Reader: Gwyn
Alice was a linguistics professor at Harvard when her life turned upside down at the discovery of her early onset Alzheimer's Disease. This month by month account of the rapid progression of her disease was so disturbing, I was almost unable to read it. But this was an amazing book. It gave great insight into the thoughts of the person with the disease, as well as to the difficulties of those around her.
Although this was emotionally difficult for me to read, I would recommend it to all for a better understanding of Alzheimer's
Showing posts with label Gwyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gwyn. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, by Rhoda Janzen
(A Memoir of Going Home)
Reader: Gwyn
Rhoda Janzen was raised a Mennonite. As soon as she could, she left that lifestyle behind, and went out to the world. When events in her life took a turn for the worse at the age of 40 years, she returned to her family looking for solace and support.
Janzen is a witty writer, with a delightful cynicism that made this a fun, easy book to read. Her descriptions of life with her quirky family actually did make me laugh out loud more than once. Of course, a memoir would not have made it to the presses if it did not include some self-realization and personal growth. This book provided that as well.
I recommend this book to anyone needing a chuckle at the expense of someone else's family.
Reader: Gwyn
Rhoda Janzen was raised a Mennonite. As soon as she could, she left that lifestyle behind, and went out to the world. When events in her life took a turn for the worse at the age of 40 years, she returned to her family looking for solace and support.
Janzen is a witty writer, with a delightful cynicism that made this a fun, easy book to read. Her descriptions of life with her quirky family actually did make me laugh out loud more than once. Of course, a memoir would not have made it to the presses if it did not include some self-realization and personal growth. This book provided that as well.
I recommend this book to anyone needing a chuckle at the expense of someone else's family.
City of Thieves, by David Benioff
Reader: Gwyn
This was a great book. David Benioff was able to take a gruesome tale of atrocities in Russia, during the winter of 1942, and make it a heartwarming coming of age story. I'm afraid to say much more, because much of the joy of reading the book was the discovery of what would happen next to the young protagonist.
At least 2 people in the family had recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad I listened to their advice. My question for others who read this book is: Is this really the story of Benioff's grandfather?
This was a great book. David Benioff was able to take a gruesome tale of atrocities in Russia, during the winter of 1942, and make it a heartwarming coming of age story. I'm afraid to say much more, because much of the joy of reading the book was the discovery of what would happen next to the young protagonist.
At least 2 people in the family had recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad I listened to their advice. My question for others who read this book is: Is this really the story of Benioff's grandfather?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Blood Lure by Nevada Barr
by Gwyn
I never used to be able to read mysteries because by the time I got to the end of the book, and the mystery was solved, I had forgotten who was who and how things all tied together.
Then, one summer, I decided to do Cameron's summer reading along with him. I followed the same instructions as he. The book was
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. The assignment was to write in the margin each time a new character appeared. This is a most amazing concept to me. Throughout the book, I kept referring back to my notes. By the end, I knew who everyone was and how it all tied in together.
This brings me to the present and Nevada Barr's series of mysteries. I am able to enjoy these sinplistic books because I keep a running log in the front cover of all the characters.
Barr was an actual NPS ranger. She writes stories about the adventures of ranger Anna Pigeon as she is assigned to various of our national parks. Ms Pigeon travels with a black cloud over her. Everywhere she goes, strange things happen, usually deaths, and she needs to solve the mysteries.
I have enjoyed all of the books I've read in the series. Every one of them includes details about natural features of the park; politics of working in the park; park visitors; conflicts between natural features and accesibility; and reappearing characters in the life of Anna Pigeon.
Blood Lure takes place in Glacier, and its focus is on the lives of grizzly bears.
I recommend this series for anyone who wants an easy read without too much mental challenge, other than keeping the characters straight. I imagine that anyone with much familiarity with actual park workings might find the series annoying, though.
I never used to be able to read mysteries because by the time I got to the end of the book, and the mystery was solved, I had forgotten who was who and how things all tied together.
Then, one summer, I decided to do Cameron's summer reading along with him. I followed the same instructions as he. The book was
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. The assignment was to write in the margin each time a new character appeared. This is a most amazing concept to me. Throughout the book, I kept referring back to my notes. By the end, I knew who everyone was and how it all tied in together.
This brings me to the present and Nevada Barr's series of mysteries. I am able to enjoy these sinplistic books because I keep a running log in the front cover of all the characters.
Barr was an actual NPS ranger. She writes stories about the adventures of ranger Anna Pigeon as she is assigned to various of our national parks. Ms Pigeon travels with a black cloud over her. Everywhere she goes, strange things happen, usually deaths, and she needs to solve the mysteries.
I have enjoyed all of the books I've read in the series. Every one of them includes details about natural features of the park; politics of working in the park; park visitors; conflicts between natural features and accesibility; and reappearing characters in the life of Anna Pigeon.
Blood Lure takes place in Glacier, and its focus is on the lives of grizzly bears.
I recommend this series for anyone who wants an easy read without too much mental challenge, other than keeping the characters straight. I imagine that anyone with much familiarity with actual park workings might find the series annoying, though.
Monday, July 5, 2010
A Stopover in Venice
family member: Gwyn
book: A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker
This wonderful book is a story within a story. A woman boldly finds herself alone in Venice in modern times. There she encounters a group in search of the history of a found mural. Their friendship and support of her lead her to discover her own worth as she discovers the history of a woman from the past.
A knowledge of Venice would have enhanced this book for me. Even without that, I found this book to be tender mixture of history, discovery, and romance.
If any of you read it, let me know whether you enjoyed it too.
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