2013 Reading (February)

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson                          
2 out of 5 -- This was a book recommended by NPR. Unfortunately, the book is verbose. Somewhere between all of the extra words is a good story about the future of our solar system when the planets, satellites, and asteroids have been terraformed by humans. Besides being a science fiction book that explains how we got there, it's also a mystery about a death, series of explosions, and androids which seem to be a bit too quirky.

Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 

4 of 5 stars --This book is the story of people who lived in the midwest at the turn of the century through about 1940ish. Reading this book made me realize that we haven't learned our eco-lesson in the slightest. Moreover, books like the Grapes of Wrath DO NOT give a full sense of the devastation of the land from North Dakota down to the Texas Panhandle. In some areas, within four years all bison and natural grass had been ripped from the ground. The land were sterile, into a great American Desert, from what had been a bread basket.  The result were dusters that caused people to die of Dust Pneumonia, animals to die of starvation with stomachs filled with dust at autopsy, and created dust storms that were 500 miles high and hundreds of miles wide that would sweep through the nation. For instance, when some environmentalists of the time were speaking in Washington about the devastation, one of these dust storms that had sweep the mid-west crossed into NYC, DC, and the entire eastern seaboard blacking out the sun completely. We cannot envision this level of devastation, it's beyond comprehension, and yet there was no doubt it was human actions that destroyed the lands. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

5 of  5 -- So good! It's a story about a woman, who disappears from her home on the day of her 5th anniversary under mysterious circumstances. Rewinding and going forward in time, the authors reveals twists and turns of the story of the young couple who had met in NYC, had been successful professionals, been laid off, and forced to move to the small town of the husband in the south. I didn't think I would like the book, and frankly it started a bit slow, but around page 80 (kindle page) I got sucked in and just couldn't put down the book. I would recommend it to others. 

Home by Toni Morrison

3 of 5 -- Nothing special. A story of a war torn man and his journey back home. Think of the twists and turns, around the subject of race, in the tone of Toni Morrison and you've got a sense of the book. It was short, but sweet. I would likely read it again, just because there were some elements that I think were so subtle they might have been missed upon first read. (Good news -- I was able to borrow this book from the library on kindle. Who-hoo!)