nativebymariage

13) Vaccines, Autism, and Childhood Disorders by Neil Z. Miller
This is a great informational book to read if you are interested in the topic of vaccines in our country.  The book includes many testimonies from congressional hearings about the correlation of vaccines with autism and various other health issues such as Chron's disease, just to name one off the top of my head.  Very informational, some of it a bit jaw-dropping for me. 
Miller is the author of yet another controversial book about vaccines called Vaccines: Are They Really Safe & Effective? if you're interested.

14) Taking Charge or Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
A friend of mine recommended this book and it's literally the size of a text book.  I read the chapters that I felt were important to me and what I am trying to accomplish.  My friend's thoughts on this book was, "Why don't they teach you this in health class?!" and I couldn't agree with her more.  The method discussed is called FAM - Fertility Awareness Method.  The book contains valuable information for every woman - whether trying to conceive or not.  To get more information, you can visit the website or obviously read the book.

15) Murder at The Brown Palace by Dick Kreck
When we were at Lake Granby for Memorial Day weekend, I picked up this book from the bookcase and started reading.  I was interested in the book because my husband and I had our wedding night at The Brown Palace and the fact that it had to do with history in Colorado.
This is a true story about a murder that took place in the early 1900's and the trials that took place in the years to follow.  The book was described as being a page-turner, but that wasn't the case for me, however it wasn't a boring book.  I  was hung up on what was happening in the court cases - I just didn't get it.
The actual murder was a very small portion of the book and more emphasis was put on the trials, the background of people, and documenting the history.
The book discussed some very interesting things about Colorado and named many significant people whose names are now city names, street names, county names, etc.  It has made me more curious about Denver's history, and I am inclined to see what other books I can find on Colorado's history that will also pique my interest.

book_maven

I have no idea how many books I read last year, because I gave up counting.  But hey, it's a new year, so here's a new beginning!  I know I read at least one other book this year, but I'm going to review out of order. 

1.  Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet (memoir, HC, 226 pages)
-- From the newpaper:  "Daniel Tammet leads us into his mind--the computer-like world where he can learn Icelandic in a week and multiply huge sums [...] He's one of few people with both synesthia and autism."  Born on a Blue Day starts off a bit slowly, explaining the effects of his conditions without really connecting to the reader, but the second chapter is much better.

One issue that initially irritated me was the lack of flow.  At points he would stop and suddenly go into explanations in a jarring way that knocked me out of my immersion in his story and made it hard to keep my concentration on the book.  The chronology was also uncertain in points, as Tammet would suddenly go back to an earlier experience or skip ahead without my noticing.  Yet his gift for detail gave many of the scenes vivid imagery and often made me feel like I was in the room with him.  

About halfway through, I began to realize that the disconnects were probably related to Tammet's autism.  He writes in much the same way that he thinks.  Once I came to that realization, those moments actually enhanced the book for me.   

I'd consider Born on a Blue Day a good read, although maybe not for everyone.

2.  The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov.  (sci-fi, 293 pages)
--One of Asimov's stand-alone books examines an energy exchange between Earth and a parallel universe that may have disasterous consequences for both planets... unless a few brave souls can bring themselves to turn off the supposedly free, limitless energy.

Asimov is certainly an excellent writer and this is a fine book.  Some day when I'm calmer I'll probably enjoy it much more.  To explain why I'm so upset...  Last year I bought Nemisis, which was excellent and just happened to have sample chapters from other Asimov books.  I read the sample chapters and in due turn bought this book.  Now I know that the sample section I read was from the middle of the book.  Furthermore, it gave a very different impression.  I can see why they couldn't use the beginning, it has too many chronological changes, but I still read The Gods Themselves feeling cheated.  Bantram Spectra is not going to get any more of my money for a while!

2 / 50 books (reviewed)
519 / 15,000 pages (counted)