The Invisible Wall

 

 

My mom lent me this book to read about a year ago, and for whatever reason I just barely got around to it. And now having read it, it just seems unbelievable to me that I let this book sit at my house not being read for so long! It did not deserve such treatment!

The Invisible Wall is the memoir of a boy named Harry growing up in England around World War I. It starts when he's about 4, and follows him to his early teenage years. He lives in a poor, working class neighborhood of row houses. And one side of the street is Jews, the other side Christians, and the "invisible wall" in the title refers to what might as well have been in the middle of their street. The Jews and Christians didn't associate with one another. They weren't mean or hostile, it was just as if the others didn't exist. 

When Harry is really little, only about 4 or 5, he unwittingly becomes part of a Romeo and Juliet-esque story with one of the older Jewish girls and a Christian boy. A lot of the book takes place on their street, with stories of what happened there, but he also talks about school and home and the synagogue. His angelic, wonderful mother is such an amazing and tragic character. She wants so badly for her children to have a good life, and it just feels so impossible. But she is so optimistic and believes that things will be better someday. His father is awful. He hardly ever speaks or looks at his children, and is hardly ever at home because he's out at the pub. I remember at one part the dad is talking to one of Harry's sisters, and he stands at the bottom of the stairs and yells up, "You!" Harry says his dad never called them by their names and I thought that was so sad.  He also talks about taking lunch to his dad at the factory, and how all the other boys were so excited to see their dads, but he was just scared. And then once they got there, the other dads went and hugged their kids and talked and ate lunch together, but his dad just stayed at his desk and waited for him to drop off the lunch, and never talked or looked at him. It's really sad.

Anyway, I don't want to say too much, because I think it's usually better to read something when you don't know very much about it. All I knew was that half their street was Jewish and the other half Christian, and I loved it. Also, sometimes books like this can be a little bit slow moving, but this is completely riveting. I couldn't put it down, I even took it to the gym with me and read on the elliptical. 

Do we rate our books? I don't remember, it's been too long since I've written. But if we do, I give this one 5 stars. It is wonderful.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

I heard about this book several years ago when my mother read it for her book club. She liked it a lot and suggested that I might too. Then my good friend Melissa finished it right before I met her in Jerusalem and mentioned it to me again. I read a different Tracy Kidder book, Strength in What Remains, last summer, and it was a powerful, powerful book. Paul Farmer, the subject of Mountains Beyond Mountains, makes minor appearances there as well, so when I constructed my summer reading list this year I knew it was time that I finally got to it. I was certain that I would love it, but I was also certain that it would make me uncomfortable. True on both counts.

Paul Farmer is a Harvard-educated doctor who specializes in infectious disease. While a student, he started a public health clinic in Canage, Haiti, a tiny little portion of one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. He deals with all sorts of infectious diseases, but spends a great deal of his time with TB, HIV, and AIDS. Through his connections in Haiti and in Boston he created an organization called Partners in Health, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., which runs the clinic in Haiti as well as branches in the Boston area and a clinic in Lima, Peru attempting to eradicate MDR-TB. He travels all over the world to consult with other doctors, the World Health Organization, speak at conferences. He is a tenured professor at Harvard. He is on the board for Village Health Works, which sponsors health clinics in Burundi (see Strength in What Remains). He has written several books about infectious disease, poverty, public health, and Haiti. He is one of those people you are amazed by and feel guilty because of. Case in point: while a Harvard medical student he would skip lectures for weeks at a time so he could work in his clinic in Haiti, then fly back to Cambridge for exams. He had grades at the top of his class. Harvard granted him permission to spend half his residency at Brigham and half in Haiti.

It’s an amazing story because he is an amazing man. Margaret Mead said, “Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed, they are the only ones who ever have.” Paul Farmer is certainly an example of this. And I sat there reading and loving what he’s doing but also feeling guilty that I’ve been thinking about a pair of $70 boots I want (What if I sent that money to PIH instead? How much could they do? But every time I want anything for myself do I have to feel guilty about it?). And then I came across this passage:

He [Farmer] went on: “I thought I was the king of empathy for these poor kids, but I I was the king of empathy, why this big shift because of my daughter? It was a failure of empathy, the inability to love other children as much as yours. The thing is, everybody understands that, encourages that, praises you for it. But the hard thing is the other.”

I thought about this for a while, attempting to frame my question delicately. Finally, I just tried to disassociate myself from it: “Some people would say, Where do you get off thinking you’re different from everyone and can love the children of others as much as your own. What would you say to that?”

“Look,” he replied. “All the great religious traditions of the world say, Love thy neighbor as thyself. My answer is, I’m sorry, I can’t, but I’m gonna keep on trying, comma.”

And he’s right. That’s something we hear all the time, Love thy neighbor as thyself. But how many of us actually genuinely do it? I certainly don’t. I’ve had times when I have, sure, flashes o really loving someone the way that God loves them, but it doesn’t happen often. But that attitude, “I know that I am not perfect, but I’m constantly trying,” I think that’s why I’m so impressed with Paul Farmer. He does all these amazing things, but he does them on an individual level. He loves his patients and he remembers them, even though he sees hundreds of people and they’re from multiple countries. All throughout the book people say how they feel like he genuinely cares about them, and when he asks about their health or their family or their job he really wants to know and he remembers what they say.

So maybe I can’t rid the world of infectious disease. But I can try to love and remember the people in my life better than I currently do.

I Remember Nothing

I read this last week, and it was funny and cute. Nora Ephron wrote You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, and this funny little book. It's just a collection of personal essays and sort of memoir-ish, but it's mostly about funny things like how she doesn't remember anything--hence the title.

It takes like 2 hours to read, because it's big print and short, and it's the perfect book to read in the summer. I never like really sat down and READ, I would just pick it up for 10 minutes at a time while I was waiting for Chris to get ready to go somewhere, or waiting for dinner to come out of the oven--things like that. 

But yeah, it's just a cute, funny book that's super fast to read. It would be perfect for an airplane or the beach or something because there's not a plot or anything. Oh, and here's an excerpt. This is the first chapter of the book.



Between a Rock and a Hard Place

This book was written by Aron Ralston, the guy who cut off his arm. I'm pretty sure you all know about him, but just in case, here's a little re-cap. In 2003, he was hiking alone in Southern Utah, and got his arm trapped by a boulder in a slot canyon. His right hand was completely trapped, he couldn't move the boulder or chip away at it to free his hand, so on the 5th day of being trapped there with very little water and only a tiny bit of food (he thought it was about 500 calories spread over a few days), next to no sleep, and obviously his hand being crushed, he cut off his arm with a pocketknife to free himself. And then he had to rappel down a cliff and hike like 7 miles before he found other people. Insane.

I was really interested in this story when it happened (I'm sure Katie remembers me convincing her to accompany me to hear him speak at UVSC, after I assured her I didn't think he was going to discuss the gory details of the amputation. And then he totally did. This was before she was a nurse, though), and I am still totally fascinated by it. I want to see the movie, too, but I wanted to read the book first and get all the facts before I watched the movie, which I know has some extra theatrical elements. But I've found that I really love books about how amazing humans are. Our bodies and our minds. When I read Unbroken, I thought over and over that I couldn't believe that guy could survive everything that he did. And when I read this, I was really just amazed at the will to survive humans have. I don't think any other animal has that as much as we do. I mean, this guy was dying. He thought it was going to happen within a matter of hours. It was his 5th day of being trapped, he was dehydrated and hallucinating, but then he decided to take action, and he did it. It was amazing how quickly it happened. He had thought about cutting off his arm every day but always talked himself out of it. But then the day he did it, he just DID it. It took like 2 hours, and then he was free.

He interspersed the chapters about each day in the canyon with other memories of his adventurous life. It was pretty cool. I knew that he was an experienced hiker, but I didn't realize HOW experienced. He had solo climbed a whole bunch of mountains in Colorado, sometimes in the winter, he had this crazy experience with a bear stalking him in the Tetons, he graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in engineering, but then quit after 5 years of working as an engineer because he loved the outdoors too much. He moved to Aspen and worked at an outdoor gear store and spent several days every week hiking, biking, and skiing. I have to admit, I skimmed through a lot of these chapters, partly because I just wanted to get back to the main story, and partly because I had to get the book back to the library. But it was interesting.

And the part I really could NOT stop reading was when I finally got to the amputation. It is pretty detailed, so if things like that will make you squeamish, do not read this. But if they don't, it is fascinating. And just incredible. I cannot believe a human being can cut off their arm, rappel down a cliff, and hike through a canyon, and be alive still. It is amazing.

Another favorite part of it for me was the pictures he included. He had a camera and a video camera with him, and he took pictures of himself. A couple of them are included in the book, including one of a blood spattered boulder in the canyon, taken after the fact. I love that he had the presence of mind to do that. And obviously he didn't include the videos in the book (because we are Muggles and don't have the capability), but he did transcribe everything he talked about. It's a message to his family and friends, tying up his financial affairs, and sharing memories with everyone, stuff like that. And I just love so much that it didn't end up being his funeral video. He would get it out and say, "Well, I think today might be the day," and stuff like that. But then he didn't die. He is ok. And that is so cool to me.

So anyway, if reading about someone cutting their arm off with a knife that is very unfit for the task will make you squeamish, don't read this. Or just skip that part, it's only like 4 pages long. If that. But if you like stories about people being inspired to live by hallucinations of their family and friends and future, you will like this. It was pretty awesome.

Also, one of my favorite passages from the book is when he finally does it. I found an excerpt online and copied and pasted it here:

It is 11.32am, Thursday, May 1 2003. For the second time in my life, I am being born. This time I am being delivered from the canyon’s pink womb, where I have been incubating. This time I am a grown adult and I understand the significance and power of this birth as none of us can when it happens the first time. The value of my family, my friends and my passions well up a heaving rush of energy that is like the burst I get approaching a hard-earned summit, multiplied by ten thousand. Pulling tight the remaining connective tissues of my arm, I rock the knife against the wall, and the final thin strand of flesh tears loose; tensile force rips the skin apart more than the blade cuts it.

A crystalline moment shatters, and the world is a different place.

Where there was confinement, now there is release. Recoiling from my sudden liberation, my left arm flings downcanyon, opening my shoulders to the south, and I fall back against the northern wall of the canyon, my mind surfing on euphoria. As I stare at the wall where not 12 hours ago I etched “RIP OCT 75 ARON APR 03”, a voice shouts in my head: “I AM FREE!”

Half Broke Horses

(One of the only disappointing things about this book is the cover photo. Not that the photo isn't amazing--because look at that girl with her cat on the right, so adorable--but it's not a photo of Lily, and I wish it were. This is a Dorothea Lange photo that is so great, but I think I would have preferred it to be more personal to the book.)

I just realized I never wrote about this book! I finished it a couple weeks ago, and thought I had. So . . . . yeah.

Half Broke Horses is the other book by Jeannette Walls, of The Glass Castle. I think most of you have either read The Glass Castle or at least know about it. Half Broke Horses is the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette's maternal grandmother. She is amazing. She grew up on a ranch, moved away from her family at 15 to be a teacher in a small town in Arizona, lived in Chicago for awhile, then returned to the Southwest where she got married and continued to live on a ranch and also be a teacher.

That makes it sound boring, though, and it isn't. Lily just has a lot of spirit and spunk and she is awesome. Here's a good example: When she was 15 she packed up her horse and rode it 500 miles to a new town to be a teacher. She went alone, camped out on the way, and then became a teacher in a new place. At 15. When I was 15 I wouldn't have slept in my backyard by myself.

She is amazing, and her life is too. We get to know how Rosemary, Jeannette's mom, was when she was younger, which is so interesting if you've read The Glass Castle and know how she ends up. I'm sure any of you who liked The Glass Castle would really love this. And if you haven't read The Glass Castle, then what are you doing on the computer? Go read it right now, please. But really, I think anyone would like this. It was really good, and actually sort of inspiring to me to always be a strong woman no matter what happens in my life.

Oh, also, Jeannette Walls called this a novel, since that's the honest thing to do because she had to fill in some gaps, but it really is a true story. If you were wondering.

The Poet and the Murderer

I can't remember where I heard about this book, but it interested me because it's about Emily Dickinson and Mark Hoffman. So, the poet and the murderer, respectively. If you aren't familiar with Mark Hoffman, he was a forger. In the 1980s, he created hundreds of forged documents from historical figures. He forged signatures of Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Betsy Ross, and of course, Emily Dickinson. He also created a lot of historical Mormon documents and sold them to the Church. I knew that he had sold a lot of things to the Church, and that it was a whole big mess, but what I didn't realize before I read this book is that he also hated the Church. Mark Hoffman grew up in Salt Lake, as a member of the Church, but by the time he was a teenager he had decided he didn't believe anymore. He went on a mission, got married in the temple, and all the while he was disaffected with the Church. Then he discovered he had this skill for forgery, and decided he would use it to embarrass the Church. The documents he created conflicted with Church history. He created a blessing that Joseph Smith gave to his son, Joseph Smith III, stating that he should be the next Prophet. This of course gave legitimacy to the RLDS Church, and created quite a stir, which is what he wanted. He also created the Salamander Letter, his most famous Mormon forgery. It's a letter written from Martin Harris to W.W. Phelps, saying that a small white salamander appeared when Joseph found the plates. This obviously is not present in any of the accounts that we have, and made Joseph's claims about the Angel Moroni leading him seem less founded.

The part of the book about Emily Dickinson has much less information than is given about Mark Hoffman, but is also really fascinating. She's a very interesting character. They talk about how she wrote thousands of poems that she just hid away in her room, and were found after she died. Also, she had requested that after she died, that all her correspondence be destroyed, which I found infuriating and awesome at the same time.

The reason they bring the two together is that Mark Hoffman wrote an Emily Dickinson poem. He WROTE it. He didn't copy an existing one in her handwriting. And a whole bunch of people who were experts believed that it was real. It was in her correct handwriting for the date (I guess her handwriting changed a lot throughout her life), it was on the same kind of paper that she used at that time period, and most amazingly of all, the poem itself seemed to be in her style. I obviously think Mark Hoffman is a terrible guy. He killed two people just so he could keep on doing this deceptive work and making money from it. But I have to admit that he is a genius. Everything he did was thought to be authentic. And it wasn't like the documents were never tested, or never sent to experts. They were. He was just THAT good at what he did. And I can't say I admire that, the nature of forgery is a lie, but there's something about it that is really amazing to me.

I have to warn you, however, that this book will be offensive where the LDS Church is involved. The author did NOT do a good job of seeming objective. I understand that he had to explain some things about Church history that are pretty weird in order to explain the documents that Mark Hoffman created. But I really did not like the way he did it. You are very clear about the author's view of the Church in this book, and it is certainly not a positive one. He talks more about the temple than I was comfortable with, and calls Joseph Smith a sex addict. He talks about the Church and culture in Utah as being very authoritative, no one should ask questions, secretive, manipulative, etc. I didn't appreciate that very much. The day of the bombings that killed 2 people, Mark Hoffman went to the Church office building and met with Elder Oaks. And in the book he talks about how the Church believes that their Apostles have a divine connection, and can discern things, but he didn't even know that the man he was talking to was a murderer, so how can they possibly truly be Apostles of God? I did NOT like that. 

So anyway, it was a VERY interesting book, as far as the descriptions about forgery, and the stories of trying to trace everything back to Hoffman, and Emily Dickinson, and pretty much all of it, actually. In fact, when I was about 50 pages in, they hadn't gotten to any of the Church stuff yet, and I found myself telling everyone about it, and how interesting it was. But you must have a very thick Mormon skin to be able to handle the Church stuff and the things he says. 

Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, Mark Hoffman is of course in prison for the rest of his life, at the Utah State prison. One thing I thought was so funny was the author's description of the prison, he said something about it being on a lonely windswept plain West of Salt Lake City. That was when I REALLY decided to not trust everything this guy said. I was like, dude, you could practically hit the prison with a rock from your car, driving down I-15. Ikea is like next door. I will give him the Ikea thing, actually, the book was published in 2003, but still. Come on. There was still a waterpark across the freeway in 2003. I kind of thought, "Did he think no one on the Wasatch Front was going to read this book?" But whatevs, Simon.

So I would recommend it, but I couldn't possibly feel good about not giving that qualifier. I would hate for someone to pick it up and read it and be like, "Erin, why would you tell me to read this book that is sort of anti?" So I have to tell you that up front. It was interesting, and I liked it, but it is not something you MUST read. If it weren't for all the Church stuff, it might have been, but to have something so close and dear to me treated to insensitively and negatively was pretty hard to take. And in the end, it was interesting, but it's not like it was uplifting or made me feel good. It's about a guy who deceived my Church for money and killed a couple of people. So it's not like I expected it to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, but you know.

Fourteen Cows for America

Erin's post made me ponder my love of books about Africa. This is a book my school librarian handed me one day when I was boredly babysitting the kids in the library. It is a children's book, and I love it.

For anyone who was alive and aware for September 11, this book will probably make you cry a little, even if you're reading it in front of 30 teenagers. The story is about a poor Kenyan tribe giving a gift to the United States. The coolest part about it is that it's a true story, the thing that makes me sad is that not many people know about it. Read it! Read it!

Nickel and Dimed

So once upon a time, I moved away to Boston and I helped form a new book club here but unfortunately this was the book that got picked for this last month, Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich. No. I really shouldn't be so negative, and I really am excited to see if any of you have read this book and what your thoughts are because the actual book club meeting we had on this book was good and was actually much more enjoyable for me than reading the actual book, so I am anxious to hear the thoughts of you who may have read this book.

Anyway, basically this lady goes "undercover" to live the life of those who have to get by earning minimum wages. Which is a cool idea, except for there were so many unrealistic/invalid parts of her "experiment" that it kind of made me crazy. For one, she only ever stayed in a place for a month, and I just have a hard time thinking that she was really able to develop how it would be to live there and work for a place in only 30 days because I know how I am with my own jobs and that in the first 30 days you are still just kind of figuring stuff out and barely making connections with people, etc. And she did try to recognize some of these limitations of her experience, but still. It bugged.

Also, I couldn't really determine what the purpose of the book was. I thought that it was going to be a call to action or something like that, but it definitely wasn't and so I turned to it possibly being "informational" but I don't really feel that it was that either, because the information seemed inaccurate. Anyway, sorry to be Negative Nancy about this book. Let's just say I give it 1.5 or 2 out of 5 stars.

Unbroken

I don't know if this is cheating or not, since I'm not even done with the book, but I just need to rave about Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand.

Laura Hillenbrand is the author of Seabiscuit, and while this has nothing to do with the book, it's an interesting sidenote--she has chronic fatigue disorder. Which, if you're like me, always seems sort of fake, but I read an amazing article about her and how she didn't leave her house for like 2 years because she was so tired, and it takes her an entire day just to write a few emails or write a few pages of a book. And both Seabiscuit and this book are about animals or people who are moving fast, so I think it's really interesting that she is so physically afflicted.

Anyway. Unbroken is about Louie Zamperini, who was an Olympic runner and WWII veteran. I am only a little more than halfway through this book, and it is already one of the most incredible books I've ever read.

I guess Laura Hillenbrand heard about Louie when she was researching Seabiscuit, because their names always showed up together in the Sports section. SO she decided to write a book about him.

It talks about his early life as a kid and teenager, and you will just fall in love with him, he's very mischievous and always running away from people so he wouldn't get in trouble. Eventually he channeled that into running REALLY fast, and broke every record in southern California, and went to the 1936 Olympics, where he did things like meet Hitler and steal a Nazi flag.

Then the war starts, he's in the Navy, and I don't want to give away too much, but his experiences are unbelievable and horrifying. He is adrift in the Pacific on a raft for over a month with no supplies, captured by the Japanese and struggles daily through a hellish POW camp, and . . . I'm not sure what happens next. That's where I am in the book. It is so, SO good. (And I know I always say that so I probably can't be trusted, but truly, this book is incredible.)

I just can't even believe what the human body, and more amazingly, the human spirit can endure. I have been shocked and amazed and completely inspired by nearly every chapter in this book. When I finish I'll let you know how even more amazed I am at this man.

Three Cups of Tea

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I had to put a picture up of Greg Mortensen because this book is about the AMAZING accomplishments he has had in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As of 2009 he had built 81 schools for children. Not only does he help with educating children (especially girls) but he helps remote, rural villages in the Himalayan region with projects to improve their quality of life like providing pipes for sanitary water and supplies basic medical care.

What inspired me the most about this book is that Dr. Greg (as the people call him) never planned on becoming an icon for humanitarian aid in the middle east. He literally stumbled his way into a village and promised them a school and when he got back to the U.S. he had no idea how he was going to be able to keep it. He is just a normal guy who took it upon himself to help. I want to go on and on about the amazing things he has done, but I will let you read it.

Another thing that I liked while I was reading it is how you could see God's hand in making Greg's work progress. There are times when you don't know how Greg is going to get out of a situation and just when you think there is no way out, something simple but miraculous happens and things work out. I love the quote on the cover of the book that says "proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world" (Tom Brokaw). It's true.

Something I read yesterday from Standing for Something by President Hinckley confirms what Tom Brokaw said, "I have concluded that the work of the world is done by basically ordinary people who have learned to work in an extraordinary way. . . One does not have to be a genius to get ahead. One does not have to be brilliant to make a difference in this world, to reach out and help and serve and lead others."

Apart from inspiring the reader to help his/her fellow man, this book taught me a lot about the character of the Muslim world. The ones who are causing all of the trouble are a very small percentage of the population of those countries. Most of the people just want to make a living and be with their families. It softened my heart for the people who are suffering the most from this war and who have absolutely zero responsibility for the problems over which the war is being fought.

Read it. If you don't read it, donate to the Central Asia Institute. The fight against terrorism will be resolved from the inside out. Through education and not violence.

www.threecupsoftea.com
www.ikat.com

All Souls

Well, as long as we're all reading books about cities, here's one!

I know that you know that I exaggerate ALL THE TIME, but here's the thing. This book is so good, and all of you should read it. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time.

My sister recommended it to me, she read it for one of her social work classes, and it really is so interesting and heartbreaking at the same time.

I know Katie will love it, because it's about Boston. Specifically, a neighborhood called Southie, and even more specifically the housing project Old Colony.

The guy who wrote the book grew up there, and this is the story of his family. Of the 11 children in his family, 4 died. And only one of them had an illness. In this neighborhood there are a lot of murders, suicides, and drug overdoses every year. Way too many teenagers die. 

It's an honest but not too painful depiction of growing up in an incredibly tough neighborhood. I was a little worried it would be really graphic and make me bawl my eyes out the whole time, but it wasn't and I didn't. I shed a few tears, of course, but it's not just some gut wrenching sob story. He loves his neighborhood, and even moved back there.

It's funny but also sad, it's quick moving, and everyone in it just comes alive. The best person in the book is his mother, always referred to as Ma. To give you a good example of the kind of lady she is, one night she got shot by a stray bullet while standing in the kitchen. It grazed her side, right under her armpit. She said there was no need to call 911 even though she was bleeding a lot, because she was going to go play her accordion at a pub (which she did regularly for extra cash). She changed into a black shirt so no one could see the blood, stuffed a bunch of toilet paper in her bra, and kept arguing and joking with EMTs about going to the hospital, telling her she'd only get in the ambulance if they'd drop her off at the pub. They finally made her get in the ambulance, but when they got to the hospital she hopped out the back and ran to the pub and bragged to all the Irish peeps about getting shot and not even seeing a doctor.

Another amazing chapter is about his 13 year old brother being charged with a murder he did not do, and all the corruption that happens in the system. It's pretty incredible and pretty awful.

Anyway, I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not enjoying it. I highly recommend it. I borrowed it from my sister and had it for a few days before I started it, and once I read it I kept thinking, "I can't believe I had this in my possession for any length of time without reading it." It's really really REALLY good.

P.S.

One disclaimer--if you don't want to read the F word, don't read this. It's set in the projects in Boston, so . . . yeah. I'ts not gratuitous, but it is there.

Born to Run

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

All I am going to say about this book is that if you already love running, it will make you love it more. If you don't love running, but want to, this book can still make you gain a passion for running. And if you don't love running and don't even want to, I still recommend this book because I think you would still like it.

I listened to it on tape (while running sometimes) and the reader was good (it may actually have been the author, I forget) BUT the one thing I will say is that he does a lot of direct quotes from people and some of them swear and I don't know why but listening to it is worse than reading it for me. So, take that into consideration. But this is a definite must read.

The Glass Castle

Sorry to be a blog hog and post 2 days/books in a row, but I had to write about The Glass Castle.

I just finished it (like, 5 minutes ago), and I had to be sure all of you know that this is a must read. Casidy told me to read this book about a year ago, and I finally got around to reading it this week.

The very first chapter of the book has Jeannette telling how she was in the back of a taxi, headed to a party, when she saw her mother going through a dumpster, just another homeless lady in New York. She then told her driver to turn around and take her back to her apartment on Park Avenue.

She then goes back to the beginning and tells the story of her childhood, moving around all the time, mostly being practically homeless, her mom and dad never really having jobs, her dad as an alcoholic, etc. etc.

She has some truly amazing things happen in her life, this book is incredibly interesting. If you're like me, when you hear that someone wrote a "memoir," you're not really too interested, but this is a page turner. I really couldn't put it down. Like I said before, I made the mistake of starting this while I was still reading another book and had to force myself to finish the other one first.

One of the most remarkable things about this story is how she portrays her parents. She doesn't glamorize them at all, she tells it like it is, her mother's dramatic laziness, and her dad's alcoholism--but neither does she come across as bitter and angry, as many people would. She has an affection for them that the reader shares. By the end I would chuckle when her mom said something, thinking, "Oh, that is so like her." She really brought her family to life, and though you sympathize for their plight, you also kind of admire them. The thing I admired about her parents was their love of learning. They raised intelligent children because they had intelligent conversations about all sorts of things. There's a story in the book about how the mom was talking to someone else and mentioned Jackson Pollock, and the lady said, "I have Polish blood, so I don't appreciate you talking like that."

Mostly, they were pretty reprehensible parents, but the way she tells her life story made me love them too.

I give this a 5 out of 5 stars. I loved it.

The Zookeeper's Wife (Work in Progress)

This is a book that I picked up on a whim at Barnes and Noble. It is set in Poland during World War II and is the true story of a zoo transformed into a refuge for many Jews during the war. It is a work in progress because it has taken me over a month to finish. I have been distracted by other books (especially The Hunger Games Trilogy), but I keep coming back to it. It is not a "stay up all night to finish" book or a "I can't put it down" book, but it is a book that you will want to read because it has a good message. It is a book that reminds me there are good people doing good things in this world.