Change of Heart August 18, 2008

Marcia says:

I recently listened to Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult and enjoyed it just as much as her other novels. Once again I was captivated by Picoult’s choice of current hot topics that challenge the reader’s belief systems.  In Change of Heart, Shay Bourne, a death row prisoner, is convicted of murdering a woman’s family and will soon be lethally injected.  One challenge is convincing the woman to accept Shay’s final wish for atonement by donating his heart to her daughter who is dying of heart failure. Another challenge is convincing the court system to change the method of his death to enable the transplant to take place. Throughout it all, listeners/readers may be challenged by examining not only their beliefs in capital punishment, but also the separation of church and state.  I always am intrigued by Picoult’s choice of themes and how she focuses on her character’s development while dealing with these issues.

The Myth of Alzheimer’s August 18, 2008

Lyn says:

Wow!  What a different view of ‘brain aging’!  I couldn’t put it down.  Whitehouse says he has come from a prominent position in drug therapy research to a completely different view of what has been called Alzheimer’s disease.  He wants us to realize that we need to work with people to see what they CAN do and how caregivers can understand and care for those having brain difficulties.  The fear that comes with the diagnosis is as dangerous as the symptoms.  The ‘miracle cures’ are discussed in detail and debunked.  We have heard that Alzheimer’s disease can be distinguished at autopsy but that is incorrect – there is a continuum of brain plaques and tangles even in people who have no brain dysfunction.  Prevention from childhood is stressed with diet, exercise, stress reduction, environmental monitoring, education.  The stories of a caring approach to evaluating symptoms are encouraging.  Don’t get discouraged by all the science – understand what you can and go on to the discussions.  His quote from T. S. Eliot is the core of his new approach: ‘What are we going to do about it?’ is replaced by ‘How does one behave towards it?’

The myth of Alzheimer’s: what you aren’t being told about today’s most dreaded diagnosis by Peter J. Whitehouse

Dr Whitehouse’s description of himself and his book

Lunch at the Piccadilly August 18, 2008

Regan says:

While waiting to get your hands on Clyde Edgerton’s latest, The Bible Salesman, you might want to stop by Rosehaven where Aunt Lil will entertain you for an hour or two.  Lunch at the Piccadilly is another sweet, funny and wise slice of pie novel by Edgerton.  We can all learn so much from our elders—and if you don’t have your own, visiting with Edgerton’s will do just as well.  There is some dangerous driving, a little song writing, and a glimpse of what is just down the road.  You won’t be sorry if you stop for Lunch at the Piccadilly.

Fieldwork August 15, 2008

Suzanne says:

Mischa Berlinski’s novel evoked the best and the least appealing memories of my own adventure living in Thailand. He clearly understood both the physical and emotional landscape. In capturing the expat experience so beautifully, Mischa shares both the advantages and the loneliness of being “the other”. I would recommend this book of cultural immersion to anyone planning on living in a different culture for any extended period of time. Bonus plot element – there’s a mystery to solve, too!

Fieldwork

Someone Not Really Her Mother August 12, 2008

Jennifer says:

Someone Not Really Her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman

Read by Myra Platt

Hannah Pearl is forgetting everything. Her life is as good as can be expected, given the advanced stage of her dementia: she lives in a high quality elder care home, and is well taken care of by its staff; her family dotes on her and visits often; she can talk with friends, enjoy food, and dress herself. She just doesn’t know who she is. What flashes through her mind, instead, are vivid memories, both beautiful and terrible, of her life before she emigrated to America. The man in England who she loved, and who gave her a daughter; the dear family she left behind in France, who perished in the Holocaust. Hannah was also a poet, and her instinct for metaphor has been retained — we learn this from her thoughts, which, scattered as they are, also give us a strong sense of who she once was. The arc of her life also plays out through her daughter, now grown, and her granddaughters, one a poet, one a new mother. Affection and joy in the present are the only things that bridge the gulf between those who still know themselves, and the one who can no longer find herself. Gorgeously written and read clearly and simply by Myra Platt, this is an audiobook that will stay with you.

Currently Reading:
She Got Up Off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel
I’m Every Woman: Remixed Stories of Marriage, Motherhood, and Work by Lonnae O’Neal Parker
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn

Three Cups of Tea August 8, 2008

James says:

How can a tale of drinking tea be such a tale of adventure? Combine the skills of a good journalist with the mountaineering experiences of one compassionate person and voila! the adventures flow. Compassion expressed by almost single-minded devotion to educating the poorest of the poor in Pakistan and Afghanistan seems to be Greg Mortenson’s life-blood. His failure to summit K2 and his taking the wrong turn as he descended put him in the lap of one of the world’s poorest communities. As he says, though, maybe they really have a richer life. The tale cannot escape being a first-rate, first-hand, and severe condemnation of the U.S. policies in Central Asia. However, do not read this book for its implicit political statement against war and warring – read it for the adventure and the compassion. Greg’s second trip to the village he had first stumbled into is a hair-raising ride atop a 20-foot tall load of building supplies over a rockslide-prone narrow and curvy road climbing thousands of feet back toward K2. Other adventures include speaking to six persons when he had expected nearly 200, being kidnapped by jihadists, having his passport invalidated by a Taliban border guard (with absolutely no sympathy from the American Embassy – the ones charged with the protection of us citizens when we travel outside the U.S.), surviving two fatwas legally, even traveling with smugglers in order to reach the leader of Badakshan in northern Afghanistan. I had trouble putting it down.

Three Cups of Tea

Skeletons at the Feast August 4, 2008

Marcia says:

Chris Bohjalian has done it again by taking us into the human responses and emotions from challenging events. In Skeletons at the Feast, we witness the end of WWII in Hitler’s Reich. A German family, a forced labor Scottish POW and an escaped Jew, who of all things is disguised as a Wehrmacht soldier, travel on foot across Germany. Hungry, cold, dirty and unable to understand the madness surrounding them, they are fleeing from the brutal Russian “liberators” into the hands of American and British solders. In spite of all the sad realities this book portrays, I was impressed by the fortitude of these characters and how they found friendship in one another.

Bloom, I Can’t Tell You, and Pieces of Georgia August 4, 2008

Kyla says:

I read Bloom by Elizabeth Scott. This book is about Lauren, a girl in high school is dating the most popular boy in school. She feels like that is what is expected of her especially since she is not really that popular. Lauren lives with her dad since her mom left them both when she was younger. Lauren and her dad don’t ever really talk about feelings or anything of any real importance. Then Lauren runs into Evan. Evan’s mom and Lauren’s dad once dated and ended things on a sour note. Lauren starts to fall for Evan even though he is not popular. Lauren has to decide what is more important to her, her popularity or actually finding someone that she loves. The book was ok. It was a little too predictable for me but I would still recommend it to others.

I read I Can’t Tell You by Hillary Frank. This book is about Jake, who is starting his freshman year in college. Jake gets into an arguement with his best friend and ends up telling him some things that he shouldnt’ have. His friend stops talking to Jake even though they share a dorm room. Jake decides then that he is not going to talk anymore because it just ends up getting him in trouble. He decides that writing messages to everyone is the way to go. He uses whatever is handy to write on, including napkins, scraps of paper, and paperbags. Jake starts to fall in love with a girl in his dorm. He uses the notes to try and get his feelings across. I thought that this book was extremely interesting. The beginning was a little tough since the entire book is written in notes and the speakers are not really identified. I did enjoy how it was written though once I was able to figure out who was speaking. I thought it was an interesting way to tell a story.

I read Pieces of Georgia by Jen Bryant. This book is about a young girl named Georgia. She lives near a farm with her father. Her mother passed away when Georgia was younger. Georgia is an artist but she feels like she can’t really share her art with her father since her mother was an artist also and it seems to make her father sad. Georgia has been classified as “At Risk” by her school since she gets nervous easily and doesn’t have a lot of friends. She is given a journal by her counselor to try and get some of her feelings out. Georgia really starts to enjoy her journal. She starts to figure out her dad and her best friend. She starts to actually be able to share her feelings with them. This is a good story about family and friendship.

Books by Janet Evanovich August 4, 2008

Diane says:

I have been reading books by Janet Evanovich. I can’t really say which one is my favorite because I love them all. They are funny, full of suspence and they really make you want to keep reading. I have read all but maybe 4 books and I can’t wait to read the rest. The other thing I like about her books is you don’t have to read them in order. Great books, all of them.

Five Lessons I Didn’t Learn From Breast Cancer August 4, 2008

Philirya says: I recently finished “Five Lessons I Didn’t Learn From Breast Cancer (and One Big One I Did) by Shelley Lewis. Shelley’s experience with breast cancer is just like anyone else’s. It’s her epiphany afterword, or her lack thereof that’s different. This isn’t a breast cancer survivor’s pink wrapped spiritual awakening. In fact, she refuses to be called a survivor at all. She doesn’t wear a ribbon or think cancer is a ‘gift’. She does get through cancer with humor and determination, even while she is scared. “Five Lesson I Learned” is a wonderful book, written for those of us who don’t believe in higher powers, that believe you have everything in yourself to get through life’s challenges, no matter how dark they may be. Shelley doesn’t disparage those people who do believe in higher powers, believing you should do whatever you personally need to do to get through. “If you believe in God, pray. If you believe in science, do some research. If you’re a gal who likes to hedge her bets, pray to God the science works”, she says. It’s great in this day and age to find such a clear-headed book written on cancer. I heartily recommend it.