9 Books on My Holiday Wish List ...

Price: $19.80 at amazon.com
Having visited the Hoover Dam, and been charmed by its elegance and by the sheer scale of it, I can’t wait to read more about it. I read a snippet on the NPR website, and heard an interview with the author, and I have so many questions I hope the book will answer!

Price: $16.32 at amazon.com
Before I read this, I had no idea Sandra Bullock had a sister, one who also used to be in a Hollywood success. But, unlike Sandra, Gesine didn’t like the scene, and left for a new career as a baker. This memoir is so funny, and so charming… I loaned out my copy, and never got it back, so I need it again, please!

Price: $15.25 at amazon.com
I’ve read, and adored, all of Oliver Sachs’ books, and I especially enjoyed “Awakenings,” which tells the story of some of his encephalitis lethargic patients. This new book chronicles the first of the cases that preceded these, after World War I, which killed a million people and permanently disabled so many more. We don’t know much about it, even now, and it’s so interesting.

Price: $10.88 at amazon.com
If you’ve ever read “The Dangerous Book for Boys” or “The Daring Book for Girls,” then you’ll understand this parody about cats. I haven’t read it yet, but I love books about cats! I’d like this book, too, please…

Price: $17.14 at amazon.com
There was a time when being frugal was a character trait one admired, but what’s happened since those golden days? We Americans have become embarrassed of our thriftiness, though recently, we’ve started to see the light again. In this book, that quality is explored, and as a cheap-skate in my own right, I can’t wait to see how I ended up this way.

Price: $18.25 at amazon.com
After reading “The Year of Living Biblically,” I had to read something else by A.J. Jacobs, and this is one of only a handful of his other books. Apparently, he signs up to be a test subject for a bunch of different experiments. I can’t wait to read it!

Price: $20.29 at amazon.com
This book tells the story of a popular, successful white man who crossed the race barrier and led a secret life as a black man. That’s the reverse of the typical “passing” story, and it sounds fascinating. It’s very carefully researched, and it sounds fantastic.

Price: $11.21 at amazon.com
I love the mythology of Christianity, and this book explores the nightmare book or Revelations as literature. I can understand the controversy around it, but still… I really want to read it.

Price: $15.56 at amazon.com
Young doctor Dang Thuy Tram was only 23 when she was killed near her small field hospital in the middle of the Vietnam War, but her diary survived in the care of an American soldier, who struggled for years to find the young woman’s family. They published the diary a couple of years ago, and the snippets I’ve been able to read are achingly beautiful.

Those are 9 of the dozens of books I’d love to read… I’ve been a very good girl this year, so I hope Santa (or someone else) might bring me one or two (or all) of them! Have you read any of these? Or do you have any other books on your holiday wish list? Please share! Maybe we can start a book club…