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In his book,
PAINTING AS A PASTIME, Winston Churchill wrote, "What shall I do
with all my books?" The answer was, "Read them, but if you
cannot read them, at any rate handle them and, as it were,
fondle them. Peer into them. Let them fall open where they
will. Read on from the first sentence that arrests the eye.
Then turn to another. Make a voyage of discovery, taking
soundings of uncharted seas. Set them back on their shelves
with your own hands. Arrange them on your own plan, so that if
you do not know what is in them, you at least know where they
are. If they cannot be your friends, let them at any rate be
your acquaintances. If they cannot enter the circle of your
life, do not deny them at least a nod of recognition."
I smiled widely
while reading that paragraph. Anyone who has ever known me well
acknowledges that I'm a terrible housekeeper. Many times I've
made plans to dust the shelves and clean the place. Within
minutes of moving books around to dust, I slide to the floor and
began to turn pages. Soon I'm curled in a chair reading and the
dusting has been once more forgotten. While I'm busy fondling
my books, a lot of dust collects. Precious friends who visit
have been known to volunteer to dust or vacuum for me.
When my nephew,
Greg, told me that his daughter, Kayleigh, is now given little
chores to do in the house. He added that she rarely finishes
her tasks. Kayleigh is too often tempted by her books. She has
a funny way of settling on the floor with a favorite book in
hand.
And the circle
of life continues...
WHAT I’M
READING NOW: Winter and Spring 2006
1)
Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer
by James L. Swanson:
This
compelling book is the page-turner of the year! Truthfully, I
started reading this book at 11pm this past Monday night and
read until 4am Tuesday morning when I finished it. I couldn’t
stop myself despite the fact I had a busy schedule the following
morning and I knew I’d pay dearly for my folly of sitting up
reading all night. In my humble opinion, this the best
narrative of the pursuit for Lincoln’s killers that I’ve ever
read. As one of the quotes say, “You’ll be mesmerized from
start to finish…” I must say that Mr. Swanson should keep on
writing books as he is a fantastic writer.
2)
The Dead Beat: Lost Souls and Lucky Stiff and the
Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson:
Who could think
that reading obituaries could be so appealing? I swear, I only
wish I had the time to take up Ms. Johnson’s hobby of searching
for interesting obituaries, but since I don’t have the luxury of
free time, I’ll enjoy her research!
3)
Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill’s
Speeches:
Whenever I need inspiration, I often turn to the writings of
Winston Churchill. One of my favorite of his many clever sayings
is: “When you’re going through hell, keep going.”
This words have reinforced me many times! This book makes it
easy to enjoy his words because there are so many phrases that
read like a treasure in many of Churchill’s speeches and in this
book, everything has been compiled for me. I grab the book and
read a chapter and feel better immediately.
4)
Thieves of Baghdad: One Marine’s Passion for
Ancient Civilizations and the Journey to Recover the World’s
Greatest Stolen Treasures by Matthew Bogdanos with William
Patrick:
I
was particularly interested in this book because of the research
and findings from writing one of my own books, Mayada,
Daughter of Iraq. Mayada’s own
maternal grandfather, Sati Al-Husri, had enormous respect and
love for Iraq’s history and was personally instrumental in
acquiring and protecting so many of Iraq’s ancient treasures.
Therefore, the day I watched the news reports covering the
looting of the Baghdad Museum by out-of-control Iraqi citizens,
I couldn’t stop the tears rolling from my eyes because I could
not get Sati’s image out of my mind. I knew that Sati would be
weeping with me if he were still alive. But that was not the
whole story, as time revealed. In this riveting book I learned
so much new material. For example, I had believed that the
museum was mainly looted on the day the US troops entered
Baghdad. I was surprised and disappointed to learn that many of
the treasures had already been stolen by the very Iraqis who
were there to protect them, the employees of the museum. (This
had been going on for years, evidently, but really picked up
pace when it was clear that the country was going to be invaded
and Saddam wrenched from power.) This book gets to the bottom
of the tragic events of that day, a thriller sort of a tale, and
absolutely impossible to put down.
5)
The Romance of Palestine by Rev. James W. Lee
(published 1897):
I
have previously read this book, but I am re-reading it and once
again enjoying the old photographs in this book. I love
visiting Jerusalem any chance I get and it’s an amazing journey
to go back in time and see the region through the eyes of a 19th
century visitor.
6)
Boswell On the Grand Tour: Germany and Switzerland
by Fredrick A Potter (Published 1764)
Once again, I’m
re-reading this book as the author’s journals recording his
visit to Germany and Switzerland during the 18th
century is a lovely way to spend a few hours.
7)
The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters
by L.T. Myers (1912):
I’ve been fascinated by the sinking of the Titanic since I was
a little girl and accompanied my mother to the home of an
elderly woman who had passed away. For some reason mother was
helping out with the packing away or giving away of this woman’s
personal belongings. I remember seeing brochures and music
sheets about the Titanic and that was the first time I had ever
heard about the tragedy. I was only seven or eight years old
but I remember sitting on the carpet of that woman’s sitting
room and leafing through those old documents and becoming
enthralled. I have no idea what happened to all those records,
but I fear they were thrown away or given to someone who didn’t
have an appreciation for such documents. How I wish I had asked
for them, because no one else probably appreciated them as I
did. But I was too young to make such a request. However, that
experience lit a fire in my soul to find out more. Since that
time, I’ve always been interested in the Titanic. Then when the
movie was released, my interest in reignited. Now, this is the
first book written immediately after the sinking of the
Titanic. I’ve learned a lot of new material from this early
accounting, such as I didn’t have a clue that the Titanic crew
had been fighting a coal fire in the hold from the time the ship
left shore. This didn’t contribute to the sinking of the ship,
but it was amazing to me that the captain carried on sailing
despite a fire. That fire was successfully extinguished only
when the ship sank…What a tragedy!
8)
The Medical World of the 18th Century
by Lester S. King, M.D.:
As
someone who worked in hospitals for 11 years, this is a fun book
with tons of information about the antiquated medical care of
years past. At times the reader will have to take a deep breath
at the horror involved in trying to save a life in those days.
Certainly, this book reinforces how lucky we are to be alive in
the days of modern medical care!
9)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano:
This
book was first published in 1789 but has been recently released
as a trade paperback by Barnes & Noble. It’s the diary of a
young Nigerian boy who was captured from his village at age 10
and sold numerous times, before he is finally bought by an
English naval officer. I had never heard of this book until a
week or so ago, and haven’t read it yet, only skimmed it, but my
stomach plunges anytime I read such a story, but yet, I want to
know how this young man’s life turned out. I’ll let you know
after I find out!
10)
A Roving Commission: My Early Life by Winston S.
Churchill: (Published in 1930)
This is one of Churchill’s most interesting books to me and it
was great fun journeying with him on his earliest adventures. I
must say, it’s a revelation to read about his many warrior
adventures as, like many people, I was been left with the image
of the fine old statesman or the retiring painter! You’ll come
away with profound respect for his nerves of steel and his utter
joy at combat. The miracle for me is that he lived to become a
statesman! If you get the chance to read this “can’t put down”
account, I recommend you don’t pass it up!
Of course,
I’ve read a lot more books than this since I last had
information posted on my web site. But, my life has been
unbearably busy for the past few years, and I’ve neglected many
important things.
I hope you
enjoy reading these books as much as I did, or will…
Until next
time! Keep on Reading!
TEN OF MY
FAVORITE BOOKS
THE
DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
by Jean-Dominique Bauby, published by Vintage.
This is the
most moving memoir I've ever read. The youthful Editor in Chief
of the French ELLE fell victim to a rare kind of stroke to the
brain stem, yet overcame the direst of circumstances to compose
an extraordinary book. This book hooked me instantly. I've
read this true story four or five times and each time I laugh
and cry and brood and at the end, forget my personal problems
and dwell on the beauty of life. That the writer died only two
days after publication is heart-rending, though. This is one of
the books that I give as gifts to special people.
THE YELLOW WIND
by David Grossman, published by Farrar, Straus and Girouz
During these
days of Middle Eastern torture, David Grossman has the marvelous
capacity to make the reader "feel." He spent three months (he's
Jewish) on the West Bank and wrote about what he saw. When you
read his book, you'll yearn for peace between the Arabs and the
Jews. Tomorrow is not soon enough.
THE MAN WHO
LOVED ONLY NUMBERS
by Paul Hoffman, published by Hyperion
A funny and
readable book about a brilliant mathematician. Not the sort of
book I'm normally drawn to read as I'm not too great with math,
but Jack led me to this one and I can't recall enjoying a
book more. I laughed aloud more than once.
NIGHTFATHER
by Carl Friedman published by Persea Books
In my view,
Carl Friedman is a brilliant writer. As a writer, I wish for
only a tiny part of her talent! This is a beautifully written
book. I was haunted for days.
CITY OF JOY
by Dominique Lapierre published by Warner Books
I read
everything written by Dominique Lapierre. He's talented with a
huge heart. Anytime I re-read this book, and I do about once a
year, I am overwhelmed with admiration at his humanity and at
his skill as a writer.
WINDS OF WAR
AND WAR AND REMEMBRANCE by
Herman Wouk (I grew up on MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR and YOUNGBLOOD
HAWK so I grabbed these books when they first came out. There's
no other way to say it, these two books are page-turners!)
THE RISE AND
FALL OF THE THIRD REICH
by William L. Shirer, published by Fawcett Crest
If this book
isn't required reading in high schools and colleges, it should
be. Don't let the size of the book turn you off. It reads so
fast that you'll read 1000 pages in no time! Actually, you'll
wish it were a 2000 page book!
BERLIN DIARY
by William L. Shirer published by Little Brown and Company
As the
correspondent who stayed in
Berlin
until the last minute, Shirer gives a realistic look at the
lives of ordinary Germans at the time of the Nazis. It's a
fascinating peek into an extraordinary time.
SEVEN
PILLARS OF WISDOM
by T.E. Lawrence
Although this
book is in need of editing, like all of Lawrence's books, his
writing is so descriptive that you find yourself rolling his
words over your tongue to feel the beauty of words, and I
quote: "The everlasting battle stripped from us care of our own
lives or of others'. We had ropes about our necks, and on our
heads prices which showed that the enemy intended hideous
tortures for us if we were caught. Each day some of us passed,
and the living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's
stage: indeed, our taskmaster was merciless, merciless, so long
as our bruised feet could stagger forward on the road. The weak
envied those tired enough to die, for success looked so remote,
and failure a near and certain, if sharp release from toil."
You get the idea... A brilliant wordsmith...
REVOLT IN
THE DESERT
by T.E. Lawrence (Same reasons as above--just a great
experience.)
A few of my favorite authors
are:
Winston Churchill
Bill Bryson
T.E. Lawrence
Herman Wouk
William Shirer
Freya Stark
Dominique Lapierre
Carl Friedman
FAVORITE ANTIQUE BOOKS
(I particularly love books detailing the adventures of 18th
and 19th century travelers to the
Far East)
A THOUSAND MILES UP THE NILE
by Amelia B. Edwards (Published in 1889--experiences traveling
the Nile in 1880)
THE ROMANCE
OF
PALESTINE
Published in 1897--spine tingling descriptions of the holy land
by someone who was on donkey back taking it all in!
LEPERS
by John Jackson, published in 1906, it is the details
of thirty-one years, from 1874-1905, living among lepers at
various Leper Stations in the Far East. This is fascinating
stuff.
MODERN
EGYPTIANS
by Edward William Lane, published in 1837 and written in Egypt
during the years 1833, 34 and 35. Probably the most interesting
book I've ever read. I've loved Egypt since the first day I
visited there in 1979 and this book is like a feast to me. To
read and compare the life over 150 years ago is a true treat. I
wish I could hand you the book so you could read it but I can't
bear for the book to be where I can't see it!
BLACK TENTS OF
ARABIA
by Carl R. Raswan, published in 1935, Mr. Raswan spent 22 years
migrating, hunting, raiding, starving and feasting with Arab
Bedouin. For someone who lived for 12 years in Arabia, I was
taken with this book!
I hope I've
interested you in reading some of these books. If so, please drop
me a note and let me know what you think!
Happy reading!
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