Books I'm Reading

A book for all occasions.....

Relaxing: Pigs in Heaven (Barbara Kingsolver)-- Until a recent lunch with a colleague, I was completely unaware that The Bean Trees had a sequel! I read The Bean Trees (which is about a young woman who moves to Tucson by herself) when I was moving to Tucson. I fell in love with Kingsolver's quirky, flawed characters who are so believable and endearing. Pigs in Heaven picks up with Taylor and Turtle and centers around the Indian Child Welfare act. It's a testimony to the author's ability to write three-dimensional characters, that as much as I want to hate Annawake, I understand her motivations. (Gah-- the book would be so much easier to read--emotionally-- if I could just hate her!) Anyway, I'm about half-way through so I can't promise a happy ending...but somehow, I feel like it will be. Winner of the Los Angeles Book Prize for Fiction.

About the Kiddos: No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents (Martha Strauss)-- I think the title is a bit misleading; basically, the book is about counseling "treatment-resistant" kids and teens. This is a fabulously useful book and rare in its mix of theory, personal anecdotes and case studies, specific suggestions and techniques, research, contemporary issues (such as wrap-around services, CFTs and insurance), genuine care...and maybe most surprisingly, lots of humor and wit! If you're in the field, get the book! :)

Audio Book for the Car: Rumors of Another World (Philip Yancey)-- Probably the most philosophical of the Yancey books that I've read (or maybe on-par with Reaching for the Invisible God), Yancey discusses the glimmers in our world-- nature, art, music, literature, pleasure, our own desires-- that point to another world. At times, it's a bit too meandering, but as always with Yancey, he provides plenty of food for thought.

Audio Book for Bedtime: Well, I'm kind of switching among three right now. I was listening to Susan Cooper's The Grey King...but the tracks are too far apart so I was having difficulty finding my place the next night. Also, I think I really need to read The Dark Is Rising First. Then, I was trying to listen to Peter Pan (Barrie), but for some reason, Peter seems more annoying than he did last time I read this book. So...I fall back to my standby and grab one of my Harry Potter CDs (since I own all of the books on CD). I literally just grab one and am plunged into the middle of whatever adventure awaits. (Since I've heard each book 3-7+ times, I don't need the context.) Jim Dale reading Harry Potter is very soothing to me. I seem to have conditioned myself to fall asleep to his voice. I think I might need to marry him (which could be a problem because he may be already married--or gay--and I think he's kind of old). ETA: He is married (second marriage) and is 71! I hope he records the last HP book soon because I don't think I could stand hearing someone else on the HP audiobook.

Snippet Book #1 (good for waiting rooms, airports, etc.): Television Without Pity (Tara Ariano and Sarah Bunting)--Here's a quick way to find out if you would like this book: Go to www.televisionwithoutpity.com. Read. Are you laughing? If not, you won't like the book. (Oh, come on! The book has entries like "Alien Species, Dermatological Problems Of," "Belt, Why Men on TV Wear A Tucked-In Shirt Without A," and "News, Crappy Local.")

Snippet Book #2: Beyond Words (Frederick Buechner)-- Buechner defines or discusses various words. It's a million times better than it sounds! Here are a few short ones:
*Compassion-- Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it's like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.
*Envy--Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else be as unsuccessful as you are.
*Lust-- Lust is the craving for salt of a person who is dying of thirst.
*Work-- If you lose yourself in your work, you find who you are. If you express the best you have it in you in your work, it is more than just the best you have it in you that you are expressing.

(Most entries are about a page though.)

I am also reading Wuthering Heights, but as I should have known, placing a book on my "to read" list pretty much guarantees I won't read it.

What are you reading?