Book List

Just for giggles I've decided to keep a list of books I've read. As you'll see, I'm not the world's fastest reader.

2008 (so far)
The Worst Hard Time - the Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. Nonfiction.
About: people who didn't leave the Dust Bowl.
My thoughts: Wow! Books like this remind me to be grateful for all that I have. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression were events almost unimagineable to us younger generations. Also, an event almost completely human-made. A good read for those who don't have an understanding of man's effect on the environment.
Lasting Image: the "dusters" - incredible black storms caused by high sustained winds and loose topsoil. Sometimes achieved zero visibility. Also caused blindness and "dust pneumonia" - and death

Candy Girl - A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody. Nonfiction.
About: an ordinary woman who decides to become a stripper - in Minneapolis!
My thoughts: I first saw this book reviewed in Entertainment Weekly magazine. It got high marks and sounded interesting. But I'd forgotten about it until I learned the author had also penned the screenplay to Juno, so I went back and got it. Diablo Cody is a fantastic, original, and very clever writer. She bares all in the book (and as a stripper). It was fascinating but at the same time, not at all surprising. A fun read. Short book.
Lasting Image: the clientele from her time working in "the box" at Sex World - especially a certain --- Licker, and her first foray into baring all at the Skyway during Amateur night, particularly the use of the word "staunch". Eww.

2007 (in reverse order as far back as I can remember)
A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger. Nonfiction.
About: Junger, author of A Perfect Storm, also a Belmont, Massachusetts native, coincidentally was a wee child when one of the contractors who built an addition on his house turned out to the Boston Strangler. Or not.
My thoughts: Junger reviews events surrounding the killings of the Boston Strangler, how the man who confessed to being the Boston Strangler may or may not be accountable for a murder that occurred in his neighborhood. It was a great premise but I found the book disappointing due to the complete lack of resolution. Sometimes you have to accept that you'll just never know.
Lasting Image: Just inside the front cover there is a family photo showing Junger as a child, in his mother's lap, and in the background are the contractors who'd just finished the addition on his parent's house. One of the contractors is the Boston Strangler.

Carnival Undercover by Bret Witter and Lorelei Sharkey. Nonfiction.
About: everything you wanted to know about amusement parks, travelling carnivals, etc.
My thoughts: it's pretty light fare, but hey, who doesn't want to know how to win those big stuffed animals at the State Fair?
Lasting Image: remembering to cut a hole in some plywood so I can practice the softball-in-the-milkcan game.

Thunderstruck by Erik Larsn. Nonfiction.
About: how the murder of a woman and low-speed getaway pushed the fledgling "wireless" radio into public consciousness.
My thoughts: if not for the Titanic, everyone would know this story. It rivals O.J. Simpson's low-speed getaway on that famous Friday night in 1994.
Lasting image: a doctor, who had murdered his pathetic faux-debutaunte wife, escaping across the Atlantic on a luxury liner with his mistress disguised as a young boy, is captured when recognized by a fellow passenger. Because of the new "wireless" radio communication, the ship's captain is aware of the impending capture, which is then leaked to the press, so that the whole world is left waiting for the ship to arrive in North America for the arrest.
Lasting Image: Marconi had no scientific training. He stole the idea, which was only theory at the time, and worked tirelessly using only trial-and-error to build the device. He was also part P.T. Barnum - quite the marketing guru.