Book Reviews—Themes by Month (page 2)

Dec '11 — Kids Raising Cain
Kids on the loose, their compasses askew—"fierce savages" as one of our books puts it. All of which makes you wonder: how did they get like this? Did we do it?

Nov '11 — Nuclear Family Explosions
Ordinary families explode under pressure from everyday life. Yet their struggles to put the pieces back together is a tacit acknowledgment of our primal need for family ties.

Oct '11 — Love You To Death
Vampires don't die...and neither, it seems, does our fascination with them. So why not cozy up to our trio of scary vampire books this month?

Sept '11 — That New York Glitter
Three books with characters on the outside looking in at New York's glittering society. They discover life's sad maxim—all that glitters is not gold.

Aug '11 — The Books of August
August, the last gasp of summer—when temper-
atures run high and emotions run hot. We've got three great reads, all with August in the title.

July '11 — Eastward Ho
Many authors have explored the cultural divide faced by Asians making their homes in the West. We're bucking the tide to find out what happens when Westerners head to the East.

June '11 — Crash of the Titans
So many books have been published about the 2008 Wall Street crash that book clubs might want to take note. We've chosen three—all great reads, like the best of fiction.

May '11 — Ghostworld
Authors use the paranormal to explore the normal— their earthbound human characters who turn out not to be so normal after all.

Feb '11 — Stranger than Fiction
When it comes to history—especially the history of human achievement—what constitutes real life is simply stranger than fiction.

Jan '11 — Sisters in Exile
Sisters banished from lives of comfort and security find unknown reserves of strength and courage in adversity. They discover who they are—and learn what matters most.

Dec '10 — Time's (Crooked) Arrow
Time appears to us as a steady forward movement. This month's books disrupt its normal flow—and two of the books do curioius things with aging.

Nov '10 — Rock-Paper-Scissors
ROCK for the fossils at Lyme Regis, PAPER for an international newspaper, and SCISSORS for the medical profession satirized in Sinclair Lewis's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel.

Oct '10 — Work, If You Can Get It
A tribute to everyday heroes who labor in the underbelly—the infernos of restaurant kitchens, coal mines, and assembly lines—to make life habitable for the rest of us.

Sept'10 — Tudor History - Herstory
The momentous events surrounding Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn: three books follow the same figures...yet a hero in one is a villain in another. Who says history is dull?

May '10 — The Good, Bad & the Ugly
A nod to the iconic Clint Eastwood Western—with it's stark mix of heroes and villains. This month's books remind us it's not always so easy to tell who's good...and who's not.

April '10 — Urban Mysterioso
Cities lend themselves to the mysterious—their immensity, anonymity, and teeming diversity make them ideal settings for the fantastic.

Mar '10 — M is for Magic
Despite our knowledge of science—from the big bang to the human cell—we continue to strain to the possibilibies of magic.

Feb '10 — True Grit
Three real-life Americans who helped shaped their country—courageous, persevering, inventive, they found ways to do what needed to be done.

Jan '10 — Coming of Age
Young people, crossing over the threshold into the adult world, often find that passage bittersweet, even searing, as they leave their innocent childhoods behind.

Dec '09 — Domestic Disturbances
Marital bliss—a bumpy road toward a dubious destination. A sustaining marriage depends not on the ignorance of bliss but on self-knowledge.

Nov '09 — Criminally Addicted
Murder mysteries offer a strange sort of comfort by presupposing a world that can be known, answers found, and order restored. No wonder so many of us are addicted.

Oct '09 — Those Who Teach...Must
Teaching is in the DNA for some. It's a passion—a need, really, to offer young minds a glimpse of a wider world and guide them through the first rumblings of self-knowledge.

Sept '09 — Henry's Ladies
Henry James' most famous heroines are wealthy, young Americans—vibrant, intelligent yet untested innocents, who find themselves up against a rigid, even duplicitous society.

Aug '09 — Municipal Bonds
Communities bind us together, for better or worse. They offer comfort and aid—and something larger than ourselves—but they can stifle and exclude.

July '09 — The Kindess of Strangers
Those who stretch out a hand to strangers end up changing not just the lives of those they help, but their own lives as well.

May '09 — Chick Lit on Steroids
Real Chick Lit: vibrant heroines living rich, complex lives. Their stories give us a lot more to chew on than Prada shoes and Gucci bags.

Apr '09 — What Women Want. Really.
Earth to Freud.... Why was it so hard to for the great man to figure out what women want? Women want what men want—love, family, and freedom to pursue their dreams.

Mar '09 — Animal Planet
This month's books honor those creatures that domesticate their owners.

Feb '09 — Remembrance of Things Past
When we explore the past—the confluence of events, family and friends, choices made and made for us—we uncover our present selves.

Jan '09 — The Gatsby Effect
What does it mean to be an American? This month's main characters attempt to re-invent themselves in order to achieve their ideal of the American dream.

Dec '08 — African Trio
A newly elected US president—half African; a reader requesting a book guide for Cry, the Beloved Country; and a daughter taking a semester in Africa all served as inspiration for this month's LitPicks, beautiful books, all.

Nov '08 — A Boy's Life
Three boys come of age in the years soon after World War II—one from the American Midwest, one from Norway, and one from India during the tumultuous years of independence.

Oct '08 — Quiet Intimacy
Some books speak to us softly, peering into the corners of our lives and matters of the heart. Plot is secondary to characters and relationships. These works are quiet but remarkable.

Sept '08 — Beyond the Pale
This month's authors tackle horrific subjects, the unthinkable. Yet as readers we end up sympa-thasizing with characters we would otherwise villify. This is life in its irreducible complexity.

Aug '08 — Uses of Mythology
Literature draws on mythology, primitive stories that frame life's events. Populated with heroes & heroines, deities & monsters, myths reveal a universal pattern of human behavior.

June '08 — War Torn Lives
Lives and communities torn apart by World War II. This month's stories are tales of survival. Though grim at times, each offers a transcendent vision of humanity.

May '08 — Wherefore Happiness?
What is happiness? How does one attain it, who deserves it, and how does one hold onto it? Three books consider happiness—using vastly different lenses and reaching very different conclusions.

Apr '08 — Transgressions
Three women cross boundaries, defy codes, and flout tradition. They gain much—and lose much—as they search for a truer self. What are we to make of them?

Mar '08 — Healing: horses, books, people
Three books use parallel symbolism to explore human healing. A sick horse heals her owner; a damaged manuscript heals its conserver; and a returning spirit heals her mother.

Feb '08 — Magical Realism
These books use a pretense of realism while weaving in fantasty and the supernatural. The magic blends seamlessly with the natural world to reveal life's wondrous possibilities.