Books I Read In 2010

1. 61 Hours: A Reacher Novel (Anthill: A Novel by Edward O. Wilson
2. Anthill: A Novel by Edward O. Wilson
3. Black Belt Librarians by Warren Graham
4. Children of the Dust Bowl by Jerry Stanley
5. Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
6. Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, & Customs from Around the World by Lisa Rogak
7. Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big by Berkeley Breathed
8. Fear the Worst: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay
9. Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan
10. Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters by Annie Choi
11. Lightning by Dean Koontz
12. Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
13. No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay
14. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich (audio)
15. Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self by Frances Kuffel
16. Peaks and Valleys: Making Good And Bad Times Work For You--At Work And In Life by Spencer Johnson
17. Plan B by Jonathan Tropper
18. Point Omega: A Novel by Don DeLillo
19. Postcards from a Dead Girl: A Novel (P.S.) by Kirk Farber
20. Quiet Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Meditation by Sharon Salzberg, Sakyong Mipham, Tulku Thondup, and Larry Rosenberg
21. Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
22. Shallow Graves (A Location Scout Series) by Jeffery Deaver
23. The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist by Mary H. Manheim
24. The Book of No by Susan Newman
25. The Husband by Dean Koontz
26. The Librarian's Book of Lists by George Eberhart
27. Thursday Next: First Among Sequels: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde
28. Trouble Maker by Janet & Alex Evanovich
29. Two For The Dough by Janet Evanovich
30. What I'd Say to the Martians: And Other Veiled Threats by Jack Handey
31. What It Is by Lynda Barry
32. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
33. Written On The City: Graffiti Messages Worldwide by Axel Albin and Josh Kamler
34. You're Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children by Theodor Geisel - Dr. Seuss

Safe from the Sea by Peter Geye

  A dying father haunted by the past, the untold truth of a tragic ship wreck on the Great Lakes and a son’s lifetime of resentment over his father’s withdrawal from the family are blended together in this excellent debut novel to create a story of family, forgiveness and undying love. Noah Torr returns home to help his sick father prepare the family cabin for winter only to discover that his father is actually dying. What follows is a torrent of emotions, memories and reconciliation interwoven with the tragic story of the Ragnarok, an ore ship, once proud but now resting at the bottom of Lake Superior. It forced me to look back at my relationship with my own father and wonder what stories followed him to the grave simply because I never asked to hear them. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Troublemaker Book 1: Alex Barnaby Series 3 by Janet Evanovich, Alex Evanvovich, and Joelle Jones

I recently started reading the Stephanie Plum series written by Janet Evanovich and have been enjoying them so when I saw this book on the shelf I thought, why not? Normally, I don’t read graphic novels, in fact this is my first. I found it easier to follow than I expected and while not a great story, it is enjoyable. I might of liked it better had I known more background on the characters. In order to get the background you would need to read “Metro Girl” and Motor Mouth” both by Janet Evanovich and written in a standard novel format. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light read or something to read on your next plane ride.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "If You're a Bird" from "Experience Music: A TuneCore Pop Sampler" by The Scene Aesthetic

Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (Storyopolis Books) by Berkeley Breathed

Yea, it’s a children’s book, so what. It is also one of the best kid’s books I’ve ever read. They didn’t have books like this when I was a kid. The illustrations are excellent and why wouldn’t they be, Berkeley Breathed is the creator of the Opus and Bloom County comic strips. On top of that is a good story with lessons in honesty, forgiveness, and family. Put down the Little Golden Books and read this to your kids, they will thank you for it.

 

While writing this, I was listening to "If It Ain't One Thing (It's Your Mother) (feat. Lauren Briant & Colt Ford)" from "Experience Music: A TuneCore Country Sampler" by Mud Digger

The Librarian's Book of Lists by George M. Eberhart

“After years spent editing American Libraries and the many editions of The Whole Library Handbook, George Eberhart has collected a raft of arcane librarian and amusing trivia for this endlessly browsable volume.” (http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=3139) That’s a direct quote from the American Library Association website and it pretty much sums up the book.

There is something for everybody who works in a library, public or academic from the clerks to the director.  I particularly enjoyed the “Seattle Books Examiner’s Top Twenty Things Librarians in Public Libraries Wish Patrons Knew or Did” and “The Swiss Army Librarian’s Top Ten Pet Peeves about Patrons”. But if you are looking for serious lists, try “Roy Tennant’s Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know about Technology” or “Fourteen Ways Public Libraries Are Good for the Country”.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Cover Girl" from "Experience Music: A TuneCore Country Sampler" by Josh Gracin

What It Is by Lynda Barry

The cover of this book caught my eye as I was processing a book return. The cover resembled a school art project so I decided to check it out. I began reading it and was immediately confused. It was a collage of images and random words and I could not figure out the subject or meaning of any of it. It asked philosophical questions such as “Can you have thoughts without language?” and “What is the past made of?”. Interspersed throughout the book are pages which chronicle the author’s lifelong realization of their art and writing skills but even these pages are collages of words and images. As I continued to read, I became aware of the book’s purpose which is to teach creative writing skills. This made me realize that the first part of the book is designed to force you out of the box when it comes to thinking about writing. The last part of the book is a series of writing exercises which consists of basically making a list of something such as family cars you remember riding in throughout your life, picking one and answering a series of questions about it, pick another car, repeat. It also explains how to work through writer’s block in a very creative way which I would have thought would make writing more difficult but what do I know since I can barely come up with ideas for this blog. I would recommend this book to anyone, not just aspiring writers. It is beautifully illustrated and very rewarding to the reader who can persevere through the hodge-podge of images and words to make it to the end.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "The Understanding" from "Experience Music: A TuneCore Alternative Sampler" by Jones Street Station

Spoke to God today. He said he would pay his library fines but since he was 35-50 years behind on his work, it may have to wait until he gets things better organized.

Chipmunks movie tops library's list of 'hot' DVDs | hot, library, items - Top Stories - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

Chipmunks movie tops library's list of 'hot' DVDs hot, library, items - Top Stories - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self by Frances Kuffel

Frances Kuffel writes a detailed and moving story of her lifelong struggle with a compulsive eating disorder, food addiction and weight problems. From her childhood in Montana where she volunteered to wash dishes after dinner so she could eat the leftovers off the plates or hide food into her room, to her life as a literary agent in New York where she continued to eat uncontrollably until she was well over 300 lbs. While on a trip to Coney Island with friends, she is humiliated by a ride operator at the Cyclone who proclaims “Nope, It’ll never fit” and refuses to let her get on the ride. This is followed by one of her best friends, while drunk, belittling her in public about her size and weight. She eventually joins a 12 step program and begins a long struggle to change her eating habits and lose weight. With the help of sponsors and friends from the group, she gets down to the 160s but then struggles with her new body and learning how to act “thin”. No struggle is left uncovered as she chronicles her relationship with her family  who support her efforts but don’t understand why she can’t eat “normal” foods, she writes about dating for the first time since she was a teenager and details her confrontations with an employer who becomes threatened by her weight loss and makes her life at work difficult. Overall it is a very inspiring story as she overcomes these obstacles and learns to accept her new self.

There were some parts of the book that I found hard to read because I could relate to her story all too well. While I never remember eating the leftovers off of someone else’s plate, I had no problem raiding the fridge and stuffing as much food as possible into my mouth before someone noticed. At the age of 13, I weighed 155 lbs. and have been as heavy as 345. I know the humiliation of squeezing into an airplane seat, asking for a belt extender and seeing the person next to you cringe like fat is contagious and they will catch it if you touch them. I have been embarrassed by asking to be moved to a table in a restaurant because I couldn’t fit into the booth that every hostess invariably tries to seat me in. While I know what I should eat and how much to eat, everyday is a struggle and I will binge at the drop of a hat. I know I can eat just one cookie and be OK but if that bag is left sitting out and no one is looking, I’m eating the whole damn bag.

Even as I read this book and was inspired as well as reminded that there was a ray of hope out there for me, I was helping myself to 2nd and 3rd helpings of Thanksgiving leftovers. How’s that for irony. I have managed to drop weight over the last few years but I still have a good 100 lbs. or so to go before I get back to what I weighed at age 13. Christmas, along with all of its’ requisite holiday dinner parties, is looming straight ahead and hopefully I will emerge into the New Year with minimum damage and a new course plotted.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Little Fly" from "Chamber Music Society" by Esperanza Spalding