Shorts and the Darwins
106. Passion and Affect. First sentence: "On the roof of the East Wing of the American Naturalist Museum was a greenhouse, blocked from public view by turrets and facades."
wiki for the Author
Written by Laurie Colwin
Some points:
- I heard a review of Laurie Colwin's cook book called Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen from NPR's Fresh Air and thought it was interesting. So I browsed the local library catalog and found this one.
- It's a collection of shorts of love and relationship. Very nice read. Like all shorts, you want to know more at the end, but there it is - the end.
- My favorite is Wet - it's about a wife who swims like fish and the couple relationship. It's so gentle.
Bottom line, I will check out her other books, too.
107. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith . First sentence: "In the summer of 1838, in his rented rooms on Great Malborough street, London, Charles Darwin drew a line down the middle of a piece of scrap paper."
wiki
Written by Deborah Heiligman
Some points:
- This book was recommended on npr I think.
- I always thought Charles Darwin was a priest or a monk - I realized later that I confused him with Mendel.
- It's a great book about Charles Darwin and his wife Emma: their relationship, their children, and the process of writing his famous book The Origin of Species. Emma was really religious, Charles wasn't, hence there was the great difference between them, but because of their love for each other, they compromised. That wasn't the only difference, though. Charles was tidy, Emma wasn't.
- now I want to read that book and other biographies of the Darwins, too
Bottom line, good read. Reread? Maybe. Rec? Sure.
Happy Holidays!