"Tipping Point" Doesn't Tip My Way

Reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" is like reading a philosophy and statistics text book in one. He points out the obvious as formulated theoretics....in other words, he has way too much time on his hands to be sitting around pondering how Hushpuppies became popular in the mid 90's.

I can't completely dis this read. After I pass the mind-numbing statistical study of each subject, I find it quite interesting to read his point of view and how he came up with it.

If you're bored of mysteries or love stories and would like to know why Paul Revere's ride was such a success or how Sesame Street became the most successful children's television program (before Blues Clues of course), then you may want to pick it up and give the first couple of chapters a whirl.

Be aware it has taken me a good few months to get through it....and I'm not quite finished!

The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit

-by Lucette Lagnado

Yes, it's another book with Arabic undertones! In this memoir, the author (also a reporter for Wall Street Journal) recounts her and her family's transition as an upper middle class Jewish family in Cairo during WWII to being refugees struggling to re-establish themselves in New York in the 1960-70's. It was fascinating to read about Cairo in those times, to see that it was an incredibly cosmopolitan and almost glamorous city marked by apparent European and British influences. Perhaps more intriguing was to learn how harmoniously muslims, Jews and Christians seemed to have lived in Cairo before the Nasser regime forced most of the Jewish population to leave unwillingly.

The story is driven by the patriarch, the author's father. Through him you can feel the family's downfall after fleeing Cairo in the 60's. In his beloved Cairo he was that guy that women wanted and men wanted to be. He was intelligent, speaking Arabic, Hebrew, French and English, and just as street smart. His nights were spent hopping from bar to cafe to night club to lounge, all the while consorting with British officers and whatever beautiful woman walked in his path. Yet he was as deeply religious as he was social. His faith was the only constant in his life, and was the only thing he truly knew and owned in the years after leaving Cairo.

What is most striking is the family's struggle as refugees. It was heartbreaking to see their lives unravel, and eye-opening to see a different perspective of a refugee situation. It's quite different than an immigrant coming to this country to start a new life; these people left their home out of fear and hopelessness with no desire to start their lives all over again. You can argue that they didn't make much effort to assimilate. But how can you ask a person to give up his identity and culture when he has just been chased out of his own country?

The writing is quite elementary which was annoying, to be honest. Regardless, I did enjoy it and it's inspired me to want to help Iraqi refugees both here and abroad. If you'd like to borrow it, let me know! -->just kidding. It's packed away somewhere deep in my storage unit. Sorry!

NYT Says: Away - Amy Bloom

While browsing the Barnes & Noble site for book pics to add to posts, I came across the review for the #1 book on the NYT Best Sellers list - looks like it's worth a read; has anyone picked it up yet?

Janet Maslin - The New York Times
Away is a modest name for a book as gloriously transporting as Amy Bloom's new novel. Alive with incident and unforgettable characters, it sparkles and illuminates as brilliantly as it entertains. The accomplishment is even more remarkable given the seeming drabness of the story Ms. Bloom tells. She offers a ridiculously beautiful account of a 1926 transcontinental schlep by an immigrant Jewish seamstress from New York toward Siberia in search of her young daughter…To the extent that a work of fiction can be all things to all people, this one is remarkably versatile. Away is a literary triumph, a book-club must and a popular novel destined for wide readership. It is accessible to the point of pure enthrallment without compromising its eloquence or thematic strength. Yet it is also a classic page-turner, one that delivers a relentlessly good read.

Eat, Pray, Love...or not so much?

I eagerly picked up Eat, Pray, Love after it was recommended to me and I also saw it every where I went, girls all over the city were reading it! I needed to get my hands on it. I bought it at the airport and immediately dove in. Before I could even get to cruising altitude she was knee deep in self pity. Man, that girl needed to get out. We've all read the books, overcoming a personal struggle and read how a woman gets her life back (essentially). She had me at Italy. 4 months of eating amazing food and describing every morsel and architectural wonder - but staying celebit? That should have been my first clue. I might as well have grabbed my own yoga mat to take a nap through her stint in India. I am ALL about finding faith, but don't jam it down my throat already. Its incredibly impressive the time she spent there and the things that she hated and dreaded about her stay there she had the strength to see them through, it was about the experience and making the most of it after all.

For the first time since college I actually skipped pages. Seriously, I looked over my shoulder on the train to see if anyone was watching me. SKIP...that felt good...skimming...skimming, GOD GOD GOD, skim...skip. Luckily the chapters were short. It's not that I didn't "like" it, it was just that the spiritual part was really...well, spiritual. But all about HER relationship with God. Fine, but I'd personally rather read about 'relationships' not a specific persons' relationship with God. Needless to say I was glad when she jammed outta the ashram and popped over for Indonesia for a break.

This chapter too was slow at first, minor skipping and to save you all from what happened she finally hooked me again. I needed that. I have a hard time recommending this book without a disclaimer; "it was good, but..." The writing was well done but what was even more impressive is that her friends that stood by and supported her through the sanskrit and all.

Leap of Faith: Memoirs of An Unexpected Life

This is another book I'm re-reading. And a much more coherent and thoughtful blog than my first!

Queen Noor, the widow of Jordan's King Hussein, writes of her journey as an American woman turned royalty in the Middle East. Her eloquent and honest description of her whirlwind life is equally as engaging as her writing of the turbulent and cyclical history of the Arab world. It’s interesting, yet unavoidable I guess, that so many of us are reading literature related to the Middle East, either to brush up on its history or to try to understand its puzzling politics and how it affects us. I’m re-reading this book specifically for both of those reasons, so when the BBC talks about what Hamas and Fatah are up to, I have some clue as to what the hell is going on...even if that means simply knowing what countries border Israel.

Much of Queen Noor’s life was actually politics, not only because of her husband’s role as King of Jordan, but because she was genuinely concerned. This made the read a bit tedious, but she writes so simply and personally that my interest didn’t wane. Not only is this book an entertaining read of a woman’s life, it’s also a history lesson. And in these times where the Middle East has become a part of our lives, a very important one.

BTW, raise your hand if you’ve seen the video of Miss Teen USA South Carolina contestant’s response to one of the panel questions. “The Iraq” – I love it!

Pandora's Music Box

When I am not reading, I am listening to music. Being at a new company with a new computer and none of my own music, I am left wondering "do I really have to listen to that guy's cellphone ring all day?" Hells to the no people!

www.pandora.com

This a free website streaming an amazing variety of music. What you do is set up a "channel" I did so by putting in a new artist I am listening to and then the station plays all music that is similar to that genre of music. You can train the system by letting the site know if you like that song or don't then it will start to "learn" your likes and you inevitably just created your own radio station w/out DJ's, commercials and weather updates. I heart it. Check it out, even if your cube neighbor's cell phone doesn't drive you crazy :)

Beyond the Sky and the Earth

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jaime Zeppa

This book convinced me to drop everything and travel through Australia and Thailand for 4 months in 2001. It's one of those books that makes you stop, mid-paragraph, put the book down and lay there thinking about something that was said, or trying to picture the incredible scenery that's being described. My copy is full of underlines and notes in the margin...the sign of a well-loved book, I think (or at least from a non-practicing English major!)

I'll let Publisher's Weekly provide a synopisis/review:

"Zeppa's story is nearly an inversion of the ancient Buddhist tale of Siddhartha (in which a prince ventures from the paradise of his father's palace only to find the suffering and decay that he never knew existed) in that the author, at the age of 22, abruptly leaves a stale life in Canada to become a volunteer teacher in the remote and largely undisturbed Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan. Cloaked in the airy mountains between India and China, Bhutan initially frustrates but eventually captivates Zeppa with its rudimentary lifestyle that forces her to question former values and plans for the future. Though the story line would seem to open itself to cloying romanticization, Zeppa's telling of her clumsy attempts to adapt rings with sincerity and inspires sympathy. She thinks to herself upon visiting a local house: "In one shadowy corner, there is a skinny chicken. I blink several times but it does not vanish. Is it a pet? Is it dinner?" Zeppa's lucid descriptions of the craggy terrain and honest respect for the daily struggles of the natives bring the tiny land to life in a way that is reverent but real. Though she tries to avoid what a friend terms "that Shangri-La-Di-Da business" and grapples with the poverty, sexism and political squabbles in Bhutan that bother her, there is little doubt that she sees the place in a largely positive light and is tempted to remain. In the end, Zeppa's is a lively tale of her earnest efforts to reconcile what she has learned with what she has known."

Here's a link with more info on the author, and the Amazon link. Hope you enjoy it! Now I've inspired myself to go re-read it...again!

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Right now I am reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini who also wrote The Kite Runner. This book is written from the women's perspective of Afganistan. It is fascinating, thrilling, sexy, and will make you want to hunt down your local Indian joint a few times a week. The food descriptions are so vivid and we don't have any Afgani restaurants around so Indian is the next best thing. It starts before the Russian coup and follows the story of the fall of the coup, and well I am only half way though so I don't know much more about the history that it details but thus far the book has been great about detailing how the war/coup effects women, three women specifically.
-Poppedcollarbonner

Trina's Two Cents

As a sexy librarian-to-be, this will be so much fun!


I just re-read "A Prayer for Owen Meany." Such a great read, highly recommend.










Another good one is "Reading Lolita in Tehran." Makes you want to read all the classics you skipped in high school. But is kind of a tear jerker.

Danielle's Recommendation

Sign me up and call me Oprah, I'm excited! I did just finish reading "Please Stop Laughing at Me" by Jodee Blanco. Hell, High School is tough for everyone, but my days as the drama/band geek fade in comparison to this book. At least there's a happy ending, and now she's making millions on the book : )

The Pages are on Fire!

Y'all, I am SO thrilled I've got you on board! I think this could be a terrific thing, I've got so many ideas I can't wait to share with you!

I want everyone to be able to ready your amazing comments and book suggestions. Instead of "commenting" on a post, please post a new one! You should be able, when you are signed in, to "+New Post" please contact me if you need help with this. Ideally everyone will have posts and when they are archived we'll better be able to search through the posts for book recommendations etc. I am going to repost all your comments since some really terrific books have been discussed already.

I do encourage commenting on posts that you'd like to actually discuss however, so freely do so! We're all adults, constructive and thoughtful comments are encouraged. Just imagine this to be a virtual book club etiquette does not go by the wayside.

I guess since you all have posted about books you're reading, I should tell you about what I am reading! I was going to wait until I was finished, but as self titled Head Librarian of the site, I need to contribute too!


I am reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. What an amazing book. This author and her family struggled so much growing up, it reminds me a bit of Angela's Ashes sans the Irish brogue. I am dying to see how it ends, but I am loving the authors style. She truly writes like the young girl she was experiencing these life events. From going hungry, to freezing with no heat or electricity, doing the "skeddadle" with her family when they would just up and leave town, to facing adversity for being 'poor' but somehow the child is so brilliant. How they managed to filter out the bad and truly learn throughout these times is amazing. It's a terrific read.

My favorite quote from the book is when she has visited her neighbor who's mother is the town whore. All the children are assumed to be from different men and Jeannette was so curious about this woman and "was whoring all it's cracked up to be, or is it just plain gross?" she had all these questions she wanted to ask while she was there (many times the children would go to their friends or neighbors house because the parents would feed them and it would likely be their only meal of the day or a series of days.) However, being with the 'whore' she saw the person that she was, just a mother trying to provide for her family essentially, and when she leaves she says "It was only on my way home that I realized that I hadn't gotten answers to any of my questions. While I was sitting there talking to Ginnie Sue, I'd forgotten she was a whore. One thing about whoring: It put a chicken on the table."

The story often leaves me sad but her writing style is refreshing, it keeps me hooked. Anyone is welcomed to borrow it once I am finished.

Keep reading y'all!

Reading is Sexy...

...so bring sexy back!

This is my attempt to have a common place for all of us to share books with eachother. Let's swap titles (swapping spit is so 5 years ago!). We can use this as a place to start a post about a book we just finished; did we love it? Hate it? Read it twice? Is it a best cellar (ok, so I have wine on the brain;) or an unsung hero of literature?

I'll manage the blog and I'd love you all to incorporate. Ideally we could use this to reference titles when we need a new book, discuss authors or characters and maybe use our heads a little. Not a lot mind you, the Fall issue of Vogue is pending completion! Perhaps we could get this to where we can manage a lending library and circulate the books. The best books are the ones that are shared by many.

So, what are you reading?