All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Even for non-political-junkies, this is one thrilling book. It unfolds like a great detective novel. I’ve read it 4 times now at least, and each time I’m stunned by the addictiveness of the storytelling. Bernstein and Woodward narrate their investigation from its inception, when the Watergate break-in truly appeared to be nothing but a “third-rate burglary” – and the 2 reporters didn’t much like one another. Plus, the story of Deep Throat, sprinkled throughout the book, is tantalizing. When W. Mark Felt was revealed to be Deep Throat in 2005, it was almost sad to lose the sense of mystery. But Bob Woodward’s publication of The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate’s Deep Throat helped soothe the pain; it’s a great story.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Love Those Connected Short Stories...
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Our book club read Winesburg, Ohio at my suggestion; it’s one of those contemporary classics I felt like I should have read. Here’s my take: I’m glad I read it, and I’m glad I’m done reading it. That sounds a little dire. I actually found the book compelling. The book is a short story cycle, and each story focuses on a person in the small town of Winesburg. A young newspaper reporter named George Willard appears in many of the stories, often as the person to whom a person’s secret tale is told. (Is Willard actually a stand-in for the author himself?) Anderson almost called the book “The Book of the Grotesque,” which would have been an apt (and completely unappealing) title. The characters here are not necessarily likeable, but they ring true to me.
Our book club read Winesburg, Ohio at my suggestion; it’s one of those contemporary classics I felt like I should have read. Here’s my take: I’m glad I read it, and I’m glad I’m done reading it. That sounds a little dire. I actually found the book compelling. The book is a short story cycle, and each story focuses on a person in the small town of Winesburg. A young newspaper reporter named George Willard appears in many of the stories, often as the person to whom a person’s secret tale is told. (Is Willard actually a stand-in for the author himself?) Anderson almost called the book “The Book of the Grotesque,” which would have been an apt (and completely unappealing) title. The characters here are not necessarily likeable, but they ring true to me.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Fascinating President
Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns (Goodwin)
While reading this book, I realized this year is the 100th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s birth. And it made me really glad to be reading about his life; the timing seems a good tribute to a great politician. After he left the White House, LBJ invited Doris Kearns Goodwin, then a recent Harvard Ph.D., to visit him at the ranch to help him prepare his memoirs. It turned out the great man didn’t have the patience to sit down and write about his life, so Kearns Goodwin used her notes to write this extraordinary portrait of a master politician who, in spite of his famous gregariousness, confessed to often feeling lonely. Sometimes a behind-the-scenes book can really grip a reader, and so it was for me with this remarkable biography. If you, too, just can’t get enough of LBJ, visit his presidential library and his ranch.
While reading this book, I realized this year is the 100th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s birth. And it made me really glad to be reading about his life; the timing seems a good tribute to a great politician. After he left the White House, LBJ invited Doris Kearns Goodwin, then a recent Harvard Ph.D., to visit him at the ranch to help him prepare his memoirs. It turned out the great man didn’t have the patience to sit down and write about his life, so Kearns Goodwin used her notes to write this extraordinary portrait of a master politician who, in spite of his famous gregariousness, confessed to often feeling lonely. Sometimes a behind-the-scenes book can really grip a reader, and so it was for me with this remarkable biography. If you, too, just can’t get enough of LBJ, visit his presidential library and his ranch.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Magic in the Garden
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
In a small North Carolina town, the Waverley family has exercised its uncanny (magical?) gift for gardening for generations. Thirtysomething Claire Waverley uses her inherited skill to spice up the food (dandelion quiche, rose petal scones) she serves to customers of her catering business, and her knowledge of the properties of various flowers and plants helps her decide what to serve. (When she places mint leaves in the chocolate mousse, all you-know-what breaks loose.) Apart from her mystical gardening and cooking, Claire has been living a very circumscribed existence when two things happen that shake everything up: her sister Sydney returns home with a young daughter, and a handsome young professor moves in next door. Some real magic is about to enter Claire’s life… One of my favorite characters in this book is the apple tree, which hurls its fruit into bedroom windows.
In a small North Carolina town, the Waverley family has exercised its uncanny (magical?) gift for gardening for generations. Thirtysomething Claire Waverley uses her inherited skill to spice up the food (dandelion quiche, rose petal scones) she serves to customers of her catering business, and her knowledge of the properties of various flowers and plants helps her decide what to serve. (When she places mint leaves in the chocolate mousse, all you-know-what breaks loose.) Apart from her mystical gardening and cooking, Claire has been living a very circumscribed existence when two things happen that shake everything up: her sister Sydney returns home with a young daughter, and a handsome young professor moves in next door. Some real magic is about to enter Claire’s life… One of my favorite characters in this book is the apple tree, which hurls its fruit into bedroom windows.
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