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What can I say? I grew tire of blogging, changed computers etc.., But now I'm compelled to share my recent book obsessions. It isn't fall, yet I feel the need to reminisce about Michigan Football. I loved both books. Lots of similar stories, but what an era of coaching. I love how Bo was true to himself and truly cared about the student athlete and the concept of TEAM.

The End of Detroit -Micheline Maynard

Dancer -Colum Mc Cann

I had to read another Colum McCann book so I picked Dancer, a fictional account of the life of Rudolf Nureyev. Wonderful insight into post WWII Russia and it's slide back to a more open society. After defecting, Nureyev is not allowed home for 25 years. He has the world at his fingertips socializes with Andy Warhol and John Lennon; but can't visit with his own mother.

By the time Rudi gets to St. Petersburg for formal dance training he is already 18. He had received some training in his village town of Ufa. He is taken under the wing of Alexsandr Pushkin(Sasha) and trains for 5 years before defecting on tour in London. His life gets a bit wild. His dance partner for many years is Margot Fonteyn who is 19 years older than him. He dies of Aids in 1991, but is able to see his mother in Russia before she dies.

The book really develops the characters surrounding Rudi's whole life as McCann sees it. It is not a biography, but a very interesting look at the life of a dancer.

Let the Great World Spin -Colum McCann To Reach the Clouds -Philippe Petit

Reading these two book together only made sense to me. McCann's book if fiction with the climax of the story ocurring on August 7, 1974 when Petit performs for NY on a wire between the World Trade Center Towers.

From Gloria in McCann's book:

"People are good or half good or a quarter good, and it changes all the time--but even on the best day nobody's perfect."

"Everything falls into the hands of music eventually."

And from her daughter's voice:

"A man high in the air while a plane disappears, it seems, into the edge of the building. One small scrap of history meeting a larger one. As if the walking man were somehow anticipating what would come later. The intrusion of time and history. The collision point of stories. We wait for the explosion but it never occurs. The plane passes, the tightrope walker gets to the end of the wire. Things don't fall apart."

Petit's personal narrative is also fascinating. The amount of preparation is phenomenal. I also found it fascinating that his motives have never been about money. In fact, he is often broke. I loved his design at the end for rebuilt WTC Towers.

A Walk in the Woods -Bill Bryson Sway -Ori & Rom Brafman

Two books local groups have been reading so I thought I'd give them a try. A Walk in the Woods is about the Appalachian Trail. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
is a business book about the psychological forces that shape behavior. Both are interesting and lend themselves to group discussions.

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

After seeing this book on several lists as a top book of the past decade, I thought I'd better check it out. It is hard to read a book and be objective with so much prior accolade but I'll try. At the same time I was reading this, I have been re-reading The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene and I found several similarities. Although many hail McCarthy as brilliant, I'm not sure I'm there yet. I think The Power and the Glory is a classic that will stand the tests of time with phenomenal writing. I'm not sure The Road will. The setting is futuristic after a vague world apocalypse. It is a very masculine view of the future with rampant violence, a father protecting his son and a mother who checks herself out because she can't deal. Typical male perspective of the world. I found the book depressing although the ending could be argued is hopeful. It reminds me a bit of Lois Lowry's book The Giver which I have previously blogged about which did leave me feeling hopeful. I did find The Road easy to read and much of the writing does make you stop and think. Overall, though, I really did not care for it. Another book that I would add to my decade top ten over this one would be Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. Her character development and story about a high school shooting is awesome.

Heroic Measures -Jill Ciment

Ruth and Alex are aging out of their walk up home in New York City and need to find a place with an elevator. In the middle of preparing for an open house their tiny dachshound dog falls ill and needs surgery. The book involves only a few days worth of calendar time, but you get to know the lifetimes of Ruth and Alex. A fun easy weekend read.

www.jillciment.com