Books

What they’re reading in Iran

mkehe — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:50:35 +0000

The Tehran Times ran a piece on Sunday asking booksellers throughout Iran what their customers are buying. (more…)

The Dirt on Clean

picks — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:25:48 +0000

I picked up The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg recently and was instantly fascinated with the vivid descriptions of how standards of personal cleanliness have changed over thousands of years. A thoroughly enjoyable and eye-opening book.

“Central Park in the Dark”

reviews — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:22:54 +0000

Author Marie Winn is a bird watcher and a nature lover and she’s also quite courageous. For 11 years, Winn wandered through Central Park at night to document the encounters with moths, slugs, bats, owls, and other creatures she describes in Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife.

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The Adventure of English

picks — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:16:02 +0000

Holding my interest all the way was Melvyn Bragg’s The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. He tells how English began around AD 500, then evolved by borrowing words from the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons, and French. Then Americans, Australians, and Indians contributed to changes. Now how widespread the language is! He predicts further alterations to English will be shaped by those who speak it as a second language.

“Distracted”

reviews — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:12:57 +0000

Years before multitasking became a household word and a supposed badge of honor, a retired professor of theology, an acquaintance of mine, offered his opinion on the subject. Convinced of the folly and ultimate inefficiency of trying to do several things at once, he made a case for a more focused approach to life. (more…)

Long live public libraries

mkehe — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:04:59 +0000

There’s an encouraging piece in yesterday’s Vancouver Sun about the vitality of Canada’s public libraries. According to the story, “business is booming” at major public libraries north of the border. (more…)

Three Cups of Tea

picks — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:44:57 +0000

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin tells how a failed attempt to scale K2 by mountaineer Greg Mortenson was but the beginning of his remarkable and heroic efforts to build schools in remote villages of Pakistan. An amazing story of dedication, persistence, and vision.

“Where the Wild Things Were”

reviews — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:41:10 +0000

Where the Wild Things Were builds on one simple ecological truth: predators matter. (more…)

Love me, love my book

mkehe — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:51:41 +0000

My first reaction to the news that New York Time Book Review editor and essayist Rachel Donadio is leaving NY to become the Times’s Rome bureau chief was envy, pure and simple. (more…)

‘The Story of Edgar Sawtelle’

picks — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:08:04 +0000

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is a miracle tale of one young man’s voyage through classic turmoil accompanied by the dogs he has loved and trained. My words do not do this justice to this debut novel.