Here are some works that made an impression on WWLW members in 2002:
Marge Loch Wouters started us out with three children's books "every person should know": Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey, illustrated by Heather Soleman; Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer; and Nobody Particular: One Woman's Fight to Save the Bays by Molly Bang. Moving up in age level, she also recommended Ropemaker by Peter Dickenson, a young adult fantasy novel, and an adult non-fiction title, Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World, by Michael Pollan.
Kathy Rohde recommended Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver and for humor, David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day, also available on audio read by the author.
Cheryl Becker impressed everyone by bringing her year's reading list and proceeded to announce that she did recognize that she was the only person in the nation to enjoy reading The Theory of Relativity. She also recommends Your Oasis on Flame Lake by Lorna Landvik, Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug, Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. And, like everyone else, she's currently reading Caucasia by Danzy Senna.
Vicky Topp described Mona in the Promised Land by Gish Jen as "a blast," wasn't quite so enthused about Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel, and highly recommended Postville by Stephen G. Bloom. She also suggested that Bloom was worth going to hear in person.
Kirsten Houtman suggested It Takes a Village Idiot: Complicating the Simple Life by Jim Mullen; Four Corners: One Woman's Solo Journey into the Heart of Papua, New Guinea by Kira Salak; The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by Tim Madigan; River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler; and finally, she reiterated a recommendation she made last year for Dead Fishy by Derek Hansen. It has to be interloaned, but, after all, she works for WILS!
Shirley May Byrnes recommended some new fantasy writers she had discovered during the past year: Rodrigo Garcia Y Robertson, whose book, Knight Errant was published in 2001; Dennis Jones who now has two books out in the House of the Pandragore trilogy, the first being The Stone and the Maiden, the second, The Mask and the Sorceress; and finally Alice Borchardt, whose newest book is The Dragon Queen. She also reported that she pursued Phyllis Davis' recommendation of Janet Evanovich and found her stories wildly entertaining.
Edith Hixon, continuing her interest in midwifery, reported on Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence. She also suggested Nevada Barr's Anna Pidgeon series of mysteries, including Track of the Cat.
Barb Sanford, unlike Cheryl Becker, had to call other members of her book club to find out what she'd read (and even then admitted she didn't remember reading some of the books). However, she would recommend Katharine Graham's Personal History and Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table by Ruth Reichl.
Mary Knapp suggested I Loved You All by Paula Sharp and highly recommended Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's two novels, Sister of My Heart and The Vine of Desire. And, yes, you should read the first one first.
--Compiled by Julie Chase
