Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Girl Who Lived

I'm happy to be able to make that statement in connection to my surgery last week. Didn't have the motivation or energy to do anything when I first got home, but have managed to get the bibliotherapy going in the past few days -- much nicer than the utter wasteland of satellite TV and a great comfort when - despite a longing I can taste - I cannot sleep.

The list so far:

Take This Bread - An interesting story of family legacies, the spiritual power of food, and faith.

Queen of Babble - Oh, Meg Cabot, the perfect fluff for the flagging soul and healing body!

The Omnivore's Dilemma - Completely fascinating - especially for a Midwestern girl from butcher stock - but I admit to skipping the chapters on animal cruelty & slaughter. Not up for images of blood or any other nausea-inducing stuff at present.

Rebel Heart - Imagined this as a guilty pleasure like the Des Barres groupie book - but instead got a portrait of a very lonely, sad, wasted life. Poor Liv - what a life.

Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit - Learned a bit about Audrey, but mainly read treacle from her son's analysis of her life. Great photos, though.

The Nanny Diaries - Didn't know if I could get past the first chapter - so much name and brand name dropping made me dizzy. Looks like the film is hyping the love angle. Most fun: right after finishing this I happened upon the Simpsons episode parodying Mary Poppins. Priceless.

The Burnt House - Always enjoy these. Serious police work (ie slow and methodical), real emotions, believable villains (ie no psychotic cannibals) and the infusion of Judaism all work.

Stuck in the 70's - Not what I expected. The sexual content was a surprise. But I enjoyed the denouement and did laugh at some of the anachronisms.

In Search of Mockingbird - A solid little book about a search for meaning and connection. The peripheral characters are charming and the heroine's "discovery" believable.

Resurrection Men - Wow. What a dark, disturbing book. Sheesh!

World of Pies - Flaky crust with lots of familiar ingredients. Tasty anyhow.

Call Me Hope - A bit didactic, but still a compelling heroine.

How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life - right up there with Meg Cabot for perfect post-surgery fluff.

First Light - An icy version of City of Ember.

Monkey Town - I love reading historical fiction about events of which I have precious little knowledge....

Finding Stinko - A mute street kid survives with the help of ventriloquism.

Way Down Deep - Orphan girl finds a new home, an old home and a new home again with the help of a cast of colorful mountain town residents.

Someone Like Summer - Romeo & Juliet in the Hamptons: flour face gal & Colombian illegal boy.

Invisible Lives - Luscious cross-cultural romance in a Seattle sari shop.

Does My Head Look Big in This? - Really great novel about Muslim teens in Australia.

Eclipse - Nothing like a giant vampire romance on a night without sleep.....

Size 12 Is Not Fat - Oh, Ms. Cabot - a series of girl detective mysteries? Delicous.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Heartbreaking and horrifying - but ultimately life-affirming.

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree - Quirky heroine attempts to solve the problems of 7th grade using cool logic and keen powers of observation - with interesting results.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'm glad to hear that the surgery went well. I hope that you have a speedy recovery. I'm sure it's unpleasant and painful, but I'm glad that you have the comfort of reading during the recovery. I hope you can sleep soon. Insomnia really sucks.