Trash author: Dorothy Allison rating: asin: 0452283515 binding: Paperback list price: $14.00 USD amazon price: $11.20 USD

I originally purchased this book in 2002 (when it first came out, believe it or not) and it has sat on my shelf since then. Something about it - the tone, the pain, the raw emotions - stopped me from continuing every time I started reading it. They're short stories, so you'd think I could plow my way through them, but there are certain genres of the written word that affect me strongly (I got really depressed after reading "looking for mr goodbar" and worried my friends).

Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (3rd Edition) author: Paul Pitchford rating: asin: 1556434308 binding: Paperback list price: $35.00 USD amazon price: $23.10 USD

I've got problems with allergies, and he's really good at recommending lifestyle changes to help me with my breathing problems. I've looked at the limited pages offered by "search inside" on amazon.com and it seems interesting.

The Shadow of the Wind author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón rating: asin: 0143034901 binding: Paperback list price: $15.00 USD amazon price: $10.20 USD

Maybe it's just me, but what is it with current fiction deciding to summarize all of the hard-to-finish twists and turns by devoting entire chapters to letters? I didn't like this practice in the Historian, either (which received high recommendations, but I found vaguely boring. Reading italicized text gets old after a page). Even though this book got rave reviews from all kinds of eminent sources, it seems to have lost something in translation. (As an aside, I had a chance to listen to a lecture by Umberto Eco's translator (William Weaver) at UT, and regret skipping it still.) The mystery and magic promised on the cover was missing.

Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public author: Helen Thomas rating: asin: 0743267818 binding: Hardcover list price: $25.00 USD amazon price: $18.25 USD

I love Helen Thomas. She's an elegant writer and hits her points (and targets) sharply. It may be a personal bias, but I believe reading about the press and how it functions is as important as watching, reading, or listening to its reports.

Engaging the Enemy author: Elizabeth Moon rating: asin: 0345447565 binding: Hardcover list price: $25.95 USD amazon price: $19.72 USD

I just finished this book and Carabou has just started. We will update this post when she finishes, but I though it was pretty good. I wouldn't call it a classic, but it was fun to read and I did enjoy reading several of the characters. Any book with a character like Aunt Grace is worth a read even if she doesn't play a major role.