The Reading Room

Title: The Hungry Tide
Author: Amitav Ghosh
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Novels - Adventure
Short Synopsis: The Hungry Tide is set in the Sunderbans, the scattered group of islands in the Bay of Bengal. Through the novel, Ghosh gives us a fascinating glimpse of the harsh life on the islands and the everyday struggle to stay alive. The story is of an Indian-American marine bilogist, Piyali Roy, who arrives in the Sunderbans to study the Irrawaddy Dolphin. There she meets and befriends an illiterate fisherman Fokir on one hand, and the sophisticated man of the world Kanai Dutt on the other. The relationship between these three is what the novel is mainly about, but as the narrative progresses, you realise that it is also about philosophy, morality, the man vs. nature issue and love.

"This is not just lucid, gorgeous writing: this is a testimony to the sheer depth of details the author plunges into to flesh out his characters, of his keen sense observation, of evoking the essence of a land and its people. Ah, also of its poetry. Like tides, this should engulf you."

delete

delete

delete

delete

The Reading Room is up to date, all current suggestions catalogued.
Access is through the FIRST post. Click on a genre - only the ones with (1) currently hold titles.
From the genre, click on a title and it will take you to the post where the book is recommended, and a synopsis of the book.

Several great new titles added last night - check out Miscellaneous - great books added on Female Sexuality, essential reading for BOTH sexes also the astonishing life of Rosalind Franklin and a submission by Dampy that I've already added to my 'to read' list.

As ever - more titles needed.

TITLE The Red Tent
AUTHOR Anita Diamant
PUBLISHER Picador
GENRE – Novel – Historical/Fantasy
SHORT SYNOPSIS
The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider`s look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob`s daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters that bled within the red tent.

TITLE The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir
AUTHOR Toni Bentley
PUBLISHER (if possible) Regan Books
GENRE – ???
SHORT SYNOPSIS (not mine)
Few women do it and even fewer will admit to it. But in Toni Bentley's daring and intimate memoir, The Surrender, she pulls the sheets back on a sexual act that's been forbidden since the Bible and celebrates "the joy that lies on the other side of convention, where risk is real and rapture resides." From The Story of O to The Kiss to last year's sensation, The Sexual Life of Catherine M, readers have been enthralled — and the media has been obsessed — with sexually subversive memoirs by women. But even those erotic classics didn't navigate the psychosexual terrain that Bentley does when she meets a lover who introduces her to the pleasures of dominance and submission as well as the "holy" act that she came to see as her awakening. The Surrender is a frank, witty and eloquent exploration of one woman's obsession that will be sure to leave readers questioning their own desires.

TITLE The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling
AUTHOR James Hillman
PUBLISHER (if possible) Warner Books
GENRE – ???
SHORT SYNOPSIS (not mine)
Prominent Jungian author Hillman finds that the central and guiding force behind the "heart," "spirit," "soul," etc., can be illuminated by his "acorn theory"--in which each life is transformed by a unique image. He sees the image as the essence of that life and that which calls it to a destiny, just as the oak's destiny is written in the tiny acorn. He urges his readers to discover the "blueprints" particular to their own individual lives, and is convinced that there is more to life than can be explained by genetics or environment.

Plato and the Greeks called it "daimon," the Romans "genius," the Christians "guardian angel." Today we use the terms heart, spirit, and soul. To James Hillman, the acknowledged intellectual source for Thomas Moores bestselling sensation Care of the Soul, it is the central and guiding force of his utterly compelling "acorn theory"--in which each life is formed by a unique image, an image that is the essence of that life and calls it to a destiny, just as the mighty oaks destiny is written in the tiny acorn.In this new look at age-old themes, Hillman provides a radical, frequently amusing, and highly accessible path to realization through an extensive array of examples. He urges his readers to discover the "blueprints" particular to their own individual lives, certain that there is more to life than can be explained by genetics or environment. As he says, "We need a fresh way of looking at the importance of our lives."What The Soul's Code offers is an inspirational, positive approach to life--a way of seeing, and a way of recovering what has been lost of our intrinsic selves.

delete

Bumped for the 'late' crowd - I'll update in the morning, as usual.

The Reading Room is up to date, all current suggestions catalogued.
Access is through the FIRST post of the thread. Click on a genre - only the ones with (1) currently hold titles.
From the genre, click on a title and it will take you to the post where the book is recommended, and a synopsis of the book.

Several great new titles added last night - check out Miscellaneous - great books added on Female Sexuality, essential reading for BOTH sexes also the astonishing life of Rosalind Franklin and a submission by Dampy that I've already added to my 'to read' list.

As ever - more titles needed.

TITLE The Continuum Concept
AUTHOR Jean Liedloff
PUBLISHER Addison Wesley
GENRE – Parenting
Jean Liedloff, an American writer, spent two and a half years in the South American jungle living with Stone Age Indians. The experience demolished her Western preconceptions of how we should live and led her to a radically different view of what human nature really is. She offers a new understanding of how we have lost much of our natural well-being and shows us practical ways to regain it for our children and for ourselves.

TITLE Raising Your Spirited Child
AUTHOR Kurcinka MS.
PUBLISHER HarperCollins
GENRE – Parenting
SHORT SYNOPSIS
The spirited child--often called "difficult" or "strong-willed"--can easily overwhelm parents, leaving them feeling frustrated and inadequate. Spirited kids are, in fact, simply "more"--by temperament, they are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and uncomfortable with change than the average child. Through vivid examples and a refreshingly positive viewpoint, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka offers parents emotional support and proven strategies for handling their spirited child. "Raising Your Spirited Child" will help you:

Understand your child's--and your own--temperamental traits
Plan for success with a simple four-step program.
Discover the power of positive--rather than negative—labels
Cope with tantrums and blowups when they do occur
Develop strategies for handling mealtimes, bedtimes, holidays, school and many other situations

Filled with personal insight and authoratative advice, "Raising Your Spirited Child" can help make parenting the joy it should be, rather than the trial it can be.

TITLE Milk, Money and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding
AUTHOR Naomi Baumslag and Dia L. Michels
PUBLISHER (if possible)
GENRE – Parenting
SHORT SYNOPSIS
The authors have compiled a thorough exploration of the history and culture of breastfeeding and breast milk substitutes and an in-depth analysis of the nutritional and immunological differences between breast milk and formula. The economic and political aspects are fascinating and even shocking, describing how formula manufacturers and corporate greed, the U.S government, sexism and many other factors have contributed to the currently low breastfeeding rates in the U.S. and the promotion of artificial baby milks in developing countries. A book for activists, advocates, health care professionals and above all, parents.

TITLE How to Raise a Healthy Child, In Spite of Your Doctor
AUTHOR Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.
PUBLISHER Ballantine
GENRE – Parenting/Health: Mind & Body
SHORT SYNOPSIS
This book debunks many common medical myths and exposes questionable practices and risks in pediatrics. Dr. Mendelsohn provides solid information that helps parents realize the importance of educating themselves about their children's health. The book discusses Dr. Mendelsohn's many years of pediatric practice and his evolution away from the standard treatments/procedures that he now warns against.

I recommend this book for the information on antibiotics, ear infections and ear tubes alone. You'll also find advocacy for homebirth and extended breastfeeding, home treatment and diagnosis of colds and flus, a section on picking the right doctor for your child, information on vaccinations, allergies and much more.

TITLE Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent
AUTHOR Meredith F. Small
PUBLISHER (if possible) Warner Books
GENRE – Parenting
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Ms. Small looks at the cultural values that shape parenting styles. This book contrasts the connected, attached parenting styles of non-western cultures to the "hands- off" parenting style that has been strongly advocated in our culture for several generations. Formula feeding with bottles, using baby monitors instead of staying close to your baby at night, using a stroller instead of wearing your baby... all of these things deprive babies of the touch, comfort, reassurance and bonding that all humans need for healthy emotional growth. Easy to read and educational for all parents.

The Reading Room is up to date.

8 new titles added overnight, including several on Parenting.

Access is through the FIRST post on the thread where category listing will take you to titles fellow Literoticans suggest for your reading pleasure or information. Click on a title and it will take you to the post where you can read a short synopsis of the book.

More titles needed.

*bump*
Sink or Swim?

delete

delete

TITLE: 'Tis Pity She's a Whore
AUTHOR: John Ford
PUBLISHER: various paperback editions are available
GENRE: Drama (which isn't listed)/Poetry
SYNOPSIS: Got a jones for some Renaissance Italianate brother/sister incest, smartly written in iambic pentameter? Then this play's for you. Ford's work is a kind of twisted Romeo and Juliet, where sibs Giovanni and Annabella form the True Love pair. It all turns out badly, of course—this is a revenge play, after all—but it's a (cough) pretty good ride along the way.Think of it as the Shakespeare play you really wanted to read.

TITLE: The Branch Will Not Break
AUTHOR: James Wright
PUBLISHER: Wesleyan University Press
GENRE: Poetry
SYNOPSIS: Wright's influential collection features stunning imagery and wonderful titles (e.g., "As I Step over a Puddle at the End of Winter, I Think of an Ancient Chinese Governor"). Here's a sample:These poems also are included in Above the River: The Complete Poems, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

TITLE: Persuasion
AUTHOR: Jane Austen
PUBLISHER: various editions available, including online
GENRE: Novels – Classic/Historical/Romance
SYNOPSIS: This book, like most classics, probably needs no special recommendation. Miss Austen's novels are one of the English-speaking world's great treasures. Any of them (well, perhaps not Northanger Abbey) would be a worthy reading suggestion, but this is my favorite. Nowhere near as witty as the better known Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion has more depth and a more empathetic heroine. Anne Elliot is not brilliant, as is Elizabeth Bennet, nor particularly beautiful, and she is certainly not rich. She is the most normal of Austen's heroines, and because of that, the most believable.

An excellent film adaptation was made in 1995.

TITLE: Without
AUTHOR: Donald Hall
PUBLISHER: Mariner Books
GENRE: Poetry
SYNOPSIS: This book of poems chronicles the protracted death by leukemia of Hall's wife, the poet Jane Kenyon, and his thoughts and feelings afterwards. It is neither a cheery nor uplifting book. It is simply sad. But for anyone who has lost someone dear to them, it is a healing book. There is a kind of comfort in the universality of suffering that we all experience, losing those we love.

Hall's style is very plain and "unpoetic." There is no rhyme, no insistent meter. Merely simple images of life during and after a loved one's death: