Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Book Ratings - 300 and counting

The following is the link to the complete list for your entry: Compete book list. Please click on the link and input your ratings on a scale of 1-5.

We are in our 26th year and have read 300 books and counting. We have read a lot of very good books with an average rating of 3.64 on a scale of 1-5. 90% of our books received a rating of 3.0 or greater with the top 10 4.5 or more. Stanley and Dr. J are the toughest critics with and average of 3.41 with everyone else averaging between 3.68 and 3.73. On the low end we have just a few that fall below the Mendoza line established by Who Moved My Cheese at 2.86. This includes the third book chosen overall (by me) of "A Pirate Looks at 50" and Bill's "There is no Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled"(which also holds distinction of the longest title). We still have only read one book twice, "The Limits of Power", in 2009 and 2014 and I still can't remember it even though it rated very well at 4.13 and 4.25.
The book list covers a wide variety of books consisting of roughly 2/3rds non-fiction. Topics include the classics, politics, business, adventure, history, science, environment, humor, and morality. Multiple authors include Thomas Friedman (4), Malcolm Gladwell (3), Bill Bryson (5), Phillip Roth (3), Dan Brown (3), Sam Harris (3), Michael Lewis (3) and 2 from Russell Banks, TC Boyle, Tom Brokaw, David Brooks, David Guterson, Laura Hillenbrand, Hope Jahren, Jon Krakauer, Eric Larson, Annie Proulx, Alan Weisman, Eric Weiner and Irvin Yalom. We have branched out over the years to include a wide variety of authors and topics.

Monday, November 11, 2024

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett's book is a coming of age, mother daughters, love, friendship, end of life, and simply a lifetime story told by a 57-year-old heroin. Laura tells her three grown daughters about her brief acting career and her short love affair with a famous actor, Duke. Most of her telling revolves around a summer at Tom Lake in her formative 24th year; where she takes on the character of Emily in "Our Town" and tries to hold on to her youth. It is a summer of passion, creativity, friendship, and betrayal. Although she has no regrets in her marriage to Joe, her three children, and her life on the cherry farm, she still has her memories of her brief life in the limelight and retains a few of her secrets.