Book reviews written by Amy P

Left-Handed: Poems

by Jonathan Galassi

Rated 5 stars

“A powerfully lyrical book of 50 poems tracing the course of a love affair. Images alive to nature, the city, and relationships. Masterful.”

Amy P wrote this review 22 hours ago. ( reply | permalink )

“People’s stories are compelling, and no where is that more evident than in the work of Storycorps, an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of their lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from nearly 80,000 participants. Each conversation is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. The project has also publishes thematic books, and my recent fave is All there is: love stories from Storycorps, edited by Dave Isay. These heartwarming vignettes are organized around ‘love found’, ‘love lost’…and ‘found at last’. Each excerpt is about 4 pages long and includes a photo of the couple. The book’s typeface makes it easy to read and I can conceive of many uses for the book beyond individual reading. Since there’s just a wealth of life-lessons herein, All There is would be great to use with pre-marital couples in group settings or among friends to spark peoples’ recollections of love in their lives. It would be great for couples to read aloud together. Click on this link, http://bit.ly/MoqT9b, for other Storycorps titles owned by TCPL. ”

Amy P wrote this review 3 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

The Real Romney

by Michael Kranish

Rated 3 stars

“ It’s a presidential election year, and one way to learn more about the presidential candidates is to read books written about them or by them. There’s a lot available in book form by/about President Obama and you can check TCPL holdings by clicking this link http://bit.ly/KoPBUq. What’s been written in book form about Mitt Romney? Not nearly as much, (check here for TCPL holdings, http://bit.ly/JCSap0) but one new title, The Real Romney, attempts to address the paucity of book material. I chose to read this title because it was written by Boston Globe staff writers, Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, whom I thought would have some insights into Mr. Romney given his term as Massachusetts governor. The book provides a pretty comprehensive biographical picture of Romney. It covers his formative years in Michigan, at Stanford and in Europe very well. It also contains interesting material about his family and religious life. As a result of reading this title, I also have a much more detailed picture of his work at Bain Capital and Bain Consulting than I have received from news commentators. Interestingly enough, what’s written about Romney’s term as governor, is sketchy at best, and the book ends rather abruptly with with his 2012 campaign announcement. No attempt, perhaps not surprisingly is made to sum up Mr. Romney. That said, if you are interested in the man behind the politics, The Real Romney is well worth reading. ”

Amy P wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

Ballerina Swan

by Allegra Kent

Rated 3 stars

“Take the ballet knowledge of prima ballerina, Allegra Kent, and the artistic skill of Emily Arnold McCully and you have a dielightful, warm hearted story loosely based on the Ugly Duckling, and featuring Sophie the Swan's education in ballet, most specifically Swan Lake. Adults should always sprinkle their reading with picture books!”

Amy P wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them

by Donovan Hohn

Rated 5 stars

“Radio Commentator Paul Harvey, always used to end his shows with “and now you’ve head the rest of the story”. That phrase came to mind when I recently read Moby-Duck by Donovan Hohn. Hohn’s book, subtitled “The true story of 28,800 bath toys lost and sea” concerns plastic ducks and other toys, known as the Friendly Floatees, which were washed overboard from a container ship in the Pacific Ocean in 1992 and have subsequently been found on beaches around the world. Hohn’s writing is compelling and we follow him as he ‘quits [his] job, kisses [his] wife farewell and rambles about the Northern hemisphere aboard all kinds of watercraft”. When newspapers covered the story in 2003, the tale so intrigued children’s author Eric Carle, that he published 10 Little Ducks, a marvelous counting book that captures the main elements of this unusual true tale…and now YOU have heard the rest of the story! A paired reading of these two books would be a great exercise for high school social studies or English classes... ”

Amy P wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

Before the Poison: A Novel [Hardcover]

by Peter Robinson

Rated 3 stars

“It’s hard to think of a more stellar master of the British police procedural than Peter Robinson and his Inspector Banks series. But there is so much more to Robinson’s work, than his series titles. Nowhere is that more obvious, than in his latest page-turner, Before the Poison. Set in Yorkshire, this mystery follows Hollywood musical score composer, Chris Lowndes, as he unravels a 1940s murder that occurred in Kilnsgate House, his new home. The book moves back and forth between contemporary time and the 40s. We learn a little bit about movie scoring…and a lot about small village relationships and Britain during war time. Highly recommended. ”

Amy P wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

Boston Cream (Jonah Geller Mystery)

by Howard Shrier

Rated 2 stars

“Boston Cream is the third novel in a mystery series by Canadian writer, Howard Shrier. All three books including High Chicago and Buffalo Jump feature the antics of secular Jewish private detective, Jonah Geller. As I enjoy mysteries with rich settings, I was attracted by the title, seeking to see if it was similar to the Noir series. Quirky, and sometimes violent, Shrier comes by his crime knowledge via a career as a Montreal crime reporter, so the police procedural elements in Boston Cream ring true. In this novel, Geller visits Boston at the behest of a Canadian Jewish family to delve into the disappearance of their son, a medical resident at Sinai Hospital. Fans of Robin Cook’s medical mysteries will enjoy this new voice. ”

Amy P wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

by Karen Armstrong

Rated 4 stars

“I’ve been reading Karen Armstrong’s books for several years, most notably, her biography titled The Spiral Staircase, and her fascinating A History of God. Recently, I listened to the author read Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, an unabridged audiobook from Random House. The author reads expertly and it was a joy to listen to her outline the concrete deliberate actions we can each take everyday to build on our intrinsic compassion. As a historian, Armstrong begins her book with a whirlwind tour of the history of compassion through world religions and philosophies. I will want to read the print text to fully absorb her summary. She discusses compassion for self, mindfulness, sympathetic joy, and the limits of our knowledge of the other. If this book sounds interesting to you, please plan to attend our Building Common Ground program in October, details found here: http://www.tcpl.lib.in.us/calendar?task=view_detail&agid=960&year=2012&month=10&day=14. TCPL has multiple copies of Twelve Steps and resources for book group discussions. Do check this out! ”

Amy P wrote this review 12 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

The Little Book of Circle Processes: A New/Old Approach to Peacemaking by Kay Pranis, Kay Franis

by

Rated 3 stars

“Are you looking for a method to hold civil conversations? The Little Book of Circle Processes (303.69 P899L 2005), written by Kay Pranis, an independent consultant who conducts circle training across the country, provides a good introduction. Pranis served as the Restorative Justice Planner for the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 9 years. Truly ‘little’, this 76-page small formatted book provides an overview of circles through history and then focuses on peace-making and talking circles. She discusses key circle elements, how to organize and follow up, and how to host circles across generations. She also examines the community-building impact and places circles in the context of other processes. If your interest is peaked by this title and you are in Lafayette, consider attending a September 2012 library program titled "Can We Talk?: an introduction to Conversation Circles. Details here. http://www.tcpl.lib.in.us/calendar?task=view_detail&agid=959&year=2012&month=09&day=15 ”

Amy P wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink )

The Oprah Winfrey Show

by Deborah Davis

Rated 2 stars

“I have not been an Oprah fan, to any extent. Of course, I was aware of her influence, especially on reading, when her Oprah’s Book Club ‘made’ authors’ reputations, their books bestsellers, and the library hold queues extraordinarily long! I wasn’t able to join in the “Did you see yesterday’s Oprah?” conversations, as I work afternoons and have not found any television compelling enough to record. I surprised myself, however, by picking up The Oprah Winfrey Show: Reflections on an American Legacy, [791.4572 O62D 2011}, a beautiful coffee table book from Abrams publishers. Edited by Deborah Davis, it’s divided into 9 sections that capture Oprah’s social impact: a forum for women, star power, embracing equality, giving back, soul searching, in good health, here’s to books, moving the needle, and the farewell season. Many sections have tributes by her starring guest with accompanying photos. It’s a good read for Oprah fans, casual readers, or those pondering the social impact of the media.”

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Amy P

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