempting to bridge the gap between old Chinese culture and new American ways.  Suddenly your mother, known as Winnie, not only pulls the rug out from under you, but the scales from your eyes.  Consider China, thousands of years old, steeped in Confucian tradition, where men “rule” the wife and children.  China, where women have no rights, and are considered merely property of their husbands.  The time is the 1930s during a time of civil uprising and then Japanese invasion.  Where Winnie doggedly perseveres against all odds through horror, and, improbably, survives to tell the story.

The Alienist

Caleb Carr

A dark, gruesome and intriguing ride back to the turning point in our nation’s history of crime – when forensic science is born through the efforts of a hodge-podge group gathered under the auspices of none other than Theodore Roosevelt, New York’s Police Commissioner.  Not only will this book hold your interest, and stand your hair on end, but it will trigger an interest to read more about the people and the times Mr. Carr introduces in this page turner.  I had a hard time putting it down!

Frozen Fire

Tim Bowler

“I’m dying” are the first two words in this fast paced, intense novel that had this reader beginning to hold her breath by page 3 and sensing terror by page 16.  The story of a mysterious boy stands on its own; but there are layers of truths and speculation to the story that the reader is left to discover on her own.  Or not.   Tension and mystery abide on every page with a strong dose of the supernatural throughout.  One is left with a sense that the last page is not truly the end of the story.

Contentment and Friendship

Apparently Abraham Lincoln said

'My Best Friend is a person who will give me a book I have not read.'

Today I went to Barnes and Noble to find a book I wanted and which the library did not have.
The bookstore is a place in which I find utter contentment, especially when I have gift certificates from friends - allowing me to buy whatever strikes my fancy.
I've always been a reader.  I can't remember a time when I didn't have my nose in a book.
When I was a kid we didn't have a library near by.  In fact, it was a long time before I ever set foot in a library - didn't know there was such a thing.  I remember, as an 8th grader, walking in to the library of the high school I was to attend.  I still feel the thrill I felt that day - all those books!  And all at my disposal.  And then the realization that I might not live long enough to read them all.  I didn't go to that highschool right away - but a year later, I began my quest to read as many as I could fit into the next three years.
My Great-Aunt Anna had a couple of book cases in her home.  They were full of an assortment of books - most published before the turn of that century.  I read every one of them.  I still recall one called "Freckles" about a young man and his adventures.
Our church had a bookcase in the basement where the Sunday School classes took place.  I read every one of those books too.  One of my favorites had to do with early days football.  It didn't matter the topic of a book.  What mattered to me was that there was magic between the covers.  There were worlds to discover.  There were other people having all kinds of thoughts and dreams that I could come to know.
Thank you to all those authors out there who have written me to other places, other times, other thoughts.  And thank you to the friends who have given me the gift of books.

Summer Reading

Our library sponsors a Summertime Reading program - for kids and for adults.  I've remembered twice to join in the fun - today was the time I remembered this year.  The deal is, one reads three books during a set timeframe and then fills in a form they provide with the title, author, a few lines of a review and a rating - 1 (don't read!) to 5 (must read).  Once done, you turn in the form and are gifted with a surprise bag of goodies.  Today I turned in the following:

KITE RUNNER, THE - Hosseini, Khaled
"Almost from the first word of this wrenching book, I was torn between turning each page and tossing the book away from me in sorrow. The only sound I heard, even while reading in a noisy room, was the sound of my heart breaking time after time. The story is one that fills the reader with the sense of living it. As such, I will probably always long for the ending – be it tragic, or, one hopes desperately, happy – I am left wanting to know. The accounting of the glass lines that cut the hands of the kite fliers symbolized to this reader the very essence of life in a war-torn ancient land – and as well, the effect this powerful novel had upon me. "  Rated: 5


HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET - Ford, Jamie
"While I read about 4 or 5 pages before I was hooked, this book quickly became a lovely friend. There are at least two stories running throughout – an historical one that filled in a great deal of history of the shameful treatment of Japanese-Americans during WWII of which I knew very little – and a delicate, origami type story of loves – those enjoyed, those unfulfilled, those lost and those found once more. I dearly loved this gentle and beautifully written story."  Rated: 5

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS - Gruen, Sara
"Exciting. Humorous. Riveting. I loved this book for its narrator, for its vivid description of the time and place of it – the ‘30’s and a traveling circus, for its colorful and shockingly real characters, not the least of which is an elephant! It’s got just about every element needed for a true page-turner – love, intrigue, jealousy, murder and best of all – a happy ending!"  Rated:  5

Here is a picture of the contents of my goodie bag:

It contains a book (Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and it's all small stuff); a bookmark; 2 coupons for free video rentals; a little deck of cards (in the shape of flip flops!) for a quiet game of solitaire; some almonds; some cookies; a pencil and a little pen; and two tea bags - coincidentally one in my favorite flavor and one in Lar's!

It's great to have gotten a nice little goodie bag for free - all for reading some books I'd read anyway.  But the real prize is the experience I enjoyed in reading these wonderful, wonderful novels.  And I hope my reviews might inspire you - dear reader - to give them a try too.
POSTSCRIPT:  see http://chplnjbooks.wordpress.com/

A Book - A Painting

May I recommend the book "Luncheon of the Boating Party" by Susan Vreeland?