Jess' Picks

The Botany of Desire

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botanyofdesire by Micahel Pollan

I want to

read all his books now. This is fascinating information and history on

botany and how it affects society and visa versa. Apples - you'll never

think of Johnny Appleseed in the same way again! - Tulips, and Marijuana

to name some. He's the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma where he covers

four meals as well. Highly illuminating!

I want to read all his books now. This is fascinating information and history on botany and how it affects society and vice versa. Apples (you'll never think of Johnny Appleseed in the same way again!), tulips, and marijuana to name just a few. Pollan is the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma where he covers four meals as well. Highly illuminating!

The Cellist of Sarajevo

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cellistsarajevo by Steven Galloway

joined an organization called "Women for Women International" which

provides financial aid in order to facilitate schooling for women who

have survived a war. The woman I was set up with was Bosnian.. I

realized that I didn't know enough about this situation so I picked up

this gem. In some ways, it reminded me of As the Great World Spins in

that it centers around one person's action which then involves much

behavior around that action. In this case it's a cellist who witnessed

a shelling that caused the deaths of 22 citizens of Sarajevo. Once

recovered, he goes out with a fold up chair and plays an Adagio for 22

days in a row in honor of the dead. This is a city so besieged by

gunmen in the hills, that people are forced to scurry across unsafe

areas, weaving madly, or running full out, in order to not get shot.

Life's random nature becomes extremely apparent in this formerly

beautiful city. The story involves 4 members of Sarajevo and how this

event affects their lives. Superb.

I joined an organization called "Women for Women International" which provides financial aid in order to facilitate schooling for women who have survived a war. The woman I was set up with was Bosnian.. I realized that I didn't know enough about this situation so I picked up this gem. In some ways, it reminded me of As the Great World Spins in that it centers around one person's action which then involves much behavior around that action. In this case it's a cellist who witnessed a shelling that caused the deaths of 22 citizens of Sarajevo. Once recovered, he goes out with a fold up chair and plays an Adagio for 22 days in a row in honor of the dead. This is a city so besieged by gunmen in the hills, that people are forced to scurry across unsafe areas, weaving madly, or running full out, in order to not get shot. Life's random nature becomes extremely apparent in this formerly beautiful city. The story involves 4 members of Sarajevo and how this event affects their lives. Superb.

Healing Hearts

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healinghearts by Kathy Magliato, M.D.

I love this woman, and I love this book. It reminds me of the kind of enjoyment I got in reading My Stroke of Insight. I love learning these medical truths! Did you know that the heart pumps approximately one million barrels of blood in a lifetime - and that it beats nearly three billion times! Did you know that the number one killer of women is not breast cancer, but heart issues? Dr. Magliato braved the male bastion as she studied and trained to be a cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in heart transplants. Definitely 'tough' enough to hang in there, she also managed to keep her sizable compassion. This memoir is full of stories of struggle, survival, surprises, and much, much humor. She weaves her training and practice with various patient stories and personal experiences. Kathy will be signing here at Village Books April 22nd. at 7:30. It is sure to be a good event.

Strength in What Remains

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strengthinwhatremains by Tracy Kidder

This is a terrific audio recounting a very young man's escape

from the racial wars in Burundi and his acclimation to the new and

perplexing world of NYC. I ended up with the same feeling I had after

reading What is the What, and The Road. We are blessed, absolutely

BLESSED with the world we live in here. I cannot imagine recuperating

from the horrors that this young man observed. I also can't imagine how

one would reconcile their escape and safety with those left behind. As

with the Indian community in A Fine Balance, humor, of all things,

endures. Sometimes it's his own intrinsic humor, but often it is his

perceptions as he tries to make sense of our world. Such an innocent

outlook after such sobering and maturing experiences.

This is a terrific audio recounting a very young man's escape from the racial and ethnic wars in Burundi and his acclimation to the new and perplexing world of NYC. I ended up with the same feeling I had after reading What is the What, and The Road. We are blessed, absolutely BLESSED with the world we live in here. I cannot imagine recuperating from the horrors that this young man observed. I also can't imagine how one would reconcile their escape and safety with those left behind. As with the Indian community in A Fine Balance, humor, of all things, endures. Sometimes it's his own intrinsic humor, but often it is his perceptions as he tries to make sense of our world. Such an innocent outlook after such sobering and maturing experiences.

Little Bee

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littlebee by Chris Cleave

Wow, what a

ride and what great writing! This is one of those novels that goes back

and forth between two characters, and starts in the present and refers

back periodically to the past, until everything that transpired becomes

clear. It all involves Little Bee who escaped from Nigeria, and Sarah

who had the misfortune to vacation in Nigeria with her husband. Their

paths crossed and formed what will turn out to be a profound bond.

There are wonderful characters, including Sarah's son who insists on

dressing as Batman, and who we discover is fighting more 'Baddies' than

it appears to be at first. Again, we experience that wonderful African

humor and innocence in regarding the new, modern world they find

themselves in. It turns out that in her tiny village there actually was

a screening of "Top Gun", of all movies, whereupon she remarks, "About a

man who was in a great hurry, sometimes in jet planes and sometimes on

motorbikes and sometimes upside down"!

I highly recommend this one. It's intricate, beautiful, illuminating,

depressing and yet, we all survive it to swim in the ocean so to speak.

Wow, what a ride and what great writing! This is one of those novels that goes back and forth between two characters, and starts in the present and refers back periodically to the past, until everything that transpired becomes clear. It all involves Little Bee who escaped from Nigeria, and Sarah who had the misfortune to vacation in Nigeria with her husband. Their paths crossed and formed what will turn out to be a profound bond. There are wonderful characters, including Sarah's son who insists on dressing as Batman, and who we discover is fighting more 'Baddies' than it appears to be at first. Again, we experience that wonderful African humor and innocence in regarding the new, modern world they find themselves in. It turns out that in her tiny village there actually was a screening of "Top Gun", of all movies, whereupon she remarks, "About a man who was in a great hurry, sometimes in jet planes and sometimes on motorbikes and sometimes upside down"! I highly recommend this one. It's intricate, beautiful, illuminating, depressing and yet, we all survive it to swim in the ocean so to speak.

Blame

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blame by Michelle Huneven

This is an

interesting story of a woman who drank in her youth and was responsible

for the death of two people in front of her house as she was arriving.

It follows her in jail, then through her release, as she makes amends

with those in her life and herself especially. There's a twist in the

end. Very enlightening as to the drinker's mind. Well read by Hillary

Huber.

This is an interesting story of a woman who drank in her youth and was responsible for the death of two people in front of her house as she was arriving. It follows her in jail, then through her release, as she makes amends with those in her life and herself especially. There's a twist in the end. Very enlightening as to the drinker's mind. Well read by Hillary Huber.

Outliers

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outliers.sm by Malcolm Gladwell

Oh how I loved this audio!!! Love the way he reads (lickety-split - just the way I like it), and LOVE the way he can encapsulate our society and culture! I'm always trying to, but can never pull it off. This addresses conclusions about what makes some people successful - (a little teaser: in has something to do with that old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall!). There are chapters that will stay with you forever, like the one addressing plane crashes and conclusions drawn from black boxes about pilot and co-pilot relations. The first chapter is about how important birth dates turn out to be when one really tracks the success of Canadian hockey players.... Makes you think. He does his hours of work that's for sure. Love him.

The Sparrow

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thesparrow by Mary Doria Russell

A really interesting blend of religion and space travel. This is a unique novel. I'd first heard of it from customers talking about the actor who has purchased the rights. I'd like to see this movie... it wouldn't be able to address quite the philosophical issues the novel can ... as it involves a Jesuit (yes - Jesuit!) inspired expedition to find the source of the 'singing' they'd discovered coming from Alpha Centauri. "How about four Jesuit priests, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a child prostitute turned computer expert?". Really a good ride. The encounter with the planet and species is worth it.

Under the Dome

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underthedome by Stephen King

As much as I love King, I really resisted this one as it's 1070 pages! I ended up basically swept up in this town's freaky predicament - a huge, clear dome is neatly plopped down right over them. It's nice and high, and slightly permeable, so there's time for the town to basically go crazy, and for the strong (good or bad) to seriously threaten the 'weak'. It turns out that the cause of the dome is truly fascinating. - think the very end of "Men in Black" with the marbles. The end justified the means in this book for me, and actually was the conduit for a little more sci-fi reading afterwards!