Still Alice

Still Alice - Lisa Genova

From Amazon: "Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease changes her life.

As the inevitable descent into dementia strips away her sense of self, fiercely independent Alice struggles to live in the moment. While she once placed her worth and identity in her celebrated and respected academic life, now she must reevaluate her relationship with her husband, a respected scientist; her expectations of her children; and her ideas about herself and her place in the world. At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer's disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People."

This book was tragic, at times hard to read, yet impossible to put down. I'm glad I read it, even though I wasn't in a great mood while reading it. It reminded me so much of Nana, and really gave me a better idea of what she must have been feeling like, and dealing with. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who knows someone who is dealing with or dealt with this tragic disease.


I almost wish that I had read this book earlier, so that I could understand Nana's need for "home" and her weird gaps in memory a bit better. I really hope that neither of my parents (or anyone I know, for that matter) develops Alzheimer's or dementia, or whatever Nana had.

Denialism

Denialism - Michael Specter

From Amazon: "In Denialism, New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter reveals that Americans have come to mistrust institutions and especially the institution of science more today than ever before. For centuries, the general view had been that science is neither good nor bad — that it merely supplies information and that new information is always beneficial. Now, science is viewed as a political constituency that isn't always in our best interest. We live in a world where the leaders of African nations prefer to let their citizens starve to death rather than import genetically modified grains. Childhood vaccines have proven to be the most effective public health measure in history, yet people march on Washington to protest their use."

If you think that eating organic food is a good thing for the world, or that eating multi-vitamins is actually useful.. you should read this. I'd recommend it, if for nothing more than reading a different side of the story.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

From Amazon: "The story revolves around the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. Whereas the former is a sensible, rational creature, her younger sister is wildly romantic--a characteristic that offers Austen plenty of scope for both satire and compassion. Commenting on Edward Ferrars, a potential suitor for Elinor's hand, Marianne admits that while she "loves him tenderly," she finds him disappointing as a possible lover for her sister."

I only read this book because I felt like I should, at some point, read a Jane Austen. This will probably be the first and last. I wasn't really interested in the plot, and their simplistic and pathetic? lives just weren't that interesting to me.

Finally finishing this book (I started it in late December, and finished it yesterday) means that I can cross number 16 off the list. Sweet!

Charlie Johnson in the Flames

Charlie Johnson in the Flames - Michael Ignatieff

From Amazon: "This short, intense novel tells the story of Charlie Johnson, a war correspondent working in the Balkans during the recent conflict there. Charlie, hardened to the realities of war but not yet insensitive to the human beings experiencing daily trauma, is accompanied by his cameraman and best friend, Jacek, a melancholy, reliable Pole. The story focuses on a single event and its aftermath. While hiding in a contested village, Charlie sees a peasant woman set alight and tries to put the fire out with his bare hands. After his recovery, he grows obsessed with his memory of the woman, who was rescued by helicopter but eventually died. He returns to the Balkan danger zones to hunt down the high-ranked soldier who murdered her, not to kill him but to simply ask, "Why?""

I don't like Ignatieff as a politician (can he still be called that?) but as an author he is marginally better. This book wasn't super interesting, but it was something to read. I don't know if I'd really recommend it to anyone though.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes

A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif

From Amazon: "On August 17, 1988, Pak One, the airplane carrying Pakistani dictator General Zia and several top generals, crashed, killing all on board--and despite continued investigation, a smoking gun--mechanical or conspiratorial--has yet to be found. Mohammed Hanif's outrageous debut novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, tracks at least two (and as many as a half-dozen) assassination vectors to their convergence in the plane crash, incorporating elements as diverse as venom-tipped sabers, poison gas, the curses of a scorned First Lady, and a crow impaired by an overindulgence of ripe mangoes."

This was a very random book.. starting with the plane crash that killed the dictator and his colleagues. It followed six? different characters, in a very interwoven story. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it. The book was very military-based, and while I don't know much about army goings-on, I was still able to follow everything.

Offbeat Bride

Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-free Alternatives for Independent Brides - Ariel Meadow Stallings

From Amazon: "Unenthused by a white wedding gown and bored by the hoopla of the Hollywood-style reception, Ariel Meadow Stallings found herself absolutely exhausted with the nuances of traditional nuptials. So, she chose to take a walk off the beaten aisle and embrace the non-traditional bride within. Through trial and error, Ariel and her fiancée managed to crank out a budget wedding with all-night dancing, guests toasting champagne in mismatched mugs, gorgeous gardens, no monogrammed napkins, no garter, no bridesmaids, and lots of lesbians."

Although my wedding will not be as offbeat as hers.. Ariel did have some interesting suggestions. Her wedding, like ours will be, included camping. I think some of her suggestions could come in handy for planning, hopefully! I'd suggest this to other people who may want alternative ideas to the traditional wedding stuff.

My teeny garden

My garden has finally started to grow, and while these pictures are terrible... here it is!

My teeny tiny garden

 

 

 From left to right: herb pot from my mom (cilantro, chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary), green onions, radishes, salad mix, onions.. peas, and then a pot of beans, and some spinach. The tiny little pot is cilantro too. Yummy. I can't wait for these to grow big enough to eat...

Close up of some peas, beans, spinach and cilantro.

Unfortunately, my bird feeder is above my pots, so occasionally some seeds start to grow from that (sunflower and a weird grassy thing).. Ahh well. Soon enough I'll be able to start my final planter with some flowers :)