Tuesday, March 17, 2009

"Hands of my father : a hearing boy, his deaf parents, and the language of love" by Myron Uhlberg.

Memoir


This wonderful book is more than just a memoir but a fascinating and moving insight into a loving family where the parents are deaf and the children are not. Reading this book is an education into the deaf culture and a moving tribute to the author's parents. It's also an amazing story of what life was like for the author. Very well written and difficult to put down.

Submitted by Queen of the Hop

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein

Memoir


The author of this memoir is in his 90s but has written a very interesting book about his experience of growing up in England where the Jews lived on one side of the street and the Christians on the other. The experience itself is interesting and when affections of a young couple from opposite sides of the street become an issue, the story becomes much more complicated. Written by the author as he remembers it from his childhood, the story moves right along and opens the reader's eyes to a life that used to be.


Submitted by Queen of the Hop

Friday, February 6, 2009

A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World by Tony Horwitz

History
Travel along with Tony Horwitz as he traces the lesser known history of America from the time of the Vikings upto the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. His informative and entertaining book is filled with stories of Vikings, Moorish slaves, conquistadors and others who roamed and rampaged their way across the continent, often leaving little trace behind. Horowitz travels to many of the locations visited by these early explorers, and you will look at our history in a different light after travelling along with him.

Submitted by PJ
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian

Novel
An on-the-road story with a twist. John, suffering from Alzheimers, and Ella, who has terminal cancer, have been married for more than fifty years. Deciding that they want one last adventure, they leave Detriot and head for Disneyland in their aging RV. The novel is a blend of memories, personalities met on the road, difficulties faced and thoughts about the future. At times funny, at time poignent, John and Ella show that how one travels is as important as the final destination.

Submitted by PJ
Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Fiction
This book is reminiscent of the novels of Alice Hoffman. Magic, mystery, family and love are woven together into this beautifully told story of a girl who couldn't stop growing.

Submitted by PJ

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Crashing Through by Robert Kurzon

Memoir

A remarkable story of a man who became blind at the age of three and had the opportunity to have his sight restored when he was forty-six. It would seem a miracle but this very interesting book shows how that is not really the case. What happens is that one's brain has not been seeing all those years and it's a huge adjustment and not completely resolved when you suddenly get your vision. A very insightful personal account and very well done.

Submitted by the Queen of the Hop

Monday, January 12, 2009

After the Fire: a true story of friendship and survival by Robin Gaby Fisher

This is an amazing true story of two young men seriously burnt in theSeton Hall University fire in 2000. They were new roommates who became best friends and provided great emotional support for each other through many months of heroic medical treatments. The author does a wonderful job of describing the emotions of everyone involved. It's a compassionate human story of real people surviving a horrific accident. It could be a sad book but you come away feeling uplifted.

Submitted by Queen of the Hop