Book 49: Dad is Fat

Jim Gaffigan may be the official standup comedian of parents. He still has more kids than we have, though we are trying to catch up! (Just kidding!)

This book was overall very funny, but there were a few times that I thought it was a bit too earnest to be funny. His standup is genius, though--we listened to a couple of recent recordings on New Year's Eve and laughed uproariously.

Book 48: Peony in Love

I've read a couple of Lisa See's other books (Shanghai Girls, Dreams of Joy, On Gold Mountain) and enjoyed them, especially On Gold Mountain. I thought I'd try this one as well.

Some of the "ghost" elements of the story were a little too wacky for me and I really didn't relate at all to the narrator. But it gave me some historical perspective on the Ming and Qing dynasties. Surprise surprise, the Chinese had a movement of female writers and poets long before the West did.

Book 47: The Fish that Ate the Whale

Who knew there was so much to know about bananas growing and banana sales?

Not that long ago, the banana was quite a mover and a shaker in world politics. In addition to helping me understand the ol' slipping-on-a-banana-peel gag, this was really fun to listen because it was so engagingly written.

Book 46: Debt Free on Any Income

Ironically, I can't really remember anything from this book.

Um, spend less, debt snowball, stop using credit cards?

Book 45: 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

This is one of those kind of gimmick-y life experiment books that I always say I'm not going to read anymore.

This one gave me a lot to think about, in terms of recognizing the overabundance around me, and how I might simplify and at the same time enrich my life.

Book 44: Gilead

This was a re-read for me, which almost never happens.

I first read this when it was first published, about 10 years ago. This time, I listened to the audio book. Some of it was wonderfully read, but some parts of the reading reminded me a little bit of Santa Claus or some other stylized "older man" character. The knowing chuckle got to be an irritating disruption in the beautifully written narrative.

Book 43: The Cooked Seed

A few years ago, I read Anchee Min's memoir of her early years in China, Red Azalea. This second volume recounts her experiences coming to the United States as a student and making her way as a writer.

If you have had cross-cultural experiences or you work with international students, you might find this interesting and relevant.

Book 42: Second Suns

If you're interested in global health and global poverty, this is a very readable look at the power of eye surgery to improve lives. Second Suns follows the lives and work of two eye surgeons and the work they do to provide cataract and other eye surgery to people with preventable blindness.

The methods used by these two surgeons to bring sight to as many people as possible are inspiring.

Book 41: The Swerve

Not sure what electromagnetic field affected my brain to such a degree that I haven't posted anything in two months, but here we go again!

This one will blow your mind.

I had no idea that so many of our "modern" ideas originated in ancient Greece, or how many of them were lost in the Middle Ages. It poses some interesting, challenging questions about religion, as well.

Book 40: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin

Jane Franklin was Benjamin Franklin's younger sister, and this book describes her life, as much as is known from the correspondence that survived. Most of her writings were lost, but a few of her letters, and a small book listing birth and death dates of her children (her "Book of Ages"), remain. Many of the letters Benjamin wrote to her in reply survive, so Lepore has read between the lines about what Jane might have written to her brother.

I found this book a little bit frustrating, since it seems to focus so much on Benjamin and not Jane. Lepore admits that was one of her main worries when writing the book: that it would become about Benjamin, not Jane. In spite of this weakness, it illuminates the experience of an ordinary woman during the time of the American Revolution, those of her words that survived.

Book 39: Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder

I found it kind of funny to be doing my evening walks and having Arianna Huffington hand-slap me about not getting enough sleep.

Overall, this wasn't particularly interesting. There were a few new ideas, but mostly, it seemed like old news.

Book 38: Missing Microbes

I've started to hear the term "microbiome" used now and then, and I'm intrigued. It rolls off the tongue so nicely. Microbiome. It's in your gut, mostly.

Dr. Blaser's premise is that many diseases on the rise are increasing because of changes in our microbiomes, often because of antibiotic overuse. He describes his research regarding microbes and these diseases, including asthma, GERD, and obesity. It's intriguing.

Book 37: We are All Completely Beside Ourselves

I was drawn to this title, knowing very little about it, because hey, "beside ourselves" is a state I can relate to these days.

This is really quite a deep and thought-provoking book, for a work of contemporary fiction. The ending was a little disappointing; I wasn't satisfied with the way the author chose to resolve a few elements, and it almost felt like the ending to a different book, rather than the one I had started. Overall, though, it was worth the read.

Book 36: And the Mountains Echoed

Oh, this was positively delicious to listen to.

The stories fit together subtly but clearly, the characters are interesting and complicated, and the voice talent was wonderful. I felt like this was a much more mature piece of writing from Hosseini. I would gladly read another like this!

Book 35: The Triple Package

How about some more controversy from the Tiger Mother?

This book presents a theory as to why some cultural groups are more successful than others. It's an interesting theory. But I'm a bit at a loss as to what can be done with this information.

Book 34: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Many years ago, I read The Kite Runner, and though I don't remember it well, I liked it. This is also a story of Afghanistan, which is a place I would like to learn more about.

The story focuses on women's lives over a period of time in Afghanistan. The audio book is read by an Afghani, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. The story is moving, but the writing style seemed a bit trite and formulaic. For instance, it seemed like every adjective came in a set of three. "The Rule of Three" is great, but it got tiresome after a while.

Book 33: Do You Believe in Magic?

Maybe it's just my imagination, but Paul Offit is a little defensive in this book.

Not that I can really blame him; Paul Offit developed the rotavirus vaccine and understandably has a bit of a chip on his shoulder regarding people who are anti-vaccine (and I used to be sort of in that camp, so I took some of the jabs).

Much of this information I was already familiar with, but some was new to me, and was very interesting.

Book 32: Crossing to Safety

I enjoyed my re-read of Angle of Repose so much that I decided to read another Wallace Stegner.

Crossing to Safety is a slow-moving, character-driven novel about two couples that takes place over many years. If that's up your alley, it's a good read.

Book 31: The Upcycle

I had such high hopes for this book. It takes a positive approach to solving environmental problems and in principle, is quite inspiring.

But with audio books, the reading makes or breaks the book. This book suffered from being read by someone who reminded me of Wilford Brimley.

Book 30: Angle of Repose

This was a re-read for me, which is a very rare occurrence, so you know something must be up. What's up is that Wallace Stegner writes a fine book, and that's just what I needed.

Years ago, before time began, I took a class in college that was focused on Wallace Stegner's work. I'd never heard of him before then, but I could tell he was a great writer, even as a really dumb college student. The book was even better this time around.