Paysha's bookshelf: read en-US Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:44:53 -0800 60 Paysha's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Drown 531989 Drown, Diaz has harnessed the rhythms of anger and release, frustration and joy, to indelible effect.]]> 208 Junot DĂ­az 1573226068 Paysha 0 4.02 1995 Drown
author: Junot DĂ­az
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/22
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Life of Pi 6093294 352 Yann Martel 1407469339 Paysha 3 3.85 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2010/10/24
date added: 2015/06/06
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<![CDATA[The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society]]> 4666058 291 Mary Ann Shaffer 0385341008 Paysha 2 4.19 2008 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2011/02/24
date added: 2013/03/01
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My book club picked this one and I did not like it. It seemed kind of precious to me...the characters were cartoon-like, the structure (letters and telegrams) did not give me real insight into the characters and it wrapped up in a compltely predictable manner. The juxtaposition of concentration camp horrors with cheesy romance and a rather flighty main character was jarring. It also felt crafted for women's book clubs, given the topic, and that was annoying!
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Freedom 7905092
But now, in the new millennium, the Berglunds have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter taken a job working with Big Coal? What exactly is Richard Katz—outré rocker and Walter's college best friend and rival—still doing in the picture? Most of all, what has happened to Patty? Why has the bright star of Barrier Street become "a very different kind of neighbor," an implacable Fury coming unhinged before the street's attentive eyes?

In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Freedom's characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.
(jacket)]]>
562 Jonathan Franzen 0374158460 Paysha 0 3.78 2010 Freedom
author: Jonathan Franzen
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at: 2012/03/19
date added: 2012/03/19
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The Poisonwood Bible 7244 The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it -- from garden seeds to Scripture -- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.]]> 546 Barbara Kingsolver 0060786507 Paysha 5 4.10 1998 The Poisonwood Bible
author: Barbara Kingsolver
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2011/05/21
date added: 2011/05/22
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Amazing. Learned and cried so much.
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Chocolat (Chocolat, #1) 47401
Illuminating Peter Mayle's South of France with a touch of Laura Esquivel's magic realism, Chocolat is a timeless novel of a straitlaced village's awakening to joy and sensuality. In tiny Lansquenet, where nothing much has changed in a hundred years, beautiful newcomer Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrive and instantly begin to play havoc with Lenten vows. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Soon the parish no longer cares, as it abandons itself to temptation, happiness, and a dramatic face-off between Easter solemnity and the pagan gaiety of a chocolate festival.

Chocolat's every page offers a description of chocolate to melt in the mouths of chocoholics, francophiles, armchair gourmets, cookbook readers, and lovers of passion everywhere. It's a must for anyone who craves an escapist read, and is a bewitching gift for any holiday.]]>
306 Joanne Harris 014100018X Paysha 0 3.97 1999 Chocolat (Chocolat, #1)
author: Joanne Harris
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at: 2011/03/31
date added: 2011/05/22
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<![CDATA[Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage]]> 6990283
Given the obvious historic significance of what they accomplished together, the marriage of Barack and Michelle stands as one of the great personal and political partnerships in American history. Yet, incredibly, the true nature of that relationship remains a mystery. Until now.

In the style of his #1 New York Times bestsellers The Day Diana Died and The Day John Died, as well as his bestselling books about the Kennedys, the Clintons and the Bushes, author Christopher Andersen draws on important sources—some speaking for the first time—to paint the first complete, compelling portrait of America’s first black First Family.]]>
0 Christopher Andersen 1441820671 Paysha 3 3.00 2009 Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage
author: Christopher Andersen
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/08/05
date added: 2011/04/18
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Easy read and lots of behind-the-scenes tidbits. I enjoyed it.
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Bee Season 251762
Myla Goldberg's keen eye for detail brings Eliza's journey to three-dimensional life. As she rises from classroom obscurity to the blinding lights and outsized expectations of the National Bee, Eliza's small pains and large joys are finely wrought and deeply felt.

Not merely a coming-of-age story, Goldberg's first novel delicately examines the unraveling fabric of one family. The outcome of this tale is as startling and unconventional as her prose, which wields its metaphors sharply and rings with maturity. The work of a lyrical and gifted storyteller, Bee Season marks the arrival of an extraordinarily talented new writer.]]>
275 Myla Goldberg 0385498802 Paysha 5 3.57 2000 Bee Season
author: Myla Goldberg
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2011/02/27
date added: 2011/02/26
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The Six Wives of Henry VIII 10104 643 Alison Weir 0802136834 Paysha 5 4.11 1992 The Six Wives of Henry VIII
author: Alison Weir
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2011/02/07
date added: 2011/02/23
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<![CDATA[The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2)]]> 5971165
Elizabeth Woodville, a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition, secretly marries the newly crowned boy king. While she rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become the central figures in a famous unsolved mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the lost princes in the Tower of London.

They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally bestselling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.]]>
415 Philippa Gregory 1416563687 Paysha 3 3.96 2009 The White Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #2)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2011/02/13
date added: 2011/02/23
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The Boleyn Inheritance 6358165 528 Philippa Gregory 0743298543 Paysha 3 3.82 2006 The Boleyn Inheritance
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2011/01/30
date added: 2011/02/23
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The Red Tent 4989 The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.]]> 324 Anita Diamant 0312353766 Paysha 3 4.21 1997 The Red Tent
author: Anita Diamant
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at: 2011/01/15
date added: 2011/02/23
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<![CDATA[The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6)]]> 16181 Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from the internationally bestselling author, Philippa Gregory, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon.

We think of Katherine of Aragon as the barren wife of a notorious king; but behind this legacy lies a fascinating story.

Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both rulers and warriors. Aged four, she is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and is raised to be Queen of England. She is never in doubt that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land.

Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur’s wife grows ever more bearable.

But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur’s young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother’s daughter and her fighting spirit is strong.

She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it.

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390 Philippa Gregory 0743272498 Paysha 4 3.93 2005 The Constant Princess (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #6)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/29
date added: 2011/01/05
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<![CDATA[The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9)]]> 37470 This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780743227445

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: The love of a king

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realises just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king and take fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling novel of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamourous court in Europe and survived by following her heart.]]>
661 Philippa Gregory Paysha 5 4.08 2001 The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #9)
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2010/11/15
date added: 2010/12/29
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The Silver Swan (Quirke, #2) 1701041
Two years have passed since the events of the bestselling Christine Falls, and much has changed for Quirke, the irascible, formerly hard-drinking Dublin pathologist. His beloved Sarah is dead, his surrogate father lies in a convent hospital paralyzed by a devastating stroke, and Phoebe, Quirke’s long-denied daughter, has grown increasingly withdrawn and isolated.

With much to regret from his last inquisitive foray, Quirke ought to know better than to let his curiosity get the best of him. Yet when an almost forgotten acquaintance comes to him about his beautiful young wife’s apparent suicide, Quirke’s “old itch to cut into the quick of things, to delve into the dark of what was hidden� is roused again. As he begins to probe further into the shadowy circumstances of Deirdre Hunt’s death, he discovers many things that might better have remained hidden, as well as grave danger to those he loves.

Haunting, masterfully written, and utterly mesmerizing in its nuance, The Silver Swan fully lives up to the promise of Christine Falls and firmly establishes Benjamin Black (a.k.a. John Banville) among the greatest of crime writers.]]>
304 Benjamin Black 0805081534 Paysha 3 3.50 2007 The Silver Swan (Quirke, #2)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2010/11/30
date added: 2010/12/02
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Room 7937843
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience—and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.]]>
321 Emma Donoghue Paysha 5 4.04 2010 Room
author: Emma Donoghue
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2010/11/14
date added: 2010/11/30
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review:
I LOVED this book. It was totally compelling, believable, a page-turner...I could not put it down. My book club felt the same way. What amazed me is how ultimately inspiring this book was, despite its very dark premise. And it reminded me how strong a parent's love can be, and that we have the power to make things right in our kids' worlds, even under the worst of circumstances. It felt really good to love a book (and its characters) so much, and not just feel so-so.
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The Final Solution 16696
What is the meaning of the mysterious string of German numbers the bird spews out - a top secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts perhaps? Or something more sinister? Is the solution to this last case - the real explanation of the mysterious boy and his parrot - beyond even the reach of the once-famed sleuth?

A short, suspenseful tale of compassion and wit that reimagines the classic nineteenth-century detective story.]]>
131 Michael Chabon 0060777109 Paysha 3 3.35 2004 The Final Solution
author: Michael Chabon
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2010/11/21
date added: 2010/11/20
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<![CDATA[The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories]]> 89138 248 Steve Almond 1565125290 Paysha 3 3.69 2005 The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories
author: Steve Almond
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2010/11/03
date added: 2010/11/20
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The Spaniard's Dagger 8546116 332 Steven Farquhar Paysha 3 Good quick-read mystery. 3.75 2007 The Spaniard's Dagger
author: Steven Farquhar
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2010/10/03
date added: 2010/10/03
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Good quick-read mystery.
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<![CDATA[Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919]]> 559887
Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters was playing cards in Boston's North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window-"Oh my God!" he shouted to the other men, "Run!"

A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn't known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster.]]>
273 Stephen Puleo 0807050210 Paysha 4 3.98 2003 Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
author: Stephen Puleo
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2010/09/22
date added: 2010/10/03
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The Year of Magical Thinking 7815
From one of America's iconic writers, a stunning book of electric honesty and passion. Joan Didion explores an intensely personal yet universal experience: a portrait of a marriage–and a life, in good times and bad–that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child.

Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill with what seemed at first flu, then pneumonia, then complete septic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later–the night before New Year's Eve–the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John Gregory Dunne suffered a massive and fatal coronary. In a second, this close, symbiotic partnership of forty years was over. Four weeks later, their daughter pulled through. Two months after that, arriving at LAX, she collapsed and underwent six hours of brain surgery at UCLA Medical Center to relieve a massive hematoma.

This powerful book is Didion's attempt to make sense of the "weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness . . . about marriage and children and memory . . . about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself."]]>
227 Joan Didion 1400078431 Paysha 2 3.94 2005 The Year of Magical Thinking
author: Joan Didion
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 2010/09/06
date added: 2010/09/13
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So depressing. I feel like Didion leaves so much unsaid. She is such a spare and kind of cold writer, she focuses so much on the minute details of events. But the emotions....it left me kind of empty feeling. I felt like she did not really draw a picture of her husband or marriage. I would have liked to know more. "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" is one of my favorite books and I always want to like her other writing, but.... oh well.
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<![CDATA[Eat Pray Love: Eine Frau auf der Suche nach allem quer durch Italien, Indien und Indonesien]]> 934417 480 Elizabeth Gilbert 3833304731 Paysha 4 3.37 2006 Eat Pray Love: Eine Frau auf der Suche nach allem quer durch Italien, Indien und Indonesien
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2010/08/25
date added: 2010/08/31
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I liked this so much more than "Committed," which I unfortunately read first, due to my book club. I found the "Pray" part very interesting. I know many people have found Gilbert self-centered and narcissistic (I did in "Committed"), but for some reason I found her account of her spiritual journey fascinating. We spent a lot of time talking in book club about whether such a personal journey is worthwhile and permitted, or selfish and navel-gazing. I voted for permitted. Particularly when one is at such a crossroads -- stuck and depressed. Have not seen the movie, and not sure I want to. I fought reading this for so long, I was pleasantly surprised to like it so much.
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The Glass Castle 7445 THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.]]>
288 Jeannette Walls 074324754X Paysha 4 4.32 2005 The Glass Castle
author: Jeannette Walls
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2010/08/16
date added: 2010/08/19
shelves:
review:
Couldn't put this down. I loved Walls' straight-forward account of her horrifying, but really interesting, childhood. I also loved how she didn't dwell on only the neglectful, abusive and rotten parts. Her parents were painted as complex characters.
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<![CDATA[American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work]]> 73071
Perhaps inevitably, given the smallness of the place and the idiosyncrasies of its residents, the members of the prestigious circle became both intellectually and romantically entangled: Thoreau serenaded an infatuated Louisa on his flute. Vying with Hawthorne for Fuller's attention, Emerson wrote the fiery feminist love letters while she resided (yards away from his wife) in his guest room. Herman Melville was, according to some, ultimately driven mad by his consuming and unrequited affection for Hawthorne.

Far from typically Victorian, this group of intellectuals, like their British Bloomsbury counterparts to whom the title refers, not only questioned established literary forms, but also resisted old moral and social strictures. Thoreau, of course, famously retreated to a plot of land on Walden Pond to escape capitalism, pick berries, and ponder nature. More shocking was the group's ambivalence toward the institution of marriage. Inclined to bend the rules of its bonds, many of its members spent time at the notorious commune, Brook Farm, and because liberal theories could not entirely guarantee against jealousy, the tension of real or imagined infidelities was always near the surface. Susan Cheever reacquaints us with the sexy, subversive side of Concord's nineteenth-century intellectuals, restoring in three dimensions the literary personalities whose work is at the heart of our national history and cultural identity.]]>
240 Susan Cheever 0743264614 Paysha 4 3.59 2006 American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work
author: Susan Cheever
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2010/07/08
date added: 2010/07/09
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I enjoyed this overview of the Transcendentalists in Concord and learned a lot. It felt a little light at times -- probably because it tried to cover so much time and so many complex writers (Emerson, Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Louisa May Alcott and Hawthorne) -- but it has inspired me to read more of each writer's work and journals. It has a very thorough and interesting bibliography, as well.
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<![CDATA[Bright From the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3]]> 1201397 A cutting-edge handbook for parents, from a pioneer in infant brain development, that bridges the gap between the most current neuroscience and practical parenting techniques

Dr. Jill Stamm's daughter was born almost four months premature, and doctors insisted she would never walk or talk. Now, thirty-two years later, her daughter is living proof that nearly every baby's brain has the potential to adapt and flourish given the right attention. A leading authority in infant brain development, she makes new, remarkable findings accessible to everyone in Bright from the Start. What babies need is as simple as A, B, C:
ATTENTION: including how to increase a child's attention span, and how to balance stimulation with down time
BONDING: illustrating the importance of developing emotional attachment between a child and a consistent caregiver, and why this is key to cognitive development
COMMUNICATION: with breakthrough advice for tapping the correlation between verbal engagement with parents and higher IQ rates among children

She also discusses what kind of childcare environment to select, why learning toys don't teach as much as you think, why reading to a baby is critical, and how you can help your child learn how to pay attention. By working with Dr. Stamm's ABCs in Bright from the Start, all parents can help to build a radiant future for their precious little ones.

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368 Jill Stamm 1592402852 Paysha 0 4.07 2007 Bright From the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3
author: Jill Stamm
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2010/07/03
date added: 2010/07/03
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<![CDATA[The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory]]> 6452758 The Audacity to Win is his story of that groundbreaking achievement, taking readers inside the remarkable campaign that led to the election of the first African American president.

For two years Plouffe worked side by side with Obama, charting the course of the campaign. His is the ultimate insider’s tale, revealing both the strategies that delivered Obama to office and how the candidate and campaign handled moments of great challenge and opportunity. Moving from the deliberations about whether to run at all, through the epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton and the general election against John McCain, Plouffe showcases the high-wire gamesmanship that fascinated pundits and the drama and intrigue that captivated a nation.

The Audacity to Win chronicles the arrival of a new moment in American life at the convergence of digital technology and grassroots organization, and the exciting possibilities revealed by a campaign that in many ways functioned as a $1 billion start-up with laser-like focus and discipline. In this extraordinary book, David Plouffe unfolds one of the most important political stories of our time, one whose lessons are not limited to politics, but reach to the greatest heights of what we dream about for our country and ourselves.]]>
400 David Plouffe 0670021334 Paysha 2 3.99 2009 The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory
author: David Plouffe
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2010/07/01
date added: 2010/07/03
shelves:
review:
This is a great book to read if you want to launch a campaign. But it was way too boring....not enough dirt!
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Persuasion 2156 249 Jane Austen 0192802631 Paysha 3 4.15 1817 Persuasion
author: Jane Austen
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1817
rating: 3
read at: 2010/06/25
date added: 2010/06/25
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<![CDATA[Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness]]> 1459610 The Barnes & Noble Review
Are you suffering today over a past grievance? Perhaps someone really pulled a number on you, treated you unfairly, or did something really terrible to you or someone you love...and you can't find peace of mind because of it. If you spend a fair amount of your time and energy feeling angry, hurt, and resentful and think you'll never be able to forgive, then this book was written for you.

As a doctoral candidate at Stanford, the author, Dr. Fred Luskin, developed a research project that was designed to see if certain methods can be effective in helping people to forgive so that they could move on to live healthier, fuller lives. The project was so successful that the Stanford University Forgiveness Project was founded. Through his hands-on research, Dr. Luskin has helped thousands of people learn how to forgive. The stories in this book run the gamut -- from people who have lost children to violence or were cheated on by a spouse, to those that were passed over for a long-coveted promotion, were neglected as a child, lied to, or stolen from. The thing they all had in common is that the pain they experienced from these events was something they thought they would never be able to move past. But they did.

In Forgive for Good you, too, will learn:


What forgiveness really is
How grievances are created
Specific techniques and meditations designed to help you focus, de-stress, and forgive
The four stages of becoming a forgiving person
The nine steps to forgiveness
How forgiveness can change your life


The most compelling stories in the book are those of the people Dr. Luskin worked with from Northern Ireland who had lost family members to political violence. The tragedies related were horrific and senseless. Yet through the techniques in this book, these people were, indeed, able to forgive. Forgiveness takes time and care, and there is no quick fix. If you need to forgive, learn how now. Be the hero of your own life story, not the victim. (Jennifer Forman)]]>
240 Fred Luskin 0062517201 Paysha 5 4.05 2001 Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness
author: Fred Luskin
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2010/03/30
date added: 2010/06/08
shelves:
review:
Very helpful if you are nurturing a grudge!
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The Help 4667024
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women, mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends, view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.


Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here]]>
464 Kathryn Stockett 0399155341 Paysha 5 4.46 2009 The Help
author: Kathryn Stockett
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2010/05/20
date added: 2010/06/08
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book. The characters and plot were so compelling. I could not put it down, and that doesn't happen that often for me!
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<![CDATA[Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage]]> 6728738 At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert's trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to "turn on all the lights" when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert's memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.]]> 285 Elizabeth Gilbert 0670021652 Paysha 2 3.44 2009 Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2009
rating: 2
read at: 2010/03/23
date added: 2010/06/08
shelves:
review:
Too much navel-gazing. Some interesting information, but not scholarly enough to make up for narcissism and wavering and worrying and kvetching.
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The Time Traveler's Wife 14050 537 Audrey Niffenegger 0965818675 Paysha 3 3.90 2003 The Time Traveler's Wife
author: Audrey Niffenegger
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2010/04/27
date added: 2010/06/08
shelves:
review:

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The Happiness Project 6398634
In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.]]>
301 Gretchen Rubin 0061583251 Paysha 5 3.65 2009 The Happiness Project
author: Gretchen Rubin
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2010/03/14
date added: 2010/03/15
shelves:
review:
I found this book inspiring. Good for people who like self-improvement and who are always looking to change their lives for the better!
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Water for Elephants 43641
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.]]>
368 Sara Gruen 1565125606 Paysha 3 4.11 2006 Water for Elephants
author: Sara Gruen
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/24
date added: 2010/03/10
shelves:
review:
We read this in my new book club -- yay! We decided it was good, not great. A quick, fun read, probably good for the beach...but we just weren't that compelled by the characters -- except Rosie, the elephant!
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<![CDATA[Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students]]> 219973 Fires in the Bathroom has been through multiple printings and received the attention of teachers across the country. Now in paperback, Kathleen Cushman's groundbreaking book offers original insights into teaching teenagers in today's hard-pressed urban high schools from the point of view of the students themselves. It speaks to both new and established teachers, giving them firsthand information about who their students are and what they need to succeed.

Students from across the country contributed perceptive and pragmatic answers to questions of how teachers can transcend the barriers of adolescent identity and culture to reach the diverse student body in today's urban schools. With the fresh and often surprising perspectives of youth, they tackle tough issues such as increasing engagement and motivation, teaching difficult academic material, reaching English-language learners, and creating a classroom culture where respect and success go hand in hand.]]>
224 Kathleen Cushman 1565849965 Paysha 0 3.71 2003 Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students
author: Kathleen Cushman
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at: 2008/03/01
date added: 2009/07/05
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56]]> 42601
From one of America’s most celebrated educators, an inspiring guide to transforming every child’s education

In a Los Angeles neighborhood plagued by guns, gangs, and drugs, there is an exceptional classroom known as Room 56. The fifth graders inside are first-generation immigrants who live in poverty and speak English as a second language. They also play Vivaldi, perform Shakespeare, score in the top 1 percent on standardized tests, and go on to attend Ivy League universities. Rafe Esquith is the teacher responsible for these accomplishments. From the man whom The New York Times calls “a genius and a saint� comes a revelatory program for educating today’s youth. In Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire! , Rafe Esquith reveals the techniques that have made him one of the most acclaimed educators of our time. The two mottoes in Esquith’s classroom are “Be Nice, Work Hard,� and “There Are No Shortcuts.� His students voluntarily come to school at 6:30 in the morning and work until 5:00 in the afternoon. They learn to handle money responsibly, tackle algebra, and travel the country to study history. They pair Hamlet with rock and roll, and read the American classics. Teach Like Your Hair’s on Fire! is a brilliant and inspiring road map for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares about the future success of our nation’s children.]]>
256 Rafe Esquith 0670038156 Paysha 0 3.93 2007 Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56
author: Rafe Esquith
name: Paysha
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at: 2008/03/01
date added: 2009/07/05
shelves:
review:

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<![CDATA[Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers]]> 199285
In this passionate, poignant, and deeply personal memoir, Gruwell tells the tale of her journey through the emotional peaks and valleys on the front lines of our nation’s educational system and her commitment to awaken personal power in students and people everyone else discounts. Teach with Your Heart is a mesmerizing story of one young woman’s personal odyssey and of her remarkable ability to encourage others to follow in her footsteps.

Teach with Your Heart is marked by the enviable radiance and irrepressible force of nature that is Erin Gruwell and her unbelievable determination to ensure that education in the United States truly meets the needs of every student.]]>
265 Erin Gruwell 0767915836 Paysha 3 4.20 2007 Teach with Your Heart: Lessons I Learned from the Freedom Writers
author: Erin Gruwell
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2008/01/01
date added: 2008/03/23
shelves:
review:
I know this woman is not a fave with some teachers, but I found some of the ideas in this book useful. I particularly like how entrepreneurial she was in getting things for her students that the school would not provide.
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<![CDATA[The Assist: Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives]]> 1860104 376 Neil Swidey 1586484699 Paysha 5 4.23 2000 The Assist: Hoops, Hope, and the Game of Their Lives
author: Neil Swidey
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2007/12/26
date added: 2008/03/23
shelves:
review:
I really enjoyed this book on the championship-winning CHS basketball coach and team. I think it really captured the challenges many of our kids in Boston face -- and how opportunities can slip away after a few poor choices. It was especially cool to see two of my own students in the team pictures!
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<![CDATA[All Souls: A Family Story from Southie]]> 105687
In All Souls, MacDonald takes us deep into the secret heart of Southie. With radiant insight, he opens up a contradictory world, where residents are besieged by gangs and crime but refuse to admit any problems, remaining fiercely loyal to their community. MacDonald also introduces us to the unforgettable people who inhabit this proud neighborhood.

We meet his mother, Ma MacDonald, an accordion-playing, spiked-heel-wearing, indomitable mother to all; Whitey Bulger, the lord of Southie, gangster and father figure, protector and punisher; and Michael's beloved siblings, nearly half of whom were lost forever to drugs, murder, or suicide.

MacDonald’s story is ultimately one of overcoming the racist, classist ideology he was born into. It's also a searing portrayal of life in a poor, white neighborhood plagued by violence and crime and deeply in denial about it.]]>
263 Michael Patrick MacDonald 034544177X Paysha 4 4.07 1999 All Souls: A Family Story from Southie
author: Michael Patrick MacDonald
name: Paysha
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at: 2007/08/01
date added: 2007/08/17
shelves:
review:
A really interesting and horrifying up-close look at Southie during the 60s and 70s, when crazy white parents fought the busing (or integration -- Amy!) of black and white students in Boston public schools. Super depressing but I read it in just days, could not put it down!
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