192 - Amen, Amen, Amen: A Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things); Abby Sher

Amen, Amen, Amen; Abby Sher

Abby Sher was a happy child from a musical family until about the age of ten. When her father and favorite aunt pass away, Abby deals with her grief and the loss by performing various rituals.  For example, kissing her fathers picture over and over again at night. Suddenly something so seemingly harmless grows into a series of elaborate rituals such as: repetitive praying, washing her hands over and over, counting her steps, and collecting sharp objects from the pavement.  Before long her prayer ritual alone grows into her spending hours reciting prayers and pleas, for she firmly believed that if she stopped other people would surely die too.

It is not until college, feeling out of control, suffering from anorexia and self-mutilation issues as well that Abby is finally diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

My Thoughts - A touching, haunting memoir about a young woman's struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was surprised that the story was even funny in parts, and it did not leave me feeling depressed. If you enjoy memoirs, and aren't afraid to examine a few of your own harmless quirks as you read about Abby, then this book is RECOMMENDED.

Seven Mini Book Reviews

I am too far behind to catch up on all my reviews of books I've read the last week. So since today is the last day of November, I'm taking the easy way out, and doing a combined post and some mini-reviews.  Here are several books I read, enjoyed, and my quick thoughts.

 I really liked all of these books - all are recommended!

179.  The Man Who Loved Books Too Much; Allison Hoover Bartlett -1999 - 2003 John Gilkey used dozens of credit card dozens of credit card numbers he obtained illegally to obtain thousands of rare books.  If you love books, stories about books and one particular book lover whose eccentric obsession landed him time in jail, this might be just the book for you.  I found it fascinating to read bout the world of book collecting. RECOMMENDED (received for review from Lydia @ Riverhead Books)


180.  Her Fearful Symmetry; Audrey Niffenegger - Elspeth and Edie are estranged identical twins. Elspeth lives in London and Edie lives in the US.  When Elspeth dies are early death from cancer, she leaves behind her lover Robert, who lived on the first floor of the flat.  Julia and Valentina are mirror-image twins who live in the US and inherit their Aunt Elspeth's flat, provided that they live in it for a year before selling it, and that their parents never set foot inside the flat.  Martin lives on the third floor above the girls in the flat. Martin suffers from severe OCD, agoraphobia. His wife has left him, he works from home and designs crossword puzzles.  Her Fearful Symmetry is a contemporary Gothic ghost story, with a marvelous sense of place, opposite Highgate Cemetery. Although I found most of the characters pretty unlikable (except for Martin), I did enjoy the story. There was an icy presence that at times chilled me to the bone, and it took a while for me to realize where the story was headed. RECOMMENDED (received for review from Simon and Schuster)



181.  The Christmas Dog; Melody Carlson - Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. Her husband passed away, her children are far away, and she has a new neighbor who seems to be making the neighbor a lot less attractive. When mangy dog appears at her doorstep, Betty thinks it belongs to her new neighbor, but what follows is a sweet story that teaches Betty what Christmas really means. RECOMMENDED. (review copy)



182. Await Your Reply; Dan Chaon - In this terrific page turner the lives of three characters converge, and identities are invented and reinvented.  Miles Cheshire is searching for his mentally ill twin brother, Hayden - a schizophreniac. His travels take him through Canada and to the Arctic Circle, following clues along the way.
 
Next there is Ryan who is failing miserably in. He gets a call from his uncle Jay, and he learns that his parents are not really his parents, but that Jay is his father. Ryan moves to Michigan with Jay, and gets involved in an illegal money-making scheme
 
Lucy is a brilliant high school senior . Her parents have died in a car crash, she's living with her older sister. Her high school history teacher, George Orson, asks her to run away with him, he promises her a great life. Lucy finds herself living in a creepy, abandoned motel with George Orson who becomes distant and secretive, but Lucy finds this hard to believe.

This was a riveting page turner. The story line is constantly shifting, but that is not a bad thing. Little by little the pieces begin to fall into place, and by the end you will find yourself thinking about this story for some time to come. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (received for review from Random House)


183.  The Christmas List; Richard Paul Evans - In this wonderful holiday books we meet James Kier. James is a miserable man. He does not care who he hurts as long as he's making money in the process. One morning he wakes up and reads his own obituary in the newspaper. He is shocked when the on-line obits by those who worked for him and knew him....told it like it was. Jim was not a man who was loved by all.  However, when he straightens out the newspaper, and when everyone realizes he is alive and well, James decides to make right all the wrongs he has done in his life: hence The Christmas List.  A touching emotionally charged story of redemption and the power of forgiveness. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (received from paperbackswap)



184.  Wishin' and Hopin; Wally Lamb - Set in the  fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, the author takes his readers on a hilarious holiday ride into St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School with a truly memorable cast of characters. From Mother Filomina, Rosalie Twerskihe, teacher Madame Frechette, and Russian student Zhenya Kabakova.  The story is narrated by fifth grader, Felix Funicello. He was perfect to tell this funny story that had me in stitches throughout. I especially loved how I could relate to 10 year old Felix, having been his age around the time period in which this story was set (1964). The story takes you back to growing up in a simpler time.  If you need a book that will make you laugh and put you in the holiday mood, don't miss this one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (received for review from Harper Collins).


185.  Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary; Walter Myers - This book is intended to target 9-12 year olds, and the story divides the life of Malcolm X's into four parts: his childhood; his adolescence; his period of working under Elijah Mohammad; and his life after breaking with the Nation of Islam. Throughout, his experiences and actions are presented in a broader social context, from the beliefs of Marcus Garvey, who exerted such an influence upon Malcolm's parents, to the culture of adolescent black males in the 1930s and 1940s, to the contrasts between the Nation of Islam's views and those of Martin Luther King, Jr, with all the shadings in between.RECOMMENDED (library copy)

146 - Day After Night; Anita Diamant

Day After Night, by Anita Diamant, is a work of fiction, that takes place over the course of just a few months. It is based on a true story of the October 1945 rescue from Atlit, a British run internment camp in Palestine, where people fleeing Europe were held, in case there was a problem with their status.

The story focuses on four women who survived the Holocaust, and are now awaiting their release from Atlit. There is Leonie, a lovely Parisian woman who was forced into prostitution, Shayndel, a Polish Zionist, Tedi, a hidden Dutch-Jew, and Zorah, a concentration camp survivor. Little by little each of these women share the story of their past experiences. Although each of their stories is very different, they each have had to endure: cruelty, tragedy and loss, and each asks the same haunting question: "Why was I spared"?.

(p. 209) ...."Twenty", Tedi repeated. "Isn't it strange that twenty feels old to me?"

....."That is because we have seen so much death", said Shayndel. "Usually, people are old--fifty or sixty at least before they know more dead people than living ones".

Their shared horrors surrounding the Holocaust, bond them and make them friends. Each in her own way helps the others to focus on their next challenge: starting to live again in a new country. Not a pleasant subject, Day After Night, is a haunting story of suffering, tragedy, hope, and redemption. RECOMMENDED