THE BEST READS OF
2002
Here’s
the list of books our customers picked as their favorite reads of 2002. If you
want to contribute your own picks, just email
us. We’ll add yours to the list.
I think I have too many 'favorites' never the less
here are some of them:
Sue Monk Kidd - The Secret Life of
Bees & Dance of the Dissident Daughter
Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Gift from the
Sea ( I read it just about
every year)
Kathleen Norris - The Cloister Walk
Anna Quindlen - A Short Guide to a
Happy Life
Martin Goldsmith - The
Inextinguishable Symphony
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. - My
Grandfather's Blessings
C.S. Lewis - Surprised by Joy
Billy Collins - Questions about
Angels
That's about it. -Gail Alsobrook
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1) Stories from the Blue Moon Cafe edited
by Sonny Brewer -- An eclectic collection of writings by established Southern
writers and a fine crop of up-and-coming authors.
2) The God File by Frank Turner
Hollon. An incarcerated innocent man
keeps a file on arguments he holds with himself against the existence of God.
Each attempt fails and proves Divine Presence.
3) I second Cheryl's choice of The Heaven of Mercury by
Brad Watson. Not only does Brad tell a good story, but he tells it in
prose which is almost lyrical at times.
4) Rainy Days and Sundays by Brewster
Milton Robertson. Multi-layered plots weave a tapestry of suspense as
this mainstream novel delves into the world of under-the-table
pharmaceutical/physician trading. Add in the scenario which occurs when a
conservative president overturns Roe vs. Wade for a real page-turner.
5) It Wasn't All Dancing by Mary Ward
Brown. This short story collection affirms the talent and Southern insight
attributed to this
6) Sings The Nightbird by Robert
McCammon. A wonderful 19th century
American tale of folk with hidden agendas revolves around witch
accusations. McCammon's deep research gives a wonderful picture of this
period of our country's development. McCammon has a wonderfully dry wit. -Charlotte J. Cabaniss
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Hi, I haven't written my comments yet, but don't want
to miss the deadline. I may send a refined list with comments later.
Here's my list for good books I read in the last year or so:
Fiction
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
Fludd by Hilary Mantel
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Otherwise Engaged by Suzanne Finnemore (funny)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kirin Desai (funny)
Mystery
Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
Nonfiction
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Seabiscuit by Lauren Hildebrand
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Spiritual
A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly -Anne Kimzey
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Is it too late to tell you that my best book discovery
in 2002 was The Well-Bred Dog by James Waller? He also wrote The
Well- Bred Cat and you don't have to be an animal lover to love these
books. Waller is the best punster since Ogden Nash and the illustrator is
great, too. But it is no use trying to describe these books. If you
haven't seen them, do so now. They would be great Christmas presents for your
literate and pun-loving friends. -Bee
Keller of
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I couldn't let this opportunity go by without touting my favorite read this
past year. I've been a fan of T R
Pearson since reading his first novel A Short History of a Small Place
and have read all his ensuing novels, but his latest Polar is without a
doubt the funniest and most interesting novel I have read in a long time.
There's something very Twainish about his writing,
and that certainly does nothing to diminish my liking for him. Mark Twain has
always been my favorite author. Polar had me laughing out loud and
passing on bits of it to whoever would sit still long enough. Best wishes
for the holidays! -Fred Keller (husband
of Bee)
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I don't think you'll get this entry from anyone else.
For the past two years, my favorite read has been the Booklover’s
Page-a-Day Calendar. It sits on my bathroom counter and I tear off a
sheet when I brush my teeth in the morning.
When my daughter, Francie, was a new baby, I'd read ahead in the
calendar while I nursed her at night and I just about memorized the
calendar. I knew what book was coming up on my mother's birthday. Strange, I know, but true!
My favorite read this year was Donna Tartt's The Little Friend.
I've only waited ten years for it and I would have liked anything new from
Tartt. She outdid herself and once I separated the new book from The
Secret History, I worked my way through it happily. -Stephanie Hill
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The two best books I have read this year are:
John Adams (David McCullough)
Let's Roll (Lisa Beamer) -Philip Tutchtone
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Hi, Thomas and Cheryl-- One of the most engrossing
books I read this year was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I
must confess that my initial desire to read it was pure voyeurism, but her
unique approach to the topic of murder and the "magical realism" she
was free to create by using the murdered girl as narrator hooked me into
reading it TWICE, a rare occurrence for someone who reads for work.
I liked The Lovely Bones so much that I hunted down a copy of Sebold's
first book, Lucky. What a disappointment. It was promoted as
a sort of true-life mystery/thriller, but I found it to be a rather typical
"survivor" tale, albeit a very literate one. It was
embarrassingly self-conscious and totally predictable. The details of the
assault certainly satisfied my secret voyeurism; in fact, I felt furtive
reading it. Some things should be told in therapy sessions and nowhere
else.
After a trip to
Finally, the book I have been raving about for months is one I was ashamed to
admit I had never read. Alabama's own Bill Cobb wrote A Walk Through
Fire when I was still in college, so maybe I can be excused, but I was
stunned by his lyrical evocation of a time and place I'm just a bit too young
to remember. No one who seeks to understand the impact of the Civil
Rights movement on ordinary human beings should miss this fictional
rendering. I tend to read history more than fiction these days, but this
novel actually gave me more food for thought about race than anything else I've
read in quite some time. Jackie Payne
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Two of
my favorite reads of the year came from books mentioned in your newsletters:
* Carry
Me Home by Diane McWhorter is a totally engrossing book on the things that
led up to the
* Speaks
the Nightbird by Robert McCammon has the best three opening paragraphs I
can remember reading in years and goes on to fulfill the promise of those
paragraphs by being an excellent book. I had never heard of McCammon before
reading about the book in the newsletter, but it sounded appealing, so I
decided to check it out of the library. I must admit that I gasped when I saw
how thick it was, but it was worth turning every page (and led to some late
nights when I couldn't put it down). The writing in this book simply is
amazing. It should be required reading for all college students in
creative writing classes because of its thought-provoking and creative
metaphors and similes. The characters are well drawn, the plot is great (each
time I thought I had it figured out, another wrinkle was thrown in that made
perfect sense in the end) and writing is fabulous. I read an interview
with McCammon about how much trouble he had finding a publisher for this book
because no one was sure how to market it. This mystifies me. How hard could it
be to market a fabulously written mystery and thriller by a best-selling
author? The publishers who rejected it must be idiots. Unless you are
someone put off by off-color language or a few (necessary) graphic descriptions
of sex, read this book, read this book, read this book!!!
Other
good reads:
I
started the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett in 2001 and have continued that
thread of good reading into 2002. My favorites that I read this year were
"Small Gods" about a great god who finds himself turned into a
tortoise and "Feet of Clay," which features Ankh-Morpork's Night
Watch trying to solve a series of murders and introduces new characters who are
golems.
For
those of you not familiar with the Discworld series, it is to fantasy what the
late, great Douglas Adams' books were to science fiction. The books parody
fantasy and the society in general and usually are extraordinarily funny. The
Discworld is a world shaped like a disc that rests on the backs of four
elephants who stand on the back of a giant turtle, the Great A'tuin, who swims
through space. Other than that, it is quite a bit like our own world.
Speaking of the late, great Douglas Adams, another
good read for 2002 was "The Salmon of Doubt," a collection of
Well, you asked for it (several times) and now you've
got it: my favorite read of 2002. I may disappoint your gentle readers, as
my review is not of a recent book, or even a book originally published in the
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I've haven't contributed to your poll in the past, but
this year I'm going to choose Robert Janes's Mayhem as the most
unusual mystery I read this year, or perhaps ever read. The setting of
Occupation Paris and the unique pairing of an agent of the Gestapo with one
from the French Surete as the detectives on the case make for limitless
possibilities for intrigue and danger. The strangest thing is that the
Kohler and St. Cyr are friends and are challenged as much by trying to protect
each other as they are by solving the case. Janes's grasp of the
historical details of this period is flawless.
And I also want to mention a very nice little novel I got off your sale table
(I think), Second Hand by Michael Zadoorian. It's another one of
those stories about growing up odd and not fitting in and then finding someone
that you actually do fit in with. But my favorite part of it is that it
is also about junk, collecting it, resurrecting it, appreciating it. Sort
of fictional Mary Randolph Carter. So, I
hope I've done my duty
as a Cap Bk customer now. -Lyn Frazer
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Favorite read of 2002:
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, by Brady Udall. The story of a
seven-year-old Apache boy with a head injury (from the compelling first line of
the book) may not sound like great fun, but that's exactly what this novel
is--great fun. I had heard parts of it on The Radio Reader on NPR, intended to
get a copy so I could read the whole thing, but then my husband gave our
daughter-in-law a copy last Christmas. She read it, loved it and lent it to us
to enjoy. What a terrific thing to have in common. Books--as you know, or you
wouldn't be reading this far--are more fun when you can talk about them with
someone. Edgar Mint, according
to a blurb on the book's jacket, could have been written by Charles Dickens if
he'd lived in
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Thanks for keeping us reminded about the opportunity
to share thoughts about books we've read during 2002, Capitol Books!
Because I write a monthly column about books, sometimes I've lost all momentum
for opining further thoughts about reading and books. But here goes,
anyhow: Wendell Berry's fiction
notably Jayber Crow, A World Lost, and Fidelity.
Growing up in rural
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Hi,
I don’t know if this is what you want.
One of the books I really enjoyed reading this year is The Piano Shop
on the Left Bank (by Thad Carhart) which I bought at Capitol Book.
(Thanks!) I like its musing,
non-intrusive quality. The writer/narrator does not try too hard to get
accepted by his French neighbors, or impose himself, his family and issues onto
the scenes of a different culture. It’s kind of “travel
lightly” and listen (and he does a lot of listening to music, to the
making of sounds, to serendipitous snatches of sounds past and present).
Besides, I have always been curious about what happens under the piano
cover — the writer makes the hammers and strings come alive. -Cynthia Pon
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1. Favorite read of 2002: David McCullough's biography
of John Adams (OK, I'm months behind everyone else in reading anything
new.) -Bill Brown
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Best reads of 2002:
Blindness, by Jose Saramago, Diplomacy, by Henry
Kissinger. Worst: The Fourth Hand, by John Irving--trite, boring,
cliche, superficial...in a word: dreck.
-Michael Brady
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One for children and the childlike. Because
of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. I
so enjoy your column and hope that you can e-mail the last two lists to
me. -Thanks, Margaret Stinson
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I have two favorites this year. Both tell a similar
and inspiring story about two families in different parts of the country. The
Prize winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or
Less, by Terry Ryan is about a family in a small industrial town.
Distant Son: An Alabama Boyhood, by Norman McMillan is about a family in
P.S. Probably wrote too much, but condensed it as much
as I could.
My favorite book of 2002 was Rivers of History
by Harvey H. Jackson III. The book was published in 1995, but I did not
discover it until this year. The book begins with DeSoto and the first
recorded history about
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Any regular reader of modern fiction (notice I didn't
say "serious" reader) needs to take an hour or two and reader B.R.
Myers A Reader's Manifesto (Melville House, 2002). Even though I have
enjoyed reading the authors Myers takes on -- Annie Proulx, Cormac McCarthy and
David Guterson in particular --he makes a strong case of why I shouldn't like
them as much. And he may be right. I realize now that I've got to re-read these
authors through Myers' glasses to see just how close he is to the truth. Don't get me wrong, though. This is not a
book of heavy literary criticism. In
fact, Myers short, 134-page book is filled with reasons why some of the top
literary critics of our time just might be wrong. He ends his piece with a
humorous list of guidelines for "serious writers." For example,
"Be Writerly... If it sounds clear and natural, strike it out." -Darryl Gates P.S. I love y'all's column. Keep it up.
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Bed and Breakfast- Lois Battle
The Heart of the Sea-Nathaniel
Philbrick
Amy and Isabelle-Elizabeth Strout
Two-Part Invention-Madeline L'Engle
--Julie Shashy
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A short list of memorable books read by Tess Ware in
2002:
·
The
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, my favorite contributor to The New Yorker! Love his section on
“connectors”, folks with less than “six degrees of
separation” between themselves and others!
·
The Small
Bachelor and Carry On, Jeeves by the prolific P.G. Wodehouse whose books
are the best antidote I know for gloom. No better reading for deep mid-winter!
·
The Grand
Complication by Allen Kurtzweil: a wildly entertaining book,
suspenseful and fascinating, with a librarian for a protagonist!
·
The
Secret History, Donna Tartt’s first book and a paradox: a 555
page “quick read”. Compared favorably to Patricia Highsmith, Ms.
Tartt’s book compelled me to keep reading to learn not
“whodunit” (I knew that from page one) but why and how. Well worth
reading!
·
The Four
Feathers by A.E.W. Mason. I skipped the recent film remake and read
the book instead. Wonderful! Written on the cusp between the late-Victorian and
the Edwardian periods, there is plenty of that Victorian ethos to forebear,
withstand, keep the stiff upper lip, and “do the right thing”. A
very satisfying read.
·
A Year at
the Movies by Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Kevin Murphy is a very
funny book by a man who is passionate about movies and the movie going
experience. His book is literally about spending a year at the movies: he saw
at least one per day in all sorts of venues, at home and abroad, for 365 days
in a row!
·
The Art
of Travel by Alain de Botton, that amazing author of How Proust Can Change
Your Life and The Consolations of Philosophy, two other wonderful books that I
read before 2002. Once again, Mr. de Botton, a man of broad interests and an
insightful point of view, has shared that fascinating view to the appreciation
and marvel of this reader, at least!
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Hi! My Number
One read of this year is Speaks The Nightbird, by Robert McCammon, whom
I was oh, so lucky enough to get to meet at Capitol Books! It was a Long
wait for this book, and so worth the wait! I just could not turn the
pages fast enough while reading this wonderful book!
Second was The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. This book was
lovely, well written, I cried while reading it.....I hope we get to hear much
more from Mrs. Sebold!
Last, but far from least, was The Secret Life Of Bees, by Sue Monk
Kidd. What a great story she told in her book, I loved her style and the
type of story she told.
There were many great books I read this year, but these three really stood out
for me!
Thanks so much, love your newsletter! -Laura Thornton
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I read a tremendous amount and am constantly drawn to
southern authors and southern fiction. However from time to time other
things interest me. I used to think I would die without the latest Stuart
Wood but Stone
Probably my favorite reads for 2002 were Nicholas
Evans' The Smoke Jumper and James Patterson's The Beach House.
They were incredible books. I also enjoyed The Pilot's Wife.
Still trying to keep up with the latest from John Grisham, Mike Stewart,
Nicholas Sparks, Carolyn Haines, Sandra Brown's mysteries, just to name a
few. I've picked up some titles from
your newsletters that will make good gifts for me. You will see my husband
before Christmas! Keep the news coming! -Rhonda Grant
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John Adams won, hands down, for the best book I
read. Can you recommend one as good? Thanks!
-Jean Daniel
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As a longtime admirer of Isabelle Allende, I was
excited about her two books this last year: Daughter of Fortune, and Portrait
in Sepia . I love every thing that she writes. Another, written
earlier, that any southerner will love, is Thomas Wolfe's A Man in Full. I have an autographed copy!! (from a
signing in
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I'm thinking. I'm thinking! -Ann
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My favorite book this year has been Lovely Bones.
What a well written story. It's amazing that a topic of rape could
produce such a good read. My worst book is The Emporer of Ocean Park.
I continued to wade through it and wished I hadn't wasted my time. I'm looking forward to Patricia Sprinkle's
new book in Dec. -Barbara Bazzell
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Here are some books I read this year that I really
like: Back
When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler; Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by
Janisse Ray, a wonderful book about growing up on the Georgia wiregrass
and the ecology of the area; Milk Glass Moon the third book by Adriana Trigiani; Verbena by
Nanci Kincaid; It
Wasn't All Dancing by Mary Ward Brown ; The Songcatcher by
Sharyn McCrumb; Leaving
Atlanta by Tayari Jones. I also read for the first time Anne of Green Gables by
L. M. Montgomery--I don't know how I missed it as a child. Louise S.
(Lou) Fuller
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I loved The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt.
Can’t possibly remember all I have read this year, I keep saying I am
going to write it down, but never do. -Judy Prothro
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Hmmmm. Biggest disapointment this year would
have to be Scott Turow's Reversible Errors. He's getting more like
Tom Clancy every day in that the more books Turow turns out, the more
long-winded and boring the novels are.
The biggest surprise enjoyable read for me this year was Seabiscuit.
I say surprised because I am neither a fan of horses nor of horse racing.
This book drew me in quickly, and was definitely a page-turner.
The best light reading I did this year was Carolyn Haines' Splintered Bones.
Her books are quite entertaining, and fast reads. While not published in 2002, fans of 16th
century historical fiction will thoroughly enjoy Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond
Chronicles series. (This series is only recently available in the
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I spent my spare time this summer reading books which
were written with younger audiences in mind--some might call them intermediate
readers. I did this because I am writing a story for that age group, and
I wanted to read some of the "best books" written for older children
in order to familiarize myself with language, tone, plot, etc. I fell in
love with so many books! With each book I read, I thought that one was my
favorite, until I read the next one. I concentrated on Newbery Award
books and Honor books. Those that stick out in my mind as I write this
are Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, Island of the Blue Dolphins, by
Scott O'Dell, and Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox. Such wonderful
language and mood swept through each of these works that I wished I had read
them when I was younger in order to revisit them and drink them in again
now. In that spirit, I reread Girl
of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter. I read that book
when I was in elementary school--who knows what grade?--and I was transfixed
with the words, transformed by the experience of it. Opening it again
this summer, the smells, tastes, sounds, and spirit of the Limberlost settled
all around me once again. It's a delicious, rich read that I hold almost
sacred to my identity. That's how much I love that book. -Su Ofe
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Pale Horse Coming -- Stephen Hunter In this continuation of the trials and
travails of Earl Swagger and his clan, Earl goes to the backwoods
Mississippi prison of Thebes to rescue a lawyer friend who has
disappeared. Of course, the prison is in a deep, dark swamp and only
accessible by boat. And the prison is run by a maniacal warden. And
Earl has picked a group of gunmen to accompany him that resembles all of the
legendary shooters and gun writers of the 40's and 50's upon which any reader
of gun magazines was reared. Oh, yeah, Earl even makes it up to my
hometown of
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Hey y'all:
Here's a couple of little mini-takes on some books I've been reading. I may
send another about "Eyewitness to History," which I got from y'all
and have been reading off and on ever since. Best history book I've every
picked up.
The Piano Tuner, by Daniel Mason
Mason, a physician who lived a while in
involves a British army sergeant major on assignment in the Shan States in the
Burmese forest who has a rare Erard grand piano (!) in the forest outpost. From
back in order. Mason's novel is
enthralling, largely historically accurate and beautifully written. A real
page-turner.
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War, by Robert Coram When Atlanta writer Robert Coram delved into
a biography of Air Force pilot John Boyd, he stumbled onto the story of his
life — and he wrote Boyd's story as if it were the most important material
he'd ever share. Coram takes the
extraordinary story of a military theorician — a man called the most
important battle strategist since Sun Tzu — and deftly elevates a
military history to the level of captivating human interest. Boyd is largely
unknown outside military circles, although his aircraft designs yielded the
F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, and his theories were successfully employed in the
Gulf War. Coram gives this important
story the treatment it deserves, with a readability that appeals to the interest
of civilians and warriors alike. - Bill
Perkins
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My favorite "read" for 2002 was a book I had
read before and will read again--The Gift of Asher Lev. This book
of resolution is my favorite of Potok's work. It just so happened that I
was reading it at the time of his death.
-Pat Gardner Roper
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Without a doubt my favorite book of the year was
Robert McCammon's Speaks the Nightbird. It is a fascinating story,
provides a wonderful account of life in the
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Having recently moved to
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My favorite email of the year. Can't wait to
receive it! -Katey
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I've read a good many books this year, but one that
stands out in my memory is Out of the Night That Covers Me by Pat
Cunningham Devoto. The story takes place in and around Gee's
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John Adams. All of Jeff
Shaara's two War Between the States works (his father's on Gettysburg) and both
of his works on the Revolution Wars, including his most recent,
The Glorious Cause All of Terry C. Johnston's works (I'm doing
research on the Plains and U.S. history in the 19th Century, hopefully for a
book or major article), nobody better. He died last year, so what we have is
all we will get unless his wife completes the one he was working on at his death.
Gore Vidal's 1876 , Tony
Hillerman, The Wailing Wind
, All of Kyle Mills' work including the latest Sphere of Influence ,
Thomas Cahill's The Gifts of the Jews, How
The Irish Saved Civilization and Desire of the Everlasting
Hills. -Ed Martin
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My favorite novel in the last couple of months is The Heaven of Mercury by
Brad Watson. I eagerly await news from the National Books Awards, for which it was
nominated. Brad's lyrical style and humor remind me most of Welty. When I
finished the book, I wanted to start it over again -- my ultimate compliment
for a writer. -Jeanie Thompson
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Guns, Germs and Steel by Jarred
Diamond. also, try the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch and The
Pillow Book, if you wish to tap ancient treasures. The Prince is
getting another read by me following the fishy
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…loved the article in the paper but your
responders look at books at a much deeper level than I do! I loved all the
Mike Stewart books just because they were good, easy to remember the
characters, easy to pick up after a day or two and remember the preceding
action....very important in my harried brain! Thank you for all your
information which I forward to my friend in
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Personal favorites of 2002-
Elizabeth Berg- Durable Goods, Joy School, and Never Change (the best!)
Dee Henderson- Danger in the Shadows
Rick Bragg- Ava's Man
Dayna Curry/Heather Mercer- Prisoners of Hope (inspiring!) -Jackie Culpepper
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Oops, I goofed again - imagine me missing a
deadline! I do not have time at this
late date to talk about all the books I have enjoyed in 2002, but it has been a
banner year as far as I am concerned for books by authors either from
I do not feel that I need to review Ava's Man, because many more capable
people have already done so. Their reviews and the number of weeks it stayed on
the best seller list attest to the popularity and quality of the book. I will
say that I wish I had come up with some of the perfect phrases like "when
her mind began to wobble."
I was glad that I had already read about half of Ava's Man when I heard
Rick Bragg for the first time so I knew that it was not just his "stage
presence" that made this book such a good read. But for the few hundred of
us who sat in a dark Flowers Hall,
I do want to make one comment about the book and what it has meant to me. I
grew up in a family that did not have wealth, but we had more than enough. I
went to a small rural school, and I knew many people whose situations were much
like those of Charlie, Ava, Rick, his mother, and the rest of their family. I
do not ever remember being unkind to any of them - that is, not in ways one
usually thinks of. But this book made me think. Perhaps in one way I was
unknowingly, but horribly unkind - I did not always realize or recognize that
their families had the same pride and dignity as those whose families had
more. For this I am truly sorry. Thank you, Rick Bragg. I am a better person
for having read your book. -Carol Hull
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Hey Thomas and Cheryl!
Happy New Year to you both.....I have to weigh in with my vote for best read.
Your newsletters are the best....I've always got a list of what to read next,
thanks to your commentaries.
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is a triumphant novel,
reminiscent of Huck Finn with an updated twist. The story of a young white girl
and the
black woman who has raised her, it is a novel that begs to be read slowly,
savored for
its wit, its wisdom, and its redemptive ending. 14-year-old Lily Owens and her
friend
Rosaleen go on the lam after Rosaleen, going to register to vote, exchanges
words
with some good ole boys and get thrown into jail. Taken in by three
bee-keeping
sisters in
mother many years before. For those of us who came of age during the civil
rights
movement, it is a reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still have
to go. It is a reminder that the nurturing power of love takes many forms, as
do meanness and hate. Best of all, it is
a book that appeals to all ages and genders (my young adult children loving it
as much as I did). -Alice Hart Wertheim
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