Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011 Book List


2011 Book List -72 read  – (starred items are recommendations)


Title Author Comments
29 Gifts - How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life Walker, Cami p. xxv.  If you spend all of your time and energy focusing on your pain, you're feeding the disease
** A Bittersweet Season Gross, Jane Caring for our aging parents and ourselves
A Cup of Friendship Rodriquez, Deborah An American runs a coffee shop in Kabul
* A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains Bird, Isabella letters of  a woman's 3 months in Colorado in 1800's
A Single Man Isherwood, Christopher a widowed gay man's last 24 hours
A Train to Potenka Ramsdell, Mike A Mormon in military intelligence snafu at the end of Communism in Russia
America One Step at a Time Roger, Daniel a man's walk across the U.S.
An Atlas of Impossible Longing Roy, Ameradha a motherless girl and an orphan's lives intertwine
An Object of Beauty Martin, Steve art seller in NY provides history of 21st century art
Another Day in the Frontal Lobe Firlik, Katrina A young woman neurologist's memoir
* Art of Racing in the Rain, The Stein, Garth A family in crisis from their dog's POV
Back When We Were Grown Ups Tyler, Anne A widow with 3 step children and one of her own reflects on life and dabbles in going back to where her life diverged
Bearing an Hourglass (Time) 2 Anthony, Piers Time (Chronos) and time travel
Being a Green Mother (Nature) 5 Anthony, Piers original conclusion to Incarnations of Immortality series
Book Lust Pearl, Nancy lots of great recommendations
Burnt Mountain Siddons, Anne Rivers A southern tomboy loses at love and marries weird Celtic professor
Collapse: How Societies Choose to fail or succeed Diamond, Jared comparative analysis of why societies fail
Crashing Through Kurson, Robert Mike May, blinded at birth gets his site back at 40
Cutting for Stone Verghese, Abraham Twins orphaned at birth in Ethiopia
Dancing Years, The Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia 1919-1923 and aftermath of WWI
Dark Side of Innocence, The Cherry, Terri Personal account of bi-polar in youth
Delaney Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom Hearth, Amy Sage advice from centenarians
* Dry River Lamberton, Ken Stories of life, death and redemption in the Santa Cruz
Exile, The Gabaldon, Diane Images not consistent and over blown.
Fallen Kings, The Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia 1917 WWI, great history lesson
* Foreign Field, The Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia 1915-1917 WWI before America joins war
* God of the Rodeo Bergner, David Moving story of lifers in Louisiana prison
* Hotel du Lac Brookner, Anita A woman at midlife contemplates her future 
I'd Know You Anywhere Lippman, Laura A woman kidnapped at 15 is contacted by her kidnapper from death row
Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks Skloot, Rebecca A 30ish black mother of 4 dying of cervical cancer has her cells taken for research that become "HeLa" the first "immortal" human cells
Imperfectionists, The Rackmon, Tom A portrait of characters at a failing newspaper
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts White, Neil A white collar criminal finds redemption in Carlisle, LA leper sanatorium
Infinite Plan, The Allende, Isabel Gregory, son of an itinerant preacher grow up in the barrio and moves on to riches bridging the gap of two worlds
Invention of Curried Sausage, The Timm, Uwe A man goes back to Hamburg to get story of an old woman who had a curried sausage stand after WWII in Germany
It Looked Different on the Model Notaro, Laurie another group of stories on life with a twist
Lake of Dreams, The Edwards, Kim Wonderful story of family relationships
** Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, The Mosley, Walter A 91 year old man accomplishes the purpose of his life
Lazy B O'Connor, Sandra Day Future Supreme Court Justice tells of growing up in AZ on a cattle ranch near Duncan
Liar's Poker Lewis, Michael Fascinating story of 80's and early 90's young investment banker creating the frenzy in CDO's and obscene money
Locked in Time Duncan, Lois A 17 year old with a very grown up voice discovers her stepmother's secret
* Lost and Found Roth, Geneen author loses all her money in Madoff investment
Love Shrinks Wolf, Sharp A dysfunctional therapist puts off divorce for 15 years
Lucky Sebold, Alice True story of her rape and its aftermath. 
* Lucy Feldman, Ellen A fictionalized account of the affair of FDR and Lucy Mercer Rutherford, Eleanor's secretary
* Mind's Eye, The Sacks, Oliver Overview of the mind and how it works with sight
Naked Sun, The Asimov, Isaac great classic, re-read for book group
Nemesis Roth, Philip A young man's sense of responsibility leads him to blame himself for a polio epidemic
No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, The Smith, Alexander McCall woman in Africa starts detective agency
* On a Pale Horse (Death) 1 Anthony, Piers 1st book of 7 in Incarnations of Immortality
Open Mind, The Oppenheimer, J Robert lectures given between 1946 and 1954
Opposite of Fate, The Tan, Amy Stories of writing and her life
** Room Donoghue, Emma A 5 year old boy's story in his own words of living in a single room with his Ma
Roy Bean's Gold Garwood, W.R. Silly fictionalized story of Judge Roy Bean's early life.  Authentic portrayal of 1800's California
Saving Faith Balducci, David Good spy story, nice plot twists, summer read
Schrodinger's Ball Felber, Adam A strange wild story illustrating quantum physics, the uncertainty principle, string theory in a comic fantasy of 4 teens in Harvard
Sins of Brother Curtis, The Davis, Lisa Story of betrayal, conviction and the Mormon church
* Smart Swarm, The Miller, Peter Theory and science of self-organization of societies
* Solar McEwan, Ian An early success wanders thru a meaningless life; great vocabulary, nihilistic quirky read
Source of All Things, The Ross, Tracy Young woman's story of being sexually abused by her father as a child and her journey to healing.
Spellbound in Darkness - A history of the Silent Film Pratt, Gregory Fascinating history told through articles, reviews, news of the time covering the silent film era from 1838 thru 1930's
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk Sedares, David Little stories like Aesop Fables using animals to tell parables.
State of Wonder Patchett, Ann Air head pharmacologist goes to Amazon to find her colleague
** Still Alice Genova, Lisa A 60 year old Harvard professor is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease and tells of her progression over 2 years
** Turn of Mind LaPlante, Alice A 60ish surgeon descend into Alzheimer's while those around her try to determine if she killed her best friend
Voltaire's Calligrapher deSantis, Pablo I don't think I got this but it was a diversion
When Food is Love Roth, Geneen good advice on emotional eating
* While Mortals Sleep Vonnegut, Kurt Collection of mousetrap short stories published posthumously
Wielding a Red Sword (War) 4 Anthony, Piers War and the 4 Horseman defeat Satan; I like the author's notes on his writing almost more than the story
Wild Swans Chang, Jung Three generations of Chinese family's women from early 1900's and Chiang Kai-Shek thru death of Mao in 1976
With a Tangled Skein (Fate) 3 Anthony, Piers Fate as Clothos, Lachesis, Atrapos works to defeat Satan
Worst Hard Time, The Egan, Timothy story of dust bowl survivors
Plague of Doves, the Erdrich, Louise too many characters to keep track of 

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Invention of Curried Sausage - Uwe Timm

This little gem was recommended to me years ago and for 2011 I've decided to get more of my reading from the TBR* list. The book is told by a young man who travles to Hamburg, Germany to visit with a childhood neighbor. The woman had a sausage stand and lived upstairs from him as a boy at the end of WWII. He visits with her in a nursing home to hear the story of the invention of curried sausage.

It's a touching tale of survival in desperate times and of precious periods of love in one's life.


Published 1993 FICTION Read: 1/2011

**TBR - To Be Read