The End of Summer Book List
I never got around to posting these, and since I'm procrastinating I figured I might as well. So on with it!
White Teeth by Zadie Smith Smith weaves a tale across among three families, two of those comprising the focus of her story. A good book about love, war, race, and varied multi-generational perspectives of the above it ends with a sudden climax arrived at rather anti-climactically, though Smith's style will stick with you long after you've put the book down. A quiet powerhouse.
How to Be Good, by Nick Hornby I really love the style of Nick Hornby's work. A hilarious story about marriage, children, fidelity, and the bizarre spiritual awakening of her once cynical, angry husband who suddenly wants to change the world after an encounter with an equally bizarre new age 'spiritual guide.' The two men become inseparable, the spiritual hack moving in with the family, and the madness ensues while the woman attempts to maintain control of her household, her mind, and be good.
Winkie, by Clifford ChaseThe debut novel from memoirist Chase, this sort of reminded me of the gnome from Amelie. Winkie is a bear who escaped his dull life as a stuffed animal for the adventure of the woods where he is apprehended, mistaken for a terrorist in this social commentary on the War on Terror. Wry, Adorable, and Satirical.
PostSecret: The Secret Lives of Men and Women, by Frank WarrenThe seoond book in the postsecret series came out this summer along with the third, My Secret. A fourth is coming in the fall. There's a certain vulnerability, a certain rawness to the postcards collected in Warren's books that I love and can't .
Eat the Document, by Dana SpiottaI read this book in about three hours without pause. A compelling tale about Mary, who went underground in the 1970s after a series of radical protest demonstrations on the Vietnam War went terribly wrong, the book goes back and forth from the time she went underground in 1972 to present day suburban Seattle in the late 90s. Absolutely incredible.
Good Night Philadelphia, by Adam Gamble and Cooper Kelly I found this in Borders when once again sucked into the 3 for 2 table. Based on 'Good Night Moon' the author says goodnight to various sites in Philadelphia. Adorable.
Amazing Grace: Lives of Children, Conscience of a Nation, by Jonathan Kozol I rarely re read books but I was nearing the end of my summer class and needed something to read...Kozol spends time in the Bronx with families and children examining the issues of poverty, drug culture, public health, and the injustices and vast differences between what is alloted to the poorest of the poor. Heartbreaking.
Third and Indiana: A Novel, by Steve Lopez Compelling fiction based on the reality of one of the most dangerous drug corners in Philadelphia and the drug culture engulfing a group of individuals tied together for various reasons in a variety of ways. I picked it up after hearing about it a few years ago, but the correlation between the violence depicted in the book and the reality of the actual body count as it rose this summer was all too ironic.
Light In the Attic, by Shel Silverstein I recently acquired this classic and smiled the whole way through re reading the book before falling asleep one night.
Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of American's Most Exciting Neighborhood, by Craig Marberry and Micheal Cunningham From the authors who published a book about black women in church hats, comes this work along a similar vein. The authors talked to people who live, work, and love Harlem, shooting their portrait alongside their photos. A beautiful work that captures the essence of what Harlem means to the authors and their subjects.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith Smith weaves a tale across among three families, two of those comprising the focus of her story. A good book about love, war, race, and varied multi-generational perspectives of the above it ends with a sudden climax arrived at rather anti-climactically, though Smith's style will stick with you long after you've put the book down. A quiet powerhouse.
How to Be Good, by Nick Hornby I really love the style of Nick Hornby's work. A hilarious story about marriage, children, fidelity, and the bizarre spiritual awakening of her once cynical, angry husband who suddenly wants to change the world after an encounter with an equally bizarre new age 'spiritual guide.' The two men become inseparable, the spiritual hack moving in with the family, and the madness ensues while the woman attempts to maintain control of her household, her mind, and be good.
Winkie, by Clifford ChaseThe debut novel from memoirist Chase, this sort of reminded me of the gnome from Amelie. Winkie is a bear who escaped his dull life as a stuffed animal for the adventure of the woods where he is apprehended, mistaken for a terrorist in this social commentary on the War on Terror. Wry, Adorable, and Satirical.
PostSecret: The Secret Lives of Men and Women, by Frank WarrenThe seoond book in the postsecret series came out this summer along with the third, My Secret. A fourth is coming in the fall. There's a certain vulnerability, a certain rawness to the postcards collected in Warren's books that I love and can't .
Eat the Document, by Dana SpiottaI read this book in about three hours without pause. A compelling tale about Mary, who went underground in the 1970s after a series of radical protest demonstrations on the Vietnam War went terribly wrong, the book goes back and forth from the time she went underground in 1972 to present day suburban Seattle in the late 90s. Absolutely incredible.
Good Night Philadelphia, by Adam Gamble and Cooper Kelly I found this in Borders when once again sucked into the 3 for 2 table. Based on 'Good Night Moon' the author says goodnight to various sites in Philadelphia. Adorable.
Amazing Grace: Lives of Children, Conscience of a Nation, by Jonathan Kozol I rarely re read books but I was nearing the end of my summer class and needed something to read...Kozol spends time in the Bronx with families and children examining the issues of poverty, drug culture, public health, and the injustices and vast differences between what is alloted to the poorest of the poor. Heartbreaking.
Third and Indiana: A Novel, by Steve Lopez Compelling fiction based on the reality of one of the most dangerous drug corners in Philadelphia and the drug culture engulfing a group of individuals tied together for various reasons in a variety of ways. I picked it up after hearing about it a few years ago, but the correlation between the violence depicted in the book and the reality of the actual body count as it rose this summer was all too ironic.
Light In the Attic, by Shel Silverstein I recently acquired this classic and smiled the whole way through re reading the book before falling asleep one night.
Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of American's Most Exciting Neighborhood, by Craig Marberry and Micheal Cunningham From the authors who published a book about black women in church hats, comes this work along a similar vein. The authors talked to people who live, work, and love Harlem, shooting their portrait alongside their photos. A beautiful work that captures the essence of what Harlem means to the authors and their subjects.