Sunday, August 4, 2013

Books of July

I've read more than usual this month, as always a varied group of books.  Here they are:

One of those gossipy books that tells you  the  "inside story" of the women behind the astronauts.  Being from Houston, I especially enjoyed it.  A fun read.

A book club choice.  This is a little known novel by Pearl Buck centering around a bondwoman in a Jewish home and the push-pull of assimilation in China.


I was anxious to read this book.  Its subject matter is timely, given the horrific events in Cleveland, but the book was a total disappointment.  The main character, one of several girls held for years in a basement hideaway,  has been so traumatized by the experience that she has become a virtual recluse, never leaving her apartment, ordering food sent in, working from home, seeing no one.  I could understand that, but then./..  The monster who kidnapped her comes up for parole and suddenly she's traveling around the country, venturing into dangerous areas, ignoring the warning of the FBI man who has handled her case, trying to solve the mystery of how this all got started.  If you like heroines who lack realistic motivation, this is the book for you.  If not, skip it.


A post-apocalyptic novel about a society of people who live in a silo (Yes, a silo).  The author did such a good job of world-building that I believed everything that happened.  Good story.  Check it out.


First of all, you have to overlook the fact that the author is clearly not a writer--maybe he's written medical journal articles but not books.   At any rate, this man was in a coma for seven days and experienced a visit to Heaven.  Did he convince me?  His experience was  so different from other near-death experiences that I've read about that I'm on the fence.  The book has gotten lots of press, so you might want to take a look and form your own opinion.

Cornwell's imagining of how Stonehenge came to be.

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