My Bookish Babe and a Short List

My wife like me and three of my four other personalities including the debonair, charming, witty, man-about-town who made only one appearance back in 1972 signing books at The Tattered Cover... while the actual author was on a break... is a reader. I define a reader as someone who, at roughly age ten, read a book and has had one at arm's reach ever since. The difference between she and I is that my wife reads fast and also her arms are shorter so she saves a lot of time that way. Now when I say she reads fast, think of Evelyn Wood on speed. Think of that Japanese kid eating hot dogs at Coney Island on the 4th of July. No don't think of that, that kid's disgusting, just take my word for it, my wife reads fast. She is also not particular about what she reads as long as the book is not horrible. This means, of course, that her reading list is somewhat different than mine. If I had to estimate I would say my wife reads three books for each one I polish off. Maybe three and a half. Okay four, but some of them are real skinny. So when you see my list of 25 completed books at the bottom of this page, you will know that my wife has buzz-sawed through, let me do the calculations here...a lot more. I am a word for word reader which means I read them all, even the little ones. I read at about the same speed as I talk. My wife claims to be a word for worder as well, but if she spoke at the same speed she reads, I'm thinking auctioneers would stand and applaud and drug companies would be knocking down our door to sign her up for those disclaimers they use at the end of their ads. "Side effects may include pain, debilitation, death and please donate to the Republican Party." You know, those. Luckily, for my wife anyway, there are many books to be read. The Library of Congress has at least eleven or twelve she hasn't gotten to yet. And new ones are being written everyday. Hurry up, I say to the book writers. The pile at her arm's reach is getting precariously low.

My wife took a second (literally!) to read this and said, "I am too particular about what I read."
So there you have that.

Here's my list:

Book List 2006


1. The Book of Secrets Deepak Chopra Non Fiction Essays on achieving a spiritual life of peace, free of fear, doubt, uncertainty, anger, etc. This is a book to return to often.

2. On Bullshit Harry G. Frankfurt A 67 page essay on the nature of BS that reads like a doctoral dissertation. Could have been amusing, but wasn’t, isn’t.

3. Horse Heaven Jane Smiley An excellent read that follows six horses and a couple of dozen people through the ins and outs of the thoroughbred racing world.

4. Death In A Strange Country Donna Leon Murder mystery set in Venice, Italy. Compelling characters, well told story, but lacking a satisfying ending.

5. El Demonio and La Senorita Prym Paulo Coelho (In Spanish) A stranger bearing a demon comes to a small town to make a bet and prove a point. Srta. Prym saves the day. I enjoyed this immensely.

6. Dolores Jacquelin Suzanne (In Spanish) I bought this book for a quarter at The Bookmark, a used book store in Dolega. It was worth it…but not much more.

7. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Susanna Clarke A very long book , 781 big fat pages, about magic and magicians in the 19th century. A good read I guess if you like that sort of thing. My wife loved it.

8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon Most books don’t live up to the hype that is plastered all over their covers and early pages by other authors and kind reviewers. This one exceeds everything said.

9. High Lonesome Barry Hannah Stories that aren’t, really, about people who shouldn’t be but probably are, really. Amazing prose. Poetry… really.

10. I Love You More Than You Know Jonathan Ames Humorous Essays about the author’s humorous and overly self examined life.

11. To The Hilt Dick Francis All Francis’ efforts are good and worth a read. This is my favorite so far. An excellent and complex mystery solved by an engaging protagonist.

12. The Weather Makers Tim Flannery A tome on global warming, its causes and consequences. Skimmed most of the book as it was densely fact laden. I get the idea. The world’s in trouble.

13. The Grand Slam Mark Frost Biography of Bobby Jones the great amateur golfer of the Twenties and Thirties. Well written history of Bobby, golf and America. Loved it.

14. Rat Race Dick Francis Francis’ books are the literary equivalent of comfort food. They are always tasty and satisfying. Don’t know what I’ll do when I’ve read his last.

15. White Ghost Girls Alice Greenway American sisters coming of age in Hong Kong during the Vietnam War. This is one of those books that is more about the feelings evoked by the story than the story itself. A “4” read. Emotionally absorbing.

16. By Sorrow’s River Larry McMurtry McMurtry is not always great as he was with Lonesome Dove, but he is always entertaining. This is the third book of a series. Now I have to find the two that preceded it.

17. The Nibble Theory and The Kernel of Power Kaleel Jamison An interesting little book that touches on some of my own unvoiced ideas. “You are who you pretend to be” is one example. In essence the book is a simple guide to personal growth.

18. Whale Season N.M. Kelby On the cover it says “A really good story. And it is.

19. Night Elie Wiesel Brilliant, but horrifying account of the author’s days at Auschwitz and Buckenwald . I was glad when it was over for both him and me.

20. One Liners Ram Dass A little over 200 spiritual observations. Good stuff. I will use many of these.

21. Dressed For Death Donna Leon The kind of mystery where it is not so much who done it as how are they going to be caught.

22. Red Weather Pauls Toutonghi A terrific read. A novel that reads like a memoir, but maintains the drama of a novel. Loved it.

23. Golf Dreams John Updike Golf musings. Some better than others. Some terrific.

24. Street Lawyer John Grishom Entertaining, but his people are never quite real.

25. Harry Potter Y El Caliz De Fuego (In Spanish) The fourth in the series and the best so far. But do they have to be so damn long?

26. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid A Memoire Bill Bryson You wouldn’t think that a childhood in Iowa during the 1950’s would have much to offer, but Bryson proves otherwise. Witty, informative and very well written.