A must-have for bibliophiles!

A couple of years ago, my mom discovered a fantastic new magazine called Bookmarks at Barnes & Noble. A true book lover could not ask for more! Each issue typically focuses on two major authors, and then reviews a large number of new books published in a variety of genres. Additionally, there are regular columns that feature recommendations from book clubs, a "If you liked this author, try ___" article, and reader favorites. Each time I receive the magazine, I add a good twenty more books to my "to read" list. Sometimes it's overwhelming because I haven't finished anywhere near all the books on my list and it just keeps growing! I wish their website (www.bookmarksmagazine.com) showed an example of an old issue, but it's not very helpful. A subscription is $24.95 for 6 issues - and well worth it. I save all my back issues in order to go back and re-read later. The best place to get a look at the magazine would either be B&N, or try your local library - either way, I think you'll be hooked! :)

~Some of my favorite poetry~

I recently found one of my favorite poetry anthologies on my bookshelf - I had forgotten it was there! I highly recommend it: Spoon River Anthology, by Edgar Lee Masters. It's a compilation of epitaphs created by the person whose tomb it marks in the fictional town of Spoon River. They're short, free-verse, and easy to read - and often, refer to another person in town. I come from a small town and found it very easy to relate to. My favorite one is George Gray.

George Gray
I have studied many times
The marble which was chisesled for me--
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire--
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

I first heard about Pablo Neruda from Patch Adams, M.D. - the physician portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie of the same name. Patch was speaking at Children's Hospital in Columus where I worked while going through college. I remember two things from that speech - 1) that I thoroughly disliked Patch and his attitude toward conventional medicine (despite being at Children's Hospital, he didn't even take time to visit the children!!!) and 2) I loved the poetry he recited from Pablo Neruda. He said that he's committed hundreds of poems to memory and that Neruda was often his most-quoted. I think the movie had Patch reciting poems to his girlfriend from Neruda, too. Anyway - here are two from 100 Love Sonnets; Cien sonetos de amor - on one side the poem is in its original Spanish and the other side of the page is the English translation. (Definitely a book I recommend as a Valentine's gift to a gal who appreciates poetry....)

LXXXIX
When I die, I want your hands on my eyes;
I want the light and wheat of your beloved hands
to pass their freshness over me once more:
I want to feel the softness that changed my destiny.

I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep.
I want your ears still to hear the wind, I want you
to sniff the sea's aroma that we loved together,
to continue to walk on the sand we walk on.

I want what I love to continue to live,
and you whom I love and sang above everything else
to continue to flourish, full-flowered:

so that you can reach everything my love directs you to,
so that my shadow can travel along in your hair,
so that everything can learn the reason for my song.

XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Books I'm Planning On Reading

I'm forever adding titles to my "To Read" list. Here's my current list:

A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books - Nicholas Basbanes
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History - John Barry
Sweet and Low: A Family Story - Rich Cohen
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion
Dry: A Memoir - Augusten Burroughs (Own this...it's in the pile next to my desk.)
Summer of a Dormouse - John Mortimer
The Burning of Bridget Cleary: A True Story - Angela Bourke
The Dress Lodger - Sheri Holman
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War - Mark Bowden
A Prayer for the Dying - Stewart O'Nan
A Beautiful Mind - Sylvia Nasar
An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester - own this one & think I"ll read it next! :)
Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs
The Prisoner's Wife - asha bandele
Driving with Dead People - Monica Holloway
When Rabbit Howls - Truddi Chase
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living From a Forensic Pathologist - Janis Amatuzio
The Freud Reader - Peter Gay (Editor)
Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity - Jon E. Lendon
I'll Carry the Fork!: Recovering a Life After Brain Injury - Kara L. Swanson, Mike Chrumka
Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out - Claudia L. Osborn
Vanish - Tess Gerritsen
A Three Dog Life - Abigail Thomas
The Ruins - Scott Smith
A Simple Plan - Scott Smith
My Father the Spy: A Family History of the CIA, the Cold War, and the Sixties - John H. Richardson
I, Wabenzi: A Souvenir - Rafi Zabor
Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin - John Hope Franklin
All Will Be Well - John McGahern
One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer - Nathaniel Fick
When All the World Was Young: A Memoir - Barbara Holland
The Necessity of Madness - John Breeding
West of Then: A Mother, a Daughter, and a Journey past Paradise - Tara Bray Smith
Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey through Schizophrenia - Pamela Spiro Wagner, Carolyn S. Spiro
The Cadaver's Ball - Charles Atkins

Easy Reads I Loved!

Sometimes it feels as if I spend my entire life inside the hospital and one of the last things I want to do when I am free is read scholarly books. This list is dedicated to some of my favorite mindless reads.

Knit One, Kill Two , A Deadly Yarn, and Needled to Death - Maggie Sefton
My mom gave me these books for my birthday and I knew I was in love - anything that combines two of my favorite things - reading mysteries and knitting - had to be a hit. These books didn't let me down. I took a lot of flak from my husband about how corny their titles were, but he's a non-reader and a non-knitter, so I couldn't expect him to appreciate them. :) I was sad when I got through them all, but to my delight - discovered Killer Stitch is due out this May!!

Along the same lines... A Good Yarn and The Shop on Blossom Street - Debbie Macomber
Once I finished Maggie Sefton's series, my mom passed on these titles and again, I was hooked. :) I hesitated reading the second book because I had enjoyed the first one so much and was afraid that new characters would be hard to handle - but my fears were unfounded. I loved them both. And again - a new title, Back on Blossom Street is due out April 24, 2007. Don't you love when there's a new release in a series?

About Alice - Calvin Trillin
I'm going to start giving this book as wedding presents - it's only about 75 pages long, but it's so wonderful! Those who know me know that 1) I read the end of every book first and 2) I don't read sad stories. I made an exception for this book after reading a review in Bookmarks and feeling in awe that this man wrote such a sweet book in tribute to his wife and his love for her. It made me both laugh and cry. I even convinced Grant to read it! :)

The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd
I love the stories in these books and was so sad when they ended-almost always a sign of a good book.

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
I first saw this advertised in Barnes & Nobles and must admit, I'm a sucker for book covers. It just looked good! A mystery tale about a book lover - it screamed "Read me!" from the display. I loved it and could barely put it down. This could be because I mustered up some serious discipline and didn't read the end first, so I was overly anxious to find out what happened. My mom thought it was a bit confusing and had to look back frequently, but overall - excellent book.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
An autistic young boy is blamed for the death of a neighbor's dog and struggles to to investigate the situation. It's interesting to read from the young boy's point of view and experience how he sees the world.

Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Some found this book to be disturbing, but I loved it. It's narrated by a young girl who has been murdered and is witnessing the subsequent destruction of her family. I think it was easy for me to accept as the narrator seems at peace, even while her family is struggling. Written in a style that reminds me of Haddon's Curious Incident and Parkhurst's Dogs of Babel. Highly recommended.

Dogs of Babel - Carolyn Parkhurst
Even though I found parts of this book hard to stomach (animal cruelty is harder for me to bear than human cruelty for some reason....definitely the reason I'm a psychiatrist and not a veterinarian...) I loved the storyline. It's a story about coming to terms with grief and the reality that those we love aren't perfect.

K, that's enough for now. More to come on this subject later. :)