Remember Me

Rose Devonic is a young woman who lives in a very small town in New Mexico. Like almost everyone else in the town Rose stitches embroidery all winter in hopes of selling it to tourists. She has a tragic family history, which makes all the locals feel uncomfortable and at times hostile towards her. She often goes out of her way to irritate them. The town sheriff is her high school boyfriend, now married to a woman from outside the town who loathes the place. Rose is a very interesting character because at times you want to yell at her "Get your life together!", but mostly she demands compassion. There's a subplot involving alzheimer's disease that seems very authentic. I recommend the book if you are looking for a setting not often written about and a character that is relatable.

Planet of the Blind

A memoir by Stephen Kuusisto, Planet of the Blind was funny and compelling. I don't usually read memoirs because I'm bored by the person at least halfway through. Kuusisto's description of the denial he and his family had about his disability was so intriguing that I couldn't get bored with him. He lived his childhood, adolescence, and part of his young adult life as a seeing person, although he was truly blind. Reading about him riding a bike and walking down busy streets gave me anxiety. Kuusisto's story made me feel compassion for him and anyone else who struggles with a disability they would desparately like to hide.

The Red Tent

Anita Diamant's fictionalization of what may have happend to Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah from the Old Testament. It begins with the story of her mothers--the four women Jacob married--and continues on to Dinah's own life within the tribe of Jacob and beyond. I enjoyed the description of life in tents in Canaan and then in Egyptian houses. Diamant did a fantastic job researching and portraying the cultures of the time. I love reading about a place and a time that I will never see. The only part that irritated me was the overly dramatic view of womanhood being something to worship. As a feminist I am delighted to read about a world of women not pictured in a familiar story, but....I am not really into celebrating my period every month--or those of other women. Call it Westernized puritanism, but I don't want to hear about it. Other than that, I recommend this book as a well told story set in a beautiful place.

The Alchemist

No, no, not the one by Paulo Coelho that is so well known. A less well known Alchemist by Donna Boyd. It begins with a finely dressed and mannered man in modern times telling his life story to a therapist. The book follows his story, which begins in ancient Egypt when he was a boy named Han who had been taken from his parents to learn the art of alchemy, or magic. He and his best friends, Akan and Nefar, are the best students at the school and the most skeptical. They learn what they think is the biggest secret of the place and it changes their futures. The book is creepy and violent at times and yet very compelling. Near the middle I had an idea of what might be revealed at the end, but it was just the surface. I recommend this book to people who are not squirmish and who are open to reading about magic without taking it too seriously.

Eva Moves The Furniture

Speaking of Margot Livesey....

Eva is a Scottish girl raised by her father and an aunt after her mother dies hours after Eva's birth. Eva has an interesting life, including working as a nurse in Glasgow during WWII. The most interesting part of her life is the appearance of her "companions" at a young age. No one else can see them and they are not always nice to her. She spends most of her life wondering who they are and why they visit her. Mostly, she wonders if they have an agenda separate from what Eva wants. I really liked this book for its setting, period in history, and treatment of supernatural occurrances. It is mysterious, but not creepy or overspiritualized.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I work with kids with disabilities, and several with autism currently, so I should really like this book, right? I mean, it was talked up by quite of few of my speech pathology colleagues and an excerpt was even read at a workshop I attended. Unfortunately, it was disappointing. The story was a little dull and the description of Christopher's autistic characteristics was at times too textbook and other times too unrealistic. If you want to read a good book that deals with a main character with autism then read Banishing Verona by Margot Livesey. The fact that the protagonist, Zeke, has autism or Asperger's is gradually made known and not the central focus of his character development. Zeke is a painter and has an unexpected meeting with Verona in a house he is working in. They end up falling for each other and then Verona disappears. It wasn't the best book I've ever read and it could have been shorter (one ends up feeling dragged around with the characters), but it is definetely a better depiction of autism spectrum disorder to the public.

Naked

This is my first time to read David Sedaris. His books are collections of essays about his life. Naked begins with his childhood memory of finding his mother crying because she is pregnant with her sixth child. David bribes her for money to be an extra helping hand around the house. Naked ends in his adulthood with an experience at a nudist trailer park where he discovers the importance of towels. This book is hilarious, even when David is exposing painful memories of his dysfunctional family. In one scene he is talking to his mother on the phone and says "I love you". She promptly replies "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that" and lights a cigarette. I burst out laughing.