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.