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| While We're Gone, Part II of II
May 9, 2007
While We're Gone, Part I of II
An eclectic list that includes some of the better books that I read this year. As you will see, many of them are non-fiction but never fear-- they were all texts that I really enjoyed and found accessible (as opposed to the myriad of really dry, tear inducing works that I also had to read, mostly involving post-modernist architectural garble. I'll spare you.)
Take a looksie-- and do suggest some good reads! I'm going to try and hit the bookstore at least once before we leave to collect some more plane, bus and train material.
A Hazard of New Fortunes, William Dean Howells. I thought that I would hate this book but I wound up loving it. It's such a great portrait of New York observed, even if it is from the perspective of an annoying Bostonian couple from the Gilded Age.
The Meadowlands, Robert Sullivan. I could and have read this over and over again. It is one of my favorite books about exploring one's curiosity and passion.
The Creative Destruction of Manhattan, 1900-1940, Max Page. A scholarly text but truly interesting and well told. So many of these books turn out to be disappointingly dry, which there is no excuse for given the content, but Page's book is one that I come back to again and again.
Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975, Thomas Hanchett. A non-NYC book! I really enjoyed this one, also a scholarly text but written in a tangible, easily flowing manner. I didn't know anything about the history of Charlotte prior to reading the book and found it quite interesting. The themes carry over to a more holistic history of the United States during the industrial and post-industrial eras.
Living in the Shadow of Death: Tuberculosis and the Social Experience of Illness in American History, Sheila Rothman. Okay, kind of a dark topic but a really interesting read. If you don't mind reading about illness, give it a whirl.
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger.. Fiction! Can you tell that I didn't get around to much of it this year? I liked this one a lot.
The Nimrod Flipout: Stories, Etgar Keret. A series of very funny and often quite strange short stories. I keep meaning to read more by this guy.
Posted by callalillie at May 9, 2007 9:12 AM | Reading
, The World Outside NYC
Oh, I meant to suggest this before you left--have you read Craig Thompson's Carnet de Voyage? He visually transcribes his trips to Morocco, France, bits of Europe, and Turkey. It's wonderful.
Posted by: gorjus at May 9, 2007 10:12 AM
Have you heard of The Accidental? I just finished it and really enjoyed it. Now I'm onto Animal, Vegetable, Miracle- non-fiction by Barbara Kingsolver. LOVE it. LOVE!
Posted by: Nicole at May 9, 2007 10:46 AM
"So many of these books turn out to be disappointingly dry, which there is no excuse for given the content"
I believe, my dear Corie, you may have just hit on your true calling.
Posted by: ccs178 (Chris) at May 9, 2007 12:38 PM
