Books 25 & 26
Book #25 was "Under the Eye of the Clock" by Christopher Nolan. This is a memoir written by Nolan, an Irish man with celebral palsy, mostly paralyzed and unable to move with coordination. He was mistaken by some as mentally retarded, but he was actually quite bright. His parents always believed in him and read to him and taught him a love of language from a very young age. They also tried to mainstream him into regular schools as much as possible. At age 10, he got on a medication that allowed him to control his tremors and he was able to start typing with a stick attached to his head. His first effort was a volume of James-Joycian like poetry. His second book was this memoir, written in his late teens/early 20s. I really liked it a lot- he uses flowery language that took a bit to get used to, but he is almost never sorry for himself and has an impish sense of humor that made this a really fun read.
Book #26 was "Iron and Silk" by Mark Salzman. This memoir of an American teaching English in China in the 80s is probably what he's best known for, but I actually read two of his other books first - "True Notebooks," which is about him teaching creative writing to juvenile inmates, and " Lying Awake" a novel about a nun who questions whether she is truly divinely inspired when she finds out her "visions" may be the result of a brain tumor. I really liked this memoir a lot. It doesn't have a strong narrative arc and is more a collection of short anecdotes about people he meets and things he learns while in China. It's also very funny in places and was a quick read.
1. Kiss of the Spiderwoman [fiction]- Manuel Puig
2. The Garlic Ballads [fiction]- Mo Yan
3. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World [non-fiction]- Michael Pollan
4. Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood [non-fiction/memoir]- Jennifer Traig
5. Bleeding Kansas [fiction]- Sara Paretsky
6. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas [non-fiction]- Jerry Dennis
7. The Last of Mr. Noris [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
8. Goodbye to Berlin [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
9. The Golden City [fiction]- John Twelve Hawks
10. The Scarlet Pimpernel [fiction]- Baroness Emmuska Orczy (unabridged book on CD)
11 Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies [non-fiction/memoir]- Stewart Copeland
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [fiction]- Lisa See
13. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali [non-fiction]- Ian Gibson
14. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life [non-fiction]- Barbara Kingsolver (unabridged book on CD)
15. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup [non-fiction]- Susan Orlean
16. Bee Season [fiction]- Myla Goldberg
17. Kiss Me Like You Love Me [fiction]- Wednesday Lee Friday
18. The Buffalo Soldier [fiction] Chris Bohjalian
19. 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs - The Election that Changed the Country [non-fiction]- James Chace
20. Thirteen [fiction]- Richard K. Morgan (unabridged book on CD)
21. The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia [fiction]- David Stevens
22. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior [non-fiction]- Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Roscio and Barry L. Beyerstein
23. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love [fiction]- Oscar Hijuelos
24. Metatropolis [fiction/novellas]- Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi and Karl Schroeder (unabridged book on CD)
Book #26 was "Iron and Silk" by Mark Salzman. This memoir of an American teaching English in China in the 80s is probably what he's best known for, but I actually read two of his other books first - "True Notebooks," which is about him teaching creative writing to juvenile inmates, and " Lying Awake" a novel about a nun who questions whether she is truly divinely inspired when she finds out her "visions" may be the result of a brain tumor. I really liked this memoir a lot. It doesn't have a strong narrative arc and is more a collection of short anecdotes about people he meets and things he learns while in China. It's also very funny in places and was a quick read.
1. Kiss of the Spiderwoman [fiction]- Manuel Puig
2. The Garlic Ballads [fiction]- Mo Yan
3. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World [non-fiction]- Michael Pollan
4. Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood [non-fiction/memoir]- Jennifer Traig
5. Bleeding Kansas [fiction]- Sara Paretsky
6. The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas [non-fiction]- Jerry Dennis
7. The Last of Mr. Noris [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
8. Goodbye to Berlin [fiction]- Christopher Isherwood
9. The Golden City [fiction]- John Twelve Hawks
10. The Scarlet Pimpernel [fiction]- Baroness Emmuska Orczy (unabridged book on CD)
11 Strange Things Happen: A Life with The Police, Polo, and Pygmies [non-fiction/memoir]- Stewart Copeland
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [fiction]- Lisa See
13. The Shameful Life of Salvador Dali [non-fiction]- Ian Gibson
14. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life [non-fiction]- Barbara Kingsolver (unabridged book on CD)
15. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup [non-fiction]- Susan Orlean
16. Bee Season [fiction]- Myla Goldberg
17. Kiss Me Like You Love Me [fiction]- Wednesday Lee Friday
18. The Buffalo Soldier [fiction] Chris Bohjalian
19. 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs - The Election that Changed the Country [non-fiction]- James Chace
20. Thirteen [fiction]- Richard K. Morgan (unabridged book on CD)
21. The Waters of Babylon: A Novel About Lawrence After Arabia [fiction]- David Stevens
22. 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior [non-fiction]- Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Roscio and Barry L. Beyerstein
23. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love [fiction]- Oscar Hijuelos
24. Metatropolis [fiction/novellas]- Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi and Karl Schroeder (unabridged book on CD)