bookshelf

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Narrated Gwendoline Yeo , 9 hours, (c) 2005 Phoenix Audio, purchased via Audible. Read 05/03/09

A true Mother's Day extravaganza: four immigrant Chinese mothers and their American daughters disappoint, annoy and try to love each other.

Empires of Trust by Thomas Madden

How Rome Built - and America Is Building - A New World
10 CDs, 12.5 hours. (c) 2008. Narrated by Richard Poe
Recorded Books, Read: 03/22/09, Blog 03/23/09

Madden compares the development and influence of Rome (defined as both the Republic and the Empire, covering a span of 2,000 years) and the U.S. on the larger world. Unexpected and thought-provoking parallels are drawn, challenging conventional thinking.

The Crazed by Ha Jin

7 tapes, 10 hours, Narrated by Norm Lee
2004 (c) Recorded Books, Read 02/07/08

Set in 1989 at the time of Tianamen Square uprising, most of the action takes place in a hospital room where a college student is nursing his professor. Shorter than Mann's Magic Mountain, it shares the burden of inactivity. Once the old main dies, things really pick up.

Tried By War by James M. McPherson

Abraham Lincoln as Commander In Chief
8 CDs, 9.75 hours Narrated by George Guidall
(c) 2008 James M. McPherson, 2008 Recorded Books, LLC
Recorded Books, Read: 02/26/09

Concerned that I am in danger becoming a Civil War buff, I am now trying to limit how many books I read on the subject. Additionally, I try to avoid Civil War re-enactments. You know you have a Civil War buff problem if you find yourself "just happening" to encounter reenactments.

Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

47 hours, narr John Lee, Written 1844, (c) 2008 Audible 01/16/09
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/1184-h/1184-h.htm#2HCH0061

What a great revenge fantasy! The time just flew by. I think that I finished it in about a week, listening during my walks in the morning, at work during the mindless processing of files, and during meal preparation. Since the weather's been chilly, I've also lingered in bed in the morning after hearing the early alarm, snuggling in with my iPod.

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan

358 pgs (c) 2008 Uwem Akpan; Little Brown and Company
Broward County Library, Read 02/15/09

This is a terrifying collection of stories, if one is able to open the mind enough to read them. The author gives voice to characters trapped by violence, fear, and poverty, in situations beyond their control. Their choices are so few that any effort is difficult and often futile.

The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill

A Dr. Siri Investigation set in Laos
240 pgs (c) 2008, Soho Press
Broward Library, read 09/05/08

A body, booby-trapped to kill, arrives when the coroner is away.

Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

The Revolutionary Generation
13 hrs 22 min (c) 2001 Recorded Books. Narrated by Nelson Runger
Downloaded via Audible, Read 01/04/09

A concise and engaging summary of the key events and personalities in revolutionary and post-revolutionary America.