A Little Book Cleaning

    One good thing about moving is getting to clean out old junk that has been sitting in drawers or on shelves for years.

 When we moved in June one thing I noticed was I had so many books that I had never read, but were taking up precious shelf space.  A lot of the books I had, had for years and never picked up.  I'm sure a newer or better book always came along and my older books continued to sit, unread, collecting dust.   

  I decided that in order to free up shelf space for new books I would force myself to read my old books before purchasing any new ones or going to the library and I am so glad I did.   This summer I have already read quite a few  of my old books and really enjoyed them. Some of the books were "no-name" books I picked up at a book fair or book swap and some were old books that I never got around to reading.  

 Anyways I am always looking for new book recommendations so I thought I would pass these suggestions along.  I'm sure any of these books could be purchased very inexpensively on Amazon.com or  borrowed from the library since they are not current best sellers

One Drop by Bliss Broyard

 

"Ever since renowned literary critic Anatole Broyard's own parents, New Orleans Creoles, had moved to Brooklyn and began to "pass" in order to get work, he had learned to conceal his racial identity. As he grew older and entered the ranks of the New York literary elite, he maintained the façade. Now his daughter Bliss tries to make sense of his choices and the impact of this revelation on her own life. She searches out the family she never knew in New York and New Orleans, and considers the profound consequences of racial identity. With unsparing candor and nuanced insight, Broyard chronicles her evolution from sheltered WASP to a woman of mixed race ancestry."

 

Summary via Amazon

 

 

As Hot As It Is You Ought to Thank Me by Nanci Kincaid

"From a place where you don't have to run away to find yourself, this novel's young heroine, Berry, joins the ranks of other memorable and spirited girl narrators such as Bone in "Bastard Out of Carolina," Kaye Gibbon's "Ellen Foster," Lily Owens in "The Secret Life of Bees," and Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Summary via Amazon

 

 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

"It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. "

 

Summary via Amazon

 

 

 

 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

"So begins the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of l967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic."

 

Summary via Amazon

 

 

I enjoyed all four of these books.  As Hot As It Was You Ought to Thank Me was probably the easiest read, but also my least favorite as the plot was vague and uneventful at times.  Middlesex, One Drop, and The Book Thief were all amazing.   If you are a history buff you would love any of these books.  One Drop takes place from the 1770's through the 1990's and discusses a very interesting perspective of Race.  Middlesex takes place from the 1920's -1970's and tells the story of a family's secret genetic history, and The Book Thief takes place in the 1930's and 1940's in Nazi Germany.  

    The great thing was once I was finished reading a few of my old books I would go to the Half Price Book Store and trade in my old books for money or new books.

                                                     A win-win in my book.
                                  ( Sorry for the corny joke, I couldn't help myself).