I
loved this book because it was a well-written coming-of-age story about a
boy growing up in Los Angeles and Hawaii in the 60s and 70s.
William Finnegan falls in love
with surfing because his father encouraged him not to give up by going out to
catch just a few more waves after a rough day. It takes him all over the world
– to Portugal, the South Pacific, Australia, South Africa. He grapples with
himself and his shortcomings and the book is introspective and
emotional.
**Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography**
Included in President Obama's 2016 Summer Reading List
"Without a doubt, the finest surf book I've ever read . . . " -The New York Times Magazine
Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates, it is something else: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
Raised in California and Hawaii, Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South…
I
picked up this book randomly at a bookstore and fell in love with the
intriguing cover (a hermit crab emerging from some nopales cactus in a wide
open desert setting).
The book is as unexpected as this cover with the author
touching on many subjects and making keen observations – her life in Tucson,
Kentucky, and even Thoreau. Her writing is thoughtful and intelligent and this book
still sits prominently on my bookshelf.
"There is no one quite like Barbara Kingsolver in contemporary literature," raves the Washington Post Book World, and it is right. She has been nominated three times for the ABBY award, and her critically acclaimed writings consistently enjoy spectacular commercial success as they entertain and touch her legions of loyal fans.
In High Tide in Tucson, she returnsto her familiar themes of family, community, the common good and the natural world. The title essay considers Buster, a hermit crab that accidentally stows away on Kingsolver's return trip from the Bahamas to her desert home, and turns out to have manic-depressive…
This is a rich memoir about growing up in New Orleans East (not the main touristy
part many of us are well acquainted with) and the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina.
She weaves in stories about her own situation (she
was not there), family members who were there, and family members who had to
leave, etc. It is the most insider portrait of New Orleans and the story of
Hurricane Katrina I have ever read. And the best thing is you really feel like
you know the writer afterwards.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who wants
to learn new things and gain insights.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION
'A major book that I suspect will come to be considered among the essential memoirs of this vexing decade' New York Times Book Review
In 1961, Sarah M. Broom's mother Ivory Mae bought a shotgun house in the then-promising neighborhood of New Orleans East and built her world inside of it. It was the height of the Space Race and the neighborhood was home to a major NASA plant - the postwar optimism seemed assured. Widowed, Ivory Mae remarried Sarah's father Simon Broom; their combined family would…
It takes a strong team to keep the Hotel running smoothly, and Elevator Bird is at the center of it all. He helps guests get to their rooms and gives great advice about all the best sights in town. He helps the staff get where they need to go, and always has an encouraging word. Elevator Bird makes everyone's day brighter.
So when he confesses to his friend Mousie that he's always longed for a room with a view, Mousie springs into action. All his friends at the Hotel hatch a marvelous plan to make sure Elevator Bird has the nest he deserves.
Sarah Williamson spins a charming tale of friends working together to make a dream come true.
