Lost on Planet China

Lost on Planet China: One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation

By J. Maarten Troost

Broadway; Reprint edition 2009

Reviewed by Amy Christiansen

This book is a hilarious account of a travel writer's experiences when traveling in China in 2006. He describes his journey with accounts of meeting people and trying to understand a culture with which he is clearly not familiar. He found a nation which is spread between traditional culture at one end and unrestrained capitalism at the other end, sandwiching Maoism in between. He travels from megalopolises such as Beijing and Shanghai to rural villages and markets, and from environments such as Yunnan Province's rainforests to Xinjiang's deserts. The book covers the beauty and the warts to be found in this complex, evolving nation. The author also provides travel tips regarding food, haggling in a Chinese market, what to see, and the different rules of manners in China. This book is both educational and entertaining.

I Feel Bad About My Neck

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being A Woman
By Nora Ephron
Knopf  2006

Reviewed by Julie Abowitt


This is a group of essays by a very witty, urbane, woman.  The stories are her take on getting older and living in New York. It took me back to the years I lived in New York.Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. She recounts her anything-but-glamorous days as a White House intern during the JFK years (“I am probably the only young woman who ever worked in the Kennedy White House that the President did not make a pass at”) and shares how she fell in and out of love with Bill Clinton—from a distance, of course. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age.
The Amber Spyglass, by Philip Pullman,is pure fantasy and fun.  It is well written and provides very inventive ways for  the young heroine to battle forces of evil.  I loved the species that used seed pods as wheels on their feet.

Lois Allan's book, Contemporary Printmaking in the North West, highlights the work of local artists.  As a printmaker myself, I appreciated this  beautiful prints.

Hellhound on His Trail

Hellhound on His Trail: The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt in American History, by Hampton Sides; Anchor, 2011

Reviewed by Kathie Meyer

The title does not lie. Hellhound on His Trail is electrifying. This meticulously researched book puts you right there in the couple of months leading up to, the exact moment of, and the months after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1968 assassination in Memphis. The American people have never known the complete story of James Earl Ray until now. Author Hampton Sides also addresses the likelihood of the conspiracy theory. Once started, this incredible book, which is on several "best book" lists for 2011, is hard to put down.

If you like food (who doesn't?), then the authorized biography Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee will be of interest. Here's the story of how the fresh, local food movement got its start in Berkeley, Calif. in 1971 and spread throughout America. Alice Waters and her cast of characters make for a very "dish-y" read. Most restaurant owners would have given up a long time ago; the fact that Chez Panisse is still going strong is amazing. If you'd rather grow and cook your own food instead of eat out, then try Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail. Trail has a lot of ideas for the urban, apartment gardener, and the book is loaded with beautiful photographs. A few recipes are included.

The Jewel of St. Petersburg

The Jewel of St. Petersburg, by Kate Furnivall; Berkely Trade, 2010

Reviewed by Skye Raynor

Set in 1910 Russia, The Jewel of St. Petersburg highlights the struggles of the poor, the tsars, and the Bolsheviks. Rich in history, this book follows a love triangle among Valentina, Jens, and a rich Russian army captain. With the tsar and the duma at each other's throats, and the Bolsheviks drawing their battle lines, the elegance and opulence of tsarist rule are in their last days. This book is a prequel to Furnivall's debut novel, The Russian Concubine. Library Journal called it "gripping, elegant, and fierce."


The Hotel Rivieria, by Elizabeth Adler, is set in the south of France with the co-owner of the hotel, Lola Laforet, at its center. Her husband goes missing, and other people show up insisting they have claim to the hotel. With interesting characters, this is a fun vacation read. In Guy Pearce Jones's book Two Survived: The Timeless WWII Epic of Seventy Days at Sea in an Open Boat, the unforgettable true story of a ship torpedoed by the Nazis and the seven men who get away in a small lifeboat with very few supplies is told.

The Sultan's Seal

The Sultan's Seal, by Jenny White; W.W. Norton & Co., 2007

Reviewed by Colleen Johnson

Author Jenny White's novel The Sultan's Seal is a real find! When the body of a young Englishwoman washes up in Istanbul wearing a pendant inscribed with the seal of the deposed sultan, Kamil Pasha, a magistrate in the new secular courts, sets out to solve the crime. Given a starred review by Booklist, this novel is historical drama mixed with the traditional murder mystery, brilliantly capturing the political and social upheavals of the waning Ottoman Empire. It bristles with cogent observations about the human condition, has an unpredictable plot, and gives the reader something other than a standard "pat" ending. Named a Booklist Top Ten First Novel.


East of the Sun: A Novel by British author Julia Gregson is an international period drama which tells the story of young, unmarried English women who travel to India in 1928 for job, marriage, and family. It is a story that offers light romance and lots of character development. Also written by Gregson is the novel Band of Angels about a young woman who joins Florence Nightingale's nursing corp during the Crimean War. In this book, the author includes gritty details, and the battlefield scenes are not for the fainthearted.

A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism

A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism, by Peter Mountford; Mariner Books, 2011


Reviewed by Paul Rogland


In this novel, our hero is working undercover for a Wall Street hedge fund in a third-world country, trying to discern investment opportunities before the competition. Author Garth Stein has called this debut novel "a smart and entertaining book. A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism accomplishes that rare trick of being a book of ideas and politics while remaining, at its core, a profoundly intimate, character-driven story and a tremendously good read." In James Hillman's book The Dream and the Underworld, he teaches the reader how to "work" our sleep stories, arguing against interpreting dreams. It's best, he says, to just picture the dream images, and they will do the "work" themselves. Finally, if it's personal fulfillment you're looking for, Todd Buchholz attempts to convince the reader in Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race that humans do not find happiness or health by zen-like relaxation or retirement. Instead, it is the stress and competition of our work life that enlivens us.

The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown; Putnam, 2011


Reviewed by Shilah Gould


Three adult sisters return simultaneously to their childhood home in a midwestern college town and grow closer. In this home, books are a passion (there is no problem a library card can't solve) and TV is something other people watch. This is a very nice, uplifting book, with loads of Shakespeare thrown in! Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund is dramatic and intense and filled with religion, warfare, space exploration, and love stories all mixed together. Set against the searing debate between evolutionsts and creationists, Adam & Eve is a thriller, romance, and an adventure. It will take some time to digest when you're done. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen tells the love story of Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney. Although lighthearted, this book is at its core a serious, unsentimental commentary on love and marriage, 19th-century British style. Of all of her novels, this is Austen's most explicitly literary in that it is primarily concerned with books and with readers.

The Known World

The Known World, by Edward P. Jones; Amistead Publishing, 2002

Reviewed by John Wrobleski

This 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning book is set in Virginia, 20 years before the beginning of the Civil War. The Known World has painful descriptions of a sordid time of our history, detailing life under slavery. Despite the despairing conditions, some endearing relationships emerged, and hope for a better future persisted. Meg Mullins' The Rug Merchant is an outstanding story of an immigrant from Iran who opens a Persian rug company in New York City. The story evolves through the end of his marriage, and a love affair with a college student. The author presents an interesting portrait of the life of an elderly customer. To lighten things up, try Barrel Fever, by David Sedaris. This book has personal essays and stories from the author's life, which are often hilarious. You are guaranteed a whole lot of laughter while reading the wild descriptions of eccentric family members and friends.

Fat Girl: A True Story

Fat Girl: A True Story, by Judith Moore; Plume Publishing, 2006

Reviewed by Cheryl Maglosky

Judith Moore's Fat Girl: A True Story is a searingly honest account of what it is like to grow up fat, feeling unloved, unpopular and lonely. Ms. Moore cuts to the chase, with intelligence, insight, and humor...and without apologies, excuses or pretext. She won this reader's respect and admiration. Honest. Humorous. Heartbreaking. Those three words define Anne Lamott's storytelling in Imperfect Birds. This novel examines the challenges of parenting, growing up, and being a family. Fortunately, this book moves beyond the middle class-middle aged angst that Lamott is well known for in its narrative of a family dealing with a teenaged daughter's drug abuse. Inside of a Dog, by Alexandra Horowitz, is a fine combination of the author's scientific expertise and love of dogs. She brings us in to the world of canines, while making us aware of our human biases, and deconstructing the popular myths about these delightful creatures. The book was informative and revealing, and it enhanced my understanding and appreciation of dogs.

A Friend of the Earth

A Friend of the Earth, by T. C. Boyle; Penguin Books, 2001

Reviewed by David Sachi

A bad time is had by all in this imaginative look into the near future of 2025. The world is ravaged by the effects of global warming, and haunted by the futility of environmental activism. In A Friend of the Earth, author T.C. Boyle spins his yarn around his favorite themes: obsessive hygiene, compulsive consumerism, uneasiness in the natural world, and fear of technology--all with a healthy dose of humor. I also recommend Ian McEwan's The Innocent, an intriguing story of an ordinary Englishman who gets caught up in post-war intelligence mania, and discovers how exhilarating and tragic life can be. For a real closer-to-home change of pace, try Olympic National Park--A Natural History, by Tim McNulty. This author traces the geologic history of the Olympic mountains, and explores present day flora and fauna within the park boundaries.