Now reading…
Elegy for Easterly. By Petina Gappah.
Best American Essays 2008. Edited by Adam Gopnik
The Writing Circle. By Rozena Maart.
Recently finished…
His Illegal Self. By Peter Carey. Loved it.
28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. By Stephanie Nolen. Narrative journalism at its best.
The Maternal is Political. Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong. I got a bit weary of the all-American focus, but nonetheless enjoyed almost all of the forty+ essays. Favourites were by Margaret McConnell, Violeta Garcia-Mendoza, Jennifer Margulis, J. Anderson Coats and Cindy Sheenan.
Jump and Other Stories. By Nadine Gordimer. You know, tough going. But worth it.
More. Population, Nature and What Women Want. By Robert Engelman. The author argues that women, across cultures and throughout history, want fewer children. Giving women the freedom to make that choice will likely stabilize world population and lessen our environmental woes. My short review will appear in Alternatives Journal.
Cry, the Beloved Country. By Alan Paton. Just read it!
Three Letter Plague (also called Sizwe’s Test). By Jonny Steinberg. An account of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Steinberg tries to understand why a young man (Sizwe) is so reluctant to test for HIV. A huge insight (for me) into part of South African culture and a sensitive, important account of the role of local knowledge in this epidemic. Well worth reading.
The Cellist of Sarajevo. By Steven Galloway. A story of dignity in war based on a true story. And a riveting read.
The Minds of Boys. By Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens. Couldn’t get all the way through this but got the main idea: boys are fundamentally different than girls and should be educated as such.
Twin Set. Moms of Multiples Share Survive and Thrive Secrets. By Christina Boyle & Cathleen Stahl. See my review.
Atonement. By Ian McEwan. I bought this to read on the plane during our journey from Canada to South Africa. I cracked the cover only after living here six months. Okay story. Not as psychological as I would have liked. I never really understood or sympathized with Briony. Great movie though.
Run. By Ann Patchett. As beautiful as Bel Canto.
It’s a Boy. Women Writers on Raising Sons. Edited by Andrea J. Buchanan. I picked up this book to learn more about how mothers write. I didn’t expect insight on sons - but found it.
What is the What. By Dave Eggers. A fictionalized memoir of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the many “Lost Boys” of the Sudanese civil war. A tale worth telling and reading. I found it a bit of a slog at times, but then so was Deng’s journey.
The Road. By Cormac McCarthy. One of the best novels I have read.
Momma Zen. Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood. By Karen Maezen Miller. From now on, essential reading. Helps put all the struggles into perspective.
Eat, Pray, Love. By Elizabeth Gilbert. You’ve probably read it too.
The Film Club. By David Gilmour. A father (Gilmour) attempts to help his teenage, high-school-drop-out son by watching films together. Insight into the male teenage brain and a reminder of the importance of talking with your kids.
Heat. By Bill Buford. Actually, I didn’t quite finish this book. I would have loved it five years ago. But pregnancy and childbirth have changed me (permanently, it seems) from a choosy eater to a downright squeamish one. Reading about the smell of boiling tripe was just too much.
