'Animal Dreams' by Barbara Kingsolver

Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver (4)

This is the first Barbara Kingsolver book I have read, and I enjoyed it very much.  The story is told mainly from the voice of a daughter, with a few chapters by her father, a single parent raising two young girls. The oldest daughter, Codi, returns to her small hometown in Arizona to take care of her father, a very independent town doctor who has the first signs of dementia.  At the same time, her sister, with whom she is extremely close, has left for Nicaragua to work with the oppressed farmers of the country. What made this story more special than depressing were the interweaving stories of her family’s true background, the town’s Indian history, her sister’s exploits in the dangerous jungles of Nicaragua, and her attempts to find herself in all the puzzles.  Thrown in with all the drama are some beautifully described, pristine outdoor environments.  I found the main character broken, but likable.  I was rooting for her to ‘figure it out’ and be happy.  It was a good journey trying to get there.

'Bossypants' by Tina Fey

Bossypants, Tina Fey (4)

One of the things I enjoyed about this book (besides the many laughing-out-loud moments) was how authentic Tina Fey comes across.  Many famous, talented people talk about their slice of life moments, but you can read the nanny-money-solves-all-problems between the lines.  With Tina, it is easy to see her awkwardness as a child, dealing with issues of a woman in a traditionally male role, and as a new mom struggling with breast-feeding.  In her usual clever, funny, self-deprecating way, she describes everyday issues many of us have faced.  I guess that will make reading this book slightly cathartic for most people.  While the book is pointed more towards women, her tales of SNL and responses to her critics (the Chapter ‘Dear Internet’ is exquisite!), can be enjoyed by all.  For a comic who had a witty pen, but was never a chameleon known for her impressions, who knew there would be the uncanny resemblance to a short-term political firework?  Get read to laugh and enjoy.

'Packing For Mars' by Mary Roach

Packing For Mars, Mary Roach (3)

‘Packing for Mars’ is Ms. Roach’s most recent non-fiction book, which mixes humor and science.  Her earlier books include ‘Stiff’ (dying and cadavers), ‘Bonk’ (sex), and ‘Spook’ (the afterlife) all covering the subjects from a science perspective with a light-hearted voice.  This book looks back on the preparations and issues concerning putting people in space while looking forward towards the new challenges of preparing to put humans on Mars.  Her first lines prepare you for the issues she will cover: ‘To the rocket scientist, you are a problem. You are the most irritating piece of machinery he or she will ever have to deal with.  You and your fluctuating metabolism, your puny memory, your frame that comes in a million different configurations.’  Most of the book is peppered with interesting and funny tidbits about NASA and the various space programs (i.e. Gemini, Apollo).  Several chapters should not be read while eating (Chapter 6: Throwing Up and Down, The Astronaut’s Secret Misery and Chapter 14: Separation Anxiety, The Continuing Saga of Zero-Gravity Elimination to name two).  While quite gross, they did have some laugh out loud moments.  I did think that she dwelt on the smelly and unseemly a bit too much and I lost track of the goal (getting ready for Mars) part way through.  She did wrap it up nicely at the end with an argument for a Mars space program, that all us science-bent people would like!

'SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper' by Howard E. Wasdin & Stephen Templin

SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper, Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin (3)

This book had the random and fortunate timing of being published in May 2011, almost coincident with the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden by a present day SEAL Team Six.  While many are familiar with the SEAL groups (US Navy’s elite SEa, Air and Land commandos), until last May, many were not aware of the further demarcation of the SEAL Team Six. Similar to the Army Ranger’s Delta Force, SEAL Team Six is the elite of the elite.  Top SEAL’s are encouraged to undergo further training and become part of this group.  Howard Wasdin became an elite Navy SEAL sniper and joined SEAL Team Six.  In this book he recounts several of his major engagements, including the Battle of Mogadishu, with extreme tactical detail.  While I found much of the book to be interesting, I had some issues with the writing style.  He describes so many parts of each assignment before and during the action that I wasn’t clear on what level of importance each piece of information had on the overall picture.  As a sniper, he was trained to observe, but I don’t think this lends itself to an easily readable prose.  It felt like staccato bursts of streams of consciousness.  I did get a good idea of the strength, discipline and teamwork that the SEALs attain and how hard they work to achieve it. 

Book club books - Rob Lowe Memoir and 'Wuthering Heights'

Secrets I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe (3)

Our book club was unanimous in our view that this book was an enjoyable, fast-paced read.  We held back a little on the rating as it read like a People magazine: enjoyable but not exactly to be classified as literature.  Mr. Lowe has a remarkably upbeat voice as he discusses his professional career and describes his frankly shocking number of encounters with famous people.  Part of the fun of the book is re-living the 80’s from his perspective of an innocent young actor becoming an icon of our young adulthood.  It is also enjoyable to see him tackle his demons and work his way into a reinvigorated career and very happy (and appreciated) family life.  The title is interesting as he is telling secrets concerning many iconic actors, but he definitely does not ‘open the kimono’ fully.  His writing style is somewhat detached and disassociated.  You get the impression that you are reading about events, but have been held at arms length from his emotions.  That is certainly his prerogative, and somewhat his point as he says he fights the urge to always be ‘the actor’.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (4)

Of the sisters Bronte, the majority of us prefer Charlotte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ with Jane, an original strong woman character. While an exquisitely written classic, ‘Wuthering Heights’ has the slight problem of lacking any likable characters!  The main character, Heathcliff, is extremely unpleasant, spending the majority of his life making innocent people miserable.  It’s a testament to Emily’s writing that we can see into and beyond the characters and can appreciate the book without liking them.  It’s quite shocking to think of a young woman of her background in the mid 1800’s creating these real, yet disturbing characters.  I read this book in my teens and thought, as an adult, I would appreciate the love story of Heathcliff and Catherine more.  This was the case.  As a teen, I could not understand how Catherine could choose money and position over her love and best friend (ah, the innocence of youth!).  While I still dislike the choice, I do understand the factors of society and history that would simply make the choice of Heathcliff impossible.  This, of course, drives his anger and frustration of not being the ‘heir’, and makes his actions more understandable if no less abhorrent.  You do see some of Emily’s femininity and youth coming through at the end with a slightly happy and succinct ending than you would expect. Overall, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is an excellent, though dark, classic similar to those by Thomas Hardy.