Jan. Friends: Books!

Ever since I learned to read in first grade, books have been my friends. I was thrilled to read the red, blue, etc. fairy tale books because I was better reader than most. . . . So writing about books as friends is a way to bring out the books I've read since Christmas and what I'm currently reading.
The first book I read after Christmas was a fun mystery that I read in a couple days: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. The heroine is 11-year-old Flavia in 1950 England; she is a genius young chemist who adores poisons. Literary allusions abound, and it is an enjoyable read. This is the first in an upcoming series, which will have new volumes released this spring.
The thick book I have almost finished reading is The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. It is not morbid at all and is a historical writing about cancer, with stories interspersed. The author is an oncologist and an excellent writer. It is amazing to see how human knowledge and consciousness grew over the centuries. Since my husband and two daughters were/are trained as chemists, I liked learning that the first chemists concentrated on making dyes, rather than relying on the limited vegetable dyes most people used. I am not a scientist and I have avidly read 400+ pages (though not as quickly as the first book mentioned here).
MJ loaned me a book she read at school, which is by a San Antonio writer--The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. It is full of evocative vignettes of her life growing up in Latina poverty in Chicago and as a wanna-be writer, misunderstood by her father (until she was successful). Although this is the 25th anniversary edition of the book, I had never heard of it (or the author) before, which seems ridiculous living so close to San Antonio.

Amazon.com keeps recommending mysteries by Charles Todd (a mother/son writing team), which feature Inspector Ian Rutledge. I plan to find these at my local library.

My friend Judy (one of my telephone friends) told me yesterday that she loves the author Carol Shields and is re-reading her novel Unless. So "Todd" and "Shields" are authors to look for at the library. . . possible new friends!

And an old friend coming up is The Case for God by Karen Armstong. I will be re-reading it with the Wisdom Class, the book study I facilitate on Tuesday mornings. This will start up again on January 18, after I return from my retreat at Lebh Shomea.