Not All Who Wander are Lost: Dinner in Newark

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dinner in Newark

Dinner with my old high school buddy, whom I haven't seen in probably 12 years, was good. (Well, seeing her was. The restaurant, whose name I already forget, was overpriced and the food was just OK.) It was so nice to see her. She works hard and is making a big difference for the community health needs in Newark. I'm proud of her and honored to call her a friend.

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Reading List

River Horse
by William Least-Heat Moon

Reading now

Resilience
by Elizabeth Edwards

I listened to this on CD as I have been doing a lot of driving lately. While Edwards lived better than most in terms of worldly assets and opportunities, she obviously had more than enough heartache. It was poignant, especially now that she's gone, to hear her story in her voice. She spoke a lot about the loss of her child and seemed to repeat quite a bit on this topic. Other than that distraction, this was interesting and offered some good tidbits to consider for one's own life. I don't know if I would have liked it as much had a read it. Her voice and its inflections added a lot.
January 2011

Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen

This is one of the New York Times' Best Books of 2010. I sometimes struggled through it as it felt too slow, too long...too much. But it did keep me coming back to see what happened to the characters about whom I became interested. Don't rush out and read it. Maybe Franzen's The Corrections, which also got rave reviews, is better?
December 2010

South of Broad
by Pat Conroy

This wasn't on my radar but was strongly recommended by a friend who knows of my interest in race relations and diversity. This book is about a very diverse group of friends growing up in the 70's and 80's, to which I can relate. A bit outrageously unbelieveable - and even the shocking parts often predicatble - but it still held my interest. I wanted to know what happened to the characters and I could really relate to the protagonist.
November - December 2010

Decision Points
by George W. Bush

What? No credit to another writer, such as "...as told to x"? I really liked this book. Made me have a little more compassion for Dubya and better understand some things that I - perhaps - didn't look at objectively while they were happening. Recommend this one.
November 2010

Paris to the Moon
by Adam Gopnik

What's not to love about a book about an ex-pat living in Paris? I found out there can be some things not to love. It was a slow read for me. Definintely some interesting information about an American living in Paris and subtle cultural differences I hadn't even thought of. Some detail just didn't capture my attention. I did relate to his descriptions of being from West Philadelphia and New York City before moving across the pond.
October 2010

The Alienist
by Caleb Carr

This historical fiction is about the hunt for a serial killer preying on boy prostitutes. New Yorkers may appreciate the descriptions of the late 1800's Manhattan. J.P. Morgan and Theodore Roosevelt make appearances in this former New York Times bestseller. A read that grabbed me.
September 2010

Nothing to Envy
by Barbara Demick

Great read. See August 24, 2010 blog post.

Off Season
by Anne Rivers Siddons

While usually a snob about this kind of book, I picked it up 1) because I loved her book about Martha's Vineyard called Up Island as I once lived there briefly and could relate to the places she described and 2) I was going on a beach vacation and thought it would be perfect, light-reading. The book was somewhat strange but I finished it and, ultimately, was moved by it as it was about growing up and loving a summer place and returning there as an adult.
August 2010

Tattoos on the Heart
by Gregory Boyle

This story about a priest in LA who works with gangs and formed Homeboy Industries ("Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job"). Heartwarming and heartbreaking. Makes the reader believe one person can make a difference.
July 2010

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson

The third book of this trilogy was just published posthumously and I finally gave in to understand the hype. A little too violent for me but it kept me coming back to figure out "who-dun-it." I bought the next in the series, too.
June 2010

Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe

This book has been a classic for a long time and I finally got to it. Dark and ultimately sad but well worth reading this African tale.
May 2010

The Life of Pi
by Yann Martel

No, this is not about math. It's a prize-winning book that is allegorical. Sometimes the allegory made my head hurt when I just wanted to read and not think too much. It broke my animal-loving heart. Good read.
May 14, 2010

Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
by Molly Ivins

Displays Ivins' wit. She was very funny. This is a collection of her old columns. They're dated now as they focus on political events from decades past. I didn't read the whole thing but I got what I needed - confirmation that Ivins' passing was a loss of great talent.
May 7, 2010

Olive Kitteridge
by Elizabeth Stout (Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this book.)

This series of short stories with a common protagonist is not fabulous but keeps you coming back.
April 27, 2010

Not All Who Wander are Lost

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dinner in Newark

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