The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Subtitled "A Biography of Cancer," Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize winning tour de force combines an amazing amount of complex research with wonderfully clear writing. At 470 pages, it seems long, but there is enough drama and personality (of both patients and scientists) to keep the reader involved. I think of it as a "history" of cancer, but the author probably chose the word "biography" because of the way cancer seems uncannily human in its behavior. As he puts it on page 388, "Down to their innate molecular core, cancer cells are hyperactive, survival-endowed, scrappy, fecund, inventive copies of ourselves." The book gradually delves into the "pathological mitosis" that is cancer and winds up with descriptions of the contemporary genetics inspiring drugs that intervene with runaway cell replication. An excellent book and good read.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Kair Khana is a section of Kabul, Afghanistan. This true tale of a family who lived through Taliban rule there focuses on the second of five daughters whose energy and ambition drives her to start a dress making business in the family home. Since women were no longer allowed to go to school or hold a job, this was a dangerous enterprise. How the girls survived and supported the rest of their family is an inspiring story that gives an inside look at what it was like to live in Kabul in the 1990s. A short, fast read.

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

The eponymous line of beauty is the s-curved line called the ogee. It appears several times in this novel in relation to art and architecture and to beauty in the abstract. The son of a British MP has graduated from Oxford and invited a college friend to live in the family home. The young people are beginning to find their way in the greater world of London and its suburbs. There is the usual British class consciousness and much graphic gay sex in this novel which won the Man Booker Prize. A good read.

Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

Schiff's biography of Cleopatra is a remarkable work of history that well deserves the Pulitzer Prize it won. The detailed bibliography and references to classic sources indicate a serious depth to the underlying research. Schiff pictures Cleopatra as more a charismatic and intelligent leader than a great beauty; Mark Antony's wife was said to be more beautiful. There is a great deal of material on military and political activities of the age and the splendors of Egyptian wealth. This is probably because very little is really known of Cleopatra as an individual.

Birthing a Greater Reality by Robert Brumet

Subtitled "A Guide for Conscious Evolution," this small book talks about how human beings are evolving in consciousness and how individuals can encourage that process in themselves. Emphasizing Oneness and personal growth, it summarizes and builds on the work of many spiritual thinkers with a conviction (like Teilhard de Chardin's) that human beings are still evolving. A challenging read that led to great discussions in metaphysics class.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Louis Zamparini was an Olympic runner who joined the Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II. This true life story of his capture and imprisonment by the Japanese is a gripping tale that keeps the reader thoroughly involved. Excellent book.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

My book club members enjoyed this novel because of its humor and its take on contemporary social life in England. Major Pettigrew is a widower whose affection for a local Pakistani woman points up the small mindedness of this country club peers. He struggles with this while he deals with a difficult son and an estate matter brought about by the death of his brother. Fun read leading to much discussion of changing social mores.

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

Our brains are much more plastic than has been believed. Dr. Doidge uses research and case studies to point this out and to raise hope that further understanding of the brain's coping mechanisms will lead to better treatment for neurological accidents and disease. The Brain That Changes Itself is well written and not too complex for the general reader.

The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

A disturbed Russian millionaire starts committing random murders in the delusional belief that his ex-wife will recognize in these acts something that will convince her to desert her current husband and go back to him. The Winner Stands Alone reads somewhat like a thriller, but it is also a commentary on contemporary life. The suspense sustained by the killer's activities is balanced by the author's portraits of people attending social events at the Cannes Film Festival. Coelho's novel is well written and a good read.

Don't Think About Monkeys edited by A.W. Seligman and J.S. Hilkevich

The writing in this book of essays is uneven because the authors are Tourette syndrome victims of varying ages and abilities. However their voices do communicate the pain of being normal people who cannot control abnormal movements and vocalizations. At times the attitudes and philosophies they express are helpful and inspiring to us all.

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder is a marvelously clear-thinking and straightforward writer whose books (all non-fiction) are some of my favorites. In Strength in What Remains he tells of a young medical student in Burundi who gets caught in the clash between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes; he spends six months of his life running and hiding in the face of the unspeakable brutalities of that war. He manages to get to the U.S. (knowing no one and with only $200 in his pocket) and continue with his education. An extremely intelligent and sensitive young man, he is also emotionally damaged by his experience of the African war. His story is amazing and compellingly told in Kidder's wonderful reportorial writing.

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

A house in Jerusalem was built and occupied by an Arab family when the Israeli Army evacuated the town where it was located. The deserted house was then sold to a family of Jews immigrating from Bulgaria. The Lemon Tree tells the stories of these real life families who eventually meet and become friends in spite of their political differences. The personal stories are overlaid with a lot of military and political history which is at times difficult reading, but the insight gained makes it worth persevering. Tolan is Jewish but his book is so well balanced that it feels politically neutral. It inspired in me a greater sympathy for the misplaced Palestinians.

Keys to the Kingdom and the Life You Want by Stephen Hawley Martin

Stephen Hawley Martin lays out his spiritual history and philosophy in a book that is worth reading whether you agree with his thinking or not. Sometimes he is too anthropomorphic for my taste, and he's also a little dualistic in how he presents God and mankind. This runs counter to my core belief in the creator and the created as one entity. He gets pretty specific about "morphic fields" and how karma and reincarnation work; I tend to question anything that's very descriptive of life after death, because I think it's unknowable. However, there is lots of good guidance on spiritual practices and his description of the four stages of spiritual life is interesting. Stage I = life that is chaotic, self-serving, and manipulative; Stage II = a religious life that is bound up in ritual and dogma; Stage III = a questioning and doubting life; Stage IV = a more mystical life that recognizes the universe as connected, a single organism. He also throws in a Stage V for emeritus mystics like Buddha and Jesus.

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is being read by many book clubs including my own and I'm looking forward to discussing it. The story is that of a mother's relationship with her five-year-old son in both a state of captivity and in adjusting to the greater world. It is told through the eyes of the boy who is very sophisticated in his understanding of language and arithmetic, but entirely naive about how to live in a world beyond the boundaries of his captivity in the Room. The first part of the book made me somewhat squeamish; the second part was a page turner; and the third dealt sensibly with real life issues. A book of some depth and a great read.

Every Last Cuckoo by Kate Maloy

A 75-year-old woman named Sarah adjusts to life as a widow in this novel which I felt to be a little on the sappy side. She lives n a big old farmhouse with barn and cabin in the woods. With no company but her two dogs, she agrees to take in three teenagers who are having a hard time getting along at home; and then she is called upon to help two other young women with children whose circumstances have made them temporarily homeless. Finally an elderly gentleman writer takes up residence in the cabin adding potentional romance to this work of aging gracefully and recovering from grief. Not a bad read but I found it a little too schmaltzy.

Uncommon Arrangements by Katie Roiphe

Ms. Roiphe has a degree in English from Princeton University and is a marvelous writer. Her topic in Uncommon Arrangements is the complex living arrangements certain famous married couples had during the period between the two world wars. They include H.G. Wells and Katherine Mansfield and other writers of the era. Most of the subjects kept diaries and engaged in voluminous correspondence that provides remarkable insight into their characters and love lives. Some were able to reconcile spouse and lover and to live (and or socialize) as a threesome. Some kept a heterosexual spouse and a homosexual lover. They all start as free-thinkers determined to live in their own ways, but from time to time an underlying Victorianism breaks through. Human arrangements are always human and therefore imperfect.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

I read this light mystery story just to see what all the Evanovich fans were talking about. It introduces the character Stephanie Plum who appears in a series of novels that follow. She is a young woman who becomes a bounty hunter and learns from mentors as well as stumbling through apprehensions in her own way. A fun read but a little too light for my taste.

Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee

The "Free Food" mentioned in the title is made available for traders and executives in an investment firm. As a homeless and semi-starved Korean American, our heroine looked upon the bounty provided at her new job with a sense of irony. Casey was spending her twenties trying to find what she wanted to do in life. She'd graduated from a prestigious college and was thrown out of her parents' home for not displaying enough obeisance to her father. Thus the period of homelessness and hunger followed by a period of comfortable employment. Her relations with her friends, lovers, and family form the nub of this well-written and compelling novel.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

In a private Vermont prep school three boys and a girl are videotaped having consensual sex. Of course the tape finds its way onto the Internet and eventually into the hands of the headmaster. The girl is only fourteen years old so the police regard the act as statuary rape. The fallout from this incident harms the school, the community, and the lives of those involved; its repercussions are enormous. The story is told in short chapters that switch the narrative point of view from character to character, and because there are so many characters, this causes some confusion. Aside from that Testimony is a good read.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The son of a poor rickshaw puller, Balram was born in an Indian village and received little education before being given away as payment for a debt. How he works his way up in a culture still colored by its ancient caste system forms the basis of this winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008. It is not essentially about the caste system, but more about cultural bias, socioeconomic status, and personal morality. A wonderful read, The White Tiger kept me enchanted.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

A true story, this tale of a thief with a rare-book obsession, is part biography, part autobiography, and part dissertation on the world of rare books. Mostly, the author ponders why people collect rare books and what exactly made the thief think that it was perfectly okay to "get" books without paying for them. It seemed to be a sense of entitlement and a belief that the world didn't recognize and reward him enough. Interesting glimpse into a somewhat arcane world.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Perhaps the death of a newspaper would make a good plot for a novel, but Rachman's approach to the story is to focus on vignettes of the personal lives of the paper's employees. This approach makes each chapter of The Imperfectionists almost a separate short story and after awhile the reader wonders if all these characters are going to be melded together into a cohesive story. The answer is no. The writing and character development in this novel are excellent, but I missed having a plot.

The Universe Is Calling by Eric Butterworth

My metaphysics class spent several months hashing over Butterworth's ideas of experiencing oneness with the Universe. Ostensibly this is a book about prayer, but the approach is very different from what most people practice. It is based on the Unity concept that we are one with each other, with the Universe, and with everything in the Universe. It teaches that prayer is not something you do TO God or FOR God. It is an acknowledgement of ever-present divine activity and your part in its creative process.

The Tapestries by Kien Nguyen

I enjoyed Nguyen's memoir The Unwanted so much that I immediately downloaded his first novel, which is called The Tapestries. Once again the exotic setting of Vietnam was fascinating to me, but I was disappointed by the story line which I found hard to believe. When it came to "hidden treasure" and a divided treasure map, I thought "Oh, this is too trite and too much of a stretch," and it made me question how likely other events in the novel were. Not a bad read, but I consider The Tapestries quite mediocre as literature.

The Unwanted; a Memoir of Childhood by Kien Nguyen

The child of a Vietnam woman and an American soldier, Kien Nguyen was born shortly before his father was rotated home to the United States. His memoir describes how his mixed race and some family misfortunes made him an outcast in Vietnam. Much of his life was a simple struggle for existence; food was in short supply and there were always worries in dealing with government authorities. The Unwanted is a compelling and wonderful read, although I mentally questioned how he could recall detail experienced at a very young age. This memoir was Nguyen's first literary attempt, and I liked it so much I immediately bought his second book which is a first novel.

The Social Animal by David Brooks

Half-way between fiction and non-fiction, David Brooks invents an imaginary couple who go through life's various stages while exemplifying psycho-social development in contemporary America. Philosophical, cultural, and intellectual aspects of our society are portrayed with the support of fascinating sociological research and data. The husband's job as a think-tank analyst of public policy leads to broad reflections on political values in America, but the book itself is not particularly political. It is very well written in a way makes the reader feel he is being informed while reading a novel.

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks by Polly Evans

British travel writer Polly Evans takes us on a tour of mainland China in a delightful mix of sightseeing and history-telling. The charm of Fried Eggs with Chopsticks lies in her personality as she reports her experiences in traveling this huge country by bus, train, plane, bicycle, and shanks' mare. Sometimes she takes a taxi, but her goal in using public transportation is to be close to living as the Chinese do. She does, however, give in to her "inner whimp" and seek out familiar foods and nice accommodations. A fun read and interesting glimpse into places most of us will never see on our own.

The Writing Circle by Corrine Demas

Corrine Demas is an English professor at Mt. Holyoke College and a member of a writing circle which, I believe, is highly unlike the NYC one she depicts in her novel. While the literary aspect of The Writing Circle is interesting, the story is mostly about the private lives of the writers. The stories of their relationships meld and lead to a slam-bang ending which catches the reader totally by surprise. Fun read. I was amused to learn that Ms. Demas is a Tufts graduate who is represented by a firm called McIntosh & Otis.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The son of a blacksmith, Thomas Cromwell led an adventuresome life that made him wealthy and put him in the position of close counselor to King Henry VIII. Based on actual history, the novel Wolf Hall portrays Cromwell's life in 1500s England with colorful detail that won it Britain's prestigious Booker Prize. The writing is modern, almost telegraphic in its succinctness. At times it is difficult to identify the antecedent of some pronouns; one gradually catches on to the fact that random references to "he," "his," or "him" can be assumed to be Cromwell. It is a writing style that did not appeal to me.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Part biography, part medical history, Rebecca Skloot's true-life story of Henrietta Lacks' gift to humanity is both fascinating and well written. Lacks was a young African-American woman struggling with a virulent form of cancer in 1951 when her doctor (unbeknownst to her) harvested some of her cancer cells to use in research. Those cells, called HeLa cells, reproduced very easily and soon other researchers started requesting them. They were sent to labs all around the world and became a product of companies whose business is to provide biological samples to scientists. Unfortunately, Henrietta's family of poor and unsophisticated people were not told about all this. Suspicious of what had gone on at the hospital, they came to wonder if they had been cheated of the profits that eventually accrued to companies selling the cells. A wonderful human story.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

There are many books about Alzheimer's disease, but the novel Still Alice puts the reader in the mind of a brilliant university professor who begins to notice odd moments of forgetfulness and feeling lost. She is a victim of early-onset Alzheimer's. With the support of a husband and three children, she stuggles against the disease, but the deterioration is inevitable. The reader feels her despair as she is conscious of her mental decline until gradually she gets to the place where nothing much matters anymore. Genova, who holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard, presents a very accurate and compellingly readable account of problems encountered with Alzheimer's.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Calling it a "true life novel" Jeannette Walls has pulled together stories of her grandmother and uses them as the basis for this first person "memoir" Grandma was a tough girl and woman who grew up on a ranch in New Mexico and at age five started helping her father train horses. She had her feet pulled out from under her when she was fifteen and her father decided he could no longer afford her education. But by then she had had just enough education to qualify to teach in rural schools where it was difficult to place teacher, so she left home and was able to sustain herself as she bounced from town to town eventually finishing up a bachelor's degree. She learned to drive a car and fly a plane, and she married a good man. Very homey down-to-earth writing in a wonderful book.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

The author of Girl with a Pearl Earring has written a remarkable novel about nineteenth century fossil hunters in England. Told from the point of view of a middle class spinster named Elizabeth, the story focuses on a real person named Mary Anning (1799-1847), a poor girl who spent years scouring beaches for "curies" that were sold to tourists. Elizabeth, also a fossil fan, brings some education to Mary and helps her to connect with the greater world of science which was just then speculating that there may have been "creatures" that are now extinct. This idea was not immediately accepted by the public as it seemed to be in contradiction to the Bible. Good fact-based story, well written.

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

A young girl (age 5 or 6) arrives in a rural Washington town after having lived in very primitive conditions deep in a forest. She is mute and wild until a psychiatrist starts working with her and gradually re-connects her with the civilized world. That process and the mystery of the girl's identity and origin make for a page-turner and fun, light read.

Dickens by Peter Ackroyd

Charles Dickens led a full, active, and somewhat peripatetic life as chronicled by Peter Ackroyd in this beautifully written, comprehensive biography. It has a nice balance between Dickens' personal and professional lives and makes an effort to capture an overall portrait of who the man really was. He sprang from a poor family and was affected throughout his life by his father's financial irresponsibility. Working as both writer and editor, Dickens started at least three periodicals where his novels were published serially. His financial success allowed him to support a wife and ten children, often living abroad in France, Italy, and Switzerland. My objective in reading this book was to understand why he separated from his wife, but I really did not learn much more than is described in a novel I am reviewing for my book club.

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

A butcher from Germany runs out of money in North Dakota so he finds work there and settles into American life shortly after WWI. Eventually he has his own shop and a family in the small ND town. There he comes into contact with our heroine, an itinerant circus act performer, who also settles in the town and becomes an employee and best friend of the butcher's wife. The fate of the heroine and the butcher's family during WWII becomes a focal point in their story with a surprise twist at the end. Erdrich is an excellent writer even though she waxes a bit poetic at times, and this novel is a good read.

Does the Center Hold? by Donald Palmer

Donald Palmer's first history of philosophy, Looking at Philosophy, took the reader through the subject in chronological order. His second book, Does the Center Hold? arranges much the same material by subject and adds references to other fields and a little personal opinion. It is wonderfully well written and has amusing cartoons sprinkled throughout. Nevertheless, it is still basically a textbook and needs serious attention to get the most out of it.

Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck

In Expecting Adam Martha Beck described spiritual experiences she had while pregnant with her Down Syndrome son, and Leaving the Saints continues with more spiritual events. Subtitled How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, Beck's memoir is rife with inside information about the Mormon Church, although she insists she has not given away any secrets. It's a fascinating book of religious and family struggles that center around alleged child abuse. Beck is a highly intelligent and very successful woman who lives in Arizona and works as a life coach. However, her story of abuse is challenged by some family members and I found myself wondering if her story is accurate or tinged with paranoia.

The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper

Liberia is a country founded by former slaves settled there by Americans who felt that it was a good idea to send ex-slaves back to Africa. Helene Cooper captures some of that history in her memoir as she recounts the participation of her forebears in the event; then she moves on to describe more recent political events in Liberia. As a member of one of the country's wealthy families, she was able to escape the place when the political situation got nasty. She transitioned into an American college student and eventually became a reporter who traveled all over the world. The House at Sugar Beach is an interesting memoir, both as character study and as a recounting of historical events most of us know little about.

Looking at Philosophy by Donald Palmer

Donald Palmer presents the history of western philosophy in a light hearted and entertaining manner in this book with lots of cartoon drawings. "The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter," says the subtitle. Even so, the subject is seriously covered from the pre-Socratics to 20th century philosophers who are still living. Palmer is an excellent writer who includes biographical bits and pieces into his summary of each person's philosophy. While I don't feel qualified to comment on the intellectual quality of Palmer's work, I do believe that he takes difficult subject matter and makes it more accessible to those of us who are interested but not especially studious.

Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving

John Irving is a great American writer, but I think Last Night in Twisted River should have been edited down by about a third. It's almost 600 pages long and some of its ruminations were a little boring. The plot of the novel is more twisted than the eponymous river from which a cook in a logging camp and his twelve-year-old son are forced into flight because of a disastrous accident. They change names and locations several times during their 50 years on the run. They are wonderful characters, fully and individually drawn in a story that sometimes strains credibility.

The Book of Mirdad by Mikhail Naimy

I paid $74.00 for a used paperback copy of this out-of-print, 185-page novel. Later I learned that I could have downloaded it for free from the Internet; but this does not really bother me, because I love the book. Its central character, Mirdad, is a Christ-like figure who teaches monks the error of duality and the truth of the Oneness of all things. Mirdad teaches the same kinds of truth that my Unity Church does. It is truth that is both very ancient and very modern; it transcends creeds and formal theology.

Mikhail Naimy was a friend and biographer of Kahlil Gibran, and the The Book of Mirdad is written in a poetic style that reminds one of The Prophet. I really wish that someone would re-publish it so that I could buy and give copies to my friends.

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

A marriage collapses in London, and the wife, Nora, moves to Venice, Italy with the intention of becoming a glassblower like one of her Italian ancestors. How she starts life over here is only part of the story. The rest concerns a mystery in the life of her ancestor who lived in a much more dangerous Venice of the 1600s. Some of the plot situations in this novel are very interesting, but it is flawed by unlikely turns of events and a silly romance. The glassblowing business is nicely described, but there are errors in language. As a genealogist, I was annoyed by the use of the word "ancestor" when the meaning was clearly "descendant." A very light read.

One Day by David Nicholls

A young man and woman graduate from college; and after a brief encounter, separate and proceed with establishing their personal and professional roles as adults. Both struggle with identity issues, make mistakes, find various forms of success, and, as they approach age 40, begin to achieve some stability. The friendship they maintain off and on over the years keeps them connected and somewhat anchored during difficult times. One Day is a superb British novel. Nicholls' writing is witty and intelligent, and the way he pulls the reader into the minds of his characters is wonderfully compelling.