Read Any Good Books Lately?

For a while I was including the books I was reading in my posts, and then (as
things so often do) the whole thing fell apart.

I've still been reading books, however, so I would like to express some opinions
on them in case anyone is interested, which I assume you are not. Makes no
difference. Here we go:

The Memory Keeper's Daughter-- This book was very well written, and had many
interesting and beautiful parts. It seems to me, though, that maybe I would
have enjoyed it as a woman of 50. I can't say for sure. It's just that family
dramas, unless they are epic, excite me only enough to get to the end of the
book-- not necessarily to recommend the book to someone else... know what I
mean? For instance, I would recommend Anna Karenina-- and feel like I should
probably read it again myself. But not so much this book. Though it was good.
Hmm.

Cannery Row-- Did I tell everyone I read this book already? Well, I absolutely
loved it. Love John Steinbeck. Cannery Row is beautiful and an easy read. I
also finished East of Eden, which I had started many years ago. It has stuck with
me in many ways. Like I said, I'm just sort of in love with Steinbeck. Yes, I
think I did a post about these books already. Makes no difference.

American Originals-- this is what I'm reading now. It's a collection of book
reviews (basically) by Geoffrey Ward (the guy who writes scripts for Ken Burns
documentaries). I love these reviews because they are really mini essays--
Ward gives you a glimpse of the subject of the book he reviews-- biographies,
mostly-- and then if you want to know more (and he gives the book a
thumbs-up), you have recommended reading right there! So far I've read John
Sullivan, Frederick Douglass, Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, Fiorello La Guardia,
Shirley Temple, Harry Truman, Thomas Dewey-- they're only a few pages long,
but the essays give you a fantastic feel for these people and the times they lived
in. Really, bravo, Geoffrey Ward. I feel that as Americans we should know
these people. Our grandparents certainly did, and the more I read, the more I
understand. (What an obvious thing to say-- but really, how sad to know La
Guardia only as an airport!) And, yes, you could look them up on Wikipedia,
but how would you know which ones to look up? And isn't a book just more
fun?

Happy reading, everyone!

Posted by jvoris at September 28, 2007 10:49 AM