My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

It's hard to commit to a favorite author. Once you commit, then you'll need to tell others. They may question why. It reveals something about yourself as a reader and they will know. You'll know it when it happens, when you find a favorite author, and you may keep it to yourself for awhile. You'll read other works by YOUR author to confirm your adoration of him/her. When you're ready, speak up! PAT CONROY IS MY FAVORITE AUTHOR! Yep, now I've shouted it and you all know.

It happened when I read his work, The Prince of Tides. I've since read his full body of work including My Reading Life, his most recent. As the title suggests, this is Pat Conroy's story about his life with books. My gift to you are some of his most delicious jewels I've savored while learning about Pat Conroy, the reader.

On authors: "I've searched out those writers unafraid to stir up the emotions, who entrust me with their darkest passions, their most indestructible yearnings, and their most soul-killing doubts." [That is how I feel about him as an author when I read his books.]

On books: "I take it as an article of faith that the novels I've loved will live inside me forever." [I feel the same way about favorite books.]

On his quest for a better father figure: "I was on a lifelong search for a different kind of man. I wanted to attach my own moon of solitude to the strong attraction of a good man's gravitational pull." [Beautiful words - moon of solitude.]

On good writing: "It is taking the nothingness of air and turning it into a pleasure palace built on a foundation of words." [Nothingness of air - gorgeous!]

On reading: "My inextinguishable ardor for reading seems connected to my hunger for story lines that show up in both books and the great tumbling chaos of life." [Life is a tumbling chaos.]

On himself: "I could read a million books and still consider myself a half-baked, mediocre thinker." [We should all reflect on ourself as a thinker.]

On books: "Books are living things and their task lies in their vows of silence." [Books have taken a vow of silence.]

And it goes on and on. I flagged so many pages as I moved through My Reading Life and each one confirms why PAT CONROY IS MY FAVORITE AUTHOR!

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Nothing by Janne Teller

Life has no meaning. Nothing matters. Why should he go to school? Why achieve? It's all pointless. That is the proclamation of Pierre Anthon in Janne Teller's disturbing book, Nothing.

As Pierre takes up residence in his family's plum tree, he chides his seventh grade classmates daily because they will not agree with him. They don't like that their friend will not come down from the plum tree - day and night he's in the tree. They must do something to make him realize that life does have meaning. Their plan - to build something of meaning.

It begins innocent enough. They take turns bringing their most meaningful treasure, a personal sacrifice, to the growing pile - a favorite book, a pair of shoes, boxing gloves. Their pile of treasures grows and with each addition the sacrificial items become more gruesome. They keep their growing pile locked in an abandoned sawmill. They sneak under the cover of darkness to the sawmill unknown to their parents and authorities. How far will this go? Can this madness be stopped? Why are they demanding that each other's sacrifices become more and more meaningful which in turn more dangerous to relinquish.

At one particular gruesome scene, I had to stop reading. I couldn't believe the author was going to continue this insanity. I was extremely bothered by the direction this book was heading yet I wanted to know the outcome - to finish the book. It took me three days to pick it up again. I was near the end and I had to force myself to read through that scene.

If you decide to give this one a try, read it during the day. It's that middle-of-the-night reading that will get to you.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Calling all biology lovers! Have you hard of HeLa cells? No? Yes? Perhaps some of you have. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is the story of the HeLa cells. HeLa is the name given by cell biologists as they were cells taken from Henrietta Lacks - hence, HeLa.

I did a quick, informal survey on Facebook asking if any of my friends had heard of HeLa. No googling, just tell me if you knew. Two thought they had seen a television show and one friend's son had talked about it at home. All others, 15 of my friends, had no clue. I found that fascinating with the hype for this book and story. I hypothesized that friends in the sciences would have known. I wondered how widespread the knowledge of HeLa would be. I was one who had no clue until my sister told me about this book. She had read it and it fascinated both of us.

Henrietta was a poor black woman who died of cancer in 1951 about the time medical science was attempting to replicate cells for studies and to combat polio. Her cells replicated at almost break-neck speed. They were then shared around the world, under the name HeLa cells, for research - completely unknown to her family. As a poor, uneducated family it was difficult for them to understand how Henrietta's cells were still alive today.

This is an interesting book to say the least. Whet your appetite for Henrietta's story here. Find the book in your library to enjoy an intimate insight from research the author did speaking to Henrietta's family. You'll learn more than biological science.

Watch Rebecca Skloot talk about writing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm