WE THE ANIMALS, a novel by Justin Torres

I bought this book in Seattle to read on the flight home. I had heard an interview with the author a few days earlier. I went into the bookstore knowing I was looking for a new book whose author I had heard interviewed, but I could remember absolutely nothing else about it. I was about to give up, when I spotted it at the far end of the "new novels" display and recognized the title immediately.

The novel is about the youngest of three boys growing up in a poor family, with parents who are volatile, caring, violent, loving, immature, and wise. They are doing what they can to get by. Some of the events are disturbing. Many are superficially disturbing but end up being loving. Others are deeply disturbing.

This book is a fast read, partly because it is quite short (128 pages) but also because the prose itself just demands you to read fast. Published reviews have used words such as “fierce”, “burning”, and “feral” to describe the story and the prose. I thought that much of it read like poetry. In fact, the first chapter (2.5 pages) could be a stand-alone poem. That first chapter may be the best first chapter I have ever read. I would recommend reading that even if you have no intention of reading the book. (I may have to give this book to someone for Christmas just to hear the first chapter read aloud.)

reviewed by Libby

Rashi's Daughters; Book 1: Joheved

Written by Maggie Anton, an authority on medieval French Jewish women, this is a novel about love and The Talmud in medieval France (around 1070 CE). This was a period of relative calm between the Jews and the Christians. I can't recommend it whole heartedly because it's not a book that grabbed me or made me want to get back to reading it. But, having seen it through to the end, I realize that I have learned so much about orthodox Jewish customs and beliefs and traditions, some of which I found very beautiful. Rashi, the father of Joheved, is a scholar who actually lived and Joheved is his oldest daughter, who has two younger sisters, Miriam and Rachel (the subjects of Books 2 and 3). These daughters, like their father, actually lived in 11th century France. This historical fiction book tells about the fathers selecting husbands for their daughters, the courtship, the wedding, the first night, conception of a child, miscarriages, birth of a child, the circumcision of male babies, use of herbs in treating illness, the last days of life, death, and preparing the body for burial, all told in the light of sometimes curious beliefs.

I'm glad I read this book but I doubt that I'll read the two follow-on books about Joheved's sisters.

Reviewed by Cal

Rashi's Daughters; Book 1: Joheved

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love

By: Kristin Kimball

Amazon recommended this book for people who liked The Town That Food Saved so I took the plunge. The basic story is of a woman from New York who falls in love with a farmer and decides to give it all up and buy a farm with him. She talks about the ups and the downs and at the end decides that she would not have changed a thing.

I really enjoyed this relatively quick read.

The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food

By: Ben Hewitt

This book is about the people of Hardwick, VT who are striving to make their food system more local. He sort of picks up where Michael Pollan leaves off in the Omnivore's Dilemma and tries to decide what a healthy food system actually looks like. Hardwick has recently gotten some publicity over a handful of "agrepreneurs" who settled in the small town and have been shaking things up in the way people eat. In the end the author doesn't really come to any major conclusions but the discussion throughout the book is very interesting. I personally think the book could have used a little better editing in some of the phrases he uses (sometimes several unusual phrases very close together for example) but I enjoyed his writing style and recommend this book to anyone interested in the local food "movement". If you haven't read The Omnivore's Dilemma, I highly recommend reading that first. Not because this is a sequel or anything but because Hewitt writes as if the reader already knows how and why the current food system in America is broken. If I cracked this book as a primer to local food, I doubt I would have finished it because he does not discuss the problems as much as the possible solutions. The reader should know the problem before reading this book.

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

By: Malcolm Gladwell

This collection of essays was solely from the New Yorker magazine. They all attempt to explain some aspect of the human mind and how we interact with each other. Some are more successful than others but overall I enjoyed most of the essays. A nice book to read to take a break from something else you are struggling to finish since the essays are short and can be wrapped up in a sitting or two. The author is more famous for The Tipping Point and according to amazon, this book is similar to Freakanomics, a book which I have never read.

I'm glad I read it.

Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series

By: Dan Wetzel

I read this based on a recommendation of a friend. If you weren't a supporter of a playoff system for college football before reading this, you will be after you read it. The author goes into depth on how much money is made by the bowls and where the money ends up. It is really quite staggering how little the schools benefit from the current bowl system. I don't want to ruin the surprise by listing the author's suggestions but he makes a very convincing case playing off the sheer wasted potential for further monetary gain by the school if they were to adopt a playoff.

My gripes with the book are that he uses data from the dozen or so not for profit bowls since their records are public. He makes some assumptions and suggestions based on this limited data set and doesn't remind the reader very often of this extrapolation. I think his analysis is solid and I found it believable, but sometimes it comes off as a little hyperbolic.

I highly recommend this to all college football fans out there so you can make your own conclusions about what's best for everyone.

The Maze Of Bones

Book: The Maze Of Bones
Reader: Eva
I am in a reading group at school, and we choose a new novel to read every 2 months or so.
I have not enjoyed any of the books we have read as much as I enjoyed The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan. Scary name, right?
I didn't think I'd like a book by Rick Riordan because he wrote The Lightning Thief and the other Percy Jackson books, which didn't appeal to me.
This book is the 1st book in the 10-book-long series The 39 Clues. Every book is written by a different author.
The main characters, a smart 11-year-old boy aspiring to be a ninja warrior and his 14-year-old sister/bookworm, seem so innocent you just have to be on their side. Yet, they trust the villiains (described as "dry" in a review) much too easily, which can make the reader momentarily lose hope for them.
The two kids discover that they are part of the Cahill family, which is the most powerful family in the world. Famous Cahills include Mozart (Nannerl and Wolfgang), Einstein, Napoleon, and Babe Ruth!

I recommend this book to someone who is looking for a quick read with comedy, adventure, and a bit of romance and violence. Once you pick up this book, you can't put it down!

Goodbye, Columbus

Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth

This is a Novella set in New Jersey in the late 50's and is about first love. It starts from the first time this unlikely pair of young adults lay eyes on one another through their turbulent relationship - a poor boy from Newark and a wealthy girl (and her family) from the suburbs. Roth does a beautiful job at capturing the reality and thoughts of the protagonist and the insecurities and mistakes that come with any new relationship, but also captures the playfulness and passion that new summer love brings. A quick read, and worth the pages.