Sausage Dogs and Delayed Planes

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith
the middle book in the little trilogy by the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Very short. Funny, especially if you know at all about the world of academia (or care enough to imagine). I liked this one better than the first. There were several parts I read aloud to DH. 128 pages

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles
Another fairly short one. Author's first novel, I believe. Bennie Ford (53 years old) is on the way to his estranged daughter's commitment ceremony when his flight is delayed and he is stuck at O'Hare. An angry letter to the airline turns into a recitation of his life story interspersed with excerpts of the novel Ford is translating from the original Polish. Interesting.... 180 pages

Buffy in Denver

And the first four for July

Three middle grade books:

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
reminded me of Stargirl a bit -- just in the whole newcomer-who-is-so-different-from-'us' way. I liked it. Title comes from the Emily Dickinson poem about hope. 118 pages

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
I liked The Watsons Go to Birmingham (by the same author) more, but this was good. (and I still managed to cry at the end). Buxton is an actual town/community in Canada where freed and escaped slaves lived. Elijah is the first child born free in the community. A good historical novel for middle grades. 341 pages

Cicada Summer by Andrea Beatty
I think it's important for me to remember that this is juvenile literature (not young adult) and judge it on that basis. Clever writing, fun characters. Main character hasn't spoken since her brother's death, new girl comes to town.... 167 pages.

And an adult book that my library classed as sci-fi

The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose
Loved it. I'm totally a "what if?" kind of person (as in I really like the movie Sliding Doors) and I think that is a lot of why I loved this book. It's based on the "many worlds" theory of quantum physics.
Rick Hamilton is in a middle when he suddenly feels that his wife is going to die. He arrives at the scene of the accident as she is dying. He closes his eyes in grief and when he opens them she is alive, though it's a slightly different accident and he is a slightly different person. (and they suddenly have no child.) Really good stuff, in my opinion. 197 pages.

Buffy in Denver

Five more for June

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
by the author of Omnivore's Dilemma. His basic points -- Eat food (ie, actual food, not food product). Not too much. Mostly plants. Good stuff. 205 pages

What I Was by Meg Rosoff
meh. this was okay -- tells of the friendship between two boys in 1960's Britain, one who lives alone in a hut by the sea, one in a boarding school. Didn't really draw me in. 209 pages

The 10 Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
The story of four different women as they enter their late 30s (?). was okay. Deals quite a bit with motherhood/career/marriage issues. 351 pages.

The Translator by Daoud Hari
Author is a tribesman from Dafur. Excellent stuff, tells of his experiences living in Darfur and elsewhere and translating for reporters in the area. 204 pages.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
This is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I know some people are getting tired of them, but I'm still really enjoying them. Percy is a young teen (in this one it's the summer before his 15th birthday.) who is a demi-god (his father is Poseidon). I like the author's humor and just enjoy them. They are quick reads for me. 361 pages.

Buffy

Books I'm taking back to the library today...

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
Funny. Greek gods living in a London townhouse, losing their powers. 292 pages

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishment to Love and Reason by Alfie Kohn
Love it. I think everyone should read it, whether you have children or not (it'll help you have a different perspective on children you see in public spaces. Talks about working with children instead of doing to them. 221 pages.

Buffy

sex sex sex

Finally I am done with this wretched book. It's called Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, by Lauren Winner. I picked it up because she is one of the teachers at a writers' workshop I'm attending next week. But, wow. It's a book about chastity, and how sex outside of marriage is a sin. It's been really frustrating, not to mention dry/boring, reading. But I prevailed, because I wanted to be able to count my pages on this blog. :) I think that the hard thing is that she has some really insightful things to say about sexuality, but they're mixed in with some (in my opinion) really ridiculous statements, like that it's scandalous that college-age men walk around campus with their shirts off, or that she finds it shameful that professors teach wearing jeans. Come ON. Sigh. I would like someone to write about sexuality from a Christian-progessive viewpoint. That would be rad. 161 pages.

-Tamie

changing light

Changing Light, by Nora Gallagher, is a book set in Los Alamos, New Mexico in the 1940s. I'm not sure what you'd say the theme of the book is, but several of the main characters are involved with building the atomic bomb. There is also a love story, interactions with indigenous people, and an Episcopal priest. I like books that are set in places I identify with--and New Mexico is Arizona's neighbor. There's really so much culture here. Also, the Episcopal stuff. It's a good book. 223 pages.

-tamie

A quick post before we leave to camp with 40 other people

Murder at the Mendel by Gail Bowen
another in the mystery series set in Saskatchewan fairly intelligent stuff -- not total fluff.
213 pages

The Seventh Well by Fred Wander
Wander was a survivor of more than 20 concentration camps. This is a novel that is loosely based on his experiences.
155 pages.

Buffy in Denver