Monday, February 2, 2009

Books We're Reading

Doug's older brother served with the Canadian Navy on convoy escort duty against German submarine "wolf packs" in the Atlantic during World War II, and during a recent phone conversation, he suggested to Doug that he should read the 2003 Andrew Williams' book The Battle of the Atlantic - Hitler's Gray Wolves of the Sea and the Allies' Desperate Struggle to Defeat Them. So, when Doug takes a break from the board now, he's engrossed in the 288-page book assessing one of the most bitterly fought campaigns of WW II.


I, too, prefer reading non-fiction. A few weeks ago I finished Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (written by Spencer, Iowa librarian Vicki Myron, published 2008). The 277-page book tells the touching story of a kitten put in the Spencer, Iowa book return one cold January night in 1988; Dewey spent 19 years as the library's resident cat. He died November 29, 2006 in Myron's arms. In the January 29, 2009 USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books' list, Dewey ranks 37th out of the top 50.


Last spring I read the equally touching and entertaining Marley & Me, a portrait of "the world's worst dog," a beloved yellow lab. The John Grogan book, according to USA TODAY, currently ranks 15th out of the top 50 best-selling books.


Currently I'm reading Barbara Walters' memoir, Audition, and after only 140 of the 579 pages, I find it very interesting, especially when she shares poignant moments concerning her "intellectually impaired" sister Jacqueline and flamboyant, creative father who made a name for himself in the nightclub business with the Latin Quarter in New York.


(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)

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