August Reads.
Positive Options for Living with Your Ostomy: Self-Help and Treatment by Craig A. White
Basic primer for living with an ostomy.
Yes We Can! edited by Barbara Kupfer
Should be subtitled Chicken Soup for the Ostomate's Soul.
Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel by Alison Bechdel
Funny. A lot of the strip topics are, dare I say, gender and "orientation" transcendent or, at least, The Husband finds them funny. Of course, The Husband also bought me a copy of The Price of Salt for my birthday ... so maybe he's a bad example.
In My Wildest Dreams by Christina Dodd
I've read that this novel is called a "tribute" to Sabrina. It certainly explains why so much of it runs nearly identical to the film. Obviously, the book is set in a different time period, so the resolution of the gardener's daughter's inappropriate romance has to be handled a little differently. This is still a pretty good romance -- the dialogue between the lovers is quite engaging and their romance is both tender and sensual (if unoriginal). No virgin-sex scenes that border on rape. No wretched "I'll have ye, ye fiesty lassie" dialogue.
The Way Forward is With a Broken Heart by Alice Walker
Part memoir, part fiction. At once tender, beautiful, and infinitely painful. What was true and what was not, I cannot say. I doubt that it matters at all.
Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate by Neil Baldwin
Not so much a look at Ford (although his anti-Semitism is analyzed) so much as a study of hatred and racial bias in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered by Ruth Kluger
Hard going, but worth it.
The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman
What can I say? I've only read this book five or six times, already.
The Life & Death of Adolf Hitler by James Cross Giblin
Well written YA biography which fills in the gaps left by more "adult" texts.
The Marriage Lesson by Victoria Alexander
More mediocre romance. Skipped the sex.
To Kiss a Spy by Jane Feather
Still more mediocre romance with boring characters and uninspired romance. Boilerplate. Skipped the sex, again.
A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh
Much of the early dialogue between the male characters is, I think inadvertantly, amusing. "Oh, I say! Jolly rotten luck, old chap!" Blaaagh. Still skipping the sex scenes.
Fox by Adrienne Rich
More mellow that Diving Into the Wreck, but just as thought provoking. Best read aloud in an empty house with a bottle of sangria and a blanket of cats.
Water: Book One (Ascension) by Kara Dalkey
Nice interpretation of the Atlantis myth. Can't wait to see what Book Two has in store.
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Lemony Snicket
Weird. Confusing. Strange. Inscrutable. Very amusing copyright notice and index.
Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley & Peter Dickinson
Didn't like the Dickinson stories after the first one, but I am very biased towards McKinley, so my opinions about this book should be discounted. The last story was my favorite, although I debate it's presence in the book as water wasn't a feature for much of the story. Regardless, I'm always happy to read about Damar.
Dreamfall by Joan D. Vinge
Found this book by chance on the dollar table at work and was pleasantly surprised by it. This is Vinge's third Cat book, and by far the lightest work. By light, I mean I was not completely burnt out and embittered towards humanity by the end of this book.
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
Amusing re-telling of the legend of Sleeping Beauty. Mckinley did a good job at trying to weave all the different versions of the legend into one coherent story. Lovely.