2 comments about Where the Twenties Weren't Roaring.

1. This is an enjoyable walk down memory land for anyone acquainted with rural America in the 1920s...or anyone who yearns for a simpler world. Catherine draws loving and respectful pictures about a time that is so very different from our current stressful situation. A gentle book ...rather like a cup of hot cocoa and a friend when you're feeling lonesome.



2. This book is a fine, easy read. Catherine's ability to describe an era so that I can recall vividly the feel of it is outstanding. This is the type of book that tells it like it was, and could be an eye-opener for those born into the post-WWII era.

   This book does not have a plot as such, but rather describes in vivid, real terms what it was like to live in the early days of the automobile: lacking indoor plumbing, cooking your own meals alongside the road when traveling, etc.

5 comments about On a Wave.

1. This should give you a general idea of how good this book is: After reading the last page, I turned to page 1 and started reading it all over again.
   
   When was the last time you read a book twice?
   
   Ziolkowski's style is like a perfect wave--clean, gorgeous, and unique. It's not just about a surfer searching for perfection, but a boy searching for himself in post-Vietnam era of sunny Florida, where everyone is tan and bleachy-haired, Led Zeppelin is on every radio, and pot is as prevalent as palm trees.
   
   The story begins with the author at ten, still reeling from his parents' divorce and craving diversion like any normal kid. But it is surfing that becomes his ultimate grace, giving him confidence and the room to dream outside the troubles at home. When his family begins to unravel, his heartbreak at dreams realized and lost will strike a sympathetic chord in anyone who is connected to the sea, to family, and to one's true self. The author's search for his identity comes full circle--beginning, ending, and beginning again--on a wave.



2. I loved this story of a young boy's passion for the ocean easing his growing pains. Very well-written.



3. thanks for the prompt delivery! I will definitely look for you again when ordering



4. Thad hits the nail on the head! Having grown up in Melbourne Beach during the time period described I feel qualified to speak on the authenticity of the scene depicted: perfect, took me back in time! Anyone who grew up in the space coast area during the 70's will be able to identify some of the characters described. This is an execellent book for the non-surfer as well as the surfer. This book will remain on my annual reading list along with Caught Inside, Lighting out and West of Jesus. Thanks Thad for an execellent read!



5. Excellent.This book will stay with you long after you read it. As a 50ish surfer from the Texas gulf coast this book reminds me of why I consider myself lucky.

No comments about Josie Brewster's Year.

No comments about Growing in His Light.

4 comments about My Fathers' Houses: Memoir of a Family.

1. I am not Jewish, I did not grow up in New Jersey, and I was born the year the author graduated from Harvard. How can I explain the reasons I loved this book? Perhaps the reviewer below summed it up best: it IS refreshing to read a memoir that is not fueled by anger, contempt, or confession. This is a very pleasant visit to a time and place that, while not my own, echo a love of family connections and triumphs. I hope there will be a sequel and I applaud Mr. Roberts for taking the time to reflect upon and share his childhood. We need more books that aren't someone else's therapy.



2. I cannot imagine wasting nearly a year of ones life to write a silly and superficial book about a very small and plain vanilla family. Like millions of immigrant families, Roberts' family came to the US, set up shop, had kids, worked hard and passed on their genes. For Steve Roberts, his very ordinary and undistinguished career as a writer for The New York Times and other publications was only made significant by his marriage to Cokie Boggs, whose only claim to fame was being the daughter of a big time pol from the south before he died. She then spent a lot of time at ABC as the classic liberal reporter before she got dumped for George Stepyounopulous, Clinton's mouthpiece.
   Luckily this book won't take long to read if you want to, but I keep asking myself why I wasted an hour of my life to read it. I guess the high point of the book is that Barney Frank is his good buddy and got him to apply to Harvard. That's about it. Oh, and he was a bag boy for Scotty Reston. Wow. To think some poor tree died for this.



3. First: I'm a big fan of Team Roberts. But I was not expecting the depth of emotion and connection this book evoked in me. I'm a bit younger than Steve, grew up on the West Coast in a WonderBread world, but his descriptions of his background and growing up, full of all the anguish of the less-than-perfect teenager, were astonishingly affirming. I have passed the volume on to another, and expect it will continue to make the rounds. I'm hoping for volume two that picks up at the time they were married and carries on, since there are surely many more stories!



4. Steve Roberts has written a charming memoir that celebrates his family and an era gone by. Roberts grew up in Jersey City, an area usually reserved for punch-lines of stupid jokes, but Roberts captures all that is to be valued in his hometown. It is refreshing to read a memoir that is not so much motivated by anger and discontent. MY FATHER'S HOUSES is a memoir written to give credit where it is due.

1 comments about A Place at the Table: The True Story of Two Men -- Best Friends in Their Youth, Reunited in Adversity.

1. This is a tale of two young boys, one caucasion and one African-American, who were unlikely friends in North Carolina farmland in the late 40's and early 50's. The bond created between these two boys was strong enough to carry on to their high school years when they encountered the trials and tribulations of a newly integrated school. Together they were able to overcome these hardships and continue a relationship through adulthood, keeping in contact and sharing experiences as each man fought his own life threatening disease. This story is an inspiration and an education for all.

3 comments about Escape from Despair.

1. This book was the selection for a theme reading group of a government child protective agency. It was read to commemorate domestic violence awareness month. We all learned from this writer It described an engaging modern history of Croatia as well as the writer's immigration experience to the U.S. Its description of domestic violence at the hands of a violent alcoholic father is graphic and disturbing. It has lessons about the need for intervention by law enforcement, the Church, and social service agencies. It is clear that this is a societal problem everywhere. It is not only "a private family matter." The book also describes the consequence of family violence to future generations. I would recommend this book without hesitation



2. Croatia has a wonderful and glorious history. My four grandparents came to America from Croatia. However, there lurks in some of the small villages is a destructive culture where alcoholism destroys the fabric of the family. The author takes us into her home with such descriptive words that I find myself seeing, tasting and feeling what she felt as a little girl. I was begging for a happy ending to such a horrible story and she did not disappoint me. A great book if you want to visit a village in Croatia with no support system for a mother who was trying her best to do God's will.
   
   Don Wolf



3. A true picture of a difficult life, where dual standards are a daily practice, is at the core of author Katarina Tepesh well written and moving family history. The father, a chronic alcoholic, possesses some positive trends in his association with folks outside his family. At home, however, under constant influence of alcohol, he is a harsh and cruel person, lacking love and respect not only for his very religious and submissive wife, but also for his six children, three boys and three girls. Frequent mistreatments of his wife, often in the presence of children, is a heart-breaking insight into a family living under constant fear. The extreme poverty and no place to turn for help, left the family with a feeling of being locked into an impossible situation. A highly recommended reading.

2 comments about Rescued Images : Memories of a Childhood in Hiding.

1. I consider myself to be a student of the holocaust. As such, I have read many books and look at documentaries/movies and yet with every piece of media about the subject I learn new information, new sets of experiences about this horrible time in history. This book stands out among all the rest. I won't go into detail - it needs to be read the others have detailed the experiences of this girl, and her parents (to a lesser extent) but I came away from this book understanding huge conclusions....That you didn't need to be in a concentration camp during the war to have your life ruined, to have your family torn apart, and the most monstrous of all - that while there were 6 million Jews kills, 11 million overall, each of those people would have many stories to tell and, as this book clearly illustrates and raises the question as to how many who WERE NOT in concentration camps and survived are out there to tell their numerous stories?
   
   The possible numbers are mindboggling...so to be a student of the holocaust is to take on a life-long education process of which I'm at the very beginning. But as the author I'm sure would agree, we must not forget.....



2. People of my generation or younger, born after the mid nineteen-sixties, are caught in a strange place when it comes to learning about, and relating to, the events in World War II Europe. We come too late for direct experience, yet before the greater distance of the generation following us. In a sense, we will, if we are thinking people, shoulder the task of passing on the facts, impressions, and enormous lessons from this period, but without first-hand knowledge. "Rescued Images" is a remarkable book which should do much to provide us with a tool which is both entertaining (as extraordinary as that may seem) and profoundly moving. Jacobsens gentle, yet strong voice, is made even stronger by her montages, which are simultaneously beautiful as they are emotionally raw. When she is old enough I will sit with my daughter and we will read this book together, in honor of the triumph of the human spirit, and in memory of the worst of human failings. Parents and schools should add this volume to their shelves, it will remain timeless.

4 comments about Hope for Carsonville.

1. Erin Q. Hartman, author, was born in 1957 in the cozy ambiance of a home in Carsonville, which produces rich, childhood memories. Erin Hartman, one of twelve children, grew up in the home of a sick, alcoholic mother. But what Hartman's parents lack in material wealth, they make up for with family cohesiveness and love.
   
   I was able to connect with this book on many levels. Like Hartman, I was born in 1957, so I have memories similar to those that she so intimately shares with us. Her language is so vivid that I found myself present in the lives of this quirky, yet loving and loyal family. Imagine attending church wearing toilet paper as a scarf on your head! Hartman sums it up: "What I love about Sunday dinner is that my father is home and we are truly a family. It doesn't matter how my funeral scarf looks or how stupid my sisters look with toilet papers on their heads. God knows we are doing the best we can." Hartman portrays well the awkward situations that surface through childhood innocence and harmless childhood pranks.
   
   Although Hope (Hartman's mother) might not be considered the ideal parent by today's standards, the children find her loads of fun. A child at heart, she takes seriously her run for town council in Carsonville. Her values are rich as she teaches her children to help those who are less fortunate by inviting them in for a rich, home-cooked meal. In addition, she never runs out of resourceful ways to entertain her children, like "The Abandoned House Game," where she and her children try to imagine what took place within the walls of abandoned homes. She may seem outlandish, but her adventuresome spirit makes her the envy of Hartman's friends.
   
   Hartman concludes her memoir in just the right way by celebrating joyful memories of the close-knit family's experiences. Some are poignant, but most are endearing and unforgettable.
   
   by Sharon Blumberg
   for Story Circle Book Reviews
   reviewing books by, for, and about women



2. I would highly recommend this book. It is a collection of short stories that will make you laugh, cry, and remember things from your own childhood. When I finished the book, I flipped it over to the beginning and started reading it all over again! I cannot wait for this author to get her next book out!



3. SIMPLY AMAZING! I'll admit, I'm partially biased: my aunt Erin wrote this book, but I read a lot and know great writing when I see it. Outsiders might not comprehend our tight family bond, but read the stories and share in the laughter, tears and memories.
   
   I'm just waiting for the sequel, when she shares her adventures babysitting her favorite neices.



4. First, I have to admit that the author is a friend, and that I read a lot of the book before it was published. But it IS a great book. Her family was dysfunctional, but she shows how a child can grow up with love and faith despite a less-than-perfect, non-suburban, non-Yuppie childhood.
   
   Parts are hilarious and parts are sad. It's a lot like real life.
   
   I have read a lot of books, and highly recommend this one.

1 comments about Tales Out of School: Contemporary Writers on Their Student Years.

1. In her smart Introduction Dr. Susan Richards Shreve says, "I have had a half a century of an uneasy alliance with school." She tells about that alliance from a variety of angles, beginning with herself as "a bad student, a very bad student, and finally a good one." She's an English professor, a mother of four children, am impassioned advocate and an able observer and memoirist. Her son, Porter Shreve, has his great own story to tell - as the bedeviled (and bedeviling) 'scholarship kid' at the school that employed his dad.

   There are 16 additional pieces in this somewhat uneven collection. All of the contributors are Americans; academics and/or professional writers. More than a few grew up poor and felt ostracized - and talk about that experience. The domestic debate regarding public versus private schools continues, with varying success, in several of these pieces. (Nina Revoyr, Francesca Delbanco, others). In some of the stories, memories are likely fresh because the writer is only a decade or so away from the actual experience. The remembered pain and turmoil of adolescence combines is here. Sherman Alexie's young life was under a long shadow: poverty, alcoholism, and an awful disconnect. Alexie's account - of Indian cruelty to Indians - is powerfully bitter. (He reports having asked a bulimic female classmate to "Give me your lunch if you're just going to throw up." ) Immigrant experience, feelings of being an outsider for other reasons - and the ever-present threat of bullying and ostracism are here, too. Learning disabilities, sex, death, vandalism, parents, good and bad teachers - all present. Class conflict and political tension, too. Teachers have enormous powers - to annoy and to hurt, but also to love and redeem. Michael Patrick MacDonald's "Fight the Power" offers an astonishing picture of violence in to-be-integrated South Boston that slyly compares it to Belfast. Jeff Richards' essay "LD" talks about family, learning disabilities, persistence and love - with honesty and passion. David Haynes writes, straightforwardly and well, about teaching - in the dark, really, at first, and by default. He says blithely but not flippantly that he had neglected to choose a profession, so he began to teach.

   Class clown David Sedaris ("I Like Guys") does not fail to deliver - in one of the liveliest of the stories.

   Definitely worth reading.