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July/August
2003 Book Sense 76 Picks
Unique and provocative selections from a great diversity of voices...all personally recommended by the independent booksellers of America.
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 Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself by Becoming an EMT
by Jane Stern
"This is a wonderful -- and uplifting -- account of overcoming constant anxiety, depression, and hypochondria by facing the demons that caused them. Stern is an amazing storyteller who uses honesty and humor to rivet us as she writes about becomes an EMT -- the scariest thing she could think of. (Warning: if you read this in the middle of the night, as I did, your laughter might wake members of your family.)" -- Roxanne Coady, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT
 Appetites: Why Women Want
by Caroline Knapp
"As in her genre-bending memoir, Drinking:
A Love Story, Knapp again combines her personal struggles with broader
discussion of the psychology and sociology of women's relationships to appetites
-- whether for food, sex, material goods, recognition, or connection. Knapp's
own struggles illuminate her discussion and, again, show her command of her craft
(which will be missed since she sadly died last year)." -- Carla Jimenez,
Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL
 Dry: A Memoir
by Augusten Burroughs
"Running
with Scissors fans, rejoice! Burroughs' life story continues to be as
stunning and seductive as ever. A fabulous book for those with a morbid curiosity
for the sharper side of life" -- Anne Whalen, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline,
MA
 Fire and Ashes: On the Front Lines of American Wildfire
by John N. MacLean
"Maclean gives us a unique look at wild fires and the men who fight them." -- Rodney Musgjerd, Lee's Book Emporium, Glasgow, MT
 Gettysburg: You Are There
by Robert Clasby
"The unique format of Gettysburg: You Are There -- vivid photography
and digital technology -- will make this a great edition to add to our Civil War
collection." -- Virginia Hobson Hicks, Books on the Bluff, Townsend,
GA
 The
Girl from the Fiction Department: A Portrait of Sonya Orwell
by Hilary Spurling
"Surviving a strict Catholic schooling, Sonia Orwell (wife of George Orwell)
began working for Horizon magazine, which plunged her into the art and
writing world. After reading The Girl From the Fiction Department, I wish
I had known her. Those who did either fell in love with Sonia or just wanted to
bask in her bright light. I would have gladly fallen under her spell."
-- Clyde Holloway, So Many Books, Vancouver, WA
 In Buddha's Kitchen: Cooking and Being Cooked at a Meditation Center
by Kimberly Snow
"This marvelous book is the first I've read with a Buddhist theme that has inspired me to investigate Buddhism -- it's that openhearted. I loved the author's ability to express her experiences in ways that made them feel like they were mine as well. A funny, tender book about how we might remake our way in the world." -- Sheryl Cotleur, A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, San Francisco, CA
 The Interior Castle
by St. Teresa of Avila; Mirabai Starr (Translator)
"I was hesitant to pick up The Interior Castle because I had always
heard St. Teresa of Avila referred to as a 'mystic' and 'Doctor of the Church,'
which made the book sound theological and over my head. I was wrong. Reading it
is just like having coffee with your best girlfriend: someone funny, smart, stubborn,
and practical. Anyone on any level of spirituality can find something to use here.
What a pleasure it was to meet Teresa." -- Deb Wehmeier, Garden District
Book Shop, New Orleans, LA
 Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son
by Joel Siegel
"Lessons For Dylan is a perfect book filled with the spirit of a life
well lived. Siegel is a captivating storyteller with an hilarious and ironic sense
of humor. I enjoyed his 'lessons' immensely, and I can't wait to handsell Lessons
For Dylan." -- Mary Yockey, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL
 Life Al Dente: Laughter and Love in an Italian-American Family
by Gina Cascone
"This is the story of an oldest daughter growing up in the role of 'oldest son' in her wacky and hilarious Italian family. Cascone is one gifted storyteller, and she made me envy her childhood with every page that I read. Bravo!" -- Jen Reynolds, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH
 My Father's Footprints: A Memoir
by Colin McEnroe
"This is much more than an ordinary memoir. As the author strives to understand his father, he explores the themes of life and death, addiction and adoption, love and fear -- all with sensitivity, refreshing wit, and honesty." -- Jan Owens, Millrace Books, Farmington, CT
 My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile
by Isabel Allende
"As the title suggests, Allende's new book is a journey through the remembered Chile, from which she was exiled for so many years. A journalist early on, she is still a journalist at heart, impeccable in her research, precise in her detail, and acute in her analysis. But no journalist alive can match her transcendent prose, as she alternately reports and creates, telling tale after Scheherazade-like tale." -- Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT
 Obsession with Butterflies, An: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect
by Sharman Apt Russell
"Russell is one of literary America's outstanding contemporary artists. Every sentence she writes is a precise brushstroke, which together build and layer upon one another until a vibrant image emerges that is as luminous, and illuminating as the butterflies she writes about. Impossible to put down, you will read more slowly as you approach the end, hoping it won't." -- Steven Fidel, Powell's City of Books, Portland, OR
 Scout's Honor: A Father's Unlikely Foray into the Woods
by Peter Applebome
"When Applebome found himself with an 11-year-old who got into scouting, he went right along with him, hiking, camping, canoeing, the whole bit. He has come back from his 'unlikely foray into the woods' with a great book." -- Tom Campbell, The Regulator Bookshop, Durham, NC
 She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders
by Jennifer Finney Boylan
"Boylan's compelling memoir of changing genders focuses on a common, and
sometimes urgent, human concern: how to live an authentic life in body and spirit.
By turns sad and hilarious, She's Not There is a beautifully written book,
shot through with emotional clarity and buoyant wit. Included is an afterword
written by Boylan's longtime friend Richard
Russo, which is in itself a moving testament to the power of friendship and
love." -- Dea Anne Martin, Chapter 11, Atlanta, GA
 Ship Ablaze: The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum
by Edward T. O'Donnell
"This is the story of the steamship General Slocum disaster in New
York harbor in 1904. O'Donnell does a wonderful job re-creating the period and
the tragedy in this nautical thriller, which is also a great human interest story.
I bet we'll be seeing this one all over the beaches this summer." --
Tom O'Grady, the bookshop, Bay Head, NJ
 Tantrika: Traveling the Road of Divine Love
by Asra Nomani
"This is an intensely personal exploration of Hinduism and Buddhism from a Muslim perspective and, as such, cannot be bettered for freshness -- and good reading. A very timely eye-opener." -- Peggy Vickers, Stacey's Bookstore, San Francisco, CA
 The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People
by Jonathan Schell
"Schell gives us an unblinking historical survey of the horrors of war and genocide in the 20th century -- and still manages to make us more optimistic about the prospects for humankind in the 21st. Tracing the rise of people power from Gandhi and the felling of the Soviet Empire up to the worldwide uprising against Bush's war on Iraq, Schell inspires us with his vision of a future where we the people take back the power we have given to rulers who act against our best interests. Is this the beginning of 21st century political science?" -- Robby Bick, Bunch of Grapes Bookstore, Vineyard Haven, MA
 Wigfield:
The Can-Do Town That Just May Not
by Amy
Sedaris, Paul
Dinello, and Stephen
Colbert
"Three very funny writers combine their twisted talents to present this jaundiced portrait of small-town America, as seen through the eyes of the highly dubious journalist Russell Hokes. As Hokes introduces us to the denizens of Wigfield, which is threatened by the imminent demolition of the dam that keeps it above sea level, he finds himself hard-pressed to explain why the town should be saved. The audio book from HighBridge Audio ($26.95 for either cassette or CD), performed by the authors, is equally hilarious." -- Joe Murphy, Olsson's Books & Records, Washington, DC
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