Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 lives John Sutherland

A HUGE book with varying lengths of writing on each of the 294 authors he chose to research. A really enjoyable read, most of the authors I had never heard of, so this book created a chase to read the suggested books by each author. I was surprised on how many Authors were from Edinburgh Scotland.

Mark Twain: Geoffrey Ward

Wow, I hadn't realized Samuel Clemens had such a sad life. His father dies when he is young so he goes to work, his little brother died on a boat he too was supposed to be working on. His wife is sickly, but they have 4 children, the first born doesn't make it through infancy. His next child- a daughter died of spinal meningitis at age 24. His wife dies (tuberculosis?) at 58,  a few years before their youngest daughter at age 29 , who had a heart attack and drowned in the bathtub(she also had an amputated leg as a child). His last living daughter makes it to age 88.

The Cop and the Anthem: O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

I love his writtings. I remember my mother reading the Gift of the Magi when we were younger and it was the most powerful work for me at the time. This story was equally simple, yet impressionable. A homeless man is fed up with the shelters and aid for the needy and decides he wants to spend the winter in jail where is it really nice. He tries all day to get arrested by doing various petty, mischievious things. He happens upon a church and once inside becomes ashamed of himself and decides to look for a job and become a respectable citizen. It is then that a police man finds him and he gets the time in jail he was originally wanting.

The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:Robson and Ekarius

An excellent source for determining what breed of animal you may want to raise, or even purchase fiber from. The book lists nearly every breed, if not all, animals used for fiber. Each breed is talked about in length and pictures are provided for the clips of hair, what they look like raw, clean, and spun. They also talk about the qualities of the yarn and good uses for each. I loved this book, I now want to spin my dog's hair, lol.

The Guinea Pig Diaries: A.J. Jacobs

Another great book of Jacob's. I enjoy the serious topics discussed in such light hearted ways. Reading his books makes me want to try these experiments in my own life. He inspires you to be a better person by trying to be one himself. I like that he is not considered and such a normal everyday person with a lot of odd habits. The section about what he has to do every time he walks past a mirror made me laugh out loud- oh yeah, and his books are not ones you want to read on the plane- you WILL laugh out loud, which makes seat mates a little uncomfortable.

The Year of Living Biblically: AJ Jacobs

A very entertaining read. Enlightening in a non threatening way and not pushy about any beliefs.Jacobs is comical and I liked how we as readers got to know the family dynamics while he was doing his quest. I liked that his wife did not support some of the odd things and got fed up, making all the characters human, believable and likable. I especially enjoyed the section about stoning and the childish effort to throw pebbles, yet not wanting to hurt anyone. An excellent, funny read. I will be reading more of his works.