"The Man Who Loved China..." by Simon Winchester

Author, Simon Winchester, has built a career writing about little-known figures in history and making the lay person aware of their contributions to society. Such is the case of Dr. Joseph Needham, a distinguished professor of biochemistry at Cambridge, who went to China in the 1930's and then proceeded to spend his life writing the definitive work on Chinese civilization and culture. During his time in China he led eleven cultural expeditions and logged 30,000 miles to answer the vexing question: "Why , if the Chinese had been so technologically creative for so very long, and if they invented so much in antiquity-- why did modern science develop not in China but in Europe and the West?"

That is the focus of this very interesting, and fascinating book on the life and work of Dr. Joseph Needham, and how he devoted his life to finding the answer to the question. The book provides great insights into Chinese culture and society from the 1930's to the 1990's and is a great introduction to the impact China continues to have on world events.

"The Cairo Diaries: 2004-2006" by Tom Markus and Linda Sarver

What a delight to have Tom and Linda share their amazing experience of living in Cairo as Tom taught at the American University. This book began as e-mail messages sent to family and friends which were then expanded into this entertaining and witty book. Travel writing is such a great way to explore the world and learn the intricacies of life and culture. Tom and Linda are wonderful observers of human nature and to read their book was a joy! Thank you for being a part of our Mainly Reading Book Club and providing these fascinating insights!

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

To celebrate our 3rd Year Anniversary we chose an award-winning book which examines the importance of words and the transforming power they give us, as we deal with extreme situations of adversity and despair. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak is a detailed, multi-layered examination of how a small community, and specifically a a group of families living on Himmel Street deal with the realities of World War II. The impact of the war and Jewish Holocaust is narrated by Death, and told from the point of view of a young girl, Liesel. Through these characters and several others we are shown the human side of war and the effect it has on ordinary citizens. This is an accomplished, and thought-provoking novel with strong characters, a unique plot and presentation.

For those keeping track here is the list of books we read in 2009:
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, Hooman Majd
Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to fight terror and build nations-- one school at a time, Greg Mortenson
Nine Parts of Desire: the hidden world of Islamic Women, Geraldine Brooks
Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
Manhunt: the twelve day chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Geography of Bliss: one grump's search for the happiest places in the world, Eric Weiner
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
The Cairo Diaries, Tom Markus and Linda Sarver
The Man Who Love China: the fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, by Simon Winchester

"The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner

If you enjoyed this book here are some interesting web sites:

Listen to Eric Weiner report on Bombay's Laughing Clubs:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId+=1147789

The World Database of Happiness:
http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

or this book "Stumbling on Happiness" by Dan Gilbert

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book is a delightful read. It is tailor-made for book lovers like myself. In 1946 London writer Juliet receives a letter from Dawsey Addams about Charles Lamb. Through multiple letters Juliet, and the reader, is introduced to the world of post-occupation Guernsey and it's colorful heroic characters. Writers Barrow & Shaffer deftly handle multiple character voices and move the story along at a fast clip. The use of epistolary is genius since it controls how information is doled out between characters and the reader. When the story gets a little too light in the middle the writers bring in a surprisingly amount of heft when discussing the horrors of war. Islanders begin to recount for Juliet stories of the German Occupation which are grim and realistic. The book is much more substantial than I expected. I was delighted by the wit and humor these characters exhibit. This is a must-read for bibliophiles like myself. Highly enjoyable. (from Reading List of a Book Pusher, gettsr-bookpusher.blogspot.com who led the book discussion)

"Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

This nonfiction book read like a mystery/thriller. All agreed that the pacing was wonderful and full of information that many had no idea had occured. Everyone knows the basic story of President Lincoln's assasination by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theater, but the level of detail presented by the author was fascinating. The book completely captured the spirit of the times and allowed the reader to become totally involved in the complexities of finding Mr. Booth and bringing him to justice.

"The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault

After a wonderful summer vacation I thought I had better bring our blog up-to-date. We had a very interesting discussion on June 6th about "The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault. The setting is Ancient Greece, 370-340 BC and the intricacies of Greek Theater. Critics have said that her "historical novels are excellent, and hold their own as atristically wrought and moving stories." The "Mask of Apollo" is perhaps the most satisfying novel and brings together the themes of virtue and art. We also talked about the symbolism of the mask, in both the theater and in life-- the mask can be achieved not only by a physical mask, but also with makeup. This mask can liberate us to be someone else, and put our game face on-- which was shown very clearly by the characters in the novel.