TTT: Top biographies, autobiographies, or memoirs

Top Ten Tuesday: these are some of my favorite biographies, autobiographies, or memoirs. These are the books that would be shelved in the Biography or 921 section of the library.

Some of these books I read years ago and they have stayed with me.

1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand...the story of Louie Zamperini, an American Olympian, WWII air force officer, a POW in Japan, and an around hero. I haven't seen the movie but the book is amazing. Hillenbrand is an awesome writer.

2. Night by Elie Weisel...this shocking and touching holocaust story is probably one of the most accessible to students or those new to the atrocities done to the Jews by the Nazis.

3. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt...I met McCourt one year before he died. He read a section from his sequel, Teacher Man. I love the voice of both his memoir and his actual voice. I recommend this one in the audiobook format.

4. Winterdance by Gary Paulsen...this is a memoir of Paulsen's experiences running the Iditarod after training the sled dogs. This book is laugh-out-loud funny.

5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls...this memoir begins when Walls looks out the window of a restaurant to see her mother going through the dumpster across the street. It goes back to explain the trials of her childhood growing up with mentally ill and alcoholic parents.

6. Falling Leaves: a true story of an unwanted Chinese  daughter by Adeline Yen Mah...I was so touched by this book. I cried my way through it.

7. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza...three parts horrifying, two parts inspiring.

8. Steve Jobs: Insanely Great a graphic biography by Jessie Hartland...This book isn't even published yet but I think it is insanely awesome, too.

9.  The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom...the incredibly inspiring story of how Corrie and her sister hid Jews during Nazi occupation in The Netherlands and were sent to a concentration camp for it. It is tremendous faith story.

10. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: the epic life and immortal photographs of Edward Curtis by Timothy Egan...You would recognize a few of his sepia-toned photographs of Native Americans, like the one of Chief Joseph. Thank goodness for Edward Curtis and his work.

The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage

If only all history books were are fascinating as this book by Tom Standage, The History of the World in Six Glasses. The premise that six beverages---beer, wine, distilled beverages, coffee, tea, and Coca Cola---have, to a large degree, shaped the world we live in and have dictated trade, agriculture, even nation- building. There is too much to report to give a full accounting of this tremendous book but here are a few take-a-ways:

Beer: was the first beverage besides water, milk, and possibly juice. There is some evidence to suggest that it is because of the popularity of beer that nomadic people settled down and planted crops (grains) and even started to live in communities. As far back as King Tut days beer was the drink of choice. Hops were not used in beer making until relatively recently, so the beer of yesteryear would have been a bit sweeter tasting than the beers of today. Beer was probably first made in the Fertile Crescent (present day Iran or Iraq.)

Wine: was also first made in the Fertile Crescent. As it became popular it was the drink of the upper-class until everyone had their vineyards and that could no longer be said about it. The Greeks drank their wine watered down with water. Romans got pretty snobby about their wine and they liked their wine aged, the older, the better. Shipwrecks that have been found from these ancient times often have many, many barrels of wine aboard, demonstrating how wine was a major trade product of the day.

Distilled spirits: the first distilled beverage was probably brandy, a process derived from wine. It was found to be an easier to transport than wine and didn't spoil as easily. the first cocktail was named grog by the sea captain, Edward Vernon, who created it---rum, lime or lemon juice, and sugar---making it palatable. Slaves brought to the Caribbean for the sugar industry were also tapped to assist with the making of rum from the molasses, a byproduct of the sugar cane. Whiskey, a very American drink, was often the drink of choice of famous Americans and frontiersmen. George Washington even  had a still and made whiskey in his last years of life.

Coffee: originated in Arabia and was most often distributed through coffee houses, alternatives to taverns and bars. These coffee houses, especially in England became places of lively discussions the discourse. Like-minded people would frequent the same coffee houses and some would even use them as their mailing addresses. Several famous scientists of the day, Hooke, Wren, and Halley, liked to gather one such coffee house. The challenge went up to see if a theorem could be found that explained the rotational ellipsis of the planets. Eventually Isaac Newton supplied the answers. Even today coffee houses seem to fill the same niche in society---as places to gather with friends and discuss ideas.

Tea: Surprisingly tea wasn't introduced to Europe until the seventeen century, but by the end of that century virtually everyone in England drank it. The trade between China and Great Britain that was required to supply this amount of tea was tremendous and caused Britain to seek other places in the world to supply their need for more tea. This led to colonization of India and eventually all kinds of problems for China later on.

Coca-Cola: the last of the six beverages to be introduced is a very American drink: Coca Cola. The history of this bubbly favorite represents both the good and the bad of American influence in the world. Now it can be viewed as a leading indicator of globalization.

"This book argues that each drink is a form of disruptive technology, a catalyst for advancing culture which demonstrates the intricate interplay of different civilizations. Read this book, and you may never look at your favourite drink the same way again." ---from the book description

I am looking forward to discussing this book with my book club this coming summer.

 

Sunday Salon, March 8

Spring in the Northwest

Weather: Beautiful, blue skies, warm.

Today: Don left for three weeks National Guard duty in Kentucky. After I delivered him to the airport  I had lunch with six friends to celebrate a birthday. It was fun to just be together with friends for a short time.

This coming week:  the Honor Society has a field trip to University of Washington. One full day out of school. Woot-woot. Supervising teens on the bus, boo!

"Dear Teen Me": I recently read a book called Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves. As I read the letters I kept thinking about things I'd like to tell my teen self to stop or start doing. So I decided to add a feature to the Sunday Salon called "Dear Teen Me" where I will give my teen self a bit of advice to make things better for the me of today.

Dear Teen Me- Boys. Let me tell you that you will have your heart broken a few times. Learn from your experiences and you will eventually meet a man who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. I'm married to him right now. Don't ever do things for or with boys that will diminish your own self-worth. And when the break-ups do come just love yourself. Don't worry, you will be OK.

40-bags-in-40-days update: 5 more bags of stuff gone. 

• Rice, rice, and more rice---Carly started me on this project. When I came home from school one day she had the kitchen counter covered with bags of rice, pasta, and beans from the pantry. She was looking for barley and found at least ten partial bags of rice: jasmine, basmati, brown long grain, medium grain, and wild rice. It was ridiculous. We combined bags and now have a mission to eat rice often!
• Lemoncello---last week we made a delicious lemon dessert that had a bit of lemoncello (lemon liquor) in it. We store the bottle in the freezer. Whoever put it away didn't cap the lid properly and it slowly leaked all over the freezer and its contents. This facilitated the need to throw away several bags of old, freezer-burned foodstuffs and rinse off the rest before replacing it in the cleaned freezer.
• Bed side table and purses: I cleaned out my bedside table and went through old purses to find old treasures. I was horrified to learn that I am a pack rat. I found 50 pens and pencils, fifteen pairs of glasses and sunglasses, countless types of lotions for my poor feet in the bedside table. It felt like quite an accomplishment to take away three bags from that task.

Books read this week:

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion---loved it. What a whimsical little story.
• The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage---why can't all history books be as fascinating?
• Steve Jobs: Insanely Great by Jessie Hartland---a graphic biography. I really enjoyed it.

Currently reading:

• Fairest: Levnana's Story by Marissa Meyer--- Book 4 (or 3.5) in the Lunar Chronicles.
• Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD---highlights from a popular class at Harvard University.

50 Years Ago---Bloody Sunday, The March on Selma for Voting Rights.  If you have time I suggest you listen to this speech by President Obama about this important moment in American history. It takes 30 minutes, but worth the time!

Photo Source: Associated Press

Wild---Six degrees of separation

Annabel Smith and Emma Chapman host 6-Degrees of Separation. visit their blogs for more details.

 I was noodling around on the Internet today and found this blog meme called 6 Degrees of Separation. The idea is to link books back to the book of the month in any way possible and to share the fun with my own readers as well as the hosts of the meme. Sounds fun. Let's see how I do.

This month's book is Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. This was the Pierce County Reads book selection in 2014. I live in Pierce County and once a year all the library systems in the whole county get together and select a book for everyone in the county to read, promote it with a variety of programs, and host a big finale program with the author. My book club read and discussed Wild for one of our club meetings and had a lot of fun with the book.

This year's Pierce County Reads book was just announced a few days ago: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. Like Cheryl in Wild the boys had to overcome tremendous odds to attain their goal and had to push themselves physically beyond what they thought they could do to get there.


The 2013 Pierce County Reads book, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, was also partially set in Europe, this one telling the story of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife and their years in Paris in the 1920s. Though I can find no evidence of it, it is possible that Hemingway was in Berlin because he was a journalist in Europe at various times in his career.

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford was the Pierce County Reads selection in 2012. Set in Seattle during WWII this book is about the deplorable treatment of Japanese-Americans during that time period. This degree of separation is a stretch but it is known that Hemingway was a war correspondent when Paris was freed from the Nazis in 1944 and the book takes place during the same time period.

Timothy Egan, a Washington author, wrote the 2011 Pierce County Reads book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America. Since Egan is from Washington and The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is set in Seattle there is a connection.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Food Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl was the 2010 Pierce County Reads book. Among her many jobs Reichl was once the food critic for the New York Times. Timothy Egan, author of The Big Burn, also writes for the NYT.


Reichl's book Garlic and Sapphires is tremendously funny as is the last book in the 6-degrees game, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It was the Pierce County Reads 2008 selection and the first book I read for this program. It was thrilling to attend the program where McCall Smith spoke. The main character in his book is Mma Romatswe, a private investigator in Botswana. She, like Ruth Reichl, tries to uncover the truth while she is doing her job. Reichl uncovers good food and Mma Romatswe uncovers missing persons.

Some of my connections were pretty ridiculous but I had fun attempting to find  a connection between all the Pierce County Reads books. Which brings us back to Wild. Cheryl Strayed started our her hike on the Pacific Crest Trail completely ill-equipped for what was ahead of her. She had to improvise along the way. Mma Romatswe also had to improvise and think on her feet as she attempted to uncover the problems set before her.

There. I did it. Full circle. How did I do? Can you think of some other connections to Wild by Cheryl Strayed? Join in the fun. Post your 6-Degrees of Separation on your blog and leave your link here so I know to visit your page.

Bye!

Steve Jobs: Insanely Great. A graphic biography by Jessie Hartland

The journey is the reward.-S.J.

Last week I received boxes and boxes of Advanced Readers copies of the books from the librarian at PLU. I couldn't believe the haul. Many of the books in the boxes have already been published so I made them available to students and to other librarians in the district to review. But there were also twenty or so AR books that have yet to be published so, for the first time in my career, I am actually reviewing a book not yet in publication. This is one you will want to put on your book order, believe me!

Steve Jobs: Insanely Great is a graphic biography by Jessie Hartland. It starts with a timeline of Steve's life and then follows that timeline to highlight events that led to Steve's many, many accomplishments.

To be honest I have never read another book about Steve Jobs and only knew a bit about him prior to reading this, so when I say that this book is spectacular I am not making any comparisons. There is another biography about Steve in my library which was published for teens and has been fairly popular,  Steve Jobs--- the Man Who Thought Different: a biography by Karen Blumenthal. I think Hartland's book will fill a niche and attract different readers to it, which is wonderful.

The graphics in Steve Jobs: Insanely Great are simple and comical. Some frames are quite busy while others convey just one simple point. When the pages got to "busy" I found myself just skipping ahead which was probably the idea Hartland wanted to convey---Jobs was so busy and creative that sometimes others just couldn't keep up.

At first I was critical of some of the graphics thinking that the drawings could have been done by me or one of my students, then I got off my high-horse and just settled in to read and enjoy the book without criticising it anymore, especially as I was learning something new with the turn of each page.

I am so excited about this book I can't wait for July. Already I am making plans for sharing this AR book with students and other librarians in the district and it is already on my summer book order.

(I was not paid anything to review this book by the publisher Schwartz and Wade. This book will be available for purchase in July 2015.)

Is it possible to like a book when you can't stand any of the characters?

Olive Kitteridge. Gone Girl. A Girl on the Train. Defending Jacob. What do these four books have in common? They all are full of characters difficult or impossible to like. And they are all book club selections.  Even though the books are entertaining and have interesting literary devices I have a hard time describing them as books that I "like" and I always qualify my recommendations of these books as ones with unlikable characters.

Defending Jacob by William Landay is a legal thriller and a story about a family in crisis. Jacob, the son, is accused of murdering a classmate. Andy, the father, is a district attorney who finds himself in the position of having to defend his son in court against his old colleagues. Jacob is grouchy, introverted teenager who just doesn't seem to understand how much trouble he is in. Andy, who comes from violent descendents, seems to be a ticking time-bomb ready to ignite at any minute. He blindly defends his son while simultaneously ignoring the needs of his wife. Many of his actions seemed highly infuriating, especially since as a lawyer he should have known better, The plot has several twists and turns that keep it interesting yet, by the end of the book, I still didn't like either Andy or Jacob. Would I characterize this book as one I like? Not sure.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins carries the story from three women's perspective: Rachel, Anna, and Megan. Their stories intertwine and coalesce by the end of the book but in the meantime we get to know our characters a bit and what we learn isn't pretty. Rachel is an alcoholic obsessed with her x-husband and past life. Anna is an adulterer and quite jealous and insecure. Megan is a philanderer and manipulator. All of the women make bad decisions over and over yet I found myself cheering them on and hoping they would triumph. For what its worth, I didn't like any of the men in the book either. Final decision? Yes, I liked the book but I sure didn't like the characters.

My book club had a fairly heated discussion about this topic when we discussed Gone Girl. Several of the members just couldn't get past the detestable characters to say they liked the book. My husband helped me see the book as a good, entertaining story. The disgusting characters were just part of the entertainment.

What do think? Can you describe a book as one you"like" even if you can't stand all the characters?

Sunday Salon, March 1st

The trees lining the street, flowering plums, are flowering three weeks ahead of schedule. Lovely.

Weather: Beautiful spring-like day. Temperature is in the mid 50s.

Roses: today Don and I dug up four old rose bushes and planted four new ones, selected because they showed up on a list put together by the Washington State Extension Service of good roses for growing in the Puget Sound region, especially selected for disease-resistance. The four new roses are: LOVE (grandiflora, red and white); POPE JOHN PAUL II (Hybrid tea, white, highly fragrant, selected by the Vatican to honor the past Pope); VOODOO (hybrid tea, orange-pink); ALL-AMERICAN BEAUTY (hybrid tea, dark pink.) We left one bush in place from a previous planting, MIDAS TOUCH (hybrid tea, yellow.) Now we keep our fingers crossed that we did a good job on the selection of these roses.

"Dear Teen Me": I recently read a book called Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves.As I read the letters I kept thinking about things I'd like to tell my teen self to stop or start doing. So I decided to add a feature to the Sunday Salon called "Dear Teen Me" where I will give my teen self a bit of advice to make things better for the me of today.

Dear teen me---in a few years you will follow a diet craze which centers around eating only low-fat foods. It will be a very popular diet nationally. Everyone will talk about the virtues of eating low fat without good science behind the effects of such a diet on metabolisms. It also involves using artificial ingredients, bad oils, and lots of preservatives. Please, please, please do not follow the mob. Avoid this diet at all costs.  Eat healthy, natural ingredients. Explore your taste pallet and learn to eat a variety of healthy foods.  Just eat less if you want to lose weight. Saturated fats are not the enemy...avoid trans fats.  Look into it! Trust me on this one and you will feel a whole lot better.

40-bags-in-40-days update: We had company for half the week so I decided it would be rude to spend my time sorting and tossing items while they were here.  But with my total from last week and the few bags I did sort this week I am still ahead of schedule: 20.

Books read this week:

• Defending Jacob by William Landay--- we discussed this mystery/crime novel at book club on Wednesday. No spoilers here but let me ask you. What would you do if your child was accused of a crime and all the evidence pointed in his direction? How much would you defend him?
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins--- another mystery, this one for a future book club. Interestingly, I didn't care for any of the characters in this book but I liked the sum.
• In Real Life by Cory Doctorow, illustrated by Jen Wang--- the graphic novel that won the Cybils Award this past year.

Currently reading:

• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion---both of my book clubs are reading this little book this month. I'm at the halfway point.
• The History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage--- beer, wine, distilled beverages, coffee, tea, and cola. I just started the chapters about distilled beverages. Interesting history lesson.
• Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD---highlights from a popular class at Harvard University.

All-Pierce County Reads book announcement: This year's selection is The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. I think this is a marvelous selection and will generate such a terrific discussion in book club. I also look forward to the grand event where the author will be speaking the end of April.

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy." -- Pope Francis

Friday Quotes, Feb. 27

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. 
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. 

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now:

Book title: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Book Beginnings: 

I may have discovered a solution to the Wife Problem. As with many scientific breakthroughs, the answer was obvious in retrospect. But had it not been for a series of unscheduled events, it is unlikely I would have discovered it.

Friday 56: 

As I completed dinner preparations, Rosie set the table---not the conventional dining table in the living room, but a makeshift table on the balcony, created by taking a whiteboard from the kitchen wall and pacing it on top of two big plant pots, from which the dead plants had been removed. A white sheet from the linen cupboard had been added in the role of tablecloth. Silver cutlery--- a housewarming gift from my parents that had never been used --- and the decorative wine glasses were on the table. She was destroying my apartment!

My thoughts: I've just started this popular book about a genetics professor who is socially awkward yet sets out on a scientific project to find a wife. My daughter read this book last year and recommended it and now both of my book clubs are reading it for March. That will be a nice chance for me to catch up on personal reading since I'll only have to read one book club selection this month. Oh no, I am starting to sound like Don Tillman, the awkward professor who wants his whole life to be scheduled and ordered.

Classics Club: Question of the month

I missed the opportunity to blog about the Classics Club question of the month in December.

Question:

Let’s talk about children’s classics! Did you read any classic works as a child? What were your favorites? If not, have you or will you try any classic children’s literature in the future? (We’re aware children often read at an adult level. Please feel free to share adult OR children’s classics that you treasured in childhood OR children’s works that you’ve recently fallen for.)

Answer:

When I was eleven or twelve I went through a jag of reading lots of classics: David Copperfield; Pride and Prejudice; White Fang;  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are a few I remember reading specifically. Now, as an adult, I look back in amazement that I was capable of reading these books so easily and happily. Then a month ago, as I wandered around a used bookstore, I came upon a cache of children's books in the Great Illustrated Classics series. The books looked suspiciously familiar. Now I am fairly sure the classics I read as a kid were these highly abridged versions of classics that include illustrations.

I am sure I didn't read all of these Great Illustrated Classics, but I read many of these abridged classics.

In addition to The Great Illustrated Classics, I remember reading the Chronicles of Narnia; 1001 Arabian Nights; Heidi; The Secret Garden; and Little Women (in fact, I read the whole series by Alcott.) Somewhere a long the line I read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I don't recall if they were abridged or not. As a teenager I read the Lord of the Rings series, but by then no one should be shocked that I was reading them. My favorites, then and now, are the romances: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and of course, Pride and Prejudice.

What classics did you read as a child?

See responses by others at The Classics Club.

Sunday Salon, Feb. 22

Wenatchee River

Weather: Beautiful with blue skies and warmish temperatures.

In the midst of this wild park alongside the Wentachee river is a random lightpost, just like in Narnia.

Leavenworth reprise: after I posted my Sunday Salon last week, Don and I headed out for a 3-mile walk along the Wenatchee River which runs right along the city of Leavenworth. Even though it is right next to town it has a very wild and reclusive feel. It was a lovely walk. See photos.

My favorite photographer

Birthday: I turned a year older this past week. Since Don and I celebrated by going to Leavenworth last weekend I wasn't expecting much fanfare. My principal and assistant principal showed up at my desk midday fully prepared to sing, which would have been a hoot, but students were testing in the library so they just wished me a happy day and gave me a card. Don and Carly had planned a lovely dinner and cake from my favorite bakery. Rita even came over to help us eat the cake and spent the night with us. It was just one of those special days for the memory book.

Ash Wednesday soup and service: each year our church ushers in the season of Lent by hosting a soup dinner prior to the church service. Carly made a big pot of Zuppa Toscana to share.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of participants to the accompaniment of the words "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return".-Wikipedia 

40 bags in 40 days: I joined one of those Facebook challenges, this one to simplify and declutter my house. I am to shed 40 bags of stuff from the house, one per day during the season of lent. The directions admonish participants not to do too much each day, just tackle small areas each day. Well, i completely broke that rule. Yesterday Don and I (and Carly) attacked our bonus room which has become a junk yard the past few years. We sorted out six bags of recycled papers, one huge bag of paper we need the shred, five bags of things to go to Goodwill; three bags for the garbage, and one box for Rita to sort through when she has the time. 16 bags! Admittedly it took us all afternoon and evening to do this much, but boy does it feel good.

"Dear Teen Me": I recently read a book called Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves.As I read the letters I keep thinking about things I'd like to tell my teen self to stop or start doing. So, I decided to add a feature to the Sunday Salon called "Dear Teen Me" where I will give myself a bit of advice to make things better for the me of today.

Anne: Hold in your head how much fun it is to play tennis and eventually racquetball. Right now you enjoy playing tennis with your brother and several other friends. Why don't you go out for the tennis team. You won't be a champion but you could have a hoot playing with other people and gaining more friends. Your first year in college you will take a tennis class which really hones your skills. Your second year you take a racquetball class and playing it becomes an obsession for several years. Keep it up. Remind yourself everyday that these are two sports you can do as you age. Make sports and fitness a part of your daily routine.

Currently reading: (I didn't finish a single book this week)

• Defending Jacob by William Landay---I am listening to the audiobook. This is the story of a father and a lawyer. When his son is charged with a heinous crime he is put in the position of defending his son. I don't like any of the characters which is off-putting. I am 3/4 of the way done.
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins---another book club selection and another book where I don't like any of the main characters. I am in an odd position reading two books and not liking any of the characters. Sigh.

Perfect timing---a jet stream meets up with the mountain