Books Read in 2011
Katie Lange Dolan
(Jan 6 draft)
Scoring
I used a 1-5 system, with 5 being a Must Read and a rating of 1 being Not So Great.
The codes for Why I Read the Book are:
B: book club selection
R: good reviews
F: friend recommendation or book given to me
A: read previous book by author
T: travel-related or geography important
K: know Author; automatic 5 rating!
S: school course related
P: Picked up while browsing in bookstore
W: read to support my writing (a new category)
Animals and Conservation
The Spell of the Tiger (Sy Montgomery) Tigers rarely eat men, except in the 3,800 square mile
Sundarban mangrove swamp delta between India and Pakistan. Theories of why include: (1) Maneaters are older or wounded tigers who can’t catch other prey; (2) Drinking salt-tinged water irritates
kidneys makes and makes tigers more aggressive; (3) Swampy conditions make it more difficult for the
tigers to catch prey; humans are easier prey; (4) Tigers became used to scavenging human corpses
floating down the Ganges before dams changed the water flow; (5) Tigers may mistake women and
children for smaller primates. Hunters wear masks on the back of their heads to discourage tigers from
leaping from behind. In the culture, storytelling is a vehicle for “metaphor, miracle, and magic.” B, K5
View from Lazy Point (Carl Safina) Lovely descriptions of the sea. B4
Demonfish (Juliet Ellperin) History of man’s complicated relations with sharks. R4
The Beach (Lencik and Bostere) A history of beaches and mankind at the beach. Delightful. W4
Pets in America (Katherine Grier) Thorough cultural history of pets. W3
Horsekeeping (Roxanne Bok) Delightful book on love and horsekeeping by a friend and book group
member. K,B5
Animals in History (Linda Kalof) Great summary of the blurry, furry relationships between man and
other animals. W4
The Dolphin in the Mirror (Diana Reiss) Describes dolphins as our “cognitive cousins” with large
brains, intelligence, and consciousness. Reiss, an animal behavior researcher, observed dolphins learn
to play with air bubbles and give her a ‘time out’ when she cut up fish the ‘wrong’ way. K, B 5
Sex on Six Legs Marlen Zuk) And I thought my sons’ sex lives were are complicated! Insects are
amazingly diverse and genetically fascinating. B4
Let Them Eat Shrimp (Kennedy Warne) One of the best conservation books I’ve read! B5
Teaching the Trees (Joan Maloof) You’ll never think about trees in quite the same way. B4
Unlikely Friendships (Holland) Interspecies friendships described. R3
Bonobo Handshake (Vanessa Woods) Bonobo sanctuary saga – sad, sexy, sweet, sympathetic, but
perhaps not accurate. Bonobos have not been studied in natural conditions and common lore about
alleged differences between gentle, sensual bonobos and aggressive chimps may be overstated. B4
Corvus (Ester Woolfson) Charming Scottish view of pet rooks, parrots, and magpies. Wonderful
discussion of animal cognition research findings. B5
1
Correction Lines (Curt Meine) Loved the “what color is the bear?” story about being at the North Pole.
The Home, Land, and Security essay combining St. Louis icons, Walt Whitman, historic moments, and
reactions to 911 at the AZA conference is amazing. Reminded me of Leo Marx’s The Machine in the
Garden description of Jefferson’s perspective as a Virginia tobacco farmer accustomed to always
moving on to till new lands when tobacco depleted the soils and how this farming approach shaped his
vision of America’s coast-to-coast destiny and the Louisiana Purchase. Coined the phrase “radical
center” used by TNC to describe its approach. Read Correction Lines in Little Compton, where land
plots connected Sakonnet River access with the main road along a high ridge on a long peninsula nearly
submerged by swamps (nickname Little Swampton), so the properties were long and very narrow. As a
result, most river vistas are still open and protected 300 years later. The strips of land are so narrow that
it is difficult to subdivide properties along the main road and that is one of the reasons (in addition to a
longstanding conservation real estate transfer tax and lots of conservation) that open space has been
well protected. All roads were initially laid out for a “dry town” since taverns were only permitted at a
four-way intersection. With no four-way intersections and many jogs in the road, the traffic speed is
necessarily slower. It is, however, very hard to give directions to visitors! B5
Wallace Stegner and the Continental Vision (edited by Curt Meine) Offers multiple perspectives on the
wide influence of Stegner’s work. Teaching a Writing class, Stegner argued for a clear, concise voice,
saying, “Watering is most effective when you have a nozzle on the hose.” B5
The Great Sperm Whale (Richard Ellis) Beautiful coffee table book about large leviathans. B4
On Thin Ice (Richard Ellis) Polar bears galore with perhaps too many gory, bloody stories. Good
overview of the history of Menageries. B4
Salt: A History (Mark Kurlansky) Venice was as powerful as it was because of the salt. Salt ruled the
world. B4
Holdfast (Kathleen Moore) A gentle book about nature in Rhode Island, based on a lovely seaweed
analogy. R4
Windswept: History of the Weather (Marq de Villiers) useful information about how the weather
changes, based on physics. Easy read on a complicated subject. R4
Dog Breeding
Before and After Getting Your Puppy (Ian Dunbar) F5
Puppy Intensive Care (Myla Savant Harris) F4
Dog Breeding (Myla Savant Harris) F4
Non-Fiction
Join the Club (Tina Rosenberg) Peer pressure can transform the world. Quotes Judith Harris’ The
Nurture Assumption that the only real influence parents have on their children’s lives and development
(besides genes) is choosing their child’s peer group. R4
Millennium Momentum (Winograd and Hai) Posits an eight decade cycle of “civic generations” in
America. Interesting data, but perhaps only includes data that make the case. R3
Redirect (Timothy Wilson) Story-telling and rewriting life narratives may be the best ways to deal with
trauma. Fascinating ideas and research results outlined. R5
The War for Late Night (Bill Carter) Detailed account of Leno’s late night battles. R4
Amazing Grace (Robert Putnam): Fascinating look at religion in America. F3
Apollo’s Angels (Jennifer Homans) “Fine Arts” as a term was an attempt to elevate dance and ballet
above the base arts somewhat like painting elevated itself. R3
2
Downhill Slide (Hal Clifford) Ski industry consolidation (to only 3 players) emphasized real estate and
shopping over quality of skiing, destroyed western communities by creating Disneylands where
workers commute from far away; real estate booms and busts, destroyed fragile ecosystems and
disrupted migration patterns (the elk are starving to death) Hope rests in ski areas with single owners
focusing on the skiing. R5
The Emperor of Maladies: History of our battle with cancer and the brain/blood barrier R5
They Said There’d Be Cake (Sloan Crosby) Essays about everyday life by a young talented humorist
who spoke at the local Planned Parenthood fundraiser. B5
Ok – the Improbable Story of the World’s Most Common Word (Alan Melcaft) Okay, title says it all. R3
Crash of the Titans (Greg Farrell): The clash of cultures as Bank of America purchased Merrill Lynch –
Charlotte Command and Control hillbillies led by Ken Lewis, the Mother Merrill kind but thundering
herd of financial advisors, and the “me culture” of Wall street traders blinded by bonuses for risky
deals. References On the Brink; Hank Paulson portrayed as calm, at the helm, and with the good grace
to call a fired Thain. R5
A Good Talk (Daniel Menaker) How to have a good conversation with someone. Easy to close. R3
The First Question (Andrew Bodner) Inside view of pharmaceutical industry drama intermixed with the
perilous personal journal of his Hungarian mother in Nazi occupied territory. F3
Toxic Friends (Susan Shapiro Barash): Offers a ten part typology for female friendship. Interesting
ideas. W4
The Friendship of Women (Joan Chittister) Bible stories about women’s friendships B4
Connecting Friends Good summary of research on how friendship work. W4
Friendshifts (Jan Yager) Interviews and research on how friendships change during one’s life. B4
PS What I Didn’t Say (Megan McMorris) Unsent letters to female friends – sweet, sour, vengeful, and
poignant. B4
How Many Friends Does One Person Need? (Robin Dunbar) A primatologist argues human big brains
evolved to deal with social structures, but finds a limit to the functional social structure that humans can
maintain. Concepts: 3- 5 is a close nucleus of good friends; 12- 15 is sympathy group, with once a
month contact; 150 - once a year contact; Average American sends 64 holiday cards reaching roughly
150 people. Language is a grooming ritual; gossip is major part of ritual. W5
Travels in Siberia (Ian Frazier): 50 million deaths associated with Soviet regime, many of which can be
blamed on Stalin, yet he remains an ogre that is not condemned by history. The jury is still out on him.
Bribery system has worked to protect all of Siberia’s vast natural resources because it is so hard to do
business in the country. Phrase at end of book about “grandiose delusions” rings true. F5
The Art of the Russian Matryoshka (Tertl and Hibberd) The “Bill Clinton and all his Girls” matryoshka
is quite something. Some matryoshkas have up to 70 pieces -- is that an adequate number for some
philanderers? W3
The Social Animal (David Brooks) Summarizes sychological research on why humans do what we do –
from mating to childrearing to middle age dilemmas. Interesting studies, but the main characters are
implausible and wooden. B4
A City So Grand (Steve Puteo) Boston’s history of innovation, from abolition leadership to the Back
Bay landfill; to the telephone. B,F 5
The Secret Power of Middle Children (Salmon & Schumann) Every overlooked middle child will love
the book. Middles less likely to be close to their parents; more likely to value friendship, loyalty, and
“chosen families.” Described as Rubber Glue, flexible but sticky. R5
The Better Angels of our Nature (Steven Pinker) Painstakingly (with painful descriptions of torture and
violence) argues that violence is at an all time low in human history. Highest rates of homicide
3
occurred in hunter/gatherer societies; a centralized government brings a decline in vigilante violence.
Violence continuum in US correlated with latitude, as temperatures go up, so do homicide rates. Due,
in part, to southern “code of honor.” Also theory that south was settled by herders from Scotland and
the north; herder hypothesis suggests nomadic societies violently defend hooved assets that can easily
be stolen away. Fascinating. F5
Give Smart: Philanthropy that gets results (Tierney and Fleishman) Recommendations for
philanthropists that actually make a difference; includes successes and failures. Ending high and
transition rites of passage are important. A 1955 CBS show, The Millionaire, featured a retired
industrialist who gave away $1 million (equivalent of $8 million today) to random and unsuspecting
individuals. “Philanthropists have no “market” dynamics with which to contend. The world they inhabit
is a cross between the Galapagos Island and the mythical Lake Wobegon: there is a blissful absence of
predators, and all of the children are above average.” Offers a Merritt Parkway example of merely
painting white stripes on road shoulders significantly reduced car accidents. The platform for grassroots
networking and texting in Kenya –used in Katrina and elsewhere. R4
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Like her wildly reproducing cells, her family replicates
frequently and hangs on to life with an admirable ferocity. Her kids survive a horrible childhood, yet
perservere. Describes sleazy research performed on black subjects, such as the Tuskegee work where
healthy black men were infected with syphilis and the fear of black being abducted in the night by
Johns Hopkins. Southam injected cancer cells into patients without telling them. R5
The Anxious Groom (Steven Lewis) Book by my writing professor with tongue in check and loving
advice. K5
The Greater Journey (David McCullough). Power of Paris to attract world leaders in medicine, art, and
literature and its ability to rebuild itself into world’s most beautiful city. Kept dogs in crates out side
mortuary and feed them the decomposing corpses after autopsies. R5
In the Basement of the Ivory Tower (Professor X) Chilling facts about low educational quality and
student aptitude in America’s schools of higher education. R5
The Paper Garden (Mary Peacock) Paper mosaics of botanicals done by Delany. Great book for any
artist or gardener (or even people like me) looking for late blooming creative role models! Delany was
72 when she did her first mosaic. R5
Never Say Die (Susan Jacoby) Aging in America. Tricky issues become more important as the baby
boomer population ages. R4
The Shallows (Nicolas Carr) The history of reading and how different technologies affect the brain. R5
The Information (James Gleick) Longer version of above. Gets lost in scientist characters. R4
Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman) Describes the brain’s two operating systems. R4
Golden Wings and Hairy Toes (Todd McLeish) History of endangered species in Northeast. B4
Proust and the Squid (Mary Wolf) A history of the brain’s adaptions to reading. Fascinating. A high
percent of radiologists, who can see patterns well, are dyslexic. R5
In the Mind’s Eye (Oliver Sachs) Long-winded personal health diary interspersed with interesting
research. R3
You are what you speak (Robert Lane Greene) History of how language affects the way you think. R4
Elements: The Periodic Table Fascinating stories about the elements. Would have made high school
chemistry far more interesting! R5
The Garden of Beasts (Erik Larson) B3 American ambassador’s family in new Nazi regime with quite a
lot of flirting and partying with Nazis by the daughter while Rome burns. A gradual understanding of
the nature of the Nazis. B3
4
Boomerang (Michael Lewis) Succinct book about how the financial crisis played out in several
countries. B5
Consider the Lobster and Other Essays (David Foster Wallace) Funny, smart, and challenging
complacent views of “lobsters clanging in the pot.” S5
Travel Related
The Blue Iguana (John) Native iguanas of the Caribbean. T3
So you want to live on an island (Gay) Life on Little Cayman T3
Scuba adventure diving manual (PADI) Good reminder to keep breathing! T3
Watermark (Joseph Brodsky) Brodsky won the Nobel Prize for his writing on Venice winters “smelling
like freezing seaweed.” The “city is a triumph of the chordate, because the eye, our only raw, fishlike
organ, indeed swims here: it darts, flaps, oscillates, dives, rolls up”(28).“Inanimate by nature, hotel
mirrors are even further dulled by having seen so many.”
Venice Observed (Mary McCarthy) Poised between the East and the West. Assisted in ferrying the
Crusaders, but diverted the soldiers to help in City’s local battles and yet was rewarded by the infamous
quarter and ¼, with all of the islands surrounding it. T4
The World of Venice (Ian Morris) Venetian women used to bleach their hair in the sun by wearing
crownless hats with the hair pulled through the top. Caterina was a Venetian married the king of Cyprus
to secure the empire in 1472; lived in gilded exile after her husband died one year into their marriage.
Institution of cicisbeo where young men attended to the Ladies of Venice, even helping dress them, like
a gigolo; brothels called houses of toleration. It is fitting that the mirror was invented in this city of
canals and water. With the ages and cultures mixed together, Venice is always looking at itself in a
mirror. Paying attention to looks and outward appearances; finding it okay to have the sumptuous
doge’s palace adjacent and only one narrow canal away from the horrors of the prison. It is okay to
have everyone enjoy the water and boating, yet throw junk in the canals and tolerate the sewer-tainted
breezes. My mother says it is her favorite city – I agree. There is something special about a city of
water with no cars. It is a city for browsing, walking, thinking, noticing lovely flower boxes and art
without the distraction of being run over. T5
Venice is a Fish (Tiziano Scarpa) “Venice is a fish…It is like a vast sole stretched out against the
deep.” It could set off on its travels at any time, it could call in just about anywhere, following its
fancy…Salman wear themselves out swimming against the current, climbing waterfalls to make love in
the mountains. Sirens and swordfish and seahorses go to the Sargasso Sea to die.”
Built on millions of poles thrust into the lagoon. St marks basilica rests on big oaken rafts supported by
elm-wood stints. Upside down trees hammered into the silt. You are walking on a vast upside-down
forest, strolling above an incredible inverted wood…Describes the Venice proverb about mediocrity
flourishing in certain conditions, “In the summer, even turds float.” T5
Tulipomania (Mike Dash) Book ends with a cautionary tale claiming that 1925 Florida real estate scam
was of the magnitude of the boom (bloom) of the over-valuation that occurred during tulipomania in
1630’s in Holland. But the book was published in 1999, nearly a decade before the mortgage crisis and
credit default swaps. Tulips are native to the high plains (Tien Shan) or Celestial mountains of western
border of China and in Russia’s Pamir Mts. Tulips are an early sign of spring, representing fertility and
life. In Persia, lovers give tulips, a symbol of undying love. Came to Europe via the Turkish and
Ottoman Empire, then from Vienna to Leiden with botanist Clusius, who created gardens and traded
tulip bulbs with other connoisseurs in 1570s. Started to buy and sell while bulbs still in the ground –
used promissory notes. Started to trade on the notes themselves and, in effect, created a futures market.
5
Referred to as” trading in the wind” or windhandel trading, like a seaman steering close to the wind
with little room for error. T5
Headlong (Michael Flynn) Novel about art theft and Dutch masters. B,T4
Fieldwork (Micha Berkinski) Framed tale and anthropologic mystery in Thailand and the adventures of
the intrepid Walker family of missionaries. T4
Farang (Dr. Iain Corness) Delightful stories about an expat (farang is foreigner) living in Thailand and
experiencing a new Thai wife, new baby, the Thai new years, and other adventures. T5
The Opium Wars (Hanes and Sanello) Rich history about the horrific opium wars, fought between a
once glorious, but medieval China and the emerging British empire in the 1840s-50s. China wanted
silver payment for its teas; India produced opium the Chinese became addicted to, and England had
ships and tea addiction in an unholy trade alliance. The opium sold in England was laudanum, much
less powerful form of the drug. T3
Letters from Thailand (Susan Kepner) Wonderful essays about aspects of Thai life. T5
The River’s Tale (Edward Gargan) A Journey along the Mekong. More trucks per capita in Thailand
then in Texas! Eloquently written travelogue about the countries and peoples along the 9th longest river
in the world. T3
Memoirs and Writing
Stories I Only Tell My Friends (Rob Lowe) He is a great storyteller and much more of a real person
than one might expect. R5
Bossypants (Tina Fey) Funny, wonderful, especially on audiobook. R5
Seriously, I’m Kidding (Elle DeGeneres) As above. R5
Learning to Breathe (Priscilla Warner) K5 Spiritual travelogue to overcome panic attacks. One guru
says, “Some of us enter planet earth with a space suit like the plaster cast that surrounded the golden
Buddha… We lose valuable life moments when we’re inside that spaeesuit, cut off from the aliveness,
the passion, and even the loneliness of our lives.”(185) SIGH accroym: Sitting in God’s Hand. K5
Mother/Son Running Streak Club (Nancy Shohet West) Niece of a friend who generously met with me
to offer advice on memoir writing and publishing. Journal of her year of running – from couch potato to
real runner. K, F5
Journal Year (Phyllis Theroux) A great line: “We set out to change the world, but the world changes
us.” R4
Gifts from the Sea (Anne Morrow Lindbergh) Published in 1955, the year I was born. A series of
essays on shells, all gifts from the sea, written during several weeks alone in a remote Captiva island
beach cottage. Writes for herself, surprised that the issues resonated with others, “Even those whose
lives appeared to be ticking imperturbably under their smiling clock-faces were often trying, like me, to
evolve another rhythm with more creative pauses in it…”And, ‘Intermittency. – An impossible lesson
for human beings to learn. How can one learn to live through the ebb-tides of one’s existence? How can
one learn to take trough of the wave… in this crystalline moment of suspense, one has a sudden
revelation of the secret kingdom at the bottom of the sea. Here in the shallow flats one finds, wading
through warm ripples, great horse conchs pivoting on a leg, white sand dollars, marble medallions
engraved in the mud, and myriads of bright-colored cochina-clams.” W5
Unfinished Business (Lee Kravitz) recommended by a cowboy singer (Ernie Pyle) about a guy who
leaves a big NC job and makes peace with people with whom he has unfinished business. Reads as
important therapy for Lee to write it down than for the reader. F3
And I Shall have some Peace There (Margaret Roach) about retiring to gardening in Copake after a set
jet life in NYC working for Martha Stewart with $5k spent in lunchtime shopping excursions. R4
6
The Walk (William Debuys) recommended by Jonathan Cobb as a quiet narrative about walks around
his desert property. He refers to peeled trees, comparing the stripping that comes from a painful divorce
to the periodic stripping of bark that these trees somehow live through. F4
History of a Suicide: My sister’s unfinished life (Jill Bialosky) Sad, but great. R5
Famous Writers School (Steven Carter) Told through a series of letters to a correspondence writing
school. Plot idea is intriguing, but the book disintegrates into a violent fairytale about nasty people. R3
The Bill from my Father (Bernard Cooper) Tells “the truth, or at least a sedimentary layer of it” about
his relationship with a complicated, selfish father. Powerful and engaging. S5
The Writing Life (Carolyn See) Write 1000 words (4 pages) 5 days a week and send a chatty letter of
appreciation ever day; Say only “thanks” and “no kidding” when people comment on your writing.
Do not show your writing to friends. R4
If It Moves the Human Heart (David Rosenblatt) Writing professor chronicles a semester of student
writing and class discussions. Lovely quotes about authors’ views on writing, the most memorable of
which is Mark Twain’s about careful word choice –“You are looking for the lightening, not the
lightening bug.” Mirrors conversations in Sarah Lawrence class, where Steve Lewis quotes
Hemingway’s “Write drunk; Edit sober” or Emily Dickinson’s “Tell the truth, but tell it slant.” R5
I Love a Broad Margin to my Life (Maxine Hong Kingston) Poetic views on aging in beginning; gets
lost. F3
Bad Dog: A Love Story (Martin Kilm) Parallel of AA and Dog Obedience School. Lovely. R5
Learning to Breathe (Alison Wright) Tough woman photographer recovers after a horrible car accident.
Don’t let’s go to the dogs tonight (Alexandra Fuller) S4
Fun Home (Alison Betchel) Another top pick of the year. A graphic novel about a literary lesbian
whose father is a closet homosexual. Fascinating memoir, literary allusions, and illustrations. S5
She wore the ocean in the shape of a girl (Kelle Groom) One of best reads this year. Beautiful. F5
The Writing Life Annie Dillard Surprisingly vivid and thoughtful. W4
The Writing of fiction (Edith Wharton) Good tips from a prolific (40 novels) fiction writer. B4
Say Her Name (Francisco Goldman) A little too self-pitying for my taste. W3
My Reading Life (Pat Conroy) Great summaries of the key books in his life. He reads 200 pages a day
since high school. R5
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (Nick Flynn) A beautiful alcoholism
The Writers Notebook Craft essays from Tin House
Composing a life (Mary Catherine Bateson)
Fiction
Faith (Jennifer Haigh) A Boston priest accused of molestation as told from his sister’s perspective. R5
Sister (Rosmaund Lupton) Sister saves her sister from a crazy man; haunting. R5
The Sense of an Ending (Julian Barnes) Intricate, moving book about memory and redefining the things
you thought you knew. Wonderful. R5
All about the Bike (Robert Penn) Techno-geeky and true to its title. R3
The Postmistress (Sarah Blake) Lovely war story. R4
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz) Sad story of the Dominican Republic and a
complicated kid. B3
Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton) The high society dialogue is perfect. B5
The Writing Circle (Corinne Demas) High drama almost sounds like fiction in this novel about the
intrigues in a writing circle. 4
Then Came You (J Weiner) Infertility, high drama, what you’d expect. A4
7
Burnt Mountain (Anne Rivers Siddon) Love story and great description of Suwanee College and
southern charms. A4
Angel on the Roof (Russell Banks) Stories set in New England. B4
The Lost Girls (Trio travelogue of 20 somethings in remote parts of the world. Differing voices add a
lot of spice to the story. R4
A Spicing of Birds (Dickinson) Speaking of spice, Dickinson’s poems about birds sing. W4
How coffee saved my life (Ellie Roesher) Sarah Lawrence classmate writes about her mission year in
Uruguay F5
Caleb’s Crossing (Geraldine Brooks) Weaves stories together in a beautiful way. B4
Sing Me Home (Jody Piccoult) Complicated plot about surrogate motherhood, evangelicals, and
families. R4
I don’t want to join a book club (Virginia Ironside) Journal of a sixty year old. 3
The Financial life of the Poets by jess Walter Funny and irreverent, but not memorable. R3
Pictures of You (Carolyn Leavitt)
Major Pettigrew’s last stand Lovely, improbable love story B4
Head-long (Mike Flynn) Great novel about an art historian trying to sort our whether a neighbor’s
painting is a Brueghel. Great history of painting, the Netherlands, and the art industry. Funny boo
Clara and Mr. Tiffany (audio)
Innocent (Scott Turow)
Skipping a Beat (Sarah Pekkanen) R3 Too much focus on money and insecurities associated with
money as a marriage falls apart, at least in first half of book. Yuppies are self-absorbed even as they
attend charity events and give money away.
Emily Alone (O’Neal) Older woman’s friendships and shrinking world. Sad. B4
Silver Girl (E. Hillenbrand) Fictionalized view of Madof wife’s life as she hides with a friend on
Nantucket. R4
Lucky in the Corner (Carol Anshaw) Story of a gay couple and their quirky friends and family. B4
Zoomility (Grey Stafford) Stories of animal behavior and enrichment specialists. W4
Orientation (Daniel Orroco) Wonderful writing on office living death; California earthquake, etc. S5
We the Animals (Justin Torres) Way too violent for my taste. R3
African book about women expat in love with African (read on plane coming home)
InZanesville (Jo Ann Beard) Friendship and growing up. K5
Boys of my Youth (Jo Ann Beard) Rough Rustbelt rebels. K5
By Nightfall (Michael Cunningham) Slightly narcistic narrator, but also impressed by the way he can
put you in a scene. The narrator talking with his nude nephew in the kitchen late at night or fantasizing
over his older brother’s female pal at the lake house is beautiful but disturbing writing. A3
The Lake of Dreams (Kim Edwards) on tape, about a hydrologist. B4
Angle of Repose (Wallace Sterner) Compared to the Great Gatsby; The baby burps and already is
looking back at history; Poignant advice from Mrs. Elliot about Oliver being ensnared in his spouse’s
desires and that he felt she was better than him. That is no way to go through life. B5
An Object of Beauty (Steve Martin) a sexy art collector with questionable ethics and strong libido gives
readers a tour of the NY art world. Includes reproductions of artwork that greatly enhance reading the
book. Wish I could have such photos in any book that I produce. Steve Martin is a multi-talented
person. R4
The Litigator (John Grisham) Low-brow law, a fun twist for Grisham. A5
Pictures of You (Carolyn Leavitt) Unremarkable. R3
8
Middlebury Classes and Animals in Literature Projects
Shaggy Muses (Maureen Adams)
Your Dog is Your Mirror (Jon Behan)
The Bond (Wayne Pacelle)
Sylvia (A R Gurney)
The Goat (Edward Albee)
Zoo Story (Edward Albee)
Equus (Peter Shaffer)
The Man with Two Left Feet (PD Wodehouse) Short stories
Why we Pigs and wear cows
Dominion (Mathlew Scully)
Elizabeth Costello (EM Cortese)
Building for Nature (Kellert)
Some we eat some we love some we hate
A R Gurney Casebook
Biophilia Hypothesis (Wilson)
Kinship to mastery (Kellert)
The Lobster (Richard King)
Far out and Far Away (Tami Ungerner)
Sounding (Hank Searls)
The Playboy of the Western world and other plays (John Synge) controversial portraits of conniving
commoners in Dublin. No heroes, everyone is using everyone else.
The Good Soldier (Ford Maddox Ford)
Edith Sitwell Complete Works
Collected Poems (Stevie Smith)
Collected Poems (D.H. Lawrence)
Heartbreak House (Bernard Shaw)
Lady Windermere’s Fan (Oscar Wilde)
Oscar Wilde, a Biography (Richard Ellmann)
“Importance of being Ernest” (Oscar Wilde)
Unmasking of Oscar Wilde (Joseph Pearce)
More Pricks than Tricks (Samuel Beckett) Beckett’s humor is difficult to understand with its references
and language.
Ghost Light (tape) about Molly Allgood.
Lord Peter Views the Body (Dorothy Sayers)
The Penguin Book of Women’s Humor (Regina Barreca)
Make Mine a Double (Regina Barreca)
Last Laughs: Perspectives on Women and Comedy (Regina Barreca)
Zuleika Dobson (Max Beerbohm)
Collected Works of Max Beerbohm (Max Beerbohm)
Max Beerbohm: A Kind of Life (
Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Henri Bergson)
The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy. (David.Cannadine)
On Humor (Simon Critchley)
Machine Age Comedy (Richard North)
The Theory of the Leisure Class (Veblen)
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Virginia Woolf (Michael Whitworth)
Moments of Being (Virginia Woolf)
Animals in American Literature (Mary Allen)
What Animals Mean in the Fiction of Modernity (Philip Armstrong)
Timbucktu (Paul Austers)
The Postmodern Animal (Baker)
Zuleika Dobson (Max. Beerbohm)
About Looking (John Berger)
Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic (Henri Bergson)
Homeless Dogs and Melancholy Apes: Humans and Animals in the Modern Literary Imagination
(Laura Brown)
Heroic Measures (Jill Clement)
On Humour (Simon Critchley)
Sight Hound (Pam Houston)
A Theory of Parody (Linda Hutcheon)
Kalof, L, and A Fitzgerald. The Animals Reader: The Essential Classics and Contemporary Writers.
Walking in Circles Before Lying Down (Merrill Markoe)
Comedy (Andrew Stott)
Jokes and the Unconscious (Sigmund Freud)
Animal Stories: Narrating Across Species Lines. McHugh, Susan
“Tobermory” (H.H. Munro)
Beasts and Superbeasts (H.H. Munro)
The Wild and the Domestic: Animal Representation, Eco-criticism, and Western American Literature.
(B Nelson)
Beyond Boundaries: Humans and Animals (B. Noske)
Human Error: Species-Being and Media Machines. (Dominic Pettman)
Reaching the Animal Mind. (Karen Pryor)
The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age (H. Ritvo)
Stalking the Subject (Rohman)
Reordering the Natural World: Humans and Animals in the City (Sabloff)
Knowing Animals (Simmons and Armstrong)
Orlando (Virginia Woolf)
Flush (Virginia Woolf)
Three Guineas (Virginia Woolf)
Made for Each Other (Meg Daley Olmert)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
When God was a Rabbit (Sarah Winman)
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