the second five

Does anyone out there enjoy my book reviews? Because I'm sorely tempted to just ditch them altogether. If you want me to keep writing them, say so, and I'll seriously consider your request.

6. Safe Passage: The Remarkable True Story of Two Sisters Who Rescued Jews from the Nazis by Ida Cook
The title alone gives you a good idea of what this memoir is about, but in reality that long subtitle only covers about one third -- the middle section -- of the book. The first is devoted to how much Ida and her sister, Louise, loved opera, a love which ultimately launched and aided in their efforts to bring Jewish refugees safely to England. And the last part of the book deals with her memories of London during the Blitz, as well as a sprinkling of how these two quirky spinster sisters spent the rest of their lives. I really enjoyed it. Ida Cook, who you quickly gather through her storytelling is quite the character, is a person I would have loved to have met in real life. I'm sure she would have made me laugh and put me at ease just like she did for so many others in the days before and during WWII.

7. Rereadings edited by Anne Fadiman
This is the third book by Fadiman that I've read. I enjoyed the first two, Ex Libris and At Large and At Small, a little more than this, but that is perhaps because this collection of essays were not actually written by her. Each contribution was written by a scholarly writer whose assignment it was to reread a favorite book and write about how the rereading affected them. All of the essays were originally published in the literary quarterly, The American Scholar, which is edited by Fadiman. I must admit that I got bored with a few essays and so skipped them, and the book overall took me longer than most to read (essay collections are generally that way for me). But a few of the essays -- particular the one on the wildflower field guide and the one on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band -- were really interesting. One big draw from this book for me was how it made me think about how I'm affected by my own rereadings of favorite books.

8. Just Two More Bites: Helping Picky Eaters Say Yes to Food by Linda Piette
I picked this book up looking for ideas to help my two picky eaters be more open to try new things as well as to learn ways that I could make mealtimes at our house more peaceful. Overall I did find it helpful. The biggest thing I took from it, which was something I'd known all along but apparently needed a reminder, was that it's my job as a parent to provide my children with a variety of nutritious foods, but that it's their job to decide what and how much they will eat. I learned what is normal eating behavior for children and what is not, and I was reminded that while processed foods aren't ideal, they do provide enough nutrients to keep children functioning, so I can stop beating myself up for occasionally serving things they eat like boxed macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. More than anything I was reminded that this is just a phase, so I might as well loosen up and allow my family to have enjoyable meals together, even if my children won't eat the things I work so hard to prepare for them.

9. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
I really liked this book. It's been recommended to me several times, and I finally got my hands on a copy. It's the fictional story of Henry Lee, a Chinese-American boy, and his Japanese-American girlfriend, Keiko, in Seattle during WWII. The story touches on the anti-Japanese hysteria that unfortunately swept the nation, resulting in the internment of thousands of Japanese people, as it goes back and forth between the war years and the '80s, when Henry is grown. The writing didn't strike me as anything spectacular, but I enjoyed the story just the same.

10. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
I was on the waiting list at the library for over three months for this book, and by golly, the wait was worth it! It was absolutely fascinating! At Home is a social history which is based, of all places, at home. Bryson lives with his family in an old English rectory that was built in 1851. As he walks through each room of the house, he delves into the domestic history that relates to each particular room. For example, in the kitchen he talks about nutrition and the spice trade. In the dressing room he discusses fashion, and in the nursery we learn about childhood throughout history. I was a little worried, given what I've learned about Bryson's tendency to sometimes set his storytelling in the gutter, that the chapter on the bedroom would get a little dirty. Happily, though, it did not. Everything, in this room as well as the rest, was tastefully written about. His style was, as it ever is, very personable, which is one of my favorite characteristics of Bryson's writing style. It's almost as if he's sitting next to you telling you all sorts of random but terribly interesting tidbits. I highly recommend this book. I, for one, could hardly put it down.