The Idle Parent

The Idle Parent

Rating:  The Idle Parent: Why Laid-back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids, by Tom Hodgkinson. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin (2010), 251 pages. The Idle Parent is getting a fair amount of press right now, which is a good thing because I don’t know how much...
The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind

(This review first appeared in January 2006) Rating:  The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Penguin Books (2005), 487 pages. This is a book for people who love books. Not just the language of books, but the very essence of bookness—the feel and sight...
In Defense of Food

In Defense of Food

Rating:  In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.  Penguin Press (2008), 256 pages. Though I am a huge fan of The Omnivore’s Dilemma (a 2007 Gustine  Award winner), I had some concerns about Pollan’s new book also being about the food we eat. Could...
Twenty Chickens for a Saddle

Twenty Chickens for a Saddle

Rating:  Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood, by Robyn Scott.  Penguin (2008), 452 pages I definitely recommend this book for anyone who is fond of memoirs about growing up in an exotic locale with an eccentric family. The author...