The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

I think I first heard about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot on a podcast. If I had to guess I'd say it was Radio Lab. It sounded really interesting but fell to the back of my mind. When Shauna visited me last year she was reading it and enjoying it. Again I thought that I should pick it up, and again I forgot. So yeah, it's been on my "To Read" list for a few years. Fortunately it arrived in my Christmas package from my dad this year!

Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in the 1950s. Without her consent, doctors removed a slice of her tumor and began using her cells in medical research. Her cells, named HeLa, reproduced so quickly and easily that they soon became widespread in the scientific community. HeLa cells were used in research relating to cancer, polio, AIDs, and so on. Unfortunately, Henrietta's family wasn't told about the medical research until a few decades later. In this book, Skloot tells the story of Henrietta's cells as well as the story of Henrietta and the Lacks family.

Recommendation: Superb. Even if you're not a fan of non-fiction, Skloot tells a fascinating story.

Swamplandia!

It would be pretty difficult for me to pass up a book with a title like Swamplandia! You just know there are good things between the pages. So naturally when I saw Swamplandia! by Karen Russell recommended by staff members at Powell's, I put it on my Christmas list.

Ava Bigtree grew up in Swamplandia!, an alligator themed amusement park in Florida. When Ava's mother, the "Swamp Centaur", dies of cancer it seems like the family won't be able to go on without the star of the show. As Swamplandia! begins to decline, so does the livelihood of the family. Ava's brother runs away, her father leaves for the mainland, her sister starts to communicate with ghosts, and Ava is left to try to save the park on her own. Turns out, that's not going to be very easy.

The blurb on the back cover states that Russell "takes us to the shimmering edge of reality." So true.

Recommendation: Sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, Swamplandia! is worth your time. I enjoyed it much more than Russell's other work St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I noticed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs when it was recommended by Powell's. It was one of those books that I judged by its cover because the picture was just so eerie. How intriguing. I was even more interested when I received the book for Christmas and cracked it open. The end papers are beautifully designed and old photographs are spread throughout the entire book.

The story of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children begins when Jacob's grandfather dies. Jacob is left with his grandfather's fanciful stories from childhood and begins to have nightmares he can't shake. Something isn't right. With hopes of quelling their sons anxiety, Jacobs parents agree to let him visit a tiny island off the coast of Wales to see the boarding house where his grandfather grew up. It doesn't take Jacob long to discover that something very peculiar is happening on the island.

Riggs used an interesting technique to illustrate his book. Remember those old photographs I mentioned before? They are all "authentic, vintage found photographs" that Riggs discovered via various collectors. The process of using photographs to shape a story is really interesting to me. It also adds to the delightful eeriness of the book.

Recommendation: Check it out, even if you're only planning on perusing the vintage photographs.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

A came across A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka while I was browsing at a book store in Kuala Lumpur. I was looking for something nice and light for my plane ride the next day. I was drawn to the unique title and the quotes on the cover. This book was going to be funny.

Well, it wasn't really funny, more like amusing. I didn't laugh out loud but I was kept entertained.

Nadezdha's father has fallen in love with a young beautiful woman from the old country. His new love has high expectations and Nadezhda quickly becomes worried. What could this younger woman see in her elderly father? It becomes quite clear that she's more interested in fancy cars, new appliances, and a good school for her son than she is in Nadezhda's father. To rescue her father Nadezhda must first join forces with her estranged sister. The series of events that follow are sometimes sad, sometimes silly, but consistently entertaining.

Recommendation: Suitable for the beach or plane, you'll learn a lot about tractors too

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro caught my eye at the bookstore a few months ago. I texted the title to myself for future reference. Later that day I asked Mike to send a text using my phone and he was really curious about the person who sent me a text saying, "Never let me go." That's understandable but I couldn't stop laughing. It sounded so silly to have to admit I sent it to myself. Thank goodness he believed me that it was a book title and that I'm not crazy.

The novel is one of those science-fiction books that people who don't like science-fiction (like me) will still enjoy. Although central to the plot, the sci-fi elements still feel subtle. Is that even possible? Basically, you are reading a coming of age story about three people who happen to be a bit... different. Halisham boarding school seems like a perfect environment to grow up in, except it isn't. The story unfolds slowly as you learn more and more details about this special program established to aid in society's survival.

Never Let Me Go was recently made into a movie. It wasn't incredible but I really liked the color scheme and cinematography.

Recommendation: Give it a go, but watch the movie after.

Books of 2011

Another sleepy year on the book blog, but I'm hoping for that to change. At least a little.

The good news is I did it this year. To read more books than the previous year I needed to complete 27 books. Thanks to a fairly relaxing holiday in Vietnam the official 2011 total is: 28!

So the bar wasn't set very high... but let's not worry about that.

Here are my books for the year:
1. Empire Falls by Richard Russo (483)
2. Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn (278)
3. Sheik's Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World by Richard Poplak (333)
4. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (335)
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart (393)
6. Made in America by Bill Bryson (509)
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (326)
8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (256)
9. Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen (279)
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (241)
11. 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian by Pamela Rice (204)
12. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga (351)
13. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (292)
14. Clemetine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker (161)
15. The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago (205)
16. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (137)
17. Starter for Ten by David Nicholls (473)
18. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson (196)
19. Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord (167)
20. The Help by Katheryn Stockett (522)
21. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (324)
22. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (287)
23. Silas Marner by George Eliot (384)
24. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (307)
25. The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith (419)
26. Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (328)
27. One Day by David Nicholls (448)
28. Freefall by Oran Canfield (336)

Even better news is that I'm already about to finish my second book for 2012!