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All of the books in our reading lists can be found and checked out in our church library

2006 Summer
Reading List
   
1.  "Bel Canto", by Ann Patchett
2.  "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" by Anne Rice
3.  "The Language of Threads" by Gail Tsukiyama (This is the sequel to "Women of the Silk" which was on the 2005 summer booklist).
4.  "One Thousand White Women:  The Journals of May Dodd, a Novel" by Jim Fergus
5.  "whose names are unknown" by Sanora Babb
6.  "The Map of Love" by Ahdaf Soueif
7.  "Nine Parts of Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women" by Geraldine Brooks
8.  "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore
9.  "March: a Novel" by Geraldine Brooks
10. "Wind, Sand, & Stars" by Yves St. Exupery
11.  "The Forest Lover" by Susan Vreeland
12.  "Combat Crew" by John Comer


2005 Summer
Reading List
1.  "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen
2.  "Entering Normal" by Anne LeClaire
3.  "Gift from the Sea" by anne Morrow Lindbergh
4.   "Life of the Beloved" by Henri Nouwen
5.  "My Own Country: a Doctor's Story" by Dr. Abraham Verghese
6.  "One True Thing" by Anna Quindlen
7.  "Sources of Strength" by Jimmy Carter
8.  " The Color of Water" by James McBride
9.  "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
10.  "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Husseini
11.  "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Dr. Oliver Sacks
12.  "The Piano Tuner" by Daniel Mason
13.  "The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve
14.  "The Secret Life of Bees"  by Sue Monk Kidd
15.  "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
16.  " When Katie Wakes" by Connie Mae Fowler
17.  "Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts (didn't like the movie)
18.  "Wisdom Distilled from the Daily" by Joan Chittister
19. " Women of the Silk" by Gail Tsukiyama  

     
         


















































































































































































     

1)    “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Framer, A Man Who Would Cure The World”
By: Tracy Kidder.
Located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections”.
Paul Farmer is a medical anthropologist who is known for attacking TB on a global scale. This is both a biography of Farmer and of the organization he helped to found, starting with Farmer as a pre-medical student through major medical achievements. You’ll feel like you’re right there with him as he travels to Haiti, Peru, and Russia.



2)    “In His Steps”
By Charles M. Sheldon.
To be found under “Spiritual Growth”.
This book was written in 1 897 by a minister in Topeka, Kansas who asked his congregation to pledge to themselves, “What Would Jesus Do?” before making any decision in their lives. In the book he recounts the difficulties he faced, and that of his congregation. The problems he speaks of are still timely today. (Some of you may be familiar with the more recent version of this book, “What Would Jesus Do?,” which is written by Sheldon’s grandson).



3)    “Peace Like A River”
By: Leif Enger.
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections”.
This book was also a selection for my other bookgroup and one member
described it as a “spiritual western.” It’s about family, morals, when it’s right to invoke your own justice? and do miracles really occur? A very thought provoking book. The basic question of the book is: How much does someone have the right to do before it’s okay to take the law into your own hands, or, are you never allowed to do so?



4)    “Saving Fish From Drowning”
By: Amy Tan.
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections.”
This book begins with 12 tourists visiting Myanmar and 11 of the 12
tourists going missing. In the process, the reader learns a lot about the former Burma’s politics, religion, geography, horticulture, international relations, and that “doing what you think is the right thing” is not what’s best for the host country’s citizens - a theme also in the Paul Farmer book above. This book is different than Amy Tan’s other books, so don’t read it expecting the same as always.



5)    “The Distant Land of My Father”
By: Bo Caldwell.
To be located under: “Travel”
This book is mostly about Shanghai, before, during, and after WWll; but also covers Pasadena, CA, to a lesser extent during the same period of time. Within the context of these two cities, Chinese American and Japanese society are studied. What is at the heart of Caldwell’s book is how the familial relationship is impacted by War: loss, reconciliation and forgiveness.



6)    “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan”
By: Lisa See.
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections”.
This book covers Chinese history from 1 823-1 903. When the book
opens, two young girls are about to become “Laotongs-or matched together as friends for life.” Through the book, much is learned about foot-binding, social class, customs, and a woman’s place in Chinese society: in her growing up home, in her marital home, in the home she retires to.



7)    “Truth and Beauty”
By: Ann Patchett.
To be located under: “Medical,”
(A good book to read in conjunction with this one is “Anatomy of a Face” by Lucy Grealy)
Patchett tells the biographical story of her friend, fellow writer and poet, Lucy Grealy. In covering Grealy’s life, she covers their friendship; Grealy’s history of jaw cancer surgery and the 38 surgeries that followed thereafter; her history of depression and eventual use of narcotics; and the emotional trauma of a lifetime of surgeries, hospital stays, and waiting for the end result and “life to begin” and the effect this has on a person’s psyche. Having had at least 26 surgeries myself, I could identify with alot of what Lucy went through.


8)    “Six Weeks in the Sioux Teepees”
By: Sarah F. Wakefield.
To be located under “Other Cultures” (near “Travel”).
This book was published initially in 1 862, and was a best seller at the time. It’s about a doctor’s wife, who was captured, along with her two children, and spent six weeks living among the Sioux Indians. This is her narrative of her six weeks in captivity and how some of the Sioux went out of their way to keep her alive, while other of them went out of their way to torment her. When she finally made her way back to society, she was ostracized for not escaping sooner and for being too nice to the Indian.



9)    “The Bookseller of Kabul”
By: Asne Seierstad.
This is a book on CD and can be located under: “Books on audio-tape and CD’s.”
Journalist Seierstad lives with bookseller Sultan Khan and his family for
several months and reports on their daily lives in contemporary Afghanistan. As he is a bookseller, it gives a good glimpse into what was restricted under the Taliban and what the lives of women were like.



10)    “Suite Francaise, A Novel”
By: Irene Nemirovsky.
To be located under: “Social Issues: Race Relations & Prejudice”
Suite Francaise encompasses two books: “Storm in June” and “Dolce.”
The writer planned three more for under the overall heading, but was arrested in 1 942, deported to Auschwitz, and killed a month later at the age of 39. The writer was a famous french author at the time. Her husband was also killed by the Nazi’s. Her manuscripts were saved by one of her young daughters who grabbed her mother’s papers as she and her sister fled with an adult. Her daughter thought that the papers were a diary and only recently discovered that they were book manuscripts, which is why the recent publication. At the end of the two books are a biography of Nemirovsky, notes about what she planned to write regarding the next books, and correspondence written to the German government in an attempt to save her life.
The first book deals with the invasion of the Germans into Paris. The second book deals with the German occapation of a small town in France. Along the books are fiction, they are based on what Nemirovsky personally witnessed at the time.



11)    “The Hiding Place”
By: Corrie TenBoom.
 To be located under: “Inspirational.”
Ten Boom is past middle age, single and living with her father, sister and two aunts. She and her sister work in their father’s watch shop. One day they begin to take in Jewish people who need a place to hide from the Nazi’s. Their work with the Underground eventually leads to their arrests and Corrie and her sister are taken to the same prison.
This is a story of Corrie’s sister’s incredible love and faith in God and the incredible work she achieved under the worst of circumstances. It’s an uplifting book.



12)    “The Translator”
By: Leila Aboulela.
To be found in the: “Mideast” section.
The premise of this book is: Can you have a serious relationship with someone who does not share your faith? The main character in the book obtains a job as a translator for a professor at a university. She has a very strong Muslim faith. The translator and the professor fall in love. The professor understands and knows much about the Muslim faith. Her faith demands that he convert for her to marry him. Is it enough for him to
convert, if his heart is not that of a Muslim?
This book does a good job of teaching about the Muslim faith.


13) “The Kindness of Strangers, A Novel”
By: Katrina Kittle.
To be located under: “Social Issues: Child Abuse.”
Not everyone will be able to read this book due to the subject matter, but it is well written and handled very well. The main character discovers by chance, that her son’s friend has overdosed on drugs and rushes him to the hospital. Slowly it becomes known that he has been sexually molested by his mother, father, and videotaped by a porn ring. The main character, and her family, agree to take the boy in as a foster child, not fully realizing the impact such a decision will have on their lives.
The main thrust of the book is to do what is right, even if it inconveniences you, causes discomfort, etc. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do and stay the course.



14)    “The Glass Castle”
By: Jeannette Walls.
To be located under: “Social Issues: Child Abuse.”
This is Wall’s memoir of her dysfunctional childhood, living with an alcoholic father; a carefree, irresponsible mother; both of whom chose to move each time new bills came due and neither one of whom dealt with parenting their four children. This is a story of heartache, but there is no pity in the telling. Instead, there’s much humor in the candid book, and you will be awed by the resilience of the author, and by the loyalty, protectiveness and love the siblings show towards one another.



15)    “whose names are unknown”
By: Sanora Babb
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup Selections.”
Babb’s historical novel, is set during the Depression, and is about a family in Oklahoma who is beset with economic troubles and comes to California searching for work. The book is based on Babb’s own personal experiences. I personally think that the book is better than “The Grapes of Wrath.” However, as we have both books in our church library, you can compare the two and form your own opinion. “The Grapes of Wrath” is found under “Classics.”



16)    “Cane River”
By: Lalita Tademy.
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections.”
Tademy traces her family history to the birth of her great-great¬great-great-grandmother Elizabeth in 1799 to the death of her great¬grandmother Emily in 1 936. She tells of her ancestor’s lives as slaves, as newly freed blacks under Emancipation, and the problems they faced during the Night Rider days and white hatred. The women in the book come alive, and although the book is long, it holds your interest throughout.



17)    “Walking the Bible: A Journey By Land Through The Five Books of Moses”
By: Bruce Feiler.
To be located under: “Travel.”
Books to be read in conjunction are: “Abraham” and “Where God Was Born” also by Feiler and also in the “Travel” section.
Feiler decides to travel through the same places as Moses, and as he does so, he makes the places, times, events, and people of the Bible come alive. As he travels, Feiler allows us into his heart to share his journey of spiritual self discovery that takes place along side his journalistic quest for knowledge. It makes for a wonderful trip!



18)    “Gideon’s Trumpet”
By: Anthony Lewis.
To be located under: “Social Issues: Civil Rights & Liberties”
This is the story of the man, and the case, behind the Supreme Court decision to provide those who can’t afford an attorney the right to an appointed one in a criminal case. It’s an interesting story and not one that requires legal knowledge to read.



19)    “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst The Rwandan Holocaust”
By: Immaculee Ilibigaza.
To be located under: “Evening Women’s Bookgroup selections.”
Ilibigaza, as a young woman, hid out in a bathroom for 91 days along with six others, during the Rwandan genocide. This is the amazing story of how her faith in God grew during this time and her love for God. Although the book tells about the genocide and what happened to her family, it is really a story about faith and love in God, and reconciliation and forgiveness. After llibigaza is able to come out of the bathroom, she finds it in her heart to forgive those who killed her family, friends and neighbors.



20)    “The Soul of A Doctor: Harvard Medical Students Face Life and Death”
Edited by: Susan Pories, M.D., Sachin H. Jam, and Gordon Harper, M.D.
To be located under: “Medical.”
This book is comprised of essays written by third year Harvard medical students who have begun to make rounds and work with patients in the hospital under the supervision of interns, residents, and physicians. The students write openly about their feelings toward patient care, the doctors, the limits placed on them by time, etc. It’s an eye opening book.

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