2013 - 51 - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa

51 - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa
WHY I PICKED IT: I enjoyed an OpEd by her on Al Jazeera's website, and wanted to read more
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING:REQUIRED READING

This book may be one of my favourite all time stories.  I have to wait a few days (or years) to see how the story sticks with me, but my gut perspective is that this story is simply brilliant.

In 1955, Amal is born in Jenin, a refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestine.  This is her story. Starting with her grandparents and parents and the movement of Jewish people into the region.  The creation of Israel and the Naqba.  Her own birth experiences of growing up in a refugee camp in the shadow of Israel, including the Six Day War in 1967, through to her adult life in the USA, Lebanon, and the impact those experiences had on her as a parent, and a human.

The story and characters draw you in, but the depths of emotion make this a difficult (although brilliant) read.  This is explained well when Amal's sister-in-law explains: "Consider fear.  For us, fear comes where terror comes to others because we are anesthetized to the guns constantly pointed at us.  And the terror we have known is something few Westerners ever will."

Abulhawa writes in her acknowledgements that one driver for her was Dr. Edward Said, who lamented that the Palestinian narrative was lacking in literature. This, beautifully written story, makes great strides in filling that gap.  It gives voice to the experience of millions.

2013-50 - The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden

50 - The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden
WHY I PICKED IT: I read everything by Joseph Boyden
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Weeks
RATING:REQUIRED READING

I believe history is best written by the people it represents.  More so in fiction where these is a tendency to paint with a broad brush people who are not "your own."  Joseph Boyden, whose background includes First Nations and an education at a Jesuit school writes both sides very well, with characters who are complex and nuanced.

The Orenda is the story of 3 people - Snow Fields is an Iroquois girl whose family is killed and who is adopted by Bird, the Huron leader who is responsible for their death.  Bird is a great warrior who is trying to build his people up through trade with the French.  Finally, Christophe is a Jesuit missionary who lives with the Huron people dedicated to learning their language and culture so that he may save their souls.  I particularly enjoyed the recognition by Christophe that the treatment of prisoners, although barbaric, was no more so than by the Inquisition or than during the Crusades.

Through trading summers and hibernating winters, through weddings and births, skirmishes and wars, you live with these three, experiencing the massive changes that are impacting their world.

2013-49 - People Around Here, by Dave Lapp

49 - People Around Here, by Dave Lapp
WHY I PICKED IT: Bought it at the Word on the Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Week
RATING: Meh

This book is a series of comic strips showing snippets of conversation that Dave has overheard around Toronto.  Interesting at first, it evolves into conversations that Dave has participated in around Toronto... and that is where I lost my interest.  Dave's life was simply not that interesting to me.

2013-48 - Band Aid for a Broken Leg, by Damien Brown

48 - Band Aid for a Broken Leg, by Damien Brown
WHY I PICKED IT: It's about an MSF Doc
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Very Good

Damien Brown is an Aussie doc who decides to volunteer for a year.  Starts in Thailand, and then joins MSF and goes to Angola.  The year up, he returns to his Western Hospital for (I'm guessing is) less than a year, before returning to the field: Mozambique, Somalia, and Sudan.  This is the story of the tremendous highs, the low lows, and the challenges that I see many of my friends experiencing.

It's well written - bringing the reader up to date on the context, without taking away from the experience.
- I loved how the Angolan Staff would sleep through their monthly reports, but listen intently, take notes and ask questions about MSF missions elsewhere, with compassion and engagement.
- I really appreciated how Damien wished that he could have stronger relationships with his National Staff, but recognized that the wealth and power imbalance would always make him an outsider.
- I appreciated how he asks tough questions about the value of Humanitarian Relief efforts, but gives credit to MSF for asking the same questions.

 I would recommend this book to anybody considering joining MSF as a field worker.  The stresses and experiences are well articulated and insightful.

2013-47 - War is a Racket, by Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler

47 - War is a Racket, by Brigadier General Smedley D. Butler
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Jess
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Good

Smedley D. Butler was a career soldier for the US Marine Corps, with tours in the Philippines, China, Central America, Caribbean, and France (WWI).  After his career, he became an outspoken critic of US foreign policy (that is largely directed at protecting their capitalist interests at the cost of foot soldiers), believing in isolationism rather than engagement in the world at large.

This collection of essays is reasonably interesting:

a) He articulates how the capitalists' profits increase dramatically during wartime, at the expense of the American People (who's National Debt increases dramatically).  He provides many examples of corporations (with their incomes before and during WWI).

b) He articulates a 3-point plan to reduce war:
          (i) take the profit out of war by conscripting necessary resources from Capitalists (before conscripting soldiers);
          (ii) only able bodied men (potential soldiers) can vote on whether or not the country should go to war (because they're the ones who will!); and
          (iii) military forces must be limited to home defense purposes (ships kept to within 200 miles of US shores, and aircraft to 750 miles).  Embedded within this is a release of US territories in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and even considers the non-protection of Hawaii and Alaska.

The isolationism seems amusing in this time of integrated economies, but the idea of conscripting resources before sending soldiers out is one that I greatly enjoy!

2013-46 - Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell

46 - Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell
WHY I PICKED IT: I enjoyed Outliers a lot and recommended by my cousin Aaseem
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING:Very Good

Malcolm Gladwell is a fantastic storyteller.  Blink makes the argument that our subconscious sometimes makes better decisions than conscious analysis, and that there is a time and place for both.  I was quite heartened to learn that he leveraged Gary Klein's research - as I read Klein's book on decision theory a decade ago and found it to be very interesting (if not as well told)... and this is where Gladwell's ability to tell a story, and link it to an argument about how we process information and make decisions, comes into play.

I thought about summarizing the key points here, but without the examples and context, it would truly not do the book any justice.  If you like applied theory as it relates to human behaviour, this book is a great read!

2013-45 - Pity the Billionaire, by Thomas Frank

45 - Pity the Billionaire, by Thomas Frank
WHY I PICKED IT: Bought it at the Word on the Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: Meh

Thomas Frank asking a very interesting question.   How is it that the economic collapse of the 2008 bring about the resurgence of the conservative right?  And he brings about a few great points:

a) Conservative (corporate) media has focused on economy boosting measures that help the population while ignoring those that bail out large corporations (saying the latter are "necessary").  As such, people's focus has been to say "why should my tax dollars bail out my neighbor who lived beyond their means," rather than ask "why are we keeping the structures that resulted in this type of epic failure?

b)  By lumping all business-people in one bucket, the Tea Party lumps all government oversight into one bucket.  That means the safety and environmental inspectors that oversee large corporations are viewed as negatively as the food inspectors that small business owners do not like.  It's a false comparison, but one that has taken hold.

c) The wealthy within the conservative movement has in fact grouped themselves with the masses, and identified the intelligentsia and the government as "the other."  So rather than the wealthy (who took insane risks to make insane returns) being blamed for economic downfall, it is the educated and the government who feels the wrath.

d) If you limit your research of the 1930s Depression to the internet, then you would believe that it was the government who limited growth.  The numbers, however, do not match that.  FDR's new deal brought about economic growth in terms of GDP that have been the highest in US history (excluding that driven my military action).

With all of these good points (and more), why am I only rating the book as "meh"?  Because it doesn't even think about starting us down a path of how to tackle this preposterous situation, and it's remarkably dry!  It's not written in a manner that is engaging or draws you in.  I do not recommend this book.

I should add that I appreciate how he calls out Obama for turning over the economy to  Wall Street rather than following the approach taken by FDR which was to bail out companies where necessary, and put a lot of money into the economy... but in smaller amounts and in the hands of a broad number of people in a cross-section of industries.  FDR also presided over the implementation of Glass-Steagall Act, which broke up big bangs through the Glass Steagall Act (a law which protected the market from a banking oligopoly, until Clinton repealed it).

2013-44 - Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea

44 - Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Nushin
ELAPSED TIME: 1 day
RATING: Not Good

Ugh.  This book had such a fantastic premise.  To peel back the curtain and show the inner workings of women's life in Riyadh.  And the introduction boosted that expectation, where the author acknowledged that it wasn't representative of all women in Riyadh, and that many women are looking to find their own feminism - that keeps the good from their faith and culture while discarding that which does not work for them.

Sadly, the book didn't hold up.  Told as if released in a series of e-mails through 2004 and into early 2005, the author of the emails started out as an interesting character in her own right... only to descend into wanting the fame that was associated with these emails.  And her stories, the main story of this novel, ... ugh!

The characters were one-dimensional - how Hemingway would write, were he a Saudi Woman - where men are either good or bad, strong or weak... not struggling with the same cultural forces that the women are (albeit with a lot more freedoms).  And worse, the protagonists, were written so as to fill a category:
a) Gamrah - Who conforms to cultural expectation, and gets married out of high school.
b) Sadeem - Who stays with the guy who won't marry her.
c) Lamees - Who pursued an education, and found the husband of her dreams.
d) Michelle - Who spent time in America and who doesn't conform to societal pressures to break free.

Save your time, there are more interesting stories out there.

2013-43 - The Birth House, by Ami McKay

43 - The Birth House, by Ami McKay
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Alexis
ELAPSED TIME: 5 days
RATING: Very Good

This is a lovely story.  Of Dora Rare.  The only girl with 5 brothers, raised in Nova Scotia.  She becomes a midwife, and grows up during The Great War.  This is a story of gender, of class, and ultimately of making (rather than finding) your place.

The story is lovely - interlacing traditional narrative, Dora's diary entries, newspaper clippings, and letters to and from Dora... The last of which included quotes by French novelist George Sand that I quite enjoyed:  "The World will know and understand me someday.  But if that day does not arrive, it does not greatly matter.  I shall have opened the way for other women."

All in all, a really warm book with characters that I let into my heart.

2013-42 - Chasing Chaos, by Jessica Alexander

42 - Chasing Chaos, by Jessica Alexander
WHY I PICKED IT: My friend Vicky knows the author
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Wow.  I loved this book.  Jessica tells her story... from naive first missioner going to Rwanda (2003), then her two stints in Darfur (2005), Sri Lanka and Indonesia (2005), Sierra Leone (2006/7), and Haiti (2010).  With a broad range of experiences in humanitarian relief, Jessica takes us through her story.  I won't ruin them in this review, but I do love that she addresses a few key themes that all aid workers I know have experienced and considered:

a) The difficulty of adjusting to life in the field the first time you go out.  And the challenge of fitting back in when you go "home" and how it's easier to go out.  The difference between having a life (living a somewhat balanced existence doing work you enjoy) and making a life (all of that and planning a future).

b) The question of value being delivered to the population in crisis.  And the abnormal relationship between aid worker and recipient (unlike government or business, the aid worker is not beholden to their "customer," they are beholden to the donor).

c) The unintended economic impact of humanitarian relief (from the balance of providing relief, but not to a standard higher than those in the region who do not qualify because they were not impacted by the natural disaster / war / incident, to hiring local doctors and teachers to serve as NGO drivers and translators, and to the inflationary impact to rent in East Jerusalem as that is where the UN employees choose to live)

d) The people who you encounter (burnt out colleagues, underpaid national staff, recipients of aid, friends).

If you donate money to humanitarian crises, read this book.  If you ever want to "go and help for a few weeks," read this book and reconsider :).  Most of all, if you want to do field work, this book should be required reading.

2013-41 - Turning Forty, by Mike Gayle

41 - Turning Forty, by Mike Gayle
WHY I PICKED IT: It's by Mike Gayle
ELAPSED TIME: 2 days
RATING: Meh

Mike Gayle has a niche and a formula.  Write about a bloke who is at a crossroads in life / relationships and take the reader through a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant tale that ends well.  It'll never change your life, but it'll serve as lighthearted entertainment.

Don't know if it's because the book is hitting too close to home (almost 40, no real plan), or if the book is just a bit less than everything else of his... but I did not enjoy reading this book.

2013-40 - In The Eyes of Others, by Catherine Abou Sada

40 - In The Eyes of Others, by edited by Catherine Abou Sada
WHY I PICKED IT: It's an MSF Publication
ELAPSED TIME: 2 weeks
RATING: Good

This is a book of essays, ostensibly as a study of how people in crisis perceive humanitarian aid.  For much of the book, it was a struggle.  It seemed to be MSF gazing at its own navel, and not broadly considering humanitarianism.  There were some well formed analyses of the confluence of military action with (purported) humanitarian objectives and the implications thereof.  All in all, a struggle to get through, but a generally good read.

The final essay, however, was very very good.  Antonio Donini's essay, titled "Humanitarianism, Perceptions, Power" is a thought provoking piece that highlights the good: the nuanced understanding of NGOs and their neutrality; and, the universality of humanitarian ideals.  And the bad: the top-down, and externally driven approach which offers little space for local participation (beyond some minimal consultation).

The imbalance between the Aid Worker and the Recipient is driven by relative wealth and power.  So although the humanitarian is trying to stand on the side of the vulnerable and powerless, they bring their own baggage that includes Western forms of organization, concepts of management, technical standards, and values, and even when the outcome is positive, it is important to note that the encounter happens on the terms of the outsider.  This approach must change, to allow "perspectives other than the dominant Western universalist discourse to emerge and be heard."

2013-39 - Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. possible?, by Mary-Alice Waters

39 - Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. possible?, by Mary-Alice Waters
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Not Good

This book of (3) essays, taken from speeches at the Venezuela Book Fairs in 2007 and 2008 is an argument of why a socialist revolution is not only possible, but probable.  Unfortunately, although they do make good points about the fight from the immigrants perspective, and the need for cross-race support, I do not believe they adequately (a) define the meaning of what is a socialist revolution, and (b) describe how it would come about.

I bought another book at the fair, called Pity the Billionaire, outlining how the disastrous collapse of the free market economy in 2008 heralded a popular revival of the right... perhaps this will be a better read.

2013-38 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce

38 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Ling Sian
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good

Harold Fry, a retiree in Southern England receives a letter from an old friend one morning, she is saying goodbye to him from a hospice in North England.  Harold writes her a quick note, and then walks to the post box to send it to her.  He skips the first box, ... and the second one, and the post office in town, and finds himself walking to see his friend himself.

Over 87 days and 600 miles of walking we experience Harold's life through his memories.  His childhood, his career, his friendship with Queenie, his relationship with his son, and the relationship with his wife.  We also see how Harold grows through the experience of walking, and can watch the re-development of the love for his wife.

This is the second book recommended to me by Ling Sian (the other being One Day, by David Nichols), and both were character driven love stories spanning distances between the couple.  They are also dominated by characters who will seep their way into your consciousness... people who I will miss now that the story is done.

2013-37 - Generation NGO, edited by Alisha Nicole Apale and Valerie Stam

37 - Generation NGO, edited by Alisha Nicole Apale and Valerie Stam
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 10 Days
RATING: Very Good

This book, 10 essays detailing first experiences in the developing world, is fantastic.  It offers a reminder on ways to interact with those who live in the developing world, on the value that a young Westerner offers, on the challenges of fitting in “there” and the resulting challenge of fitting in “here.”  It’s about finding your path, and about the friendships that form.

I highly recommend this book to … gosh, anybody who has worked in the developing world (the book will serve as a reminder of your (first) experiences.  Or anybody who wants to work there (to see how others have done it).  Or anybody who has a passion for learning about other people and their experiences.  Or anybody.  (I really enjoyed this book!)

2013-36 - Ostrich, by Matt Greene

36 - Ostrich, by Matt Greene
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 4 Days
RATING: Not Good

This is the story of Alex, a 10-year old (-ish) kid in England.  He has a hamster named Jaws 2 (in that Jaws the original died), a girl that he likes... and brain cancer.  The book is supposed to make you fall in love with him as he goes through the experiences of growing up while enduring something extremely challenging, yet being "normal".

I didn't.  Book wasn't very good at all.

2013-35 - Kalashnikov AK 47, by Gideon Burrows

35 - Kalashnikov AK47, by Gideon Burrows
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Day
RATING: Good

This short book included some really interesting facts about the AK47:
a) The USA purchased 10,000 of them and sent them to Iraq and Afghanistan to arm their military and police
b) They purchased the guns from an Eastern European manufacturer, in violation of the patent (owned by a Russian State-Owned manufacturer)
c) American soldiers in Vietnam used to pick them up from dead Viet Cong, because they work much better than their Colt M16.
d) 88% of the world's arms exports are from the USA ($14 billion), UK ($4.6 billion), France ($3.4 billion), Russia ($3.4 billion), and China ($0.5 billion) - not coincidentally also the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council.
e) Oman, Syria, Myanmar, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea and Burundi each spend more on their military than they do on education and health combined.  Another 14 developing countries spend more on military than they do on education and health (separately).

Despite making general statements about the impact of the gun on civilian populations (in terms of deaths and rape, as well as the difficulty in coming to peace when small arms are readily available and ridiculously cheap), they provided little hard data on that (prices for new / used AK47s in different countries was a bit anecdotal rather than carefully collected).

Overall, interesting as a quick read, but nothing special.

2013-34 - River of Smoke, by Amitav Ghosh

34 - River of Smoke, by Amitav Ghosh
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 5 Days
RATING: Good

The second book in Ghosh's trilogy about the opium wars, this book was a lot more history and not enough fiction.  The protagonists failed to capture my heart.

One interesting (and redeeming) feature by Bahram, the Indian businessman whose fortune was tied to the British, was the acknowledgement that the Westerners only speak of Free Trade when it benefits them... and when the opposition is winning, they rely on their government to step in and protect their space in the market.

All in all, I won't recommend this book... and likely will forget the characters and storyline in short order.

2013-33 - It's My Choice, by Somya Singh, Maryum Anis, and Farrah Khan

33 - It's My Choice, by Somya Singh, Maryum Anis, and Farrah Khan
WHY I PICKED IT: Free book
ELAPSED TIME: <1 Day
RATING: Good

This illustrated novel is really three short novellas about Maya, Karina and Ash (respectively)... and about various scenarios that could result in a Forced Marriage (the topic of the conference).  A hard topic that I learned a lot about; the book is a really simple way of showing what can happen and what choices are available to you.

2013-32 - Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh

32 - Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 5 Days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

Wow!  This story is engaging.  Multiple interlinked stories - The widowed opium farmer.  The bankrupt raja.  The white orphan girl whose parents died in India, and her "brother," the orphan son of her wet nurse.  The carpenter turned sailor.  All aboard an old slaving ship.

Amitav Ghosh's tale is gripping and engaging.  The backdrop is realistic and troublesome (a believable picture of India during Colonialism and the Opium Wars), and all of the characters have depth (albeit, without flaws), and you want to root for each of them.

2013-31 - Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

31 - Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Emily
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Very Good

This is a really interesting read.  Gladwell tries to show that success is more than a product of intelligence and ambition.  Hard work and passion are key components, but so are culture, timing, and opportunity.

Timing - Being born early in the cutoff is a benefit that carries forward in both athletics and academics.  5 year olds who are born in January are more likely to be considered advanced than those born in December (either as hockey players or as students)... and are more likely to get advanced coaching or advanced placement - resulting in added coaching and support that gives them an even greater advantage.

Hard Work - A lot of studies show that talent and innate ability are actually hurdles rather than on a continuum.  Once you have enough talent (IQ or athletic ability), it's actually a tonne of hard work that gets you from Good to Great... about 10,000 hours seems to be the magic number.

Would recommend this book to parents, as there is a lot in here that is relevant to positioning your kids for success.

2013-30 - The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

30 - The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by a saleslady in the book store
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Days
RATING: Meh

A middle aged man comes to his childhood home for a funeral, and visits the house of a friend who lived down the lane.  What follows is his memory of an adventure they shared (involving other worlds and something that is not quite magic).

I finished this feeling the same as I do when I finish a book by Murakami: A bit confused.  The difference is that with Haruki Murakami, I enjoy the book a bit more.  This is not a bad read, but I wouldn't recommend this book because there are much better books out there.

2013-29 - Everybody has Everything, by Katrina Onstad

29 - Everybody has Everything, by Katrina Onstad
WHY I PICKED IT: Saw it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good

Ana and James have a quiet marriage.  Unable to have kids, and with a plodding marriage, they live their lives... until their friend Marcus dies and Sarah is in a coma... and 2-year-old Finn is thrust into their lives.

This book is an honest study in their emotional and professional failings.  Too honest perhaps, redeemed with the warmth of the ending.

A decent read, perhaps, but many better books out there.

2013-XX - I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb

XX - I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb
WHY I PICKED IT:  Recommended by my friend Sherri
ELAPSED TIME: 2 Days
RATING: Not Good.

I know this much is true: 2 days and 90 pages into this book, I am not invested enough in either brother enough to want to know what happens to them over the next 800 pages... but I did flip to the back and read the final two chapters to see how it ends :).

2013-28 - Lost in Shangri-La, by Mitchell Zuckoff

28 - Lost in Shangri-La, by Mitchell Zuckoff
WHY I PICKED IT:  Recommended by my friend Sherri
ELAPSED TIME: 6 Days
RATING: Very Good

In mid-May 1945 a plane with 24 American service men and women crashed in a beautiful valley within Dutch New Guinea.  Three survivors, badly injured, made it out.  This, meticulously researched tale, is their story.  Zuckoff interviewed those who contributed to getting them out, interviewed the indigenous population who were there, read US Army documents, diaries, and looked at photos and film footage to piece together the story of those who lost their lives, those who contributed to the survivor's return home, and of course, the story of the survivors.

This book was very very good.  If you enjoy travel adventure, you must read Lost in Shangri-La.

2013-27 - Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

27 - Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
WHY I PICKED IT:  I read everything by Adichie
ELAPSED TIME: 4 Days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

What can I say?  Wow.

Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love while attending high school in Lagos, Nigeria.  Ifemelu goes to the USA for university, and Obinze eventually works his way into England.  They ultimately both return to Nigeria.  This is their story.

This story gives insight into the black immigrant experience (where race and class collide), and into the middle class returner's experience (where fitting in either place is now a challenge)... but more than those, it is a love story of two smart and capable people who you can't help but love (warts and all).

I continue to be a HUGE fan of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  Highly recommend.

2013-26 - One Last Thing Before I Go, by Jonathan Tropper

26 - One Last Thing Before I Go, by Jonathan Tropper
WHY I PICKED IT:  I read everything by Tropper
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Very Good

Aging almost-rock star Drew Silver is divorced, barely speaks to his daughter, and scrapes by on the residuals from one song that he wrote years earlier.  Silver also has a heart condition requiring surgery to save his life.  But why?  Silver is unhappy and doesn't see the point in existing simply for the sake of existing... so he rejects the surgery and makes a list of things to do
1) Be a better father
2) Be a better man
3) Fall in love
4) Die

What starts out as a sad tale morphs into a warm and funny tale of a guy who is trying to do right while the mini-strokes have him putting (unintended) voice to the narration of his mind.  A really enjoyable read; highly recommend (especially if you like Nick Hornby and his ilk).

2013-25 - The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

25 - The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
WHY I PICKED IT:  Recommended by my friend Joanne
ELAPSED TIME: 1 week
RATING: Very Good

Celia's Dad commits her to a competition when she's still a child.  Marco is plucked out of an orphanage to compete against her.  Taught as magicians and illusionists, they are committed to a competition from which they cannot quit.  The arena is a black and white circus, that opens at dusk and goes all night... almost every night for years.

This book was fantastic.  It sucked me into the story and captivated me; the only critique being that I don't really like books that go for 500+ pages.  I don't want to ruin the book, so that's all I'll write.  Highly recommend it.

2013-24 - Billy Lynn`s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain

24 - Billy Lynn`s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain
WHY I PICKED IT:  Saw it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 3 days
RATING: Good

Billy Lynn, aged 19, signed up for the US Army and was deployed to Iraq.  Following a firefight that was caught on camera by a Fox crew, he and his squad are sent on a tour of the USA to promote the war.  The annual Thanksgiving Dallas Cowboys football game is the last stop... before they redeploy back to Iraq for their remaining 11 months.

This is a really well written story... of a kid who was pushed into the military, who loves the camaraderie, but doesn't know much else.  Over the course of the day, you learn why he signed up, what happened in the firefight, and how his squad views the world.  It's a melancholy tale that is quite well written, but will ultimately be quite forgettable.

2013-23 - The 100-year-old Man who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson

23 - The 100-year-old Man who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson
WHY I PICKED IT:  Recommended by my friend Tess
ELAPSED TIME: 1 week
RATING: Meh

If you enjoyed Forrest Gump, you might enjoy this story.  Alan Karlsson escapes from his nursing home on his hundredth birthday... and has another adventure.   The story alternates between the present-day adventure (which includes stealing a large sum of money from drug dealers and going on the run) and Alan's exciting life (which is a bit Gump-ish - Saves Franco's life in Spain, helps the USA and then Russia develop the atomic bomb, participates in the Chinese Cultural Revolution... amongst others).

The story is supposed to be funny.  Unfortunately, I found it a bit tedious.  Meh.

2013-22 - The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

22 - The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
WHY I PICKED IT:  Saw it in a book store
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: REQUIRED READING

This (quick read) is a lovely little story.  Told in the first person, Dr. Don Tillman is a genetics professor who has a brilliant mind, but very limited social skills.  At age 39 he decides to embark on The Wife Project - a questionnaire designed to help him identify a mate.  Rosie Jarman is not that person, failing to pass the threshold requirements on several fronts.  But she needs help from a geneticist to identify her father... and so The Wife Project gets put on hold in order to pursue The Father Project.

Not going to ruin the book with more detail.  If you're looking for a light summer read that will leave you with a smile on your face, read this book :)

2013-21 - Meat Market, by Laurie Penny

21 - Meat Market, by Laurie Penny
WHY I PICKED IT:  Loved her other book, so bought this
ELAPSED TIME: 4 days
RATING: Good

This short book is a collection of academic essays on feminism.

The first one, on societal view of female sexuality is quite good.

The second, a study on eating disorders is actually quite fantastic.  Did you know that (some) people with eating disorders aren’t doing it to be more attractive (they know that being too skinny makes them less attractive), but to make themselves invisible?

The third essay is a study on the definition of femininity and feminism.  To be honest, when Penny started a commentary on how some feminists reject transsexuals, I started skim reading…

The final essay is a study on opportunity and salary with many interesting thoughts:
(a) A quote by Juliet Mitchell that reads: “The most elementary demand is not the right to work or receive equal pay for work, but the right to receive equal work itself.”
(b) Despite 100 years of feminist movement, men do 5 hours of domestic work per week, while women do nineteen.  And if American women were paid for this work, it would cost the equivalent to six times the US military budget (!).

(c) Men see dirt and understand the work, but simply refuse to support… making it a true war of the genders.

(d) Many women are passing the buck… hiring house cleaners (poor women), who are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to power (being unable to hire a cleaner themselves).

All in all, not as good as her book on dissent and protests, but a decent read.  I’ll continue to follow Laurie Penny.