It's Summertime, and the Reading is Easy…
Vicki MabreyVicki Mabrey is a correspondent for ABC News Nightline and is based in the network's New York bureau. Prior to joining the network in November 2005, she was a correspondent for CBS News 60 Minutes II, a position she held since the program's debut in 1999.
The Glass Castle I love my family dearly, madly, and protectively. We have our quirks, as all close-knit families do, but sometimes I wish they were more eccentric. Like, eccentric enough to be fodder for a bestseller as moving, as heart-rending, as wacky as the family in The Glass Castle. Author Jeannette Walls' family walks off with the blue ribbon for nuttiness - you'll be hooked from page one, which begins with Walls, all dressed up and living a glamorous life, spying her homeless mother digging through garbage cans, as Walls speeds to a party in the back of a New York taxi. I read it once in paperback, but I've just bought the hardcover so I can savor this amazing story again. The Liar's Club Then, continuing on with what I may have to call "The Summer of the Dysfunctional Family," I'll move on to an oldie-but-goodie, Mary Karr's The Liar's Club. I've read the reviews, and heard by word of mouth that it is a gritty tale of growing up on the edge in East Texas, with larger-than-life parents and a supporting cast of southern-fried characters. I guess if that kind of upbringing doesn't traumatize you, you can one-up your friends with crazy family stories forever. FDR Turning from the dysfunctional, I'll move on to a famous first family: the Franklin Delano Roosevelts. I'm thrilled to see there's yet a new addition to the groaning shelf on the Roosevelts: biographer Jean Edwards Smith's new book, FDR, which reviewers say breaks no new 'news,' but apparently contradicts some of the myths that have taken on a life of their own about FDR's mother and wife. I have a house very near the FDR home in Hyde Park, New York, and it's my favorite Hudson Valley mansion tour, so it will be interesting to compare the insight in this book with what I've learned on my many visits to his home and presidential library. The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns I've already plowed through Khaled Hosseini's latest, A Thousand Splendid Suns, the follow-up to his magnificent The Kite Runner. Kite Runner tells the story of Afghan men… Suns details the harsh lives of that country's women. There's some melodrama - you may feel yourself being manipulated, and you probably can guess much of what comes to pass, but the knowledge you'll gain along the way makes up for it. A good book is akin to a good friend…. Happy reading! 
Jennifer MaloneyShe is the Director of the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL). NCL's mission is to advance adult education, family literacy and English language development by influencing public policy, advancing research and raising awareness. More than twenty-five national organizations are members of the Coalition.
The Alchemist Each month, I gather with a group of women friends for a lively book discussion. We launched the book group five years ago with a discussion of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I loved the story because it took me away to a whole different world. My book group started this summer with another book that draws you into a completely different place, time and sense of reality. Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist recounts the wondrous adventures of Santiago, a shepherd who travels across North Africa in search of his treasure and his Personal Legend. Santiago endures trials, falls in love and encounters the mysterious alchemist. The Alchemist is rich with wise and foolish characters and with lessons about life and spirituality. This is the first book that I have read by Coelho, but it will not be the last! |
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