What I read, Spring 2016

It has been a while since I did a book post on this blog.  It seemed about time for one.  I have been keeping a reading log since back when T.R. had to do it just to make sure he did his.  We are well past the contest days, so there was no fondue involved as motivation for this reading.  I've written about all the books in the "Work Books" section on my other blog, for those who want details.

Work Books

Functional Movement in Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy

Anatomy Trains

Nourish

Trail Guide to the Body

Trail Guide to Movement

The Deerholme Vegetable Cookbook

Centered

We Have the Technology

The Female Pelvis

Muscles and Meridians

Motivational Interviewing

Sweetness and Power

Maniac Magee

Other Nonfiction

The Quiet Season:  Remembering Country Winters, Jerry Apps:  I bought this book in Wisconsin from the nature center bookstore where Sam works.  It is a lovely memoir of farm life in Wisconsin, deeply felt, well written, and beautifully published.

In Defense of a Liberal Education, Fareed Zakaria:  T.R. told me to read this book.  I can't really speak to the strength of the arguments since I already believe in liberal education, but it is a well-crafted book and an interesting read.

Wild, Cheryl Strayed:  I avoided this book for a long time because of the hype around it.  Silly me.  It was inspiring and powerful.  I love books about overcoming and this one is full of triumph.

Vermeer’s Hat, Timothy Bresole:  T. read this in school last semester.  He was not particularly impressed, calling it too "English major-y."  He may be right; as an English major, I loved it.  Yes, using Vermeer's paintings as a lens to examine the history of the period is a construct, but I found it a useful and enlightening one.

Mysteries

The Beautiful Mystery and How the Light Gets In, Louise Penny:  All of her books are worth reading.

The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett:  The TiVo picked up all the movies, which I love.  I became curious about the books.  I very much enjoyed this one.

The Nine Tailors, Dorothy Sayers:  I read Dorothy Sayers when I get stressed out.  One of the characters in another of her books makes the remark that detective fiction is the most moral of all literature because evil is always punished in the end.  I find this soothing.

Speedy Death, Gladys Mitchell:  The TiVo seems to be catching on to what I like to watch.  It brought me a few episodes of The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries, based on Mitchell's books.  The book was not quite as engaging as the show, but that might be because Diana Rigg is awesome.  That said, I will probably read more of the series.

Cocaine Blues, Flying Too High, and Murder on the Ballarat Train, Kerry Greenwood:  I had read at least one of these before, but am now deeply hooked and will be reading all of the Phryne Fisher books.

General Fiction

After Alice and Egg and Spoon, Gregory Maguire:  Read all of his books.  They are amazing.

Uprooted, Naomi Novik:  An excellent new fairy tale about place and transformation.

The Secret Chord, Geraldine Brooks:  The story of David has always been interesting.  This book presents a nuanced and detailed exploration rooted in a deep understanding of the culture and time from which the story arose.

Children’s/YA

The Whispering Skull, Jonathan Stroud:  Stroud does the contemporary dark YA thing with skill and heart.  I love his powerful characters and interesting plots.

Swallows and Amazons, Arthur Ransome:  This is a book I should have owned as a kid.  If I had learned of it earlier, my kids would have known it when they were kids.  It is all about what summer should be, including the messing about in boats so beloved of Ratty and Mole.

Final tally, 31 books.  Not bad.