april bookstand

Four this month... the vast majority done before I started all this crafting business. And still not done with the book on the British monarchy.

Boomerang, by Michael Lewis
Highly recommend. The author tours four of the countries affected by the recent economic crisis: Iceland, Ireland, Greece and Germany. Apparently these articles were originally published in Vanity Fair; having never read the originals, I enjoyed the insight into the situation in these countries. The chapter on the United States was somewhat weaker.

The Gilly Salt Sisters, by Tiffany Baker
Recommend. It took me a bit of time to get into this book about sisters who live on a New England salt farm. Though I found the writing so wordy at times that it interrupted the flow of the story, at other times I found myself admiring the author's ability to write a beautiful descriptive phrase. The end had me gnashing my teeth, however.

Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie, by Beth Howard
Recommend. A bit too self-indulgent—at several points in the book I wanted to slap the author and say "grow up already!"—but a relatively short read about, well, love, loss and the author's strategy of making pies to deal with both. If that doesn't make too much practical sense to you, then you have a good idea of the author's mindset.

Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin
Somewhat meh. I did read the whole book—though it was relatively short—but I kept wondering when the lead character would wake up and start to do something, or at least have a little insight into her own actions. It read more like a catalog of events (first this happens, then this happens) than a story.