• (6/29) Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical by Anthony Bourdain.
  
  This is a short biography about Mary Mallon, AKA Typhoid Mary. I've always been curious about what the real story about her was, and Bourdain presents a much more fascinating point of view for the story than you might find in a standard text -- she was a cook, he's a cook. Now, as in "Kitchen Confidential," this sometimes results in me finding out more than I wanted to know about what happens in restaurant kitchens, but Bourdain is an entertaining writer so he's hard to resist. True to form, this book made me laugh out loud in places, despite the fact the story is truly horrible. Mallon was an unpleasant woman, which made it easy for people to misunderstand her values and deem her a murderer for spreading the deadly typhoid. But, as Bourdain points out, she was a cook. Cooks cook. And not only that, she was merely a carrier of the disease -- she had not ever had symptoms of the illness and was completely unaware of her connection to the outbreaks around her. I was fascinated by Mallon's story and Bourdain's additional tidbits, even though in some places the writing was a bit on the thrown-together-at-the-last-minute side. Overall, a very enjoyable little book about a very interesting historical figure.
  [NON-FICTION]

  (6/26) The Ice Child by Elizabeth McGregor.
  

  When reporter Jo Harper is assigned to write a story about a missing archaeologist named Doug Marshall, she is initially annoyed (she'd been hoping for a more exciting topic). As she learns more and more about him, however, she becomes intrigued. Harper's passion is the Franklin Expedition -- a true event that occurred in the mid-1800's when two ships, crewed by explorers and over a hundred men, got trapped in the ice floes of the Arctic and were never seen alive again. Some of the bodies were later recovered, providing some clue to their fates, but the exact details of what happened to them for the year-plus they remained alive and trapped are unknown.

  It's not long before Doug turns up, though, and when Jo interviews him for her story, the two almost immediately fall in love. What happens next, I won't reveal. Suffice it to say there are three "families" with young boys involved in this novel. The first is Doug Harper's family and his older son John and infant son Sam. The second is the "family" of men on the Franklin Expedition, a story McGregor tells in fictionalized alternating chapters and which focuses mainly on a 16 year-old crewman. The third is a mother and cub -- polar bears living in the Arctic. The three stories are told in tandem and I was fascinated by all of them. Of the three, however, my favorite was definitely the one about the Franklin Expedition and I was pleased to discover a little bibliography of other books about the incident in the author's acknowledgements. The modern-day tale is not quite as mesmerizing, but I was moved by the characters and their trials and anxious to find out if and how their lives were going to be put back together.

  Additionally, this is a wonderfully crafted novel. The three stories are beautifully linked together at the end when John encounters the bears while also finding a key artifact relating to the Franklin Expedition, and the novel's theme of being "lost" is clear but not forced. I could hardly put this book down and will not soon forget it. Highly, highly recommended!
  [FICTION]

  (6/23) Blood Lure by Nevada Barr.
  

  Another in the Anna Pigeon mysteries series, this one has park ranger Anna in Glacier working with a grizzly bear expert (Joan) and a young man (Rory) who has volunteered to help them collect hair samples from the bears. Everything seems to be going smoothly. Until the night their camp is attacked by a bear. Joan and Anna emerge from their tent after the bear has run off to discover that Rory is missing. They immediately radio for help and organize a search party which not only finds Rory, but also finds the mutilated corpse of his stepmother. When it becomes clear the woman died at the hands of a human rather than the claws of a grizzly, Anna goes on the hunt for the killer.

  I enjoyed this novel, though it was a little weak in places. The setting was really fun and the plot was exciting, even though I found the ending (the answers to all the questions) to be a little hokey and felt let down by that. However, this was my first Anna Pigeon novel and I definitely intend to read more. It ain't literature, but it was a good time. Recommended!
  [MYSTERY]

  (6/16) Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich.
  

  When Barbara Ehrenreich, an essayist and cultural critic, heard about the 12 million-plus American women who were going to pushed into the labor market by welfare reform, she decided to go undercover in their world to discover just how they were going to survive on their minimum wage employment. She began as a waitress in Florida and eventually moved to two other locations, taking jobs in a nursing home, a housecleaning business, and at a Wal-Mart. What she learned was that even working 7 days a week, for eight or more hours a day, she couldn't make ends meet. Her biggest expense was rent, which gobbled up half her salary at least. And, in addition to suffering from the constant stress of living paycheck to paycheck, she also learned that woman in low-wage jobs are denied even the most basic of rights -- like privacy and authorization to take a break to go to the bathroom. Their bosses monitor them constantly for signs of sloth, theft, drug abuse, or worse and they are often expected to stay on their feet for hours at a time without a moment to themselves, doing jobs that require a lot of heavy labor and very little compensation (emotional or financial) in return. The answer to the question, "Will these women make it," is definitely NO. Unless "making it" is defined as: living in one's car, being in danger of being fired or disciplined because you can't afford to purchase the $7 uniform shirt, being accused of things you didn't do, and being, essentially, completely invisible to the people whose lives you spend your day making easier.

  While Ehrenreich has been criticized for her time undercover (because no matter what, she always had an "out" if she needed one -- she could always quit and go home), she is very open and honest about the constructed life she makes for herself. It is more than just a simple experiment (i.e. "With this income, can I pay the bills?"), something she could've done without going undercover at all, if given a list of expenses and income and a calculator. What she was really after was the women themselves. Through her interactions with her co-workers, we learn far more about their difficulties than we could've learned through Ehrenreich's experiment alone. These are amazing, dedicated women who take pride in their work, no matter how trivial those around them might think it is. They deserve better than they get. Let's hope someone in charge over in Washington is reading this book right along with us. Recommended!
  [NON-FICTION]

  (6/12) The Russian Word for Snow by Janie Cooke Newman.
  

  Emotional non-fiction book about Newman's experiences the year she and her husband Ken decided to try to adopt a Russian baby. After months of waiting for their Russian adoption agent to complete the paperwork, the Newmans finally got frustrated and flew to Moscow so they could spend time with the baby, Grisha, and, they hoped, pressure the agent to speed things up. Yet they were totally unprepared for Moscow -- shocked by its confusion and disarray as well as terrified by its political upheaval which, they worried, could at any moment turn against them and prevent the adoption from going through. They were totally unprepared for Grisha too, however. His simple happiness and steady affection for them simply swept them off their feet.

  At times heartbreakingly sad, at times totally uplifting, this is a truly wonderful story. I have no doubt that Grisha is going to grow up to be one incredible kid -- his parents are amazing. Recommended!
  [NON-FICTION]

  (6/9) Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.
  

  Rich, lyrical novel about the fictional origins of a famous painting by Vermeer. When sixteen-year-old Griet is forced to become a maid after an accident leaves her father blind, she is sure her life is destined to be one of misery. This certainly seems to be the truth when she meets the family she is to work for, anyway -- the children are awful, her mistress is jealous and cruel, and even her fellow housekeepers are not easy to get along with. Indeed, the only thing she enjoys about her work are the hours she spends cleaning her master's studio. Her master, you see, is the famous artist Vermeer, and she has been hired to clean his room before he paints each day. As she cleans, however, she carefully studies his work and when he realizes she has almost as good an eye for detail as his own, he enlists her further support. Yet as they work together, they both begin to feel the stirrings of an inappropriate affection. When Vermeer is forced to paint Griet (at the request of a rich patron who has a crush on her but is known for sexually assaulting young, beautiful maids), Griet must decide whether she values her time with Vermeer more than she values her own reputation (good girls were not painted by their masters, you see, and especially not with their mouths open and their ears holding their mistress's earrings!).

  Not only is this a wonderful story, but watching the famous painting emerge at the end was just an incredible experience. I found myself constantly flipping the book closed to look at the finished product (the painting is pictured on the cover) while reading about each feature's addition to the portrait. By the end of this novel, I felt like I finally understood how a great painting comes to life. Things I never would've noticed in the painting before the book became the things I suddenly couldn't NOT see. This book was not only entertaining and beautiful, but enlightening as well. I look forward to reading some of the other books out at the moment about Vermeer and will definitely also be checking out a book of his paintings soon. Highly recommended!
  [FICTION]

  (6/6) The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket.
  

  First in a series originally designed for kids (ala Harry Potter) but absolutely delightful for adults as well. The books follow the trials and tribulations (that means "difficult times") of the Beaudelaire children, orphaned at the beginning of book one when their parents die a horrible death in a house fire. Like Harry Potter, this is a book for all ages though it's definitely a shade on the dark side. Unlike Harry Potter, this book is marvelously dastardly (here that means "evil"). It reminded me a lot of the "Gashleycrumb Tinies" by Edward Gorey -- lots of marvelously terrible things happen to the Beaudelaire kids and we love every second of it. And while Snicket keeps telling us this story is awful and depressing, I have to admit every now and then, it's fun reveling in other people's misery. But it's not as bad as all that -- this book is meant to be funny and amusing, not scary and sad. And not only that, Snicket definitely means for it to be educational. His trademark seems to be using words to obfuscate (here that means "confuse"), followed by a parenthetical definition. Sometimes done in reverse (like this: "His trademark seems to be using words to confuse (here that means 'obfuscate'),. . ."). Clever. I like it. Anyway, can't wait to read the others. Recommended (here that means, "read this!").
  [FICTION]

  (6/5) Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card.
  

  Fantastic follow-up to the terrific novel "Ender's Shadow." "Shadow of the Hegemon" is one of THOSE books. You know -- the ones that make you stay up way past your bedtime because you just can't put them down. The ones that call to you all day while you're at work. The ones that end too soon. Oh man, I love a book like that and it's been quite awhile since I last hit one (probably since I read "ES," actually!).

  Anyway, this one, obviously, picks up where "ES" left off -- the war is over, the Earth has been saved, the genius kids have been sent home (all except for Ender, who has been sent to another planet so he can star in "Speaker of the Dead"). But it doesn't take long before things start to turn ugly again. This time, it's not because of buggers, though. It's all because Bean, in a fit of rational compassion, let his archnemesis Achilles live. And now he's managed to escape from the mental hospital and convinced a gang of soldiers to help him take over the world.

  I think that's all I'll say aside from the fact that this book is not only full of terrific characters and nail-biting plotlines, but it's also got some of the most fascinating anthropological/sociological analyses I've seen since "Speaker of the Dead" (which I'll admit I actually liked even better than "Ender's Game," even though I think that puts me in a distinct minority). Unlike "Speaker," though, this time the studies focus on OUR world's dynamics -- a fascinating exploration of our politics, the art of war, and what it means to be "human." Hands-down one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. Highly, HIGHLY recommended! If you haven't read any of the books in the Ender series (both of them), you are missing out on some of the best volumes in the library.
  [SCIENCE-FICTION]

  (6/1) In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.
  

  My first Bryson book, but definitely not my last! This is a travel book of the best kind -- packed with tons of historical and cultural information and absolutely LOADED with some of the funniest descriptions of events and places I have ever read (I actually had to quit reading this book on the bus on my way to and from work because I couldn't NOT laugh hysterically). Bryson is actually famous for his books like this -- he's written several books about his various experiences as a traveler -- but this one was the one that intrigued me the most because it's about Australia (where my sister's fiance is from). I'd always been curious about what Australia was really like and Bryson gave it to me straight -- it's a country full of amazing and beautiful things with a fascinating history and a downright strange population. It's also loaded with just about every poisonous critter in the world (something Bryson, like me, seems very fixated on). Despite the fact there are a bazillion terrible ways to die in Australia, by the time I was done with Bryson's book, I couldn't wait for the day I might get to go there. Not only do I now have a working knowledge of the bizarre political and cultural aspects of the country, but I also know how to order a decent cup of coffee (apparently, not as easy as it sounds!). My only regret is that so far Bryson hasn't written a book about Hawaii (where I'm going on my honeymoon). Be great to have someone with such a great sense of humor as a guide! Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in either Australia or books that make you laugh out loud. Can't wait to dig up his others at the local library.
  [NON-FICTION]

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