Elizabeth Dean

This book is really two books in one. The first half, about the author's troubled youth and his burgeoning interest in falconry, is fascinating. It's the kind of thing where you wonder, how do kids ever get interested in this? I learned that falconers/hawkers actually take baby hawks from the nest, a little upsetting when you think of how protective mama sparrows are of their babies. The second half is about his contemporary falconry and travels - that half is a snoozer! All it is is lists of locations and names of falconers and their birds. The first is definitely worth reading though.

I wouldn't say it was terrible, but the only word I can think of to describe this book is bleak. Maybe it's the vivid description of the Utah winter landscape, or the poverty that the lower-rank wives live in, but I just did not want to spend any more time in that world. I'm happy to take it off my list.

I can't say why I'm reading this book, because Anna Karenina was so disappointing to me. But it was the type of story I was looking for (modern, urban, adultery) so I picked it up, and so far I like it. I look forward to meeting Lev/Levin - the French film buff pharmacist.

Update upon finishing:
I loved it. It emphasized the incredibly moving parts of Anna Karenina for me. What's missing is the 19th century page long meditations on a single aspect of character. And those are nice, but tedious after a while. One question this book raised for me was the extent to which Anna and Levin are drawn to each other in the original work. It would be a good companion for discussion.

This book does not contain very much useful information/guidance beyond common sense. I think it is intended for families who don't read that much. (Not heavy Goodreads users.) I did like looking over the lists of recommended books for each age group, but those kinds of lists can be found all over, so the book really isn't essential.

I can get behind the idea of this book, that romantic love is transformative and empowering, precisely because of the risks you face because of it. I admire Nehring's willingness to put this idea out there as a feminist argument. I think she's probably right. But I wish she had used other “evidence” besides classical literature. Examples from contemporary life. Interviews. Her own stories. I mean, I already respected Heloise and Simone de Beauvoir and Mary Shelley for their ability to be lovers and be independent and be brilliant thinkers. Surely there are others?

In case you haven't noticed, Lionel Shriver is my new favorite author. Unsentimental, at times abrupt, but ultimately kind, she writes with a rare precision and clarity about human emotions and connections. She reminds me so much of George Eliot in her ability to capture people's struggles with life choices - large and small. This book is about so much I can't seem to describe it: terminal cancer, marriage, parenting, disability, love, friendship, money. I guess it's about the costs of things and the value of a life. It's hard to read a book that's 450 pages about a husband taking care of his wife as she dies of aggressive cancer - it's gross and uncomfortable and depressing. Somehow this writer makes the subject bearable. She reminds us that we all have to participate in the decline and death of a loved one at least once in our lives - more than once, if we're lucky.

This book is by a Durham physician and writer who practices emergency medicine. What I liked best about this book was his explanation of how important sleep is and how difficult his personal sleep deprivation became for his family and for his performance in the ER. (But mostly, just his family.) Not only does he do something important by reminding us how sleep deprivation compromises our lives, but his depiction of his relationship with sleep almost seems like a monk's relationship with prayer or meditation. Outside of his work, sleep comes first. The single-minded pursuit of sleep leads to a spiritual awareness about the important of living in the present.

For a ripped-from-the-headlines page-turner, this book was thoughtful and well written. Fowler was motivated to write it after her son was arrested for sexting in a consensual relationship. She does a good job of “exposing” the risks of abuse within our legal system by politically motivated prosecutors pandering to the religious right. Go NC writer!

These books keep getting better. The characters and relationships within the small town of Millers Kill are evolving and growing more interconnected. The way the minor/supporting characters maintain their relationships despite conflicts is interesting to me. And the main character, Reverend Clare, I just love her attempts to stay clearheaded and make fair and kind choices, despite being crazy in love with a married man. The everyday morality of this series really shone in this novel, with a deep investigation of the guilty parties' (including Clare & Russ as well as the “bad guys”) rationales and decisions. Spencer-Fleming is like George Eliot light. Less taxing and less rewarding, but so very tender with human failings.

All of the parents at my son's elementary school were encouraged to read this book over the summer. It was a good reminder of why positive discipline strategies are important & has motivated me to rethink some of my communication w/ Charlie. The advice that resonated most with me was that children need to feel like a necessary component of the family structure, not just objects to keep stimulated. I am going to work on that over the next few months. Things that were not great about the book: it's so dated! All the examples are from the 80s. It is too dreamy about the “good old days” of agricultural life with no evidence to back it up. And finally midway through the book I was convinced I was doing everything wrong & totally depressed. I wish the tone had not been so scolding. Overall though, I'm glad to have read it.