Christmas Wish List - Item 1 - Time to read!
Looking forward to some time to read a great book over Christmas Break? The following are recommended by the Punahou 'Ohana. Note: If the book is part of the Punahou collection, the call number follows the title of the book.
Russo, Richard. Straight Man. 1997. [F Russo]
Straight Man is a hilarious book for any educator, especially for us here at the university-like Punahou campus. The author also wrote Empire Falls.
-Kris Schwengel
Sigall, Bob. The Companies We Keep. 2004. [HC 338.7 Si2]
A great resourceful book filled with local, kama'aina facts of Hawaii businesses, schools, etc. It was written by my friend Bob who teaches at HPU as well.
-Michele Ferguson
Bently, E. C. Trent's Last Case. [On order]
A classic murder mystery meant for mystery buffs of all sorts. It opens like this:
Between what matters and what seems to matter, how should the world we know judge wisely?
When the scheming, indomitable brain of Sigsbee Manderson was scattered by a shot from an unknown hand, that world lost nothing worth a single tear; it gained something memorable in a harsh reminder of the vanity of such wealth as this man had piled up - without making one loyal friend to mourn him, without doing an act that could help his memory to the least honour. But when the news of his end came, it seemed to those living in the great vortices of business as if the earth too shuddered under a blow.
-Joe Tsujimoto
Buford, Bill. Heat (An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Past-Maker, and
Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany). 2006. [On order]
Or what it means to be a professional chef, for Buford devotes himself whole-heartedly to becoming one, "back stage," in an irreverent world predominated by men. Further, as Anthony Bourdain (author of Kitchen Confidential) say, Buford "has captured the True Magnificence of Mario Batali - in all his Falstaffian glory - and the mad, driven brilliance [of chef] Marco Pierre White." Humor, insight into a frenetic sub-culture, and food, food, food - oh, the food. -In a way Heat is the flip side to Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun, which I also recommend.
-Joe Tsujimoto
Robinson, Marilynne. Gilead. 2004. [F Robinson]
I highly recommend this book.
-Lisa Stewart
NOTE: See earlier comments on Gilead in the earlier posting "Too Good To Miss!
Egan, Timothy. The Worst Hard Time. 2006. [338.1 Eg1]
I also recommend The Worst Hard Time about the dust bowl survivors.
-Lisa Stewart
Eggers, Dave. What is the What. 2006. [on order]
I'm in the middle (not even) of Dave Eggers's new novel "What Is The What." I've just read a hundred pages but it's really amazing.
-Tim Dyke
Preston, Caroline. Gatsby's Girl.[on order]
Roiphe, Anne. An Imperfect Lens.[on order]
Here are a couple of recommendations for those interested in historical fiction with a touch of romance!
-Bobbie Wong
Burke, James. The Axemaker's Gift.1995. [306.4 B91]
History of technology and society.
-Eric Eads
Kid, Sue Monk. The Mermaid Chair. 2005. [F Kidd]
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi.
My picks would be The Mermaid Chair and The Life of Pi. Happy Reading!
-Lenore Peterson
McCourt, Frank. Teacher Man. 2005. [B M135t]
I enjoyed this memoir about teaching English in New York City public high schools. Always self-deprecating and funny, McCourt describes how he fumbled through years of teaching before he finally felt comfortable in the classroom.
-Susan Clark