Summer Reading

I love to read. I credit my parents, my elementary school teachers, and the librarian at my school with teaching me that reading can take you places. I have read several books lately, and thought I would share them. (Actually, I sent this list of books to a friend who also likes to read, but it shows my diverse intereat in subjects, so I thought I would share publicly.) Also, some are still available to borrow. Let me know if you want to read some.

The Case for Faith; Lee Strobel -- I thought this book would be boring and dry. It took me months to pick it up and read it. When I finally did, I found it to be interesting, insightful, and scientific in its approach. I consider myself a Christian, tho some around me would dispute that. I think that whatever your belief system, this is a great book to read. If you are an atheist it may change your mind. If you are a believer, it will help to strengthen those beliefs. I would recommend it.

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue; John McWhorter -- I bought this book because it was cheap. Turns out, I found it a little bit interesting. I think that someone else would only find it interesting if they had either (a) an interest in linguistics or (b) an interest in some facet of World history. The bottom line is this is a book about the English language and how we got where we are today. This one, you can take or leave.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass; Lewis Carroll -- You gotta read this if you haven't. Everyone has seen the Disney version of this book, and most have seen the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version that came out a year or two ago. This book is what those movies are based on, and the book is always better than the movie. You've seen it. You know it. You love it--Now read it....if you haven't.

Her Mother's Daughter; Julianne Lee This book is historical fiction. It is about Mary, Queen of Scots (aka, Bloody Mary...and that is a great drink at brunch-time on the weekend!) First of all, it's fiction, but it sure does show her point of view. I'm not Catholic at ALL, but by the end of this book, I was rooting for her and the Catholics to take back England. They didn't and the rest is history, but this also is a good read. Maybe even enough to look into the life of Queen Mary a little more. I recommend it.

The Irregulars; Jennet Conant This is a book about Roald Dahl. You may have read "James and the Giant Peach." or "Charley and the Chocolate Factory." Before he was a writer, he was in the Royal Air Force fighting for England. He was injured and sent to America as a "friendly" spy during WWII. I bought this book because I liked "JGP" and "CCF" when I was a kid. Turns out, England had spies in America to try to get us to fight for/with them before we entered the war. We did, and Roald Dahl was part of the machine behind that. This is a book I would suggest again only if you are interested in history, especially the WWII period. It was an interesting read in itself, but also because the same names pop up in the following selection.

Mrs. Astor Regrets; Meryl Gordon -- This book is about Brooke Astor. She married in to, and was the last of the Astor family in New York. Astor Place, Waldorf-Astoria, the list goes on. This is a book about fairly recent events. It skims over her early life, but the meat of the book is the court battle between her son and grandson over her care in her later years. If you have any interest in old money and New York society, this book is for you. Vanity Fair magazine wrote an article about the conclusion of the court case, and when I saw it, I tore it out, and put in in the front flap of the book. I thought when I was done reading it, I could re-read the article as a wrap-up to the book. Alas, I was reading the book on the train one day, and the magazine article fell out and onto the tracks. Oh, yeah. Some of the same characters at dinners and in society in this book are also mentioned in "The Irregulars."

The Mole People; Jennifer Toth -- I found this book to be terribly interesting. In fact, if you want to read this, I may ask for it back. New York City officially denies that people live underground, but this author found some. While she didn't live with them, she was able to gain their trust and write about them. If you have any interest in New York City, or Secrets of New York, or sociology, or how the "other side" lives, this book is a must-read. Now that I work at Grand Central Terminal, I have thought about trying to go down....but I don't have that much courage. Gooooood book.

Gang Leader for a Day; Sudhir Venkatesh -- This guy went to the University of Chicago or and was middle class American. He had to decide on a thesis for grad school, and ended up meeting a drug dealer/gang leader. Again with the trust, but this time he built enough trust to be put in charge of the gang for a while. This book is good if you have an interest in Chicago, projects, Sociology, or gangs.

You Want Fries With That? Prioleau Alexander -- Aside from the most vowels in the first name of anyone I know, this is a decent book. My beef with this book is that I felt "talked down to." I have only worked the minimum wage jobs that Mr. Alexander talks about in this book. Not all of them, but this is my life. He, on the other hand, was an advertising executive who quit his job because he was tired of it, and tried living like the other side. He didn't like it. Most people don't. There was some empathy in the book, but I wish everyone at the executive level on up would read this book and see how people work hard to make a living. I recommend it.

The Panic of '89; Paul Erdman This book was written in 1986. It's kind of scary to read it in 2011 and know what has happened. It's almost like this guy has a crystal ball. This is a work of fiction, but damn, he's good. This exact scenario did not happen, but its close. It sounds like I'm gushing over this book, and maybe I am, but it would probably only interest you if you keep up with the stock market, or know what's going on with the price of oil right now.

Starstruck: The Business of Celebrity; Elizabeth Currid-Halkett -- This book was cheap. And I am Starstruck. It was a bit dry, but interesting. It discusses the economics of stardom. I know a few people who might like to read this book. If that's you, let me know. I don't need this one back.

I think this list shows my diverse interests. I have five more books on my shelf and cannot wait to read them, also.