new books to read!

I love it when a whole slew of books come out by favorite authors. I've reserved them at the library already, but will likely give in and purchase at least one of them. And my grad classes have inspired me to check out a few books that sound intriguing (and non-clinical). Thought I'd share with y'all... oh, and I created a link on each title to the Amazon page for further info.

Her Fearful Symmetry- Audrey Niffenegger
SG: I recently saw the Time Traveler's Wife, and remembered all over again how much I loved Niffenegger's first book. Reviews are saying her second is just as good. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes.
The New Yorker review: "The endurance of love animates this gothic story set in and around Highgate Cemetery, in London. When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her estate, including an apartment overlooking the graveyard, to the twin daughters of her twin sister, from whom she has been estranged for twenty years. When Valentina and Julia show up to claim their inheritance, they soon discover that Elspeth is still in residence, in ghostly form. Niffenegger’s writing can be wearyingly overblown, but she has a knack for taking the romantic into the realm of creepiness, and she constructs a taut mystery around the secrets to be found in Elspeth’s diaries and the lengths to which she will go to reunite with her younger lover. It’s no small achievement that the revelations are both organic and completely unexpected."

The Lacuna- Barbara Kingsolver
SG: In my humble opinion, Kingsolver may well be one of the best writers today. Sure she has flaws, but I am fully engaged and compelled by the characters and plot of each novel and short story she writes. I can't wait for this one!
Amazon overview: "In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities."
Publishers Weekly review: "The novel achieves a rare dramatic power... Kingsolver masterfully resurrects a dark period in American history with the assured hand of a true literary artist."

The Museum of Innocence- Orhan Pamuk
SG: Basically, it's a love story and commentary on the social and political structures of Istanbul in 1975. It doesn't sound quite so depressing as Snow. :)
NYT review: “Pamuk is taking the world we thought we knew and making it fresh and alive.”

Juliet, Naked- Nick Hornby
SG: I heard a short interview with Mr. Hornby regarding this book, as well as a screenplay he recently wrote. I like the fact that he is delving into the female perspective, and always tries to explore what makes us cheer, not just what stirs us to tears.
NYT review: "What happens when a washed-up musician looks for another chance? And miles away, a restless, childless woman looks for a change? Juliet, Naked is a powerfully engrossing, humblingly humorous novel about music, love, loneliness, and the struggle to live up to one's promise."

Where is the Mango Princess?- Cathy Crimmins
SG: I have this one on hold as we speak, and if I get through it, I'll let you know what I think!
Publishers Weekly review: "Although it was frightening when Crimmins's husband, Alan, an attorney, suffered a traumatic brain injury while on a family vacation, it was his long-term rehabilitation that proved most daunting, for brain injuries can cause significant personality changes. This chronicle of Al's injury, treatment and rehabilitation shows how perplexing and stressful traumatic brain injury can be for both victim and family. Crimmins knows how to tell a story for maximum effect, filling this account with funny and outrageous anecdotes, raw emotion and predictable rage toward HMOs that won't fund optimal treatment."

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down- Anne Fadiman
SG: To be completely frank, I continue to be astounded, and sometimes outraged, by stories of people who refuse medical service for their child(ren) for various reasons. This is a serious shortcoming and a cultural bias that I must work on to be a better counselor. Perhaps this book will be a step in that direction...
Library Journal review: Following the case of Lia (a Hmong child with a progressive and unpredictable form of epilepsy), Fadiman maps out the controversies raised by the collision between Western medicine and holistic healing traditions of Hmong immigrants.