2011: Book 39

For the Sins of My Father: The Legacy of a Mafia Life by Al DeMeo

288 pages

Completed 4/24/11

For a tale of death, greed, murder, and cheating, DeMeo's story of his childhood with his Mafioso father was heartwarming. A man who truly seemed to care for his only son, yet struggling with keeping up his obligations, the elder DeMeo's luck finally runs out; as does the younger's.

Planning to stage his father's murder, helping him to establish identities in the Bahamas, and meeting hordes of "uncles,' the younger DeMeo revisits the moment when he realized his father was not just a used car salesman. With poignancy that would touch any reader, the discovery of his father dead leaves Al in shock, as does the subsequent "tell-all" books and a legal case that seems to never go away. An easy read, it is still as full of heart as any father-son story.

2011: Book 38

Torch by Cheryl Strayed

336 pages

Completed 4/23/11

The tale of a family left in the wake of their young mother's sudden death, Strayed manages to turn a work of fiction into a story that could easily have been ripped from middle America. From a step-father's disloyalty, to run-ins with the law, affairs, and crippling depression, the family left behind struggles mostly on their own; you have to wonder what they could have accomplished had they come together.

Rarely moved to tears, I found myself heartbroken for every member of the family. Rather than close it out with an atypical-to-the-family happy ending, the disjointedness revolving around the siblings at the end was so well-thought and ended the story in a great way.

2011: Book 37

Daughter's Keeper by Ayelet Waldman

352 pages

Completed 4/19/11

Waldman's writing style's fluidity makes for great reading. This novel, about a young woman caught up in a tumultuous relationship with her mother and step-father, in a federal drug case with her illegal alien boyfriend, and pregnant with an unwanted child, takes the reader on a journey from the naivety of childhood through a prison sentence.

Nailing the daughter's condescending attitude without making her unlikable, Waldman's character development is that which makes you forget whether you are reading a work of fiction or a memoir.

2011: Book 36

Don't Wake Me at Doyles: The Remarkable Memoir of an Ordinary Irish Woman and Her Extraordinary Life by Maura Murphy

400 pages

Completed 4/11/11

The tales of Maura Murphy cannot be ignored; a mother of nine, with lives in both England and Ireland, with stories of love and of woe, this memoir is poignantly terrific. Stricken by poverty and illness throughout her life, Murphy is then dealt the final blow; a cancer diagnosis. With journal entries of each of her children and her husband intermitently making appearances, the reader is given a glimpse into the reasons, and effects of Maura being Maura.

A full-life memoir, the kind I rarely read, this one was worth it. And it was okay to be a bit perturbed by Murphy and her actions; she makes no exscuses, and is fine in - and with - her ways. As she ages, her decisions become clearer, and one cannot help but be on her side.

2011: Book #35

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

272 pages

Completed 4/7/11

Written in letter form, this novel is written from the vantage point of almost-adult Matt to his baby sister Emmy, in hopes that she will understand why things are the way they are. Living for years in South Boston under the rule of their seemingly-psychotic mother and never-ending roatation of her boyfriends, Matt involves a man in their lives that he believes will help them out of their perilous situation. But when Murdoch realizes just how off the deep end Nikki really is, he scuttles out, leaving an adolescent Matt to not only survive himself, but care for his two younger sisters.

Defintely written at a young adult level, this book nonetheless was intriguing and offered a good story. While perhaps not necessarily challenging, the emotion itself is a force to be reckoned with.

2011: Book #34

Family Album by Penelope Lively

240 pages

Completed 4/3/11

Told from nine points of view - the six children of two parents and their nanny - set in the outskirts of London, this novel was a bit slow to get into, but I am so glad I did. Revealing the secrets behind the family, while combining their past stories with their current lives was written so well that not once did I feel lost in terms of whom was speaking.

Intriguing, I couldn't believe the ease in which huge secrets were revealed. With the mother being oh-so-cheery and living alongside her lost-in-his-own-world husband, the children have very different takes on what went on during their childhood, and each had their own unique voice. Well done; I truly enjoyed this read.

2011: Book #33

Cheerful Money by Tad Friend

368 pages

Completed 3/31/11

This memoir was obnoxious, and not in an entertaining way. The woe-is-me tale of a rich boy with a rich familial history and hob-nobbing years anaylzed in a heavy Freudian manner gained zero sympathy for me. Reporting that he spent $130k on therapy, I was even less inclined to like Friend.

The intense family tree reckonings confused me; I could not keep the names and the sides straight, and forget it when his wife came into play. With oh-so-brief glimpses into such a rich life, this book was more sociological than memoir. Disappointing.

2011: Book 32

Juicy: Confessions of a Former Baseball Wife by Jessica Canseco


256 pages

Completed 3/27/11

This book was not great; I should've put it down two chapters in, but I just could not stop reading it. Is that not the case of all trashy reads? Canseco tells the tale of how at 19, working at Hooters, she falls for MLB great Jose Canseco. With woes of a terrible sex life, his countless affairs, plastic surgery, steroid abuse, and the code of silence upheld by the baseball wives and girlfriends, this was an interesting, if terrible, read.

I couldn't help but feel for Canseco throughout the first half of the book; with her emotionally absent parents throughout her childhood, Jose didn't seem so bad. But after filing for divorce what seemed like 25 times, and yet still returning to his abusive, belittling, and disrespectful ways, I found myself just annoyed. After she brings a child into this odd union, I lost all respect. This was one of the rare memoirs I read and had no desire to research the author further.

2011: Book 31

Getting Stoned with Savaged Savages by J. Maarten Troost


256 pages


Completed 3/25/11

A follow-up to his tales in The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Troost offers stories of his return to the South Pacific. Not as entertaining as Sex Lives, Troost and his wife, Sylvia, are maintaing residence on a populated, civilized island, where adventures are not experiences, as they were previously.

Where British and French influences are merged with an influx of Indian culture, the islands that make up Vanuatu are odd, wrought with stereotypes, racism, and sex for sale, mixed with the occasional cyclone and cruise ship. Troost seems obsessed with two things throughout this stay; the local intoxicating drink, kava, and the island's history of cannibalism.

With the impending arrival of their first child, the Troosts ascend a volcano; just one of a series of odd choices. Sylvia eventually gives birth to a child who is revered by the community, yet they decide to return to the US, even after griping about the states through the book. I should've stopped with the original book.

2011: Book 30

Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescued by Tragedy by Dani Shapiro


256 pages

Completed 3/24/11

Living the high life with her married boyfriend, Dani Shapiro is a college dropout in the eighties whose drinking problem is spiraling out of control when she gets a call that will change the course of her life. When she reports to the hospital where both of her parents lie after a horrific car accident, Shapiro has to make a lot of decisions, with almost no support.

With sufficient background information on her family and college-years, Shapiro manages to tell a moment-in-time memoir without leaving the reader guessing about much. The turn of events that leave her referring to time as before-the-accident and after-the-accident changes Shapiro in the nick of time.

2011: Book 29

Blue Angel by Francine Prose


314 pages

Completed 3/23/11

When I saw that this novel was described as "hilarious," and told the story of a professor finally tempted by a student at the worst of times at the university, I was in. But honestly, without a better word, this book was stupid. Preening in the loving relationship with his wife of many years, a professor who is lackadaisical about everything school related is suddenly attracted to a pierced, goth, annoyed non-contributing student. He barely does anything, vaguely mentions issues with his college-aged daughter, which are never fully made clear, and ignores his own novel's deadlines.

This terrible story goes on with the professor falling for the student's sexual - albeit weird -poetry, and an even odder novel she is penning. Eventually he has to face a court of his peers on sexual harassment charges, and his lack of any explanation, defense, or caring is annoying. The ending? Stupid. The lack of anything clear throughout? Stupid. Don't waste your time on this one.

2011: Book 28

One Child by Torey Hayden


336 pages

Completed 3/21/11

The tale of a special education teacher whose classroom is upended when six-year-old Sheila, awaiting placement in a state ward after kidnapping and burning a three--year-old, arrives. Prone to violent outbursts, refusing to do work, and arriving day after day filthy and stinking, Sheila is a challenge for Hayden. Slowly but surely, she breaks through Sheila's walls, and discovers the child is gifted in more ways than one.

After suffering a trauma, Hayden expects Sheila to revert to her old ways, but the child is resilient. But the looming state commitment drives all around her to question whether that is the best option for this young child. I enjoyed this read; Hayden's feelings towards "her" children are heartfelt and true. While researching post-reading to see where Sheila is today, I found that Hayden wrote a follow-up to this book, which is on my PBS wish-list.

2011: Book 27

Ivy League Stripper by Heidi Mattson


288 pages

Completed 3/19/11

A feminist take on stripping - irony at it's finest. I am a fan of scandalous memoirs, but Mattson's holier-than-thou approach to stripping annoyed me. Having to take three years off of her undergraduate work at Brown University, Mattson finally comes to the conclusion, after several missteps and other considerations, that the best option for her is to join the staff at a topless bar. Expecting quite the story after this turn of events, I was disappointed when Mattson constantly wrote of being above the influence that the other girls' were under, introducing herself as a stripper and being okay with it while internally conflicted about telling her parents, and bashing her undergrad institution.

While her stories of night stripping were amusing, and the woes of the other girls heartbreaking, what stuck with me the most (and bothered me the most) was Mattson's view on the men. She repeatedly said she "remained friends" with customers, but also stated numerous times that she never mingled work and real life. Understanding the men, she claimed, was why she was so successful. Of course she understood them; she was topless, they were watching. Her "I-know-what's-best" voice simply bothered me.

2011: Book 26

A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas


192 pages

Completed 3/18/11

I have had a lot of extra reading time these past two months, and this may be the last time I do for a while, as my life in NYC seems to finally be taking off. But thinking that this memoir is my half point of my year's goal and it's only mid-March, I feel good!

Abigail Thomas' memoir following the debilitating accident of her husband, Rich, is interlaced with tales of her three pooches, making a life of her own, and her own grief dealing with her husband's brain injury. Honestly, the title was what first attracted me to this book, but then I was afraid to pull it out of my shelf in fears that the book would feature a death of one of her beloved pets (it did not). I finally got around to it, and my interest was piqued when I noticed Stephen King had said it was "the best memoir I have ever read." I did not share his feelings.

It was well written, and told an interesting, if brief, story. But that was it. I wasn't feeling any emotion, was not moved to further read about the author or her husband when I finished; I was just left uninspired. Luckily, it was a short read, but one I would not recommend for those seeking a tell-all memoir.

2011: Book 25

The Truth Shall Set You Free by Sally Lowe Whitehead


272 pages

Completed 3/17/11

The memoir of a sixteen-year-old newlywed turned mother-of-six with a gay husband, you cannot help but be moved by this book. Knowing ahead of time that it was a book that revolved deeply around religion, I nonetheless was exhausted by all the talk of God. Nearly a decade immersed in Fundamentalism, the reader cannot help but forsee the judgement to be thrown down upon Sally and her outed husband.

That being said, this is one of the first books in a long while whose writing instilled emotion; if nothing else, Whitehead can put on paper true feeling. The epilogue was an extra I was not expecting, but oh-so-glad was included. If anything, I wish the memoir would have continued from one of their children's point of view.

2011: Book 24

The World Made Straight by Ron Rash


304 pages

Completed 3/16/11

This novel tells the tale of Travis, a high school-aged young man who gets in over his head after stealing marijuana plants from a cruel drug-dealing farmer. The subsequent events lead to Travis living in a broken-down trailer with the town's ex-teacher pot dealer, Leonard, and his pill-popping girlfriend. Falling for a headstrong college-bound girl who insists on remaining chaste, dealing with his father's rejection, and accepting the consequences of dropping out of high school, this coming-of-age tale is one to remember.

But this book is not just Travis' story; intertwined is Leonard's  own sad tale, as well as a mysterious and telling doctor's log from the 1800s. In the small town, everything is connected, and the ending of this book will leave readers stunned.

2011: Book 23

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost


272 pages

Completed 3/14/11

With his humorous take on two years on a polluted, middle-of-nowhere, constant-Macarena playing island on the Equator, Troost shows a life not many could - or would - imagine.

Marooned with only shaky boats, duct-taped planes, and a lack of food with the exception of rice and fish, Troost and his girlfriend Sylvia learn the oddities of the Pacific island's culture, including the reason behind missing noses, dancing, a lack of elderly dogs, and a fascination - not fear - of sharks. My only complaint about this memoir was the lack of pictures, which would have added to the stories. Unbeknownst to me, Troost has had other adventures, all written about, which are now on my to-read list.

2011: Book 22

Everything is Wrong with Me: A Memoir of an American Childhood Gone, Well, Wrong by Jason Mulgrew


240 pages

Completed 3/11/11

Honestly, I picked up this memoir because of my and the author's shared last name. I mean, come on, it's not a often seen last name. I was neither impressed nor disappointed with this tale from dry-humored Mulgrew. Stories of his Irish - read, drunk - family growing up in Philadelphia, his parents' torrid relationship, and his own poor choices, the memoir is relatively amusing, if not offering much of a story.

Maybe it's because I enjoy more dramatic and devastating memoirs, but this one was a bit uneventful. The dozens of occasionally humorous footnotes were annoying at best, and the pictures poorly captioned - I legitimately had no idea what they were portraying most of the time. Eh, should've skipped this one.

2011: Book 21

Happy Days by Laurent Graff


112 pages

Completed 3/9/11

This super short book focuses on Antoine, a thirty-something divorcee who decides to move into a retirement home. At eighteen, he buys his own cemetery plot, and spends the subsequent years engraving his epitaph plaque. Odd, yes. A great story, definitely.

I found out about this book through a magazine article featuring the best international short books. I don't know what led me to believe it, but I was sure this was a memoir. But there it is, right on the cover; a novel. I have to admit, I was disappointed when I realized this halfway through. Somehow, thinking it was a true story had made it more enjoyable.

2011: Book 20

The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood


242 pages

Completed 3/7/11

The tale of Jesse Green's new relationship with a man who has recently adopted a child, The Velveteen Father was not my favorite. Definitely a good read for gay men or men at similar points in their lives, but the statistics bored me and I just could not relate to anything throughout the book.

The fact that Green adopts (no pun intended) a parenting role, but does not live with his partner or his eventual two children, struck me as so odd and kind of led me to dislike Green. Now, I am not a children-person, but this does not seem like a healthy or supportive way to co-parent. While the memoir does offer interesting facts about gay adoption, overall, this was a read I should have skipped.

2011: Book 19

The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard


224 pages

Completed 3/2/11

This disjointedly told memoir revisiting the death of her mother, the bonds of her friendships, her adolescence, and the falling in - and out - of love with her husband, Beard presents an interesting read. A great balance of humor and darkness, the emotion is raw throughout.

I was a bit confused by the ongoing stories interrupted by reflections of childhood, but realized it was a wonderful way of presentation for Beard's memoirs.

2011: Book 18

Room by Emma Donoghue


336 pages

Completed 2/26/11

This novel, told in the perspective of five-year old Jack who has never left the Room where he lives with his mother, is touching. While not entirely realistic, the terror of having someone be in complete control of your life and one-room existence is wonderfully portrayed.

The inflection given to Jack by Donoghue is insightful and touching; for a young child only exposed to his young mother, Jack is an intelligent boy. Post-escape, his discoveries of the real world that he was previously told was make-believe, are innocent and confusing, yet telling. This was a good read.

2011: Book 17

Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies From Our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution


368 pages

Completed 2/25/11

I am a huge Wally Lamb fan; She's Come Undone and The Hour I First Believed are two of my favorites. After reading Lamb's I'll Fly Away a few years ago, I realized I had missed the first of the York prison stories in this compilation.

A collection of autobiographical and fictional stories from women in prison for various offenses - assault, homicide, manslaughter - the writing workshops run by Lamb in this Connecticut prison allowed these women to have a voice - most for the first time. With an underlying theme of abuse and sexual assault, these women's stories do not ask for pity or deny their crimes. Instead they are forced to confront the scariest thing - themselves. Some are joyful stories; most are horrific.

The voices that these women are able to express only through writing is indescribable; Lamb has offered them a way for their souls to be free, if only for a brief time. As the final line in the book by Dale Griffith, a writing teacher at York, so wonderfully puts: "My body's still in prison, but my spirit's finally free."

2011: Book 16

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepard


240 pages

Completed 2/22/11

The tale of a recent college graduate who decides to take $25, drop himself in the middle of North Carolina, and meet set goals in one year's time, this memoir's interesting concept drew me in. However, my interest didn't hold for very long. Shepard didn't struggle very much - or if he did, he didn't present it well - and left me completely underwhelmed.

Giving himself one year, but reaching his goals way sooner, and then abandoning the remainder of the year left a bad taste in my mouth. Barely touching upon topics rampant in homeless shelters and in the bottom rung of society - drug use, addiction, mental illness, crime, prison - Shepard seems to have painted a rose-colored glasses view on his fortunate "way up". In search of the real American Dream, Shepard should have relied on the character Derrick to present the reality of it.

2011: Book 15

Even Dogs Go Home to Die: A Memoir by Linda St. John


272 pages

Completed 2/19/11

An oddly written memoir - chapters are no more than three pages - St. John delves into her childhood when faced with her alcoholic father's impending death. With a mother who speaks awful English, two sisters and a brother, St. John reveals the abuse and poverty they suffered as children, the retribution they dished out in their adult years, and their reactions to their father's downward spiral.

Annoyingly enough, St. John writes exactly how her mother speaks ("dies ees enuf Landa"), and instead of juxtaposing this with her educated self, the rest of the book is written in slang and in odd ways. The title of the book, briefly mentioned towards the end, could have been expounded upon, in my opinion. Despite it's oddities, St. John's memoir did a wonderful job synopsizing her family.

2011: Book 14

How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale by Jenna Jameson


592 pages

Completed 2/18/11

As expected from a stripper turned porn star turned mogul, this was a raunchy tell-all with photos along the way. Venturing into her abusive relationships with men, her drug addictions, love affairs with women, unhealthy familial relationships, and a troubled adolescence, Jameson doesn't reveal much that isn't accessible on her IMDB page, other than the nitty gritty details of her sexual escapades. Surprisingly, her writing isn't half bad, and she actually came off more intelligent that you'd expect.

The last few chapters, about husband Jay and her quest to get pregnant, annoyed me, if only because I know that marriage dissolved in 2006 when she then went on to have children with her current husband. I also found myself wanting to erase my Google history, as I was curious about a lot of the people she mentioned throughout the book. Overall, an interesting read, but nothing to rave about.

2011: Book 13

I Was A Doctor in Auschwitz by Dr. Gisella Perl


191 pages

Completed 2/15/11

This short but heart-wrenching tale of Dr. Perl, an obstetrician given atrocious conditions to "heal" the condemned during the Holocaust, she was deemed the "Angel and Abortionist" in more recent years. Conducting manual abortions in the filthy barracks, Perl saved both mothers from immediate death and newborns from entering such conditions, doomed for death. The emotion felt by Perl is conveyed in short, layman terms, but the reader cannot help but ache for this woman trained to bring healthy babies into the world to mothers who so desperately wanted them who was forced to abort the very lives she strived to create.

Saved from death, albeit barely, because of her doctoring skills, when liberation nears Auschwitz, Perl is forced to travel to the horrific Belsen Bergen camp, where death seemed inevitable. But the end of the war came, and with it, months more of caring for the ill and wounded. While this memoir was devastating and atrocious, what I found in my copy of it shook me to the core.

I picked my copy up when I worked at a used bookstore and it came in but wasn't eligible to be shelved for sale. It's sat on my bookshelf for the last year or so, and I finally picked it up. I wasn't halfway through, when I realized something was written on the inside cover:

I recommend this book to read for my son because we with my husband arrived 1944 to Auschwitz in a cattle wagon 80 person in one truck, there in the raine [sic] night had to 5 in a line stand hours for selection. They took him left side and the same night put him to the gas chambers and cremate [sic] him. I was taken to cut off all my hair naked...(illegible)...get a few smaller to cover my body to the Bloges in Birkenom (Auschwitz) where I went through the same story what in this book Dr. Gisella Perl writing. - Read this book please to remember how you lost your Father also should read my grandchildren, to know what we went through and shouldn't happen again. 

It is then signed in writing I am having a hard time deciphering, and I am in the process of attempting to find out this woman's name. It looks like Elysa or Olga and either Kerenya or Keremyi or the like. Something about this note, knowing that the person who'd been in possession of the book before me, had experienced the unspeakable horrors accounted for in Perl's story really got to me. I was even more disturbed when I came across passages underlined and notes scribbled in the margins of the Belsen Bergen camp chapter:

January 1945...The highways were crowded with endless columns of marching slaves almost naked in the icy winter, sick and starving human skeletons driven with whips and guns. Those who were too weak to keep up with the column were brained with gun butts. Dead bodies littered the ditches on both sides of the highway, indicating that other camps had previously been evacuated. Those who were brought to Belsen Bergen in cattle cars were no better off than those who had to walk. From this transport me and ...(illegible)...Fischer escaped by one dark night, and they didn't notice, because they shot so many girls they didn't know the right number anymore. We hidden [sic] ourself of snow covered but this like we doing our urine, and we stay there until the transport continue [sic] walking away. Germany this time had the trouble with the near Russian bombing and they running by self also [sic]. How we managing to be free this is another story.


No words can describe the thoughts going through my head when I completed this memoir and thought about this woman whose pen had touched the pages.

2011: Book 12

My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life: An Anti-Memoir by Adam Nimoy


304 pages

Completed 2/14/11

The son of Spock, Nimoy presents his memoir in simple, but enjoyable short chapters, revealing a not-so-surprising life of a Hollywood star's son. A recovering alcoholic and addict, Nimoy's year following his separation from his wife, and subsequently his two children, is full of self-discovery, recovery, and making amends. Confronting his shaky relationship with his father, also a recovering alcoholic, and dealing with the emotions that come along with the new changes in his life, Nimoy is likable and well-written.

His relationship with his children is most touching. If nothing else comes through to the reader, Nimoy is definitely a good father, despite his past faults. I do wish that more attention had been paid to his unsalvageable marriage, as I was unclear what really went on. All in all, a not-so-miserable memoir.

2011: Book 11

Growing Up Jung: Coming of Age as the Son of Two Shrinks by Micah Toub


261 pages

Completed 2/13/11

If you are a fan of Carl Jung or Freud's early work, this is the memoir for you. Raised by two Jungian psychologists, Michah Toub finds himself relating to the outside world with a very Jungian point of view. The interludes of story are connected in a very research-paper way, so if you are not looking to feel as if this is a required reading book for your Psych class, I'd skip it.

I, however, as a Psych major, enjoyed this book thoroughly. Toub's humorous tales of coming of age, love and loss, and his parents eccentricities amused, and the history, background, and personal opinions of Jung and his approach to the field of psychology were informational. I did expect more eccentricity, I suppose, but Toub's well-adjusted self was much unlike what I was hoping for. Running With Scissors this was not.

2011: Book 10

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace by Ayelet Waldman


224 pages

Completed 2/12/11

I've been a fan of Waldman's since reading Daughter's Keeper, and this memoir/short-story format reveals the author's true self - good and bad. I had actually wanted to read this book since the controversy surrounding Waldman regarding her blog comment that she loves her husband more than her children made it all the way to Oprah. As someone who does not care for children, I was intrigued that someone who actually had their own children could express such things - especially in a public sector.

Offering a glimpse into each of her four children's psyches and personalities without being a book about children, Waldman maintains a humorous perspective, all the while keeping a non-annoying stance that she is just not good enough to be mother to these children. With a family history of bipolar, a gut-wrenching decision to terminate a pregnancy, and her tougher-than-nails approach to the literary world - and its critics - I finished this easy read quickly, and with a newfound respect for Waldman.

2011: Book 9

Delivering Doctor Amelia: The Story of a Gifted Young Obstetrician's Error and the Psychologist Who Helper Her by Dan Shapiro


272 pages


Completed 2/10/11


This memoir written in intermittent therapy sessions and narrator's stories was emotional and well-writtten. Young psychologist Shapiro and his young physician patient Amelia feel genuine feelings, and Shapiro does a wonderful job communicating these.

When obstetrician Amelia makes an avoidable error during a delivery, forever altering the family, and her own, life, she becomes despondent and cannot imagine ever returning to medicine. With Shapiro's insightful therapy techniques, besotted with his own feelings towards the patient, this is a great read for anyone interested in medicine, psychotherapy, or a touch of honesty.

2011: Book 8

Little Children by Tom Perotta

368 pages

Completed 2/7/11

Let me begin by saying that I am 95% positive I already read this book; as I got to a major turning point in the novel, I smacked myself when I realized that it was SO familiar, I must have read it. However, I'm also pretty sure I saw the movie with Kate Winslet...so, I couldn't really tell you. However, I guess I must have enjoyed both, because I read this cover to cover, barely pausing.

A town plagued by unhappy marriages, bratty kids, a paroled child molester, a vigilante, and illicit affairs, this novel was so, well, good. I really have nothing to complain about. Without giving away the story for those who have not read or seen the story, Perrotta somehow makes it possible to connect with all of the characters, good and bad.

2011: Book 7

The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele


272 pages

Completed 2/3/11

A novel about two sisters, their bond, and the unraveling of it after one betrays the other in an unthinkable way, Gabriele's talent made me forget that these were fictional characters. With one sister escaping to New York City and the other remaining on the family farm in Canada with her wise, hairdresser father, husband, and two young sons who need constant attention, the two sisters' world rarely mesh...until they do in an unpredictable way.

While the ending bored me, the novel itself was pretty good; nothing to rave about, but I enjoyed it well enough.

2011: Book 6

Slackjaw: A Memoir by Jim Knipfel


256 pages

Completed 1/31/2011

This memoir about Knipfel's descent into depression and blindness, intermittently disrupted by his punk lifestyle and attitude, was well-written, and a quick read, but not a book I'd recommend. Although the lack of self-pity was commendable, I didn't feel like I gained anything from this read.

A few years ago, I read Cockeyed by Ryan Knighton, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Entertaining, and chock full of dry humor, I thought it'd be interesting to pick up Slackjaw; it seemed so similar, and I figured I'd enjoy it. I don't know if it was the fact that if I knew Knipfel in real life, he would annoy me, or if his attitude was just too abrasive for my liking,  but I just wasn't as drawn to this memoir as I was Knighton's.

2011: Book 5

War by Candlelight: Stories by Daniel Alarcon


224 pages


Completed 1/28/2011

Since reading the collection of short stories, Love Begins in Winter, my interest has been piqued towards a genre I normally am not drawn to. This collection of Central and Southern American-based stories are touching, but not moving.

Many of the stories left me wanting more; most seemed to have ended in such an awkward point in the story, that is was almost annoying. That being said, I did enjoy the book. With one exception; one VERY big exception. When a story began with a murdered dog and a group of boys chasing down more victims, I literally slammed the book shut and debated whether to continue. It took me three more days to pick the book back up and simply skip over the story. This is so not like me; I force myself to read books cover-to-cover, and so I felt so odd doing it. But the cruelness and unexpected violence mid-book was too much to handle.

2011: Book 4

Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself By Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern


240 pages

Completed 1/24/2011

I don't know whether it was the book or whether I was starved for a book, but I sped through this memoir. The tale of a depressed, middle-aged woman who, despite her claustrophobia, fear of illness, and overall disgust with bodily functions, decides to become an EMT to get her out of her slump. Faced with the aforementioned issues, as well as being a rare woman in the field, as well as heavy, Stern takes us through her triumphs - and defeats with poignancy.

I was pretty interested throughout this book - short snippets of odd cases, brief moments of humor - but when she took a turn into depression, the book lost my interest. Although an important part of the story, I was kind of annoyed by how sorry she felt for herself; same goes for her relationship with her shrink. Once the book began delving into her marriage problems, I was lost completely. Luckily it didn't last long, and the memoir finished well.

2011: Book #3

Happens Every Day: An All-Too-True Story by Isabel Gillies 

261 pages

Completed 1/9/11


Honestly, I was drawn to this memoir simply because it is written by the actress who plays a detective's wife on one of my favorite television shows, Law & Order SVU. Even more honestly, I really enjoyed this book; Gillies manages a well-written book and managed to hold my attention. The wife of a poetry professor who moves her and her two young sons to Oberlin, OH (read: middle of nowhere), she seems to be living the idyllic life. New friends, a gorgeous dream-home, dabbles in the college community, Gillies is content.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, her husband decides it's time to leave the family. The aftermath that results - despair, anger, relocation, denial, an investigation - lends itself to an intriguing book. Meshed with her Wasp-y upbringing and insistence that her husband stay to work things out, Gillies manages to present quite the good book.

2011: Book #2

The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson


272 pages

Completed 1/5/11

This was one of those books that has been sitting in my bookshelf FOREVER so I decided to just start reading it. Based on a dream the author had, the story of a male dancer drugged and kidnapped by three women and held and sexually tortured for eighteen days and the subsequent effects of it on his life is a bizarre tale that somehow became a page-turner.

I feel as if I do not want to reveal too much of this book's story, because as the reader, I didn't see the majority of it coming. While unpredictable, the plot line remains fluid, and I never once regretted picking this one up. Yes, a bit bizarre and graphic in the early chapters, but watching the narrator's life as it unravels and reassembles is presented in such a way that you just have to know what happens next.

2011: Book #1

What Happened to Johnnie Jordan: The Story of a Child Turning Violent by Jennifer Toth 

320 pages

Completed 1/2/11

In 1996, fourteen year-old Johnnie Jordan randomly bludgeons his elderly foster mother to death and flees. Toth's book tries to conclude why Johnnie did such a thing by tying together his tumultuous childhood, his experience in the foster care system, the kindness shown to him by the woman whom he murdered, and the subsequent life of Johnnie behind bars.

Written in a sort of disjointed way that I didn't particularly care for, this book was nothing but informative, if not disturbing. A must-read for those considering work in child psychology or social work, I think that "What Happened..." is a wonderful glimpse into the brokenness that exists in young - and the elder - Johnnie Jordan.