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May 09
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bea
added:
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
by Anne Lamott
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my rating:
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read in May, 2008
bea said:
"I haven't read Anne Lamott in years, and at first found myself thinking "she's like a middle-aged female Christian David Sedaris--lots of deprecating one-liners, but the essays are basically forgettable; ho hum." Then I read the piece on he...more
I haven't read Anne Lamott in years, and at first found myself thinking "she's like a middle-aged female Christian David Sedaris--lots of deprecating one-liners, but the essays are basically forgettable; ho hum." Then I read the piece on helping a terminally ill friend commit suicide--whoa. She is definitely someone living courageously. Also, there are wonderful bits, like these sentences from her description of a tense confrontation with her teenage son: "The cat ran for her life. The dog wrung her hands." The words could be from a book for little children, but in context, they speak volumes. This book turned out to be excellent bedtime reading: it didn't knock me out with the effort of staying engaged, and the essays, while evoking the mysteries and challenges of life, are basically optimistic--good stuff to have in your brain as you drop off. ...less
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New comment on Hol's review of
La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
(see all 2 comments)
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May 04
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bea
added:
Stress Free for Good: 10 Scientifically Proven Life Skills for Health and Happiness (Paperback)
by Frederic Luskin
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my rating:
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read in May, 2008
bea said:
"This book was recommended by the author of Insomniac (Gayle Greene). It's written by two psychologists who worked with cardiac patients at Stanford University School of Medicine, helping them to manage stress and so reduce their risk of heart attacks...more
This book was recommended by the author of Insomniac (Gayle Greene). It's written by two psychologists who worked with cardiac patients at Stanford University School of Medicine, helping them to manage stress and so reduce their risk of heart attacks. It teaches 10 LifeSkills (a word I kept expecting to have a little trademark symbol after each appearance), which seem deceptively simple, as does a lot of other behavioral psych. However, these two guys are smarter than your average self-help book authors, and have really worked to distill what they've learned into a program that can be used by people from all walks of life. The individual chapters are a bit slow, but the pages devoted to each LifeSkill are pithy. ...less
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bea
is currently reading:
North and South (Penguin Popular Classics)
by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in April, 2008
bea said:
"I'm about halfway through the audible version of this book (my latest dogwalking-dedicated Victorian novel), and am continually amazed by Mrs. Gaskell's take on contemporary social issues. The tensions of the industrial revolution that she describes ...more
I'm about halfway through the audible version of this book (my latest dogwalking-dedicated Victorian novel), and am continually amazed by Mrs. Gaskell's take on contemporary social issues. The tensions of the industrial revolution that she describes still feel fresh 150 years later. I don't know if Gaskell is really as extraordinary a writer as she presently seems to me, or if it's just that she's blowing me out of the water by introducing themes that are so new to me in writing of the period. ...less
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bea
gave
to:
Insomniac (Hardcover)
by Gayle Greene
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in April, 2008
bea said:
"I often imagine a book promises more than it actually delivers (a friend once asked kindly, somewhat perplexed: "what were you *expecting* from 'A History of Dust'?") However, this book delivers. Gayle Greene answers all the questions that ...more
I often imagine a book promises more than it actually delivers (a friend once asked kindly, somewhat perplexed: "what were you *expecting* from 'A History of Dust'?") However, this book delivers. Gayle Greene answers all the questions that I, as a sometime-insomniac, have asked myself as I lay awake in the wee hours. She writes well and critically, as one might expect from a feminist Shakespearian scholar; she writes intelligently about the science of sleep; and she writes with welcome humor, which can be a rare commodity after a bad night's sleep. I loved the irony of her enjoying lavish corporate-sponsored dinners at the Sleep Conference, after all the money she's spent on sleeping meds over the years (much better food, she notes, than at the MLA conferences she usually attends). She was interviewed by Michael Krasney on NPR the other morning if you're interested in learning what she's about--the podcast is available online....less
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May 03
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bea
added:
The View From The Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way In An Uncertain World (Paperback)
by Ted Orland
bookshelves:
out-the-door
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my rating:
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read in January, 2007
bea said:
"This book felt like it had enough filling for a single sandwich, or maybe a piece of toast, but it was spread thinly enough to fill a whole loaf. This is visually obvious in the design--it's got a nice big margin for marginal notes, quotations, what-...more
This book felt like it had enough filling for a single sandwich, or maybe a piece of toast, but it was spread thinly enough to fill a whole loaf. This is visually obvious in the design--it's got a nice big margin for marginal notes, quotations, what-have-you, but this is mostly blank. (In "The Artist's Way," which I found overrated, this nice marginal area was actually well-stocked with some interesting observations). I tried to glean something inspirational from this book, but after a few attempts, I have to admit it's just annoying to have it around, and it's time to pass it on, hopefully to someone it will "speak" to....less
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bea
added:
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, Third Edition (Paperback)
by Robert M. Sapolsky
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my rating:
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read in April, 2008
bea said:
"I picked this up specifically to read the section on stress, and ended up going back and reading most of the book. It's a treat just to spend a few hours in the Sapolsky's company--makes me glad there is such a thing as a "Genius Grant" (he...more
I picked this up specifically to read the section on stress, and ended up going back and reading most of the book. It's a treat just to spend a few hours in the Sapolsky's company--makes me glad there is such a thing as a "Genius Grant" (he was a recipient). Great stuff for anyone with an interest in physiological psych, told with insight and humor....less
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bea
added:
Little Dorrit (Paperback)
by Charles Dickens
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my rating:
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read in March, 2008
bea said:
"I listened to this while dogwalking, and as the story began I thought: "I'd forgotten hw marvelously theatrical Dickens is!" And who with experience trying to get a referral through their HMO does not recognize the Circumluction Department?
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April 23
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bea
added:
More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen (Paperback)
by Laurie Colwin
bookshelves:
in-my-library
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in January, 2003
bea said:
"I've been looking for a copy of this book for some time now and yesterday was lucky enough to find it in the marvelous Moe's bookstore on Telegraph Avenue (a store which is all the more precious now that the original Cody's Books, previously just two...more
I've been looking for a copy of this book for some time now and yesterday was lucky enough to find it in the marvelous Moe's bookstore on Telegraph Avenue (a store which is all the more precious now that the original Cody's Books, previously just two doors down, has closed). This is just one for the library: I already know (pretty much) what's in it, but love Colwin's acerbic voice and authoritative observations. It is for armchair cooking and eating (like one reads garden books in the off season), just for the pleasure of entering into that world of tastes, preferences, community, family, craft--all the meanings that home cooking can have. Home cooking is one of those ephemeral arts--it has no monuments--and this tribute is all the more poignant and rich because of Colwin's untimely death. ...less
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April 16
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bea
is currently reading:
Ghosts of Futures Past: Spiritualism and the Cultural Politics of Nineteenth-Century America (Hardcover)
by Molly McGarry
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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bea said:
"I'm kind of currently reading this. I didn't typeset this myself but did some proofreading of corrections and was very excited when I got my requested copy from UC Press. It links the spiritualist movement with popular conceptions of native Americans...more
I'm kind of currently reading this. I didn't typeset this myself but did some proofreading of corrections and was very excited when I got my requested copy from UC Press. It links the spiritualist movement with popular conceptions of native Americans, includes a section on obscenity laws, has a chapter on mourning and the dead--all kinds of good stuff. Unfortunately despite the sensationalist goodies it is not an easy read. I dipped into it here and there and looked at all the reproductions of extremely fake-looking spirit photography, but I'm not sure I'll really be able to get into it. On the up side, I see that Claudia Smelser, a designer who will be my classmate at a workshop the Saturday after next, did the book jacket. It's quite nice....less
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