I wouldn't have met Piti if it hadn't been for a chichigua. To translate chichigua as a kite does not do justice to these beautiful creations of...
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Thomas Mallon writes a fictional account of the Watergate scandal. The book is riveting from the first page. Mr. Mallon focuses on several different people in the book and writes from their point of view. There are the usual suspects - Nixon and Howard Hunt. And then there are the unusual suspects - Fred LaRue, Rose Woods (Nixon's secretary and the person who created the infamous "gap" in the oval office tapes), and Alice Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. What I enjoyed most about this book is that fact that Mr. Mallon neither passes judgement on nor condemns the players involved in the scandal. He tells the story in a way that draws you in and offers explanations of certain people's behavior. I loved this book.
This book was written by an Arabic-speaking FBI agent and it is his story of trying to prevent 9/11 and catch Osama bin Laden. The book reads like the best spy fiction you can think of but it's all fact. The CIA even made him redact information, which I hope will appear in future editions. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand not only the terrorists, but the bureaucratic roadblocks that helped 9/11 happen.
Avi Steinberg is a Harvard graduate and writer of Obituaries for the Boston Globe. He decides to apply to be a librarian at the county jail in Boston. He actually gets the job, despite having no library experience. During his time at the jail, he learns about desperate prisoners with big dreams, grudge-holding correction officers, and fellow staff. He is mugged by a former prisoner and mourns the deaths of others. This is not a story about books, but about freedom. I loved this book because it is the epitome of the saying "you get what you give". Avi gave attention and time to those who needed it and he gained more education and wisdom than he received at Harvard.
Mr. Howe, an editor for the Paris Review, is married to a Korean-American woman. She is trying to be a dutiful Korean daughter, so she talks her husband into staying in her mom's basement, not using their savings to buy a house, and instead buying a deli in Brooklyn. The book is a memoir of that time and Mr. Howe does an excellent job describing all the wacky people that come to inhabit his life while he and his family try to successfully run a deli. The city and the neighborhood become characters as well. The book not only provides insight into the Brooklyn neighborhood where they have purchased the deli, but the last year of George Plimpton's life - who happens to be he owner of Paris Review. The clashing of the different cultures, lifestyles, values and traditions is a great subplot to the story as well.
I first head of Kathryn Stockett's book on NPR. After the story aired, I ran out and got a copy. The book, about a young white woman who wants to be a writer and the African-American maids she knows. The story is set in the South at the very beginning of the civil right movement. Ms. Stockett writes this book with an eye for the time and an ear for the language.
I was pulled into the story from the beginning. The characters took on their own personalities and own lives. You felt as though you were right there with them. And that is the highest compliment I can give a book.
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Shannon Geiger has commented on (17) products.
Watergate by Thomas Mallon
Shannon Geiger, March 11, 2012
Thomas Mallon writes a fictional account of the Watergate scandal. The book is riveting from the first page. Mr. Mallon focuses on several different people in the book and writes from their point of view. There are the usual suspects - Nixon and Howard Hunt. And then there are the unusual suspects - Fred LaRue, Rose Woods (Nixon's secretary and the person who created the infamous "gap" in the oval office tapes), and Alice Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. What I enjoyed most about this book is that fact that Mr. Mallon neither passes judgement on nor condemns the players involved in the scandal. He tells the story in a way that draws you in and offers explanations of certain people's behavior. I loved this book.The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against Al-Qaeda by Ali H Soufan
Shannon Geiger, January 1, 2012
This book was written by an Arabic-speaking FBI agent and it is his story of trying to prevent 9/11 and catch Osama bin Laden. The book reads like the best spy fiction you can think of but it's all fact. The CIA even made him redact information, which I hope will appear in future editions. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand not only the terrorists, but the bureaucratic roadblocks that helped 9/11 happen.Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian by Avi Steinberg
Shannon Geiger, September 30, 2011
Avi Steinberg is a Harvard graduate and writer of Obituaries for the Boston Globe. He decides to apply to be a librarian at the county jail in Boston. He actually gets the job, despite having no library experience. During his time at the jail, he learns about desperate prisoners with big dreams, grudge-holding correction officers, and fellow staff. He is mugged by a former prisoner and mourns the deaths of others. This is not a story about books, but about freedom. I loved this book because it is the epitome of the saying "you get what you give". Avi gave attention and time to those who needed it and he gained more education and wisdom than he received at Harvard.My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store by Ben Ryder Howe
Shannon Geiger, March 20, 2011
Mr. Howe, an editor for the Paris Review, is married to a Korean-American woman. She is trying to be a dutiful Korean daughter, so she talks her husband into staying in her mom's basement, not using their savings to buy a house, and instead buying a deli in Brooklyn. The book is a memoir of that time and Mr. Howe does an excellent job describing all the wacky people that come to inhabit his life while he and his family try to successfully run a deli. The city and the neighborhood become characters as well. The book not only provides insight into the Brooklyn neighborhood where they have purchased the deli, but the last year of George Plimpton's life - who happens to be he owner of Paris Review. The clashing of the different cultures, lifestyles, values and traditions is a great subplot to the story as well.The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Shannon Geiger, January 1, 2011
I first head of Kathryn Stockett's book on NPR. After the story aired, I ran out and got a copy. The book, about a young white woman who wants to be a writer and the African-American maids she knows. The story is set in the South at the very beginning of the civil right movement. Ms. Stockett writes this book with an eye for the time and an ear for the language.I was pulled into the story from the beginning. The characters took on their own personalities and own lives. You felt as though you were right there with them. And that is the highest compliment I can give a book.
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