Look me in the eye

John Elder Robison
pages 282

Sub-titled "my life with Asperger's" this memoir is an insightful look into the world of Autism, specifically the spectrum known as Asperger's Syndrome. Robison, whose younger brother is writer Augusten Burroughs of "Running With Scissors" fame was not diagnosed until he was well into adulthood. Reading how his life was shaped by the unique perspective of Asperger's is fascinating. Socially stunted and an over-logical sense of thinking, John Elder lived a childhood labeled weird, retarded and at times psychotic. Living in a home of highly intelligent, yet dysfunctional parents created an isolation that left him on his own to try to learn how to cope in a world that does not even today understand the nuances of Asperger's much less how to best deal with those affected by it. Writing these memories is a cathartic experience for the author, yet because of his Asperger's he is also able to detach from it and objectively examine it. If you know anyone who deals with Autism on a personal level I would highly recommend this book because it is such an uplifting and demystifying experience. Wonderfully written, it would be an entertaining and
informative read for anyone. Loved it! It get's top rating.
Rock, Chalk, Jay, Hawk

Tricky Business

by Dave Barry
pages 320

If you enjoy the humorous musing of columnists Dave Barry you will love this Fictional offering of madness and mayhem in sunny Florida. This is a tale of drug smuggling and a cast of character that include a decaying garage band relegated to playing in D-list venues, mobsters that are as stupid as they are greedy, a couple of crusty old senior citizens that escape their retirement home and a promotional mollusk named "Conrad the Conch" This book was one of the quickest and laugh-out-loud funny books I have read all summer. It will get a Rock Chalk Jay on it's absurdity alone.

The Murder of King Tut

by James Patterson & Martin Dugard
p 332

Every 8 years I read a James Patterson offering, whether I need to or not. The last time was 2003 and the book was The Court Jester, a pleasant change of pace from the prolific and predictable thrillers I have come to expect. When The Murder of King Tut came my way I was hoping for another break from the norm. "The Plot to Kill the Child King - A Non-Fiction Thriller" was jointly written and extensively researched by the authors to put to rest the ancient mystery of King Tut.
The book is written in 3 areas - the life and death of Tut, the discovery of his tomb almost 600 years later and the present day attempt by Patterson to solve the mystery shrouding Tut's life and death. The historical evidence presented was interesting and engaging. The story behind Howard Carter's discovery in 1922 is equally intriguing, a well-documented curse that surrounded the expedition that was fraught with problems and mishaps. The present-day tale of writing this book was somewhat self-absorbed and I could not help but feel that Patterson's view of his work is much more important that what I have given him credit for.
I did not feel that his effort really shed that much new light on the subject, though he uses a variety of sources to draw his own conclusions, thus "solving the mystery of Tut". All-in-all this book is a quick and easy read, which Patterson excels at. But ultimately it was not the page-turning thriller I would have expected.
Giving it a Rock and a Chalk!

The Killer Angels

by Michael Shaara
p 355

To participate in the Big Read this year, I chose The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara. This Civil War story is centered around the 3 day battle of Gettysburg and wonderfully recreates not only the strategic planning and execution, but also a personal reflection of war by soldiers from both sides. The author does a credible job of recreating the sentiments and horrors of this brutal war as seen through some of the major players for the South, Robert E Lee and the North, General Meade and those that served directly under them.
Gettysburg was the deadliest battle of the civil war with over 50,000 casualties. The summer heat and destruction of artillery left the rolling hills of Pennsylvania scorched and filled with the stench of death. Shaara's narrative is a history lesson that reads like fiction. Even if you are not a Civil War enthisiast this book will keep you captivated from the first page.
Giving it a Rock and Chalk - good reading and informative, but at times a little hard to follow all the action.

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker
p 290

Rarely a book and movie coincide so deeply that they become one, but in the case of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" I cannot separate the two. Having seen the movie first, I naturally gravitated to the movie characters when I first picked up the book. The casting seemed too perfect not to seamlessly input their faces onto the written page. Yet with all good literature, only Walker's beautiful and at times poetic words can bring them to life.
As a Book Club choice, I was not sure I was ready to re-read this book - mostly because I had just read it in the last few years. Yet with each reading or watching of the movie, I glean a little more from the characters and the heartbreak and joy they experience. The relationship between Shug, Celie and Mister is at the core of this story, and with this reading I found myself focusing on how their love for each other somehow overcomes all the hurt and pain they brought to one another.
This redemptive quality resonated throughout the book. The story deals with the difficulties of black Americans in the 1930's, particularly black women. Celie's story is written in letter form first to God, then to her sister Nettie. This personal approach gives her the opportunity
to try to explain, if not make sense of her world. She is an uneducated, poor, abused black woman in the south, yet Walker creates within her letters a full and glorious story of hope.
This book is easily one of my all -time favorites. If you haven't picked it up, do it - then watch the movie.
Rock, Chalk, Jay, Hawk x 100!!!!

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers
p 437

Part memoir, part catharsis, HWSG (acronym for title) is a journey into the life and mind of Dave Eggers. Admittedly I did not know who Dave Eggers is, but after the first few chapters he introduces his family and the tragedy of losing both parents in less than a year. While struggling to get his magazine (MIGHT) off the ground he finds himself guardian for his younger brother. Together they struggle to survive the ordeal of caring for the sick and dying, then totally abandoning their past lives to move to San Francisco. While this may hardly seem like a light-hearted subject, Eggers deftly moves from the darkness to the light as he examines grief, loss and becoming a man in a way that is profound and profoundly humorous. His writing gives his internal dialogue a voice that is brutally honest, intensely aware, richly crafted and wildly entertaining. HWSG has received literary praise and awards, rightfully so. It lives up to it's title so check it out!
This one gets a full blown Rock, Chalk, Jay, Hawk!!!!!

A Feast of Snakes

by Harry Crews
p 177

This book club selection has already been accurately and descriptively blogged by KimF. Harry Crews is an acquired taste, much in the same genre as Carl Hiassen. Characters and a story so richly bizarre and twisted that you are either going to be repulsed or enthralled. I was the latter, and found the dark humor that lies beneath such a tragically common, yet strangely uncommon tale.
I must admit though, the ending threw me for a loop, and in some ways diminished what I had been laughing about (and at) through the first 2/3 of the book. Yet, I gotta admit I loved it and would recommend his book "Body" as another great train wreck!

Giving it a Rock and Chalk, only because many readers would find it totally inappropriate!
PS Kansas is looking to be ranked #1 after this weekend.......go hawks!

The Last Boy

by Jane Leavy
p. 387

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. There are the extraordinary people that do extraordinary things, the ordinary people that do extraordinary things, and just the simple folks that live their lives by example. Micky Mantle was a "hero" that perhaps fit into all those categories. In Jane Leavy's thorough examination of the life and legend of Micky Mantle she explores not only the legacy of NY Yankees' "the Mick" but also the boy from the small town of Commerce OK.
Micky Mantle never intended to be a "hero." His love for baseball came from a desire to please his father, Mutt; that pushed his oldest son to be the player he never was. Throughout his amazing baseball career, statistics put Mantle in the stratosphere of "super athlete" and he was a combination of desire, determination and physical ability that created one of the best athletes the word has ever witnessed. Yet in expert hands, Jan Leavy also gives us a glimpse of Micky Mantle, the "tragic" hero that could never satisfy his inner critic and whose hard life and lifestyle manufactured the what-if's that surrounded his life.
Mantle was never my hero. As a child growing up in St Louis, my baseball heroes were Musial, Boyer, Gibson and Flood. After reading "The Last Boy" I have added Mantle's name to my list.
For those who love baseball, I give this book a Rock. Chalk, Jay, Hawk!!!!