Catch Up!

Okay, I really stink at blogging.  I planned to blog on every book I read, but it ain't happening, folks!  So, here is a quick catch up:

Critical Condition by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele - A must read!  But be careful -- your blood pressure will sky rocket!  The authors competently prove why medicine cannot be operated like a Wall Street Fortune 500 Company.  And after revealing all that is wrong with modern medicine, they share their ideas of how to fix it. Enlightening!


The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - a delightful and encouraging experiment on how to find more happiness in your life even if you think you are already quite happy.  She even provides a web page with tools to start your own happiness project or a happiness project group.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby  - The author, in his late forties, is a victim of locked-in syndrome following a stroke.  Despite not being able to talk or move, he dictates this memoir by blinking his eyes.  I am told that it was made in to a movie, but I haven't seen it yet.  Really inspires you to overcome your own adversities - most are mild compared to Jean-Dominique's.

The Primal Teen by Barbara Strauch - a cerebral yet enlightening work especially if you live with teens!  I valued the information shared if not the bland style in which it was presented.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Story of three women in the south during the Civil Rights Movement - two black and one white - and the complexities of relationships between the white southern women and their black "help."

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse - a modern classic, was very timely for my own spiritual journey.  Philosophy in story form.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - I cannot believe I waited until I was 42 to read this book on teenage rebellion.  Ha Ha  At first, it moved slowly, but I so enjoyed Salinger's language and style.  It reminded me of the first book I read this year - The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Lisey's Story by Stephen King - My first Stephen King novel. (I read his memoir On Writing years ago.)  And I must say - I was enchanted!  Not just by the plot (which was wonderful), but by his style, his language, his insight into relationships.  Yeah - it was weird.  I mean, can Stephen King NOT be weird?  But is was a cool kind of weird -- like The Green Mile weird.  It has been a while since I read a novel that I was sad to say goodbye upon completion of the final page.  This was one of those stories...

I Don't Like My Neck by Nora Ephron - A witty little collection of essays on aging and other stuff...  By the way  - did you know Nora Ephron wrote You Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally?  And at times, I could pick up on those musing dialogues that speckle her works.  But this was - on the whole - a disappointment.  I expected to be guffawing a bit more - instead, I grew tired of her self-absorbed Manhattan life.  It was a quick read -- perhaps due to lack of substance.


Okay - so that is a very quick update.  I have completed 16 books as we enter week 20 of 2010 - four books behind.  But I will be going on a long car ride with Steve in a few weeks, so hopefully I can catch up!  Thanks for rooting me on!