Cutting for Stone - 1,162 commenters have given this book 4 and a half stars, a very high rating. Lynn began it for her reading club and urged me several times to try it. I am glad I did. She has finished it but I haven't so my recommendation is not based on a full reading. The author certainly has impressive credentials in medicine, academe and writing. It is long and gripping.
The Book of Secrets- I think Julia Sweeney did a fabulous job describing her passages through religion. As recounted in Letting Go of God, she studied and thought and questioned all the way. At one point, she became enamored of Deepak Chopra. Later, after getting a better understanding of quantum physics, she decided that he was "full of shit." I find the man, a physician, a native of India and a good thinker, both inspirational and overblown, exaggerating but interesting and poetic. He can definitely get your thinking cap going.
Deranged: Finding a Sense of Place in the Landscape and in the Life Span - the author of this unusual book, Jill Sisson Quinn, is both a nature writer and a personal autobiographer. Beyond that, she is very attuned to geographical and geological land forms. On top of that, she lives in central Wisconsin and teaches English at Stevens Point Area Senior High school. The book discusses similarities and differences between my old stomping grounds and where I live now. The writing does intertwine science and personal observations about life in some of the manner of Anne Dillard.
Extreme Dot to Dot books - most of the books I mention are available in Kindle format. Normally, I don't like to buy books in paper because they just accumulate around the house, taking up space and collecting dust. But the extreme dot to dot books have gotten some attention in my family. A single drawing can involve well more than 1,000 dots. As you can imagine, it can take quite a while to locate dot #1. That sort of activity is not for me but those who like puzzles may enjoy these books.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
