LISTENING: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Read by Scott Brick.

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America: "Bringing Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life, Erik Larson's spellbinding bestseller intertwines the true tale of two men--the brilliant architect behind the legendary 1893 World's Fair, striving to secure America’s place in the world; and the cunning serial killer who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction."

The book deserves all the paise and awards it has received.
Miraleste Book Club selection for November.

Publisher's web page: Random House/Crown/Devil in the White City

LISTENING: Angels Flight by Michael Connelly

Read by Dick Hill.

A Harry Bosch mystery, set in 1990's Los Angeles. 1998, Grand Haven, MI: Brillance Audio.

Neighborhood Book Club selection for November.

READING: Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

An Easy Rawlins mystery, set in post-WWII Los Angeles. 1990, Washington Square Press

LISTENING: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

Read by Robertson Dean. Published by Santa Ana, CA: Books on Tape, p2006.
Immensely enjoyable once I got used to the ornate language. The discriptions of nature and the insight into human nature are excellent.

LISTENING: What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Read by Julia Gibson. Published by Westminster, Md.: Books on Tape, p2009.
Really well done and entertaining romance about a young Hollywood celebrity.

LISTENING: Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

Second novel of the 44 Scottland Street series; audio book performed by Robert Ian MacKenzie.

For the most part it is as funny as the first book, with majority of the same characters, but a bit sad in places too.

See the real Scotland Street, kindly posted by Linda on her Occasional Scotland blog.

LISTENING: Summer of My Amazing Luck by Miriam Toews

Read by Erin Moon. (An excellent reader.)
Recorded Books, 2009 (Book published by Turnstone Press, Canada, 1996.)

"Toews's first novel, The Summer of My Amazing Luck, finds humour and poignancy in unexpected locales. The protagonist is a teenaged single mother, on welfare, who moves to a low-income housing project in Winnipeg to escape the emotional trauma left in the wake of her own mother's death. Toews invokes, ridicules, and defies class-based stereotypes in her portrayal of these lively characters' daily struggles, from cheap strollers to lost love, and joys. This book won the 1996 John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer, and was adapted into an award winning drama by playwright Chris Craddock." - The Canadian Encyclopedia

LISTENING: 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

Read by Robert Ian Mackenzie; first book of the 44 Scotland St. series.

An absolutely delightful series of vignettes about the characters occupying 44 Scotland St.

READING: Depths by Henning Mankell

Miraleste Library Book Club selection for June 2009.

2006, The New York Press. Translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson. Set in 1914 in Sweden.

Mankell is the writer of Kurt Wallander mysteries (I have not read any of them yet) for a total of 37 novels and many plays.

I do not recommend this book - it is very dark, without being at all uplifting. ("...a dark immovable story that literally measures the depths where Fascist personalities grow." - from Expressen, Sweden).

LISTENING: Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

Read by Linda Emond.

An interesting story about a best seller writer of memoirs who returns to Baltimore seeking to discover more about a childhood friend who was sentenced for killing her baby, and in the process realizes that she did not quite capture the truth in her last book.

LISTENING: Remember the Sweet Things: One List, Two Lives, and Twenty Years of Marriage by Ellen Greene

Recorded Books Inc., 2009. Narrated by Barbara Caruso. "The author describes her struggles with divorce and single parenthood before meeting her husband, Marsh, whose many kindnesses she would jot down and make into a cause for thanks and celebration every Valentine's Day."

READING: I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler's List Survivor by Laura Hillman

Miraleste Library Book Club selection for May 2009.

From the book jacket: "Laura Hillman (nee Hannelore Wolff) was born in 1923 in Aurich, Germany, near the North Sea. She was the third of five children born to Karoline and Martin Wolff. Five years after Hitler came to power, Laura was separated from her town and family. The events Laura witnessed in the camps kept her from writing for many years, but she finally set out to write her memoir, facing for the first time the circumstances that led to her survival. Laura now lives in Los Alamitos, California, and devotes her time between talking in high schools and colleges about her experiences and being a docent at the Long Beach Museum of Art."

LISTENING: Unaccustomed Earth: Stories

by Jhumpa Lahiri, read by Sarita Choudhury & Ajay Naidu

From Publishers Weekly

"The gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children—and that separates the children from India—remains Lahiri's subject for this follow-up to Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. In this set of eight stories, the results are again stunning."

LISTENING: The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Read by Cassandra Campbell.

LISTENING: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway. Read by Scott Campbell.

READING: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco

An Illustrated Novel, 2005, Harcourt Books. Translated from the Italian by Geoffrey Brock.

My book-club member, Tom, pointed out this novel to me - and besides the fascinating topic of reconstructing one's memory by reviewing boxes with old newspapers, comics, photo albums and diaries, what really sold me is the illustrated part - with comic strips, posters, etc. and all in Italian.

LISTENING: About Alice by Calvin Trillin

Reader: the author, (1 CD) - 2005, Random House.

LISTENING: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Audio CD, read by Barbara Caruso. (4 CDs)

READING: Greene & Greene for KIDS by Kathleen Thorne-Thomsen

Art, Architecture, Activities. 2004, Gibbs Smith, Publisher.
A delightful overview of the famous architects from their childhood in Ohio through their life and career in Pasadena, CA. Interesting for kids and adults alike.

Kathleen Thorne Thomsen web page.
About the Author (from the dust jacket) - K. grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She attended the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where she received a degree in visual design and photography. K. is the author of many books for children including Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids. She lives in a Greene and Greene house in Pasadena, California.

READING: Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl

NBC for April 2009

Random House book link

lisamm.wordpress.com - book review

LISTENING: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Audio book read by Jeff Woodman (who does a fantastic job reading it.)

The last section of the book is a must read.