No photo today, I’m sorry to say .. but in case you’re looking for some book ideas, I thought I’d throw some suggestions out there.
Below is the list of books I’ve read so far this year. The ratings should be pretty self-explanatory: 5 is the best, 1 is the worst.
Classics, Award winners, Best sellers ..
- Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller **
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini *****
- The Gathering by Anne Enright ****
- Diary of a Bad Year by J.M. Coetzee ****
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ****
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls *****
Historical fiction – the Tudor period
- The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory *****
- The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory ***
- The Virgin’s Lover by Philippa Gregory ****
- The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory *****
- The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory *****
Random fiction
- For One More Day by Mitch Albom ****
Random non-fiction
- What Wendell Wants by Jenny Lee **** (a hilarious account of a devoted dog owner)
- A Hand to Guide Me by Denzel Washington **** (stories of mentors)
- But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn *** (auto-bio of a Rolling Stones writer)
- Woman’s Best Friend ***** (women writers and the dog(s) in their lives)
Politics, the Economy, Social issues ..
- Unequal Childhoods by Annette Lareau *** (the effect of class on childhood)
- How to Talk to a Liberal by Ann Coulter **
- With a Happy Eye But by George Will **** (a collection of his post-911 columns)
- A Year Without Made in China by Sara Bongiorni ****
- The New Thought Police by Tammy Bruce ****
- Sweet Charity: Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement by Janet Poppendieck ****
Simplicity, Living lightly ..
- Inner Simplicity by Elaine St. James ****
- Plain and Simple by Sue Bender ***
- Your Money or Your Life ****
- Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James ****
- Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth by Jim Merkel **
Eating
- Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko ****
- Gluten-Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern **************** (this is a must-read if you like cooking or eating, whether you must avoid gluten or not)
- This Organic Life by Joan Dye Gussow **
We’re going to see The Other Boleyn Girl movie with Joe that comes out on Friday – he LOVES Scarlett Johannson and we love Natalie Portman. Both are in it, so it’s perfect.
I’m intrigued by A Year Without Made in China. I tried to do one day without Made in China, but we needed a new clock radio. Impossible.
Many of these sound good… maybe I’ll have time to read one of those Phillippa Gregory’s when I have two weeks “off” in April.
Ann Coulter! Ugh. I have nothing to say.
a) I’m looking forward to that movie too.
b) The book was good. They didn’t have it easy that year ..
c) I just sent you one because I was lazy to carry it on the plane. Happy early PhD !
d) Heh .. I knew you’d appreciate that one.