This will be an ongoing, ever changing (I hope) list. It’s kind of like a To Do list, so it won’t be all that precise (there may be misspellings, and I won’t have all the authors’ full names.) I’d love to hear your comments or reviews on any of these books or authors which you have already read.
Most of the books listed right now are either heavy or serious. I’d love recommendations for lighter reading. The only trouble is, I can’t stand fantasy, science fiction or unrealistic romance novels. Somewhere out there have to be books which are light reading, but which are relatively plausible. (I found The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency to be realistic, but fun and light. Any recommendations along that line would be appreciated.)
[Updated August 6, 2008] Here is the current list I’ve got on hand from my library visit last weekend (I doubt I’ll read all of these–I just like having a variety to choose from, so that whatever my mood is, there might be something interesting.):
What Now, by Ann Patchett (graduation speech)
Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited, by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, by Michael Pollan
Evening is the Whole Day (a novel set in Malaysia), by Preeta Samarasan
Her Last Death: A Memoir, by Susanna Sonnenberg
I Don’t Believe in Atheists, by Chris Hedges
Undiscovered, by Debra Winger (I checked this one out, because of this quote on the book jacket: “I love the work…and don’t much care for the business.” Who knows if I’ll read the rest of the book, but I wanted to keep pondering the quote and the easiest way to do it seemed to be to check the book out and write the quote out after I got home. So, there is is.)
The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion
Scientific American, June 2008 (I don’t understand most of the articles in this magazine, but I was particularly interested in one called “Trust Hormone: Neurobiology Reveals What Makes Us Connect”)
Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph, by C. Vivian Stringer and Laura Tucker.
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