Book Lovers Club
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I started and finished Sarah's Key in a day thanks to the steroids I get in the premed.....am going to see if they cant lower the dosage on those, but Oh, it was a really good book in my opinion. I am both fascinated and horrified by stories about the things that went on in Europe during the war re the Jewish people. I am now reading a book about a dog, Katie, that someone gave my husband for Xmas which is so so.
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Has anyone here read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot? I am about 100 pages in and so far a great read.0
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Several people have mentioned it; I haven't read it yet. I'm stuck at home with very few new books to read. I'm re-reading stuff, then throwing in one new one, then re-reading another old one...
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Henrietta Lacks is on my "to read" list. Glad to know you are enjoying it. Keep us posted.
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I'm reading Triumvirate. It's a fantastic book about McKim, Mead and White. I don't usually use the word "fantastic," but it truly is an amazing scholarly work. Years ago, I read a book about Sandford White. This new book about all three of them leaves the Sandford White book in the dust!
http://www.amazon.com/Triumvirate-Architecture-Scandal-Americas-Gilded/dp/0394536622
Does anyone else enjoy reading books about architecture? I LOVE architecture books, especially the "Q" library section ones where they showcase these magnificent structures.
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Just found this thread. What a great idea.
The last two books I read were so good. The Pillars of the earth. and World without end.
Both by Ken Follett
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Oh also read Keith Richards biography.Also a great read.
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Mumayan - I hear the Keith Richards bio is terrific. I'm going to get it for the DH.
Regarding the World Without End....I met a woman at physical therapy the other day, who was reading a Sandra Brown novel and she told me her husband couldn't finish reading Follett's World Without End...until he got physical therapy. He said the book was too heavy for him to finish reading.
Did you enjoy it? I heard very mixed reviews about it. Regarding Pillars of the Earth...it just came out in DVD - 8 episodes. I LOVED IT! I should add...I adore Rufus Sewell who played the role of Tom Builder.
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I loved both books.Found them very hard to put down.Now i must get my hands on Fall of the Giants.
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the Keith Richards Bio tells you everything about the Rolling Stones.Mick has no need to write his bio.
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I LOVED both PIllars of the Earth and World Without End. I couldn't put them down either. I have my name onthe list for his first book in his new trilogy. I am hoping it is as good.
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Has anyone read In The Land of Invisible Women? It has recently been highly recommended to me. I think it came out in 2008 -
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Hi,
I read the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Enjoyed the book but was disturbed at times...by their ignorance and by their family life..jail etc
I am now reading the Warmth of Other Suns..Incredible read though long and definitely disturbing....about the migration of Blacks from the South..
I need something light next time..
Has anyone read The Confession by Grisham. Heard that was very good ..not my kind of book though.
Hugs,
Francine
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From The New York Times Book Review Section posted on 2/4
Returning the Blessings of an Immortal Life
If there was one thing Rebecca Skloot was certain of when writing "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," it was that she did not want to profit from the Lacks family without giving something in return.
For half a century, biotechnology companies and scientists have used the astonishingly hardy cancer cells that killed Henrietta Lacks to develop countless medical breakthroughs and establish a multimillion-dollar industry selling her cell line, known as HeLa. Poor, uneducated and black, Mrs. Lacks was not asked about allowing her tissue to be used for research before she died in 1951, at just 31, and no one bothered to explain the medical revolution that her cells produced to the family she left behind.
Since the book's debut a year ago, it has earned rave reviews, prizes, a movie deal with HBO and a steady spot on best-seller lists. And Ms. Skloot is making good on her pledge to share the financial windfall with the Lackses.
Soon after the book came out, she created the Henrietta Lacks Foundation to help Mrs. Lacks's descendants, some of whom suffered from the whirlwind of publicity, misinformation and scam artists surrounding HeLa cells, not to mention a lack of insurance to pay for any of the medical advances Mrs. Lacks's cells made possible.
"I first envisioned it as a foundation for education, but I realized that the people who were affected the most were her kids, and they needed some medical care and dental care," Ms. Skloot said from her home in Chicago.
Mrs. Lacks had three sons and two daughters, both of whom have died.
The foundation - which is still in the process of applying for nonprofit status - is paying for a high-tech hearing aid for Mrs. Lacks's youngest son, Zakariyya; truck repairs for her middle son, Sonny; new teeth for her granddaughter Kimberly; braces for her great-granddaughter Aiyana Rodgers; and, yes, tuition, books and fees for five of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Sonny Lacks's daughter Kimberly was the first to notice the phrase "other needs" in the grant guidelines. She applied for money to replace cracked and missing teeth and to care for a painful, untreated root canal.
"Now I can smile and I can eat," said Kimberly Lacks, who received $3,000 for the dental work after she lost her job.
Her sister Jeri then applied for a grant to cover the cost of her 12-year-old daughter's orthodontic work.
To aid Henrietta Lacks's three surviving sons, Ms. Skloot said that she made sure that they were hired as consultants for the HBO film, which is being produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and the screenwriter Alan Ball ("American Beauty," "True Blood"). She is also working to raise money to cover more than $125,000 in medical bills that Sonny Lacks incurred after having quadruple-bypass surgery.
Ms. Skloot, however, has stayed focused on education - precisely the advantage that Henrietta Lacks never had.
Although Mrs. Lacks never made it past the sixth grade, her great-granddaughter Victoria Baptiste is studying nursing at Baltimore City Community College at night, thanks to a $2,400 grant from the foundation. "Last semester I made straight A's," Ms. Baptiste, 29, proudly said in a telephone interview.
Between working full time, shuttling her children to scout meetings and repaying a hefty $18,000 loan from a previous educational stint, Ms. Baptiste said she couldn't afford tuition without help. "I know my great-grandmother would want all her children to be educated, since she didn't have that herself," she said.
HeLa, the first human cells to grow outside the body, have been used in more than 60,000 experiments involving leukemia, Parkinson's disease and AIDS. They were instrumental in developing the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, cloning, gene mapping and in vitro fertilization.
Ms. Skloot contributes some of her royalties and speaking fees to the foundation, though she does not follow any particular formula. Much of the $50,000 that the foundation has received from readers has come from cancer survivors and scientists who have written to say, "I owe my career to," or "I wrote my dissertation on," HeLa cells, she said.
Ms. Skloot said that she expected a hefty donation from Harpo Films, but that none of the large biotech companies that continue to profit from HeLa have yet to contribute.
Johns Hopkins, where Mrs. Lacks was given state-of-the-art care in its colored ward as her cells were being harvested, has not donated to the foundation, but it has established a lecture series in her name; a $10,000-a-year scholarship for students from an East Baltimore high school; and a $15,000 annual award for community health groups. As Ms. Skloot makes clear in her book, both the law and the ethics regarding medical research were different back then, and Hopkins did nothing illegal by taking a cell sample from Mrs. Lacks.
If the institution has not come forward, many individuals connected to it have privately supported efforts to obtain health insurance for the Lackses and to eliminate Sonny Lacks's debt, Ms. Skloot said. Others there share Ms. Skloot's interest in education, holding events like Microscope Day every month, when younger members of the sprawling Lacks clan and their friends can come in to look at the cells and talk about science.
Ms. Skloot's hope is that the foundation will soon enlarge its mission to help other needy families in similar situations, particularly those used in research without their consent.
"I don't want to be an activist and I'm not a philanthropist," said Ms. Skloot, who has been consumed by the details of setting up the foundation over the last year. She is one of three board members; her aim is to enlarge the board and reduce her own involvement so that she can get back to what she really wants to do: write.
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Voracious,
Thanks so much for posting this review. It was quite interesting to read after reading the book.
Still wading through The Warmth of Other Suns..I do like it..
Hugs,
Francine
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I think I will skip that one since I am looking for light reads. I picked up one at Sam's Club today , One Great Dog I think is the name.
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Francine, I love mysteries and courtroom drama so I, of course, read Grisham's latest. I was pleasantly surprised as I thought he'd lost his touch. It was entertaining and really made me think about the "main issue" in it. Don't want to spoil it for anyone. I've recently started reading Greg Iles, also a Mississippi lawyer. IMO, he's better than Grisham.
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I'm reading 'The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton
Goes back and forth between 1913 and the present day as a lady tries to solve the mysterious past of her late grandmother. So far it is a very enjoyable read.
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Yikes, I'm way behind on keeping up with recommendations, I'm going to come back with pencil and paper and update my list!
I recently read (among many others) The Keep by Jennifer Egan. Found parts of it not all that enjoyable to read but I can't put my finger on why... I was glad I finished it but not happy enough with it to tackle any of her other books right now. Strange style or "voice" to the book, is all I can come up with that bothered me.
Guilty pleasure: Lee Child has put out two new books since I last looked, so I read one of those and just got another. Nothing deep but I always enjoy his books.
Happy reading, everyone!
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Ruthbru- I really liked The Forgotten Garden.
I am 3/4 of the way through and starting to struggle through The Life of Henrietta Lacks. Partly I think because II just got the new one from Ken Follett at the library and am anxious to start it. I do like the book, At times though there is a bit too much scientific talk.
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Ok ladies I have a question for you all. Have any of you read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon? Everyone I know has raved about it. How about any of you, have you read her series?
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Ladies,
Upon your recommendation I reserved the Forgotten Garden..For some reason it was not in my library but on order. How strange.
Still enjoying The Warmth of Other Suns..
Hugs,
Francine
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I'm not crazy about fiction...but I put a reserve on Alice Hoffman's new book, The Red Garden.
Ladies??? Anyone??? Thoughts are appreciated before I begin it....
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SusieMTN, I have read the whole Outlander series, and they are good. A lot of historical detail, but also some "bodice ripping", and lots of fun at times. They are long, but I found them to be an easy read, if you have the time. Some of the books are better than others, but for continuity, and to appreciate the stories, it is important to read them from start to finish.0
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another great thread...
i used to be a voracious reader.. I really don't have the time to devote now.. I read myself to sleep and basically read the same 3 pages over and over for a week and move on. I play the piano instead. Hopefully I'll have reading time in the future.
I've read almost all the books the following authors wrote.. Larry McMurtrey, Dickens, Stephen King, Pearl Buck, Hemingway, Faulkner, Jane Austen, James Michener, a bunch of Australian authors.. Robert Hughes, A B Facey, McCollough,
My favorites have been books by Ivan Doig.. Oh my gosh - the are wonderful and Mark Helprin. I particularly liked a Soldier of the Great War. I read 'Two Soldiers today by Faulkner.. oh what wonderful story.
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Voracious,
I too have a reserve for Alice Hoffman's new book...The Red Garden ... I read Blackbird House by her and really loved it. This new book seems to have a similar theme..tracing events or happenings in the same place at different times..
Hugs,
Francine
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I'm giving up on "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" because I'd rather read it in historical fiction like Phillipa Gregory or Amy Wier (who is the author of the book I'm discarding!)
I nearly stated "The Forgotten Garden" but instead got reeled in by "Winter's Bone"--can't recall the author just now, but it's about a teenage girl in the Ozarks. The writing so far is perfect voice.
I treid to get into "Dr. Zhivago" for a book club, but I'm too lazy to try to get past the names and places. Maybe one day I'll go back to it. Or stick with the movie!!
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I successfully finished The Life of Henrietta Lacks. I'm glad I did, it really is a good book, just a little different from what I usually read. Tonight I am starting Ken Follets Fall of Giants.
Anne- I am going to do a search on Amazon and fins the author your statement of Winters Bone being "perfect voice" makes me want to read it!!
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Oh Laurie let me know if it is as good as his others.Fall of the giants is on my purchase list.
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Hi,
I am just about finished with The Warmth of Other Suns about the migration on Blacks for the South. Very moving book.
Hugs,
Francine
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