Better than I expected

I just finished reading Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much. The book was recommended to me as a mystery and, honestly, I'm not the biggest mystery fan. In reading it, though, I wasn't as captivated by the mysterious aspect of the story line but, rather, the human drama. That's what makes it a good story.

At the center of this story is Ridley Jones, a 30 something freelance writer living in New York City. One morning she jumps in front of a truck and saves the life of a three year old. This heroic action lands her picture on the front page of the newspaper and ends up changing her life. In the wake of her heroism Ridley makes the talk show circuit and enjoys her 15 minutes of fame. A few weeks later she gets a mysterious note in her mail. The note contains an old photograph and a question: are you my daughter?

What follows is Ridley's search for the truth and what she uncovers is worse than she could have imagined. Her parents aren't her parents at all. Her ex-fiance is not the kind childhood friend she thought he was. Her good "uncle" Max wasn't as good as he seemed. As Ridley uncovers the truth about the disappearance of a toddler named Jessie she begins to ask questions. Has anyone in her life been truthful? How far does their web of deceit extend? Will she find out too much and end up dead?

This book was good, fast paced and interesting. A perfect winter afternoon book. I recommend it both for mystery-lovers and others.

I'm with Esau!

Genesis 25:29-34 says that Esau traded his birthright for some lentil soup. Well, I'm with Esau! I'm making this lentil soup for dinner tonight and it smells delicious! Okay, I wouldn't give up my relationship with God (which is essentially what Esau traded) but, still, lentil soup is pretty delicious. Too bad my hubby doesn't like it!

Nature or Nurture

I've always been very fascinated by the nature vs. nurture debate. Are we formed more by our genetics or by our environment? This is a question that is dealt with very interestingly in Carole Cadwalladr's novel The Family Tree.

The story is told through the eyes of a narrator, Rebecca Monroe, a sociologist studying popular culture who is married to a top geneticist. There are actually three stories being told simultaneously, that of Rebecca's marriage, her troubled childhood, and her grandmother's young adult romance.

Rebecca's marriage is pulled to pieces by her husband's unwillingness to have a child with her, largely because of her genes. Rebecca's childhood was marked by life with a bipolar mother who killed herself on the day Prince Charles married Lady Di. Rebecca's grandmother's life was changed because she was unable to marry the black man she loved and, instead, she married her cousin.

These stories are fascinating in themselves but the book is made even more interesting with the inclusion of popular culture ancedotes from the 1970s and 80s and some interesting genetic facts. There is more than passing discussion of sex and abortion so some will want to avoid the book because of that. On the whole, though, I enjoyed it the thought-provoking way the author dealt with nature vs. nurture.

How one day can change your life

Once Upon a Day, by Lisa Tucker, tells the story of a family and the days that changed their lives. 23 year old Dorthea leaves her father's secluded New Mexico home, aptly called The Sanctuary, for the first time to try and find her lost brother. Along the way, she learns many truths about herself and her family. Her mother, who her father has always claimed was murdered, is actually alive. Her father is a famous movie director who kidnapped her and her brother when they were very young. And the world is not quite as dangerous as her father has always claimed.

Tucker's novel is excellent, written in a number of fascinating voices and full of interesting twists. I particularly liked the concept of the stand-out days that change our lives...some for the worse and some for good. This one is a nice, quick read.

Thursday Thirteen #2

Thirteen books I read to my 5 month old

1. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
2. Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
3. God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren and Laura J. Bryant
4. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam Mcbratney
5. Love You Forever byRobert N. Munsch
6. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
7. Baby's First Bible by Pd and Colin & Moira Maclean
8. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
9. The Going To Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
10. I'm Not Going to Get Up Today by Dr. Seuss
11. I Love My Clothes by Alison Morris and Thelma-Jane Robb
12. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson
13. Charlotte's Web by EB White

I give up!

Today was a day for giving up, I guess. I don't usually do this. Normally if I start a book I finish it, even if I'm really not impressed. Today, though, I gave up on 3 books....they just weren't worth it to me.

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt This was a book I really wanted to like. I loved Tartt's first novel, The Secret History. It was smart, funny, and dark all at the same time. I wanted The Little Friend to be similar. I plodded through the first half of the book, more than 200 pages. I thought it was going to be a smart murder mystery but it was just full of characters I didn't like, weird scenes full of snakes, and a murder that she didn't seem to be getting around to solving. I decided that I should be enjoying my reading time so today I pulled my bookmark out of place and put the book into my pile of library books to be returned. Sorry, Donna Tartt...this one just wasn't as good as the first


Life Laughs: The Naked Truth about Motherhood, Marriage, and Moving On by Jenny McCarthy I have to admit, I was skeptical about this one from the start. A friend of mine recommended McCarthy's books to me (she has two others: Belly Laughs and Baby Laughs). She told me that I would be rolling on the floor with laughter because of these books. Well, I've seen Jenny McCarthy on TV and I've always thought she was more than a little juvenile. Still, I decided to give her a chance because of the recommendation of my friend. Well, I should have gone with my first instincts. I made it through the first chapter of Life Laughs and then closed the book. It's crass, it's annoying and, really, I shouldn't be rolling my eyes with every sentence in whatever I'm reading. Maybe I'm too old to "get" Jenny McCarthy (even though she is 5 years older than I am). I will not be picking up her other books.

I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron I picked this up because I saw it being discussed on Oprah one day. I thought it looked funny. Well, if I'm too young for Jenny McCarthy, maybe I'm just too old for Nora Ephron. I made it through the first chapter and just wanted to tell her to quit complaining about her neck. It just seemed a little self-absorbed to me. So, I decided not to read the rest. Maybe I just need to wait 20 years.



I thought I'd share these books because I've been told that I'll read anything. I just wanted to prove that's not true!

Thoughts on the value of life

I just finished reading Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. Like everything else she's written, this book caused me to think. I really think Picoult novels are great for book groups...she can definitely create discussion material! The most interesting thing about Second Glance, in my opinion, is the comparision Picoult draws between the eugenics movement of the 1920s and 30s and modern day preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

The eugenics movement was a quest to improve human hereditary traits. Early eugenicists sought to prevent certain traits from being passed on through "voluntary" sterilization. Many people in mental hospitals, prisions and other government institutions were sterilized, often without their consent.

PGD is a way of analyzing embryos for certain "defects" before they are implanted in the uterus. One website that discusses PGD (The Infertility Center of St. Louis) says PGD "can now prevent couples from having to face the horror of giving birth to children with almost any of the genetic defects such as Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs, Gaucher’s disease, mental retardation, etc." (emphasis mine) If an embryo is diagnosed with an undesirable trait, that embryo is discarded.

The comparison Picoult draws between eugenics and PGD is very compelling but, in my opinion, she doesn't take it far enough. Most people now agree that eugenics is terribly immoral and Picoult definitely takes that stand in Second Glance. If that is the case, and PGD and eugenics are so comparable, why not also acknowledge that PGD is terribly immoral? Yet the novel implies that there are situations in which PGD creates a more positive outcome. Again, like in her other novels, Picoult refuses to take a stand and recognize a moral absolute. Nevertheless, the book is excellent reading and I highly recommend it.

The Year I was Born

In 1977 (the year you were born)

Jimmy Carter becomes president of the US Most of the 10,000 Vietnam War draft evaders are pardoned by President Carter Singer Anita Bryant starts her "Save Our Children" crusade against gay rights Elvis Presley dies in his Graceland bathroom Congress creates a Department of Energy Anwar Sadat flies to Jerusalem in a dramatic gesture of willingness to discuss peace Orlando Bloom, Shakira, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Liv Tyler, and Ludacris are born New York Yankees win the World Series Oakland Raiders win Superbowl XI Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Swedish music group ABBA passes The Beatles as having most records sold Star Wars is the top grossing film The Shining by Stephen King is published "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone spends the most time at the top of the US charts Three's Company premieres

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen books I read over and over:

1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer
4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkein
5. The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
6. The Chosen by Chaim Potok
7. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.
8. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
9. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
10. Elizabeth by David Starkey
11. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
12. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
13. We the Living by Ayn Rand

The smallest victories

Parenthood is funny. Since Helen was born I've been interested in things I never thought I'd care about. I've actually prayed for my baby to have a bowel movement (good thing God is the God of everything!). I've been ecstatic over smiles, reduced to tears over lullabies. Who knew that everything about me and my life would change?

Helen has never really been a great napper. Actually, that's not entirely true, she's always been a fine napper when naps are taken in my arms. It's naps in her crib that she doesn't really like. So, I'm happy to report that today seems to be a banner napping day. She took a nice, long nap (in her crib!) this morning from 10-12:30. Plus, she just went down for a second nap at 2:30. If we can just make this a habit I'll be overjoyed!

With this evidence, how can you not believe?

For Christmas I received a copy of Life by Lennart Nilsson. This is not the kind of book that I would usually review in this blog, there are very few words in the book, no story, nothing, really, to review at all. I just had to post about it, though. Lennart Nilsson is an extremely talented scientist and photographer. I'm sure everyone has seen the 1965 cover of Life magazine that feature a picture of a living human embryo....that picture was taken by Nilsson. His new book is full of pictures, many taken with the world's most powerful scanning electron microscope.

Beautiful photos of DNA. A close up look at HIV. The beginning of life at conception. A baby growing for 40 weeks. Birth. Skin cells. Bacteria. The eye. If these photos of the intricacy of our bodies and the miracle of life do not convince you of the existence of an all powerful Creator, nothing will.

Is this America?

I recently finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham. When I first heard that Grisham's next book would be a work of nonfiction, I wasn't sure what to think. I have not been particularly impressed with either of his ventures outside the realm of legal-thrillers. So, I didn't know how much I would enjoy (or not) his attempt at nonfiction. I checked it out anyway and am glad I gave it a chance.

The Innocent Man tells a story of terrible injustice that happened right here in the USA. In Ada, Oklahoma a young woman was raped and killed. After a very poorly handled investigation in which the real killer was first ignored and then convinced to provide "evidence" against another man, a mentally ill man was wrongly convicted of the murder. He was then sentenced to death and sent to death row for 9 years before the conviction was finally overturned. Even after his innocence was firmly established using DNA evidence, the District Attorney made insinuating remarks to the press that continued to point fingers in the innocent man's direction.

The book is simply infuriating. Throughout the investigation there are many seemingly obvious missteps on the part of the police. When the case is taken to trial, there are terrible violations of the man's constitutional rights that are overlooked by the Judge and by the man's own defense attorney. The District Attorney seems bent on getting a conviction using very circumstantial evidence and mainly relying on the fact that townspeople know the accused man as "a little strange."

The worst part about this story is that it is not a one-of. We may never know how many innocent men are currently serving time. We will likely never know how many innocent men have been put to death for crimes they did not commit. As a country we are very proud of our judicial system and, perhaps, we have reason to be. Even so, it is far from perfect. This book underlines the responsibility that defense attorneys have to protect their clients. It highlights the responsibility that Judges have to keep attorneys in line. It highlights the awesome power that we have given to District Attorneys and, therefore, the importance of electing men and women of character and experience to fill the position. Finally, it hightlights the responsibility we give to juries. How many times have you served on a jury? I never have, I've never been called. I have often thought of that as a blessing but now I can't wait to be called. We need critical thinkers on our juries!

This really was a great book....but it was also really very disturbing.

Some catching up

I've read a number of books that I haven't posted on. So, I'm just going to make a list and make a brief comment. Don't take my brevity as a sign that I didn't enjoy these books...in fact, some of them are among the best I read last year!

The Girls by Lori Lansens:
very interesting novel about craniopagus conjoined twins. I loved how seperate the girls were even though they were also very much together. Highly recommended.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen:
An elderly, nursing home-bound man recalls his younger days as a member of a traveling circus. I really liked how the book went back and forth between the man's present day and his past.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See:
Excellent story about female friends in 19th century China. I loved the idea of a secret language for women, I loved the concept of "sworn sisters." I can't imagine living in that time, though. Great book.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson:
Larson writes some of the most readable non-fiction I've ever read. This book is alternately about the building and planning of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and about a serial killer who prowled Chicago during that time. The book is so interesting, it reads like a novel! This is a must for fans of true-crime books and those interested in the history of the Guilded Era.

Ruby Ridge: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family by Jess Walter:
This is another extremely well written work of non-fiction. Walter tells the story of the tragedy at Ruby Ridge and at times I was forced to ask if this all really happened in the USA. The bumblings of the FBI and ATF are hard to believe, especially since it all led to the death of a young boy and his mother. Randy Weaver was a crazy conspiracy theorist but the bumblings of government agencies actually proved him right in many ways!

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard:
This suspense novel manages to avoid most of the pitfalls of these kinds of thrillers. I liked it well enough but thought the end left much to be desired. Can't say more for fear of giving it all away. It was a good, quick read.

Generational Sin

I've always been somewhat befuddled by the concept of generational sin. Exodus 34:7 says "Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." But how does that work? Why would a God who allows me free will punish me for the sins of the generations that preceeded me? Thought provoking questions, for sure, but not ones I expected to have answered by a work of fiction.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards does an excellent job of exploring the concept of generational sin, although I'm not sure that was the intention of the author. The story centers on a family torn apart by one decision made by the father in a moment of stress. The father, still grieving the childhood loss of his sister, delivers his own twins on an icy night. One of the twins is a perfect son. The other is a daughter with Down's Syndrome. Convinced that he is saving his family from a lifetime of pain, he hands his daughter to the nurse and asks her to take the girl to an institution. Horrified by what she sees at the institution, the nurse chooses to raise the girl herself. The father tells his wife that their daughter was born dead.

How does this decision change the doctor? What happens to the marriage? How is the wife affected by something she doesn't even know happened? What about the perfect son, what are the consequences for him? And the daughter, what becomes of her? These questions, and many others, are answered by Edwards in a novel that explores the impact of one decision and the lifetime of regret that followed it.

An absolutely breathtaking book, readers of authors like Jodi Picoult and Anne Tyler will enjoy it.