Books Read - 2024

Well, this list is really, really late! Without having gone to ALA's Midwinter event, I had sort of abandoned this blog. And, for whatever reasons, I have not been reading books -- lots of reading, but mostly email, newspapers, social media. Here's the 2024 list:

Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics by Tim Harford [Work topic]

 Dawn in the Dooryard: Reflections from the Jagged Edge of America by Timothy Cotton Author signed; family holiday grab bag

Writing the Big Book: The creation of A. A. by William Schaberg

A History of the Louisiana Library Association, 1925 - 2000 edited by Alma Dawson and Florence Jumonville @work

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier [Book discussion book from a sister-in-law]

From Prison Cells to PhD: It is never too late to do good by Stanley Andrisse

Red Harvest: A graphic novel of the Terror Famine in 1930s Soviet Ukraine by Michael Cherkas [GN=Graphic Non-fiction]; ARC @work

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng [Book discussion book from a sister-in-law]

How Far the Light Reaches: A life in ten sea creatures by Sabrina Imbler

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender YA - LTRC

First-Hand: A Memoir of Life in 1950's Mandeville LA by J. Vernon "Butch" Smith

Let's Talk About It: The teen's guide to sex, relationships, and being a human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan [GN=Graphic Non-fiction]

Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise, and Oscar O. Jupiter [GN=Graphic Novel; LYRTC @work]

Museums & Women and other stories by John Updike

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo [YA, ARC]

Glengarry Geln Ross: A play by David Mamet [@work]

My Selma by Willie May Brown [ARC, YA - intro speaker at ALA LibLearnX 2023]

Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont by Nick Brooks [ARC, YA, signed by the author]

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson [@work]

Jikji, light from the East III published by Cheongju Early Printing Museum

Note that prior year reading lists are linked from this page:

https://michaelgolrick.blogspot.com/p/previously-read.html

Books Read - 2023

This year had no real pattern ... no plan ... I just pulled books from the pile. I was given a few books by a sister-in-law who had read them in her neighborhood book group, so couldn't just leave them in the community center. (I figured that if I didn't want to read them, I would give them to my public library book sale!) Here's the 2023 list:

At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier [Book discussion book from a sister-in-law]

From Prison Cells to PhD: It is never too late to do good by Stanley Andrisse

Red Harvest: A graphic novel of the Terror Famine in 1930s Soviet Ukraine by Michael Cherkas [GN=Graphic Non-fiction]; ARC @work

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng [Book discussion book from a sister-in-law]

How Far the Light Reaches: A life in ten sea creatures by Sabrina Imbler

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender YA - LTRC

First-Hand: A Memoir of Life in 1950's Mandeville LA by J. Vernon "Butch" Smith

Let's Talk About It: The teen's guide to sex, relationships, and being a human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan [GN=Graphic Non-fiction]

Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise, and Oscar O. Jupiter [GN=Graphic Novel; LYRTC @work]

Museums & Women and other stories by John Updike

Saint Juniper's Folly by Alex Crespo [YA, ARC]

Glengarry Geln Ross: A play by David Mamet [@work]

My Selma by Willie May Brown [ARC, YA - intro speaker at ALA LibLearnX 2023]

Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont by Nick Brooks [ARC, YA, signed by the author]

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson [@work]

Jikji, light from the East III published by Cheongju Early Printing Museum

Note that prior year reading lists are linked from this page:

https://michaelgolrick.blogspot.com/p/previously-read.html

Books Read - 2022

There are themes to this past year's reading. First, this list is in reverse chronological order. The last read is the first.

Actually there are two themes and they are biography/autobiography and lengthy (fat) books. Other than Cheever's writings, what I read was all biography/memoir. Some might argue that even the Cheever writings are memoir-like. He certainly drew on his life experience and the places in which he had lived. [Reading Cheever was the completion of a sequence that I started in 2021 by reading his daughter's works, including ... wait for it ... biographies she had written and her memoirs.)

The second theme/pattern - especially for about the first 3/4 of the year was length. It seems like two book, how much could that be? But if counted in pages, that almost 2,000 pages. The Grant biography was almost 1,500 pages. That's three books totaling almost 3,500 pages.

 The combination of reading the Grant biography and The 1619 Project was very appropriate. Grant, as an army general and as President, tried to set the stage for a fully equitable society. His role (other than as the General) was not something of which I had been aware. I understand better why his portrait is on the $50 bill!

The end of the year introduced a new aspect: graphic non-fiction. Prior to reading Maus, I don't think I ever read a full graphic novel. While people would say that the three I read were graphic novels, they really aren't. Maus is a "told to" memoir; Monumental is a documented biography; Gender Queer is a memoir. They are not fiction ... hence my "tag" referring to them as GN=Graphic Nonfiction.

On to 2023!

Having said that, here's the 2022 list:

Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional by Isaac Fitzgerald signed by the author

Monumental: Oscar Dunn and His Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana by by Brian K. Mitchell, Barrington S. Edwards, Nick Weldon GN=Graphic Non-fiction

Gender Queer: a memoir by Maia Kobabe GN=Graphic Non-fiction

Maus (both volumes - box set) by Art Spiegelman GN=Graphic Non-fiction

The 1619 Project:a new origin story Edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones [creator], Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman, and Jake Silverstein

Home Bound: An uprooted daughter's reflections on belonging by Vanessa A. Bee ARC, signed by the author

Grant by Ron Chernow -- Blog post here.

Dragon Teeth by Michael Chrichton

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

Complete novels by John Cheever, Library of America; Blake Bailey wrote the chronology and notes for this volume. [At 906 pages, I feel like this should count for more than one book!] Blog post here.

Collected stories and other writings by John Cheever, Library of America; Blake Bailey wrote the chronology and notes for this volume. [At 1004 pages, I feel like this should count for more than one book!] Blog post here.

Grant a significant biography

Earlier this year a friend posted on Facebook about the bicentennial of Ulysses S. Grant (April 22). I quickly realized how little I knew about the 18th President. I knew he had been a general, and was the commander of Union forces who accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. He also had a reputation for being (depending on to whom you listened) a heavy drinker or a drunk. I also believed that his administration was wracked with scandal.

The book by Ron Chernow is massive. The copy I borrowed was in large print - and the text ran to 1,289. Those pages are followed by another 190 pages of notes, bibliography, and photo/illustration credits. (It is a pretty fat book at 1,479 pages!)

Grant was much more than just a general and a drunk. While this biography talks about his drinking issues, Chernow notes that whatever drinking Grant did was away from any significant activities. He was not ever drunk during a battle or a crucial time in his administration. Some of that credit belongs to one of his personal assistants, and to his wife Julia. He did have a "drinking problem," but especially at the end of his life, he seemed to be able to control it. According to this biography, he never drank leading up to and during a battle. He would occasionally go on binges. There were two people who helped reign him in, one was his wife Julia, and the other a long-suffering and long-serving assistant John A. Rawlins. It's a fascinating relationship, and there is one (much shorter) version of the story on History.net.

I strongly recommend the book. The description of Grant's political acumen and actions as President were not something I had known about. The election of his successor ushered in the era of Jim Crow, which undermined much of what Grant tried to do as both a General and as the President.

The very end of his life was sad in that he rushed to finish his memoirs (published by Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain) in order to leave funds for his wife. The next time I drive east, I will try to visit both his tomb (in New York City) and where he spent much of his final time writing in Saratoga Springs (NY). I suppose, his version of his life should be added to my reading list!

John Cheever: Selected Stories and Other Writings - some notes

 I just finished reading the Library of America's compilation of John Cheever's Collected Stories and Other Writings (1004 pages plus chronology and notes). The stories are more or less chronological in the order of publication, and are grouped by the collections in which they had appeared.

Many of the stories use characters and places which also appear in his novels - which gives a sense of continuity to his writings. He is clearly a gifted story teller. I had one friend ask (early on) if I had read "The Swimmer" (p. 726). I had not at that point, but it is an amazing story, and I commend it.

The Other Writings include works about other authors (Saul Bellow, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Malcolm Cowley) and a great little essay "Why I Write Short Stories." A sentence in that essay struck me a being very important:

"...they are read by discerning and well-informed men and women who seem to feel that narrative fiction can contribute to our understanding of one another and the sometimes bewildering world around us." (p. 996)

*Mic drop*

[In my list of books read this year, I feel like this should count for more than one volume!]

Books Read 2021

Here's the 2021 list:

Death on Nantucket by Francine Mathews

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg

Home Before Dark: A biographical memoir of John Cheever by his daughter by Susan Cheever

Tinderbox: the untold story of the Up Stairs Lounge fire and the rise of gay liberation by Robert W. Fieseler

After the Worst Thing Happens by Audrey Vernick ARC

Note Found in a Bottle: My life as a drinker by Susan Cheever

Death of a Diva at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison Hurricane read

Antiques Carry On: A Trash 'N' Treasures Mystery by Barbara Allen Hurricane read

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough [Special note: cover is by my friend Wendell Minor]

The Last Haywire Ride by John Maginnis [from the bargain table at Blue Cypress Books]

The Paperboy: A Novel by Pete Dexter [from the bargain table at Blue Cypress Books]

The Building of the Panama Canal in Historic Photographs by Ulrich Keller

Panama: Yesterday and Today by Sue Core

Not God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous by Ernest Kurtz

The Awakening: complete, authoritative text with biographical and historical contexts, critical history, and essays from five contemporary critical perspectives by Kate Chopin edited by Nancy A. Walker

My name is Bill: Bill Wilson: His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous by Susan Cheever

The Library Book by Susan Olean

Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction by Susan Cheever

Couples by John Updike

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon

Gettysburg Pamphliets

"Gettysburg" [National Park Service Booklet, 1992]
"The Monuments at Gettysburg" by Thosmas A. Desjardin [1997]
"Holding the Left at Gettysburg: the 20th New York State Militis on July 1, 1863" Seward Osborne [1990]
"On the Bloodstained Field: 130 Human Interest Stories of the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco
"'For God's Sake, Forward!' Gen. John F. Reynolds, USA" by Michael Riley [1995] signed

Books Read 2020

Better late than never, I suppose ... I was updating the page with the "Currently Reading" and realized that I never posted the 2020 list. It is surprisingly short - most likely because of all the distractions of the year.

In any case, here it is:

Widows of Eastwick by John Updike

Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

The Ambassador's Daughter: A Novel by Pam Jenoff Signed by the Author

Death Over a Diamond Stud: The assassination of the Orleans Parish District Attorney by Christophrt G. Pena

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert ARC

After the Worst Thing Happens by Audrey Vernick ARC

Latitudes of Longing: a novel by Shubhangi Swarup ARC

Utopia by Thomas More [Yes, a second time]

A Room Away from the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma Signed by the Author, ARC

Wink: a novel (Surviving Middle School with One Eye Open) by Rob Harrell YA ARC

Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome YAARC

Blue Daisy by Helen Frost [J/YA] ARC

Dear Beast by Dori Hillstead Butler, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry [graphic novel, J/YA] ARC

The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg Signed by the Author

Utopia by Thomas More

Updike's Witches

I recently did something that I think I have never done before ... I read a couple books and then immediately watched the movie made from one of them. I no longer remember what inspired me to pull from the library stacks The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. But this late fall, I was off and running/reading.

I have read Updike before. I read several of his books prior to introducing him at the Connecticut Library Association Annual Conference in 2000. After the Conference, I also read the book he was promoting at that time (Gertrude and Claudius) as well as an older collection (Bech is Back - which he most thoughtfully inscribed to me).

This time I did the following in this order:

1. Read The Witches of Eastwick
2. Read The Widows of Eastwick
3. Watched the movie: "The Witches of Eastwick"

The action in The Widows takes place 30 years after the activities of The Witches. The Widows is an interesting take on the aging process, in addition to the other themes which follow from one book to the other. The theme of aging and those changes is a one which Updike explores in other works (most notably to me, the Rabbit series).

I was disappointed and disturbed by the movie adaptation. In both of the books, the women characters (Sukie, Jane, and Alexandra) are portrayed as strong women with a bond with each other, and having developed/found their unique skills which are most powerful when they are together. Darryl as a character arrives in Eastwick after there has already been action from the women. In the movie, however, Darryl (played by Jack Nicholson) is portrayed as the force which develops and binds the women's powers.

In the Wikipedia entry on The Witches (the book) it notes:

Updike described his novel as "about female power, a power that patriarchal societies have denied." Many scholars viewed it as strongly pro-feminist, "an intelligent engagement with feminism, and a rare case of a male novelist writing from women's points of view." Some have expressed concern that the book may be misogynistic, as it seems to reinforce the patriarchal conceptions of women as witches and of women requiring a man for personal growth; others believe that the book may be more of a satire of such ideas.

The movie clearly takes a different tack, as a vehicle for Nicholson, and focuses on his presence as the driving force - and the ending of the movie is a dramatic difference from the book - having repurposed one of the plot lines.

It has been interesting.

I will also confess, that part of the attraction for me was the setting. Eastwick is a fictional town on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. It is a setting with which I am familiar. I could see the setting in my minds' eye ... could hear the voices (and accents) ... could almost smell the salt air, and the mustiness endemic to older, wooden-framed homes near the salt-water coast.

I recommend the books - both of them. The movie, not so much.

Books Read 2019

Here is the list of books I read in 2019.

Basket Case: A Novel by Carl Hiaasen [library book]

Major Taylor: The extraordinary career of a champion bicycle racer by Andrew Ritchie [library book]

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell ARC

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rosemary Wells

Little Altars Everywhere by Rosemary Wells signed

Failure to Launch: Why Your Twentysomething Hasn't Grown Up.. and What to Do About It by Mark McConville, Ph.D. ARC

Seeing My Skin (A Story of Wrestling with Whiteness) by Peter Jarrett-Schell, Review ARC

Guardians of Being: Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats words by Eckhart Tolle, art by Patrick McDonnell

Stray City: A Novel by Chelsey Johnson signed

Contemplative Vision: Photography as a Spiritual Practice by Dirk deVries

Mina's Guide to Minute Taking: Principles, Standards, & Practical Tools by Eli Mina

Deep West: A Literary Tour of Wyoming

The Nature of Life and Death: Every Body Leaves a Trace by Patricia Wiltshire ARC

If You Want To Make God Laugh: A Novel by Bianca Marais ARC

Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt ARC

Astro-Nuts by Jon Scieszka and {the other} Steven Weinberg ARC

The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcarcel

Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety by Sacha Z. Scoblic

No Exit: a novel by Taylor Adams

Food Rules: an Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

Jazz Scrapbook by Bill Russell and Some Highly Musical Friends

The House in Poplar Wood by K. E. Ormsbee YA - ARC

Five Days at Memorial by Sherry Fink

Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault by Cathy Guisewite ARC

Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman ARC

Seeing My Skin - a review

Jarrett-Schell, Peter, Seeing My Skin: (A Story of Wrestling with Whiteness) [New York]: Church Publishing, [August 17] 2019.

I picked this up as an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy) at ALA this summer. In unusual fashion, I actually was reading it as the publication date arrived. It has made me stop and think about many of the things I think, say, and do.

The book opens with an incredibly powerful vignette of an actual event, and is the author's Facebook posting of that event. The rest of the book is divided by location and starts with a series of vignettes, followed by a “debriefing.”

The stories tell of his experiences of the racial divide and his reactions to what he has experienced. It starts with his growing up, and ends with incidents after the most recent presidential election. The debriefing section of each chapter is probably the most powerful.

The author is an Episcopal priest who met his wife in college. She is also an ordained Episcopal priest. He is white, she is black.

I think this a book which I want to sit and read again … that doesn’t often happen.

https://www.churchpublishing.org/seeingmyskin

Book Read 2018

Here is the list of books I read in 2018.

Art Boss by Kayla Cagan YA - ARC

Liar, Liar: A Nicole Graves Mystery by Nancy Boyarsky ARC

Sugar Run: a novel by Mesha Maren ARC

Other People's Love Affairs: Stories by D. Wynstan Owen ARC

Bathed in Prayer: Father Tim's Prayers, Sermons and Reflections from the Mitford Series by Jan Karon ARC

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery a re-reading in English

Zion: A Novel by Dayne Sherman LLA 2018 book

All Happy Families: A Memoir by Jeanne McCullough ARC

The Saint of Wolves & Butcher: A Novel by Alex Grecian ARC

Krazy: George Herriman, a life in black and white by Michael Tisserand 2017 LBF author

White Indians of Darien by Richard Ogelsby Marsh
GoodReads review here

The Astonishing Color of After: A Novel by Emily X. R.Pan ARC

Instructions for a Secondhand Heart: A Novel by Tamsyn Murray ARC

The Price of a Haircut: Stories by Brock Clarke ARC

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly ONE BOOK, ONE COMMUNITY READ 2018

Hard to Forget: an Alzheimer's Story by Charles P. Pierce
Reviewed here

Nine Irish Lives: The fighters, thinkers & artists who helped build America edited by Mark Bailey ARC

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and mourning on the American right by Arlie Russell Hochschild

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes ARC -- inscribed by author

What You Don't Know about Charlie Outlaw: A Novel by Leah Stewart ARC

The Hunger by Alma Katsu ARC

To Be Where You Are by Jan Karon ARC

Books Read 2017

Here is the list of books I read in 2017. (Note that until March or so, this list also appears as part of the Currently Reading tab.

Retire in Luxury on your Social Security by Steve Garfink

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Heating and Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly LBF[2017]

My New Orleans, Gone Away by Peter M. Wolf

The great game : the struggle for empire in central Asia by Peter Hopkirk

Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

Teach me to forget by Erica M. Chapman

The Reasons You're Alive: A Novel by Matthew Quick ARC

Undertow: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel by R. M. Greenaway ARC

Behind Closed Doors by Miriam Halahmy ARC

The Sunshine Sisters: A novel by Jane Green

Get It Together, Delilah! by Erin Gough ARC

Two from the Heart by James Patterson ARC

Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean: Stories of imagination and daring edited by Kirsty Murray, Payal Dhar and Anita Roy ARC

Afternoons in Paris: A Francis Bacon Mystery by Janice Law ARC

Secrets in Summer: A Novel by Nancy Thayer

Piper Perish by Kayla Cagan ARC

Leopard at the Door: A Novel by Jennifer McVeigh ARC

The Shores of Tripoli: A Novel (Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates by James L. Haley ARC

Aging Out: A true story by Alton Carter

The Other Side of the Painting by Wendy Rodrigue

The Accidental Data Scientist by Amy Affelt Professional

Burning Bright: A Novel by Nicholas Petrie ARC

Lucky Boy: A Novel by Shanthi Sekaram ARC

Books Read - 2016

Better late than never, here is the list of things I read in 2016:

Part of Our Lives: A people's history of the American public library by Wayne A. Wiegand autographed

The Real Liddy James: A Novel by Anne-Marie Casey ARC

Don't Think Twice: Adventure and Healing at 100 Miles per Hour by Barbara Schoichet ARC

Library Consortia: Models for Collaboration by Valerie Horton and Greg Pronevitz Professional

Crucible Experience as an Influence of Positive Leadership in Public Libraries by Susan A. Henricks [A Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy]

Thelonious Rising by Judith Richards autographed

The Cordoba Connection by C. Terry Cline, Jr. Signed copy

Untethered: A Novel by Julie Lawson Timmer ARC

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick ARC

I am a Town: A Collection of Stories by Shari Smith

The Girl Before: A Novel by Rena Olsen ARC

The Strangled Vine: A Novel by M.J. Carter

The Arrangement: A Novel by Ashley Warlick ARC

The Last Days of Magic: A Novel by Mark Tompkins ARC

The After Party: A Novel by Anton DiSclafani ARC

Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell signed by Capparell

What is not yours is not yours by Helen Oyeyemi ARC

The Secret Chord: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks ARC

Books Read 2015

Here is my list of the books I read during 2015. I read a total of 26 books during the year. Almost all were books which arrived as Advance Readers Copies. That has helped to broaden the choices of what I read. They will stay on the Currently Reading page for most of January.They are listed in reverse chronological order (i.e., the last book I read is at the top of the list).

Choosing Hope: Moving Forward from Life's Darkest Hours by Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis with Robin Gaby Fisher ARC

Magna Carta: the Birth of Liberty by Dan Jones ARC

Expatriates: A Novel by Janice Y.K. Lee ARC

Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell ARC

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell ARC

Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters ARC

Seeds of Grace: A Nun's Reflections on the Spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous by Sister Molly Monahan

The Rocks: A Novel by Peter Nichols ARC

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert ARC

Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, in Brief (2nd edition) by Henry M. Robert III, Daniel H. Honeman, and Thomas J. Balch with the assistance of Daniel E. Seabold and Shmuel Gerber

Church of Marvels: A Novel by Leslie Parry ARC

The Gates of Evangeline: A Novel by Hester Young ARC

X by Sue Grafton ARC

The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley: A Novel by Jeremy Massey ARC

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson ARC

Listen to Your Mother: What She Said Then, What We're Saying Now edited by Ann Imig ARC

Stepdog: A Memoir by Mireya Navarro ARC

Discontent and Its Civilizations: Dispatches from Lahore, New York, and London by Mohsin Hamid ARC

Hall of Small Mammals: Stories by Thomas Pierce ARC

The Girl on the Train: A novel by Paula Hawkins ARC My review

Watch Me Go: A novel by Mark Wisniewski ARC

If I Knew You Were Going to Be This Beautiful I Never Would Have Let You Go by Judy Chicurel ARC

Living Abroad in Panama by Miriam Butterman

Dorothy Parker Drank Here by Ellen Meister ARC

Books Read 2014

How We Got to Now: Six innovations that made the modern world by Steven Johnson ARC

Hand to Mouth: Living in Boostrap America by Linda Tirado ARC

My Sunshine Away by M. O. Walsh ARC

Perfectly Miserable: Guilt, God and Real Estate in a Small Town by Sarah Payne Stuart ARC

Small Victories: Spotting Improbably Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott ARC

Hope and New Orleans: A History of Crescent City Street Names by Sally Asher

Bourbon Street: A History by Richard Campanella [See blog post]

America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life by Benoit Denizet-Lewis

Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique ARC

The Orphan and the Mouse by Martha Freeman, illustrated by David McPhail ARC - Holiday House party at ALA/Vegas

The Girls of Gettysburg by Bobbi Miller ARC - Holiday House party at ALA/Vegas

Mambo in Chinatown: A Novel by Jean Kwok ARC

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi ARC

Begue's Recipies of Old New Orleans Creole Cookery by Elizabeth Kettenring Dutrey Begue, forward and revised recipes by Poppy Tooker

Creativity: the perfect crime by Philippe Petit ARC

At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcon ARC

When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs graphic novel [See blog post]

The Poisoned Pawn: An Inspector Ramirez Novel by Peggy Blair ARC

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Minister without Portfolio: A Novel by Michael Winter ARC

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

In Paradise: A Novel by Peter Matthiessen ARC

Secret of Magic: A Novel by Deborah Johnson ARC

The Panama Hat Trail: A journey from South America by Tom Miller

The House on Coliseum Street by Shirley Ann Grau

Some Nerve: Lessons learned while becoming brave by Patty Chang Anker ARC

Books Read 2013

Here is my list of books read during the past calendar year. This year was both heavy on non-fiction, and very heavily based on ARCs which I received. They are in reverse chronological order.

Books

Vanished: The sixty-year search for the missing men of World War II by Wil S. Hylton ARC

Storm Front: A Virgil Flowers Novel by John Sandford

"Spectacular Wickedness": New Orleans, Prostitution, and the Politics of Sex, 1897-1917 by Emily Epstein Landau [Dissertation for PhD, Yale University, 2005]

My Mother's Secret by J.L. Witterick ARC

Wilson by A. Scott Berg ARC

Drama High: The incredible true story of a brilliant teacher, a struggling town, and the magic of theater by Michael Sokolove ARC

The Dark Path: a memoir by David Schickler ARC

Confederate in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz

Sweet Thunder: A novel by Ivan Doig ARC

Critical Mass by Sara Paretsky ARC

The Black Country by Alex Grecian ARC

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker: A novel by Jennifer Chiaverini ARC

Farewell Dorothy Parker: A novel by Ellen Meister ARC

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls: A novel by Anton DiSclafani ARC

Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the world that made him by David Henry & Joe Henry ARC

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton ARC

On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu ARC

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hossein ARC

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub ARC

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister ARC

The Bartenders Tale by Ivan Doig ARC

Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys ... by Jeanne Marie Laskas ARC

Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott

The Nook

Wife 22: A Novel by Melanie Gideon

Four seasons in Rome : On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr

Becoming Normal by Mark Edick

The Science of single : One Woman's Grand Experiment in Modern Dating, Creating Chemistry, and Finding Love by Rachel Machacek

Read and Listened to 2012

Here is the list for the whole year of 2012. Note that since I moved to Baton Rouge in  July, and therefore stopped commuting such a long distance, I have taken out the sidebar for books listened to. While it seems like I should have more time, that does not seem so, for some reason. I also am now on a distribution list from major publisher, and am getting a fair number of ARC's (Advance Readers Copies) of books about to be published. That constitutes most of my hard copy reading.

So, here it goes! As in the past, there are in reverse chronological order (since that is how they appear on the sidebar).

Books 2012

Naples Declared: A walk around the bay by Benjamin TaylorARC

City of Women: A Novel by David R. Gillham ARC

The Yard: A Novel by Alex Grecian ARC

Grimus: a novel by Salman Rushdie

A Good American by Alex George ARC

No One Is Here Except All of Us by Ramona Ausubel ARC

The Republic of Pirates: Being the true and surprising story of the Caribbean pirates and the man who brought them down by Collin Woodard

Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha

Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution by Charles Rappleye

The Wednesday Letters: A Novel by Jason F. Wright

The Invisible Ones: A Novel by Stef Penney ARC

The Nook 2012

Fifty Shades Freed E L James

Fifty Shades Darker E L James

Fifty Shades of Grey E L James

Impaired: A Nurse's Story of Addiction and Recovery by Patricia Holloran

Tantrika : Traveling the Road of Divine Love by Asra Nomani

Ninety Days: A Memoir of Recovery by Bill Clegg

Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir by Bill Clegg

Living Oprah : My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk by Robyn Okrant

Hunger Games (Trilogy) Suzanne Collins

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
We actually bought this by mistake, but I decided to read it anyway.

The 100 Thing challenge : How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul by Dave Bruno

Riding in the shadows of saints : A Woman's Story of Motorcycling the Mormon Trail by Jana Richman

I'm off then : Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago by Hape Kerkeling

The Addict : One Patient, One Doctor, One Year by Michael Stein

Whip smart : A Memoir by Melissa Febos

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock

Recently Listened to

Walt Disney: The triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler, read by Arthur Morey

chapter and hearse by Catherine Aird, read by Bruce Montague

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, read by Simon Vance

The Art of Presence by Eckhart Tolle

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich, read by C. J. Critts

Lots of NPR on both WWNO and WRKF
Neither station covers my whole trip. I also sometimes listen to NPR Now on Sirius XM

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes [radio dramatization] by Arthur Conan Doyle, a BBC Radio 4 full cast dramatization
[Vol. 1. A scandal in Bohemia -- The red-headed league -- A case of identity -- The Boscombe Valley mystery]

The shack by William P. Young, read by Roger Mueller

Secrets of the Great Investors: Money Managers and Mutual Funds read by Louis Rukeyser
A patron complained that the title and description did not match the contents. He is right. This should be called "A Brief History of America's Banking System."

Reading and a Book Review: Hidden America

I don't often do book reviews. I have started receiving ARC's (Advance Readers Copies) in greater volume lately, and I don't know why. Because of what else is going on in my life, my reading time has been reduced. I have also been shifting between my e-reader and print.

However, I recently finished Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys... by Jeanne Marie Laskas. One of the blurbs on the back compares Ms. Laskas to Studs Terkel, in a positive way. That is high praise, indeed.

It is a well written book and each chapter tells a discrete story. The first chapter, on coal miners, appeared as a separate article, and the others are similarly able to stand independently. Each are the personal story of Ms. Laskas as she explores some of the jobs or people who are critical to the running of the country on a day to day basis. By exploring the personal stories, we get a glimpse behind the scenes. They are fascinating glimpses which put a personal face on what happens to make our lives so comfortable.

The first chapter explores coal mining in Ohio. (Yes, there are underground coal mines under parts of Ohio.) The subsequent chapters cover migrant workers (mostly in Maine for the blueberry harvest), the cheerleaders for the Cleveland Browns, air traffic controllers at LaGuardia, a gun store in Yuma (Arizona), a cattle ranch in Texas, an oil rig in the Arctic, a truck driver (from Ohio to Iowa and back), and the "sanitary landfill" outside Los Angeles.

It is an amazing journey to follow, and I even learned a little about the author along the way. For those who can extrapolate from the personal stories to the general, this can be a very instructive book. I actually read the chapter on the air traffic controllers while on a trip. There are some scary things going on behind the scenes. I read the story on the gun store after the incident in Newtown which added a poignancy to some of what was expressed in that story.

Libraries Change Lives

I was sitting reading my accumulated blog feeds. I have a couple hundred in my reading list. Any where from 50 - 100 posts appear each day. Some are just one line, like the Library Link of the Day, or Awful Library Books, or Will Unwound.

One hit me like a ton of bricks today. It was from Eric Hellman. I have said before that the name of his blog is great: Go to Hellman. Eric is the brains behind Unglue It. But this post was not about publishing or technology. It was about one of his experiences at ALA Midwinter. He called it Libraries Happen. I would have called it Libraries Change Lives. (The latter was an ALA Presidential theme a few years ago.)

The emotionally powerful part of the story begins this way: "I had the fortune to witness a 'library' happening in its purest, most human form."

I encourage you to read it (rather than reposting it here). The end line is the clincher:

Whatever stripes it wears or what name it answers to, the simple act of letting a book bring joy and wonderment to a little girl will define what a library must be, no more, no less.

Thank you, Eric.

Books Read in 2011

End of the calendar year is often a time for reflection. This year it seems like I read less than usual (and I can't quite put my finger on why.) I have also listened to more radio and fewer books. A part of that my be related to the rearrangement of the collection at MPOW from an accession number arrangement to Dewey. Here is the list. (It is in reverse chronological order, since I just cut and pasted from the side bar where I keep track.) Note that this is a full year list, not a half year like some prior lists.

Books Read (paper)

1. The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell ARC
2. The Invisible Ones: A Novel by Stef Penney ARC
3. Grimus: a novel by Salman Rushdie
4. If Jack's in Love: A Novel by Stephen Wetta ARC
5. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman ARC
6. Too Far by Rich Shapero ARC
7. Broken Pieces: A Library Life, 1941-1978 by Michael Gorman
8. Delirious New Orleans: Maifesto for an Extraordinary American City by Stephen Verderber
9. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
10. The Weird Sisters: a novel by Eleanor Brown
11. The girls from Ames: a story of women and a forty-year friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow
12. Doing social media so it matters: a librarian's guide by Laura Solomon
13. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel by Beth Hoffman
14. Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
15. Room: A novel by Emma Donoghue
16. The Glory Wind by Valerie Sherrard a review copy
17. The Rievers by William Faulkner

I had been planing to read Water for elephants by Sara Gruen in paper, but I wound up listening to it.

Read on the Nook

1. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
2. A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio by Bob Edwards
3. Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 1876-1956 by Wayne Wiegand
   Advance PDF copy for review in Public Libraries
   

Recorded books/Listening

Lots of NPR on both WWNO and WRKF
Neither station covers my whole trip. I also sometimes listen to NPR Now on Sirius XM

1. All the king's men by Robert Penn Warren, read by Michael Emerson
2. Play Dirty by Sandra Brown, read by Victor Slezak
3. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke, read by Suzanne Toren
4. Lies and the lying liars who tell them: [a fair and balanced look at the right] by Al Franken, read by the author
5. Car talk: doesn't anyone screen these calls?: calls about animals and cars
6. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, read by Robert Whitfield
7. Various speaker disks to select a speaker for an upcoming even
8. 'Tis by Frank McCourt, read by the author
9. Islam : a short history by Karen Armstrong read by Richard M. Davidson
10. Water for elephants: a novel by Sara Gruen, read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones
11. Remarkable creatures by Tracy Chevalier, read by Charlotte Parry and Susan Lyons
12. The necklace: thirteen women and the experiment that formed their lives by Cheryl Jarvis, read by Pam Ward
13. Attack poodles and other media mutants: the looting of the news in a time of terror by James Wolcott read by Dennis Boutsikaris
14. Executive privilege by Phillip Margolin, read by Jonathan Davis
15. My year of meats by Ruth L. Ozeki, read by Anna Fields
16. Stonehenge: [a novel of 2000 BC] by Bernard Cornwell, read by Sean Barrett
17. My life as a fake by Peter Carey, read by Susan Lyons
18. Smoke by John Ed Bradley, read by Christopher Hurt