Thursday, January 29, 2009

Catching up

The "books on my nightstand" list down on the left side of this blog has not been updated in quite a while!  Let's see...

The Audacity of Hope did give me hope, indeed.  I am not going to spend too much time summarizing it here as you've likely heard bits and pieces in various interviews, campaign speeches, etc.  It is an inspiring read.

Wickett's Remedy  was entertaining.  I love the asides in the book--though I'll admit, it took me a chapter or two to come to love them!  Apparently the format presented some issues when it was time for the paperback to come out so it gave her a chance to make some changes.  She uploaded the changes online but I have not read them so I don't know how the paperback differs from the hardcover.  I thought it was cleverly written and her historical details were well done.  
My only criticism would be that the ending seemed hastily done.  The letters between the creator and the beneficiary of Wickett's Remedy were the essence of the book--they tied the years and events together but the ending felt more like loose ends being tied up rather than a satisfying conclusion.  Perhaps that is remedied in the paperback!

I still have not read much of The Gargoyle.

I recently finished The Faith Club.  This non-fiction book chronicles a few years in the life of the three co-authors as they educate each other and struggle with their own faiths at the same time.  It is a story of three women who came together to write a children's book that would explain what common stories the Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions share.  As they try to put their pieces together, the women learn as much or more about their own faiths as they learn about the other two. I had to rethink a few of my own views along the way.  This is one that I'd recommend reading in small amounts--too much to take in at one time--but well worth the read!

Now I just have to go update my list! ;)



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